PREVIOUSLY

"Peachy." He manages to say sarcastically. I'm surprised that even in this moment, Peeta manages to make a joke. It doesn't last. "I'm so sorry, Prim."

"Don't worry about it…" I say with a small smile. "I have good news."

"What's that?"

"We just won The Hunger Games."

"We did. We really won." Peeta grabs me and squeezes me almost too tightly. He doesn't let go for several minutes until the constant silence finds a meaning for us.

"Peeta? Um…why aren't they…why aren't they announcing it?"

He lets go of me and turns his back to me, with his face to the sky. "I don't…I don't know. They should be. They're supposed to be. We won. They changed the rules. We won." Peeta's ramblings are no longer for me, or even for the audience. The talking is for him alone, a mantra he repeats over and over. "We won. We won. We won. Why…why…god damn it, WE WON!" Peeta picks up a heavy rock on the ground and hurls it at least fifteen feet away.

His head whips around to face me when we hear the familiar click of a microphone. "Attention all tributes. Attention all tributes."

"No." Peeta shakes his head, and I can see that he is doing his best to control his anger.

"The temporary rule change has been revised. From this point on in the-"

A loud metallic sound brings our hands to our ears in self defense. The microphone makes the same clicking sound once more. A younger, more determined voice spoke. "Congratulations to the victors of the seventy-fourth annual Hunger Games."

Before Peeta and I can react again, a hovercraft joins us. Desperate to escape, Peeta wraps an arm around me, leading me to the ladder that has descended. The games are over, and he still protects me.

XXX XXX XXX

The doors to the control room open in a loud, dramatic rush.

"Mr. Crane. President Snow requests your presence."

The man with the intricate beard places his hands in his pockets and nods. He was prepared for this.

In the President's Game room, two peacekeepers guard each door. The President stands next to a luxurious velvet chair in front of the TV screen, a drink in his hand, fresh from the small bar kept on the other side of the room.

"Mr. Crane. How nice of you to pay me a visit."

He gulps as they stare each other down. The President always seems more bearable when he isn't in the room with you.

"You requested me."

"Ah. Yes. Now I remember."

The temptation to roll his eyes is strong, but Seneca controls himself. "Can I help you?" Just the loss of the word "Sir" is a rebellion in itself when addressing the president. He no longer had anything to fear. Seneca Crane was a dead man, and he knew it.

"Yes. I find myself very confused today. Perhaps you could shed some light."

"Continue."

"First off, I will speak when I like."

"Of course." Seneca nodded curtly.

"I find these Games fascinating, you know. Especially this year's. Because apparently, after seventy-three years…we have decided to adopt a new rule?"

"There were…extenuating circumstances." Seneca defends.

"Extenuating circumstances…yes, that does seem to fit quite nicely as an excuse. Tell me now…what were these circumstances?"

"There was a uh…an uprising."

"Oh I know. You think I wasn't aware? You're very naïve then, . Of course I knew."

"I was…informed. That if the boy or the girl were killed, they would be martyrs. And with a rebellion being held at bay, we can't exactly risk it, now can we?"

"You know, it's funny, Seneca." President Snow stepped closer to him. "We've had these Games for more than seven decades now. And the truly fascinating thing is…there has never once been even a thought of rebellion. That is…until you came along. So it seems that we have identified the problem."

"It seems you have." Seneca responded bitterly.

"And with a rebellion being held at bay," He said, repeating Seneca's words. "We can't exactly risk having this problem around, now can we?"

"No. We can't."

I know this chapter is really short, but I just wanted to update. Plus, I had to get all of this out there so I could move on to the good stuff Next chapter they go back to District 12 and its all Katniss POV from there.

By the way, sorry for the confusion earlier, I updated two stories at the same time, and when I tried to update my other story "Forbidden Fruit" I ended up posting that chapter under this fanfiction D: and of course when I checked I had this freak out seizure moment of OHGODWHYMYLIFEISOVER but now its all good :D

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