Fire and Dandelions: Everlark One Shots

New Beginnings

"My name is Katniss Everdeen. I'm 18 years old. I live in the Victors Village of District 12, house 2. I survived the 74th and 75th Hunger Games. I survived the rebellion. I lead hundreds of thousands of people from the districts of Panem to war with the Capitol as their Mockingjay. I lead hundreds of people to their deaths . . .

"My father died in a mine incident when I was young. My mother left for District 4. My best friend Gale left for District 2. And my sister . . . "

I took a deep breath and tried another path.

"I have Haymitch. I have Dr Aurulias. I have Greasy Sae."

But the one person who I truly cared about more than anything in this world wasn't here with me. He was off in the Capitol having treatment for Hijacking and PTSD. I don't know if he will ever come back. There's no reason for him to come back. His family is dead. The bakery is gone. If he were to ever come back here, all he would find was a broken teenage girl, covered in hideous battle scars from head to toe with no life left in her whatsoever and a drunk middle aged man. Yep, he will probably never come back here.

A plate of bacon and scrambled eggs is placed on my lap. I smile at my carer, Greasy Sae, and place a piece of bacon on the fork.

Okay Katniss.
Now you bring the fork to your mouth.
Good.
Now open your mouth.
Good.
Now put the food in your mouth.
Good.
Now chew.

I eat the rest of my breakfast in lifeless robotic motions, Sae watching me to make sure I finish. I even scrape my plate clean with my knife and fork to get every bit of egg, bacon fat and oil into my mouth so she won't worry about me. Maybe I should lick the plate clean too. Maybe that's a bit too far. She takes the plate from my lap, smiling at my enthusiasm, and goes to clean up the kitchen, leaving me alone on the couch to think.

I don't end up doing much thinking. Instead I watch Greasy Sae's granddaughter who I just realised was in my house too. She walks around the edges of the room with an emotionless look on her face. She seems to be living in her own little world. She stops pacing when she nearly trips over my mothers old knitting basket. She picks up a bright blue ball of yarn, looking around the room as if to check for witnesses. She doesn't seem to notice me watching her from the couch. Sae enters the living room to collect her granddaughter and leave just when she stuffs the yarn in her pocket.
"Put that back dear. You mustn't take what doesn't belong to you," she says in a calm voice as she tries to prize the thing from her granddaughters grip.
"Keep it," I say, taken aback by how hoarse and emotionless my voice sounds. I don't need the yarn anyway. My mother left weeks ago and I doubt she will return anytime soon. I'm assuming it's because there are too many bad memories that she associates with District 12. My fathers death, my sisters death . . .

Sae gives me a small nod of thanks, grabs the child's hand and they walk to the door. As soon as Sae shuts the front door behind her, I feel my stomach churn horribly and something rise in my throat. The breakfast Sae made makes a reappearance and ends up in the toilet. Exhausted, I end up falling asleep with my scarred cheek pressed against the cold tiles.

______________________

Sae wakes me up and pulls me off the bathroom floor. She leads me over to the couch, helping me sit and places my dinner on my lap. I eat it mechanically again, barely even thinking about what I'm eating but about one of my nightmares.

I'm standing on the stage for the tributes interviews. My dress gives the illusion of catching fire as I twirl around the stage. I stop twirling and screams and gasps erupt from the crowd of Capitol citizens. I watch as my dress actually catches fire.

My body is engulfed in flames, my skin searing and blistering and falling off all together. Thick, black smoke poisons my lungs, refusing to let me breath or scream in pain. My eyes burn but refuse to water and the roar from the fire makes my eardrums feel like they are fit to burst at any second. I am in absolute agony, worse than I have ever experienced in my entire existence.

People rush forward to help me but die or get burned badly. Cinna, Boggs, Finnick, Prim . . . They all die painful deaths engulfed by my flames. Peeta, Haymitch, Gale, my Mother . . . They all try to help me but jump back, their faces taut with pain and shock as my flames leave scars on their skin that will never disappear.

This nightmare was the closest to reality that I had had in a while. Obviously, I have never and will never burst into spontaneous flame and burn all of my loved ones. But the message behind it is true. I managed to hurt everyone I loved. I was either the reason for their untimely death or the reason for their pain.

She has no idea the effect she can have.
Well maybe now, I do.

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Here's the first chapter for my Everlark One Shots story. This is just an introduction to how Katniss is feeling and to lead you into the story. Other chapters will be much longer and more detailed than this one, so don't worry about that 😉.

I made the edit ^^ my photoshop skills definitely need more work 😂 For each chapter I'm going to make an edit of Peeta and/or Katniss with photoshop that relates to what is in the chapter.

Did you like how I used the same nightmare I used in my other Everlark fanfic? I thought it seemed appropriate to use it again for the first chapter.

I know that the current name of this fanfic really sucks, so I will change it when I think of a better one.

Anyway, I really really REALLY hope you enjoy this story and please feel free to correct any mistakes I make throughout the story or give me feedback! It would be much appreciated ☺️ love you all heaps!

💕~everlarkeverlark~💕