What is happening? I hate this. I can't see anything. All I can hear are footsteps, and I feel so vulnerable. This is how it feels when the games begin, during the bloodbath. Like everyone is out to get you. Like you are not safe no matter what you attempt to do. I know the inside of Peeta's bakery isn't a threat, but I am still worried. Was this planned? Or is something going wrong?
Suddenly the footsteps stop and all I can hear is my breath. In and out. Is everyone gone? I consider feeling my way over to a light switch, but before I can start moving, a light slowly turns on, and I turn around.
It's Peeta. He looks so handsome in the dim light. He's on one knee. He has a small box in his hand. And I can't believe it.
"Katniss Everdeen," he says. "You are everything to me. You are my rock. You are my light. You are my girl on fire," he laughs and he starts to tear up. "I saved your life once, and you saved mine a few times. We saved each other," he quotes what I said during the Caesar Flickerman show after the games. And I'm having a harder time holding back my tears now than I did at the reaping.
"I never want to leave your side. And I hope I'll never have to. The mere thought of losing you is too much for me to handle," he says, and now he's crying too. "The nightmares try to convince me that I have no one to love. That there is no one that I'll ever be truly happy with. Once I wake up and see you in my arms, I know that the dreams are complete lies. And Katniss," he chokes up. "I will always stay with you."
I am practically sobbing now. But I'm not sad. There's no way that I'm sad. I know everyone is watching me, but I don't care. All I care about is Peeta and looking into his teary blue eyes. This is the happiest that I've felt in years. And it's an incredible feeling.
"I know that you haven't known me that long," he continues. "But I've known you your whole life. And you've lead a pretty extraordinary life." He says. "And I want to spend the rest of my life with you. I love you," and he can barely speak anymore. "So please, please marry me, Katniss."
He opens up the box and I can't believe my eyes. It's a ring, of course, and it's the most beautiful object I've ever seen. It's gold. The same exact shade as my mockingjay pin. Small bronze cutouts line the ring creating an intricate design. What really takes my breath away is what delicately sits on top of the gold base. The pearl. The one Peeta gave to me in the arena. That I couldn't find in my drawer- was shimmering inside the red padded box. Peeta got my pearl made into a ring! And whoever did the job did a beautiful one.
I'm not surprised that he didn't get me a diamond ring. Like I said before, diamonds mean nothing to me. They're overrated. Everyone dreams about gorgeous gems and sparkling jewels, but I'm not like everyone else. If there is one thing I learned from being the mockingjay, it's that if you put enough pressure on coal, it will turn to diamonds.
He puts the ring on my finger and I remember that Peeta is still waiting on my answer. As if he doesn't know what I'm going to say. I absentmindedly blurt out, "okay." I say this a couple of times to make sure he hears me. Of course he can.
He stands up and kisses me, taking my hands and swaying them. Like he does every time I'm afraid. It always calms me down. Unfortunately, our arms sway a little too much and we fall to the floor. We laugh. It's just like after the games. When Peeta was still learning how to use his new leg. And we fell and kissed in the snow. This time around, though, Peeta Mellark isn't mad at me. This time around, the boy with the bread loves me. And I love him.
"Yes, Peeta. I'll marry you," I say again to clarify. Just in case he didn't realize yet. He smiles at the amount of times I say yes. He loves it. He loves me.
We kiss once more, and I feel the hunger again. The hunger I felt in the cave. The hunger I felt on the beach. And I never want it to stop.
I get up and offer him my hand. He gladly takes it. When we're both fully upright, he takes me into his arms. It's the best feeling in the world.
I get jolted back to reality when I hear Flynn adorably scream, "yay!" Everyone laughs, especially Annie. Everyone except my mother, who has a tear running down her face. It must be so weird to see your child growing up. Promising their complete love and devotion to someone else. My mother should be happy, though. She knows Peeta, and she knows he's an amazing person. Maybe they're tears of joy. I don't know. And then I realize. Her husband died, an it was the worst thing that could ever happen to her. She stopped taking care of her children for years. She doesn't want me to go through that experience. Though I do fear this happening, Peeta's not going anywhere. I remind myself that he survived two Hunger Games. There are no more dangers. No more worries. I smile at her, letting her know its okay. That I'm okay.
"May I introduce to you: Mr. Mellark and his fiancé Ms. Everdeen," Haymitch slurs, giving me a hard pat on the back. I've been through a lot worse, but this still hurts. I give him a look but he ignores it. I turn back to Peeta. He's the only one that I care about right now. He's smiling at Haymitch and his eyes are lit up. He must really love the idea of me being his fiancé.
And then I notice Johanna. Walking towards us. For the first time in my life, I see her smile. And its not the strange, twisted smile that Peeta and I are used to. She's actually happy for us.
"Congratulations," she says, hugging me, forcing me to break away from Peeta. I'm not extremely happy about this, but I stay positive. Johanna is not the cold-blooded creature that she used to be. She's changed since the last time I've seen her. And I hug her back.
"So this is why you came to District 12," I whisper in her ear.
"Yeah. It's not all about you, Katniss," she smirks, gently letting me go. I walk back into the warm grasp of Peeta, and notice Madge's smile practically ripping free from her face. She's not one to get very exited, but I know she's going through some tough times with her father being ill. This must be the happiest thing that's happened to her in a while.
A strange feeling overwhelms me, and I hear a faint but familiar laughing sound. It's Prim.
"Where did that come from," I ask Peeta. When I say this, he tenses up.
"Hear what?" he says. He's worried. I can feel his grip tighten.
"Nothing," I say quietly. But I know I heard Prim. I know she's here. In spirit, anyway. This is the first time that I've felt her standing right beside me. Heard her youthful voice. When my father died, I always felt him with me. I still do. I guess Prim has more productive things to do in heaven than stick by me all the time. Friends to make. Children to save. But she's here now. And that's all that matters.
"I love you," I hear someone whisper. Is it Prim? No. It's Peeta. The love of my life. The man that I will marry. I look at my ring, smile, and press my lips against his.
~•~
"Goodbye," I say, clinging to Annie, watching the train roll in.
"We'll be back, Katniss. For the wedding." She says, and I let go. I kneel down to Flynn.
"Tell Buttercup I say hello," I smile. He nods, obviously understanding, and waddles back to his mom, hiding in her long dress. I'm glad they kept the cat's name. Prim would have wanted them to.
"I'll see you soon," Annie says, taking my hand and giving it a squeeze. I turn to Johanna.
"Will I be seeing you soon, too?" I ask, raising an eyebrow.
"We'll see," she smirks, winking. I hug her goodbye and watch her and Annie board the train arm in arm. And then I turn to my mother.
"Goodbye," is all we say to each other. Will she come to the wedding? I don't know. But I don't ask. That's up to her. I'll be fine either way, I guess. She boards the train, and doesn't look back. I have a strong feeling that she won't show up. She won't want to see her daughter committed to anything, let alone a husband. At least I saw her today.
The train takes off, with most of my loved ones on it. It's sad, seeing them all leave. But I know I have Peeta. And I know most of them will come back for my wedding. I cozy up into Peeta's arms, and immediately feel warmth.
"Thank you," I say, looking into his bright blue eyes, "For everything."
"Thank you," he responds. "For agreeing to marry me." I look back at the train, now smaller than my hand.
"It wasn't a very hard decision," I say. And its the truth. It was easier than when I volunteered for Prim at the reaping, and that was practically second nature to me.
We say our goodbyes to Madge, Haymitch, Mayor Undersee, and everyone else from District 12. It was nice seeing them all together again. Even though it was only for a little while. I have a feeling I'll be spending a lot more time with all of them.
When we get back to the house, Peeta tells me that there's another surprise waiting for me.
"A present," he says, leading me to the dining room. He's already surprised me enough today! What more could he have up his sleeve?
On the table lies a medium sized box. It's white with shimmering gold ribbon. It reminds me exactly of my ring. He must have known that I would see this after he proposed.
I carefully open the gift, not wanting to rip anything. Underneath the paper is another paining. I know it's one of his works because at first glance, the beautiful colors put me in a trance. I open the present further and I know what the picture's of. Our wedding. And it's the most gorgeous wedding I've ever seen. It's in the forest- in a clearing. The trees tower over us. I'm walking down the aisle in an astonishing dress, towards Peeta. I recognize everyone in the seats. Everyone that I love. Some are not even with us today. In the front row is my mother, father, Prim, and Rue. Behind them sits Johanna, Annie, Flynn, Finnick, and Mags. Others are scattered around, but everyone is looking towards me.
"Peeta!" I say, gasping. "It's so beautiful!"
"I painted it the day your sister died." He says, taking my hand. "There was just so much sadness at the time and I wanted to be reminded of something happy, so I thought of you. And me. Together."
"Peeta, I-" he cuts me off.
"I told myself that I wouldn't give this to you until we were planning on getting married. And now we are. So here it is. Happy birthday."
With all this excitement, I totally forgot that today was my birthday. I'm 20 years old now. It's been 3 years since Peeta painted this- and he saved it. Over all this time. For me. Am I worth that much to him?
"Thank you," I say, giving his hand a squeeze. And I feel like I've been saying those words way more than I'm used to.
"Any time," he says smiling. "Come on, let's get some rest. In the morning, we've got a wedding to plan!"
I hope you enjoyed! Be sure to vote, comment, and follow me! Thank you!
-Melanie 🦁