Tortured but Together (A Hunger Games Fanfiction) [UNDER EDITING]

Chapter Five

A/N: PSA that as always the Hunger Games characters don't belong to me, they belong to Suzanne Collins! That being said, enjoy!!

(Peeta POV)
I wake up to someone shaking my shoulder. In my drowsy state, I'm convinced I'm still back home, and so I roll over on my other side. Surely a couple more minutes of sleep couldn't hurt. Apparently, whoever it is that's trying to wake me up would disagree though, as this time the shoulder shaking is more insistent.

"What is it?" I groan, not happy to be woken up.

"President Snow is ready to meet with you now. I wouldn't suggest keeping him waiting, he's in a foul mood at the moment."

That snaps me awake almost immediately. This isn't district 12, this is the Capitol. Katniss destroyed the arena and now they're holding her prisoner, putting her through who knows what! It takes me about a grand total of five seconds to jump to my feet. Hopefully President Snow is in the mood to give me some answers.

"Alright, I'm ready. Just took me a second to wake up is all."

The peacekeeper nods, accepting my sort of apology. It's important that they don't see me as a threat. We walk down another series of fancy and luxurious hallways, this time stopping before a door that seems to have a mini army of peacekeepers standing guard in front of it.

Looking us over for a second, one of the peacekeepers guarding the door opens it. If I could see through the helmet of that peacekeeper, I would probably see a very tense looking person. After they tell me I can enter, I hesitantly walk into the personal office of the President of Panem.

President Snow glances up from the papers he's reading the second I walk in. He calls for one of his aids to put the papers off to the side, and then gestures for me to have a seat across from him. Keeping in mind what the peacekeeper from earlier told me, I quickly take a seat. "You wished to speak to me sir?"

"Yes Mr. Mellark, I did. Tell me, would you care for some refreshments? I can only imagine how exhausted you must be after that...harrowing end to the games."

He does sound angry. So I decide to take him up on his offer, maybe if I play along, I'll get some answers. "Maybe a glass of water? I think I might still be a bit dehydrated." I try to keep my tone as neutral as possible, it's clear that he's up to something, and I need to find out what.

"Certainly. Now, let me ask you something else."

It's not a request, but I find myself nodding anyways.

"What would you say if I told you that the little stunt Miss Everdeen pulled has caused some of the districts to talk of rebellion, to talk of war with me and the Capitol?"

Revolution? Katniss sparked a revolution? I really do have to get her out of here, and fast. "I would...I would say that we don't need more bloodshed. I would say that...that both sides would lose more than they would gain...that it would be victory at the price of tens of thousands of lives. I would say that...no matter the outcome we would all feel hollow inside because of how much we had to sacrifice." I finish.

President Snow looks at me with a curious expression on his face. It's not anger, not frustration, more like...surprise?

"So you're telling me, that you would publicly denounce Miss Everdeen if she continues on with her schemes? That you would denounce the rebellion and all it stands for and stand firmly on the side of the Capitol?" His smile turns devilish now, he's got me trapped between a rock and a hard place, and he knows it. Say yes, and I'd be betraying the woman I love, say no, and I risk being killed and unable to protect Katniss either way.

After I think for a minute I say, "I think that all of this, it's just gotten out of hand. In the first games Katniss volunteered to save her sister, in the second games, she went in because she had no choice. Katniss...Katniss would do anything for the people she cares about, including dying for them if she had to. At the end, with the lighting and the force field, it wasn't about a rebel plan. It was about wanting to be safe, wanting to go home. It was never about some grand act of defiance...it was just about the two of us wanting to protect each other and our families...that's all it ever was..." My voice turns desperate towards the end of the monologue, almost as if I'm begging for President Snow to believe me.

He doesn't look angry when I finish, like I expected he might, instead he looks contemplative. "It's admirable, my dear boy, that you wish to defend her. It proves to me beyond a shadow of a doubt that you truly do love her. Ah, the star crossed lovers from district 12, doesn't that seem so long ago?"

It takes me a minute to realize that his pause is an indication for me to respond. "Yes, it really does sir." I'm getting a bit choked up, at this point, I'm starting to fear the worst. At this point, I'm starting to fear she's already dead.

Seeing the look on my face, President Snow lets out a brief chuckle. "She's still alive my dear boy, I didn't mean to be quite that morbid."

"So when can I see her?" I blurt out.

"Ah, patience my boy, patience. It might be a while still, she still has to get that temper under control after all. But, when you do visit her, you'll have a very special job that you'll be doing on my behalf."

"What kind of job?"

"Your job, Mr. Mellark, will be to get her the rest of the way under control. A task which I have no doubt you will excel in."

My face goes pale. Betray Katniss like that? No, I couldn't. "Why...why would I do that to her?"

"Because it's for the best Mr. Mellark. And, if you do this for me, I can guarantee that the two of you have your happily ever after together. After all this, don't you think you two deserve that much?"

I'm left in quite a bit of shock. So much so in fact, that I don't even notice that I'm being led out of President Snow's office until I'm back in my rooms. I have a long night of thinking ahead of me.