Prologue

It was a cold and rainy night. Somewhere, in the far off distance our destination would be reached. Maybe. One solid glance behind the hooded shoulder is achieved and then the slushy dance through the rain continues. Faster. Faster. There isn't much time. Another hard look over the shoulder.

The chance of something creeping behind us in the shadows is minimum but you can never be to safe these days. Faster. The rain seems to pick up, sensing that there might be some important place to go and only a limited time to get there. Faster. A chill makes it's way up my spine and my boots begin to fill with water, reminding me that this journey is no ordinary walk in the woods. I must fulfill what I came here to do. Failure is not an option.

I look around at the drenched forest and try to find a check point, some point of reference. A white ribbon dangles from one of the tree limbs not ten feet away. A ghost of a smile makes its way across my lips. Almost there. I must keep going. While trekking, I pull my jacket tighter to my almost frozen form for warmth, but not to tight. The rain continues to sling itself in my face, trying to stop me. I must do this.

Finally I see another ribbon and I know that this is the place. I look around and can just see the outline of the trees getting thinner in the darkness. We can not be to far from the gate. My eyes dart behind into the blackness, wondering if another soul is out there waiting for me. Waiting to harm me.

"You're here. Finally." A small voice chirps in the darkness from behind one of the trees.

I move towards the sound of the voice, careful not to slip or fall on the fallen limbs that are scattered all over the ground. The voice pulls me in an almost familiar way. This is the voice of safety, this is the voice of my mission.

"It is you, right?" The voice asks this time sounding unsure and afraid.

I know that I must say something to assure the speaker that it is in fact me, "Of course it's me. Thank you for meeting me here." I respond in the softest voice that I can muster.

I move closer to the place where the voice came from and as I come closer, the form of another person takes shape. The form of Prim. She smiles as I come. The smallest light from the moon illuminates her face, her smiling face. Prim always was a positive person. The kind of person that would drop everything to meet me here. Just the sort of person I need to ask this favor of. The biggest favor that I have ever asked anyone in my life.

Prim's eyes look up at me curiously, taking me in. We have not seen each other in almost four years. I am sure that she can not help but notice the haggard, worn down condition of my clothes and hair.

As I myself can not help but notice that her fair hair is longer, her eyes are brighter. She is taller. Nothing like the little girl that I had to leave behind. We smile and hug without a word. This comes naturally for us.

When we pull apart her eyes meet mine, "What exactly is this meeting about, Katniss?" She asks, her mouth pulling into a hard line, expecting the worst. It makes my heart twist in an uncomfortable way to realize that my sister has experienced and has come to expect the terrible things in life.

"Prim, I need you to do a favor for me." I whisper, I do not look her in the eye anymore. I can barely get the words out, looking at Prim is only going to make this moment harder.

"Anything." She answers back breathlessly and almost too instantly for comfort.

I sigh, wishing that there was some way that my little sister did not have to bear this burden for me. But there is no other way. As much as I do not want Prim pulled into this, it was only inevitable. I trust no one more than I trust her.

"I need you to take care of something for me. It will require all of your time and attention and a good part of your finances." I pause letting her take in this part of the information before I dive into the rest, "I am so sorry that you were roped into this but there is no one I trust more to take care of her than you."

"Her?" Prim echo's back, astonished and more than a little confused.

It is at this time that I pull back my coat to reveal the small bundle that is held in my other arm, wrapped up in resistance to the chilly conditions. Pulling it out, I start unwrapping the thin top layer to reveal a tiny face.

My eyes flash to Prim to see her reaction. Her eyes are wide but they are not filled with anger, they are filled with love and surprise. "Oh, Katniss how beautiful."

I smile down at the small child. My baby. My daughter. I nod at Prim as I hand her the baby. "I need you to take care of her. There is no way that I can at the moment. Peeta has been taken by capital officials and they have ransacked all of District 12 looking for me. I can't risk having them find her." I look over at the child as I say this, She sleeps peacefully in Prim's arms already at home in them.

Prim nods, knowing first hand the evil's of the capital and all who work for it. "They won't find her Katniss. She will be safe with me."

I smile, "I know that she will. Which is why I brought her to you, for now. I will be back for her as soon as I can." As I say this we both hear a twig nap somewhere far off. I know that it could possibly be an animal but I also know that no animal would be this close to the gate. Ever.

I gulp. We both know what this means. "Prim, I am sorry but I must go. Run back to the district as fast as you can and do not look back."

Prim flips her hood up and prepares to tuck the baby inside her coat but at the last second she holds her out to me, "I thought perhaps that you might want to say your goodbyes."

Tears start to prick at the bottom of my eyes as I start to look at her. My child. My child with Peeta. My greatest procession. I take her warmly into my arms and plant the tiniest of kisses on her small forehead, "I love you." I whisper. The small child opens her eyes slightly in response but does not make a sound as she regards me.

I hand her back to Prim and flip my own hood up on my coat. As long as there is night, they will track and hunt me. I can not be to safe with making my identity known.

I give Prim a quick side hug and am on my way back into the wet and sloppy track when Prim stops me with the sound of her voice. "Katniss?"

I turn around, instantly thinking that something is wrong or she is having second thoughts. However, this is far from the case. She holds the baby as if she has been doing it her whole life. Her eyes look at me with wonder. "What do I call her?"

I smirk, "Lilly."

Prim smiles brightly at the name and nods her thank you.

I step away back onto the wet path, leaving the most important thing in my life behind in the misting rain.