The Wrong Victor

Chapter eight: Peeta

"How much longer until we can save Katniss? How much longer will she be tortured for you. How much longer will I sit here doing nothing while she's fighting for her life?" I yell slamming my hands on the table between Coin and I. "How much longer?"

Coin looks unfazed as she flips through papers. "It is impossible to calculate when the Capitol's defense will fall and when we will be able to break in. Breaking into the Capitol is not an easy feat." She says as she looked up at Plutarch. "Reports on the Districts?"

"We have a lot of them. Nearly half. Another propo and we should have half." Plutarch says and Coin nods.

"Take the boy. Do a sweet propo. Take him to the lake. Ask him sweet questions about her. Whatever. Make it sickly sweet." Coin speaks as if I'm not even in the room.

"Do not speak as if I am not in the room. I would like an estimated date of retrieval of the victors!" I slam my hands down again.

"And I told you we are working on it. You want to save her do the damn propos. Understand? Do not forget you are a guest in my District." She says and I laugh standing up straight.

"Is that so? So I can walk out that door right now and you'll be just fine without me?" I ask and she glares knowing I'm right. "Estimated retrieval date."

She lets out a sigh and pinches the bridge of her nose. "When half of the Districts are on our side we should be able to break in. Now, to get them on our side you must do the propaganda shots. This next one needs to show how much you love her and how much getting her back means to you. Show them that you're fighting for a future with that girl. Show them anything pertaining to you and Katniss. Meeting dismissed."

I walk out of the room pulling at my hair. I need her back. I close my eyes and the images of her last interview flash in front of me. Her tears. She sung at the beginning the Meadow Song. The first song I ever heard her sing. The song she sung to Rue as she died. The song she would hum when she was upset during the Victory Tour.

"Kid, lets go." Haymitch appears next to my holding my arm. "I know it hurts. I know it sucks seeing our girl like that, but to get her back we need to do the propos so let's go do them." I nod and follow him to the meeting place. Effie messes with my hair and does a little touch up before deeming me decent. She finally pins on a replica of Katniss' pin the one Katniss got from Madge. Effie sends me off with a kiss to my cheek and I follow Gale, Haymitch, Boggs, Cressida, Pollux, and Castor.

I'm in a pair of grey slacks and a green shirt I brought from home. They can't really stop me from doing what I want. They need me. But I won't be a piece in their game. I do the things they need on my terms.

We make it to the lake and sit. I sit on the small rocky shore and clear an area to make a rock mural. "Peeta, tell us about the day you first met Katniss." Cressida says and I smile at the memory.

"It was in school. The first memory I ever have of her is when we were five. She wore a red plaid dress and instead of one braid she wore two. And we were in music class when the teacher asks "who knows the meadow song?" Katniss' hand shot straight into the air waving as if she would burst if not given the chance to sing. So the teacher asks her to come to the front and she passed by me. She's from the Seam and I'm the baker's son. She was absolutely beautiful. Her grey eyes glittered like they had lightning in them striking her excitement. So the teacher helps her onto the box and with the voice of an angel she starts singing." I say as I start placing rocks down for her face.

"And I'm guessing you fell in love with her?" Cressida asks and I nod.

"I did. As we got older the Seam was hard for her. Her dad died, her mom shut down. She had to take care of baby Prim and herself. She would get more rations for more times her name would enter. She would illegally hunt. That's how she met Gale. I remember being so jealous of him. He got to be so close to her. They were best friends. Did everything together. I was the baker's son with an abusive mother. My father bought squirrels from them. I was always amazed by her shots. You could tell the difference. Gale would shoot the heart, but Katniss. One shot, through the eyeball. It was her signature." I say as I add features to her face. I make her smiling to remember her as a smiling happy woman even if it was just for two seconds.

"Wow, that's quite the story." Cressida said before wrapping up. I finish my small rock mural and smile at it. Not the best but decent. I pull out my locket I got from my house. I bought it a while after the Quell was announced. Inside I put a picture of Katniss smiling and my family.

"Pollux wants to know what that is." Castor says and I look up. I smile at Pollux and show it to the ex-Avox.

"I bought it after the Quell was announced. Left it in my house. On the left side, closest to my heart, a picture of her smiling. It was rare for her to smile. Understandably, but still a gift. And on the right, my family. They... they passed away during the bombing. They were in the bakery." We sit in silence once more before Pollux taps my arm. I look to him and he points out to a bird. Then he points at the replica pin.

"Yeah, that's a mockingjay. They listen to the sounds around them and repeat it. Rue and Katniss used them in the first games." I explain before whistling Rue's four note tune. The mockingjay tilts it head before repeating the pattern of notes back to me. I look to Pollux and he points to my throat.

"Do you want me to sing?" I ask earning an excited nod. "I'm not nearly as talented as Katniss. Those notes will probably be off key." He gives me a stern look and I give in. "Okay, let me think of a song."

The Hanging Tree. Katniss sung it once early in the morning. She didn't think I was awake. The song is morbid and dark. But at the moment it reflects my situation. Katniss is the hanged man and I'm the lover wishing to join her with a necklace of rope.

I take a deep breath and clear my throat.
"Are you, are you, coming to the tree? Where they strung up a man, they say who murdered three. Strange things did happen here no stranger would it be. If we met at midnight in the hanging tree.
"Are you, are you, coming to the tree? Where dead man called out for his love to flee. Strange things did happen here no stranger would it be. If we met at midnight in the hanging tree.
"Are you, are you, coming to the tree? Where I told you to run, so we'd both be free. Strange things did happen here no stranger would it be. If we met at midnight in the hanging tree.
"Are you, are you, coming to the tree? Wear a necklace of hope side by side with me. Strange things did happen here no stranger would it be. If we met at midnight in the hanging tree."

I changed the last verse to say hope instead of rope. Right now what we need is hope. There's nothing more dangerous than hope and I'm hoping it's dangerous enough to bring down the Capitol. I close my eyes as I listen to the mockingjay copy the tune and carrying it through the flock far away from here. And I only pray it reaches Katniss so she knows she's not alone.