Chapter One: Delicate

Disclaimer: I do not own the Hunger Games.

Author's Notes: Yay, I'm doing a fanfic for one of the awesomest (is that a word? xD) books ever!! You could call it a twisted Hunger Games rewrite…because this time, it's Prim who's the star of the show!!

I heard the slight sound of scuffling and the door opening quietly. Out of the corner of my eye I saw that the wooden bowl I had used to cover my little round ball of cheese was sitting back up, so I knew Katniss had taken my gift to her for the Reaping.

I wondered if she was going to meet up with Gale, again, to try and bring in a small feast for our families to have after the Reaping is over.

I slowly reached my hand out of the bundle of blankets my mother and I have wrapped ourselves in, and tenderly scratch Buttercup, who had positioned himself in front of me, behind the ears.

I wanted to get some more sleep, but something nagged at me to wake up. So I did. The chilly air enveloped around my body as I carefully untangled myself from my warm blankets and stood up.

Shivering, I considered sliding back into warmth with my mother, but instead, I put on my boots, and started to change to thicker clothes. I thought of Katniss, handily supporting our family and spending the morning hunting with Gale.

Sometimes I wondered what it would feel like to have little sister looking up to you, to share time with a close friend that knew you like no one else would.

I know Katniss cared too much about me, and how I must look to her – fragile beauty, like a primrose that could be crushed any second; delicate.

--Katniss POV--

Gale whistled as I pinned down a good piece of prey on the way back from fishing. This would be, we decided, the last kill for the day. We counted what we have got so far.

"Hm…I recall having an extra bag of strawberries," Gale pondered, looking over our cache. "I think I must have left it behind at the lake after we finished fishing."

I nodded. "I'll go back for it. Can't have people seeing someone stealing strawberries."

Gale laughed. "As if anyone would go that far." He didn't need to tell me to be careful. That's what I like about Gale. We don't need any useless words to communicate what we say to each other. We already knew.

I trekked down the familiar path to the lake. The lake was something beautiful, and it would've been more if the times we were living in didn't call for being alert at all times.

Spotting the forlorn bag of strawberries beside our favorite fishing spot, I quickly picked it up, wiped the juices that dripped from leaks, and hurried back to Gale.

Gale acknowledged my presence with a grin before getting down on his stomach and scooting under the supposed electric fence.

I slide our food under, and get ready to shimmy under the fence too.

Half of my body was through the hole when I twisted my head to see if I could fit through. Then it came. I heard the faint humming noise coming up from both sides of the fence.

Electricity.

Rather than react quickly and try and pull my leg out like most, I froze. The electricity would've surely shocked me if I had tried to move to quickly.

Gale swept his eyes around before crouching down on the opposite side of the fence. "Think you can pull this off?" he muttered, looking at the electrified fence, his eyes wide.

We had never encountered this before.

I slowly trailed my body out from under the fence back to my side.

"Go on without me, Gale. I'll wait in one of the trees until the electricity dies down," I say.

Gale nodded, and headed off.

After about an hour, though, the electricity was still going strong. So I waited, until I realized I still had to get cleaned up for the Reaping. And I didn't want anyone worrying about me.

I climbed across the tree's outstretched branch and get ready to jump across the livened fence. I knew such a feat would come with a price, but Gale would surely come back, and I didn't want to look like I couldn't handle something like this.

I swung a leg over, and kneeled steadily on the limb. But I still waited, if there was any chance the electricity would stop.

After a long while, I decided it was time to move. I didn't know what time it was, but I knew everyone would have to be present for the Reaping.

I launched myself over the fence, but a voice unsteadied my planned fall.

"Katniss!"

The sound was a light, delicate one. But it was enough to make me twist my body, and land on my right knee.

"Katniss! Katniss, are you alright?!"

The pain shot up from the knee and flooded through my mind, I gritted my teeth hard, trying to redirect my mind.

I weakly opened them to a blue eyed girl, with soft blonde hair, and a thin, frail frame. My sister, Prim. Following behind her quickly was Gale.

I opened my mouth to say something, but my throbbing knee wound sent out waves of pain throughout my entire body, until my vision zoomed in and out of darkness. I did manage to say one thing, though.

"Prim, it's not your fault."

--Prim POV--

Despite Katniss's words, I felt again what I had felt over the past few years, since my mother had fell into a deep, dark hole: a burden.

I was always the fussy one, yet I seem to do little to contribute to the cause.

I watched Gale pick Katniss up in his strong arms and heard myself asking him, "It's my fault isn't it?"

Gale shook his head. "Of course not, Prim. Anyone jumping from that height would've had to be injured anyhow. C'mon, let's get her to your mother's. Maybe she can heal up before the Reaping."

He quietly lead the way back, and at first sight of Katniss, my mother's worry seemed to wash over her face; but was quickly replaced by a professional façade.

"Set her down on the table, and tell me what happened."

Gale looked at me, and I feel something rush up inside me again. "Well," I said, telling her what happened.

My mother frowned as I finished quickly. "What?" I asked.

"Nothing…but her knee is dislocated, and some bones in her wrist are fractured. It could take a while to heal…"

Fear went through me. "If she can't use her hand, or her foot, how's she going to hunt?"

Gale was standing by the door, arms crossed. "Don't worry about that, Prim. If I know Catnip, she'll be up in no time."

That did little to cheer me up, but I smiled anyway.

"I'll be going now," Gale said, tipping his head towards us. "See you at the Reaping."

I waved to Gale as he left, and sat down on the edge of the bed.

"Will she still have to go to the Reaping?" I asked.

"Probably, since she doesn't seem like she could die any second."

"What if she gets chosen?" I wondered if, if Katniss got chosen. Would they still put her in the Games if that happened? Most likely, with all the top notch technology in the Capitol, they could patch her up in no time.

Katniss had prevented me from putting in any extra tesserae to get some more food for our family, so my name was in only once. At least that was a small reassurance.

I changed into Katniss's first Reaping outfit, a lime green blouse and long skirt. I always put my hair up, in a high ponytail.

"Prim…" I hear Katniss mumble.

"Yes?" I turned to see Katniss rubbing her hand across her eyes. "Prim, you there?"

I went up to my sister's face and smoothed her brown hair. "I'm here, Katniss."

Katniss's eyes slowly opened, and when she saw me she smiled. "Turn around. I want to see your dress."

I knew she was concealing any pain she felt, to make me feel better. So I twirled once.

Katniss kept on smiling. "Pull your blouse in the back," she said, commenting on the back of the blouse that kept getting loose.

I let out a small laugh. "Will you be better, Katniss?"

Katniss just closed her eyes as my mother came towards us.

"Here, I'll help you get ready," she said to Katniss. In her hands was one of the finest blue dresses I have ever seen, no doubt on from my mother's old days. I picked up a comb to brush my hair as I waited when the time for the Reaping came.

The Reaping. The Hunger Games. It was sickening, to think of all those innocent souls that have gone through, and to think it was one of the most popular T.V. shows in the Capitol.

As the youngest were readily lined up in the front, nearest to the stage, I noticed several other scared faces trying to look straight ahead, with no emotion showing. I usually found comfort in my sister being beside me.

My eye wandered around, finding a girl whose hands were occupied with some string. She was making a bracelet, while still absently staring at the stage, where the mayor was giving the usual oration.

I was still busy watching the girl's quick, nimble hand movements, as she stopped suddenly.

"Primrose Everdeen."

I wondered who said my name. Still confused, my eyes rose from the girl's hands.

Every pair of eyes were on me.

What. I quickly looked around me, feeling a jolt in my stomach.

"Primrose Everdeen?" the high pitched voice said again.

My blood seemed to run cold. I started to slowly lurch towards the stage. I was going to my death sentence.

"Prim! No!"

I turned around, a few steps from the stage, as Katniss wove her way frantically through the crowd, tripping and stumbling on her bad leg.

"Katniss…" I murmured. Everything was happening too fast.

Katniss lost her footing after she rushed to the front of the crowd. But, her face determined, she got back up and pushed me with her good arm behind her, gasping for breath, sweat trickling down her face.

I could only see how hard it was, for her to run up here, with a wounded leg and arm. I tried to say something, but my lips made no movement.

"I…volunteer…as tribute!" Katniss gasped.

Effie Trinket glanced around nervously the mayor, and eyed my sister. I knew she was looking at her bad leg and arm.

I tried to release myself from Katniss's grasp, but she wouldn't let me. "Stay, back, "she said harshly.

Would they let my sister, with a possible broken leg and hurt arm in The Games? But I had burdened her enough.

"Katniss!" I shouted, just as the crowd began to buzz. The crowd fell silent. "Katniss, you're hurt. Stop this!"

The mayor took charge. "When did you receive those wounds?" he asked coolly.

My mother pushed her way forward. "This morning. She had a bad accident," she said.

The mayor looked over us. Me, a little wisp of a girl. Katniss, strong and defiant.

I wondered if he recognized us – the girls Madge sat with at lunch, the girls whose father had died in a mining accident.

Effie Trinket's eyes were gleaming. She didn't care for us, she cared more that District 12 was probably the talk of the Capitol at the moment; people were most likely betting what was about to happen.

"Under normal circumstances," the mayor announced, "the volunteer tribute will automatically be accepted. But, a wounded volunteer, stepping in for a fresh selected tribute, will not be accepted. In The Games, everyone must be at a healthy start to exhibit full potential."

The mayor had sympathetic eyes, but that didn't stop the Games. "The female tribute of District Twelve is Primrose Everdeen."

I didn't say anything, I just pushed Katniss's protective arms away. What would Katniss do? Accept her fate boldly. At least prove that District Twelve tributes weren't a bunch of scared cats.

I walked up the stage, eliminating any other thoughts, like Katniss would. All that mattered was what I did now, not what just happened. Although, I knew, once I got the chance, I would cry until my body ran out of tears.

Even now, trying to act like Katniss, I still looked, to everyone else, like a small flower just waiting to be stepped on.

Author's Notes: Please review? =D