Disclaimer: I don't own the rights to any Hunger Games characters or plots.

Gale POV:

I was condemned by the Capitol forever. And so was every person that I loved.

Ever since Roell was old enough I had prepared him. Not as much as everyone else in D2, but I did.

Roell's mother, Caila, had died a couple of years ago, only two years after Valor came to power and reinstated the Games. Her dying wish was for Roell to escape the Games somehow. Her own best friend had been Clove, the D2 female tribute from Katniss' Games, so we both knew the consequences of having someone we loved in constant peril.

Caila was strong, and she and I worked alongside each other as generals. We married very long after we had actually met. I was still conflicted when we had met. I was haunted by thoughts of Katniss Everdeen and little Prim but proud of the rebellion's success. And now all the fighting and sacrifices that were made were wasted. And I was still haunted by the rebellion to this day. But now the Hunger Games were back. It would be the 81st one to be precise.

People always said Roell looked like me. That typical District 12 Seam look. The olive skin and grey eyes. I always thought Roell acted more like his mother though. While I wasn't very light-hearted Caila and Roell always shared a sense of humor. He even cracked a joke or two when I got my chance to visit him in the Justice Building.

I didn't cry in front of him. I didn't want him to see. Just like how I never wanted Katniss to see. I hugged him. I wished him luck. I gave him advice. But before I left I looked into Roell's eyes. I saw myself, and I saw Caila. But the one person I saw most in those eyes was Katniss Everdeen.

Being District 2, we were second to be reaped. The District 1 tributes looked fierce and fiery, forces to be reckoned with. Why can't they just throw me into the Hunger Games and get this over with? My death would be better than what my loved ones are suffering through now.

I'm still living in District 2, but ever since Valor came to power I gave up my military position. How could I be aligned with someone that totally obliterated all I stood for?

Seeing Roell climb aboard the train made me realize two things. One; he was getting out of their alive, at all costs. I could use my savings and buy his way to the final five at least. And two;

Valor was going to pay.

Katniss POV:

Roell Hawthorne was reaped for District 2. He looked just like how I had remembered Gale. Strong, determined, passionate. Roell stood out in D2, since he had inherited that classic 'Seam look.'

So when Melaina Mellark was reaped, I collapsed.

Maxim, my son, had looked at me when we watched Roell's reaping on the TV screen.

"Haven't you talked to Dad about somebody named 'Hawthorne' before?" he asked. He and Melaina were fifteen years old, same age as Roell. I was only blessed by the fact that Maxim was spared. It was already amazing that Melaina had been chosen, seeing the fact that almost everyone else in D12 had taken so much tesserae. D12 still didn't have as many people as it had pre Quarter Quell, but its population was remarkably high considering its background.

Melaina, the girl with the blue eyes and brown hair, had reacted almost professionally. Of course she was already a favorite, being a daughter of Peeta and me, and she merely smiled as Brianne Kartin called her name. She waved to the crowd. I knew she'd perform well in the interviews, just like her father had.

Maxim and Peeta broke down, and the rest is all a blur for me. I hated Valor. She made me endure all that my mother had to.

Melaina was an archer, just like me. She'd be strong and clever. Haymitch, still raising geese, was far too old to be her mentor. So guess what? The District 12 mentor was going to be none other than: Katniss Mellark.

This was going to be interesting.