Gadge October Prompt: Anniversary

It's the middle of the night, and Gale doesn't know how, but he awakens with this intensive feeling that he needs to see Madge. That she's waiting for him.

He dresses quickly, pulling on what he's sure boots from two different pairs, and a shirt that is buttoned improperly. He's not entirely sure where she'll be, but it's like his mind isn't functioning anymore and his heart has wholly taken over him. He goes where it leads.

There are guards stationed in increments throughout the castle, but they're trained to be discreet, so Gale ignores them and, after a nod of reassurance from him, ignore him as well.

The moon is full and bright, the late summer sky clear, and the light from the moon and the stars flood in through the castle's large windows, illuminating his way as clearly as the sun.

It's in one of these side hallways, smaller but no less luminous, that he hears someone coming towards him as well. He stops, tense and alert, until the person steps out of the shadows.

"Madge," he breathes, coming towards her, his hands instinctively spread out and towards her.

She smiles at him, and wordlessly they come together, his arms winding around her waist, hers around his shoulders. She burrows her face into the junction between his neck and shoulder.

They don't ask how the other knew to come here, to this secluded spot. It's just one of those things that they accept and relish.

"We don't have much time," Madge murmurs to him.

His arms tighten around her. "You're leaving then?"

"Early tomorrow," Madge says. "I'm assuming your father knows, but I was told just before bed."

Their kings were shut up together for the good majority of the day- no advisors or ministers, just them. No one knows what they spoke of, although the royal children could hazard a guess.

"Was it awful when your uncle found out?" Gale pulls back to look at her.

Madge bites her lip and nods. "Terrible," she says. "The look on his face, Gale... if I thought Peeta's reaction was heartbreaking. You see," she explains, "my uncle and my mother were very close- like you are with your siblings. There was no rivalry between them, no deception. If my mother was truly to be queen, I know my uncle would have been loyal to her and would have helped her in any way possible. He loved her. And to know that his own wife was responsible for her murder..."

"Did he say much?" Gale can't help but ask.

Madge shakes her head. "No," she says sadly, "he did not. He asked a few questions to ensure the authenticity of the documents, and how we got them, but otherwise was silent. Grave. He thanked Peeta and I for our service to our kingdom and then said he would prosecute his wife to the fullest letter of the law. But he looked so tired, and when we asked if we could help any more, he refused."

"You two have been subjected to more than I am ashamed to admit," Janek said, looking at them through haunted eyes. "I cannot ask you to do any more."

"Have you a chance to speak with your father?" Madge asks.

Gale sighs. "No," he says, "which is a true pity because I know exactly what will get him to approve of my suit for you."

"Have you?" Madge brightens. "That is good news." She bites her lip. "Unfortunately, our plans may have to wait."

"I thought as much," Gale says with a sad quirk of his lips. "Especially since you are leaving tomorrow."

"I don't know when we'll see each other again," Madge whispers, worried. "I do not fear that my uncle will force me into marriage with Cato- on the contrary, he may very well break economic ties with them just as I suspected. But he may not be eager for you to wed me."

"We will find a way," Gale promises. "We've come too far for anything else. I will work on my father here and wait anxiously for you."

Madge smiles at him. "That is what I wanted to hear," she admits. "Now don't you fall into an arranged marriage yourself, you know!"

Gale throws his head back and laughs. "No, I will do as you do and give wise counsel to all those who need it," he teases, rubbing his nose against hers. "I will think only of my kind and brave princess."

"And I my good-hearted, loyal prince," she says. "Oh, I shall miss you."

"And I you," Gale says, bringing his head down to hers.

They kiss softly, lips sliding leisurely against the other's, but then the reality of the situation begins to creep in and there's a desperation, an urgency there as Madge angles her head a bit more and Gale's mouth opens, and soon Gale is against the stone wall in the shadows, as they press into each other, trying to merge into one, never to be separated.

"We must stop," Madge gasps, tearing her lips away from his. "Gale."

"As you wish," Gale says, looking more dazed and disheveled than Madge has ever recalled. She sees his messy hair and wild eyes and thinks she couldn't possibly love him more than she does now.

"I will see you again," she promises before she slips away.

"I'm holding you to your word, Princess," Gale calls softly. "I love you."

"And I you."

000

Janek has told Peeta and Madge in so many words that the reason for their abrupt departure is so he can quickly and properly prosecute Clarissa in their own kingdom, but he, of course, does not tell Clarissa this.

It's difficult to be in the same room as Clarissa, but Madge perseveres, although she feels sick at the queen's ignorance of her own precarious situation. She doesn't question her husband's early and unexpected removal from Seamlyn; rather, she's delighted, telling any of her maids and ladies-in-waiting that she can't wait to leave this "wretched" place.

"Besides," she says, "the sooner we go home the sooner I can start helping Madge plan her wedding."

Unbeknownst to Clarissa, Janek has already written Kronos, dissolving the marriage contract and threatening him with cutting economical ties with his kingdom due to Kronos's part in the murder of his sister and brother-in-law. Madge wonders how it is that Clarissa hasn't noticed the missing marriage contract or her implicating letter from Kronos, but she's suspected her uncle has taken care of that as well.

Gale and Madge see each other one last time, with their families, a formal good-bye. It's all Gale can do to stop himself from grabbing Madge's hand and running, far, far away from their families and expectations where they can be together without any artifice or manipulations or strategy. Instead, he bows politely, his eyes burning into hers, and she curtseys, murmuring her thanks for his hospitality, and he helps her into the carriage, his thumb brushing over her knuckles. He watches the carriage leave until he can't see it anymore.

The rest of his family goes inside, but his father stays with him.

"I'm sure you're already aware of this," Asher says, "but she will be free soon. Her uncle has declared the marriage contract illegal and has promised economical sanctions against Kronos and Cato."

Gale stiffens. "There has been speculation," he acknowledges, "but I wasn't privy to the particulars."

Asher sighs. "Gale," he says, "I know you love her, but-"

"She would be the perfect queen for us," Gale interrupts. "Not just the perfect wife for me, but the perfect queen. I have thought about this in both terms, Father."

"I'm sure you have," Asher says placatingly, "but Gale-"

"No," Gale says defiantly. "There is nothing you can say that will lessen my feelings. Princess Margaret is who should be my wife and I'll tell you why."

Instead of being angry, Asher merely raises an eyebrow. "Very well, then," he says, crossing his arms, "persuade me."

000

It becomes clear the moment that they arrive back at Merchantra that Janek has done much more than either Madge or Peeta would have dreamed. They felt uneasy, knowing that Janek didn't feel the need to include him on his plans for Clarissa, but, he was their king and Clarissa his wife; they trusted he would do what was right, as he had said he would.

To everyone's surprise, the palace guards greet them at the carriage. While this is not particularly unusual, it seems eerie without the entire court and palace staff coming to greet them as well. Madge stiffens; it's evident that Janek accomplished a great deal before leaving Seamlyn.

"What is the meaning of this?" Clarissa demands, pulling the window coverings aside to glare at the guards. "Where are my ladies?"

"Your ladies," Janek says coolly, "are currently being interrogated by members of the guard."

"How dare you?" Clarissa hisses, "on what grounds?"

"Treason," Janek levels her with an icy stare, causing his wife to shrink back a bit. Katniss, Peeta, and Madge are frozen where they sit.

"Treason!" Gasps his wife, pressing her hand to her heart. "What have they done, Janek?"

"It is not what they have done, madam," Janek says sternly, opening the door to reveal the palace guards, "but what you have done. They are being interrogated to determine how much of your devious plots they were aware of."

"Me," is all Clarissa get rasp before Janek continues,

"I, King Janek of Merchantra, hereby find Queen Clarissa of Merchantra, guilty for treasonous acts against the crown, including falsifying official documents by forging the king's signature, collaborating with foreign powers to conspire and plot murder against the Crown, and an accessory to murder against the Crown."

At each pronouncement Clarissa grows more and more pale, until she shakes like a leaf in autumn. She pats her coat frantically.

"The marriage contract and letter in your possession are copies," Janek tells her. "I had Seamlyn's cartographer produce them for me."

"You mean that filth Seamlyn knows of these- these lies!" Clarissa shrieks, uncaring of Katniss's glares.

"They aren't lies, Clarissa," Janek says, wearily, "I have the real copies. It's useless to deny it."

"Janek," she whimpers pathetically, finally coming to realize her predicament. "I-"

Janek shakes his head. "Guards," he says, "please take the Queen and place her in the dungeons. She will remain there until I set an execution date."

At this pronouncement, not just Clarissa, but Madge, Peeta, and Katniss, gasp. "Execution?" Clarissa says shrilly. "Janek, can't we-?"

Janek doesn't look at her, waving his hands at the guards, who have to forcibly restrain and bodily carry the writhing, raving, disgraced Queen to her new chambers.

Janek sighs at the shocked faces. "It's the only way," he says, shoulders slumped as though he can no longer bear to carry the weight. "I thought about this long and hard, and this is the only way. If I left her alive, I have no doubt in my mind that she would do anything she could to seek revenge in some capacity. I thought about banishing her, delivering her to Kronos's kingdom myself and leaving her there, saying that no, they could not have my niece, but they can have my wife, and do with her what they wished. But that would leave her with too much power, too much potential, even then. I do not want her presence in my castle, in my kingdom, at all, even if it's to root in a jail cell." Janek smiles grimly. "She is a cunning woman, my wife, and she has caused too much misery as it is. She has committed high treason, and this is the price she must pay. If it were anyone else, the sentence would automatically be death. What sort of king would I be if I demanded less just because she is my wife?"

"I agree," Peeta says, although he is trembling a bit. Katniss holds his hand, and Madge bumps her shoulder with his. "This is the best way. The only way."

"The hardest way," Janek says.

000

Clarissa's execution takes place the next week, just long enough for Janek to explain all to his grim-faced advisors, who agree wholeheartedly that the Queen must be put to death, extreme as it is.

Peeta bakes, all day, every day leading up to it, and Madge and Katniss let him, taking his baskets full of rolls and loaves of bread and cakes and cookies and elaborate pastries and walking down silently to the village together, handing it out to the poor and the elderly and the children.

"Have you written to Gale at all?" Katniss asks quietly on the day before Clarissa's hanging.

"No," sighs Madge, swinging the now empty basket wildly from her arms. "I have not. I just don't- I don't know what to say."

Katniss nods. "I have," she says, "and I told him that this was a trying time for you and Peeta and he shouldn't anticipate any correspondence from either of you. He will not think ill of you, I'm sure, but I thought it best to be said."

Madge smiles gratefully at her. "Thank you, Cousin," she says. "I appreciate it."

"It is my pleasure," Katniss says, "if I can repay you even this little bit in the face of the kindness you've shown to me this past year."

Madge waves away Katniss's words, but smiles. "It's difficult to imagine that it's only been a year since you and Peeta married," Madge says. "I feel as though it has been much longer, somehow."

"As have I," Katniss says. "It hasn't been an easy year, but a wonderful one, nonetheless." She colors suddenly. "Not counting present circumstances, of course," she mutters.

"This is for the better," Madge announces, "no matter how horrific the idea of death is. Clarissa has been nothing but a plague upon this country and we will all be better off for it."

"You shall be a ruthless leader, Madge," Katniss teases, but inwardly she agrees. Clarissa's death is a terrible, but necessary action.

Neither of them will ever forget the look on Clarissa's face before, during, and after her execution. Janek spares Clarissa no mercy, not even permitting her to speak to him as she wanted. He doesn't limit the viewing of her execution to family members only, opening it up to the public and courtiers, shaming her one last time.

To their credit, the observers are silent, although Madge is sure that some would jeer her if they thought it appropriate; instead, hundreds of pairs of cold, smug eyes stare upon the fallen Queen as she is led to executioner's block.

Janek does not permit her to have any last words, a gag stuffed into her mouth as she looks upon them all hatefully, her face dirty and scratched, her hands bound, still in her traveling clothes from the week before, filthy and torn.

Her eyes stay on Madge's as the rope is tightened around her neck, and Madge shudders, Peeta putting his arm around her even though he shakes as well.

It doesn't take long for her neck to break, and she flails grotesquely. Even Katniss flinches.

Janek waves his hand. He looks gray and haggard. "That is all," he says. "You have been dismissed. This execution is over."

Madge doesn't know what they will do with Clarissa's body and doesn't care. It's finally over.

The entire royal family- what's left of them- sleeps for two days straight, old ghosts finally put to rest.

000

Her uncle requests a meeting with Madge a few days later. She is in the middle of her first letter to Gale since coming home. He's sent her one, merely telling her he loved her and he would come to her if she needed him, political and societal niceties be damned (this earned a smile from her.) Madge can tell that he's anxious- not impatient, per se, but worried for her. Wanting to be with her and comfort her. She knows he feels helpless and frustrated, but she doesn't know how to ease his worry.

"Come in," Janek says when Madge knocks and she enters his study, smiling at the untidiness of his desk. Peeta is the same way, much to Katniss's annoyance. "Thank you for coming to see me, my dear."

"Of course, Uncle," Madge smiles at him, noticing his color looks good and that he's been eating, at least a little. "What did you wish to discuss?"

"You, more than any of us, have suffered due to Clarissa's treachery," Janek says, shaking his head when she tries to protest, "it is very likely, although we may never know, that you could have been the heir to this throne and not Peeta."

Madge shakes her head vehemently. "Don't say such things," she pleads, "they only make things worse."

Janek sighs. "Very well, then," he acquiesces, "nevertheless, you have been wronged, Madge, and I think that, if I cannot give you the throne, then I can at least give you your freedom."

Madge blinks at him, not comprehending. "I don't-" she stutters, "I don't understand, sir."

"Your aunt wanted to take away your freedom to choose," Janek explains, "the autonomy that your parents wanted you to have- the autonomy that I promised to them I would let you have, at least to a certain extent. A marriage that was advantageous to the Crown was always preferable, but we would never force you into marrying someone as deplorable as Cato. If you felt that you could not be happy with this person, or at the very least content, then we would not have forced you into such a union. What I am telling you now is that there are no stipulations any longer. If you want to marry the village butcher or," he gives her a sly look, "a Crown Prince of a neighboring kingdom, you are free to do whatever you wish and I shall support you."

Madge flushes at his implications. "You- you knew?" She whispers.

Janek smiles gently at her. "It is very obvious to anyone who cares to look that you and Crown Prince Gale care for each other," he says. "I know that King Asher might have some political reservations, but I have none. Perhaps at one time I would have wished for your marriage into another kingdom- Thresh's perhaps, or even King Finnick's of the sea kingdom. But if it is Gale who you wish to be your husband, then I will do nothing but congratulate and support you, my dear."

Madge's eyes prick with tears in love, disbelief, and joy. "Uncle," she breathes, "I can't believe it."

"You are very dear to me, Margaret," the king says, tears in his eyes as well. "I couldn't bear it if you were trapped in such an unhappy life. And I pray, with all my heart, that you can now live the life you deserve."

"Thanks to you, Uncle," Madge says, "I will."

"No," Janek shakes his head. "You, Margaret, saved yourself."

000

The next morning Madge rises early, eager to greet the sun, to start her new life as a free woman, free to live and love who she chooses and how she chooses.

In the morning light it's difficult to tell- Madge brings her hand up to shade her eyes- but she can swear she sees a figure on horseback riding towards her.

The pounding of the horse's hooves are no figment of her imagination, and she waves the guards off, going to meet the figure herself. It's as though her heart knows something her mind doesn't. She knows who it is before she sees him.

The rider swings off the horse impatiently, coming eagerly to her. "Madge?" He asks.

He comes and takes the hands of the still figure, who slides them out of his grasp and to frame his face. "Gale?" She says, her eyes full of wonder. "What- what are you doing here?"

"Katniss wrote to me," he tells her, "she said you needed me."

Madge laughs. "Crafty girl," she says. "Of course I needed you, but she did not mention such a letter to me at all!"

"Then I hope this is a pleasant surprise," Gale smiles, winding his arms about her waist.

"The very best," Madge beams. She hugs him tightly, and he returns the embrace with fervor as well.

"How are you?" He asks, pulling back. His lovely grey eyes search hers intently. "How is everyone?"

Madge takes a shaky breath. "Recovering," she says. "Janek and Peeta are taking things very hard, of course, but Katniss is doing very well at comforting Peeta, and both she and I make sure that the men are eating and sleeping. It's been a draining week, but there's also something... lighter, about the two of them. I firmly believe things will get better and ultimately be better. I feel horrid, sometimes, being grateful for Clarissa's death, but..."

"What she did to you," Gale says gently, "and to your family, is nothing short of monstrous. You should not feel guilty for being grateful that your family is safe now."

She smiles at him. "Yes," she says. "You are right. I feel as though we can all move on now."

Gale's smile turns teasing. "All of us?" He asks questioningly.

Madge's eyes gleam. "I've almost forgotten!" She laughs, for perhaps the first time in ages. Since at least she found out about her aunt's treachery. "Listen, my uncle has told me something extraordinary. I have been freed, Gale- he is letting me choose whomever I marry. And he knows that I choose you."

Gale is shocked. "I don't understand."

"My uncle feels terrible for my near marriage to Cato," she explains, "and especially for the fact that- in all likelihood it is I who should be on the throne and not Peeta. I will never admit to my uncle or cousin this, but I am fairly confident that my grandfather would've picked my mother to be the next ruler and thus..." She trails off, thinking of what-ifs again.

Gale squeezes her hands, brings her back to the present. "While of course I can't be glad for the deaths of your parents," he says, "what I am grateful for is that if you were Crown Princess we could never have married."

He's right. The merging of countries through marriage is very rare- they are only united forcibly through war. Madge and Gale would surely have never been together unless one of them abdicated.

"Things happen for a reason," Madge says softly.

"Aye," Gale kisses her softly. "They do." He's silent for a moment. "Wait, Madge. How did your uncle know we were in love?"

"He said it was obvious to anyone who 'cared to look'," Madge rolls her eyes.

Gale laughs. "We are not subtle creatures, are we? For my father suspected long ago as well."

"Have you spoken with him yet?" Madge asks anxiously.

"I have," Gale says solemnly, taking her hands in his again. "And he has given his blessing."

"Has he?" She can scarcely believe it. "How did you get him to agree?"

Gale fidgets here uncomfortably. "There have been... issues in Seamlyn," he says slowly, "regarding Peeta and Katniss's marriage. They believe that the relationship between our nations are still unequal. Before your visit, people saw Katniss as a hostage-bride in a hostile land. Now that they've seen Peeta's love for her and his character, they more readily believe Merchantra's good intentions, but are still not yet convinced that peace will last. I told my father that with our marriage, it would be an equalizer in the eyes of the people."

Madge frowns. "While I cannot say I like being viewed as a 'hostage-bride' as Katniss is," she says slowly, "I can understand why the people of Seamlyn are nervous. And, to be frank, I could care less about the justifications of our marriage as long as we are married. Your father approved, then?"

"Yes," Gale smiles, "that and once I told him of all the suggestions you've made through our letters that we've implemented he was so impressed that he said I was perhaps the luckiest man in the world, to be marrying you."

Madge laughs. "Your father is a wise man," she says, "and also right."

Gale rolls his eyes but agrees. "That he is, my love," he says, kissing her on the forehead, the nose, her lips. "That he is."

They watch the sun fully rise together.

000

A little over two years after Katniss and Peeta's marriage, another wedding between Seamlyn and Merchantra takes place.

The gossips and members of high society declare that this is the event of the year, if not the century, and sigh and coo over the obvious love between the bride, Princess Margaret of Merchantra, and the groom, Crown Prince Gale of Seamlyn.

They dance together as many times as they possibly can, only separated by well-meaning relatives and social niceties. If the groom stumbles in his steps every time his bridge turns her loving, sapphire-eyed gaze on his, well, who can begrudge him for being so enchanted with her The two lovers manage to find a secluded corner to get in a little practice before the wedding night, and things nearly become very heated before Katniss and Peeta themselves intervene and the wedding celebrations can continue without guests feeling slighted at the early disappearances of their hosts.

"Am I going to have to come visit you both- unexpectedly- to make sure you are behaving?" Peeta says, mock sternly.

Gale shudders. "Anything but that," he grins.

Nevertheless, Madge and Gale sneak off early anyway, eager to being their new lives together. "I'm so glad I get to spend the rest of my life with you," she murmurs to him as he carries her to their new shared chambers, her hands playing with the hair at the nape of his neck.

He huffs a laugh in her ear and smiles down at her adoringly. "As am I," he agrees, "with as few interruptions from our cousins as possible."

Her laughter echoes down the hall.

The End
(And yes. They all live happily ever after.)

Notes: After at least, what, nine or ten months? This story is finally, finally complete! It was so much fun to write and I thank everyone who has stuck it out with me (as per usual) until the end. You guys are the greatest!