Chapter I: Desiderium

I'm skeptical.

It's only natural. The Incubators have been running the Capitol for years. Just as they've created our fine society, they've become a national symbol for greed. Any wish. Any desire. You just have to ask. They defy all logic, all science. When someone wished for the Districts, they appeared. Twelve of them. Technically thirteen, but that one's been quarantined, and they say anyone who enters it will turn into a monster.

One of the Incubators is staring at me now. He's sitting adjacent on the rock ledge, his thick, fluffy tail twirling slowly, back and forth. He tilts his fuzzy white head, which is clearly visible against the dark blue shadows that come before dawn. The moonlight makes him glow. I guess I can see why everyone's so quick to give them nicknames like 'Kyubey' or 'Cubay'. I imagine any girl from the Capitol would squeal about how perfectly adorable he is, but I have more important things to notice, like his crimson eyes, and the way his voice seems to invade my mind like an oppressive shadow.

"Katniss Everdeen, you have incredible potential inside you. I want you to make a contract with me. I will turn you into a Magical Girl, someone who can fight against the evil power of the witches, in exchange for any wish you have on your heart."

I've practically memorized the spiel. It's required viewing for any girl, in any district. Boys, too, but it takes a very special boy to take on the role, so there aren't as many of them.

"Tell me, what is it you truly desire?"

I've never sought an Incubator out before. It's always been something I just assumed, out of common sense, that I would never do. But something happened today that convinced me I can't do this on my own.

Still, I can't will myself to open my mouth for a full minute or two. The Incubator is either incredibly patient, or just unable to notice time passing. He blinks once or twice as he waits for my words.

My father had met his end in the coal mines two years ago. My mother had vanished some time after that. Either she'd tried to sell her old soul gem and ended up punished by the Capitol, or she'd slipped off somewhere to join her husband in death. Either way, me and my sister, Primrose, were left alone. Today, I had slipped into the deepest state of despair I'd ever felt. Me and Prim had been attacked that morning by a monster who quickly established its labyrinth around our house. I had no money, no food to bring to our makeshift, temporary home in the woods. I felt all alone until the baker's son, Peeta Mellark, discreetly tossed a rejected loaf of bread my way. I realized then that it was okay to accept help from someone. And only one type of person could truly help me now.

The Incubator straightens. "Is it that you want to live in the Capitol? Your status as a Magical Girl would automatically make you—"

I get my lips working, finally. "No. I want—I don't want to change my life."

"Then why have you been searching for us?"

How has no one ever noticed how red their eyes are? They're glowing in the night-time darkness like twin warning lights.

"It's just..." I look away. I will not let my tears slip free. We've been taught that emotion is a vital part of a human's life. So why do I feel so weak whenever I express myself? "My father..."

The Incubator begins licking his paw. A callous gesture, but I forgive him. He can't understand. "There are very few things an Incubator can't do, Katniss Everdeen. Resurrection is one of them. It takes incredible power to raise the dead, more than can be found in a single human."

"I know, I know." My brow furrows. "I can't have him back, but things have been impossible ever since he died. Please. I just want to protect my sister from starvation. She's ten."

"That's a perfectly reasonable demand. You understand that becoming a Magical Girl makes you eligible to compete in the Hunger Games, correct?"

I swallow. "I understand."

Do I really believe this small, squishy cross between a kitten, a rabbit and a puppy can keep my sister alive? An image of Prim, so tiny and thin, her bones traced out inside her skin, comes to my mind. No, of course not. But a network of them can. I have to believe that. I have no choice.

The Incubator's long ears rise, as if they've lost contact with the earth's gravitational pull. Time to make the wish.

I'd once heard a story about a genie who granted people wishes, and made them miserable using loopholes. I don't know whether to be general or specific when I speak. I go with 'honest'. "I wish for my sister, Primrose Everdeen, to be safe and well-off!"

There's a moment where it feels like my body has turned into water. The tips of the Incubator's ears sink into my sternum. It's not painful, but the wind is forced from my diaphragm and I force my eyes shut. When I awaken, there's a stone in my hand.

A soul gem.

"Congratulations, Katniss Everdeen, your wish has triumphed over entropy! You have a new duty to protect District 12 from the monsters bearing grief seeds. You will be excused from any former duties to perform this task."

I want to tell him I know all this, he should move on now, but I feel drained. I stare at my forest-green gemstone, which is caged in pure gold. It gives off a faint, yellowish glow.

The Incubator vanishes, and I eventually pick myself up and trudge home, pocketing the soul gem. I almost wish I could sell it—selling soul gems is about five hundred different shades of illegal—but then I remember that things are going to be better for Prim from now on. I don't need to scrape for cash or food to keep my family alive. The Incubators must be a benevolent race, or else they would have wiped us out with their powers eons ago. I could trust them to understand my wish.