Hello lovely FanFiction readers!

This premise has been stuck in my mind for a while so I thought I would give it a go.

As usually, I do not own the Hunger Games or it's amazing characters.

Enjoy!

I was almost back from the woods after a surprisingly successful hunt of 2 rabbits and one squirrel. My game bag was full and my family was going to be fed for the next few days.

For once, I felt like life was on my side, that is until the warning bells rang out and stopped me in my tracks. All I could hear was the blood rushing through my ears and my heart pounding in my chest.

'Not again' I think, 'please not again'.

This happened to me every time the wale of the alert system spread through our town. It transports me to the day that changed my life forever, the day that these same sirens rang, the day that my father was taken from me.

And now my best friend, my hunting partner Gale, might be falling to the same fate. I begged and pleaded with him to find another job after he finished school but with 3 siblings and his mother to look after, he just couldn't turn down the opportunity of a steady, all-be-it meager, stream of income.

He's only been working in the mines for 2 months and he might already be gone.

It isn't until I am almost to the center of town that I realize I am running and have dropped my game bag some where along the way. I don't even miss a beat and keep my pace until I have reached the panicked crowd.

As if it is reaping day, every single able bodied towns person is here to await the fate of our beloved miners.

A part of my brain tickles that something is strange about this situation. There is no smoke, no rumbling, or bloodied faces that usually accompany a mine explosion. But I am too busy searching the sea of faces to try and find Prim.

I finally spot her standing with Rory Hawthorn and his siblings.

"Prim! Have you seen him? Is he alright?" I watch as Rory, Gales 14-year-old brother, wraps an arm around my tiny sister.

"We haven't heard anything. We got here a just a minute ago but no one knows what's going on. This doesn't feel right Katniss." I scan the faces of the Hawthorn brood and the look on poor Posy's face breaks my heart. Why must such an innocent child have to bear so much tragedy in her young life?

I am about to start asking around for any piece of information at all when the crowd parts and mayor Undersee makes his way to the front.

"District 12 citizens, please do not be alarmed, there has been no catastrophe in the mines. Your friends and family are safe." A quite murmur of confusion starts making it way through the towns people. Why would they ring the emergency bell if there wasn't an actual emergency in the mines?

I feel a prickle at the back of my neck and when I turn around, I finally see him. Gale is standing at the back of the crowd, covered in soot, with the rest of the miners on shift. He gives me a small smile and wave but before I can respond, the mayor has restored silence and continues with his announcement.

"We have just received word from the capital of a new law that will be going into effect immediately. I apologize for worrying you but time is of the essence and it is important that you understand the full scope of the law so that you are prepared."

My mind begins to wander over what more they can possibly do to us that they haven't already. We live in a district of poverty, hunger, and fear. The capital has already taken every ounce of happiness from us. Wait did he just say marriage? Come on Katniss, leave your capital rant for later, you need to focus now.

"Now folks, this law is only for those age 17 to 28 so if you do not fall into this category you are safe for the time being." I am really kicking myself for missing the beginning of his speech.

Panic begins bubbling inside of me. What kind of law would have to do with marriage? I never plan to get married. Marriage meant kids and kids mean hunger games. Hell, I am not even out of the pool for the games yet myself.

I tune back in as the mayor begins detailing the rules of the law. My mind is swimming as he informs us that the capital has decided that too many citizens are forgoing marriage and child birth as a means to revolt against the hunger games and because of this they are enacting a law that requires all persons age 17 to 28 to marry and produce a child within 1 year. Any individual that does not comply with this law will receive a staggering 60 extra slips of paper in the next years reaping and for every year there after until they age out of the law at 28.

And here's the kicker, we must be married within the next 2 months by Reaping day or we will have an 30 extra slips in the bowl.

Am I hallucinating? Is President Snow really that evil to ensure a good crop of candidates for his "Happy Hunger Games"? I can't believe he would go so far as to force us to either chose likely death through the games or risk the possibility of losing a child to them instead.

Who am I kidding, of course he's that evil, the man created the Hunger Games for crying out loud. He revels in the death of children and this is just one more nail in the coffin that separates us from the capital.

There is no way of escaping it, President Snow has won and will always win. We have to fight to survive in this world and that is exactly what I am going to do. With my head held high and Prim by my side, I walk the rest of the way home, ignoring the quiet chatter that has now broken out amongst the district 12 citizens.

"Does this mean you and Gale are getting married?" I look up from the tea sitting in front of me to my baby sister.

It's the question that has been playing in my mind since the mayor announced the new law earlier that day. Honestly, a part of me would rather face my chances in the games than get married.

However, I know it would be selfish to leave Prim behind just because I am terrified to have children. Boys were never even on my radar until today. But since the announcement all I can do is think about marriage and oh GOD sex… My cheeks redden at the thought of being naked and doing that with another person.

Prim must take this as a yes to her question because the next thing I know she is up running around the house singing "Katniss and Gale sittin' in a tree. K-I-S-S-I-N-G. First come love then comes…"

"Hush your mouth right this second Primrose Everdeen! I have no idea if I am going to marry Gale. You and I both have heard the stories around town of his fame at the slag heap so why do you think he would even chose me to marry when he can have any girl he wants?"

I know I am not beautiful in the conventional sense, my focus has been and will always be on keeping my family fed and safe with personal wellbeing far behind.

Plus, Gale is my best friend. The most I have seen of him is when we go swimming in the woods and he takes his shirt off. How would I ever be able to look him in the eye again after we do such intimate things with one another?

On top of that, there is the issue of love. I know I love Prim, and I know I love Gale the same way but could I love him like a wife should love a husband? Gale deserves someone who will love him unconditionally and I honestly don't know if that's me. Especially when I have spent my entire life refusing the notion after I saw how it tore my mother apart.

I send Prim to go check on my mother so she will stop staring at me with those doe eyes of hers. I rarely scold her but sometimes her youthful enthusiasm can become a bit of an annoyance.

I stare at the wall and contemplate my confusion over and over again until it grows dark and it is time for bed. It is with a heavy heart that I curl up next to Prim for the night. I slowly drift off to a fitful sleep hoping that tomorrow will bring a better sense of this entire mess because right now all I can do is think about how much my life has been turned upside down in the blink of an eye.

Authors Note:

Well, there was the first chapter, I hope you enjoyed it.

This is my first fanfiction so if you think I should continue or you have a comment/question, reviews are very welcomed!