LEGENDS ▹ the hunger games au

𝐯

𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐑𝐄𝐀𝐏𝐈𝐍𝐆

WHEN she woke up, her sheets were cold. Will shivered in the bed that suddenly felt too big, dreading when she would have to open her eyes and face the morning. Sleep had been a foreign foe the night before, and when she finally did make peace with it, she'd been paid back with bad dreams.

Of course, she did. This was the day of the Reaping.

Knowing that the whole awful affair wasn't until two, Will tried to rest. She doubted that once they got to the Capitol, she'd be able to sleep much at all. The girl laid in bed for as long as she could, but when the thoughts grew too much and she finally sat up in a nervous sweat, Will saw it was only 7:27 AM.

The house was more or less silent. It was generally understood that on Reaping day, you might as well sleep in. If you could.

To stay calm, to keep sane, Will needed to go through the motions, her usual routine before a Reaping.

Typically, Katniss and Will would go to the woods to hide away for a few hours. But with the Peacekeepers watching them so closely today, they had concluded the night before that it wasn't wise.

So, Will swung her legs off the bed and her toes curled from the chilled floor before she crept towards the bathroom.

To her surprise, a tub of warm water waited for her. When she sunk down into the bath, it stung the raised scars on her back and she hissed out a tight breath. Will scrubbed the sweat from her skin and washed her hair so that it laid cool over her sizzling scars. Fuzzy bath bubbles gathered around her thighs and clung to her shoulders, and she curled in on herself, resting her chin on shivering kneecaps.

Will pushed her fists firmly into her stomach which ached with nerves, palms clammy and heart racing.

Stay calm, she squeezed her eyes shut, just stay calm.

A lovely dress had been laid out on her bed. A soft blue thing with matching shoes, and Will startled at the sight. She had seen the famous footage enough over the years to recognize this particular dress as the one her mother wore when she volunteered. She realized this was something special. Despite her faked Capitol-designated talent, Katniss was not ever one for fashion, but Will understood that this particular dress was very precious to her.

It felt almost too big in various places, but Will didn't mind. It was so much better than the dress she had been planning to wear, anyway.

Will found that she was still alone when her barefeet carried her downstairs one step at a time.

Her father wasn't working at the counter. Her mother's game bag was still on its hook.

For a moment, the house looked almost unlived in. Untouched. Like when her family left on the train and disappeared into the distance today, it'd be like they never existed.

There'd be no memory left of them at all.

Aunt Prim had left them a perfect slice of goat cheese wrapped in basil leaves on their table, and Peeta apparently had been awake all night making cheese buns for Rye and Will's favorite cream buns for breakfast. Beside them was a white paper package of cookies, which did not look made by her father's hand.

Upon further inspection, Will concluded it must have been from the mysterious grandfather she hardly knew. The baker seemed nice enough, and he always generously gave her and Rye whatever treats they so desired. That was until the children were forced to flee and hide behind Peeta when their witch of a grandmother entered the room. Even though Peeta kept up his work at the bakery, they had never been close with this side of their family. No one had explained why, but Will suspected it had something to do with the grandmother.