Please note I do not own the hunger games or any of the characters or any song lyrics I may or may not use later.

Please bear with it will get better but need to set scene for what i hope are exciting chapters to come.

"PRIMROSE EVERDEEN"

Effie Trinket's voice rings loud and clear around the square. I stand there frozen unable to grasps the name that has just been read. 'No', the word echoes around my head, which now feels empty of all thoughts leaving me lost and confused. 'No not Prim, it can't be Prim', sweet innocent Prim who would heal before kill every time.

Prim is the only one I know I love and the only one I know loves me, I can't lose her. But I see her walking away from me, towards the stage, towards the capitol, towards the games. But as she walks away I see her shirt has become untucked from her skirt forming the duck tail that brings me back to myself, 'I won't lose her! No! I will go!'

The force of this thought moves me forward.

"PRIM!" I shout after her just as she reached the stage, she's so close and getting closer as I realise I'm running though the easily parting crowd "PRIM! NO!" I shout as one of the Peacekeepers move to block my path. I slam into the obstructing Peacekeeper, who is now between me and Prim. For a moment I forget my plan to volunteer and fight the Peacekeeper who I realise is too big for me to fight and I feel his hands gripping painfully into my arms as he pushes me back, away from Prim.

"NO!" I scream again "NO! I VOLUNTEER! I VOLUNTEER!" I'm screaming in the Peacekeepers ear, who no looks for orders unsure how to proceed.

"That's the spirit of the games" Effie Trinket sings "but before we get to the volunteering I believe there is the sm-" she is cut of abruptly by the mayor "What does it matter?" he asks in a voice somewhere between bored and pained, "Just let her come up" he sighs.

The Peacekeeper holding me back releases his grip and I push forward making for the stage, only to be stopped again. This time its Prim who has wrapped her arms around me in an attempt to stop me going.

"No Katniss, you can't go" she sobs into me and now I'm in danger of crying.

"Let go Prim!" I say with a bit more force than I meant, but I need her to let go, to go back to our mother and to be safe, away from the Capital and their games.

I'm about to tell her again and I'm trying to prise her fingers from me when I feel her weight lifted from me, I turn to see Gale lifting her up and into his arms. She fighting him and crying, begging him to stop me; however Gale just steps back and nods to me, he doesn't say anything but I see it in his eyes 'up you go' they say 'I've got her'. I just nod and turn and walk up the steps to the stage. I walk up to Effie Trinket who is grinning so wide she reminds me of the Cheshire cat we read about in Alice in Wonderland, in English. "Well isn't this exciting, what is your name my dear?" she purrs.

"Katniss Everdeen"

"Now I bet that was your sister now wasn't it Katniss" I simply nod in response which causes Effie to giggle, obviously trying to hide her nerves at such a turn of events " Well we couldn't have her having all the fun now could we." At this comment it took all my self restraint to keep my face blank and hide my shock. Did this woman really this the games were fun?

But I didn't have long to contemplate about this as District 12's only living mentor and district drunk chose this moment to comment.

"I like this one!" he slurred his words and staggered a bit steadying himself with one hand on Effie's shoulder and his other hand gripping tightly round the back of my neck, with surprising strength. "I like this one" he repeated, "She's got fight, yeah, she got... what's the word..." he wobbled a bit as he searched for the word nearly knocking Effie over, but thankfully with his hand round my neck I was more stable and so appeared unaffected by the drunks weight . "Sp... Spu...Sp" Haymitch struggled for the word he wanted.

"Spunk?" Effie suggested with a distinct disliking for heavy weight on her shoulder.

"Yeah, that's it, SPUNK!" he shouted the audience releasing Effie as he did so, in order to point to the crowd "More than you!" he said still pointing and now letting go of Katniss to stumble forward. "More tha-" he was immediately cut off as he fell face first off the stage and knocked himself out.

"Well let's not waste any more time, shall we?" she was clearly trying to cover her distress after Haymitch's display and trying to move things along. "Now for the boys" she called as she walked over to the second glass ball containing the slips of paper with the boys' names on. She wasted no time, evidently wanting it all over, and pulled out the first name her hand came in contact with.

"PEETA MELLARK"

For the second time that day her mind went blank. 'No not him, please not him', she was a little surprised at how much pain she suddenly felt at hearing his name. She had never spoken to him and could hardly count him as a friend; but despite the lake of intimacy between them she felt the pain shoot though her as she recognised him as her saviour, the boy with the bread.