A/N: This is my first Hunger games fanfiction. It was originally a group project between me and a few friends, then I kinda took over.

Thanks Lauren and Vanessa!

Disclaimer: I own nothing.

Don't always believe everything you hear. Nobody lived happily ever after, as you may think. Paylor was assassinated by Cornelius Snow's granddaughter, Khione. She rose to power and evil ran rampant through the streets.

Her heart is iced over and vengeful. I'll be in the games, I just know it. Avens, too. Volunteering is forbidden. No one can save us from our impending death.

I'm in the woods, unlike any I've ever been in before. I hear his screams. I must run to him. I yell his name. "Avens, Hold on. I'm coming."

I see him, small and afraid. I rush to his side but a knife hits his chest and he is gone. I hear the career that killed my brother coming towards me but I don't care. Let them kill me. I am nothing.

I hear his voice, but it belongs to my brother. "You have to win for me." I see the career now. Strong and muscular. It's Finn, my childhood friend. Blood drips from his hands but from whom, I don't know. I rise from the ground, a knife in my hand. I don't want to kill him, but I must. For Avens. I look at his face, but it's no longer his. It belongs to a murderer.

I raise my hand to strike, but I am frozen. I can't do it. I'm not like them and I will go to my deathbed to prove that.

Finn sneers and swings his arm. I see the glint of his blade and the sickly sound of it cutting the air. I do nothing. I accept my fate, so different than what I imagined it to be.

I wake up, drenched in sweat. I am like Father that way. I don't scream, I am paralyzed with fear.

I press my hand to my throbbing head. It's still before dawn. 9 hours until my world comes crashing down. I quietly walk to Avens' room to make sure he's alright. He murmurs in his sleep, "No! Don't do it!"

I brush his stray blonde curls away from his face. "Shhh, Avens. It's going to be okay." He awakens and I pull him into a hug. It's a twisted relief to know I'm not the only one with nightmares.

"Poly, I thought they'd kill you!"

"I'm fine, Avens. It's alright." My stomach twists. That's a lie and he knows it. It will never be alright, not as long as Khione holds power.

"Sissy, I'm scared."

"Me, too."

"I'm going to get reaped."

"That's not true. " But it is. I overheard Mother and Father talking. Out names will be entered sixty times apiece, three times Mother's original amount.

"Yes it is. I just know it." He puts his head in his hands.

"No. Remember Mother's best friend from when she was young?" He nods. "His name was entered even more times than you and he never got reaped."

"Real or not real?" His hopeful eyes nearly break my heart.

"Real, little buddy. I would never lie to you."

He smiles at me before laying back down. "Thanks."

I leave the room feeling more determined than ever. I will protect him. Even if it costs me my life. He's all I have. My only friends are the other victors' children, Finn and Riemet, and I'm fairly certain they'll be there, too.

I go back to my room and enter my closet. I throw on the first dress I find and curl underneath my worn duvet, feeling chilled to the bone and I'm fairly sure it has nothing to do with the temperature.

I close my eyes for what seems like a moment before Mother calls my name. The sun is up now, so I must have fallen asleep. I reluctantly roll out of bed and fix my hair with a brush on my nightstand and a few clips. I pass a mirror but stop to see the dress I'm wearing. I gasp. It's just like the one Mother once wore. Liquid candlelight, she had said. I can't bear to take it off. If and when I go to the Capitol, I may as well look good.

When Mother sees me, she covers her mouth with her hand. "You look beautiful," she whispers into her palm.

Father picks me up and swings me around in the air like he did when I was much younger. "My little girl is growing up!"

I giggle. "Daddy, put me down!"

He obliges. "Polyantha Rue Mellark, you are the most beautiful girl in all of Panem. No one will be able to take their eyes off of you."

I drop my eyes to the ground. What little happiness I felt is gone, replaced by worry. "Maybe I don't want to stand out," I say quietly.

Father opens his mouth to say something when Avens walks in, ending all further conversation of such a grim topic. "Good morning," I say.

"Good morning."

"Did you sleep well?" Mother asks.

I raise my forefinger to my lips, silently telling him not to say anything about this morning.

He doesn't. "Fine." Avens picks a piece of lint off of his black slacks.

I look at the clock. "Is it one-thirty already?"

"Oh, my!" Mother exclaims in an extremely uncharacteristic way. I think this whole ordeal is doing a number on her.

"We best be going, then." Father gives Mother a thin smile of encouragement.

He grabs her hand and I grab Avens'. I take one last look at the house I grew up in and the only one I've ever known. I will never see it again. My life will never be the same.

I can't help it but I think of all the things I will never get to do. I will never find love, or even begin to understand what it feels like. I will never have my father walk me down the aisle to where my future husband would await. I will never have children, never feel the love of a mother. It's like trying to grasp a wisp of smoke. Just when you think you have it, it slips through your fingers.

So, what do you think? Review please!