Disclaimer: I DO NOT OWN THE HUNGER GAMES. ALL RIGHTS BELONG TO SUZANNE COLLINS!

I force a smile to my lips and try to tell Prim everything is going to be okay. Her small fingers cling the dress my mother lent me for the reaping; tears soaking into the dress, turning the blue fabric a slightly darker colour.

"Promise me you will try and return home!" I stroked her soft blond hair in silence. "Please Katniss."

"Of course Prim. I might actually have a chance you know."

"You can hunt." It was hard to understand her threw the muffled sobs but I nodded against her and mumbled an answer. Looking up I see my mother watching us with tears in her eyes. I untangled myself from my little sisters arms and moved to my mother.

"I wont zone out again. I promise." I pulled her into a tight embrace.

"Gale will bring you game, do not let Prim sign up for tesserae; its not worth putting her name in again." Turning back to Prim I kneel down to her so I am at eye level. "Sell milk and cheese from your goat, between moms healing practise and your goat you should have enough money to get by."

The door jerks open and two peacekeepers barge into the room to escort my family out. Prim launches herself at me sobbing. "You have to come back Katniss, you have to win!" With that she's yanked from my arms. I manage to yell out "I promise" before the door is slammed shut. I flop down on a chair across the room and place my head in my hands. When the door opens again and a peacekeeper mumbles that we have three minutes I see Gale rush in and I jump from my seat into his waiting arms.

"I'm okay." My head is buried in the crook of his neck and I'm not sure he heard me when he nods.

"I know. Listen to me Catnip, get to a bow!"

"They might not have-"

"They will if you show them how good you are. If they don't you make one!" His tone was final and i knew there was no point in arguing. "They just want a good show. Give them that and you will have sponsors lined up to keep the show going. Do everything and anything you can to make yourself interesting and memorable." I look up to him and see he is blinking back tears. "I love you like my own sister Catnip, you have to come back to us."

"I plan on it." The door opens and I clutch to Gale before they kick him out. "Take care of them Gale, don't let them starve." Hes thrown from the room and I feel my world crumbling. I mentally slap myself; Prim will see me get on the train- i cant let her see I'm scared or upset. I plaster a look of faith on my face. Faith that my family will pull threw this, faith that Gale will help them survive, and above all faith that I can win.

Peeta sat across the table from me speaking with out mentor Haymitch Abernathy. The district drunk; and our only survivor of the games for district 12. I don't believe Haymitch is a victor, only a survivor. The terrible things he had to do in the games and all he saw while there haunts him everyday; making him turn to liqueur to chase his ghosts away. There are no real victors to these games. At least not in my eyes.

The train taking us to the capitol is beautiful. One of the gold flecks in the floor could feed my family for months and it disgusted me to know the capital had so much gold they could use it as decoration but they allow for districts to starve. A soft velvet sofa and a dark wooden table take up the left side of the car we are in, the other half occupied by the table and chairs that Peeta Haymitch and I sit at. When I boarded the train the day before I had our escort Effie Trinket show me to my room and that's where i stayed until she was knocking on my door bright and early chirping about how we have a big big big day ahead of us.

"So what advice do you have for us?" Peeta rubbed his hands together, leaning in towards Haymitch. After a moment consideration, and a long drink from a silver flask, he gave us an answer.

"Stay alive." His face breaks out into a smile and he laughs uncontrollably. Peeta and I share an unamused look.

He reaches for his flack again and I slam a knife down between his fingers earning a shriek from Effie. "That is Mahogany!" I ignore her claim and focus my attention on my so called mentor.

"Congratulations, you killed a place-mat." Sarcasm dripped off his words as I ripped the knife from the table. "Your going to have to be a little more useful with that knife if you want to win this sweetheart." I get a grip on the blade and throw it into the wall across the room making it stick between two panels of wood, making me look a lot better than i am . He turns his gaze from the knife back to me. "Did I actually get a fighter this year?"

"I don't plan on going out without a fight. I'm coming home from this." He nods his head and turns to Peeta.

"What about you boy?" Peeta looks embarrassed.

"I have never handled a weapon before. And I know she isn't that good! That was a lucky shot." I glare at Peeta. "I have seen her and Gale throwing knifes behind her house, she almost always misses."

"At least she is trying boy! Do you wanna die in the first five minutes?" Peeta lowered his head refusing to make eye contact. "Didn't think so. So i suggest you figure out what your good at and figure it out fast." With a sigh I inform Haymitch that Peeta is strong.

"He can throw a hundred pound sack of flour right over his head. I have seen it."

"Ya but I'm not going to kill anyone with a sack of flour."

"No but you have a better chance at beating someone in a hand to hand fight."

"I have no chance! A career will kill me before I can blink!" Haymitch opened his mouth to reply when Effie's chipper voice broke threw our argument announcing that we have arrived. Peeta races over to the window. Smiling and waving at the people. Slowly I stand and move to the window, my eyes take in all the different people and all the different ways they have changed the way they look. Plastic surgery is a big trend in the Capitol. One woman's cat-like eyes stare back at me, another with whiskers on her face, a man with green skin, red skin, orange hair, pink hair, green hair, anything imaginable. They all had one thing in common though; they were all cheering for my death.

A/N: So what do you think? This is my first hunger games fanfic, and the first one i have written in 3 years. Please leave me a review, i would love to hear what you guys think; whether its constructive criticism, our opinion, something you would like to see happen or just to say hi! I am going to try and update as often as I possibly can, but there ay be times where an update gets pushed to a later date. I'm a single mom of a 15 week baby boy that really hates to take naps! But i will write when ever i have time so i can keep the updates coming and i promise the next chapters will be longer than this one :)