The Beauty of Destruction

by AngelsAndApplePies

Just as it starts to look like everything will turn out okay, Katniss' world starts to fall apart. She will need to rely on the friends she made before and after the Games to ensure that she and everyone she knows makes it through alive. After all, everyone knows that while there may be Victors, there are no winners...only survivors. (Prologue/teaser is short, rest will be longer)

A/N: This is a short prologue/teaser for The Beauty of Destruction. Let me know what you think!

Disclaimer: I do not own The Hunger Games trilogy.

Prologue: Hope Dies

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AzaIn retrospect, the 68th Hunger Games was one of the most captivating, at least in the eyes of the Capitol. It was not only interesting in the alliances that were both formed and broken, but also in that it possessed what previous games had lacked: romance. The Star Crossed Lovers of District 12, Katniss Everdeen and Peeta Mellark, had made sure of that. It may have started out as a scam, a fraudulent relationship to increase the chances of one of them winning, but it had become more than that. The relationship had become one of caring and tenderness, if not love itself, especially after the announcement that there could be two victors from one district. With Katniss' skill and Peeta's determination, it looked as though District 12 would finally have something to celebrate. Even though the mentors were upset that their own tributes most likely would not be returning, the majority of them began to root for the lovers, if only because they saw it as a rebellion against the Capitol. There was a new air of hope coming from the mentors and the former victors of the games.

There was a saying that came from before the Dark Days about premature hope: if it seemed too good to be true, it probably was.

The mentors and past victors, many of whom had lived by that old-fashioned philosophy for years, had forgotten it, and as such, were completely blindsided when the announcement was made that only one person would be walking out of that arena. The Capitol citizens weren't expecting it either. Katniss had seemed to be in denial, refusing to believe it and convinced they could find it another way. Peeta though, all that could be seen on his face was acceptance and a steady determination. It happened so slowly, but all at once.

He told her to kill him.

She said no and looked down in thought.

He picked up the knife that was lying just within his reach.

She looked up with the hint of an idea spilling from her lips as she reached into her pocket.

He smiled sadly, told her he loved her, and plunged the knife into his heart before she had even realized what he was doing.

She screamed, and even watching it televised, her screams drowned out the cannon and Claudius Templesmith's voice, proclaiming Katniss Everdeen the sole victor of the 68th Hunger Games.