A/N: I know this is horribly late, but my computer died last weekend, and I had this chapter and the most recent chapter of clockwork open when it died. Sadly, the two chapters deleted. My dad fixed my computer only yesterday, and I worked furiously all of today to finish it, so I apologize for any confusing statements or misspellings.

"Papa, are you alright?" Katniss asked, fanning the air in front of her to clear away the smoke. She stepped further into the cellar, where her father was working on this newest invention.

The smoke finally cleared, and there was her father, sitting on the floor, his glasses askew and a smile on his face. Katniss started chuckling, and sat next to him, cleaning the soot from his face.

There was nobody in the world Katniss adored more than her father. From a very young age, he had raised her after her mother died of a strange disease. In the days before her mother died, Katniss remembered how her mother had mysterious bruises down her spine that formed with no provocation. She remembered the large raised lump on the side of her mother's jaw. A few days after the raised lump was found, her mother had died.

Her father, Maurice Everdeen, was deeply saddened by her death, for he had loved Katniss's mother very much. Nonetheless, he doted on Katniss, and raised her on his own.

"I almost had it!" Maurice said in slight frustration. The fair was this afternoon, and he was taking his newest invention, an automatic wood chopper, to the inventor's contest. He had been working on it for days, his determination turning into frustration along the way.

"Don't worry Papa, I'm sure you'll get it by this afternoon," Katniss said, putting her book down. Her father got on his back and crawled under the contraption.

"Katniss, can you hand me the wrench?" He said, reaching an arm out. She picked up the tool from his table, and handed it to him. He tightened something and crawled back out, running a hand through his dark hair that was now streaked with gray.

"I think I've finally got it!" he said, putting a hand behind him to shield Katniss. She peered around her father, who was much larger than she was, as he pulled the lever. Suddenly, a log of wood went flying through the air, and landed on one of the machine parts. It then went through the machine, getting sliced and chopped multiple times, until, at the end, it was sized perfectly. The whole process took less than ten seconds.

Katniss and her father looked at the machine in awe. A wide smile broke out across her face as she hugged her father and jumped up and down.

"It worked Papa, It worked! You're definitely going to win the fair now!"

"I suppose it did," he said, his booming laugh spreading through the small cottage. He walked over to his work table, wincing a bit and limping as he did.

Years ago, Katniss's father had been involved in a mine accident, which left him with a broken leg which never healed properly. It gave him an uneven gait, and left him very weak, even to this day. After the accident, he found different ways of taking care of Katniss, and swore not to put himself in danger lest he leave her alone in this world.

~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.

"Bye Papa!" Katniss yelled, waving at her father, who was trotting away on their horse, Buttercup. She went back inside to clean up the cottage and read her book.

Maurice Everdeen entered the woods, excited as ever to be going to the fair. He had come so close to winning in previous years, and this year, he was sure that the tides would turn, and the grand prize would be all his.

Buttercup trotted faithfully through the woods, until they came upon a fork in the path. Maurice held his lantern up to read the sign. The words were blurred past recognition. He peered at the fork in the road, noting the differences between the path, and checked his map. One side of the fork led down a light and cheerful path, full of green trees and chirping birds. The other looked quite forlorn, with dead trees, and dark screeches that echoed through the air.

Maurice checked his map again, and started to lead Buttercup down the darker path. He was almost sure that this was shortcut. The horse whinnied in protest and tried to force the cart towards the lighter path, but Maurice was firm.

"Come on Buttercup, I know this is a shortcut!" he said, restraining the protesting horse. Buttercup finally gave in, and turned its wary eyes towards the dark path ahead. The horse gave a snort, and continued to trot.

Maurice held his map out, trying to decipher where every path led. He twisted and turned it in different directions, and let out a frustrated groan.

"Buttercup, where are you taking us? You've gotten us lost!" He said, glaring at the horse. Buttercup whinnied in protest, his dirty blonde mane shaking.

Suddenly, a wolf whistled in the distance. Buttercup reared, spooked by the noise. Maurice tried to calm him down by petting his neck, but the horse didn't listen. It backed up into a tree, its heart racing. The tree seemed to emit a terrifying screeching noise, as dozens of bats came soaring out of the hollow. The bats were the last straw for buttercup. He reared up, unknowing knocking Maurice off, and bolted back through the woods.

Maurice stood up, groaning and rubbing his hip where he fell. He picked up his oil lamp, and peered through the woods.

"Buttercup? Damn you, you blasted horse, get back here!"

Suddenly, a wild howl broke through the woods. By the light of the moon, a wolf slinked up to the edge of a nearby cliff. It turned its bright yellow eyes on Maurice, sending a bolt of fear through his heart. The man darted up to his legs, and ran as fast as he could with his bad leg. He could hear the wolves growling behind him, getting closer with every step he took. Adrenaline burned in his veins until he finally burst out of the forest.

Tall, dark, ominous gates loomed in front of him. The top of the gate was topped my gothic spikes, causing an involuntary shudder to find its way down Maurice's spine. He darted to the gate, and tried to open it. The gate fell open with ease, squeaking on its rusty metal hinges. The wolves were right behind him, snapping at his heels. He slammed the gate just in the nick of time, for the wolves had just arrived short of the entrance. One poked its muzzle through the bars of the gate and latched onto the end of Maurice's boot, causing him to fall. He desperately crawled away, loosing his hat in the process. A bolt of lightning shot across the sky as rain began to fall. The wolf holding onto his leg growled slightly, then let go, retreating with the rest of the pack.

Maurice gave a shuddering breath and got up, scrambling towards the castle. He knocked on the large door with a menacing knocker in the shape of a wolf's head.

"Hello?" he called out, "Is anybody home?"

The door creaked open slightly, and he let himself in. He looked beyond the entrance, confused as to who opened the door, for there was nobody there.

"Allo Monsieur," came a voice from Maurice's side. He whipped around, only to find himself alone.

"Finnick, are you crazy!" came another whisper from the same area.

"Oh come on Beetee, he looks cold and wet. Allow him to stay a bit, get dried up. Hello sir," the same voice called.

"Who are you? I'm not afraid of you," Maurice Everdeen stated, his eyes narrowing as he scanned the room. He picked up the lit candelabra that was sitting on a small desk beside a clock.

"Allo," said a voice, coming from the area around his hand. Maurice startled when he looked at the candelabra, and found a pair of eyes looking back at him. He dropped the source of light, which fell to the floor.

"I-I….what….h-ow?" he stuttered, backing up towards the desk. He flinched when he saw the clock jump off the table to help the candle up.

"Oh now you've gone and done it Finnick. The master will never forgive us for this!" the Clock said, grumbling slightly.

"Ah Beetee, allow the kind sir some shelter from the cold. Look, he's shivering,"

"But the master-"

"Be quiet Beetee," the candle said. He hopped over to Maurice and held out one of his candlesticks.

"Allo kind monsieur. My name is Finnigan Odair, but you may call me Finnick, and this grumpy fellow is my friend Beetee,"

"Incredible," Maurice said, picking up Beetee. He protested loudly, but to no avail. Maurice twisted around the hands on the clock face, causing Beetee to wince slightly. He opened the latch.

"No no no don't do that!" Beetee yelled as Maurice moved the pendulum from side to side. Beetee started to snort to contain his laughter. "T-t-that ti-tickles,"

"Kind sir, if you'll come with me, we can get you warmed up in front of the fire," Finnick states, waving a candlestick and hopping towards a large door on the end of the hallway. Maurice nods and follows him.

"Finnick, I think this is a very bad idea, what if the master finds out?" Beetee hisses, following them.

"Nonsense buddy, even the master wouldn't turn away an aged gentleman," he said, gesturing for Maurice to sit in a chair that was in front of the fire. Maurice limped to it. Immediately after he sat down, a coat hanger draped a blanket over his lap. He chuckled in surprise, laughing as a barking footrest wormed its way underneath his feet, wagging its tassel almost like a dog.

A whir of wheels was heard as a tea cart rolled into the open. A large teapot sat on it, chuckling slightly. She poured a bit on tea into a tiny cup, which jumped into Maurice's hands.

"Now go on you dear. You must be frightfully cold. Have some tea. It'll warm you right up," the pot said in a very kind voice.

"No no no, don't do that. I don't think that's a good idea Hazelle. Don't let him sit in the master's chair and drink tea!" Beetee said nervously.

"Oh hush up Beetee, the poor man needs to warm his bones," Hazelle Potts the teapot said, glaring at him. This shut Beetee right up.

Maurice brought the cup to his lips and took a sip, only to find it giggle slightly. He looked down to find bright blue eyes looking at him.

"Mrs. Potts, his mustache tickles!" she giggled. Another teacup with grey eyes peered over the side looking at the one Maurice held.

"Does it Prim?" it said, its eyes wide and mischevious.

"It does Rory!" she said. Rory hopped onto Maurice's lap.

"Wanna see something I can do?" he asked. Maurice nodded, his eyes crinkling in the corners with mirth. Rory held his breath, and blew bubbles in the tea that was inside him. Maurice chuckled.

"Now Rory, that's bad manners," Hazelle scolded slightly.

"But moooommmm," Rory whined. Hazelle looked at him sternly and he and Prim hopped back onto the cart.

Suddenly, a large draft blew through the room, and the roar of a voice echoed through the castle. The fire blew out, and the mood grew somber and frightened. Prim and Rory huddled behind Hazelle, tinkling slightly as they shivered out of fright. A scared expression passed over Finnick's face, his candles no longer lit. Beetee made a rattling noise as he quivered.

"Now you've gone and done it!" he hissed his eyes wide.

"WHO DARES ENTER MY CASTLE!?" the voice roared out menacingly.

Maurice turned around slowly, his heart thudding.

And found himself face to face with the most frightful man he had ever set eyes on.

And Enter Peeta Mellark.

This chapter was actually very fun to write. The dynamic between Lumiere and Cogworth (Finnick and Beetee) has always intrigued me.

I'm not going to promise update dates anymore, since I can never keep up to them and life keeps on throwing one thing or another at me.

So, did you guys like this chapter? I can't wait to write the scene between Peeta and Katniss next chapter, when Katniss decides to take her father's place. Sadly though, school starts tommorow, and though I had this week off, all good things must come to an end.

Also, for those of you who follow more than one of my stories, I have a new one in the works based off a plot bunny I couldn't get out of my head. Its called "The Immortals" and I'm going to type up the first chapter sometime within the next two weeks, whenever time permits since I already have the first chapter written down in a notebook. It features immortality, and many different supernatural and sci-fi elements, as well as characters originating from different places. Here's a sneak peek of Characters and their origins.

Peeta Mellark- French Courts - early fifteenth century

Madge Undersee - French Courts - early fifteenth century - Peeta's niece (very tragic story behind this, he has to raise her on his own)

Rue and Thresh - siblings - Ghana Empire of Africa

Primrose and Katniss Everdeen - Mughal Empire - Anglo-Indian (I wanted to make her Indian because in my mind it fit and maybe also because I'm 100% Indian)

Finnigan and Annaliese Odair - British Explorers - late fifteenth century

Foxface - Scottish Princess - inspiration off of Merida from "Brave"

Johanna Mason - Amazon Warrior

The Hawthornes - Workers and soldiers during WWII - American

Beetee and Wiress - Husband and Wife - Chinese Astrophysicists

Haymitch Abernathy- description not availiable yet

Effie Trinket - Description not availiable yet

So thats my basic character list for the story. I'm not sure who else I want to add, but I'll figure it out as I go along. Stay tuned for the story!

Thanks for all the review's guys. I'm glad that you guys have received this story so positively.

Please REVIEW and tell me what you guys think. Don't be afraid to criticize, I appreciate criticism since it allows me to improve my writing.

~Reaper