Prologue:
I run through the burning thickets of the arena. The smoke reaches my nostrils leaving me gasping for fresh air. I don't know who started the fire… all I know is that I have to escape as soon as I can or I'm dead meat for sure. Where was Peeta when I needed him? A voice rings through my ears… no doubt, the voice of the deceased President Snow.
"Peeta's not here sweetheart!" his voice echoed throughout the arena. "You're one of four…" I see a brush of clear blue in the distance, the lake! I stand up, not caring about the heavy smoke. I sprint to the water, gulping in the clean air, but only for a moment, because the blaze catches the grass and begins to spread towards me. I begin to run again, watching the sun go down as I run. Only one name appears in the sky as I hear a cannon fire. That name is Peeta. I close my eyes, praying it isn't true… that this is all a dream… then; I scream and let the flames engulf me. As the heat burns away the remains of my hunting clothes, I smile to myself. At least when I die, I'll be with Peeta and Prim.
That's when I wake up in a cold sweat. I stare around the room, my eyes immediately adjust. I am in the room I share with Peeta, in our house, in District 12. He stirs, but I ignore it. After several of these crazy nightmares, I grew to just, get used to the darkness… it was better than mutts, flames, drowning, or being killed by another tribute. Peeta sits up next to me; his long blonde hair flips back and forth from momentum as he does so.
"What is it Katniss? Another Hunger Games nightmare?" he asks, wrapping his bare arms around my shoulders. It takes all I have to keep my composure. In answer to his question, I nod my head slowly.
The truth about the Hunger Games is that you never really recover. Ever. Peeta still has flashbacks of the 74th Hunger Games… seeing all of those dead bodies. All of the burning, stabbing, shooting… it haunts us to this day. That is why I married Peeta. Or rather, why Peeta married me. But that is the same thing in retrospect.
Our wedding was small… we invited all of our closest friends, Beetee, Haymitch, Annie and Finnick, my mother. It felt empty without Prim… or Gale for that matter. Gale didn't want to come, he gave the excuse that he was busy… but I knew the real reason why. However, we did try to include him. It was solely his decision.
Eight years passed, and Peeta finally convinced me that we should have children. And from that came Primrose Tora Mellark. We named her after my sister, but we call her Rosy because calling her Prim reminded me too much of my sister. Tora means bird. And frankly, only she could sooth my need for my sister… as if she had part of Prim in her. But I found that absurd. Rosy's name really suits her, considering she always has pink rosy cheeks. She inherited my dark brown hair, and Peeta's blue eyes. You can tell that she is our daughter; just by the way she clings to Peeta.
I snap back to reality and realize the situation, Peeta is cradling me in our bed in our house, soothing me after the worst nightmare I've had in months… where he dies. Tears make my voice shaky, and he listens intently to every word, showing that he is here for me, and that the nightmare wasn't real. Soon enough, his lips are on mine, warm, soothing, making me forget that we were even in the Hunger Games. I break free as soon as my night shirt is off, worry is in my eyes.
"Katniss, what's wrong?" he asks, similar worry in his eyes.
"Should we really do this now? What if we wake Rosy?" I ask, trembling slightly. Peeta responds to my worry with another kiss.
"Let her hear," he whispers seductively. And that's all I remember before I slip into the world I know so well, where Peeta and I are all alone together… forever.