The Hunger Games: Uprising!

Chapter 29

We walk through the meadow hand in hand until we reach our tree down by the woods. Peeta sits down and props himself against it, takes out a book and starts reading, I lie on the grass with my head rested on his lap then close my eyes and take in the sound of the birds, the wind and the feeling of the warm early spring sunshine on my skin.

It's been two months since Peeta and I returned to district 12 and we've done our best to try to live normally. Peeta goes off each morning to work at the bakery and I try my best to keep our house clean, tidy and stocked with food. Our return took on something of a home coming for us. The people of 12 were genuinely pleased to see us, especially Peeta. This shocked him at first as it did me when I first came back. Like me he didn't realise how much our people cared for us.

Lyndon and his team keep a low profile although if I see him I often invite him in for tea whilst Peeta's at work. He managed to find the hidden camera that Wolfe was using to spy on us. A tiny camera mounted against one of the trees outside our front door.

Plutarch has visited a few times to update us on the situation with the Uprising and to shoot footage for the Propo's he's putting together. It seemed a little strange to me, to have a film crew in the house watching me wash the dishes, making supper, or feeding Buttercup. Peeta felt the same when they filmed him at the bakery. Plutarch felt it was important to show Panem that after all we've been through we're still just a young couple going about our daily routine as most other people do. I had to show the crew around the house, explaining to the camera about buttercup and my role as the Mockingjay. This led to me showing them the cellar where my bow, arrows and Mockingjay suit are kept. There was a real buzz about the cellar as Peeta keeps his paintings there. They were particularly excited with his paintings depicting the Games.

This is all to do with the build up to our wedding, that's happening tomorrow! I still can't believe that tomorrow evening I'll be Mrs Mellark! I chuckle to myself at the thought.

"What are you laughing about?" Peeta says smiling down at me.

"Oh nothing. Just starting to get excited about tomorrow"

"Me too. But I think it might be a bigger occasion for the district than we thought. You haven't been to town. The shop keepers have put up bunting around the square for our procession tomorrow"

I look at him open mouthed "You're kidding me?"

"No, I wouldn't joke about something like that" he replies in a playful tone. I stick my tongue out at him and he sticks his out at me. We laugh and Peeta goes back to his book.

We stay at the meadow till sunset then take a stroll back to our house but nothing could prepare us for the pandemonium going on inside. Peeta opens the door to the noise of people laughing and joking. I shut the door behind us and we walk toward the kitchen, where the noise seems to be coming from. We both stand in the doorway, open mouthed at the group of friends new and old standing around the room. Haymitch, Plutarch, Lyndon and Gale are no surprise. But as I look round the room I see Pollux, Cressida, Effie and my prep team! Effie steps forward to embrace Peeta. "Effie where did you come from?" he asks

"Plutarch flew us all in from district 3 to help with your wedding". She steps forward to embrace me. This is the first time I've seen her since the day of Snow's assassination.

"Katniss, it's so good to see you"

"You too Effie, how have you been?"

"Oh you know, Plutarch's been keeping me busy at the media centre in District 3. As you can see I've brought some friends with me to help out".

I look to Cressida and Pollux. I knew they'd survived the war and that they'd been busy filming the aftermath, but I haven't seen them in person since our mission to the Capitol two years ago.