Hey guys!

So, this is my first ever fanfiction on the Hunger Games. I will be posting new chapters regularly, but I would like to hit a certain number of reviews before I do so. So please, please, please review! Without further interruption, here is chapter one!

Cheers, Jenna!

Chapter 1

"Mom? Dad? I'm home!" I call out as I slam the front door of our home in District 12, "And I could use some help!" My game bag feels like it weighs at least 25 pounds.

"They went out Saff!" I hear my little brother call from the living room, "And don't be so lazy!" he adds.

"Thanks a bunch Rye." I say dryly. I hear him heave a heavy sigh as he lifts himself off the couch.

"Princess Safflower." He mutters as he helps me bring the bag into the kitchen and place it on the table.

I shoot my brother a dirty look. He just shakes his head, making his blond hair flop onto his face, laughs carelessly, and rolls his grey eyes. He's just like dad in that sense, light hearted and constantly making jokes. Not to mention an artist in every possible way. Sometimes it's nice, but other times it drives me nuts. I, on the other hand, may have taken my father's blue eyes, but that's about as far as our resemblance goes. He says that I'm just like mom was when she was my age, personality and all.

"I don't see you out hunting." I say bitterly.

This only makes him laugh more. "Will you relax, I was only joking."

"Whatever," I say, "Where'd they go out to at 7:30am on a Saturday?"

"Uncle H's house, I think they heard him screaming again earlier today..."

I sigh. That's the third time in two weeks. I know the main reason behind the screams, the sudden blank expressions, and the pain. It happens to all of them, Haymitch and my parents. The scariest is when my father isn't truly my father, when he suddenly becomes tense and his eyes dilate and he looks at me like I'm a complete stranger. That's when he becomes violent, and we slowly have to bring him back to us. It's rare, but it has happened.

My mom told me about The Hunger Games when I was 15 years old. She explained, vaguely, about the cruel games that were once in place. How she and my father were reaped together. How they both won. Then she froze, started to cry, and left upstairs. I decided it was time to ask my dad. He was calm enough to explain that my mom once had a sister, Primrose, he said. But she had been murdered, along with his entire family, relatives that I will never know. He tells me about how there was a rebellion, once upon a time. Mom was quite famous, apparently. I ask him why sometimes he doesn't know who I am, why he'll suddenly start yelling to mom about killing his entire family. He says that during the uprising, the president of the Capitol tortured him terribly, toyed with his mind. When I asked for more, he just shook his head and said he had some renovations for the bakery to work on.

Now I'm 17, and that's about as far as my knowledge on the subject goes. Rye, now 15, never wanted to hurt anyone, and he saw how much it affected mom and dad to talk about it. So, he came to me; and I told him everything I knew.

"I wish they would tell us more, I kind of want to write a song about it." My brother says.

That's one thing he definitely took after my mom, the boy can sing like crazy.

"Make sure you don't talk about it today, they'll be drained enough by the time they get home" I say.

Just then, I hear the door open, and dad's voice fills the house. "He's not getting any better Katniss, he'll need to move in with us soon, it's the least we can do..."

"I know. It's just hard to see him like this...I never imagined Haymitch becoming weak the way he is now." Defeat fills her voice. They walk into the kitchen together and brief shock fills their faces as they see us awake.

"Oh. 'Morning kiddos, up so early?" Dad kisses each of us on our foreheads and goes straight to my game bag, preparing breakfast. Mom on the other hand, looks like a deer about to get an arrow through the head. "Saff," she says, sounding a thousand times more serious then dad, "where did you get that pin?" I look down; I had forgotten I was wearing it.

"I was putting away laundry last night and found it under some of your clothing, I thought it was pretty." The pin is golden, with a mockingjay carrying an arrow in the center. I try to sound light hearted, but something tells me my mother is furious. I notice dad has stopped moving around the kitchen, and is completely focused on mother's reactions.

"Katniss..." he says, "She doesn't know...you can't blame her for wearing it." Dad's voice is strained.

Mom ignores him. "Take that off right now Saff. Now. I don't want to see either of you holding, let alone wearing that damned thing ever again. I can't even stand the thought. Am I all clear?" Her voice breaks and her eyes are filled with tears.

I want to ask so many questions. I look to my father for help, but he gives his head a small shake as if to say 'let it go'. So instead, I remove the pin from above my heart, place it into my mother's hand, give her a quick kiss on the cheek, and say "Crystal." Then I walk out of the room, feeling my family's eyes bore into my back.

One way or another, I was going to find what happened so many years ago.