The Rebel Queen

17

I sit down next to the fire, watching as a few of the camp women come in with warm water to fill a bath basin that was lugged in earlier. Tigris sits next to me, looking over the shallow cut on my cheek and carefully peeling off the messy dressing from earlier. 

"It looks not too bad," She says and Peeta ducks in with more firewood, "Even a scar would be gone by snowmelt."

"I'm sorry that someone felt the need to call you here for a shallow flesh wound," I say glancing at him and he just shakes his head.

"Well excuse me for being concerned over the beating you took earlier," Peeta says and Tigris just chuckles. 

"I came to check the both of you, for the record," She says nodding at the wrapping on Peeta's arm. He rubs the bandage a little and just shakes his head at me.

"Well my wound wasn't right under my eye," He retorts and I roll my eyes.

"Peeta," I say, clearly irritated and he shakes his head. "Now is not the time for such discussion." He glances over at the women filling the wash basin and sighs. 

"Perhaps we could speak in private then?" He asks and I pull myself to my feet. Looking over at Tigris and the servants, I sigh, crossing my arms.

"Ladies, you are excused for the night," I say. They slowly dip their heads and walk out with their buckets, Tigris grabbing up her bag. She stopped next to me and looks between us.

"Good luck with your first real argument," She says jokingly, But Peeta and I both just stare at one another, the fire crackling like the tension in the room. Tigris sighs and ducks out of the tent.

"What is your problem?" I ask. "It's just a scratch and I can fit almost all my fingers between it and my eye! You are acting like this is the worst thing that could possibly happen."

"You knew that we would both be defeated the moment you agreed to sparing with them!" He says and I sigh. "You intended it." I look at him and shake my head, walking over to my things.

"Yes, I expected it," I admit. "So did you. They are trained to be able to kill in hand to hand combat."

"Do you have any idea how humiliating that was for me?" He asks and I look at him, sighing.

"Peeta, everyone gets knocked on their ass by someone more advanced than them in that training hollow," I say. "It isn't a big deal."

"It is when they all already see me as weak!" He says, raising his voice and I slowly stand up, glaring at him. "When they still call me a snowflake and your pet and act like I'm just your play thing! When I can't even kiss you outside this damn tent so there won't be a freaking uprising!"

"Don't you dare yell at me over your bruised ego!" I yell back. 

"Well what the hell can I do, Katniss!" He says and I shake my head. "When I embarrass myself like I did today and you just shake it off? When everyone outside thinks I'm trash that should have been left to burn with my family!" He has tears in his eyes and his face is red, his fists clenching and unclenching as he tries to calm down. I walk around the fire and stop in front of him. "How can you look me in the eye and still want me here with you when all I am is an embarrassment?" I take a deep breath and cross my arms, shaking my head.

"Because to me, none of that matters," I say. "I see that you are still the person I care about, that I want by my side, the one I trust." I sit on the step of the wash basin and look up at him. "You may be embarrassed, but I'm proud of how you fought today. You did your best. That is all I could possibly ask." He looks at me and shakes his head.

"Katniss, if we were to walk out of this tent right now, and say that we were together, there would be a proper riot," Peeta says and I blink up at him.