Katniss knows that Isra will always come to her, to listen to her stories and her plights. She knows she can entrust any secrets to be locked away with her, never to be told to another soul. But today, today she wants to tell Isra a story of love and duty, of the push and pull it makes. She has a feeling Isra might know of this conundrum, that constant battle between duty and love. It was a terrible thing to be caught in the middle of, especially for Katniss, someone who was bred and raised for war.
As Fable welcomes the two of them back on shore, Katniss follows her queen and takes a spot just in front of the pair. She watches for a moment, watching how Fable sits protecting his friend. It a beautiful thing and it reminds her of how she would set with Metaphor up in the mountain valley surrounded by flowers and the other sounds of spring.
But even in the beauty of this moment, she knows that she has called Isra here for a reason. It may seem silly to some, but it is important to her. She sighs softly, allowing her body to relax and release all the tension it has been holding. “My parents were never soldiers, they were beacons of peace and hope. But their king needed warriors to protect them, and so they made a mutual decision to conceive me. They did not love each other, but they knew that this was a way for them to serve their king.” Finnick, having perched himself in a tree across the lake, now flies towards them. He has watched his mistress come from her time in the lake come to rest alongside Isra and Fable. When he joins the trio, he perches in a tree just above them, his eyes resting softly on them as he listens.
Katniss pauses to smile at her bonded, to let him know that she intends on going no where until she tells the story she needs to tell. Eyes pull back to Isra and she continues. “For years I trained hard, not only physically, but emotionally as well. I was trained to love no one for war did nothing but pull lovers apart. I dedicated my life to my king. Eventually, I gave myself to my own kingdom, protecting them as a queen should. But I never allowed myself to love.” She pauses momentarily, to think about what sort of story she wanted to tell. She could tell one of darkness and doubt, or one of hope and love. It was interesting that both could be shared within the same story. “I have made many mistakes in my life, mistakes that I regret completely.” The abandonment of her daughters is the first thing that comes to mind. She will never forget the daughters she cast out. There’s not a day that goes by that she wonders if they are even still alive. Surely they did not survive without their mother.
Her chest heaves a heavy sigh, as if the weight of the world rested upon her shoulders. “…but then I met Metaphor and everything changed. He made me see things and feel things that I had never entertained before.” Her heart flutters in her chest at the thought of the sorrel stallion. The things that stallion caused her body to do was exciting and scary at the same time. She had never felt this way about anything ever before. “He brings out the best of me and pushes me to be stronger, to be better than I was before. He has taught me to love.” Love was something she had been forbidden to partake in. She had put up walls to protect herself from what she was told would only be weakness. But what she was finding was that it was her love for Metaphor that made her stronger.
Her eyes flutter closed for a moment as she reflects quietly on Metaphor, listening to how her heart beats faster, encouraging her to continue on. “But now I find myself torn between duty and love. I have a duty to protect Denocte with my everything…and yet, I cannot help but want to give Metaphor my all.” She wanted to give herself completely to him, to become his mate and live oh so happily with him for the rest of their days. “Isra, I want your blessing…” Her voice fades off for only the briefest of moments as she raises her gaze to meet hers. “…I want your blessing to be both your champion…and to follow my heart.” It may seem silly to ask her queen for permission to love, but it meant a lot to Katniss. She had been raised to think love would always be out of reach. And yet, Metaphor had shown her that it was there for the picking. But even though she knew that she had every right to love Metaphor, she wanted to know her queen would bless their union, that she would not think poorly of her champion wanting to do something for herself for once.
@Isra
