#thatb sneak peek

[thesweetnessofspring]

This year, I've been working on an Everlark fanfiction project called The Huntress and the Beast. This is an in-Panem AU where Prim was never reaped and Peeta became the sole victor of the 74th Games, earning the nickname "the Beast." Ostracized by society after a horrifying incident at the end of the war solidified his nickname, Peeta retreats to live on the mountainside alone. Years later, Katniss takes a position to live with Peeta and eat dinner with him each night for one year, partly to make up for the bread that saved her family and partly to escape Gale's marriage proposal. Each chapter is one month of this year, as Everlark grow together and build a home.

Or, an Everlark "Beauty and the Beast" retelling.

Leading up to the release of the first chapter, I'm going to be posting a snippet each Wednesday, one for each month of the year. Today is the first, from Chapter One: The New Year which will be out January 1, 2025.

Read the snippet below:

New trees line the walkway, still held up by stakes and twine. I can’t make out what they’re going to be when they get older with only the skinny trunks and branches balancing lines of snow. Up the pathway lies the cabin. It’s a far cry from the luxury of the Victors Village even just from the outside. There’s a porch facing west toward District 12 and a blue door the color of a starling egg against the pine boards. It’s covered in fresh snow, though as we climb higher I can see tracks leading away from it. Tracks that must belong to my new employer. At the porch, we unstrap the snowshoes and then knock on the blue door. No one answers and I think about the tracks leading away from the cabin. Peeta had no way to know we’d be showing up today. “Thom?” a man’s voice says behind us. I startle but compose myself before turning around and facing the Beast. While Peeta had never been anything remarkable in terms of his height when we were in school together, he clearly grew since then. He must be nearly a foot taller than me now and still strong and stocky. His hair has grown down to his shoulders, waves framing what has changed the most—his face. Where other men had beards and five o’clock shadows, Peeta has pink and red scars, twisting like branches of a tree across his neck, jaw, and cheeks. I try not to stare at the scars and meet his blue eyes instead. “I found you a dinner companion,” Thom says proudly. “Do you know Katniss Everdeen?” “Not well,” Peeta says and a deep feeling of shame floods me. I don’t know why. Maybe because I should have thanked him for the bread long ago, before his Games. That we should know each other better, but the fact we don’t is my fault. 

Look out for The Huntress and the Beast on January 1, 2025.

[thesweetnessofspring]

In my upcoming project The Huntress and the Beast, Prim was never reaped and Peeta became the sole victor of the 74th Games, earning the nickname "the Beast." Ostracized by society after a horrifying incident at the end of the war solidified his nickname, Peeta retreats to live on the mountainside alone. Years later, Katniss takes a position to live with Peeta and eat dinner with him each night for one year, partly to make up for the bread that saved her family and partly to escape Gale's marriage proposal. Each chapter is one month of this year, as Everlark grow together and build a home.

Or, an Everlark "Beauty and the Beast" retelling.

Leading up to the release of the first chapter, I'm going to be posting a snippet each Wednesday, one for each month of the year. Today's snippet is from Chapter Five: May. The first chapter will be released on January 1, 2025. See other released snippets here.

Read the snippet below:

"Peeta," I say softly. I'm right in front of him now, looking down at him as he sits at his easel. It might have been a physical journey to my family, but there was a difficulty for Peeta in having them here. Being host to us, a family, and seeing us together when he didn't have that anymore. Spending all day cleaning and cooking so I could spend time with them. I find myself leaning forward and hugging him around the neck. The angle makes it so that I end up falling on top of him, and his arms hold me up and close to him. I wonder how long it's been since he's had this kind of human contact and squeeze him tighter. He's so strong, so solid, I wonder if it feels like anything to him at all. Then, in his arms, a horrible thought comes to me. "When's your birthday?" I ask, pulling away and sliding onto his lap instead. May was less than halfway through the year, but it was too close to the halfway mark for me to be confident. "March," he says. I groan. "I had no idea! I didn't even think—" "It's fine, Katniss. It was a good birthday," he assures me.

The Huntress and the Beast will have its first chapter up on January 1, 2025

[thesweetnessofspring]

In my upcoming project The Huntress and the Beast, Prim was never reaped and Peeta became the sole victor of the 74th Games, earning the nickname "the Beast." Ostracized by society after a horrifying incident at the end of the war solidified his nickname, Peeta retreats to live on the mountainside alone. Years later, Katniss takes a position to live with Peeta and eat dinner with him each night for one year, partly to make up for the bread that saved her family and partly to escape Gale's marriage proposal. Each chapter is one month of this year, as Everlark grow together and build a home.

Or, an Everlark "Beauty and the Beast" retelling.

Leading up to the release of the first chapter, I'm going to be posting a snippet each Wednesday, one for each month of the year. Today's snippet is from Chapter Four: April. The first chapter will be released on January 1, 2025. See other released snippets here.

Read the snippet below:

“Did you have another nightmare?” he asks. “Or am I still too loud?” I crack a smile. “Nightmare this time.” “This time?” he asks. “It’s a wonder you’re still here, I must keep you up all night.” “The food’s too good,” I say, elbowing his side. “Keep that up and you might not get me to leave.” “Dangerous knowledge to give me,” he says. “What’s been your favorite so far?” “That’s asking too much. You’ll have to figure it out.” He gives me a sideways look, squinting one eye. “It’s the cheese buns, isn’t it?” I elbow him harder this time, gasping and laughing in disbelief. I don’t know whether to be pleased or mortified that he knows this about me. I like to think people can’t read me or really know me, not unless I’ve decided they’re important to me. Only what else did Peeta have to pay attention to out here? “I inhale half the pan each time you make them,” I say defensively. “It wasn’t that hard of a guess.” “You’re not half so mysterious as you seem.” “What could you know about that?” I say. “I have all kinds of mysteries you don’t know about.” “You pretend not to like Belle, but I see you feed her entrails from your hunts,” he says. “You said you’re bad at conversation, but I’ve enjoyed every one with you so far. You explain your decisions as if they’re made purely on practicalities, but ultimately, you think about how they’ll affect your mother and sister. Which means you make your decisions with love first and practicality second.” Once again, there’s a confusing bubbling of emotions hearing Peeta talk like this. Underneath alarm about his motivation to pay so much attention to me is a happiness that his opinion is so positive. It reminds me of the conversations that Capitol commentators had during Peeta’s Games. He was able to win over the boy from District 11 when he saw the affection the giant boy had for the little girl from his district. They’d made an alliance to protect the two girls first above themselves. Marigold, the District 12 girl, died first. Then Thresh died protecting Rue and Peeta from Cato. After the Games, it had been marked as a strength of Peeta’s: to observe his opponents and persuade them to his side. Only, Peeta had tried to keep his promise to get Rue safely home, despite the analysis that he’d manipulated others to his advantage. 

The Huntress and the Beast will have its first chapter up on January 1, 2025

[thesweetnessofspring]

In my upcoming project The Huntress and the Beast, Prim was never reaped and Peeta became the sole victor of the 74th Games, earning the nickname "the Beast." Ostracized by society after a horrifying incident at the end of the war solidified his nickname, Peeta retreats to live on the mountainside alone. Years later, Katniss takes a position to live with Peeta and eat dinner with him each night for one year, partly to make up for the bread that saved her family and partly to escape Gale's marriage proposal. Each chapter is one month of this year, as Everlark grow together and build a home.

Or, an Everlark "Beauty and the Beast" retelling.

Leading up to the release of the first chapter, I'm going to be posting a snippet each Wednesday, one for each month of the year. Today's snippet is from the Chapter Three: March. The first chapter will be released on January 1, 2025. See other released snippets here.

Read the snippet below:

“You think that currant bush will take here?” I ask Peeta that night at dinner. “Long as it's watered and cared for, I don’t see why not.” “Well, it’s a wild currant bush. It was happy where it was and growing just fine. What if we killed it by moving it?” I ask. “We could’ve just gone down there and picked the berries once they were ripe, or taken some and grown them from seeds.” I’m only here for a year, so if Peeta can’t reach his dream of near-independence from getting his goods at the district, losing a currant bush won’t hurt my bottom line. I wouldn’t trek all the way out here for those berries anyway. But Peeta’s being risky for himself. “Who knows?” Peeta asks. “Maybe it’ll like being in my garden.” Over the next few days, we fill in the other holes with two raspberry bushes I find. I don’t say anything more to Peeta about uprooting and moving the raspberry bushes or question this decision he’s made to risk losing three good berry bushes. Still, I watch each day when I leave for my hunt as Peeta waters these three shrubs and takes time to examine each one of them, his big fingers gentle against the bright green baby leaves.

The Huntress and the Beast comes out January 1, 2025

[thesweetnessofspring]

In my upcoming project The Huntress and the Beast, Prim was never reaped and Peeta became the sole victor of the 74th Games, earning the nickname "the Beast." Ostracized by society after a horrifying incident at the end of the war solidified his nickname, Peeta retreats to live on the mountainside alone. Years later, Katniss takes a position to live with Peeta and eat dinner with him each night for one year, partly to make up for the bread that saved her family and partly to escape Gale's marriage proposal. Each chapter is one month of this year, as Everlark grow together and build a home.

Or, an Everlark "Beauty and the Beast" retelling.

Leading up to the release of the first chapter, I'm going to be posting a snippet each Wednesday, one for each month of the year. Today's snippet is from the Chapter Two: January/February. The first chapter will be released on January 1, 2025. See other released snippets here.

Read the snippet below:

While he sleeps, I explore around a little more inside. It starts innocently enough by trying to get a better lay of the kitchen and turns into perusing a bookshelf. Cookbooks and baking, books on house repairs, huge glossy pages of artwork. Then a plain black one with a soft leather cover that holds no title. Curious, I open the book and see four dead people staring back at me. Peeta’s parents, his brothers, and Peeta when he was about five or so. I turn the pages and see a few more of his family. His parents’ wedding picture, a trio of blond babies, and every few years all five posed and staring back at me like ghosts. His oldest brother’s wedding photo. The first person to join the album that isn’t a Mellark is the late Haymitch Abernathy. In the picture, Haymitch embraces Peeta after he’d won the Games. The first person who is still alive, as far as I know, is the escort, Effie. She holds her arms around a polished-up Peeta, smiling with all of her teeth. A photo of the now-dead stylists for District 12 posed together, looking solemn and knowing. Pictures from what looks to be a Capitol party with bright colors and piles and piles of food, but I know all of these faces as other Victors and most are dead. Finnick Odair, part of the squad that violently killed innocent civilians and burned to death himself. Cashmere and Gloss, a pair of siblings from One, killed by the rebels under suspicion of spying for the Capitol. In one shocking photo, Johanna Mason flashes her breasts at the camera while Peeta’s head tilts back in laughter. My cheeks burn and I wonder why Johanna Mason isn’t here to keep Peeta company if that’s the type of relationship they have. She did survive the war. About half of the album is blank and none of it includes pictures during or after the war. Not a single picture of Peeta as he is now: long-haired and with ribboned pink and red scars where his beard should be. I doubt any happy images of him as he looks now exist. After the war, coverage of him had always had him looking in constant distress and disbelief and only Haymitch Abernathy had stood by him then. Anyone else who might have was dead.

The Huntress and the Beast comes out January 1, 2025

[thesweetnessofspring]

In my upcoming project The Huntress and the Beast, Prim was never reaped and Peeta became the sole victor of the 74th Games, earning the nickname "the Beast." Ostracized by society after a horrifying incident at the end of the war solidified his nickname, Peeta retreats to live on the mountainside alone. Years later, Katniss takes a position to live with Peeta and eat dinner with him each night for one year, partly to make up for the bread that saved her family and partly to escape Gale's marriage proposal. Each chapter is one month of this year, as Everlark grow together and build a home.

Or, an Everlark "Beauty and the Beast" retelling.

Leading up to the release of the first chapter, I'm going to be posting a snippet each Wednesday, one for each month of the year. Today's snippet is from Chapter Six: June. The first chapter will be released on January 1, 2025. See other released snippets here.

Read the snippet below:

In the middle of June, I work with Peeta in the garden, looking for weeds to uproot when I end up in the back corner where two trees grow. The trees didn't have any fruit, but they did hold up some wild grapes that had been here before. Beside their trunks, a thick bush grew. I hadn't any idea why Peeta kept it, only that he'd shrugged off my question about it before, saying it wasn't doing harm and it had been there before us. But today, as summer had made its full debut, a color far back in the bush catches my eye. I crouch and reach my hand back and pluck off a dark berry, as dark as... Nightlock. It burns my hand in a panic, and I can't make sense of why Peeta has this in his garden. I look through the bush for other berries, but the only proof I have is in my hand. A fully mature nightlock bush that only has one cluster of berries doesn't make any sense, especially one whose leaves are thriving. Only one thing to do with this then. I pocket the berries and walk through the garden, past Peeta digging up radishes and out toward the woodshed. The ax hangs up over the stack of wood Peeta's started to chop up for winter. I grab it tightly and start my march back toward the plant that has no place where we grow our food or keep the chickens.

The Huntress and the Beast will have its first chapter posted January 1, 2025.

[thesweetnessofspring]

In my upcoming project The Huntress and the Beast, Prim was never reaped and Peeta became the sole victor of the 74th Games, earning the nickname "the Beast." Ostracized by society after a horrifying incident at the end of the war solidified his nickname, Peeta retreats to live on the mountainside alone. Years later, Katniss takes a position to live with Peeta and eat dinner with him each night for one year, partly to make up for the bread that saved her family and partly to escape Gale's marriage proposal. Each chapter is one month of this year, as Everlark grow together and build a home.

Or, an Everlark "Beauty and the Beast" retelling.

Leading up to the release of the first chapter, I'm going to be posting a snippet each Wednesday, one for each month of the year. Today's snippet is from Chapter Seven: July. The first chapter will be released on January 1, 2025. See other released snippets here.

Read the snippet below:

Effie stops mid-sentence when she notices me come in and jumps from her seat, exclaiming, "Katniss! How wonderful you've made it back! I've given Peeta a haircut and he thinks I cut it a little short, but you like it, don't you?" Then she's behind Peeta and pushing him away from the stove and toward me. I lean back in surprise for a moment, but seeing Peeta's apologetic expression and remembering the earlier conversation, I decide to have a little of my own fun. I reach out and run my hand through Peeta's hair, which is stiff and crunchy from that mousse she'd been talking about using. "It's not as soft to run your hand through," I say. "Once he washes it, he'll look very nice." Effie's eyes grow wide and she smiles, while Peeta gives me a bewildered look. I smirk at him. I must have solved any future insistence Effie would have about putting gunk in his hair that he doesn't want. In fact, as I move to finish setting the table, I hear Effie hiss to him, "I'm taking back the mousse."

The Huntress and the Beast will have its first chapter come out on January 1, 2025.

[thesweetnessofspring]

Trick or treat?

I saw you liked my sneak peek into The Huntress and the Beast, so here's a fun-sized one:

A buckling isn't as useful as a doeling, as they'll never produce milk, although with the way Peeta handles the kid and shows it to its mother and cooes over it, you'd never think Peeta knew. As the kid gets cleaned up, even I have to admit the baby is cute. Still dark from the amniotic fluid and so small, just a bit bigger than a cat and a little black snout. Susie licks her kid all over with quick movements of her tongue. The buckling bleats and looks up to her with its brown eyes filled with such trust and assurance that my heart cracks.