I steadied my bow, aiming carefully at the white-tailed doe twenty yards away. It hadn't noticed me yet, still delicately munching on the forest grasses. It was beautiful, tanned fur with white on its throat, underside and around its eyes and ears. I drew back the bow string, the apprehension causing drops of sweat to flow down my face. Sitting on the hillside, behind a tree, I could see it perfectly. The doe's right eye was the target. I took a deep breath, and released the string.

The arrow whizzed through the air, finding a home in a tree trunk behind the deer. A narrow miss. The doe looked up, startled, and bounded off into the safety of the undergrowth. I stepped out from behind the tree. Cursing in frustration, I walked toward my arrow, still vibrating from the impact of hitting the tree. I yanked it out, and examined the arrowhead. It was broken; I would have to replace it later. With a heavy sigh, I trudged back up the hill.

Brooke was patiently waiting at the campfire, slowly roasting a rabbit on a spit. She glanced up at me hopefully, but when she saw that I was empty-handed, her gaze dropped. "No luck?"

I shook my head bitterly. "No luck," I echoed.

Brooke patted the spot beside her, and I sat down, my mouth watering at the sight of the rabbit. "How was your day?" I asked tentatively.

"Meh. Nelly asked us for two squirrels; I've got a request for a plump quail from Cole too. Peacekeepers caught a guy thieving at the Ravenotts' and he's going to be whipped today. The reaping is next week, and your name is going to be in the bowl another 30 times." She looked at me disapprovingly. "How was your day?"

I smiled. "Oh you know, working on my shooting skills. Narrowly missed a deer out there."

Brooke rolled her eyes and resumed working on the rabbit. I sat back on a log and stared at the sky, exhausted from the chase earlier. I closed my eyes, the sounds of nature lulling me to sleep.

"Shit. Troy, wake up!"

I snapped awake, and instinctively grabbed for my bow, which was gone. The white robes of Peacekeepers flashed by as they surrounded our camp. Two broke off from the group, and pulled our arms behind our backs. Brooke screamed, and I frantically tried to get the a Peacekeeper off of me. He grunted as I elbowed him, but recovered quickly enough to whack me over the head, sending me to my knees. The other Peacekeeper quickly managed to subdue Brooke as she shouted obscenities at him, forcing her to kneel while shoving a gag into her mouth.

The white circle parted, to reveal a tall woman in a black suit, holding a rose. She smiled wickedly, showing her sharp, yellowing teeth. Her seemed as if it was a mask; her skin was pulled back tightly, her white hair tied into a bun. President Altaria Frost.

"Brooke Catillo and Troy Elestren. Two young orphans, illegally hunting on the Capitol's land," President Frost walked around us, eyeing us both. "You know, way back when, maybe twenty years ago, when I was a Head Peacekeeper, I caught a young couple, just like you two, hunting on Capitol land. And you know what I did to them?"

President Frost kneeled next to me and stroked my cheek with her hand. "I put the girl in a Peacekeeper's uniform and tied her to a pole, with a helmet big enough that you couldn't see her face." Brooke's eyes grew wide and she groaned into her gag.

"I told the boy that the Peacekeeper who caught them was the one tied to the pole, and gave him a gun. I told him if he shot the 'Peacekeeper', he and his girlfriend could go free. He did as I asked."

I gasped, horrified.

"Afterwards, I shot him through the back of his head." She stood up and sat in front of Brooke, her eyes pitiful. "But that's not what will happen to you two. You see, I think you two deserve a worse punishment."

The President paused for a moment, then laughed wickedly.

"I'm going to send both of you to the Games."