This was written for the March 2014 PiP challenge. My first time submitting among the best of the best and it was so much fun. I would like to dedicate this story to my lovely daughter (with long flowing hair) who requested that I write something that I would let her read. I gave it a T for kidnapping and because some people had to die. (it's based on THG of course, people had to die). I love reviews and alerts, and will answer all messages. You can also find me on tumblr ~ flip-fantasia.

These characters are the property of Suzanne Collins and the story idea came from the Brothers Grimm. I own nothing of these magical worlds. Special thanks to my super helpful editor ~ ghtlovesthg ~ I updating June2014 with her spelling and grammar corrections, she has been a great encouragement for me. She has some wonderful FF stories too, please go check them out. Thank you so much for reading.

Katniss, Katniss

There was once a poor hunter who was forced to work long days as a coal miner. Surrounded by stone and darkness day after day he was sure that the mine would soon become his tomb. To keep his sanity he would often sing of the meadows, grass, trees and sky that he longed for. It was said that his voice was so beautiful that even the birds would stop to hear him sing.

One Sunday, the man used his only day off to make a rare trip to town to procure a remedy from the apothecary for his cough that seemed to grow worse each day he spent under ground. Traveling among the merchants in town made this poor man from the Seam anxious, so he began to sing as he walked to calm his nerves. He lost himself in the words of the song and therefore didn't notice how the people in town turned to gaze at him in wonder. He stepped into the shop with the last verses on his lips, 'here your dreams are sweet and tomorrow brings them true, here is the place where I love you.' As he looked up he found that he was gazing into the robin's egg blue eyes of the apothecary's daughter.

She had the most beautiful face that he had ever seen and the young woman was so charmed by the man's voice that she instantly fell madly in love with him. When the woman announced that she was breaking off her engagement to the sweet baker's son to marry a poor coal miner her parents disowned her. After that the whole town turned their backs on the couple. They decide to run away together and leave the evils of District 12 behind. They were sure they could make a happy life in the forest beyond the fence.

The young couple found an old concrete house that had been abandoned long ago. It was small, but sturdy with a lovely lake nearby full of fish. The forest provided well for them for the man was a skilled hunter. The wife soon had a fine garden for vegetables and fruit trees. Together they made the little house into a cozy home. There was only one thing missing.

At length the man and his wife had wished for a child, they feared that God may never answer their prayers. After many years, finally, the woman's belly began to swell and they were filled with joy at the thought of their baby.

When the summer was at its hottest the woman's cravings began. The white katniss flowers began to bloom along the edge of the lake and she could think about nothing else. Boiled katniss, roasted katniss, katniss bread, katniss soup. She begged her husband to dredge it up from the muddy shore where the ducklings played. Everyday for months he brought her katniss roots until he claimed, 'my love we have eaten it all, there is no more katniss to be found in our lake'.

After a week without the precious root that she yearned for the woman began to look ashen and sickly. She became depressed and told her husband, 'if I do not have more katniss I will surely die.'

Her husband was alarmed and thought: 'I cannot let my wife die; I will find her more katniss no matter how far I must travel.'

So the very next morning he kissed his wife and after grabbing his game bag, quiver and bow he set off at dawn. His quest would take him further into the forest than he had ever been before. Just as twilight was setting in he came upon a stone wall at least 10 feet high. The wall made him curious since he had walked for many miles and not seen a single sign of human life all day.

He clambered up the stone wall and found that he was looking down at a stunning garden full of many fruit trees, vegetables, and lovely flowers. The rock wall continued around in a perfect oval. It was so filled with plants of every size and color that the man was sure this was a magical place. A little stone cottage was built into one wall and there in the very center of the mystical garden was a pond full of golden fish with katniss flowers blooming all around the edges.

The man became so excited he nearly fell down the other side of the wall trying to get to the prized plant he had searched for since the first light of day. He trudged through the mud and quickly grabbed handfuls of the Sagittaria, flower, stock, root and all. The white flowers seemed to glow by the light of the moon and again the man wondered if the whole garden had been bewitched. But he did not think on it long for no matter how the garden came to be the katniss root that grew here would save his dear wife.

By the time he was done, the man was completely soaked and there were many of the arrow shaped leaves sticking out of his bag. With all his splashing he didn't hear the creaking cottage door open, but as he finally turned to step out of the pond he was met with the icy stare of the enchantress.

"How dare you?" The woman exclaimed. "You descend into my garden and steal my precious katniss like a common thief! You will suffer for this!" The woman spoke with the authority of a woman that had lived many years, but appeared to be no older than he was.

The man was terribly afraid when he spoke, "Oh please, take mercy upon me. The katniss is for my wife, her cravings are driving her mad and I fear she will die if she does not get more."

The enchantress began to let go of her anger at this and told the man, "If this is true, take with you as much katniss as you like, but I have one condition: you must give me the babe that your wife carries. I will treat it well and care for it like a mother."

Frightened as he was by this woman, he agreed to everything.

At the child's first cries, the enchantress appeared immediately, gave the child the name Katniss, and took her away. The enchantress appeared to have aged many years in only a month, but when she took the baby in her arms and began to sing her wrinkles faded as her hair turned inky black.

Mother Coin cared for the baby just as she had promised; she called the girl 'her precious flower' for the magical katniss roots that her mother had eaten from the enchanted garden had given Katniss healing powers. At first Coin would sing to the girl while she held her, but soon Katniss was able to perform the magic on her own, as she wrapped her hair around the hands of the only mother she had ever known.

Bravely, Coin moved them back to town to give them a normal life, but on the first day of school the baker's youngest son fell and scraped his knees on the playground. When Mother Coin came to pick the girl up she saw Katniss binding the little boy's knees as she sang. When Katniss had finished Coin watched the boy share his cheese bun with her stolen daughter. Full of rage and terror that someone would learn of her secret and try to take it from her they left that very day.

They moved deep into the woods, so far that Coin was sure no one would find them. Katniss became a skilled hunter just as her father had been, providing the pair with plenty of meat for their table. Coin traveled to and from the district selling and trading her bewitched potions.

Each day Katniss grew more beautiful. The magic she possessed made her hair grow much faster than normal, but Coin forbid her to cut it. Cutting the sagitarria flowers had killed its magic and she was sure that the same was true for Katniss' miraculous hair. So she learned to care for it and braided it everyday to keep it out of her way.

When Katniss turned twelve Mother Coin again began to fear that her secret would be discovered as Katniss' hunting trips took her further and further from home. Mother Coin had taught Katniss that people were evil and cruel in an attempt to scare her into staying close to home. But Katniss held in her mind the sweet smile and baby blue eye's of the only friend she had ever had, even if only for a day, and could not fear a world with him in it.

So the witch built a tall tower with no stairs or doors. It had only a single room at the top that became Katniss' prison. When the enchantress wanted to come up she would stand below the window and say:

"Katniss, Katniss, let down your hair."

Singing and healing her mother so often had turned Katniss' hair the color of shining gold. When she heard her mother's call she would dutifully unbraid her long tresses and wind part of her hair around a hook so that she could pull her up the tower wall.

Katniss knew not where her mother went when she left her, but every few days she would call to her without fail. Possibly the saddest part was that she actually looked forward to seeing her captor who had forsaken her out of jealousy. Each time the enchantress returned looking old and worn, but when she left she was young again, healed by Katniss' magical hair.

The girl busied herself with reading stories happier than her own, watching the animals that ran free in the woods, and singing. Whenever she sang the cheerful mockingjays would repeat her tune. Singing was the only thing that made her feel less alone.

This went on for years and may still be going on to this day had it not been for the baker's youngest son. He had been sent out far from home by his evil mother in search of rare ingredients to use at the bakery. Peeta did not understand why his mother hated him so, only that if he failed she would surely beat him harshly. As he walked through the woods he heard the same sweet magical voice that had healed him as a child. Her hair had healed his knees that day and her sweet voice had bewitched his heart.

Peeta was so charmed by her voice that he stopped to listen to her sing and noticed that all the birds had stopped to listen too. As she finished her tune, the mockingjays began repeating it back in chorus. The boy was so charmed that he became determined to get to her. Peeta stood at the bottom of the tower, but was puzzled that there were no stairs to be found.

The baker's son had dreamed of finding the kind girl that he met on the first day of school and could barely believe that finally he had. Katniss had shown him kindness like no other ever had. She saw him, when even his own mother would have looked through him like glass. The memory of that day gave him hope. He had to reach her.

Everyone knew of Mother Coin, but very few remembered that she ever had a daughter. Coin was a powerful witch and some even said she could fly. Her curses could ruin your life, so the young man wisely waited to see how he could reach his love.

As the sun was at it's highest he heard a different voice call out:

"Katniss, Katniss, let down your hair."

Then he saw Katniss' golden locks come tumbling down, and watched the girl pull the enchantress up.

"If that is the ladder to reach my true love, then I will take a chance," he declared. Peeta watched as Katniss let her mother back to the ground not long after she had gone up. At twilight he called out to his sweetheart:

"Katniss, Katniss, let down your hair."

The voice sounded strange, but she was very high and the wind could often play tricks. Again she let down her hair pleased to see her mother again so soon. As she reeled her visitor in she daydreamed of what might happen if someone were to rescue her like the princesses in her story books. She could barely believe her eyes when Peeta stepped in her window. At first she was frightened to finally have a man standing in front of her, and then she saw his eyes.

The baker's youngest son was rather handsome and had such a way with words that as he spoke her heart melted. Peeta told Katniss how he had loved only her since their first day of school and that he had always dreamed of gazing upon her face again. She confessed that there was a special place in her own heart for him too, her boy with the bread. When Peeta asked her to be his wife she knew that her life with this sweet man would be so much better then her life in the tower. She said yes and laid her hand in his.

At dawn they both began to work on a plan to get down from the tower forever. "What if we cut your hair and weave it into a rope so that we could rappel down the wall?" Peeta asked.

"I have only kept my hair so long for my mother, but she has never loved me like you do, Peeta. I will cut it and we can start a new life together."

So the boy used his knife to cut 70 feet off her beautiful golden hair so that now it only reached the middle of her back. As he cut each strand, her hair turned the warm color of melted chocolate. She braided what was left of her hair out of habit and tucked it over her shoulder. Then she went to work braiding her severed locks into a strong rope.

When she had finish the rope was a good length. The new couple rappelled down the wall easily. When they reached the bottom Katniss fell to the ground and ran her hands over the fresh grass again and again. Then she wrapped her husband in a hug thanking him for saving her from the tower. "I never would have had the courage to leave without you, I needed you more than you know," she confessed.

"Let us leave this place and never speak of it again," Peeta said, but no sooner had the word come out of his mouth, then they saw Mother Coin coming towards them. The look on her face was pure contempt. Quickly Peeta leaned down and whispered into Katniss' ear, "I love you. Always. Remember who the real enemy is. Now kick me as hard as you can and climb that tree."

Katniss looked at him bewildered, but only for a moment. Then she scratched her finger nails across his face and kicked her husband as hard as she could in the stomach. Peeta fell to the ground hard as he watched her scale the tree as quickly as a squirrel.

"My precious flower what has happened? I thought I had spared you from the wickedness of this world, what has this despicable boy done to you?" Coin called up to Katniss.

"Mother he has cut my hair," she cried truthfully, but her tears were not for the loss of her golden hair.

Peeta stood off a distance, and taunted the witch mercilessly, "you would fetch your dearest, but your bird no longer sits singing in her nest. The girl is lost to you. King Snow seeks a lovely bride for Prince Cato and will pay me dearly for this Mockingjay." Peeta fibbed. He hoped that Katniss could hear his heart through the lies.

"You devilish boy! You have no idea who you are playing with. I'll scratch your eyes out," Coin threatened. She moved for him, but her age was showing. Without Katniss' magic she was too weak to fight this boy and had no hope of reaching the girl. "Dear daughter," she begged, "climb down to me and we will teach this boy a lesson."

"I'm afraid," Katniss called simply.

"The two of you are no match for me," Peeta goaded. "I caught her easily, but now she has flown into that tree. I guess I will just have to wait her out. You are welcome to keep me company if you like."

"Stupid boy, I will bide my time. Killing you will be well worth the wait," the old woman said as she settled herself on the ground.

Soon she was asleep, but Katniss stayed in her tree, afraid that she would wake and capture her again if she came to close. Peeta had settled a distance away, but they couldn't speak, for if the witch discovered their lies she would surely find a way to kill them both. Though fabrications rolled off his tongue as easily as the truth, Katniss trusted more in this boy that she had spent little more than a day with than cruel Mother Coin. She felt that she would be trapped forever, until she heard the buzzing.

Luck was on her side. The tracker jacker nest, full of the powerfully venomous insects, would give her a way out; a distraction and a chance to run. She hoped that Peeta was far enough away to be safe, but there was no time to warn him. Quickly she cut it free and watched it drop next to her sleeping mother.

At once the scene exploded. Coin was overcome and only had time to scream for a moment before the bugs overwhelmed her and she was no more. Katniss clamored down and jumped to the ground away from the nest. She had been stung only twice, but the magic in her blood healed her quickly. When she reached Peeta he was barely able to stand from the stings he had received. She supported his weight as long as she could before they collapsed onto the bank of a stream.

Katniss was filled with fear as she watched the stings swell to the size and color of radishes. "Oh Peeta no, please don't leave me," she wailed and her tears ran onto his face, seeping into his skin. She began to sing to her beloved trying anything to being him back to her. "Forget your woes and let your troubles lay, and when again it's morning, they'll wash away."

With a great gasp his eyes flew open and blue looked upon gray once more. "You died, your heart stopped," she exclaimed.

"Well it is working now, you have saved me my love and I will never leave you again." And he sealed his promise with a wet kiss.