I'll Be Beside You (Sequel to I'll Be Watching You)

Life as an Engaged Woman

My life was perfect. I now lived in a mansion in Victor's Village and I had a man who loved me. Cato always made breakfast and brought it to me in bed with a glass of juice and a morning kiss. It was bliss, we planned our wedding 8 months from now and we still had our Victory Tour to prep for. We had to go to the different districts, say that we were sorry for their losses and then dangle our victory in front of them. It's not right, but we have to do it. I still can't believe that a month ago, Cato and I threatened suicide and won the 74th Hunger Games, much to the dismay of President Snow and the Capitol. I always wondered what they would do about our act of defiance but nothing has happened. Yet.

____

I still mostly kept to my normal routine. Even though I now had money and food, I still met Katniss and Gale out in the forbidden woods and hunted for animals. After a week, I invited Cato to join us and he fit right in with our group. He took down a fully grown buck with his bare hands and we gave it to Greasy Sae, whose eyes lit up at the sight of our big catch. I gave my mansion to my family and I lived in Cato's mansion, as he begged me to move in with him so that we could start our wedding plans. Waking up next to Cato every morning and being with him all day was the best thing that could ever happen to me. Today was the day our stylists were meant to prep us for the Victory Tour and we both sat in our living room, waiting for the voices of our stylists. We could hear them at the Victor's Village gate.

"Oh! How.....rustic. How can anyone live here?"

The ironic sounds of Effie. I rolled my eyes and Cato burst out laughing, the sides of his eyes crinkling up. I loved it when his eyes did that.

"Hey Effie! You do realize we can hear you right?!"

Her heels clicked on our porch and the sudden aroma of genetically enhanced flowers wafted into our faces. Effie hadn't changed much; her hair was still curly and wild and her outfit matched it perfectly. Octavia and Venia were silent and Flavius gave me the biggest hug he could muster. Cato's stylists Corra and Bentley gave him small nods and quickly looked down at the floor. It was so obvious they were scared of him.

"Ah, the happy couple! It's so good to see you both!"

Effie's Capitol accent still annoys me.

"Um, Effie, where's Cinna?"

"Oh don't worry dear, he's grabbing the dress out of the car."

Thank god. I thought Cinna wouldn't come but I guess he didn't want to let me down. As if on cue, Cinna walks in the door, cradling the most beautiful dress I've ever seen him create.

"Brooke, can you grab this off me please?"

I reach out for the hanger and the weight of the dress overwhelms me. It took a lot of effort to keep the skirt off the ground so that it didn't get dirty. I guess my struggle was evident as Cato grabs the dress out of my hands and drapes it over his shoulder.

"Cinna, why is it so heavy?"

"Well, when you put it on it won't be as heavy but the skirt is made out of material that clings to your body but it is very heavy. Beauty has its price to pay."

"Where do you want the dress, Cinna?"

"You can put it in the bedroom, we need to get her ready."

Cato nods and clomps up the stairs, the dress obviously weighing him down. I follow a few steps behind him towards the bedroom he and I share. Cato drapes the dress over the end of the bed and gives me a small peck before walking out and shutting the door behind him. Cinna comes in and tries to help me into the heavy dress. As soon as it settles on my frame, the dress' weight immediately disappears and the sudden weight loss shocks me. Cinna got me all done up and I headed back downstairs. Cato choked on his drink, starting a coughing fit. Effie rubbed his back, a wry smile on her face. I looked in the mirror and another person looked back at me. It took me a minute to realize it was me in the mirror. Effie clapped her hands and grabbed hold of Cato's arm.

"Cato, head upstairs and grab the bags. We're leaving in 10 minutes."

He gives a slight nod and clomps up the stairs again. I turn back to the others.

I'm ready for the Victory Tour.

AGAIN, I DON'T OWN ANYTHING EXCEPT FOR BROOKE, PEPPER AND THE STORY IDEA. ALL RIGHTS GO TO SUZANNE COLLINS.