Morning rose in District 11, sending beams of yellow light through the thin curtains of the Hawthorne family's home. They were allowed to sleep in today because it was Reaping Day and Hayden planned to do just that, but his father had other plans. It had become a Reaping Day tradition for the two to go hunting that morning despite them going hunting whenever they could anyway.

Hayden didn't argue when he was woken up, knowing what this meant to his father. He obediently got up and changed into a simple outfit and boots. He ran a comb through his slightly messy dark hair before walking out of his room and to his younger sister's.

"You up?" Hayden asked as he knocked on her door. A young girl, no more than twelve years old, with long, light blond hair and grey eyes opened the door.

"Yeah, but I wish I wasn't." She said before yawning.

"Same here, but you know Dad." Hayden said, chuckling at her.

"Yeah. It can't be helped. I'm going to see if Mom needs help with breakfast." She said, turning and walking toward the kitchen.

"I'll help too." Hayden offered as he followed her. The two headed outside where they found their mother, Johanna, picking fruit.

"Good morning, you two." She said, the scar that ran from her eye to her chin giving her a lisp when she spoke.

"Morning Mom." Hayden said with a smile. "Can I help you with anything?"

"Yeah. You and Dahlia can help me carry the fruit back to the house." Johanna said. Hayden grabbed a basket and started toward the house with Dahlia and Johanna following behind him. Once inside, he placed the basket on the kitchen counter and Dahlia and Johanna got to work on their breakfast.

"Ready to go?" Gale asked as he walked into the room.

"Yeah." Hayden nodded taking an apple out of the basket and stuffing it into his pocket. Gale nodded in return before kissing Johanna goodbye.

"We'll be back in a few hours." Gale told her.

"Alright. I'll see you then." Johanna said, giving her husband a smile as the two left.

They didn't return until a little more than an hour before they had to leave, having caught four rabbits and a deer.

"There you are." Johanna said. "You two go get washed up while I get you something to eat. We have to leave soon so hurry."

Hayden nodded and went to wash up. After a bath, he changed into the nicer clothes his mother had set out for him and tried to comb his hair out so it looked nice, but it seemed to stay slightly messy no matter what he did so he just let it go. As he finished tying his shoe laces, he heard knocking at his bedroom door. Hayden opened the door to find Dahlia looking up at him with a worried look on her face.

"What's up, Corn Biscuit?" Hayden said, coming up with the most ridiculous nickname he could think of, a fun little habit he had taken up a few years back. It usually irritated her, but this time she just seemed to ignore it. Seeing his younger sister start to get teary eyed, he adopted a more serious disposition. Dahlia answered his question, but so softly he couldn't hear it.

"You're going to have to speak up." Hayden told her, crouching down to better look her in the eyes.

"What if we get chosen today?" She asked fearfully.

"It doesn't matter. If we are chosen, I promise nothing will happen to you. No matter what, I will get you home safe and sound, okay?" Hayden promised her. Dahlia nodded in response and hugged him, sniffling. He hugged her tightly, stroking her hair in attempt to comfort her.

"Kids, it's time to go!" Called Johanna from the other room.

"Alright. We're coming." Hayden told her as he stood. Dahlia held onto his hand as they walked to their parents.

The four walked to the train station and climbed aboard the one that would take them all the way to the Capitol. The ride was long and the train was packed with people from all the different districts, making it less than enjoyable.

After a long ride, they arrived at the Capitol where they made their way down to a dome shaped building in the middle of a large park with statutes representing each district strewn through it.

The inside of the building was one large room with a huge stage in the middle surrounded by thirteen sets of bleachers that went at an angle all the way up to the ceiling. A podium with the Capitol crest engraved on the front stood center stage with a table beside it. On the table were thirteen glass balls filled with small strips of folded up paper. Lining the back of the stage were twenty six chairs, ensembled into matching pairs decorated like their respective districts and one pair decorated for the Capitol.

Hayden sat along with Dahlia in the front bleachers of the section painted Granny Smith apple green with the district symbol on the floor in front of the bleachers, obviously for District 11, while Gale and Johanna sat higher up with the others. The other sets of bleachers were set up the same way, each painted the color of their districts with the symbol on the floor and the tributes sitting in the first few rows while everyone else sat above them.

Suddenly, ear piercing microphone feedback rang through the whole building, resulting in a lot of different reactions. Standing behind the podium was an older lady, dressed in the highest quality Capitol clothing. She smiled brightly at the crowd as she started the same old intro as every other time.

It seemed like forever before she got to choosing the names. She reached one hand into a clear glass bowl and pulled out two pieces of paper stapled together. This year it was a Quarter Quell so they were choosing sets of siblings. She opened the pieces of paper and read, "From the Capitol, our first tributes are... Paige and Jameson Abernathy!"

A girl in her upper teens, with long golden brown hair that fell straight down to her mid back, and a younger boy, with straight blond hair that reached to the middle of his ear, walked up onto the stage hand-in-hand. They both looked scared, but the boy, Jameson, looked more so. The two took their seats in the garishly decorated chairs made specifically for the Capitol tributes.

"... Jenna and Jessa Hayes!" The woman called next and two seemingly excited girls walked up onto the stage. They had to have been identical twins because they looked exactly alike with the same dark hair that reached down to their shoulders and bright, calculating green eyes. Their district cheered as they sat in the pure gold chairs of District 1.

"... Mason and Rose Walker!" She called. A boy in his older teens, with mousy brown hair and a muscular build, walked up, his face emotionless, followed by the skinniest, most nervous little girl that anyone had seen from District 2 in a long time. Once again, their district cheered as they sat in the marbled stone chairs that represented District 2. The boy sat straight and tall while his sister shrunk back.

"From District 3... Claire and Caspian Prior!" The woman announced. A set of twins, a girl and a boy, with the same curly blond hair and dark blue glasses, walked towards the stage. The boy, Caspian, was so nervous Claire had to help him up the stage. They sat in chairs that were glass with a circuit board pattern inside it.

"District 4... Talon and Marina Odair!" She said. A handsome older boy with blond hair that had a bit of a curl in it and a younger girl with long reddish brown hair that had prominent curls at the ends walked up to the stage. The boy flashed a smile at a row of girls, making them giggle uncontrollably and his sister roll her eyes. A small commotion was taking place in the upper bleachers of the District 4 section, but Hayden couldn't see what was taking place, though he could hear tidbits of whispered conversation mentioning an Annie Cresta.

The woman behind the podium continued on as if it wasn't even happening. "District 5 is... Natalie and Crispin Eaton." She said, a little louder than before so as to drown out the commotion. A young girl with chin length dark hair coaxed her even younger brother, who had light blond hair in a straight bowl cut that reached just above his eyebrows. The boy looked like he was crying as his older sister led him to their power-themed chairs.

"And for District 6, Chad and Lynn Pedrad!" A girl and a boy in their older teens with dark skin and dark hair erupted from the silver painted bleachers, seemingly in some race to the stage. A woman who looked like them stood and seemed to say something quietly. The two looked back at her before proceeding quietly to their chairs.

Hayden grew a bit more anxious as more and more tributes came up, but he watched them carefully. They may be his enemies. Dara and Cypress Anderson, a girl and a boy from District 7, walked up. They were maybe only two years apart with similar auburn hair and pale complexions. Alden and Marsden Black, two boys from District 8, followed. The two were maybe five years apart. The eldest, Alden, had tanned skin with dark hair while Marsden had lighter hair. Next were Rye and Dagan Latier, another set of boys from District 9, with chocolate colored hair and olive skin. From District 10 were Fawn and Wren Blackthorne, two girls who were maybe three years apart with dirty blond hair and light skin.

District 11. This was it. Hayden found himself holding his breath and Dahlia held on tightly to his hand. 'Please not us. Please not us.' Hayden chanted in his head as he watched the woman pull out the next set of names.

"... Hayden and Dahlia Hawthorne!" She announced, a bright smile on her face.

"Hayden?" Dahlia said, obviously shocked by the news.

"It'll be fine, Squid Pop." Hayden said, giving her a reassuring smile despite being terrified himself. He held her hand as he led her up to the stage and to their seats.

He watched as the woman reached her hand into the glass bowl and pulled out two more pieces of paper.

"Primrose and Cieran Mellark!" She called. An eighteen year old girl with dark hair tied into a braid and bright blue eyes, and a young boy who had short blond hair and gray eyes walked up and sat beside them.

Hayden ignored the ending of the ceremony, his mind on how he was going to protect Dahlia, but his thoughts were interrupted when Peacekeepers came and began to usher tributes toward the back rooms where they would get to say their final goodbyes to their families.

Hayden held tightly to Dahlia's hand, not wanting to lose her in the crowd as they were led to a medium sized room, adorned in the finest furniture Hayden had ever laid eyes on. He sat on the couch and gently pulled Dahlia down beside him before wrapping his arm around her.

Soon, their parents came in. The first thing Johanna did was hug her children tightly. They stayed like that for a long while before she finally pulled away.

"Are you two okay?" Johanna asked with a worried expression, knowing they'd get nowhere in the Games if they were too busy being scared.

"Yeah, Mommy. We're fine." Dahlia told her, glancing up at her big brother with a smile on her face.

"You guys will do fine. Just remember to use what you know. Hayden, you're a great hunter. It's no different. I have total faith in you two." Gale told them as the Peacekeepers returned to lead them out.

"We love you, kids." Johanna told them, tears welling up in her eyes. "Take care of each other."

"We will. Love you too." Hayden said as his parents disappeared around the corner and another set of Peacekeepers ushered Hayden and Dahlia into a long, white limo with windows that were tinted completely black.

All Hayden could think was this was it. There was no turning back. He had to protect Dahlia no matter what the cost and he would. Even if it killed him.