Gone are the soft cherubic cheeks of childhood, replaced with angular cheekbones and sweeps of lightly freckled skin. His blond hair, which had been cropped short at their last meeting, now roams free in a tangle of unmanageable curls atop his head. The longest pieces flopping forward towards his eyes. Still Bright Blue. Hauntingly, blue. At least one thing about him has not changed.
"Earl Mellark, may I introduce to you, Miss Katniss Everdeen." Lady Trinket begins, voice dripping with misplaced pride. "The elder of my charges for the season. Her sister Miss Primrose Everdeen is currently on the floor but you will have to meet her as well. Just lovely girls, the both of them."
Thank you to the wonderful @mandrake-mistakes for creating this portrait of Peeta from my Regency!Everlark fic Enchanted to Meet You! It's no surprise he's made an impression on the lovely Miss Katniss Everdeen!
Mandrake is talented, and lovely, and has been so kind and supportive of this little story! Go check out her incredible writing, her beautiful artwork, and support her in all the ways she deserves (Psst...her commissions are currently open btw!)
I loved your regency!everlark fake fic! I saw that you said your regency one shot is totally different. Is there anything you can share about that fic?
Thank you so much! As for the one-shot, it originally came to me because I was seeing a lot of Regency stuff on my dash and then @peettamellarrk made a post about wanting a fic of Gale getting cucked by Peeta and my mind sort of ended up blending the two together. I had several ideas for this possible premise but the replies seemed to favor an absolutely cucked Gale. So this is not going to be a sweet wholesome proper Regency type of fic.
The premise is Captain Gale Hawthorne hires renowned artist Peeta Mellark to paint a portrait of his bride. And he'll come to regret that.
First few paragraphs under the cut:
Katniss Everdeen had no choice but to marry Captain Hawthorne.
Her father died of an unexpected illness and she, her mother, and her sister had been living off of her cousin Thom Everdeen’s temporary goodwill. He did not evict them when he moved into their former home, though Katniss knew the day would come that the three women would find themselves removed.
Thom’s friend, Captain Gale Hawthorne, had become rich from the war and now returned, seeking a wife for his new estate. Tall, serious, dark, and handsome, he’d been the talk of the neighborhood and every eligible woman had hoped to gain his affection. However, Thom had his ear and Katniss resided in the same house during his stay and most crucially, Admiral Darius Keeper had danced thrice with Katniss at the assembly hall one evening. Not to be outdone, Captain Hawthorne proposed the next day and she could do nothing but accept. It was a good match. Advantageous for her, even, as Captain Hawthorne had reminded her during his proposal. And at twenty-four, she was unlikely to receive another offer.
They married in June and despite her mother describing what to expect of her wedding night, it still hurt as she was introduced to her wifely duties, no matter how experienced the Captain had been in preparing her. A week following the wedding, she no longer felt pain when he went inside her, but she still dreaded the evening when her husband came into her chambers. After he was done, she rolled out from under him and hoped he left. With his needs completed, he retired to his own bed.
As a wedding present and to fill his new home, Captain Hawthorne commissioned a renowned painter, Mr. Peeta Mellark, to paint a portrait of his wife. The artist was to stay with them for two weeks while working on the painting.
Captain Hawthorne had spent such time boasting of the reputation Mr. Mellark had that when Katniss saw him for the first time, she couldn’t deny her surprise. He could be no more than thirty, with blond curls and a broad frame and such genial eyes. Katniss felt strange as her husband introduced her to the artist, wishing she could reach out her hand to him, but knowing all they could do was incline their heads to one another.
Katniss could see as soon as Peeta stepped in that getting naked was the last thing on his mind.
"Would you like me to make you some tea?" She asked softly.
Peeta shook his head and knelt down in front of her. "I was just in a private meeting with your grandfather."
Her heart leapt to her throat and she swallowed hard to tamp it down. She couldn't speak past it.
"I'm not angry." He said softly, holding her hands between his bigger ones. She felt the comfort from their warmth. "You assumed I would discover it eventually."
"I did." Katniss squeezed out.
"Do not be upset by that." Peeta kissed her knuckles. "More pressingly, he knows. And he's going to make a formal announcement legitimizing your existence. And your sister's."
So I did something very cool recently! I commissioned my lovely friend @mandrake-mistakes (who also happens to be one of my beta readers for this fic) to make me some artwork for Enchanted to Meet You! And to no one’s surprise, she fully brought me to tears with her talent! 🪻 🪻 🪻
I will not tell you when this scene takes place (you’ll have to keep reading to find out) but I simply could not wait any longer to share this with the world!
Thank you Mandrake for being just the most wonderful beta reader, artist, and friend!! If you have not checked out the rest of Mandrake’s incredible artwork get over there right now! And if you’d like to purchase some of her work, I know for a fact she has an Etsy shop open!!
Enchanted to Meet You: The Year is 1813, Miss Primrose Everdeen has just turned 18 and is about to make her formal debut into London Society. Her elder sister, the determined Miss Katniss Everdeen will do everything she can to see her sister settled. So when the handsome young Earl next door offers his friendship and connections to the cause, who is Katniss to turn him down. One can always use an ally in the Great Game of the London Marriage Mart, after all!
Chapter 6: Blue Buttons is now posted!
Their clandestine correspondence continued all week. Each morning, Katniss would retrieve a flower, write out her message, wrap it around the stem, and climb up to set it on his windowsill. And every evening he would answer her response with one of his own, always making sure to include a quick drawing of whatever flower she left him earlier.
Thank you to the brilliant @cow-in-the-sunset for beta-ing this chapter in the midst of a very stressful and chaotic few weeks for her! As well as the wonderful @mandrake-mistakes (and Cow again) for helping hone the ideas of this story. Go check out their incredible fanfics and artwork!
Enchanted to Meet You: The Year is 1813, Miss Primrose Everdeen has just turned 18 and is about to make her formal debut into London Society. Her elder sister, the determined Miss Katniss Everdeen will do everything she can to see her sister settled. So when the handsome young Earl next door offers his friendship and connections to the cause, who is Katniss to turn him down. One can always use an ally in the Great Game of the London Marriage Mart, after all!
Chapter 7: Marigolds is now posted!
"That is not what is happening!" Katniss seethes.
"Is it not?" The man says. "Then please explain it to me, Catnip!"
Catnip? Peeta knows it is rude to eavesdrop, but there is something familiar about the man's voice. Something that twists ugly in his gut. He takes a step closer to the greenhouse doors.
Thank you as always to the wonderful @cow-in-the-sunset for beta reading this chapter! You're excitement over this chapter developments took my opinion from "I like this one!" to "Oh this one is one of my favorites!" Also thank you to @mandrake-mistakes for helping to hone some of the ideas and just your continued general excitement over this story!
Enchanted to Meet You: The Year is 1813, Miss Primrose Everdeen has just turned 18 and is about to make her formal debut into London Society. Her elder sister, the determined Miss Katniss Everdeen will do everything she can to see her sister settled. So when the handsome young Earl next door offers his friendship and connections to the cause, who is Katniss to turn him down? One can always use an ally in the Great Game of the London Marriage Mart, after all!
Chapter 4: Petunias is now posted!
"So, I tell you all of this because I have…" he clears his throat. "I have asked you out here today because, well… I hoped you might be open to…or…or agree to an alliance."
"An alliance?" She whirls on him, her voice coming out just a bit louder than she intended.
A special thank you to @cow-in-the-sunset and for freaking out in a doc for me during this holiday week!
