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Chapter Text

At the Reaping
The Square, District Twelve

“Ladies first,” Effie Trinket said into the microphone. She reached a fake-fingernailed hand into the girls’ glass ball.

The fists of sixteen-year-old Katniss were clenched. Katniss squeezed her eyes shut. Her mind screamed, Not me, not me, not me!

“Primrose Everdeen,” Effie Trinket said cheerfully.

Katniss’s eyes flew open. She saw sniffling Prim step out into the center aisle of the pen, close to the Reaping stage; four big Peacekeepers immediately surrounded the tiny blonde and herded her forward.

The second thing that Katniss did then was to herself step out into the center aisle and yell, “I volunteer! I volunteer as tribute!”

The first thing that Katniss did, once she decided to volunteer for Prim, was to pull up her knee socks. For the next ten minutes, Katniss knew, she was going to be on nationwide hologram-broadcast nonstop, and Katniss did not want anybody to see her soulmark.

****

One minute later

As Effie Trinket asked Katniss silly questions, Katniss looked out over the Square. Katniss looked down at Reaping-age girls, Reaping-age boys, small children, parents, and other onlookers. Among the twelve-year-old girls, who were placed at the front of the girls’ pen, Prim was weeping and sobbing. Back among the sixteens, Madge Undersee looked sad. Over in the boys’ pen, in the very back, Gale Hawthorne looked angry. Among the boys’ sixteens, Peeta Mellark looked shocked.

Katniss did not seek out her mother’s face—Katniss was sure she did not want to know what Aloe Everdeen was feeling at this moment.

Meanwhile, everyone in the Square was looking at Katniss as if she had dropped a noose around her own neck. So it was no surprise when the entire district gave Katniss the three-fingers funeral salute, seconds later.

Part of Katniss shared everyone’s fatalism; the thought screamed in her head, What have I done? I’ve just committed suicide a week from now, that’s what I’ve done!

But another part of her—the Katniss who had faced down an attacking boar and lived, who had faced down an attacking bear and lived—this Katniss made tribute-Katniss lift up her chin and look dry-eyed into the holo-cameras. Katniss thought, Nobody outside District Twelve has any idea what I can do. I will surprise everyone.

Meanwhile, Effie Trinket, the rainbow (Capitol person) with the solar-powered smile, was saying, “But more excitement to come! It’s time to choose our boy tribute!”

Katniss was looking straight at already-shocked Peeta when Peeta got an even bigger shock.

****

Meanwhile, in the Presidential Mansion

President Snow had stopped watching Reapings years ago. So he was at his desk, working while his holoprojector stayed off, when a telephone rang. His secretary said, “It’s Minerva, sir. She sounds excited.”

“Put her through.”

The telephone clicked, then Minerva Snow said, “Grandpa, turn on your holo! Hurry, hurry!”

Minerva Snow was the only person in Panem who could give orders to President Snow without being Avoxed on the spot. Snow turned on the holoprojector; he did not need to ask Minerva which of seven hologram-channels to view. Snow immediately muted the sound.

Snow recognized Effie Trinket standing in front of a Justice Building; what he was seeing had to be the District Twelve Reaping, still going on. Snow gave the girl-tribute only a glance—she had Seam coloring, she was short (probably aged fifteen), she was thin, and her clothes were simple. The boy-tribute, on the other hand, was as tall as Effie in her heels, he was well fed (which was unusual in District Twelve), he was muscular, and he had blue eyes and curly-blond hair.

“I’m guessing you have a crush on the boy,” Snow said into the telephone. “He looks sixteen.” Minerva was fourteen.

“Um, yes, I do, he’s handsome”—Snow could hear his granddaughter blush—“but I didn’t call about him, I called about her. She volunteered, Grandpa—she volunteered for her sister!”

Snow now gave the hologram-version of the fifteen-year-old Seam girl another look. Her face did not show fear, it showed determination, which was unheard-of among newly-Reaped outer-district tributes. (Snow also noted in passing that for some reason, the girl was wearing knee socks in June.)

“My dear, look at her,” Snow said gently to Minerva. On hologram, Peacekeepers were leading the boy and girl into the District Twelve Justice Building. Snow continued, “The inner-district volunteers”—Careers—“will eat her for breakfast.”

“I don’t care!” Minerva yelled. “Her sister Primrose got Reaped, she’s twelve, she’s tiny, she had no chance, and then Kat-something volunteered for her sister, it was the bravest thing I’ve ever seen, and she can’t just die!”

“But she will die,” Snow said gently. “She will pay the price for her district’s rebellion years ago, and she knew this when she volunteered.”

“Well, I don’t like it, Grandpa! Not one bit.” Minerva hung up.

The holo-image changed then, showing the District Eleven mayor rise from his chair and walk toward the microphone. Snow turned off the holoprojector.

But Snow did not immediately return to his work.

Snow stared at the far wall as he thought, What is your angle, Kat-something? Merely to save your little sister’s life, at the expense of your own? I doubt it. You’re up to something, I’m sure.

****

Some minutes later
In the Justice Building, District Twelve

Madge said to Katniss, “They let you wear one thing from your district in the arena. One thing to remind you of home. Will you wear this?” With a finger, Madge tapped a fancy gold pin on her own Reaping dress.

To Katniss, what was so odd was that there was urgency in Madge’s voice.

“Me, wear your pin?” Katniss asked, confused.

Madge took the gold pin off her dress and held it out to show to Katniss.

Madge’s offered jewelry was a pin of a small bird in flight, inside a circle; the entire pin was made of gold.

Madge said, “Here, I’ll put it on your dress. All right?”

“Um, hold on,” Katniss said.

Madge did not wait for permission; she leaned in and affixed the bird to Katniss’s dress.

Katniss said, “Hold on, Madge, let’s not rush this.”

Madge asked—after she had pinned the little golden bird to Katniss’s dress—“What’s wrong?”

“Look, you know my family is poor. I don’t own any jewelry, including any gold pin—”

“And you don’t own any gold pin now. I’m lending you this pin. But I really want you to wear the mockingjay pin in the arena.”

Katniss did not ask Madge why she was pushing this so hard. Instead, Katniss shoved her right knee sock as far down as it would go. “I’ve never shown you my soulmark. Read it.”

Madge bent down to read the words. She murmured, “Whoever he is, he has perfect penmanship.”

“Madge! That’s not the point.”

Madge straightened up, to stare at Katniss’s face. “You think that when your soulmate mentions the ‘pin,’ he means this pin?”

“Yes! Oh Madge, until now, the words made no sense; but now, I think my soulmate is—”

A Peacekeeper opened the door and yelled, “Time’s up! Go!”

Madge kissed Katniss on the cheek, then left.

“—another tribute,” Katniss said in the temporary silence.

****

One minute after that

Katniss said to Gale, “If I—if I don’t come back, Gale, I hope you find a good life. Happiness. I want you to marry a girl you like.”

Gale chuckled, but he did not look happy. “Katniss, the one girl I want to marry the most—she’s taken. Sort of. So I guess I’ll go with Plan B.”

“What’s Plan B?”

“Maybe I’ll flirt with your friend the mayor’s daughter. She likes me. But Katniss?”

“Yes, Gale?”

“Hunt a Career tribute the same way you hunt a wild boar, and you will come back. If Haymitch the drunk can be a Victor, why can’t you?”

****

During the tributes’ ride to the train station

Peeta was crying. Katniss wanted to cry too, but instead she kept her face dry-eyed and looking resolute.

Katniss said, “Peeta, please don’t cry. It’s just bad luck, is all.”

Peeta said, “Katniss, I swear, you will come back to Prim. You will win this. I will make it happen.”

Between Katniss and Peeta sat Effie. Sounding surprised, Effie said, “You two know each other?”

****

A little over a day later
During the Tribute Parade

President Snow gave his speech from the balcony of the Presidential Mansion, speaking to this year’s crop of Hunger Games tributes. Snow saw that those twenty-four tributes were colorfully costumed, and they stood in twelve chariots that were gathered in front of Snow in the City Circle.

Glimmer, the girl-tribute from District One, was dressed like a pornographic fantasy—as girl-tributes from One usually were, Snow had noticed long ago. But this year, Glimmer was outshone (literally!) by Peeta and Katniss from District Twelve, who burned with illusionary fire as they stood in their chariot.

But besides upstaging District One, the Twelves’ illusion-fire costumes were upstaging Snow himself, the president of Panem, and Snow did not like this!

Snow’s expression did not change, and he did not falter in his speech—nothing outwardly hinted that Snow’s thoughts were on anything other than the speech he was giving. But as Snow was bloviating, he thought, I’m sure that Katniss Everdeen volunteered for her sister not out of sisterly love, but because Everdeen is a showoff. I bet the fire-costumes were her idea too—because Everdeen is clearly a showoff. Well, Miss Everdeen, showing off at my expense will cost you.

****

Meanwhile, in City Circle

Katniss stood next to Peeta in their chariot, and listened to President Snow give his speech. If holo-cameras had not been aimed at her and Peeta, Katniss would have rolled her eyes—because as far as she could tell, the speech that Snow was giving now was, word for word, the same speech as last year. And the year before that. And the year before that.

Katniss thought, “We applaud your courage and your sacrifice”? Give me a break. Do you want to show you admire us, President Snow? Stop the Games so that our “courage” and our “sacrifice” won’t be needed! Stop the Games like what should have happened fifty years ago. You smooth-talking murderer, you are disgusting.

****

Days later, during the Tribute Interviews

Katniss had completed her three days in the Training Center, had been evaluated by Gamemakers, and was now being interviewed by Caesar Flickerman.

Katniss had talked to the strange people of her prep team, to her own stylist and to Peeta’s stylist, to most of the tributes, and to a few Gamemakers during her Evaluation—but nobody among these people, nor Caesar Flickerman who had started talking to Katniss two minutes ago, was her soulmate.

(Katniss had avoided talking to the six Career tributes; and the reclusive redheaded girl from Five had avoided Katniss. Katniss hoped that none of the Careers was her soulmate, ditto “Foxface”—talk about awkward!)

Now Katniss was telling Caesar Flickerman, “...[The ‘Girl on Fire’ costume] was the most gorgeous costume I’d ever seen, and I couldn’t believe I was wearing it. I can’t believe I’m wearing this, either.” Katniss lifted up her skirt to spread it out. “I mean, look at it!”

The upshot was that Katniss wound up spinning around on stage, in front of Caesar, Cinna, a live Capitol audience, and the nation of Panem via hologram. And as Katniss was spinning, the dress burned away—live, on hologram.

Luckily for Katniss, Cinna had shoed her in knee-high dress boots, so now nobody saw her soulmark.

****

Minutes later

Katniss had rejoined the rest of the tributes on stage, and now it was Peeta whom Caesar Flickerman was interviewing. Caesar had just asked Peeta if he had a girlfriend back home; Peeta had shaken his head.

Caesar grinned at him. “A handsome lad like you, there must be some special girl. Come on, what’s her name?”

Peeta sighed. “Well, there is this one girl. I’ve had a crush on her since I was five. But she sees me as just a friend.”

The audience awwed.

Katniss wondered, Who does he mean? Madge? Delly?

Caesar asked Peeta, “She have another fellow?”

“Sort of, but not really. It’s complicated.”

Caesar clapped Peeta on the shoulder. “So here’s what you do: You win, you go home. She can’t friend-zone you then, eh?”

Peeta shook his head and sighed. “Winning ... won’t help in my case.”

“Why ever not?” asked Caesar, looking genuinely mystified. Katniss, watching and listening, was just as puzzled.

Peeta blushed beet-red and stammered out, “Because she came here with me. ‘Twenty-four go in and only one comes out,’ isn’t this the saying?”

The room was bedlam after those words. Caesar Flickerman looked stunned, members of the live audience were yelling, Haymitch was smirking, Effie was smiling at Peeta, and all the other tributes on stage were staring at Katniss (except for Rue from Eleven, who was giving Katniss a shy smile).

Katniss felt a moment’s anger, that Peeta had put her on the spot like this, in front of the entire country! But then Katniss felt deep embarrassment. She thought, Peeta has been my friend for eleven years—how did I miss this?

****

Meanwhile, in the Presidential Mansion

President Snow and his granddaughter Minerva were watching the Tribute Interviews. Minerva was fascinated by what she was seeing; her grandfather felt quite the opposite.

Snow thought, First Katniss Everdeen wore that flashy “Girl on Fire” costume at the Tribute Parade, and tonight she wears an interview dress that catches fire. Someone should tell this show-off that she’s a girl tribute from District Twelve, not District One. And if the Twelve boy Peeta is in love with Katniss Everdeen of all people, he is a class-A fool.

“I volunteered to save my sister,” ha! I’m sure that Katniss Everdeen is here only so she can win the Victor monthly stipend. Too bad for her plans, Seneca Crane and I have already had a chat about her; Everdeen won’t win anything except a pine box.

Snow was also still annoyed by Everdeen’s apple-shooting trick. What was Seneca Crane thinking, after that stunt Everdeen pulled at her Evaluation? After she shot an arrow toward Gamemakers, Crane should have ordered her flogged with rubber hoses, not awarded her a score of eleven!

****

Not quite 1-1/2 days later
Day Two of the 74th Hunger Games, before dawn
In the forest, in the arena

The-Careers-plus-Peeta, using flashlights and torches to see in the darkness, walked away from Katniss’s tree.

Katniss, high up in that tree, counted to sixty; when she was sure that the Careers could not hear her voice, Katniss said quietly, “Folks watching at home, I have something to say.”

Katniss paused two seconds, waiting for Seneca Crane to switch the live broadcast over to her.

Katniss said, “Folks, Peeta is scamming the Careers, and everyone in District Twelve knows he’s scamming the Careers. Peeta has been my friend since we were five. He’s not trying to lead the Careers to me, he’s trying to lead the Careers away from me. But Peeta is playing a dangerous game, and I’m worried about him.”

Katniss paused, sighed, then spoke again: “As for him being in love with me, I had no idea. I’m still deciding what to think about this.”

****

Days later, in the arena

Katniss had real weapons now: a silver bow and a silver sheath of arrows, which she had looted off Glimmer’s tracker-jacker-stung corpse. Katniss had two kills to her credit from dropping the tracker-jacker nest on the-Careers-plus-Peeta: Glimmer, and the District Four girl-tribute. After Katniss had claimed the bow and arrows, she had used them to put “hunger” back into the Hunger Games, at least for the three surviving Careers, by blowing up their stash of Cornucopia goodies.

Alas, in the carrying out of this plan, clever little Rue had been speared to death, but Katniss had put an arrow in the neck of Rue’s killer. For the first time in Katniss’s life, she had aimed her weapon at a human being and had killed her target. But Katniss the killer had also been Katniss the friend: Katniss had sung to dying Rue, then Katniss had covered Rue’s corpse with flowers and had given Rue the District Twelve funeral salute.

Only hours ago, Claudius Templesmith had announced that two tributes could both win the Hunger Games if they both came from the same district.

After the announcement, finding Peeta had been a real challenge for Katniss. Injured Peeta had laid in a stream and had disguised himself as a mud bank—the camouflage had been perfect.

Finding Peeta had been a problem for Katniss, but Peeta had had bigger problems of his own—

Cato’s sword had cut deep into Peeta’s leg, after Peeta had fought to protect Katniss from an angry (and tracker-jacker stung) Cato. Now the sword-wound was deep and inflamed, and Peeta was weak. This despite the fact that Katniss had used medical knowledge on Peeta that she had never realized she knew.

But now Katniss and Peeta were hiding from the District Two Careers in a cave. Feverish Peeta was lying in a sleeping bag that Katniss had stuffed him into.

Peeta said, “Katniss, thanks for finding me.”

Katniss shrugged off the thanks. “You would have found me if you could.”

“Yes. Look, if I don’t make it back—”

“Don’t talk like that. I didn’t drain all that pus for nothing.”

“I know. But just in case I don’t—”

“No, Peeta, I don’t even want to discuss it.” Katniss laid her fingers on Peeta’s lips to quiet him.

“But I—”

Katniss leaned down and kissed Peeta. She felt his lips burning unnaturally hot from fever.

Katniss felt something then. Something made her heart beat faster.

Pretending nonchalance, Katniss pulled the edge of the sleeping bag up around Peeta.

Still seemingly unexcited, Katniss said, “You’re not going to die. I forbid it, all right?”

“All right,” Peeta whispered. His face showed amazement that Katniss had just kissed him.

“It’s settled then,” Katniss declared. She leaned down a second time; she kissed Peeta for the second time. This time Katniss knew to expect that her friend’s lips would be fever-hot.

What Katniss did not expect was how this second kiss made her feel. Katniss had overheard girls at school talking about going to the Slag Heap and kissing a boy—Katniss now felt like how those girls had said they had felt: Happy. Tingly. Alive.

Katniss realized she could not think of Peeta as “just a friend” anymore.

Katniss raised up, and looked down at Peeta. Peeta was smiling as much as a sick person could smile.

“Peeta,” Katniss said with complete seriousness, “I am going to get in so much trouble, because I like this, but...”

Katniss leaned down and kissed Peeta a third time.

What Katniss broke the third kiss, Peeta’s face was as radiant as the sun.

****

Days later

Thresh from District Eleven had killed Clove from Two. Then Cato from Two had killed Thresh. “Foxface” (the reclusive District Five girl-tribute) had died when she had eaten nightlock berries that Peeta unknowingly had gathered. Katniss had put the nightlock berries in a pouch, hoping she could pull the same trick on Cato as had killed Foxface.

Then all three remaining tributes had been attacked by mutts that looked like werewolf-versions of dead tributes. All three tributes had climbed atop the Cornucopia to escape the mutts. Katniss and Peeta, working together, had knocked Cato off the Cornucopia, where he had fallen down among the werewolf-mutts. But well-armored Cato had not died till hours later, when Katniss had shot him in the head.

Strangely, no trumpets had sounded then. Katniss and Peeta had moved off the Cornucopia (with difficulty, in Peeta’s case—his leg had been gushing blood). Even after the two Twelves had moved far away from Cato’s corpse so that a hovercraft claw could easily reach Cato, still no trumpets had sounded. Then Claudius Templesmith had announced that the two-tributes-can-win rule had been changed back.

Very likely the Gamemakers had expected Katniss to kill Peeta then; or less likely, Peeta to kill Katniss. But Katniss was done playing their games. Soon afterward, Katniss and Peeta each had an open hand that was filled with nightlock berries.

“On the count of three?” Katniss asked.

Peeta kissed her, then replied, “On the count of three.”

Katniss and Peeta stood facing each other. Her right hand was holding his left hand.

“Hold them out,” Peeta said, “I want everyone to see.” Peeta straightened out the fingers of his right hand a little, which revealed a few more nightlock berries, then he raised his right hand a little. Katniss’s left hand copied both moves.

“Together?” Katniss asked.

“Together,” Peeta answered, his eyes boring into hers. “One.”

Katniss and Peeta, each being careful not to spill any berries, leaned forward at the same time. They kissed.

They each leaned back, standing straight again. Katniss said, “Two.”

Katniss and Peeta each leaned forward, they kissed (much longer, the second time), then they leaned back to stand straight.

At the same time, each of them said, “Three.” They brought their berries-hands to their mouths.

The instant that the berries entered their mouths, the trumpets sounded. Then Katniss and Peeta heard the voice of Claudius Templesmith—but his voice was not smug like usual, it was frantic. “Stop! Stop! Ladies and gentlemen, I am pleased to present the victors of the Seventy-fourth Hunger Games, Katniss Everdeen and Peeta Mellark. I give you—the tributes of District Twelve!”

****

One second later

Katniss and Peeta each spewed the berries out of their mouths; Katniss went so far as to wipe off her tongue with her shirttail. The two new Victors moved to the edge of the arena’s lake, where they rinsed out their mouths with water.

Then Panem’s first Co-Victors looked at each other—each of them had a lower face that was wet, and their clothes were water-splashed.

Katniss said, “Peeta, I want you to be more than just a friend. To hell with You-Know-Who.”

Peeta looked as shocked as when he had been Reaped. But Peeta’s shock did not stop him from pulling Katniss in for a kiss—

—seconds later, he collapsed in her arms. Blood-loss had made him weak.

Katniss hurried to get Peeta into the Victor-hovercraft. As Katniss pulled Peeta forward, she had an irrelevant thought: I still have no clue who my soulmate is.

****

Meanwhile, in the Presidential Mansion

Minerva Snow was smiling as she cried. “Oh Grandpa, Peeta and Katniss are beautiful. Katniss is my hero now.”

President Snow was so angry—at brainless Seneca Crane, at lovesick Peeta Mellark, and especially at uncontrollable Katniss Everdeen—that he walked out of the room, rather than dim Minerva’s happy mood.

Snow vowed that Seneca Crane and Katniss Everdeen would both pay for this.