Prologue-

I walk towards the window, trailing my hand along the smooth, sterile-white glass. It is warm; unusually. I am used to cold wood, with cockroaches crawling over them - not warm and clean surfaces.

I stare outside the window - or rather I stare at it, as it displays a gloriously beautiful lake. If I squint, I can block out the window frame and the surrounding walls. I can imagine I am sitting next to the lake, with my toes skimming the surface. Every so often I will pick up a rock - see how far I throw it, see how big the splash is.

Then I blink and it's ruined. My eyes are wide open for less then a second but that's all it takes.

It snaps me into the harsh reality; the one that would have me die in The Hunger Games.

I wake to my own heavy breathing rattling in my ears. I try wiping the sweat off my forehead but my hands are shaking, so I can barely dab at my face. I throw off the covers and walk to the bathroom. As I enter, the motion sensors snap on the light. I cover my eyes with my hand, then slowly take it away. The light is unbelievably bright, it's as if the sun has decided to spend some time in my bathroom.

After all these years, I am still not used to the Capitol way. I am still not used to the fact that they needlessly slaughter children - and have me mentor them to their deaths.

This year is the best so far - if I am allowed to associate a positive word such as 'best' with these cruel few weeks. Well, my district has the best chance.

I come from District Four, and as a victor (I guess you could say) the Games have never stopped for me. The worst part is when you see the other mentors. Some are wise, some are spiteful, some still can't believe they ever made it past the first day. But all the careers (there are a lot after all the years) are terrible. They hate me, they make fun of me. Just because I won without killing anyone. They were annoyed to begin with that I outsmarted their own districts, and that I didn't join the Careers. But then I won, completely, without a death on my conscience. Of course that's a tragedy of a tale in itself, and one for remembering later...

This year, the two tributes I am to mentor are quite well-built. The boy is tall, muscular whereas the girl looks skilled in a different sort of way. She is tall also, but has a bird-like figure. From what I have seen she is incredibly fast and agile, which will be a big help if she wants to win like I did. But there is a problem, you see. Every year, a mentor chooses one to help - and quietly ignore the other. But I can't decide. My instincts say Harvash; the boy, since he is obviously a strong competitor. But I look at Vinolia; the girl and see underestimation from every on-looker. A skill hard to achieve and extremely useful in The Games.

I stand up, un-steady from free Capitol alcohol. Like a lot of out-lining district mentors with no hope, drink can be comforting. People expect that District Four have chances, but lately Careers have been ganging up on my district, and people are discouraged to volunteer for hopes of winning. They prefer to keep their head down and stay alive.

I shake my head, put down the exotically-coloured drink, and walk out in the direction of my room. The train wobbles, which is unusual, but then I realize it's still my mind. I crash into Vinolia on my way and she shrieks. If I weren't so drunk id roll my eyes. You have to be prepared for more then bumping into someone.

"PhePhe, I think we're about to arrive." She says quietly.

"Call me Ophelia when I'm drunk." I meaninglessly slur, and she frowns. She turns to look outside the window, and surprisingly her expression doesn't change when she gazes upon The Capitol. All she says is;

"I think I'm going to like it here."