Beacon of Hope

Chapter Two <3 Blood and Roses

I'm over come by the scent of roses and I resist the urge to puke my roast pork up. I wobble on my feet, and Peeta puts his hand on my back, just as I faint.

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I wake up, still feeling queasy from the smell of blood and roses. I try to block it, but before I see anything else, all I see is a mental image of Snow drinking a cup of blood. Then I see Peeta's face over mine and he sighs in relief, then presses him soft lips to mine. I grin, softly.

He helps me sit up, then grips my hands. " Katniss," he says. " You need to listen to me." I look at him with a deep look of concern. He kisses my head then continues. " Snow, he came from the Capitol to talk to you. But, since you passed out, he settled with me.

" Your act, in the arena. . . Not everyone fell for it. Of course, the whole of the Capitol did. But, in some of the Districts, not everyone quite believed it. In several of the districts, people viewed our act with the berries as an act of defiance against the capitol, and not an act of love. And, if two teens can defy the Capitol, why not them? Why can't they cause a, a rebellion?"

I gasp. " There've been uprisings?" I whisper, my voice wobbling.

Peeta continues. " President Snow told me there hasn't been any, not yet anyway. And uprisings are what caused the rebellion. The dark days."

" Oh my god, Peeta," I say. " I never meant for this. I just wanted us to be together. I should've just killed myself with the berries!"

" No!" Peeta shouts. " Katniss, stop it! I couldn't have survived without you! Don't you dare ever say that again! I mean if!"

I gulp, and nod. He kisses my head then continues with the story. " He says, on the Victory Tour, we have to be even more madly in love to convince the districts. Kiss every chance we have, never let go of eachother."

" Well, that shouldn't be too hard." I smile, then kiss him.

"Katniss, this isn't a joke." He says. " If you don't, he's going to kill Gale, and our family's,"

And then I understand how far Snow is willing to go.

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I squat in the bathtub, and splash Peeta with some warm, steamy water.

" Get out!" I tease grabbing his shirt with my wet hands. He chuckles as I pull his face down to the same level as mine, and I kiss him. He takes his shirt off, since it's wet, and sits at the side of the bath with me.

He kisses my forehead, and, before I can help myself, I spew into the bath water.

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Peeta rests me on the bed. I'm completely naked and soaking wet. Peeta grabs a towel and starts patting my dry.

I feel nauseous, and my head is pounding. And, weirdly, my breasts are a little sore.

" Are you ok, Katniss?" Peeta asks.

" Yeah," I say. " Yeah, yeah, I'm fine." I say.

" Ok," Peeta's not convinced in the least.

He dresses me in a little night gown and lifts me on his back. Then he carries me down stairs. He pecks my cheek and sits me in a chair at the dining table. He pulls a salad out the refrigerator and pops some on two plates. Then he puts some cold turkey on the plate beside it. I scoff it down, since I barfed up all my breakfast and lunch.

And, as soon as I'm finished, I vomit it all back up.

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