We Want War

Back to the Capitol

Cato POV

My anger at Glimmer cooled during the evening and I was ready to talk once we got back on the train. I had seen her slip away from the ceremonies early on but I had still been to mad to go find her. Everyone else was too loaded with drink to notice that she was missing as we all trooped back to the train. I had been the only one not drinking.

Once we entered the living room compartment, the first thing I saw was Glimmer, dressed in a hunting jacket and boots, curled in a ball on the couch. Her hair was in two fishtail braids like when she was back in the arena and she appeared to be staring into space.

I immediately rushed to her and pressed my hand to her cheek. “Are you having an episode?”

All she did was nod and then her eyes started to fill with tears. I gently picked her up bridal style while the others were laughing uproariously. She pressed her face into my neck to hide her tears as I carried her back to my room.

I set her on my bed, tugged off her boots and jacket, and then tucked her into my bed.

“Will you be okay for one moment?” I asked, shedding my jacket.

She nodded as I dashed to the bathroom. I washed the makeup off and changed into a pair of loose pants and a loose shirt. I crawled into bed with Glimmer and held her. Her tears had stopped but she was clutching my shirt like if she let go, she would float away.

I unbraided her hair and absentmindedly played with it until she fell asleep. Once I knew she was calm, I could rest easy and get some sleep too. I would be able to find out what triggered her tomorrow.

Glimmer was still in my arms when I woke up. She looked much better than last night. She looked more rested and a small smile was playing on her lips as she slept.

I felt the train moving and figured we were on our way to District 11 now. Suddenly, Glimmer jolted awake.

“What’s wrong?” I asked, pulling her closer.

She snuggled as close as she could press herself. “Last night was horrid.”

I brushed stray pieces of hair out of her eyes. “What happened to you last night?”

Glimmer reached for my hand and interlocked out fingers. “You were mad at me and I couldn’t stand the celebrations anymore. I snuck onto the train and changed and then I went out to the woods.”

“That couldn’t have triggered you.”

“It was Katniss’s friend Gale. I was sitting by this rock and Gale comes up and starts blaming me for Katniss’s death and doing only what the Capitol wants and blaming me and you for surviving the Games.”

My arms tightened around Glimmer. “Did he hurt you!?”

“No but he said if he could he would,” whispered Glimmer. Then her voice became stronger. “He was angry because he loved Katniss and now she’s gone.”

“I’ll never let him or anyone else hurt you,” I swore, pressing a kiss into her golden hair.

Glimmer peered up at me through her lashes. “So you aren’t mad at me anymore?”

I sighed. “No, I’m not mad. But you have to promise to tell me things. This concerns me to and how am I supposed to protect you if I don’t know what I have to protect you from?”

Glimmer chuckled. “It’s not your job to protect me but it’s nice to know you have my back.”

“Of course I have your back. I love you Glim.”

Glimmer snuggled her head on my chest. “I love you much more than you can know Cato.”

We sped through the Districts with lightning speed. Glimmer and I stuck to our formal speeches and managed to make it to District 2 in fairly good spirits.

Every night on the train Glimmer or I would sneak into the other’s bedroom but we didn’t always have sex. Sometimes we just held each other and chased each other’s bad dreams away. The fact became known quite early that we were sleeping in the same bed and Wilhelmina even went as far as to pull me aside and ask me to be more discreet. Glimmer and I didn’t change anything though and no else said a word about what Glimmer and I were getting up to.

The festivities went about the same as in any other district except that we had way more food for a feast and it went longer since people were actually celebrating, not pretending like the other districts. District 1 was the same also.

The morning we left District 1, I noticed Glimmer becoming distant. I expected it since we’d soon be in the Capitol. When Cashmere and Enobaria called us into the living room car, Glimmer curled up against me on the couch. I felt so powerless to protect her.

“There’s something you two have to know,” murmured Enobaria, leaning forward with her arms on her knees.

“Does it have something to do with my new job?” asked Glimmer coldly.

There was only Enobaria, Brutus, Cashmere, Gloss, Glimmer and I in the living cart. I found it weird Aryn and Raine weren’t accounted for.

Cashmere shook her head. “It’s about what happened at twelve and the rebellion.”

Glimmer sat up in her seat and clasped my hands in her own. “What about it?”

Enobaria took a deep breath. “After that display of clear disregard to the Capitol, the rebels in twelve thought it would be a great time to try and rebel after you were gone.”

“What happened,” I asked, rubbing soothing circles into Glimmer’s hand with my thumb.

“There weren’t enough Peacekeepers there to tame the masses so more from the Capitol had to be flown in. It’s controlled now but Snow isn’t happy. Not at all,” explained Cashmere.

“Why are we only hearing about this now?” asked Glimmer.

“We’ve been stuck on this train just like you,” said Gloss. “We get our information from an outside source.”

“It’s not our fault that the information is only trickling in now,” said Brutus, defending their actions.

Glimmer opened her mouth to respond but suddenly the train was thrown into darkness as we passed the tunnel to enter the Capitol.

“So it starts,” I muttered, pulling Glimmer closer to me.

Glimmer and I were ushered in opposite directions by our teams once we were off the train. Not surprisingly, there were camera’s taping us disembarking and a crowd of crazily dressed Capitol people cheering for us. We were still their precious Victors.

I was able to have a quick lunch of rich Capitol food before I was whisked off to be prepped. Raine and my prep team finished by early evening and then I was being rushed to the stage by Enobaria and Brutus. They deposited me in the wings and then they rushed off to join the audience.

They didn’t tell me what kind of questions Caesar would ask!

Glimmer soon joined me. We were back to our separate themes but I noticed they incorporated Masonry into her look.

She had on a super short halter dress on. It was a shiny emerald green and the skirt was made of just tulle that swished around when she walked. She had two gold cuffs on each other her wrists and her shoes were rainbow. Her golden hair was piled into a half-up half-down look with the half that was down spilling over her shoulder. A genetically altered rainbow flower was tucked into her hair.

“As always, you look gorgeous,” I said, raking my eyes up and down her body. She swatted my shoulder playfully.