A/N: My first attempt at writing Third Person. I noticed a lot of people were getting confused about why Katniss is in the arena in my story 'The Fourth Quarter Quell' (shameless self-advertising), so I'm writing this just to clear things up a little bit! Snow is still alive, and is still the cruel, ruthless dictator of Panem. I love my awesome beta, by the way.
He watched the pair intently. Sat with their hands tied behind their backs, the nightlock tablet had been found and destroyed. They were helpless; the rest of their pathetic squad killed immediately. She hadn't even shed a tear, cried out, or done anything when the boy from Twelve had been shot. He'd expected that.
"Welcome, Miss Everdeen and Mister Mellark, to my humble abode. How do you like it?" he asked, his breath smelling of the white roses and blood that he knew haunted Katniss' every waking and slumbering thoughts. "Now... Allow me to show you what happens to traitors."
He clicked his fingers and the Peacekeepers standing on either side of the duo moved to shut and lock the doors, sealing them off from the rest of Panem.
"Peeta, Peeta, Peeta..." he sighed, moving from behind his oak desk to stand directly in front of them, "Why? You hate her, remember? Why?"
Neither replied. Not that they could have done, of course, the cloth bound round their mouths ensured they would remain silent. He wouldn't – no, he couldn't let the Mockingjay sing her final song.
He reached into the pocket of his jacket and pulled out a gun. "Allow me to show you what happens to traitors, little Mockingjay. Allow me to demonstrate what it feels like to lose another person you cannot live without. See, I have used your little friend here, given him the chance to play the game and win. He lost, though, and I won. I always win, Miss Everdeen, meaning I never, ever lose."
The alarm in Peeta's eyes as he pulled the trigger would haunt her forever. The bang as the bullet left the gun, and the crash as his chair fell backwards. He was shot right in the chest and the only thing Snow wished as he slid the gun back into the pocket is that he'd made it longer, just to play another mind game.
"Now, Miss Everdeen, you have seen what happens to my enemies. I present you with a simple choice, a choice that will seal both your fate and your reputation. I can either execute you publically, along with your mother and Primrose, or you will be sent into the Hunger Games for the third time. If you win, you will be permitted to return to your beloved Twelve and your pitiful family. But if you lose, they will die too. The choice is yours." President Snow smiled. "Nod your head to choose public execution, shake to choose the Games."
After minutes of thinking, Katniss Everdeen signed, sealed and delivered her fate. A simple shake of her head choose her path. She thought it would be easy, she thought she would survive. This time, she thought wrong.