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A long time ago in the land of Panem lived the beloved King Aurik and his beautiful Queen Emma Rae. They were fair and kind, beloved by all, but they were surrounded by sadness for they longed to have a child. And the queen’s childbearing years were coming near to an end.
Desperate to provide her husband and the kingdom with an heir, the queen crept out of bed one night after she was certain her husband was fast asleep. She looked out her bedchamber window toward the bright green star that sat low on the horizon over the Rock Mountains to the west. Legend said that the cost was high, but if you were willing to pay the price, you must wish upon the star for 7 consecutive nights for the wish to come true. As the queen, she had great wealth, so she had the means to pay whatever the cost. She closed her eyes and whispered her plea.
The queen repeated her wish every night for seven nights straight.
When she finished reciting her wish on the seventh night the green star appeared to grow. It became so much brighter. It grew in size until the queen realized that the star was actually coming closer. The bright green light that she thought was a star flew up into the tallest tower in the castle.
The queen looked over to the bed where King Aurik was still fast asleep. She snuck out of her bedchamber and into the hall.
The castle was eerily quiet. She snuck through the halls, avoiding any guards. She opened a secret passage and climbed a narrow stairway. When she arrived at the top of the tower, she saw that the light was floating in the middle of the room. Warily, she approached the light, but with each step the light began to grow. The light grew so bright that she had to turn away and shield her eyes as it engulfed the room.
She stood still, squeezing her eyes closed. The only sound was the beating of her heart thumping in her chest.
She heard a slight shuffle behind her, but was afraid to turn around.
“You may open your eyes, your highness,” a deep voice crackled. When she opened her eyes, she gasped at the sight before her. The green light was gone and in its place was a tall thin man dressed in a white cloak. His weathered hands clutched a twisted walking staff that held a crystal at the top. His long white beard covered an ageless face. He appeared to be as ancient as the mountains that the star came from.
The queen swallowed her fear and held her head high, but before she could speak, the man hissed, “I am Sorcerer Snow and I know what your heart desires.”
She balked at his assumption. “How dare you to claim to know what I want,” the queen demanded.
“I heard your whispered wish night after night. Even if I hadn’t, your desperation surrounds you. You reek of longing for an heir,” the sorcerer sneered.
Her shoulders fell. “What do you want?” the queen begged. “What price do you demand for your magic? I can pay you in gold or silver, jewels or land, name your price and it is yours.”
”I will hold you to that, for I have no use for your worldly treasures,” he scoffed. He crept up on her. His beady, snake-like eyes pinned her in place, but she held her ground, not letting him see how much he unsettled her. He circled around behind her, but she turned quickly to face him, tired of being intimidated.
Before she could demand that he name his price he pounded the staff onto the floor and a blinding green light emerged from the crystal on top. She couldn’t look away from it as he leaned forward and whispered in her ear, “I will provide you with an heir, but you must acknowledge me. Tell the king and kingdom that it was I that provided the magic to grant you an heir.”
She tried to refuse, to scream, “No. It’s supposed to be a secret. The king can never know,” but the light held her motionless as it grew once again until it enveloped the room. She was finally able to look away and shield her eyes.
All was quiet once again.
She took a deep breath and opened her eyes. She looked around and saw that she was alone. Her heart was filled with dread as she ran back to her bedchamber. What had she done? When she burst through the door, the king shot up straight in bed.
“What is the matter, my love?” he asked.
“Nothing, my dear,” she said as she closed the door behind her. She climbed back into bed. “I couldn’t sleep and went for a walk. I’m sorry I woke you.”
“I know how to help you sleep,” the king said with a smirk. The queen laughed at his antics as he pulled her under him. Even though they had an arranged marriage, as most royals do, they had grown to love one another and he always knew what to say to make her feel better. She put all thought of the sorcerer and his demands out of her mind.
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Nine months later they were blessed with the birth of a son. They named him Petrus.
Overjoyed with their blessing, the king and queen held a grand celebration to introduce the new heir to the kingdom. Everyone was invited, noble and subject alike. Many traveled from across the land to pay their respects to the birth of the Prince.
Dark and rugged King Silvain and his fair Queen Altheda came from the Everdeen Forest Kingdom to the east of Panem, and brought their toddler daughter, Princess Katniss to see her betrothed. When they both come of age, their marriage will unite the two kingdoms as one. Their parents planned for them to know each other as children growing up, so they could become friends before they marry.
After greeting the proud new parents, Queen Altheda carried Katniss to the bassinet to see baby Prince Petrus. Katniss leaned down and scrunched up her nose as she looked the baby over. She looked back at her mother with a smile and squealed, “Baby!” making all those around her laugh.
As the royal family from Everdeen stepped aside, the king and queen were greeted by the three good fairies. Each had come to bestow a gift upon the newborn prince.
The first fairy, named Effie, was dressed all in pink from her hair piled high on her head, her pink gown, down to her pink ballet slippers. She floated forward. Her wings fluttered behind her as she performed a well-practiced mid-air curtsy. Effie raised her pink wand and lightly tapped it down toward the baby prince, as she proclaimed proudly, “I bestow you with an artist appreciation for beauty.” She curtsied once more before fluttering away.
The second fairy, Johanna stomped forward in her high black boots, no floating or fluttering for her. Her short black hair was spiked and tipped with red to match the gown that clung tight to her body. She did a quick, awkward curtsy to the king and queen before peering into the bassinet. She smiled, then shook her head, clearing her face of all emotion and raised her wand. “I bestow you with the gift of the diplomacy of a leader,” she said as she lowered her wand to the edge of the bassinet. Johanna nodded her head and did another quick curtsey before scurrying away after Effie.
The third fairy, the tiniest of them all, fluttered forward toward the king and queen; however, before she could bestow her gift, a howling wind blew through the great hall, pushing her to the side.
A green bolt of lightning struck down in front of the thrones and Sorcerer Snow appeared where the lightning had hit.
The crowd backed away from him, as he stormed around in a circle, sneering at all of the guests, many of whom fled from the castle in fear. The sorcerer approached the thrones and bowed deeply before looking up at the king and queen.
“To what do we owe the honor of your presence, Sorcerer Snow?” the king asked.
“Do you not know?” the sorcerer asked the king. When the king answered no, the sorcerer turned quickly to the queen who was shaking her head.
“I have come to pay tribute to the newborn prince,” the sorcerer explained. “Although my initial gift was never acknowledged and I never received an invitation, I would like to bestow a gift of my own.”
“There’s no need,” the queen pleaded. “Accept our apology for the oversight is all that we ask.”
“Oh, but I insist,” Sorcerer Snow sneered.
He stepped back and raised his staff high above his head. A green light erupted from inside the crystal at the top of the staff. Storm clouds began to swirl above his head, filling the ceiling. Thunder and lightning burst from the clouds.
The king stood up from his throne to protest, but the sorcerer thrust out his hand toward the king and a great gust of wind pushed him back down. The queen was cowering on her own throne, her hands at her temples, shaking her head and muttering “No,” over and over again.
Baby Petrus started to wail.
The sorcerer slowly approached the bassinet. The storm from the clouds surrounding him grew in intensity. He kept his staff held high as he looked down at the young prince who suddenly fell silent. The sorcerer proclaimed, “Before sunset on his eighteenth birthday the child shall prick his finger on the thorn of a snow white rose and turn into a jabberjay. He shall be my pet for the rest of his life.”
“No!” King Aurik yelled. “Guards, arrest the sorcerer.”
Before the guards could move from their stations Sorcerer Snow slammed his staff down onto the stone floor. A bolt of lightning burst from the crystal on top and he vanished. The echo from his laughter faded as the storm clouds dissipated from the room.
“This is all my fault,” the queen screamed as she ran to the secret passage and closed the wall behind her. She ran up the stairs and locked herself in the tower.
The king picked up his infant son and held him to his chest. He turned to the fairies. “Have you no magic to reverse this spell?”
Effie stepped forward and curtsied quickly. “Our fairy magic is no match for the sorcerer’s magic, your highness,” she explained. “We may each only grant the child one wish that will affect his life. Rue still has her wish to give. Perhaps she can use her gift to change Sorcerer Snow's spell.”
The three fairies gathered together, whispering among themselves. Eventually they came to an agreement, nodding their heads together. The tiniest fairy, Rue floated forward. Her gossamer wings matched her gown in a soft earthy brown. Rue curtsied midair to the king and the young prince in his arms. “I’m sorry we cannot stop the sorcerer’s spell from turning the prince into a jabberjay,” she explained with a sad smile. She raised up her wand. “Instead, I grant my wish that once Prince Petrus hears the love song of a mockingbird he shall return to his natural human form.” She tapped her wand lightly on the child’s back.
King Aurik, still fearful for his infant son’s life, ordered that every rose bush in the kingdom be burned, making it illegal to grow roses ever again, no matter what the color.
The three fairies gathered together once more to ponder what they could do to prevent Sorcerer Snow's curse from taking effect, for surely the sorcerer would make certain that it did. They decide to persuade the King to hide the prince away until after he turned eighteen.
After failing to convince the queen to leave her tower and care for her son, the king reluctantly agreed, but insisted that they not tell anyone where they took him for fear that word would get back to the sorcerer.
The three fairies disguised themselves as peasant women and took the young prince to a remote village on the far eastern side of the kingdom. They posed as his aunts and vowed to protect him from harm. They persuaded a young baker named Mellark and his wife to adopt their “nephew Peeta” and raise him as their own. Their only stipulations were that Peeta must never be allowed to talk to strangers and that he spend his Sundays with his aunts. The baker and his wife eagerly agreed.
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The years passed by, and atop Rock Mountain the atmosphere had stayed in a constant brewing storm, a sign of Sorcerer Snow's mood. His quest to find the hidden prince had not been fulfilled.
The sorcerer had sent his goons far and wide across the land to search for the prince but they never found him. The goons snuck into the Panem castle, but there was no sign of him there. They followed the king whenever he left the castle, but he never went to visit his son.
Time was running out. If the boy could not be found before sunset on his eighteenth birthday, the curse would be broken and that was unacceptable. After punishing his goons for their failure, Sorcerer Snow sent his crow Seneca to search for the prince. If the crow found the boy, the sorcerer would know right away because he could see what the crow saw in his magic crystal.
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In the remote village on the far eastern side of the kingdom, Peeta had grown into a strong, handsome young man with wavy blond hair and piercing blue eyes. It was his eighteenth birthday, so the baker sent his son to visit his aunts so he and his wife could bake a birthday cake as a surprise.
Peeta’s aunts lived in a formerly abandoned woodcutter’s cottage a little ways deeper in the woods than the baker’s cottage. He visited his aunts every Sunday. He was quite fond of his doting aunts, but he never understood why they taught him the things they did. His Aunt Effie taught him history and art. His Aunt Johanna taught him all about weapons and how to use them. His dear sweet Aunt Rue taught him about nature. While he enjoyed his lessons, he never understood why a simple baker would need the things that they taught him, but he indulged them because he knew that they meant well.
As Peeta was making his way through the woods he heard a lovely voice singing a lullaby. It put a smile on his face as it reminded him of a time many years prior when he was only five years old.
He had just left his cottage to gather some kindling when he heard it. He followed the sound to a carriage parked just out front. He peered inside where he saw a girl singing to a much younger girl that she had cradled in her arms. Peeta had been mesmerized by her voice. Even the birds fell silent just to hear the girl sing. When the song ended, Peeta was a goner, but he had run off without saying anything.
Peeta chuckled at his five year old antics, happy that that had not been the last time he saw her.
He continued to follow the sound of the singing voice. After walking just a few yards, Peeta spied a beautiful young woman dressed in hunting gear walking through the woods. Her dark hair was gathered in a braid that draped down the side of her neck. She was pulling a horse behind her. Peeta hid behind a tree so he wouldn’t startle her.
“I know you’re there, Peeta,” the girl yelled out. “You can never sneak up on me.”
“Sorry, Katniss,” Peeta replied as he came out from behind the tree with his hands held up in front of him. “I just wanted to hear you sing.”
Katniss shook her head and laughed at him as he caught up to her.
“What are you doing out here?” Peeta asked. “I usually only see you on Sundays.”
When Peeta was eleven years old he had run into Katniss again while he was on his weekly walk to visit his aunts. She had been hunting in the woods nearby and snuck away to be on her own. Peeta shared his cheesebuns with her and ever since, Peeta and Katniss wandered the woods together every Sunday while he walked to his aunts’ cottage, sharing the stories of their lives. They never saw each other on any other day, though, so he knew something was up.
Katniss took in a deep breath and let out a sigh. “Today is my last day of freedom,” Katniss explained. “Tomorrow I will be presented to the Prince of Panem. He and I are betrothed. I’m going to miss my woods.” She looked up into Peeta’s eyes. “And you,” she added shyly.
Peeta pulled her to him and wrapped his arms around her shoulders in a warm embrace. “I can’t believe I won’t ever see you again,” he whispered in her ear. He pulled back and looked down into her eyes. “Maybe you can still come to the woods and visit,” Peeta suggested.
“I don’t know, my mother never steps foot in the woods and she’s always telling me that I need to learn to be a proper lady if I’m going to be queen someday.”
“Forgive me for saying so, but the prince would be a fool to not allow you to do whatever makes you happy.”
“If only you were the prince,” Katniss lamented, and they both laughed, but it died out quickly. “Why are you out here today, Peeta?” Katniss asked as they continued on their walk side by side.
“I’m on my way to visit my aunts. Today is my eighteenth birthday, and my father wanted me out of the house so he could bake me a surprise cake. He does it every year, so it’s not really a surprise,” Peeta said with a chuckle.
Katniss turned to Peeta and said, “Happy birthday! You share a birthday with the prince. Today is his eighteenth birthday too.”
“Wow. I never knew that,” Peeta declared. He stopped when he noticed that they were just a few yards away from his aunts’ cottage. Peeta grabbed Katniss’ hand, making her turn to face him. “It was nice seeing you again, Katniss. I hope your prince is everything you deserve him to be.”
“Thank you, Peeta,” Katniss said. She stood up on her tiptoes and kissed him on the cheek.
Peeta cover his cheek with his hand and waved goodbye with his other hand as he watched Katniss climb onto her horse.
Katniss wore a shy smile as she waved goodbye. ‘If only the prince were as kind and sweet as Peeta,’ Katniss thought to herself.
Once Katniss was gone, Peeta continued on to visit his aunts, but his thoughts kept going back to Katniss. He couldn’t bear the thought of never seeing her again.
When he arrived at the cottage, he was assaulted by hugs from each of his aunts. “There’s our birthday boy,” Johanna yelled.
“That’s me,” Peeta responded with a half-hearted smile.
“Oh dear, you poor thing,” Effie fussed. “Whatever is the matter?”
“Come join us on the couch and tell us what’s wrong,” Rue suggested.
After they were all seated, Peeta told them all about his weekly walks with Katniss, and how he knew he didn’t have a chance with her because she’s a princess and he’s just a poor baker’s son, but it still hurt to find out she’s betrothed and he won’t ever see her again.
Peeta’s three aunts looked at each other, seeming to have a silent conversation before finally nodding their heads.
“Peeta, dear,” Effie began. “There’s something we need to tell you.”
“What is it, Effie?” Peeta asked. “Not more bad news, I hope.”
“Not at all,” Rue chimed in. “You’ll get to see Katniss again. I guarantee it.”
“Really, but how?” Peeta wondered.
“We’ve had to keep this secret. For your safety, of course, but since it’s your eighteenth birthday, it’s time we told you,” Effie babbled.
Johanna rolled her eyes. “Just tell him already.”
“We’re not really your aunts,” Effie continued.
“We’re fairies,” Rue added.
“What?” Peeta asked. “I don’t understand.”
“Oh, for heaven’s sake,” Johanna bellowed. “You’re the prince. You are betrothed to Katniss.”
She went on to explain that they had to hide him away to protect him without going into too many details, but that he would be presented back to court that evening, after the sunset.
Peeta let it all sink in. Once he realized what they were telling him it all made sense, the lessons they taught him, or why he wasn’t allowed to talk to strangers, or to go with his father on his deliveries to the nearby village.
That’s why he never mentioned Katniss to his aunts or parents before. He knew they would tell him he couldn’t see her if he did.
Peeta asked a few questions about his parents, the king and queen, and what would happen to his adopted family. The fairies answered every one, but they were all so involved in their conversation that none of them noticed the black crow that was peering in from an open window.
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Back at Panem Castle, the entire court was preparing for the prince to return to his rightful place on the throne. King Aurik and Queen Emma Rae were excited to see their son again.
King Silvain, Queen Altheda, and Princess Primrose from Everdeen were in attendance as well. When the prince returned, the two royal families would announce the engagement of Prince Petrus to Princess Katniss.
Just then Katniss rode up on horseback. She jumped down from her mount and rushed over to her parents.
The queen shook her head, “Young lady, you will go to the guest chamber for a bath and to be dressed in a gown. Is this how you want to be presented to your prince and his kingdom?”
“I can’t marry the prince,” Katniss rushed out.
“What is this foolishness?” the queen replied.
Katniss shook her head and turned to her father. “I met someone, Papa. He’s a baker’s son. He lives in a small village on the border of both kingdoms. If I have to marry anyone, I want to marry him.”
Her father, King Silvain frowned. “My darling, Catkin. You must remember your duty to do what was best the kingdom.”
Katniss backed away as she shook her head. She had been certain that her father would understand. With the pain of betrayal heavy on her heart, Katniss climbed back onto her horse Buttercup and rode back into the forest, ignoring her father’s calls for her to come back.
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In the meantime, Peeta and the three fairies went back to the baker’s cottage to explain everything to his parents and invite them to the castle to meet his royal family, but most especially he wanted them to meet his beloved Katniss. Peeta asked to go in alone and the three fairies agree to stay outside.
Once inside his home, however, Peeta found his parents tied up and gagged. Before he could run to their aid, two of Sorcerer Snow’s goons grabbed his arms and held him in place. The sorcerer appeared before him in a puff of smoke. He held out his staff toward Peeta and commanded that he look into the crystal. Peeta tried to resist, knocking over a chair in his struggles, but the green light engulfed his face. After a moment, Peeta stood silent, under a trance.
Sorcerer Snow stalked toward Peeta and whispered in his ear, “Wouldn’t a snow white rose show the lovely Princess Katniss how pure your love is for her?” As he spoke the words, a vase appeared in the center of the table and a white rose seemed to grow inside of it. Peeta’s eyes were blank as he nodded his head and reached his hand out toward the rose.
The three fairies heard the commotion and rushed inside with their wands drawn. They saw Peeta reaching out toward the white rose, but before they could stop him, Peeta pricked his finger on the enchanted rose. He turned his head quickly toward his aunts before he shrunk in size, engulfed in his clothes.
“Come, my pet,” the sorcerer snarled, and the jabberjay Peeta flew up out of the clothes pile to sit on his shoulder.
The sorcerer cackled wickedly. “You pathetic fools,” he said to the fairies. “My curse has been fulfilled. And don’t think your little wish will reverse it,” he said directly to Rue. “My soldiers have hunted down every mockingbird in this entire kingdom and the next. The prince shall not hear a mockingbird love song ever again.”
The fairies rushed forward to try and stop him, but the sorcerer slammed his staff into the ground and disappeared in a cloud of smoke, taking his goons and jabberjay Peeta with him.
Distraught over what had happened, the three fairies tried to come up with a plan to save Peeta as they used their magic to untie his parents and see to their injuries.
There was a loud knock at the cottage door. But before anyone could answer it Katniss burst in, out of breath. “Is Peeta here?” she asked. “I need to see him.”
“The sorcerer took him,” the baker’s wife wailed. She collapsed into her husband’s arms and cried.
Katniss looked back and forth between the fairies. “What does she mean? Why would the sorcerer take Peeta?”
The fairies explained what happened to Peeta. She was shocked to learn that Peeta and her betrothed prince were one and the same. “We have to rescue him,” Katniss demanded.
“Even if we could rescue him, we need a mockingbird to sing her love song to break the curse,” Rue reminded her. “I should have put more thought into my wish,” Rue lamented and started to cry. Effie and Johanna rushed to console her.
“Turn me into a mockingbird,” Katniss insisted. “I know their song. I will sing it for him and break the curse.”
The fairies stopped their chatter and turned to Katniss. Effie spoke up. “We don’t have that kind of magic, your highness.”
“Someone must,” Katniss demanded. “If Sorcerer Snow could turn Peeta into a jabberjay, there must be someone else who has that much magic.”
“There is someone,” Johanna started.
“Johanna, no,” Effie warned.
Johanna looked quickly to Effie, but continued, “There is someone, but do you understand what that would mean? Are you willing to risk being stuck as a mockingbird for the rest of your life?”
“I understand completely,” Katniss confirmed. “Now if you know of someone who can do it, summon them here immediately,” Katniss demanded.
The three fairies gathered together to discuss it among themselves, as they tended to do. After some bickering, they all nodded and turned back to Katniss.
“Ok, we’ll do it, but not here,” Johanna explained. “We have to go back to our cottage where we can summon her properly.”
“Ok,” Katniss agreed. She turned to the baker and his wife. “I’ll get your son back. I promise,” she said before she stormed back out the door.
Katniss rode her horse and the three fairies flew back to their cottage. Once inside, the fairies set to work. Rue handed Katniss a candle and started a fire in the fireplace. Johanna drew a circle on the floor, and Effie gathered colorful bags from a chest. When they were finished they asked Katniss to step aside. They gathered around the circle and began to chant. One by one they threw the colorful bags into the fire. When the last bag went in, the flames went out and the cabin grew dark. The sun had set sometime during their preparations.
Rue used her wand to light the candle in Katniss’ hand and joined the other fairies to light rest of the candles around the room. When there was light enough to see, it was clear that the summoning spell worked, for there in the middle of the circle was a woman. She appeared to be fifty or so with pale gray eyes and straight gray hair that fell in a uniform sheet to her shoulders. She was dressed all in black.
“Why have you summoned me here?” the woman asked.
“Alma, Great Witch of the East,” Effie greeted. “We need your help.”
“I need to you turn me into a mockingbird,” Katniss jumped in.
“There are consequences for that kind of magic, my dear,” the witch warned.
“Sorcerer Snow has my beloved captive and I intend to get him back, at any cost,” Katniss replied.
“Why didn’t you say so,” the witch cackled. “I’d take great pleasure in thwarting Snow.” The witch snapped her fingers then began pulling several flasks from her cloak. She set them on the table in front of her, one by one. She began to chant and pour drops from each flask into a single bottle. Katniss and the fairies looked on in wonder.
Eventually, she put a stopper in the bottle and snapped her fingers again. All the flasks she had pulled from her cloak disappeared.
The witch held out the bottle to Katniss, but when she tried to take it, the witch snatched it back. “Do not drink this until you get to Snow’s castle,” she warned. “If you try to fly there you will be too tired to do anything else. Once you drink it, the only cure is true love’s kiss. If you are able to rescue your beloved, he must kiss you to turn you back. If his love is not true, you will live as a mockingbird for the rest of your life.”
“I understand,” Katniss confirmed as she took the potion and pocketed it. “Thank you.”
The witch snapped her fingers once more and disappeared.
Katniss headed for the door, but the fairies stopped her. “You need to take these,” Johanna said as she pulled a sword and shield from a large chest in the corner of the room.
“I don’t need those. I have my bow and arrows,” Katniss said and she patted the strap across her chest.
“They’re not for you, your highness,” Johanna explained. “I trained Peeta to use them. Once he’s turned back to his human form he’ll need them to fight Snow.”
“Of course,” Katniss agreed.
Effie handed her a bundle of clothes. “Here’s a set of clothes for Peeta for when he changes back.” Katniss blushed at the thought of Peeta needing clothes when he turned back into his human form.
Rue handed her a bag of salves and bandages, “In case of injuries,” Rue explained.
Katniss looked at everything they had given her. She realized these fairies, these women loved Peeta as much as she did. She gathered them into a hug and whispered her thanks, before releasing them and heading out the door.
Katniss rode Buttercup as the fairies flew alongside of her.
When they reached Rock Mountain, Katniss left Buttercup and started to climb. When she reached the summit, Katniss and the fairies looked inside the castle and found Sorcerer Snow's goons celebrating. The fairies set to work casting a sleep spell over them while Katniss searched for a passage to the dungeon.
When she found the dungeon, she saw that Sorcerer Snow was visiting jabberjay Peeta, and had him in a birdcage. Snow taunted Peeta with images of Katniss riding off on horseback with another man, laughing at the very idea.
When the sorcerer left, Katniss climbed into the window. She set the weapons and other bundles on the floor and opened Peeta’s cage to free him. Peeta didn’t move from the cage, but turned his head to watch her. Katniss removed her cloak and let it drop to the floor. She looked at Peeta and said, “Peeta, I need you,” before pulling the bottle from her pocket. She quickly removed the stopper and drank the potion down.
Katniss barely felt anything as she shrunk down. Before she knew it she was engulfed in her clothing. When she freed herself, she discovered that she had feathers; she was a mockingbird. She flew up to the cage that held Peeta and sat on the perch beside him. She nudged him and then flew out of the cage and perched on the window sill.
Peeta followed her out. He stared at her, turning his head back and forth to look at her with one eye and then the other as if he couldn’t believe that she was there, and had turned herself into a bird. Katniss opened her mouth and sang. Her voice was strong and proud. She sang the mockingbird love song over and over. Peeta began to shake and he flew down to the floor of the dungeon. He began to grow, quickly changing back into his human form.
Peeta picked up Katniss and held her in his hand, “What did you do, Katniss?”
Meanwhile, the sorcerer had found that his soldiers had been put under a sleep spell and rushed back down to the dungeon. Peeta hurriedly dressed and picked up the sword and shield, and bundled up Katniss’ clothes and slung it and the other bundle over his shoulder.
Peeta climbed out the window and Katniss flew out behind him. As Peeta made his way down the mountain, Sorcerer Snow tried to strike him down with lightning bolts, but Peeta was able to deflect them with the shield.
Outraged, Sorcerer Snow raised his staff into the air, seeming to summon fire from the sky, transforming himself into a great dragon.
Peeta fought off the enormous beast, using the shield to deflect the fire that it breathed, but he couldn’t get close enough to use the sword. Katniss flew up and tormented the dragon, distracting it, giving Peeta time to plunge the sword into the dragon’s heart, killing Sorcerer Snow once and for all.
As the dragon puffed out his last breath of fire, it caught Katniss’ wing. Her feathers were singed and Katniss began to spiral down to earth, fated to die right alongside the dragon. Peeta dove and caught her just before she hit the ground, saving her life.
Peeta sat down on the ground and cradled Katniss in his hands. He looked her over and whispered to her, “I thought I’d lost you,” before placing a kiss on top of her head.
Katniss’ bird body began to shake and she quickly grew back into her human form. She stared up into Peeta’s eyes. “You love me,” she said in awe.
Peeta nodded his head and cupped her cheek. “I love you,” he agreed.
“I love you too,” Katniss replied with a smile. Peeta’s responding smile made his eyes sparkle with tears of joy. Katniss’ heart beat rapidly in her chest as she waited in anticipation. Her eyes slid closed as he leaned down and captured her lips with his.
After a moment he pulled away, but Katniss wasn’t ready to stop. She reached up; sliding her hands into his hair and pulling Peeta back down for another kiss. Neither knew it could feel like that, the warmth spreading throughout their bodies as their kisses grew hungrier. The feelings intensified with every kiss.
“Alright, lovebirds,” Johanna yelled and the two broke apart. They both had trouble making eye contact as Peeta handed Katniss her pack of clothing and got up to give her some privacy while she dressed.
After Rue used her magic to bandage up Katniss’ injured arm, the couple climbed down the mountain and mounted Buttercup to ride back to Panem.
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The sound of trumpets heralds the arrival of Katniss and Peeta as they entered Panem castle. When they dismounted from Buttercup, the fairies waved their wands and the young lovers were suddenly clean and dressed in clothes appropriate for a prince and princess.
Katniss and Peeta approached their families and shared hugs and introductions as they explained what happened. They made it clear to everyone that Peeta was the baker’s son that Katniss had met in the woods. And yes, he preferred to be called Peeta, not Petrus.
Queen Emma Rae grabbed Peeta and held him in a warm embrace as she apologized over and over again. Peeta hugged her back and told her there was no need to apologize. He knew she was tricked by Sorcerer Snow.
King Aurik sent a carriage to bring the baker and his wife to the castle so he could thank them for making his son a part of their family and to invite them to the wedding.
Two days later Katniss and Peeta were married. Their union brought much happiness to the land. The love they shared for each other brought smiles to everyone who witnessed them together. They eventually had a dark haired, blue eyed daughter, followed shortly by a blond haired, gray eyed son.
Many years later, when King Aurik passed, Peeta became king, and Katniss ruled by his side. And when her own father passed, the two kingdoms were joined as one. Katniss and Peeta were much loved by their subjects, and they all lived happily ever after.
The End