Release
Eight months had passed and both lovers were still exchanging their heartfelt pleasantries in the shape and form of letters, each writing being as affectionate as their last kiss. It was the new point of contact with each other. He did not forget to write to his family who also missed him very much. Peeta was an academic and always found everything related to that topic to be easy but things were getting more tedious. The boy wasn't as fluent when it came to making friends compared to his use of his seventh sense. He always had the ideology of completely everything solely without needing and aid from anyone. Peeta had a difference in him, he'd grown a goatee, maybe a by-product of the stress or natural hormones. A year was completed shortly thereafter.
Marianne wrote letters to him which explained how much we yearned for his return, how her days were slower without him.
"Dear Peeta, I know what you are doing is in service of the world though others may not see it as important. I do and I understand you, it's why my head is entangled in your love spell. I miss you, I yearn for you and I'll continue to wait for you."
Yours, Marianne
Marianne expected a reply but to her dismay there was none. It would seem he was busy. This was the first time Peeta would not return her messages. She took it lightly and stepped into his shoes through her mind. "Maybe my love's overwhelmed by the tedium of the Armphire, he'll reply soon". She soliloquized. Peeta was not having the best of times. There were oral examinations each end of year depending on the length of the course study. He was to have two. The first in a fortnight and the other thirteen months away. Studies from all areas of philosophy deemed to be much relevant at the time for he put Marianne's letters aside as second choice without reading them. Uncle Erik would always come back home and see him engrossed in vallums and scrolls. Anything that had ink etched on it, Peeta's eyes were fixated on them.
"Dear boy do eat something" Erik exclaimed. All of Peeta's heart and soul was wrapped around those little leaflets and books that there was no time for food.
"You need not worry about me Uncle. I'll eat". Peeta responded, in a busy manner.
He would study on and on for days without rest. His only period of release was sleeping. Logic, aesthetics, politics and metaphysics were all aspects of Philosophy. A broad subject it was needing a much broader mind.
Back at home, Peeta's family carried around their normal daily activities. The children twins playing up and about, Father returning home late from his shop and his dear mother knitting on. It wasn't as mundane for Marianne despite the previous letters. She would spend her days trying to imagine Peeta's days. There was no more talk abut philosophy to her ears, no more Celtic tongue which she would always refer to him as incantations of the sort. She missed him and feeling every thing missing along with him was perpetually draining.
By now it was clearly known to everyone that Marianne and Peeta were lovers, adored by the few lot with the information. Her mother, supported her and would always try to comfort her child's weep from time to time but to no avail. Her father the merchant was alway never at home, a trait he shared with Peeta's father so he wasn't even aware of his beautiful daughter's saddened state due to his forever absence. The power of love seemed too great for her to handle.
The examinations had begun, oral they were. One can never be completely ready for exams no matter the preparations. There would always be butterflies to create abrupt and unwanted pessimism. As was the case with Peeta. Still unsure of his ability to pass it after long nights of relentless study, it was his turn. Each question had an allocated time of twenty seconds. Peeta's thoughts were seemed inconsequentially wrong. He was answering them after five seconds at average, he'd already known the answer to a specific one before the question was read out completely. Intelligence was his forté and it showed time and time again.
The results from his performances were out and very distinguishable from his peers, to put it short they were fantastic. On hearing his final score he was in ecstacy. A certain sense of relief and freedom whilst others looked on at him, some jealous of his profound achievement, others in synchronized happiness with him but none of that interested him. Now that he was free of school work, his mind adjusted back to his golden haired wonder woman.Now there was time, no constraints, there was freedom to heed his love's call and that he did.