Published January 21, 2012
Hey guys!!! The little part below with all the... strange disconnected sentences, don't mind that. Read on! (Because there's more!!!)
Who am I?
My name is Katniss Everdeen. I am twenty years old. I was the victor of the 74th Hunger Games. I survived the 75th. I am alive. I should not be. I should be dead. It would've been better if I had died. No. That's not true. We're free now. Free from the Capitol's grasp. No more Hunger Games. No more fear. But still, the nightmares come. Some nights, I relive my opponents death. Some nights, I see Peeta's lifeless body sitting in my lap. Sometimes, I see Prim. I see her aflame. I see her small body, curled in pain. And I scream. I scream for death. I scream because it should've been me who died. But no. We are free.
Who is he?
His name is Peeta Mellark. He is twenty years old. He was the victor of the 74th Hunger Games. He loved me. I didn't care that he did. He survived the 75th. He was captured by the Capitol. He was tortured. He thought I was the enemy. He wanted to kill me. He tried to kill me. He was the Boy with the Bread. Who saved my life so many times, there was no way to repay him. He was always there for me. I was never alone. And I was glad. He recovered. He grips onto reality while the torturous thoughts rack his mind. He hangs on for me. And all I have done is ignore him. But no longer. We have both changed. Because now, I love him.
Who are we?
We are the murderers of the Capitol. We threw the country into chaos. Those little berries in our hand started the deaths. We are the reason. But no, I do not wish for his death like I wished mine. I once did, back in the Arena. But he deserves much more. He deserves more than me. He always has. But he disagrees. I am his life, he says. I am the reason he holds on. I am the reason. And I love him. He is the reason I hold on, I tell him. He is the reason I'm here. We are the reason.
I run to the bakery, toward the dim yellow lights. As always, Peeta is waiting at the door, ready to throw down his baker's apron to be with me. I slow down, but I still make him tilt backwards as I run to hug him.
"Hey there, Katniss. You seem happy." He says as he chuckles.
"More than usual."
"Much much much more that usual. It's scaring me." he jokes. I can't help but smile. But why would I help it?
"Oh, how funny Peeta. How funny." I roll my eyes and before I know it, he's dragging me off toward the Meadow. We walk in silence, occasionally waving at passerby's, but they seem insignificant right now, here with him. I close my eyes, letting him lead me.
We reach the fence before I know it. It has virtually been untouched since the rebellion. Electricity no longer runs through it and it looks like a heap of metal wire rather than any kind of defense. They built a gate, though, and I'm thankful. I've crawled under that filthy fence enough to last me a lifetime. He pushes it open and I jump a bit when it screeches. I let him lead me again, not daring to open my eyes. We are in the worst part now, for it must get worse before it can get better. The cemetery lays to my left and I veer away. Prim lies there. I imagine her lifeless body, which almost reduces me to tears. It should have been me. She was so innocent, so pure. It always should've been me. But I cannot afford to think like that anymore. Peeta squeezes my hand and I know that we have passed it. I open my eyes to find a checkered picnic blanket underneath an oak tree. It's perfect. The dapples of sunlight on the forest floor and the rippling grass. The clear blue sky still can't compare to Peeta's eyes though. His blue, clear eyes.
I am about to sit down when Peeta grabs my wrist. His grasp is almost painful but I ignore it, focusing on his eyes. He has an intense expression and I'm afraid that he's hallucinating again. I pull away, afraid for my life. His lips curve into a half-smile, almost nervously. I stop my struggle, relaxed now. He chuckles lightly and shakes his head; he was okay. I whip my head around to see a mockingjay perched on the oak. It whistles a familiar tune. A familiar four-note tune. Rue. In shock, I turn my head. There he is, down on one knee. Down on one knee! He's pulling out something small. A ring. As I look closer, I see it is a pearl. The pearl he gave me in the Quarter Quell glistens in the sunlight and all the memories engulf me. All of them come back to me; Finnick, Beetee, Johanna, Wiress. I see them all for one second, but then my vision shifts to Peeta. He's still on his knee, opening his mouth as if in slow-motion.
"Katniss, will you marry me?"
"Peeta..." I start. I see his face fall and his head drop, "Yes."
"Yes?"
"Always, yes. Always." I say as I throw myself into his arms, "Always."
"Forever."
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Oh, my everlark feels!!
As soon as I started I knew I had to finish. The beginning is truly the best bit, when you answer those three questions and let us get into the characters. The criticism I could find and give to you although is maybe emphasize a bit more on the pain, because that always made me absolutely breathless with this trilogy. I'm not saying to go into the details of what Suzanne has already explained but for example, when you briefly mentioned Prim I suddenly tok in a breath of air and an imminent feeling of sadness overtook me. I think the history and past of characters always helps readers really connect and so my suggestion would be to add that next time
ooh! Another thing I thought was with the ending, the oh-so-perfect line "Always"... it would be even better (my opinion) if you added the lines "Stay with me" before it, emphasizing on the history of their relationship.
Wow, this is good.I don't know how you can improve it, I can't find any faults with it but I feel like the word ' Always' is being used to much in fan fictions. . I like how you took katniss's 'monologue' and turned it into a explanation of how she is post mockingjay.
My favorite lines would have to be 'We are the murderers of the Capitol. We threw the country into chaos.' I like how Katniss is sort of hating herself and Peeta even though they are seen as the 'good guys'.
Hey Penguin,
Your title would grab anyone who had rad the "Hunger Games", However your first two or three paragraphs, the "Who am I?" , the "Who is he?" and the "Who are we?" are full of "I am" , "I see" , "I was", "his .." , "he is", "he was", "we were", and alot of other verbs to be,
wich in my opinion makes it so silly.
your story is short but good you've really got the charachters right, and you've described the places well like the author Suzzane Collins would have.
best regards.
Hi there!
I know you posted this back in January and have probably forgotten about it, but I'm going to review it anyway.
I noticed that you didn't have any comments or reviews on this story.
I was drawn to this because it's a fanfic about Katniss and Peeta, therefore it relates to the Hunger Games. I am a super, super fan so I was excited to read this. And you have not disappointed.
I think the most remarkable thing about this is that it takes place in the time between the end of Mockingjay and the epilogue. I've always wondered how the story got from one place to another and you did a good job describing that here.
The thing in the beginning where you are describing Katniss's thoughts should probably be in italics. This part:
It's just a little thing, but Suzanne italicizes this in the books. If you really want to stay honest to the books you should do that too. All in all it really doesn't matter. It's just something small.
I love these few sentences. Everyone who's read the series knows that Katniss started the rebellion, whether she wanted to or not, but no one has ever written it out like that. And the fact that it's from Katniss's mind makes it more powerful. Because, if I remember correctly, in the beginning of the rebellion, she didn't want to pin it on herself. She couldn't believe that the berries started all of that. And now she's to terms with that. It's like she's finally realizing it really was her that started all of this.
I'm just wondering, how does Katniss know that they're passing the cemetery if her eyes are closed? Or maybe she closed her eyes once they got close to the cemetery. I'm not sure I even read that part right.
The proposal is sweet. The way Peeta uses Rue's tune and the pearl from the arena is adorable. I would melt into his arms as well.
Overall this is a good piece. I can't find anything wrong with your spelling or grammar so good job there. I hope you still remember you posted this piece! I think it's great.
Keep writing!
**Noelle**