A/N: Hey guys! Welcome to my new story, in this story it'll be a bit mixed up, when I say that I mean Peeta doesn't get reaped, somebody else does. Also, there's no volunteers allowed this year. If you can't tell already, this won't be focused on Peeta and Katniss. But instead, it's focused on Prim and someone else! If you can't tell, this story will be in Prim's POV. If you see this please leave a review or even favourite/ follow my story. I will love you forever! I have a bad habit of sometimes writing small chapters but I'm trying to improve in this story. Everything that happens won't be just from the book or movie, I will make some stuff up! I can't wait to write more of this. Also, my authors notes shouldn't be this large all the time, it's only big this time as it's my very first one! If you read all this I applaud you, I know how annoying large authors notes are. Also, my spelling of things won't be American as I'm not from there, you'll understand later. Disclaimer: I don't own the hunger games, but I do own my phone!
' "welcome welcome welcome, to the 74th annual games! And may the odds be ever in your favour! As usual, ladies first." I watch as the lady- Effie I think her name is- walks over to the first bowl, full of the slips that contain the girls. She slowly places her hand in the bowl and quickly pulls a slip of paper out. She walks back over to the podium and opens it. She clears her throat and speaks.
"Primrose Everdeen!" '
I wake up screaming and shaking. I sit up and look at Buttercup, his golden eyes piercing at me. I wipe the tears off of my cheeks and allow Buttercup to curl up beside me. I look at my sister and she's still asleep, I won't wake her, she needs her beauty sleep. I sit up and swing my legs off of the side of the bed, and stand up. I slowly inch my way over to my mother, making sure I don't wake her or Katniss up, and plonk myself on her bed. She stirs a bit and looks up at me. She grabs the corner of her blanket and pulls it to the side, allowing me to lie down. She pats the empty space and I smile a little bit. I lie down and cuddle up next to her. She strokes my hair and looks at me.
"Bad dream?" She whispers in a soft, soothing voice. I nod my head and wipe another stray tear. Buttercup jumps onto the bed and sits at my knees, guarding me from the monsters that threaten to hurt me. My mother wraps her arms around me and looks at me. I sniff and wrap my arms around her too.
"Do you want to talk about it?" She asks quietly. I shake my head. Talking about it won't help me, I still might have to relive that nightmare in a few hours. She nods her head and closes her eyes.
"Go to sleep Prim, your safe now. I promise everything will be okay. After the reaping we will all have a big feast with the Hawthorns and celebrate another year of safety. It's Rory's first year too, you'll both get through this, I promise. I love you." My mother whispers to me. I smile. I forgot Rory is also twelve, I keep thinking he is thirteen. Sometimes when both Gale and Katniss are out hunting in the woods, Rory and I hang out. I remember the first time we met, we were only eight. We instantly became friends. We used to always play in the meadow, making daisy chains or having running races. He was my bestfriend.
"I love you too." I whisper back. I roll over and close my eyes, allowing my memories of Rory and I hanging out. My favourite was the day of my tenth birthday. Vick was only eight years old, Posy being one. Katniss and Gale went hunting the night before so they could trade with the people in the hob for supplies for my birthday dinner. I was really excited so I went to visit Rory. We went out to the meadow and picked dandelions and other edible plants, hoping to be able to help our older siblings. Once we had enough we ran to the fence and waited. After an hour or so Katniss and Gale came and looked at us with shock.
"What are you guys doing?" Gale asked us curiously. Rory grinned and I giggled. We both handed them our buckets off stuck we collected and they smiled at us.
"You guys remembered that these were edible?" Katniss asked while smiling. I nodded my head. I love when my sister is proud of me.
"We are going to get some of the stuff now but most of it at the crack of dawn tomorrow." Gale said slowly. We nodded our heads with excitement. We watched as our siblings walked away, towards the hob. Rory looked at me and I looked back.
"I wonder what they are going to get you." He said enthusiastically. I grinned. That's what I wanted to know. I shrugged my shoulders. I suddenly got a great idea and I started smiling.
"Let's go to the bakery!" I squealed. I grabbed Rory's wrist and dragged him back into town. Sometimes it scared me with all thepeople around but they accepted me. Probably because I was Katniss's sister. The baker loved me, or at least liked me. He always bought the squirrels. I always saw his youngest son around town, Peeta I think his name is. I always catch him looking at Katniss, making me believe he has a huge crush on her. But I've never told my sister that, I found it funny when she didn't know everything. When we got to the bakery the scent of freshly cooked bread filled my nose, almost making me feel dizzy.
"I love coming here, it always smells so good." Rory said amazed. I grinned.
"Same." I said. We both remained at the window fantasising about all the delicious cakes and cookies. The next day, on the actual day of my birthday, I woke up and noticed Katniss wasn't home. I walked into the living room and my mother smiled at me.
"Happy birthday gorgeous girl." She said sweetly to me. I smiled and hugged her. The door flung open and Katniss and Gale walked in, with all their trades and food on their backs in backpacks. They bought a young goat home that was severely injured. My mouth dropped and I squealed, laughed and cried all at once. My mother cleared the table and Gale put the goat down. Mother immediately got to work, brewing herbal remedies and injecting medication into the goast infected skin. I was so excited that I felt the urge to help, my mother always said I'm a natural healer, so she let me help. One thing that caught my eye was the little pink ribbion that was tied around her neck. I smiled and flung my arms around both Katniss and Gale.
"Thank you." I squealed as I hugged them both. "Happy birthday little duck." Katniss whispered. I was so grateful that day, words can't even explain it.
My eyes flutter open and I look at the cream ceiling. I roll over and my mother is gone, probably went and got prepared early for the reaping. That's right, today's the day I've been dreading all my life. My heartbeat picks up stamina and I start shaking. I need to get my mind off things. Everyone morning of the reaping Katniss goes out into the woods and spends the morning with Gale, hunting and gathering meat and plants for a decent sized feast for dinner. My favourite is when they bring home strawberries with katniss roots and fish. If they get enough game they sometimes purchase cookies, but it's really rare.
The baker always buys the squirrels and gives them loaves of soft fluffy bread, his raisin and dried fruit bread is the best. I first tasted it on the day my family was boredline starving to death. My older sister went out trying to sell my baby clothes and ended up coming home with a loaf of freshly cooked bread, still warm and recently out of the oven. That was also the day our mother came back to us, she became depressed and shut the world out after our father died in a mine explosion. I was only seven, Katniss being eleven. Sometimes I wake up to my sister screaming, apparently from bad dreams that include our fathers death.
I jump out of bed and pick up Buttercup, carrying him with me into the kitchen. My mother sits at our ragged dinning table, sipping some kind of tea. Mint probably. I sit Buttercup down on the sofa and walk to the back door.
"Morning Prim." My mother says softly.
"Good morning." I say back. I open the door and it creaks as it swings open. I step outside into the soft dirt and make my way over to Lady. I watch as she chews the strands off grass that remain in her pen. I jump over the gate and walk over to her.
"Hello Lady." I say quietly while petting her. I grab the plastic bucket that got knocked over and walk into the little tin shed where we store all the animal food; grains and carrots mostly. I search through the grain trough and find the rusty scooper. I make a mental note to get Katniss to clean in later. I scoop up the grain and empty the contents into the bucket. I then continue to get the milk, sitting the grain in front of Lady, I start milking her. I do this nearly every morning, collecting milk for my mother to have later on if we have food, we normally do. Unless we run out and it's storming outside, or the fence is charged with electricity.
I look down and see the bucket completely full, I smile. It's enough to make cheese. I get off the stool and push it against the fence. Lady walks over to me with a mouthful of grain and nudges my arm, forcing me to pet her. I put my hand on her back and continuously drag it backwards and forwards across her soft fur. All my pets love me, although Buttercup hates Katniss. Well, when you think about it, he doesn't hate her, just has a major dislike. I stop petting her and I trudge through the dirt over towards the rusty fence, sadly I can't jump over it while I have a bucket of milk. It'll spill everywhere and then what will I do? With a bit of effort I kick the gate open, it swings open and creaks. I walk through and kick it shut again, hoping it closed properly. I amble as quick as I can into the house so I can give the milk to mother, I would much rather have the cheese done and wrapped up before Katniss wakes up.
"Want me to turn that into cheese?" My mother asks as she washes her cup in the sink. I nod my head and walk towards her, putting the bucket on the kitchen counter. I turn around and head towards a dinning chair, I like watching her make it even though I'm not entirely sure on what she does with it. She dries her hands gets one of her old pots, from when she was younger I think. She turns on the tap and fills it three quarters full with cold water.
"Can you heat the water up Prim?" She asks quietly. I nod my head and stand up. I take a few steps and grab the black pot off her. I think it used to be silver but after living in the seam, it has gathered quite a few layers off coal dust. Which reminds me, I need to clean the mirror in the bathroom, my father hated having the mirror dirty with all the dust sitting on it. Every morning before he headed to the mines he would clean it. Ever since her died I took up that chore, knowing it would make him happy. I go to the fire place that's still lit and place the pot on the stand that sits inside it, carefully so I don't burn myself. I sit in front of the fire and Buttercup joins me, enjoying both my company and the warmth.
After about ten minutes I put on the oven mitts and cautiously pull the pot off the burning fire. Buttercup jumps away and makes himself comfortable on the sofa behind me. I very slowly stand up, making sure I don't burn the floor by spilling the boiling hot water. I then proceed to walk over to the stove so I can place the pot on top. My mother smiles at me, so I return it. I go back to sitting on the dinning chair and watching my mother cook. She empty's the water into our expensive kettle, she got it from her family as a wedding gift or something. I was originally going to ask why she wanted the water heated up when she doesn't use it for the milk, she only needs the pot heated up. But obviously she wants to have hot tea or something later.
I watch as she gently pours the goats milk into the still hot pot and mixes it. She does other stuff that I don't understand but she does sprinkle in some herbs. I look at the old crocked clock hanging on the wall. It's still early, I should go back to sleep. I watch as my mother forms the shake of the newly made cheese; circles are always my favourite.
"You can wrap it up now." My mother says. I jump up or my chair and walk towards the cabinet that holds our food. I find three basil leaves and very carefully wrap them around the cheese. I look around and notice Buttercup eyeing off the food, probably not a good idea to leave the goats cheese laying around for anybody to take. I grab a jar and place the cheese inside it, then flipping it upside down. My mum looks at me and smiles.
"Go back to sleep Prim." She says softly.
"Come with me." I plead. She sighs and walks back into the bedroom, I follow close behind. I curl up beside my mother and cradle my head into the side of her neck, resting on her shoulder. I close my eyes and allow myself to drift off into a peaceful sleep.
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I feel myself slowly drifting into consciousness as I start to become aware of my surroundings. Thankfully, I had no more nightmares and I managed to get a few more hours of sleep, might as well sleep in anyways. I allow my eyelids to open and I get instantly blinded by the bright sunlight that's peeking through the windows. I blink a few times, trying to make my eyes focus. Buttercup crawls up beside me and looks at me with his piercing yellowish green eyes. My sister always insists they look like rotting squash. I scratch him behind the ears, causing me to get the soft purr I love.
"Good morning Buttercup." I whisper. I look around and see that Katniss is gone, probably gone hunting with Gale. I lazily swing my legs off the bed and stand up, with Buttercup standing beside me. I amble into the kitchen and smile as I see the cheese gone.
"There's warm water in the tub if you want to have a bath." I turn around and look at my mum, who is staring out the window. I wonder what she's looking at. Buttercup runs up to her and makes his way up to the windowsill. I smile as he jumps out and wonders his way towards Lady. I start walking towards our small bathroom and my mother calls out.
"I put your reaping clothes in there too!" She yells, making sure I hear her. No doubt I'll have my sister's first reaping outfit. You see, we don't have the money to go and buy tones of clothing or fabrics to design brand new outfits. We barely get by as it is. I pull my shirt over the top of my head and place it on the clothes hanger, along with my flannel pajama pants. I slowly lower myself in the warm water and sit down. I make sure to wash my self thoroughly, but also quickly as no doubt Katniss will also use this water. As I soak myself I can't help but worry about the reaping. I don't think it'll be me, there's only one slip in the bowl with my name on it. One in thousands.
But Katniss and Gale are who I'm worrying about. My sister has her name in twenty times as she takes tesserae for herself, our mother and I. I'm just hoping the worst thing that could possibly happen doesn't actually take place.
I stand up and step out of the tub, drying myself with an old towel which is slowly turning into a shredded rag. I turn around and my eyes lock in my reaping clothes. A white blouse with a grey-brown skirt. Katniss's first reaping outfit. I feel a smile tug at the corner of my lips, I love getting my sisters clothing as it makes me feel more confident. I pick the precious clothing up and throw it on- tucking the blouse in my skirt. Only there's a problem, it won't stay tucked at the back. I frown as I keep attempting to make it stay in place but failing. I sigh and walk out of the bathroom so my mother can braid my hair.
"You look beautiful Prim." I soft voice says. I turn around and smile at my mother. She always tries to make me feel better when I'm stressed, like right now. She walks over to me and I sit down on one of the dinning room chairs, petting Buttercup along the way. I hear the front door creak, causing me to look up. My sister walks in and places her game bag on the table while she empties out its contents. Fish, greens, strawberries and a loaf of fresh bread fall out and cover the table. The scent of the bread wafts into the air and my mouth waters.
"I managed to get all this for dinner tonight." Katniss says happily. Her eyes drift to me and she smiles.
"I'm going to go get ready." She says as she starts to walk off.
"There's a tub of warm water waiting for you!" Mum shouts quickly, making sure my sister hears. I watch her walk into the bathroom and close the door. I start to feel anxious, knowing that the reaping is in less than an hour. I could get reaped, or even worse, Katniss could. A lump appears to find its way into my throat and I try to swallow it down. I don't feel my mother pulling at my hair anymore.
"All done." She says. I blink a few times and turn my head around to face her. I try and hide the emotion on face and smile.
"Thank you." I say sweetly as I hop off the chair. Katniss walks into the room in her reaping outfit. It's one of my mother's merchant dresses, a soft blue one. I watch as mother starts to braid Katniss's hair, only she does one braid on her instead of two like she did with me.
"You look beautiful." I say quietly, almost like a whisper. Both of them turn around and look at me.
"And nothing like myself." Katniss says as she walks over to me.
"I wish I looked like you." I whisper barely, only loud enough for my sister to hear. She smiles softly and shakes her head.
"Oh no, I wish I looked like you, tuck your tail in little duck." She says, dragging out the end of 'you'. I giggle and make a quack sound, causing Katniss to laugh softly. One of the laughs I know nobody can get out of her.
"Quack yourself." She says lightly. The bells in the square start going off, letting everyone know it's time to go to the reaping. I start panicking again and my hands get sweaty, no matter how many times I wipe them on my skirt they seem to stay the same. Reality finally hits me properly. Katniss might get reaped to go die. She grabs hold of my hand and pulls me gently. I realise our mother is waiting outside for us. The square is only about five- ten minutes away from home so we will get there in no time. My feet continue to move forwards as we walk towards the town.
I watch as all the other families walk into the town square with their terrified children. Sometimes I say the occasional person who has no kids,but they have to go anyway. They'll most likely bet on the kids who will get reaped. It's sick really. I start worrying about Gale and Rory, what if they get reaped? I wouldn't be able to live with myself. Its Gale's last reaping and his names in a lot. He takes tessare for each member of his family just like Katniss. So they both have more than they should. Then there's Rory, he's just like me. First reaping, no tessare, name in once. Only he is obviously in the boys section while I'm in the girls.
I look up and see the town square, peacekeepers stand on top of buildings holding cameras. It adds to the eerie feel that surrounds the square. I let go off Katniss's hand as I get herded off towards the group of twelve year olds at the back. I see Rory in the crowd and I lock eye contact. I see panic and fear in his eyes but he still manages to smile and wave at me. I return the action and look towards the stage as I hear a microphone squeal.
The mayor stands on the stage as he waits for everyone's attention. When the clock strikes two he begins to make his speech, it's the same every year. He tells us about the history of Panem, the country that once rose from a place called North America. He lists the disasters, the droughts, the storms, the fires. The oceans that swallowed up so much of land, the brutal war for what little sustenance remained. The result was Panem, a shining Capitol ringed by thirteen districts, which brought peace to its citizens. Then came the Dark Days, the uprising of the districts against the Capitol. Twelve were defeated, the thirteenth obliterated. The Treaty of Treason gave us the new laws to guarantee peace. Our yearly reminder that the Dark Days must never be repeated, it gave us the Hunger Games.
"It is both a time for repentance and a time for thanks," the mayor finishes. He then reads the list of victors our district has gained over the last seventy-four years. We have two but only one is alive, Haymitch Abernathy. Suddenly he staggers on to the stage and collapses into the third chair. It's obvious he is drunk. Everyone starts clapping, causing him to become confused. He leans over and tries to give our escort, Effie Trinket, a hug. But she manages to push him off. I look up at the Mayor and he looks distressed. At the moment our district is probably the laughing stock of Panem. He quickly pulls the attention back to the reaping as he introduces Effie Trinket.
"Happy Hunger Games! And may the odds be ever in your favour! Now as usual, ladies first! She crosses over to the bowl that has all the girls names in it while she tries to straighten her wig, which is off center. The crowd goes dead silent, to the point you could hear a pin drop. I start praying it's not Katniss. Please don't be Katniss. She walks back over to the podium and unfolds the piece of paper. She clears her throat and speaks. My heart drops completely. It's not Katniss. It's me.