DISCLAIMER: HG characters do not belong to me.
A/N: Wow-I'm so sorry it has taken almost 3 months for me to update thanks again for sticking with this very long story!
Chapter 136-The Capitol
That night after Katniss heated up the left-over meal Gale had prepared the night before for Sienna, Avery, and Juniper, she had pulled her two oldest daughters aside while Juniper went upstairs to get ready for bed.
"Listen, I need the two of you to take your brother and sister to your Grandmother's tomorrow. I checked with her and she will be home all day."
"But Mom Jett asked me if I wanted to go with him and his family down to the lake tomorrow. It's the annual Silver Lake spring music festival" Avery protested.
"Sorry Avery, but I need you and Sienna to do as I said."
"Mom do we have to go tomorrow? Can't we go next Sunday?" Sienna piped in. She too sounding not too thrilled with her Mother's request.
"The two of you are taking Jack and Juniper to the train station and the four of you are going to Grandma Hazelle's and that's that" Katniss says sternly. Her way of letting them know the decision was final.
"Fine!" Avery says storming off.
"What time is she expecting us?" Sienna says sighing.
"No set time, I told her you guys would get there when you get there. Just don't sleep in too late tomorrow" Katniss says giving a half smile.
"That's up to Jack, if he and Dad ever get home" Sienna says as she walks off.
Katniss looks at the clock and sees it is almost 8:30 pm. Figuring that the two of them most likely are on the train ride back to Silver Lake, Katniss takes Lady on a short walk before getting ready for bed. When she comes in the back door, she hears Jack and Juniper laughing in the kitchen.
"Hi Mom" Jack says brightly while petting Lady.
"Hey Jack, how was your day?" Katniss asks.
"Great. Me and Taran and Uncle Vick went to the Capitol today to see the new flight museum. Oh, and Dad was there too. It was really cool."
Katniss listened as her son went into detail about what all he saw there. Once he was finished she informed him that he and Juniper needed to go upstairs and go to bed for tomorrow was another busy day.
"I still have homework to finish, I was going to do that tomorrow" Jack said.
"Bring it with you tomorrow" Katniss says dismissively as she escorted the two of them upstairs.
Once they were both in their rooms Katniss heads into her and Gale's master bedroom. She sees Gale in their bathroom taking a shower. She grabs her book and sits in the lounge chair beside their bed and begins reading. A few minutes later he emerges from the bathroom and says, "Did Lady go out?"
"Yes. I heard about your day with Vick and Taran, sounds like it was a lot of fun."
"Yeah, the museum is nice, not as good as some of the other ones though" Gale says curtly as he gets into his sleep clothes.
"I was hoping you'd stay here tonight" Katniss says softly.
She sees the same pained look on his face that he has had for the last week. He avoids making eye contact with her and says, "I can't" and walks out.
She sighs deeply as she puts down her book, unable to remain focused. Instead she climbs into their bed and pulls the sheets up to her face, hoping she falls asleep soon.
The next morning Katniss rises early and when she goes downstairs she sees Gale is already in his study, the door closed. Knowing that he has already taken Lady out, Katniss fixes herself breakfast and watches the morning news. She sees nothing interesting is happening in Panem at the moment. She continues to watch TV and three hours pass before Sienna, Avery, Jack, and Juniper come downstairs, Lady trotting along behind them.
"You all look ready to go" Katniss says surprisingly.
"Yes. We helped Juniper get ready" Sienna says while getting her shoes on.
"Don't you want to eat breakfast?" Katniss asks.
"Sienna says we will take some fruit to eat on the train" Jack says while grabbing a bag.
"I still have some studying to do" Sienna says in an irritated manner while slinging her bookbag around her shoulder.
"Here-this should be enough for all of you to get to your Grandmother's and back" Katniss says handing Avery money for Sienna was rushing Jack and Juniper to get their shoes on.
"Mom-do you think maybe you should give us some more? I mean-what if Grandma wants us to get ice cream later? It wouldn't be fair to make her pay for all four of us" Avery says.
Katniss ponders her daughter's question for a moment and reaches into her wallet and pulls out some more money and hands it to Avery and says, "Fair enough, but if you have any money left over, bring it back please."
"Sure" Avery says taking the money quickly.
"Bye Mom" Juniper says giving Katniss a big hug.
"Bye honey, I hope you all have a good day, tell your Grandmother I said hello. And go in and say goodbye to your Father, he's in his study."
Katniss watched as Juniper ran down the hall and knocked on Gale's door before entering. A few moments later she comes out and the four of them leave, Lady whimpering at the front door.
"Come here girl" Katniss says motioning for the dog to come to her. After a few moments of petting the black dog Katniss takes a deep breath and knocks on Gale's door and enters.
By the time the four Hawthorne siblings reach the train station, Sienna turns to Avery and says, "Looks like the next train to downtown leaves in 10 minutes, do you want to buy our tickets, or should I?"
Avery turns to look at the large screen showing all the station's departure times and destinations then looks back at the three of them and says, "I had another idea."
"Such as?" Sienna says wearily.
"We go to the Capitol first, then to Grandma Hazelle's."
"I was just in the Capitol all day yesterday!" Jack says in an annoyed tone.
"Yeah having a boy's day with Dad and Uncle Vick, without us" Avery snapped.
"Why do you want to go to the Capitol?" Sienna says, knowing her younger sister had an ulterior motive.
"The end of the year dance is coming up. There's a dress I want to get at Celeste's." Celeste's was a small boutique only found in the Capitol that sold women's fashion dresses.
"Why don't you just ask Mom or Grandma to take you there?" Sienna asks.
"I'm not asking Mom, she hates the Capitol. And I don't really want to ask Grandma either, she'll be freaking out at the prices of the dresses and besides, it's not cool to go there with parents or grandparents."
"So how are you going to pay for this dress then?" Jack says sarcastically.
"I've been saving my money all year, plus with the money I just got for my birthday I'll have enough."
"What if Mom asks where the dress came from when you wear it to the dance?" Sienna asks.
"I'll just tell her I got it in a nearby town with friends."
"I'm surprised the cover is not that Aunt Posy got it for you" Sienna says.
"Thought about it, but Mom or Dad might say something to her."
"You really want this dress, don't you?" Sienna asks.
"I do. I even have enough money for you guys to go get something to eat on while I'm there."
"Treating us to lunch while you drag us to the Capitol to try on dresses" Jack sneers.
Avery glares at him and turns to Juniper and says, "How about it Juniper? Will you please do me this favor and not tell Mom and Dad?"
Juniper hesitantly looks at her older siblings. She didn't keep any secrets from her parents, but she also wanted to desperately please her older sister. She hardly ever spent any time with Sienna or Avery anymore and she knew once summer was over Sienna would be away at school. Today might be one of the few chances she had left to spend time with them alone.
"Sure, I won't tell" she says looking down at the floor.
Avery grins brightly and says, "Great! I'll go buy us our tickets" and quickly goes over to the ticket booth.
Five minutes later they board the train and get to their assigned box. Sienna and Jack on one side, Avery and Juniper on the other. All four of them with a large window to look out of. In the past the trip to the Capitol from Silver Lake would take 2 and a half hours, in the last five years, the rail technology in Panem has advanced even further and all new trains were built. The trip from Silver Lake to the Capitol now takes 1 hour and 20 minutes. A trip from Silver Lake to the downtown district of 2 now takes 40 minutes as opposed to an hour and a half. It made the commute for Gale a lot easier.
Once they arrived in the Capitol, they quickly leave the main train station and head to the Capitol's main shopping area.
"Do you know where this store is?" Jack asks.
"I have a general idea yes" Avery says as they quickly move through the busy streets.
"I have a bad feeling Mom and Dad are going to find out about this" Sienna says as she holds Juniper's hand as stranger's brush past them.
"Where is your sense of adventure" Avery says turning around and grinning at Sienna.
"I left it on the train" Sienna says winking at Juniper.
When they finally reach the shopping area, Avery hands Sienna money and they agree to meet outside Celeste's in an hour.
"We don't want Grandma Hazelle calling Mom and Dad wondering where we are" Sienna warns Avery.
"I know, see you in one hour and thanks" Avery says appreciatively and runs into the store.
Sienna, Jack and Avery find a nearby restaurant and the three of them order an appetizer to eat. While waiting for their food Juniper glances out the window and scans all the lights overhead on the busy street. She looks at all the interactive advertisements of all the business and activities going on the Capitol. One advertisement in particular catches her eye and she rises from her seat and moves closer to the window, ignoring her brother and sister calling out to her. Her face up against the window, she looks up and stares at the interactive ad for the Hunger Games museum and sees the hologram of Katniss shooting a holographic arrow along with the holograms of other victors.
"Mom looks so young there doesn't she?" Sienna asks coming up behind Juniper.
"She looks really skinny."
"Yeah, hard to believe that at one time her and Dad fed both of our Grandmother's, Uncle Vick, Uncle Rory and Aunt Posy."
"Who's that?" Juniper asks while Peeta's hologram appears on the screen. The next image shown of him and Katniss leaning in for a brief kiss.
"His name is Peeta Mellark. He won the Hunger Games along with Mom. They were both allowed to be co-victors because the Capitol believed they were romantically involved."
"Were they?"
"They were after the war ended."
"What happened?"
Sienna smiles at Juniper and says, "Dad."
Juniper smiles back and continues to look at the large screen when a few moments later Sienna taps her on the shoulder and says, "Jack is waving to us, our food is here."
Sienna, Jack and Juniper wait outside Celeste's for Avery. It was five minutes past their agreed meeting time.
"Alright, I'm going in there" Sienna says but before she could open the door Avery comes bolting out, a large bag in her hand.
"Sorry, had trouble deciding between two dresses I had tried on" Avery said as the four of them began walking to the train station.
"I see you found one" Sienna says motioning towards Avery's bag.
"Yep. I'll show it to you later. It's fabulous. I can't wait for Jett to see me in it."
Once they get to the train station Avery quickly buys their tickets to get to District 2's downtown station.
"Ok, we should be at Grandma Hazelle's by 2 pm" Avery says as she hands them their tickets and then begins to gently place her wrapped up dress in her bookbag. Throwing away the Celeste bag it was originally placed in.
Once they begin boarding, Sienna notices Avery frowning at something ahead and softly whispers, "What is it?"
Avery motions to a very short and thin blonde woman boarding the train ahead of them and says, "See that woman?"
Sienna nods as she observes the woman. She sees the woman casually glance back at the four of them periodically. She also notices that the woman was very nicely dressed and her was neatly styled.
"What about her?" Sienna asks.
"She was shopping at Celeste's. It's a pretty small boutique you know. So, I couldn't help but notice her staring at me while I was in there. And now she's here at the station, staring at all of us."
"Maybe she's a friend of Mom or Dad" Sienna says apprehensively.
"Doubtful. She would introduce herself if she was."
"I'm sure it's nothing" Sienna says as they head to their seats.
Avery doesn't respond and takes her seat. She remembers the look of alarm on the woman's face when she saw her. The hard stare that continued for a few moments after. She knows she looks very similar to her Father in appearance. She couldn't help but get the feeling the woman was someone from her Father's past.