MOCKINGJAY: REIMAGINED

CHAPTER NINE - THE WEDDING

I let Annie take Pearl to see Peeta almost every day and watch them through the one-way glass. He's the only person besides me (and the hummingbirds) that can make her smile. Amazingly she's the only person that can make him smile too. He tells Annie stories about his younger cousins back in 12, he understands now that 12 is gone along with any trace of his family, but it seems to bring him comfort to talk about them. He talks about how excited he was for his older brothers to have children so he could be an uncle. Annie tells him that since her and Finnick don't have any other family, he's more than welcome to be Pearl's uncle. He grins wider than I've ever seen him. My chest feels warm and my heart flutters.

"Hey there, sweetheart." Its Haymitch. He comes to stand next to me and we both watch as Peeta gently strokes Pearl's head, admiring her fine blonde baby hairs.

"He's so calm with her." It's not a question but it may as well be.

"The doctors think it has something to do with her being a baby. She's so new. He can't have any bad memories about her. The Capitol could've never used her against him. Maybe if he knew she was his...he would react differently." Says Haymitch

"You mean if he knew she was mine." My eyes start to blur over as they fill with tears.

"He's getting better every day, Katniss. You have to have hope."

I don't answer. What would I say? I can see that Peeta is getting better, as long as any association with me is kept far away from him.

"We better call them out, Annie needs to get ready. It is the big day after all" I know Haymitch despises ceremonies, mostly because he's expected to be on his best behaviour. I see where he's coming from. It feels distasteful to be throwing a big wedding in the middle of a war, filming it as a propo feels even worse.

I signal to the guard that it's time to leave and watch Peeta wave goodbye to Pearl as Annie takes her and leaves the room.

*

13 isn't wasteful so nobody has any formal clothes to change into. We remain a sea of grey jumpsuits with only Finnick and Annie dressed appropriately as bride and groom. Once the ceremony is over, a space is cleared as a dancefloor of sorts and a band begins to play. At first I stand to the side making myself busy rocking Pearl to sleep, Gale joins me. Clearly we're both trying to stay out of the spotlight.

Prim comes running over, her cheeks flushed from dancing, "C'mon Katniss, come dance with me!" I can't help but see her as that tiny little girl back in our old house in 12. The one we grew up in. The one who could always remind me what I was living for.

"Don't you want Snow to see you dance with your sister?" says Johanna, she's leaning casually against the wall just behind me. I had no idea she was even there but she must have been watching me the whole time. As I look at her, ready for the onslaught of insults, she grins. That same look she gave me before my interview at the Quarter Quell, make him pay for it.

Gale takes Pearl as I link arms with Prim and head to the dancefloor. We've known these dances since we could walk although we haven't had much use for them in years. I'm surprised we remember them so well. We spin and twirl and clap and laugh. I don't remember the last time I laughed like this. I watch Prim, my little duck, forced to grow up before she was ready, and I pull her into me holding her against my chest as tight as I can stand. She embraces my unexpected hug and squeezes me back. And when we eventually let go neither of us says a word, as if nothing needs to be said aloud, we both already know. We go back to dancing, and twirling and laughing. I think about what Peeta said to me on the roof that day before the games, I wish I could freeze this moment right here and live in it forever.

But I can't. I won't allow myself to. Because eventually Pearl is going to grow up just like Prim has right before my eyes. And I have to be the one to fight for a better world for her. As much as I tried I couldn't save Prim from the horrors of the Capitol. But I can save Pearl. I at least have to try.