Hunger Games 1. Chapter 1

**A/N:** I do not own The Hunger Games or any of its characters.

Chapter One

"Katniss, what are you doing?" my sister, Primrose, begs as I stuff essentials into the smallest pack I have. It's the third time in as many minutes that she's asked but I have to make sure that I have everything that she and my mother need before my best friend, Gale, arrives in five minutes to get them to a safe place. Our home, the house I've lived in since I was born, where all of my happiest memories are, isn't safe anymore. Not now that I am an enemy of the state.

Once I'm satisfied that I've packed everything my mother and sister might need, I take Prim's hands into mine. "You and mom have to go. It's not safe anymore. Gale will be here soon to get you both out of here." She tries to interrupt but I hush her. There's too much to say and not enough time to say it in. "Prim, listen to me. I love you and I wish we could stay here but we can't right now. I promised you a long time ago that I was going to protect you and that's what I'm doing. Someday I'll be able to find you again but right now, you have to go." I can see tears brimming in her clear blue eyes and I have to choke back my own feelings. I push them far down into my heart and lock them away, sliding my emotionless mask into place.

A single sharp rap on the door puts me on guard. I stand quickly, pushing Prim behind me, and my fingers close around the handle of the knife hidden in my coat. One little knife wouldn't do much against several castle guards, but I wouldn't go down without a fight. It wouldn't be them anyway. The King's soldiers would have stormed through the door immediately and taken me into custody, not knocked. I open the door a crack and am met with a grim looking Gale. "Ready," he says simply. He's been dreading this day for a while now. At least we have a plan in place for this situation. We came up with it when we first started having less than loyal feelings towards the King. Whichever one of us became the "enemy" would take the other's family underground and get them to safety. My time came before his though, so he's giving up everything to keep my family safe. If they get caught, they'll be tortured for information about me, whether they know it or not. If Gale is caught, he'll likely be put to death.

Prim whimpers behind me while I hand Gale the pack I had put together. "Keep them safe," I tell him. He nods gravely. My mother exits the other room clutching her wedding photo, the only tie she has left to my father. He died when I was just eleven years old, leaving me to take care of my mom and little Prim. I don't know if I can ever forgive him for that. If he was still alive, I wouldn't be in this situation now, being separated from everyone I love. I don't take the photo from her though. She's going to need all the strength she can get in the weeks to come and if she gets it from that photograph then so be it. Anything to keep her from falling into the same depression she had after his death that left myself and Prim almost starving to death.

My mom draws me into a quick hug and slips through the gap between Gale and the door. We all know that if she opens her mouth, uncontrollable tears will start to fall. She's always been a crier, a trait that she passed along to Prim but not myself, which I am thankful for at times like this. I watch her disappear to where Gale has a wagon waiting, then turn back to Prim.

"Can't you come with us?" she trembles.

I sigh. I should have prepared her better for this day. "You know I can't, little duck," I whisper to her. "You have to go now. Gale will keep you safe and bring you food. I'll be back with you before you know it," I promise. Before I can stop her, she throws her arms around me and squeezes tightly. I can feel the lump forming in my throat growing larger with very second yet I can't bring myself to push her away. Despite what I've told her, I know we won't see each other anytime soon, if ever again.

Thankfully Gale pulls her off me before I can change my mind and go with them into hiding. We both know they're safer without me. "You'd better get going, Catnip," he warns. "I'd bet you have less than five minutes before the guards show up." I wish he was wrong but he probably isn't and it's not a chance I can take. The only reason I had this much of a head start in the first place is because we live on the far outskirts of District Twelve, furthest away from the castle out of everyone in town.

He hauls Prim to the wagon where my mother holds her close, both weeping. I toss the rest of my own things into the small bag I can throw on my back and prepare to make my own exit, but Gale stops me and pulls me into his arms. I relish the feeling, knowing it will probably be the last bit of comfort I get for a long time. He surprises me by lifting my chin with two fingers. "You're going to be fine. They're going to be fine," he assures me. His grey eyes look back into my own for only a moment before his lips capture mine and my eyes go wide. We've never kissed before, not ever. I've never even considered it in the past. We've only ever been companions in survival and now this? I hardly have time to register how surprisingly soft he feels against me before he pulls back and whispers, "I had to do that. Just once." And then he's gone.

It's the sound of the wagon pulling away from my door that snaps me back to reality. Time is running out and I'm wasting it.

I grab my pack and haul the straps over my shoulders, securing it tightly. Everything in here is truly essential to my survival and I cannot afford to lose any of it. There's no turning back as I run out our back door to where Prim's horse, Buttercup, is waiting. The only moment of weakness I allow myself is the solitary tear that runs down my cheek as I strike a match and toss it into the pile of kindling I had gathered at the door. Our wooden house won't have any trouble at all burning to the ground and that's what I'm counting on. Even the slightest diversion from my trail and my family's trail will benefit us.

I pull myself up onto Buttercup and swing my leg over his back, not hesitating to dig my heels into his sides to spur him into action, not that he needs it. I'm barely on him before he takes off. He's spooked by the flames. I should have accounted for that in my preparations but it's far too late now. At least he trusts me now. Or at least doesn't hate me anymore. When he was a colt, he was injured badly enough that I didn't think he would make it. I think he knew I'd been looking into selling him to a glue factory and he healed up perfectly just to spite me. I found an apple tree in the woods a while back though and whenever I brought some home, I'd save one for him.

Urging him to go faster, I lean forward toward his neck. We need to put as much space between us and my home as possible before I can regroup and work out a solid plan for where to go. The forest behind my house is far too obvious. The people who knew me at the castle would expect me to go there. That's something else that I'm counting on to benefit me. The time it takes soldiers to search the woods will give me several hours ahead of them. Hopefully they take the time to look. I could use a small miracle at the moment.

Buttercup is going as fast as he possibly can at the moment and I've angled us to do a large loop around the town toward the other side of District Twelve. From there, I can figure out where else to go. As my heart rate lowers to something closer to normal, I relax my limbs. Soldiers will have arrived at my home by now to find it ablaze. They'll have to wait for the flames to go out before they can search for human remains. That should give me some extra time. In my slightly less panicked state, I let my mind wander to thoughts of King Snow and how much I despise him for this. I didn't always despise him though; in fact, I once thought of him like a father. That's what makes this so much more painful.

At just eleven years old, less than six months after my father passed away, I was plucked out of District Twelve, chosen specially by the King along with a few others, to live at the castle and be trained as a part of a new military branch. Of course, I didn't know what his intentions were at the time, but I knew that if I went, my mother and sister would receive food and money to keep them going. I jumped at the chance and moved into a wing of the castle less than two days later, along with the other recruits.

There, I was put into rigorous training. Every day we learned skills like horseback riding and plant identification, and did strength training to build up our muscle. On my thirteenth birthday, the King called me into his chambers and presented me with a pristine bow, declaring that I was ready to move on to the next phase of my training. I was ecstatic. I trained with other weapons as well, knives and swords, among others. I could perform well enough with all of them but the bow felt like a natural extension of my own arm; it was easily my best weapon. In no time at all, I could pick out which plants were poisonous and which ones were edible out of an entire forest. I could hit a moving target on horseback from up to nearly one hundred meters. Every now and then, one of the less menacing trainers would charge me with seeing if I could navigate from one end of the castle to the other without getting caught by a guard. I did it every time. I didn't think anything of it then but now I know that it had been a test of stealth and eventually agility, once the trainers started timing me. Could I get to a specified point within a certain time frame while evading capture? Turns out, I could.

Every week, myself and the other recruits were invited to dine with the King. He always asked me to sit in the seat to his right. I was the favorite, the envy of all the other recruits. They threw me dirty looks at every opportunity and did their best to sabotage me during training sessions, but to no avail. Eventually the King started requesting my company at meals almost every day while my fellow recruits ate in the barracks dining hall. He confided in me that I reminded him of his daughter, whom had died several years earlier due to an outbreak of influenza. The compliment warmed my heart. Since my father's death, I'd felt so alone and so hopelessly lost despite how busy my training kept me. But I filled the void in my heart with love for my King and my country. He told me that one day, I might even rule over the kingdom, and I'd been foolish enough to believe him. I pledged my allegiance to him, promising that I would do anything he asked of me.

It must have been just what he wanted me to hear, for he told me that I was ready to move on from my training to real, important missions that needed to be carried out. He held my attention with a tale of the seeds of an uprising being planted in District Nine, telling me of how they had already made two attempts on his life. First they sent poisoned fruit in the hopes that he would eat it. But thankfully a servant boy had gotten greedy and sampled some first. He died instantly. Then they had attacked his caravan when he was returning to the castle from a trip to a neighboring kingdom. He said he feared they were planning a third attempt to assassinate him. I asked what I could do to help him. "Go to Nine and take out the rebel leader," he'd told me.

I hadn't been prepared for that but nevertheless, I agreed. If his life was on the line, I would do anything to protect him. How foolish I was then…

Within days, I was crossing the border into Nine, dressed as an unassuming young girl, hardly fourteen years old, in search of a rebel leader to assassinate.

A particularly hard bump jolts me out of my memories and back to the present. I am no longer an assassin. I am the enemy. I am dangerous. I am to be feared.

The sun is setting now and Buttercup is starting to slow. He's not used to being ridden at night. We're nearing the district edge though and we need to find somewhere to settle and rest while I think of a plan. Under the cover of the forest edge, I dismount Buttercup and pat his neck. I dig in my pack and extract some of my only fresh food- a single apple. It will go bad if it's not eaten soon so I don't feel bad about taking a few eager bites and feeding the rest to Buttercup. I'm going to have to be more careful with the rest of my food though. I have no idea how long it's going to have to last me.

"Katniss…" a voice hisses at me. My body tenses. It hasn't even been a day. They can't have found me already. "Katniss Everdeen…" I have no chance at escape. Buttercup is too worn down to continue and I'll never make it on foot against a hoard of soldiers. I swallow and turn around to face my fate, praying that death will come quickly. I've seen the castle's version of 'suffering' and it isn't a pretty sight.

"Girl, get in here before one o' them soldiers sees you. And tie up your beast," the voice commands. From the light of a house not far from the trees' edge, I can see a somewhat hobbled old woman, hunched over, beckoning me towards her. But do I trust her? I've never seen her before in my life but it's clear she knows me. It doesn't seem like she wants to turn me over to the guards though and there's no doubt that her house will be safer to me than the open air, so I guide Buttercup to a post along the back of the house and tie his reins to it tightly. The woman glares at me through her one good eye. The other eye seems to be on a journey of its own, lolling in a different direction. I do my best not to stare. "Look just like your father, you do," she says, ushering me inside, catching me off guard. She knew my father? Who is this woman?

I'm still not sure if I can trust her but I have no choice at the moment and I know I have the protection of my knife. I could easily take her out if necessary. For now though, I think I'm safe, and that's all that matters.

**A/N:** Well that's all for this chapter. If you've enjoyed it, I'd appreciate a review and/or some other type of love. I'll try to get the next chapter up as soon as I possibly can. Thanks for reading!


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N:** I do not own The Hunger Games or any of its characters.

Chapter Two

I eye the strange woman curiously as she flits about the kitchen. How is it that she knows me when I'm sure I've never seen her before in my life? "You wash your hands, girl," she orders. "Nobody eats at my table without clean hands."

Who am I to argue? I might not trust her, but she's gotten me inside away from the soldiers who wand my head on a stick and she's giving me food. The security of having my knife in my coat pocket puts me more at ease. If I need to, I can defend myself. I scrub my hands in the wash basin by the stove and get a good whiff of the stew in a big black pot on it. I can't quite identify what's in it, but it looks hearty and wanted criminals don't always know when their next meal is. I'm certainly not going to pass up the opportunity to fill my stomach.

I dry my hands on a threadbare rag hanging above the wash basin and sit back down. The woman puts two bowls o the table and slops some stew into each of them. No sooner has she thrust a spoon into my hand than I'm scooping the first bite into my mouth. I don't even consider that it might be poisoned until I've already swallowed. Oh well. I guess I'll find out. She sits down across from me at the small square table and starts eating. That gives me peace of mind, since I watched her serve us both. Poison seems unlikely.

We eat in silence for a few minutes. My bowl is empty in no time. "You want more?" she asks. I shake my head. I need to let the heavy stew settle or I risk having it make surprise reappearance.

I watch her closely as she finishes her own meal. The thought of asking for the recipe to give to my mother flits through my mind before I remember that she's not home. Home doesn't exist anymore.

"You have questions," the woman says, breaking me out of my melancholy thoughts. I nod. "Ask."

"How do you know my father?" I shoot back immediately.

She chuckles at me. "Girl, I've known him for a long, long time. He's a good man."

Clearly nobody ever gave her the memo. "Was," I correct. "He died almost ten years ago."

She chuckles again. What is it with this woman? Why does she act like everything I say is the funniest joke ever? What is funny about this? "Is that what they told you?" she shakes her head at me. What the hell does that mean? He's buried in District Twelve's only cemetery. I went to his grave every week for two years, wondering why he left us. "King Snow really did his work on you."

I stand angrily and glower at the woman. "Who the hell are you?" I demand. She has no right to say these things to me.

"Name's Sae. I've been watching you since you were a little girl. Told your daddy I'd keep an eye on you while he was gone," she says. "Now sit down, girl. You're giving me a crick in my neck."

My feet stay planted for a minute, until she declares, "I'm not talking anymore until you sit down." My eyes stick to hers and I slowly lower myself back into my seat. I can't let her win though so I take out my knife and keep it wrapped I my fist, resting on the table in front of me. Just so she knows I'm not giving in. She shakes her head at me again. Sae and her head movements are really starting to piss me off. "You've been watching me. How?" I bark.

"I'm a Seer," she says as though it was obvious. I stare at her until she starts talking again. "I watched you take care of your momma and sister. I watched you do all your training nonsense at the castle. I watched you do the King's bidding. I've watched you do everything you've done since your daddy left." She sighs heavily. "He'd be so disappointed."

I ignore her last little dig. Neither of us can know if he would be disappointed or not because he's been gone for almost a decade. "Well that's not creepy at all," I say dryly. I still can't fathom that my father can still be alive when I've spent the past nine years mourning his death and resenting him for leaving me in charge. "If he's alive the where is he? Why hasn't he come back? Wh- why did he leave us?" My voice cracks in my last question, betraying the emotions I've worked so hard to bury over the years.

Sae gives me a sympathetic look that I've come to resent over the years of people flashing it at me. Truth be told, it was part of the reason I agreed to enter the castle's training program. People stopped looking at me with pity once I could hit a target with five different kinds of knives from thirty yards away. "Where is he?" I demand more forcefully since she's no answering me.

She clears our bowls from the table, washes them quickly, and puts them beside the leftover stew. "Just because I'm a Seer doesn't mean I know everything," she sighs. The hair on the back of my neck prickles.

"What good are you then? Why did you invite me inside if all you're going to do is taunt me with ideas that are probably just lies anyway?" I snap. What little patience I possess was used up long ago.

Silently, Sae walks out of the room, ascending a staircase tucked against the back wall, beckoning me to follow her. I'm so enraged by the air of arrogant, all-knowing that she's projecting that I seriously consider braving the possibility of running into the soldiers hunting me. It would be so satisfying to leave the wrinkled old hag behind. If only the possible information she had wasn't so damn tempting. Grunting, I push myself up out of the chair and thunder up the stairs after her.

There's only one room up here. A small bed is pushed against one wall. Against another is another small square table almost identical to the one we just ate at, draped with a black cloth. In the middle of the table sits a clear ball that I have to assume is made of crystal. It is, without a doubt, the most valuable item in the house. Beyond it sits Sae, wearing an inviting smile on her face that feels more like a condescending grin to me. She gestures for me to sit in the bare wooden chair opposite her, which I do. But just so she still knows who is in charge, I drive my knife down with force into the table so the handle sticks up menacingly. If I have to, I can easily remove it and execute the old woman before she can even lift a finger to help herself. Sae ignores the weapon.

"You wanna see your daddy, girl?" she asks rhetorically. Of course I want to see him. I need her to prove that she's not lying.

She closes her eyes and mouths words to herself that I can't make any sense of. The ball I between us swirls on its little stand and I gasp. In it, the image of my father materializes. I lean forward to get a better look at him.

Same dark hair and gray eyes that I have. He looks exactly how I remember, save for the additional wrinkles on his face and a smattering of white sprinkled into his hair. Undoubtedly, the man I am looking at is my father but several years older. "Daddy…" I gasp before I catch myself. At first, I feel like sobbing at the sight of him. But then I realize that if he is alive, that means he left me, my mother, and Prim behind. My heart seizes with betrayal. He is alive. And not only is he alive, he has been away from us for almost ten years. How could someone who is supposed to love us do that to us?

In the ball, my father is moving around on some kind of dock or something. "What is he doing? Where is he? Why did he leave us?" I ask, anger bubbling to the surface.

"I told you, I don't have the answers to everything," Sae repeats.

Another man enters the image, clasping my father's hand in his own. They are clearly friends. "Who is that man?" I ask. I memorize his image. Dusted golden hair, a bright smile, and clearly sculpted muscles. He looks like a marble statue with life breathed into it. Even in the small image in the ball, I can tell his eyes are vibrant green. He's undoubtedly the prettiest man I've ever seen. He's _too_ pretty.

Sae smiles again. "That's an answer I do have. Finnick Odair. Looks like your daddy is in District Four." I get to my feet and wrench my knife from the table. "And I suppose you're planning on leaving for Four right now. Well I've got news for you…"

She points downstairs. As if on cue, there's a harsh knock on the door. A loud, commanding, unfriendly voice shouts.

"Open up in the name of the King!"

**A/N:** Thank you all for reading! Please take the time to leave a review as they mean the world to me!


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N:** I do not own The Hunger Games or any of its characters.

Chapter Three

_They've found me_, I panic. It's been less than a day. I'm very good at finding people but I guess when I need to disappear, I'm useless. Surprisingly, Sae doesn't look worried at all. Nothing on her face reads as _I'm harboring a fugitive_ at all. Rather than start to panic, as I do, she stands and calmly holds one finger to her lips. I nod, though I don't think it will do much good. Being quiet will only buy me a few more minutes before the soldiers storm in to search the place.

Sae leaves me sitting at the little table, not even closing the door behind her, and descends the stairs. From where I'm seated, I can't see the front door though, nor can I see anything else downstairs. Perhaps Sae is smarter than she looks. Nothing intrigues a soldier more than a closed door.

I don't dare fidget or even breathe loudly as Sae opens the door. "Yes?" she asks in a voice that sounds much more frail than any of the times she's spoken to me over the past hour or so. She's much better at this than I gave her credit for. I wonder if she helped my father get away…

"In the name of the King, it is my duty to inform you that there is a criminal on the loose. She is considered armed and extremely dangerous. Harboring a fugitive carries the death sentence," the voice says. I don't recognize the exact voice but I know the harsh, clipped tone. This soldier is all business and he is not going to go easy on the old woman. We used to call them 'the Careers' back at the base. They're the soldiers who joined up for the glory and honor of serving rather than out of a necessity to earn money so their family won't starve. He probably came from District One or Two. That's where most of the Careers come from.

I can hear more knocks in the distance through the thin walls of the house. That makes me breathe a little easier. This house wasn't singled out; they're sweeping the whole street. Probably the whole district, really. "To protect the citizens of District Twelve, you are required to step aside and allow me to search the premises." I was right. He does mean business. Sae being an old woman won't stop him from marching her to the gallows in front of the castle and hanging her in front of everyone for her crime of allowing me into her home.

I have to think of something fast. It will take him less than five minutes to sweep the bottom floor and then I will be caught. My training kicks in as I hear boots stomping into the house. That's something I don't think the king ever counted on. The very tools be gave me to use against others would become my way to save myself. He turned me into the perfect weapon and never realized that weapons can be used on anyone. I pick up my chair and carefully place it closer to the table rather than slide it in and make more noise. Two chairs pulled out means two people present and I'm not willing to risk the soldier realizing that. I scan the room quickly and find nowhere suitable to hide. I could stuff myself under the bed but hat won't work. No soldier is stupid enough to overlook that spot. That leaves me with one option. I have to get out.

The grimy little window along the top of the back wall is pretty small, but I think I can fit through it. The problem is the height. I can jump pretty high but the window is just high enough to make me question it. I will only have one shot, for if my feet land heavily on the floor, the soldier will hear me and I will be caught. There's no choice though, I have to try for it. I close my eyes and count to three in my head as I prepare to jump. On three, I open my eyes and spring up.

My fingers grasp at the ledge and I breathe a sigh of relief. I adjust my weight and hang on with one hand as I push the window open. I pull myself up carefully. Peeking over the ledge, I scan for soldiers in the backyard. Luck must be turning in my favor because no one is there but Buttercup. I pull myself up further and hold onto the ledge as I contort and ease myself out of the window feet first.

Dangling from my fingertips, I give myself ten seconds to breathe and decide on a plan. There's a small ledge that I could probably balance on about a food under where I dangle. I could probably land there easily and balance myself along it, but if a soldier comes back here like I expect one will, I am impossible to miss. I spot a drain pipe further along the ledge and know instantly what I can do.

I lower myself as much as I can and drop to the ledge. I waver for a moment, struggling to regain my balance and not fall to the ground. Luckily I am able to do so and I cling to the wooden wall. My body hovers close to it as I shimmy along the ledge as fast as I dare until I reach the drain pipe. I climb the pipe quickly, just like I learned on the rope at the castle's training camp. Thankfully, I am adept at climbing. I pull myself up onto the roof and flatten myself out on it. I am safe here, unless someone happens to climb up a tree.

Breathing shallowly, I flatten my ear against the roof and listen carefully. The soldier stomps around the house. I don't hear Sae at all. I hope he hasn't knocked her unconscious or something. "Cato!" another voice calls. "Your assistance is required down the street. I'll take over here." The stomping fades and is replaced by softer steps, though they aren't quieter by much. They're certainly less angry though, so I'll take it.

"Boy you should have been here first. I thought he was going to start tearing apart my plumbing looking for that girl," Sae says. At least she's alright.

The sudden realization that I can hear them perfectly fine worries me. Surely some of Sae's neighbors must have heard me yelling earlier… "I'm sorry, Sae. I tried but I got help up by Mrs. Wilkins down the street. Said she heard some yelling down this way earlier. You know anything about that?" the voice asks. It sounds suspicious yet kind, unlike any soldier's voice I've heard before. If he were to catch me, I think he might even be lenient with Sae.

"Poor woman must be having hearing problems again," Sae says lightly. "Sit down. I'll make you some tea." A chair scrapes along the floor and a kettle clangs on the stove. I'm grateful that she is able to explain away my earlier outburst. "You watch that. Let me get the ball."

Footsteps echo on he stairs. I was right to move when I did but it sounds like Sae is more in control of the situation now. "You can come in now, girl," her soft voice floats out the window. She's kept me safe so far, so I slide down the roof, catching myself on he edge, and swing in through the window.

"Wait here for five minutes then take the widow o get out. The rest of them should be far enough along by then. Under the trough, there's a bag. Take it, you'll need it." She talks fast and at a volume hardly above a whisper. Below us, the soldier's foot taps out a rhythm on the floor and I'm sure he can't hear her. I don't interrupt. She's helping me, yet again. "Leave the horse. He's too easy to identify. I'll take care of him until that handsome friend of yours can come get him. Take the woods. Go Northeast, that will take you to District Four. You'll find more answers there."

I nod in understanding and she pats my cheek. I feel bad for yelling at her earlier. She may have been the bearer of shocking news but she has done nothing to hurt me and everything to help me since I arrived in her yard. Without another word, she grabs the ball off the table and returns downstairs. Five minutes has never felt longer. A second chair scrapes as Sae presumably sits at the table down there. "Go ahead, boy. Ask your questions," she says.

"Where is Katniss Everdeen?" His question is neither demanding nor accusatory. In fact, he sounds almost calm, like he's speaking to a friend rather than hunting a dangerous criminal.

I take a chance and step closer to the open door. If I crouch, I will be able to sneak a peek at the soldier. I sink down immediately. _Know thy enemy_ and all that.

His back is to me but it's not hard to tell that he's bigger than I am. He has broad shoulders and big arms. I have no doubt hat he could easily snap my neck if he got his hands on me. His curly blond hair gives me the strangest sense of déjà vu, but I can't figure out why. The tea kettle starts to wail and Sae sets about fixing two cups of tea. "You know I can't tell you that, boy," she sighs.

"And you know I have to ask," he replies.

Their patter feels easy, like they've known each other for a long time. "You're getting in too deep. I'm worried about you, Peeta."

_Peeta._ Not a common name. In fact, I only know one. I can remember seeing him at the base and my déjà vu suddenly makes sense. I remember sitting by the tall window in the armory, sharpening my knives and polishing my bow. I spent many days there, occasionally looking out the window down at the courtyard below where simple foot soldiers would often have pick-up wrestling matches. Myself and the rest of the kids I trained with were forbidden to participate. Part of our training was learning how to become invisible. As far as any of those soldiers knew, we were simply a group of orphans that the King was extending kindness to. Most of them paid us no mind. Some would nod respectfully at us if they saw us but probably then forgot about us. And then there were a select few who thought they could get away with trying to torment us. Those soldiers, well, they were shipped home in simple wooden boxes, though those of us who were smart enough knew they never made it to combat. I was the cause of some of those coffins.

So I was resigned to watch the wrestling matches from the window. Most of the people around here have dark hair, which is why the head of blond curls caught my eye. For weeks, he stood on the sidelines, cheering for one wrestler or the other. I was shocked when one day I looked down and he was in the ring rather than watching. He took his opponent down easily. I watched as he took down one after the other after the other until there were no challengers left. And I swear that as he exited the ring, he looked right up at my window and smiled at me.

The day after that, I'd nipped around the camp undetected until I spotted him sitting in the mess tent with some others. That was how I learned his name. Soldier Mellark. Peeta Mellark. Satisfied, I slunk away. He was on my radar- all set to be taken out if he made a move towards me. But he didn't.

The memory sends chills down my spine. Of all the soldiers to be after me, why him? And what did Sae mean, saying he was getting in too deep? It didn't make any sense.

Downstairs, I hear him sigh. "You can't spend all your time worrying about me. You know I have to do this," he says. I want him to elaborate so that maybe I have some clue what the hell they're talking about, but he doesn't.

My five minutes must be up, but I'm torn. I want to try and hear more of their conversation, but I also need to get to District Four. Sae must realize that I haven't left yet, for she cuts the conversation off. "They're going to be needing you again. That lug from earlier didn't look upstairs yet." She's not giving me a chance to hear anything else; she's forcing my hand.

I jump to the window again and pull myself out, silently cursing her for keeping information from me. Being friendly with someone who's after me? That would have been nice to know.

I drop to the ledge and shimmy to the drain pipe, this time sliding down it rather than climbing up. Underneath the trough where Buttercup is chomping away at something is a bag, just like Sae said. I sling it over my back without bothering to look in it. I haven't got time for that. I pat the horse's neck briefly. "Gale is coming to get you. You'll be back with Prim soon." He doesn't even acknowledge me. Stupid horse.

Leaving him behind is going to add a significant amount of time to my journey but Sae is right. Horses in this part of the country are rare, unless they're the sleek black ones used by higher ranked soldiers. He would stick out too much and it's easier for me to hide if I'm on my own. I give him another quick pat and take off at a run, ducking under a branch and putting as much distance between me and District Twelve as I can. There's no time to worry about Sae or Peeta or anyone else anymore. All I can think about is the bronze haired man that I had seen in the ball. I have to get to him before my father disappears again. Finnick Odair has no idea what he's in for.

**A/N:** Thank you all for reading. Please leave a review as they're good encouragement for me to continue this story.


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N:** I do not own The Hunger Games or any of its characters.

Chapter Four

My legs pump had as I fight to carry myself far away from District Twelve. A slow burn in my calves tells me that any water I've consumed today is going to be used up soon if I don't slow to a more controlled pace, but I'm too afraid of possible pursuers that I don't slow to a jog for quite some time, and it isn't until the discomfort in my throat grows to a dull ache that I stop completely. I find a fallen log and sit on it. In the pack I put together at my house is a small container sloshing with water. Until I find somewhere to fill it, I need to ration it. I won't be able to sustain myself without it.

I take a small sip and relish the sensation of it wetting my mouth. The temporary relief is welcome and I swallow gratefully. I pull another mouthful and cap the container. While I'm seated seems like as good a time as any to see what Sae's pack contains.

The bag itself is dark green and is adorned with several pouches and pockets. Nearly all of them are empty. Only one contains a thin length of string that could be good for any number of things. The first item within the pack that my fingers grasp is a small hip flask. I jostle it around in my hands and find that it's full. I must have been running quite hard to not notice the additional sloshing noise coming from the bags on my back. This is good though, for now I can be a little more generous when slaking my thirst.

Several years of training overtakes my enthusiasm. I sniff the flask's contents. I don't smell anything but I know there are several poisons that have no scent. I tip a tiny amount into my hand. It's clear and has the same feel as water. Everything I've been taught tells me to dump the contents, just to be safe, yet I don't. She has no reason to send me out here and then try to poison me via a flask she can't be sure I'll drink from.

I set the flask down and wipe my wet hand on my trousers. The rest of the pack's contents are too difficult to make out in what dim light I have available. It's a miracle I didn't trip many, many times during my journey. The bright moonlight I started with only just peeks through the thick foliage above me.

Until this moment, I've been running on adrenaline and sheer determination. Now, after a small rest, I feel fatigue starting to set in. My body aches from the enormous effort I've had to put in today but my mind is surprisingly clear. I'm weirdly grateful to the training that turned me into a murderer. Had I not learned how to push away my emotions, I would surely be curled up in a heap, sobbing my heart out. It has been a whirlwind of a day. I hope some rest will help take away the sting.

Staying on the ground isn't safe by any means. There are any number of natural predators in the woods, not to mention my human pursuers. Sae may have just been giving me a head start before sending her soldier friend, Peeta, after me.

Not knowing if I should trust her or not is driving me crazy. She might be trying to poison me, but she might not be. She might be sending soldiers after me, but she might not be. All I know for sure is that she was awfully chummy with Peeta, yet she helped me escape. And she knew things about my father. She wasn't very forthcoming with all that information though. I'm still torn.

My hands work quickly, reproducing the same loops and knots I've tied a thousand times, using the wire given to me by Sae. Gale's better at snares than I am but he's not here right now. I set the snare I what I hope will be a good spot for catching game. Hopefully something large will happen across it and I'll have food for a few days.

I walk a short distance away from the snare and scale a tree quickly. I pick a good solid fork and settle in. The cool night breeze that used to feel sort of comforting now feels like a harsh reminder of my current situation. A knot builds in my throat when I remember how harsh and serious I was with Prim and my mother. It's not their fault this is happening. I have no one to blame for this but myself. I swear to myself that I'm not going to cry, even as tears start to slip down my face. I'm fine. I'm strong enough for this. Emotions are weakness. I'm not weak.

And then I sob myself to sleep.

_I adjust my dark dress carefully as I walk, head down, into a large yet somehow modest (by royal standards, anyway) castle. I'm concealed in a group of men and women shuffling through the back gates- peasants trudging into work before the sun has even risen. It is the perfect cover, and this is why I've been assigned to this mission. I can blend in. I am unassuming. My ability to be no-one is an invaluable asset._

_I slip away from the group once inside. The individual weariness of workers is another advantage I have. Frankly, they're too tired to know someone they came in with didn't belong, let alone that she ditched them and disappeared into a wall. I recognized the markings, subtle as they are, from my own castle home. It's a secret passageway._

_I blink my eyes and am suddenly in front of a tiny flap in the wall marked by a tiny handle. I must have walked here but I don't remember doing it. _

_I open the flap and peer down into the room below it. There's a long table elaborately decorated with glittering gold plates and fine silverware. It's no different from what I see every day at my castle, but I bristle. I don't like this. It's fine at home, but here, it seems arrogant._

_At one end of it sits a thin man with equally thin grey hair. His opulent jewels mark him as an enemy. On his right is a vacant looking blonde woman who stares at a blank spot on the wall. To his left is a small blonde girl who appears to be about the same age as me, but less weathered. She's not an "honorary princess" who goes on missions for her king. She's a proper princess. The fact that she looks more like she could be Prim's sister than I do grates on me. _

"_Papa, do we have to invite King Snow to the ball?" Her light, airy voice echoes in the cavernous room. "I don't like him. He frightens me."_

_I scoff. 'He's perfectly fine, thank you very much. It's your father who is the frightening one,' I think. He won't be a problem for much longer though._

"_Don't be silly, darling. He's not frightening. He's a perfectly kind man. Remember when our crops all perished in that terrible frost?" The girl nods her head as her father speaks. "He came to our aid. He assisted us in rebuilding our kingdom. We must always be kind to him. And sometime in the future, if he needs our help, we will help him. There is no question."_

_The words resonate with me for far longer than they echo around the room. Nothing he has said matches what my King told me. He said this king was plotting to take over our kingdom. He was convinced our citizens would all be enslaved. That's why I came here. I must neutralize the threat. Surely my king wouldn't lie to me, would he?_

_My heart sinks when I realize the answer is yes._

_I've seen it happen to others, right in front of me. He even told me what he was doing. Turning two non-threats against each other so one is eliminated, leaving him to the spoils without having to get his hands dirty, is his specialty._

_I look at my dress more closely. I must be wearing the native garb of yet another kingdom. That's his plan. It must be. I'm here to start a war._

_This is wrong._

_I can't do it. I can't kill this king. Every reason I've thought would justify the action was a lie. I can't do this. I won't. _

_A pair of hands seizes me and hauls me through the dark tunnel of the secret passage, my feet shuffling through the leaves on the floor. Leaves…?_

Rustling plants rouse me from slumber, punctuated by quiet grunts. Sunlight peeks through the leaves above me, further dragging me out of my dream memory. Reliving my demise has left me with an uncomfortable sheen of sweat glistening on my forehead. I wipe it away but freeze when I hear the grunting again. Is it possible that my snare has caught something on the first go? Gale would be so proud.

I carefully secure my packs and scale back down the tree. I step silently around plants back to where I set my trap, drawing my knife as I go. It would be nice to have a bow to hunt with but I think I can get by with my snares and my knife.

The sight that greets me when I see what my snare has caught gives me pause but then I smile. At this point, any familiar sight is welcome. "You know, I was hoping I'd catch something big," I say, stepping out from behind my tree shield. There's a shriek, then another grunt as my prisoner tries to break free. "Kind of scrawny but nice red pelt. If I can find someone to trade with, I should get a good price for it," I continue.

"Very funny, M.J. You going to kill me?" the redhead growls at me.

I laugh softly. "You bark always was worse than your bite, Finch." I use my knife to cut the snare and my captive falls back to the ground. "And you know I'd never kill you."

Now that she's right side up again, I can see her familiar features better. Despite everything that's happened to me, I smile at her. It takes her a moment, but her scowl morphs into a similar smile. We move as if prompted and wrap our arms around each other. "I heard you're a fugitive now too," she says as we break away. She pretends to wipe away a tear. "I'm so proud."

"Yeah, well, you always were the trend setter," I reply.

We were a pretty good team back at the castle. Besides Gale, Finch was my confidant, my only real friend. It's pretty remarkable when I remember that neither of us knew each others real names. Code names are all we ever knew.

Well, that's not strictly true anymore. The castle put our real names on our wanted posters, not our code names. It doesn't feel right to use them, though. She is Finch and I am Mockingjay. Anything else feels too bizarre to say.

"I should have known it was you blundering around up here. No one else makes so much noise," she teases.

I scoff again. I'm silent and we both know it. Except for when I began to sob. Not my finest moment there. But I pretend that didn't happen at all. "Up here?" I question rather than starting an argument.

She nods and heads in the direction I came from the night before. She stops at an unassuming bush that rests against a tree trunk. "After you," she says, pulling the branches to the side for me, revealing a hole in the dirt.

I glance at her, then down the hole. A rope ladder hangs on one side, secured around the base of the tree, obscured by the bushes and various plants that surround it. I climb down without questioning. At the bottom is a small room. I'd call it a hovel, but… it's a room. "Holy shit, Finch. How did you do all this?" I can't help but gawk at it. She drops down the hole behind me and grins.

"I've had a lot of time to make this," she answers. I'll say. She was banished two years ago and had quite a hefty sum on her head. Still does, technically, but I won't kill her and she won't kill me.

She drops onto makeshift furniture and relaxes herself. "I wondered how you managed to stay hidden," I say. She holds out her arms, gesturing around her as her answer.

I sit near her and find the wooden furniture to be surprisingly comfortable. No worse than spending the night up a tree, I guess. Finch looks like she wants to ask me something but is waiting for me to adjust to my surroundings. There's only one thing she'd be truly dying to ask. _What the hell happened?_ I'd want to know the same. "He wanted me to kill King Undersee," I tell her without prompting.

"And you refused," she infers.

I shake my head. "Not at first." It's fresh in my head, thanks to my dream. It takes me no time at all to relay the story. "I was so close, Finch. I was ready. But he had no clue! He hadn't done anything wrong at all! He was just as loyal to King Snow as we ever were." If anyone can understand my situation, it's Finch.

"You did the right thing, M.J." she assures me.

Her familiarity is comforting. We haven't seen each other for years but I feel just as at ease with her as I ever have. Words pour out of my mouth detailing all the events that led up to this moment, sparing nothing except for Gale's role in my family's escape. Finch would never betray me, even if captured, but my family is undoubtedly safer with less people knowing who their contact to the outside world is. Finch, to her credit, doesn't interrupt me until I mention that I recognized the soldiers after me.

"Who was it?" she asks briskly. With her knowing about my 'enemy of the state' status, it's not hard for me to figure out that she's in contact with someone somewhere. She probably even goes to some of the districts to get supplies and information. Information spreads fast in our country; if there's been any gossip about the people after me, Finch will know it.

I hesitate for a moment. Only because I'm still so unsure what his relationship to Sae is. "Peeta Mellark. Someone called Cato was there too but since he took orders from Peeta, I'm guessing Peeta's in charge."

Finch looks at me curiously. "You'd be surprised how much I can hear just from being on the outskirts of the districts. He's in charge of your hunt. Apparently he just got promoted to a guard captain or something. It's his job to take you in. Dead or alive." Her look shifts from curiosity to something I can't decipher. The 'dead or alive' part is news to me. I'd thought I would be publically hanged for treason…

"I must be doing something right if His Majesty thinks I'm problem enough to be disposed of quietly," I say after some consideration.

My redheaded companion doesn't hesitate to smile. "You know perfectly well that you're to smart and resourceful to risk transporting back to the castle," she says with a laugh.

"Speaking of smart and resourceful, what do you make of this?" I ask, extracting the bottle from Sae's pack and offering it to Finch. I'm good with plants, but she is an expert on them and the various poisons that can be concocted using just about any ingredients.

I explain how it was given to me by the Seer but wasn't sure if it was safe. Finch gives it a preliminary sniff, then takes it to a slab of wood near the small fire dug into a hole in the floor that gives us light. She pours little bits of it into various small containers and adds small bits of plants and powders, not all of which I recognize, which assures me that she is the best person I could have run into. I'm not surprised at all that she's made her own little laboratory down here. No matter the outcome, I'm glad I haven't tossed the contents. If it is poison, it could be an invaluable resource to me later down the line. I hadn't thought of that last night in my fatigued state but now that I'm thinking more clearly, I know that one knife isn't going to be enough to save me if I'm cornered by several soldiers. I need more weapons.

"Just water," Finch declares after several minutes of testing. "Your fairy godmother isn't trying to murder you."

Perhaps I've been too harsh on Sae in my thoughts. Trust isn't in my nature. "If she's my fairy godmother, then why is she so chummy with the evil knight?" I shoot back, rolling my eyes. Neither of us really could resist starting an argument with the other.

"Maybe he's not really an evil knight. Maybe he's a prince in disguise looking for someone to save," she replies instantly, smirking at me. I shouldn't have told her about watching him wrestle.

"Princes only save damsels in distress," I say with a pretend yawn.

Finch rolls her eyes at me. "You're a fugitive wanted for a crime that she didn't really commit by an evil king who somehow has the country convinced that he's a saint. How much more 'in distress' can you be?" she asks pointedly. "Or were you implying you're not really a damsel?"

She playfully makes a grab for my trousers and I smack her hand away. "If I didn't know better, I'd say you're a bit _too_ keen on seeing my equipment," I say, sticking my tongue out at her childishly.

"Why, M.J, are you implying that my interest in helping you is underscored by some ulterior motive?" she questions slyly.

I raise an eyebrow. "You're interested in helping me?"

And just like that, we're back to our serious conversation. I miss the break already. I'm legally an adult now but, really, all of us from the castle have been adults for a long time. My childhood died with my father. Or so I thought. Maybe that's what's really buried in the grave marked with his name, since his body certainly isn't.

"Of course I'm going to help you, little Miss Mockingjay. What else have I got to do? Wait for you to swing me up in another one of your tree traps?"

My heart swells with affection for the redhead. I would unquestionably do the same for her but it's still nice to hear that there is someone out there in the world who still cares about me and my well being. "Thank you, Finch," I say seriously. She was my only escape at the castle. Our playful bickering was the only time I can recall being allowed to act like a kid. We were expected to be properly poised and mannered at all times, unless it was some kind of lesson where we were out in the town where we needed to blend in with the more _expressive_ peasant class.

"You know you're like my sister," she says while patting my hand. We sit comfortably for a while before she clasps her hands together and stands up. "So where are we going? Because I know you weren't traipsing through the forest looking for me."

I smile wryly before answering. "District Four. It's the last place my father was seen," I respond.

She makes quick work of putting together her own little pack. "Let's go!"

"Right now?" I gawk at her.

"The longer we wait, the longer your father has to get out of District Four," she points out.

I sigh. I hadn't expected things to move so quickly. In just one day, my entire world has been rocked to the core. Everything I thought I knew is now up for debate. Things I accepted blindly as fact before are no longer concrete in my head. If my father can come back from the dead, what else could possibly happen?

I know she's right that we're wasting time but I still can't make myself move. "It's not that simple," I say, burying my head in my hands. "He's alive. He's been out there all this time and he let this happen to me and my family. My mother has never been the same. My sister had to grow up on her own and it's all his fault."

Finch sits and takes my hands in hers. I have no tears left after last night's outburst of emotion but I'm still hurt, more than I could ever admit out loud. "He left us. What am I supposed to say when I find him? What do I do?" But even as I ask the questions, I know it's useless. Finch has a lot of answers but these are questions that she hasn't had to consider before.

"You'll figure it out. You always do," she replies. She gives my hands a tight squeeze of solidarity. "Besides, I'll be with you the whole time. Just because he's alive right now doesn't mean it's going to stay that way."

To anyone else, her words may have sounded like a threat, but not to me. So much of my life has been spent learning how to protect myself and serve my king, all because my father abandoned us for unknown reasons. She's not offering to help me dispose of an innocent civilian. She's offering to support me if I decide to make my current reality match the reality I've lived since I was eleven years old. Other people may have found that completely crazy, but to me, it's comforting. She will let me decide what's right for me and support me the whole time. In that way, she's more family to me than my father can ever be.

I nod and stand up. "Let's go," I echo her earlier words.

"Are you sure you're ready for this?" she asks, mirroring my stance.

"As I'll ever be," I say honestly. And we ascend the rope ladder back into daylight.

**A/N:** Thanks for reading! I'm sorry for the lack of update last week but I had a week off school so I decided to take a break from everything. I tried to make up for it this week by giving you a longer chapter with greater insight into Katniss' past. I'd really appreciate some love in the form of a review!


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Hunger Games, Adventure, Romance