"If a victor is considered desirable, the president gives them as a reward or allows people to buy them for an exorbitant amount of money. If you refuse, he kills someone you love. So you do it."

Tears fell copiously from my eyes, blurring my view of the screen. I shook my head slowly, shutting my eyes and covering my ears with my hands, as I always did when I was upset. Why didn't he tell me? How long had this been going on for? When he said 'someone you love'…did he mean me? Oh God, was this my fault?

"Annie," Johanna whispered, reaching towards me through the bars of her cell, "Calm down. The guards will hear! It's going to be okay, Annie. Finnick's safe in District 13. The Capitol can't hurt him now."

I wailed, slumping to the blood-stained floor. My Finnick had always been the only person who could calm me down when I got upset, but he was on the other side of Panem. I was in President Snow's torture chambers. I would be dead soon.

"Finnick!" I screamed, unable to contain myself any longer. I heard the Capitol guards storming down the dank corridor, but I couldn't bring myself to care. The only thing I could think about was the haunted emptiness in his perfect, beautiful eyes when he confessed to the extent of Snow's control over him. I wanted to see him, to comfort him, but I knew that the next time we met would be in the afterlife.

"Mental Girl's lost it." growled the head guard, "She doesn't know any rebel secrets. We've no more use for her. Shut her up, would you, Rilney?"

A tall man – Rilney, presumably – nodded, pointing his gun at my head. My eyes widened and I choked on my tears, my short life flashing before me. I braced myself for the inevitable agony. A loud crack of gunshot split through the air and bright light flooded my entire world. I hit the floor with a muffled thud.

I was sitting in the harbour, near to the Victors' Village. Finnick was by my side, his arms wrapped around me. The sea was calm, glistening like a million tiny jewels in the afternoon sun.

"Anne," he muttered, gently squeezing my hand, "Annie?"

To my great disappointment, the scene began to fade. After a few seconds of blackness, I opened my eyes, to see Johanna leaning over me, calling my name.

"Jo?" I whispered, "Wh…what happened? How am I not dead?"

"The rebels saved us, Anne. A District 13 squadron found us and shot the guard just as he was about to kill you. I suppose you must have fainted during the fight. You really gave me a scare, Annie; I thought you hadn't made it!"

I breathed deeply, taking in this new information. "So…where are we now?"

"We're in 13, Anne. This is the hospital. You got off pretty lightly, I think – just a few cuts and bruises – so they'll probably let you out, now that you're conscious. I've got to stay here for a while, apparently, and Peeta…well, Peeta's totally lost it, so he's going to be in here for a pretty long time."

Just then, we were interrupted by a wispy-looking blonde doctor who I recognised as Mrs Everdeen. The Capitol had interviewed her several times during her daughter's Games. "Are you feeling alright, Miss Cresta? Do you have a headache at all?"

I shook my head. I felt slightly confused, but, apart from that, I was perfectly normal…by my standards, at least.

"In that case, you're free to go. I believe that a Mr Odair is waiting to see you."

My face lit up at the prospect of seeing him again. I thanked Mrs Everdeen, said goodbye to Johanna and bolted to the corridor. "Finnick!" I shrieked, launching myself towards the spot that he and Katniss were hovering in, unsure of what to do. I didn't give a damn if I looked a mess and was dressed in nothing except a sheet. "Finnick!"

He turned, a wide grin spreading across his face, and ran into my arms. We overbalanced and toppled into the wall, gaining us some very strange looks from passers-by, but we didn't care. It was as if the rest of the world had melted away into an insignificant blur, so that it was just the two of us, reunited at long last. If it hadn't been for the elephant in the room, the little thing knowing away at the back of my mind, that I knew I needed to discuss with him, I could easily have stayed there forever.

"Finn," I whispered, holding back the oncoming flood of tears, "I…I need to…ask you about something. Can we go someplace more private?"

He nodded, giving me a concerned glance. "Sure. Come on, I need to show you our apartment, anyway."

We walked through the warren-like maze of District 13, arms tightly wrapped around each other, until we reached a grey door. To me, it seemed exactly like every other door in this godforsaken district, but Finnick seemed to be able to tell the difference. He nudged it open and ushered me inside, sitting me down on a rickety bed. "It's not much," he murmured, "But it's safe. What was it you wanted to talk about?"

"Finnick, this morning…last night…this afternoon…I'm not really sure; it's hard to tell." I paused, taking a deep breath to calm myself down. "You said that Snow made you…sell yourself."

He closed his eyes, hanging his head in shame. "I'm sorry, Annie."

"It's not your fault, Finn!" I whimpered, burying my face in his shoulder. I could tell by his expression that he didn't believe me, but it was the truth. He hadn't wanted this; he hadn't wanted any of it. I was determined to make him see that I knew that. The only thing was that a tiny part of me needed to have proof, to hear him say it aloud. I loathed and despised that part, but I needed to make sure. "But…with the Capitol girls, was there ever one that…you know, you actually…liked? As in, liked liked?"

"What? No! Of course not, Annie!" he cried, stroking my cheek reassuringly. "There's only been one woman I've ever loved. She's the most beautiful girl in all the world. She has long, dark hair, with better waves in than the sea itself. She also has sparkling green eyes, like two perfectly still oceans. Her name is Annie Cresta and, if she'll let me, I'd like to ask her something."

He pulled a tiny box from underneath his pillow and sank to the floor, leaning on one knee. "Will you marry me, Annie?"

The tears I had been holding back couldn't be contained any longer. "Oh, Finnick! Yes, I will!"

He slid the ring onto my finger and wrapped his arms around my waist, kissing me full on the lips. In that moment, nothing else in the whole of Panem seemed to matter. The rebellion, the Capitol and the Hunger Games felt to us as if they were just a distant memory – a nightmare that was fading away in the morning light. We were together and nothing President Snow did would ever tear us apart.

We were Finnick and Annie, the star-crossed lovers of District 4, and there was nothing that Snow could do to change that.