For TheWomanWhoCodesAndWrites. Happy birthday!

I smile, wave and twirl around in my princess gown as I try to please my escort, the mayor and other authorities who report back to Snow. And for what? So I can look the people in the eye and laugh at them and mock their dead children? The children I killed? When did this person take over my body? This is not me, has never been me. I don't smile to please people, I don't care what they think of me. I'm Johanna Mason.

On a whim, I turn around and run as fast as I can to the other side of town, where the number of houses decreases. I drop my glass of champagne somewhere along the road, not caring for anything Capitol related. All I want right now is to escape, for however long possible. I know it's only a matter of time before someone finds me or I'll just have to go back so I better make the best of what I have.

For some reason unknown to me I keep running, even when I'm out of breath and ready to collapse. My emerald green dress is fluttering behind me like wings of a bird. If only I could fly away, back to District 7.

I only stop running when I can't go any further. I'm at a meadow surrounded by a fence of wire. Behind it I don't see District 7 but the next best thing: trees. A forest.

I lift my skirt up to my thighs so I can get through a hole in the wire without getting tangled up. Finally, a taste of freedom.

As I walk through the forest I let my hands run over the bark on the trees, smell the air of fresh leaves, try to imagine the sound of lumberjacks chopping wood –

"Who are you?" a young, male voice says.

I turn around and look right at the point of an arrow directed at my face.

"Oh, it's you," the boy says when he recognizes my face. He doesn't lower his bow.

"Me," I reply.

"What are you doing here?"

"Trying to escape."

The boy looks confused and angry. "You know you can't escape. They'll find you."

"As if I don't know that," I say, rolling my eyes. "I will go back, you know. Just not right now."

"Why not? The party is in your honor. The newest Victor." He spits the word out like it's venom. "Do you have any idea how much money it costs our district to fund that party?"

Knowing that he won't shoot me anymore I turn around and continue my stroll through the forest. "I do know, I'm from District 7, not District 1. I may look like a princess but I do know how it's like to live in poverty, to break laws to get through the day. I've known it my whole life."

I stop and turn around to look at the boy. "How old are you?"

"Fifteen," he says, finally loosening his grip on the bow.

"You don't look fifteen."

"I'm tall for my age," he shrugs.

"And broad," I add. "That won't really help you when you get reaped. The careers will see you as a threat and kill you first."

"I won't get reaped," he says, trying to sound confident and determined.

I raise my eyebrow skeptically. "Oh really? How many times was your name in the reaping bowl?"

The boy lowers his eyes. "Doesn't matter," he mutters.

"Thought so."

We walk in silence for a long time. I would never admit it out loud but his presence is comfortable in some way. I feel like he's not judging me, at least not as much as other people. It just feels natural, like having a brother by your side all the time, even when you're fighting. This is what it feels like right now.

"Why are you trying to escape anyway? You're the Victor, you should be celebrating your victory," he suddenly says, his abrupt voice causing birds to fly out of their nests.

I don't answer him immediately, instead I keep walking a few steps down until we're at a big rock overlooking a small valley. "Do you honestly think I want to be here?"

I look at him to see his reaction, but if he's confused he can hide it pretty well. "I suppose you do, they're honoring your killing skills."

I let out a surprised laugh. "Seriously? I know what I did to get here, it was survival instinct. I wouldn't have done it if I knew I was going to feel this miserable afterwards."

"Do you really mean that? You would've just let someone else kill you just because you don't want to feel guilty?"

I look away from him again, not knowing what to say. "No. Yes. I don't know, this is a really hard question. No. I would've still killed all of them. But it doesn't change the fact that I do feel guilty."

The boy pauses for a long time, again, and when he speaks, his words surprise me more than I can say. "I would've done the same. Kill every single one of them. Not for the Capitol, but because I deserve to live and I deserve to have a life. I can't fight for my life when I'm dead."

"Obviously."

"I mean, I can't fight the Capitol when I'm dead."

The sudden silence is penetrating my ears. "You do realize that what you just said could be your death someday, right?"

"I'll take my chances."

"Well, I better not take my chances and head back to the party which happens to be in my honor, as you so kindly pointed out earlier."

"You don't have to go back already, the party usually ends at eight, and it's not eight for at least an hour and a half."

"How do you know that? How late it is, I mean."

"The position of the sun, of course." He looks at me as if he doesn't understand why someone from District 7, someone who has won the Hunger Games, wouldn't know that.

"Of course," I repeat with a roll of my eyes.

So I don't get up and leave, instead I stay next to a complete stranger who hates my guts, in a forbidden forest, with peacekeepers probably already looking for me. Nice.

"I don't know what I'd do if I ever got reaped," the boy suddenly says. "My father is dead and I have two younger brothers and a little sister. I don't know what they'd do without me."

I study his face for a moment before I reply. "The answer is quite simple, huntsman."

"It is?"

"Don't lose."

"Easier said than done."

I roll my eyes at his defeated tone. "Come on, look at me! Did you ever expect me to win?"

"No, but that's because you deceived everyone. I can't play the innocent and weak tribute."

"Then find your own damn strategy. Everyone can win those games, you just have to get over your fear."

"And how did you do that?"

"I just needed to realize that it was either me or them."

"That's simple –"

"No," I cut him off. "It's not. Everyone knows it's either you or the others but knowing isn't enough. You have to realize it."

He looks confused for a long time until he just shrugs, saying "Whatever."

I watch two squirrels climbing up a tree and playing with each other for a while, until an arrow coming from the boy next to me kills one of them.

"My family needs food," he says without looking at me.

"No need to explain, I understand," I reply.

He suddenly gets up and walks away, leaving his bow and arrows with me. I look over my shoulder to see whether he's really gone before I pick it up. It can't be that hard, I think. But a sharp pain when the string hits my cheek tells me I should probably put the bow and arrows back where the boy left them.

"Here," he says when he comes back a few moments later, offering me some berries.

I take a few and put one in my mouth. "Thanks."

"This is good," I say after a while, pointing to the pile of berries in between us. "The Capitol's food is delicious but I grew up with food like this so I'd still choose fresh berries over Capitol berries."

The boy raises one eyebrow and smirks but doesn't say anything.

"The sun's going down," I eventually say when I feel like we've been sitting here for hours.

"Yeah."

I turn my head to look at the stranger. "I better get going."

He just nods in response, still gazing over the valley.

I push myself up on the big rock and wipe the mud and dirt off my pretty dress.

"I'll walk you to the fence," the boy suddenly says, getting up as well and taking his bow and arrows in his hands.

"Lead the way."

We head back in complete silence while the sun is setting slowly, making the trees cast vague shadows.

When we've arrived at the fence I crunch my skirt up but it gets stuck on the barbed wire when I try to get through the hole again.

"Ah shit," I curse under my breath. "As if my dress wasn't already ruined enough."

"Here," the boy says, untangling me with swift moves of his fingers.

"Thanks," I say with a smile. "Well, goodbye then."

"Goodbye."

Before I run back to the city centre, I turn around. "By the way, what's your name?"

The boy hesitates for a moment before telling me. "Gale."

"I'm Johanna," I smile. "And I really hope we never see each other again."

Gale waves, gives me one last smile and turns around to disappear into his own little world where the Capitol is just a far-away thought.