18It was about two years after the rebellion that Peeta proposed to me. He presented me with a gold ring, its bands interwoven around the pearl he had gifted me in the arena. When he said those four words in the meadow, "Will you marry me?" and showed me the ring, I blocked out everything and everyone, examining the beauty and perfection of the jewellery he had made. Peeta had to shake me to bring me back to reality. When I came to, I accepted of course, with tears in my eyes. This time it was real. It wasn't a show for the Capitol, I didn't fabricate my response. My feelings were real, our love was real.
We didn't wait very long before we married, eager to become one. It was a small celebration held in the street that ran through the victor's village. All our friends and family came. Octavia had presented me with a wedding dress, one that Cinna had designed just in case I had a real wedding in the future. It wasn't like the extravagant gowns he had designed for my Capitol wedding. It was plain and simple, with a lace band wrapped around my waist. It was me. We said our vows, signed a piece of paper, and our friends and family sung the traditional song as we entered our new home. But we didn't feel married... not until we lit our first fire, toasted some bread and shared it. I was now Katniss Everdeen Mellark, and proud.
About six months later, much to my horror, I fell pregnant. I truly never wanted children, fearing the worst for their lives. Peeta had blatantly begged me for them but I couldn't give in. Although we lived a pretty much perfect life, in the back of my mind I feared that would eventually come to an end. The pregnancy was an accident, but a perfect one. The first time I felt a flutter in my stomach, the idea of a baby growing inside me became soothing. I gave birth to a perfect baby boy named after my father, Scott. He has Peeta's blue eyes and my dark hair. He made us the happiest parents in the world when he came into our lives. I even jumped straight into the idea of having another. A year later I gave birth to a beautiful baby girl. She has grey eyes and Peeta's blonde hair, a spitting image of Prim when she was young. We named her Acacia after the flowers that now bloom in the meadow.
Scott is a born hunter. He and I venture out into the forest everyday after he comes home from school. We spend the afternoon chasing game, Scott being able to shoot squirrels through the eye by age 12. Acacia however, is quite the creative type. She assists her father in the bakery, decorating cupcakes and after hours, learning how to paint. As a toddler her gift was obvious when she was able to paint surprisingly accurate pictures. Her skill improved every year and when she was old enough to enter school, she began to win competitions with her drawings.
Prim married a boy she met in Panem College. He was also studying medicine, training to be a doctor. They took over my mother's medical practice when she passed away. Prim eventually had two twin boys, both very cheeky and both very intelligent.
Gale settled down with the girl from District 9. Their daughter is an expert at making snares and traps, just like her father.
Finick's son, Gale's daughter, Prim's two sons and my son and daughter have all grown up together in District 12. They're children of privilege, no more than other children but more than what we had. We tell them stories of our dark days, warnings for what power and corruption brings. But these are just stories to them. They don't know of struggle or pain. And I'm grateful for this. We've been able to provide for them the childhood that was taken from us. They will never starve or have to fend for themselves. They will never be ripped away from their parents. They will never have to face reapings or deadly battles. The dark days are over.
And for as long as I lived, there were no more Hunger Games.
I'm all done! Thank you to everyone who read this story and an extra special thank you to all those who left me those positive and encouraging reviews!
I know this is an old story, but I still enjoy feedback. Please tell me what you thought of the whole story, both positive and negative :)
I'm working on my next fic "I Am Number 12". It's a Hunger Games/Lorien Legacies crossover. However, you don't need to have read LL to understand the story. It gets very little traffic, so I would love for more people to check it out and possibly review :)
Summary: 12 Loric children and their guardians landed on earth 16 years ago. Too young to remember the events, the children grow up in the different districts of Panem, unaware of the truth of their origin. But what happens when Katniss starts developing special powers? And when she is reaped for the 74thHGs will she be able to survive while trying to conceal her abilities from the Capitol?