So... I finally got around to upload this! I'm really sorry it took me so long, I hope you like it :)

Epilogue

Marvel

"Marvel! Marvel, please wake up!"

I want to, but my eyelids are just too heavy, and I can't move. I want to do as the voice says- it sounded so desperate, and it's so familiar…

"Give him some time," whispers a second voice.

"But he's not breathing!" The first voice trails off as I let out a gasp and open my eyes, blinking several times due to the bright sunlight shining through the large windows.

How could I forget that voice?!

"Baby-face?" I croak. Serena is staring at me in shock, with the dark circles under her eyes standing out over her pale skin, almost as if she is sick; she's wearing a simple white tunic and seems to have just woken up. Serena covers her mouth and shakes her head, but doesn't say anything. "Are you a hallucination?" I ask.

"Not that I know of," she says faintly, with the hint of a smile upon her lips.

"Am I dead?" I shut my eyes again, as Serena begins to gently stroke my hair.

"I don't know," she says softly. "I only woke up a minute ago. The last thing I remember is you screaming at me, after I got stung by tracker jackers."

Suddenly, warm, salty drops of water begin pouring on my face, and I realize that Serena is crying. "Hey, hey," I say soothingly, squeezing her hand. She lets out a muffled sob, and I sit up with difficulty; I'm now aware that I had been laying on a bed, and that there are more people around me, but I can only focus on Serena, who is sitting next to me and biting her lip in an attempt to hold back her tears. I observe her closely, and I'm shocked to find out marks of the tracker jacker stingers- almost invisible, but still there. I wrap my arms around her- has she lost weight?- and bury my nose in her hair. "I'm so sorry," I whisper, as I run my hands along her back. "If I had protected you as I should, you wouldn't have died like that."

"You don't have to be sorry. I would have died, no matter what," she says, against my chest. "There's no way I could have killed you."

"Maybe that would have been for the best," I mutter.

Serena widens her eyes, looking scandalized. "Don't say that!"

I pull away from her, grabbing her shoulders, and sorrowfully look into her eyes. "You don't understand." I have to tell Serena this, but she's making it twice as hard by caressing my neck with her fingertips, right where I suppose Katniss's arrow left a scar. "After I watched you die, knowing it was my fault, I tried to get my revenge on Katniss, and I only made things worse."

"Wait." Serena frowns. "If I'm dead, and you're dead, how come I only woke up now? I mean… From what you're telling me, I'd say I died a few days bef-"

"Would you please listen?" I say, harsher than I should; Serena stops crying and raises her eyebrows, pursing her lips. "I did something horrible." I look down, feeling more ashamed of myself than ever. "I killed Rue."

Serena blinks, surprised, and looks over her shoulder, as if she knows something I don't. "Why, Marvel?" she asks hurtfully, turning back to me. "You know she couldn't hurt you."

"I was so obsessed with making Katniss pay for what she had done to you that when I found out Rue was her ally… I just snapped." Serena is staring at me blankly, and I know exactly what's on her mind. "You think I'm a monster," I say tonelessly.

"No I don't!" she says shakily. "I just… I just didn't know you worried so much about me."

"Well of course I do," I say, a bit annoyed. Isn't it obvious? "I went through the worst days of my life! I thought I had lost you- I even buried your blanket." I don't know why I added this last part, but I'm so relieved that I'm seeing Serena again- in some sort of afterlife, or whatever this is- that I just feel the need to spit it out.

"You buried my blanket." Is it just me or is she smiling?

"Yeah. But I kept this." I raise my hand so she can see my wrist; for a moment I panic, as it crosses my mind that I might have lost it on my trip to this place- which is, I see now, filled with people, all of them tremulously getting up from their beds-, but Crystal's bracelet is still there, with the flower dangling next to the heart. "See? You're always close to my heart."

That sounded horribly cheesy, but I really don't care because a moment later Serena is on top of me, and kissing me like there's no tomorrow.

Serena

"I love you," I blurt out, before I can help it.

That should have been the very first thing I told Marvel, but I was just so scared that he wouldn't wake up that I just… sort of forgot about it. I have absolutely no clue about where we are- somehow, I know I'm on a boat, and that in some way I died in the arena and then got here, but that's all-, or why we are surrounded by the other tributes- people that I thought gone forever; and worse, people that I thought were still alive.

So when everything stopped spinning enough for me to sit up and look around after I woke up, and the first thing I saw was Marvel on the bed right in front of mine, with his eyes closed and his skin white as paper, I completely freaked out and immediately rushed to him; he wasn't breathing, and not even David could calm me down- perhaps also due to the fact that I almost had a stroke when I saw him calmly getting up from his bed, as if the last time I had seen him he didn't have an axe sticking out of his back, while a few other tributes- including little Rue, who appeared to have been awake for a while- did the same, sending confused glances around.

But suddenly Marvel opened his eyes, and I forgot all about them; he was alive! Well, not exactly alive, since I still don't know how any of this is possible, or what is going on. Then he started saying those awful things about himself, and I didn't know how to reply, I just wanted him to shut up already and kiss me. I guess the last straw was his cheesy- but still strangely cute- remark.

I expectantly look into Marvel's eyes, which are still a little glazed, waiting for his reply, as he opens his mouth, surprised; for a second, I'm worried that Peeta turned out to be wrong, but then Marvel gives me his usual smirk, which is, however, nothing when compared to the kindness in is eyes. "I love you too," he whispers, before he drags me down so he can kiss me again.

We're getting pretty, er… intimate- let the others mind their own business- when suddenly I hear someone snort behind me. "You two are obviously not acquainted with the concept of getting a room, are you?"

"Hi, Glimmer," I say, glancing at her and focusing back on Marvel. "Do you know what a third wheel is?"

"Oh, please." I can practically sense her flipping her blonde curls back. "You turn everyone into third wheels as soon as you get near them. Please control your hormones."

"Glimmer, shut up," Marvel groans.

"Fine," she says, pretending to sound offended, as she walks away.

When she's already out of hearing range, Marvel asks "Why are you telling me that now?"

I feel my face heat up; of course we're not done yet with this conversation- we can't just confess our love for each other and then act like nothing's changed. "You mean why did I choose to tell you in a room full of people, when we had so many chances when we were alone?" Marvel nods, and I take a deep breath. "Well, I had my doubts. And when I realized there was no need for that, it was already too late."

Marvel tucks my hair behind my ear. "What made you realize that?" he asks.

"It was Peeta, actually," I say, unable to suppress a smile.

Marvel's smile drops. "Lover Boy?" he asks unpleasantly.

"Well, yes," I widen my eyes at him. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing." Marvel's expression softens, and he sits up so he can look around the room. "Where is he, anyway?" I do the same, silently counting up to twenty the tributes spread around what appears to be a mix between a dorm and a ship cabin; some of them are already trying to open a door on the opposite side of the windows, while Cato and Thresh seem to have just woken up, and are now staring at each other in shock. However, there's no sign of Peeta- or Katniss. "Where the hell are we?" Marvel mutters next to me.

As if answering his question, a pleasant voice echoes through the room. "Attention tributes, please report to the deck."

"I don't know," I say, taking his hand and getting up. "Let's find out."

Oh my, where to start?

First of all, a special thanks to everyone who reviewed the last chapter: julesjumper, Behold-Pandora's-Box, chocolate-chip-cookie-monster, A-Wayward-Sould and Luli Cullen!

Also a big thank you to everyone who favored, followed, reviewed and gave this story a shot! It really encouraged me to keep writing :)

Which leads us to... what comes next!

Without wanting to spoil anything more than I alread have, I will tell you this: the tributes are being taken to another country (this is what Marvel mentioned in Chapter 10)- I've always wondered what exactly exists besides Panem, and I thought it would be interesting to explore that theme, with a whole new society. The story will revolve around the tributes' struggle to deal with having been in the arena and having to adapt to a normal life again... with a twist later on, but I don't want to give away more than I should!

I've also completed three more stories (which still need to be proof-read, but I'll upload them as soon as possible)- one about Cashmere (based on Beauty and the Beast), one about President Snow's graddaughter (based on Snow White) and a prequel to this story (a further look on Marvel's reasons to volunteer).

Once again, thank you for reading! :D