All she knows is death. And how to enjoy it.

Her eyes fly open. She looks at an unfamiliar ceiling and a confused frown builds on her forehead. That's until she feels a warm body cling to her left arm. And she remembers where she is.

With a warm smile on her face she turns her head and meets her eyes with messy brown hair. Chuckling softly she tucks it back behind the girl's ear and soaks in her sleeping face.

The eyes are closed softly, her breathing is even, she has a small smile on her lips and her arms are wrapped around Clarke's upper arm. Clarke can feel the soft breathing on her cheek. It's peaceful.

The nose of the brunette crunches and a low whisper is heard. "'ou staring again."

"Just a little bit", the blonde smiles brightly.

Katniss reaches her hand up to rub her forehead. "Late?"

"Only morning. Don't worry." Clarke moves her fingertips over rough skin. "It's 2 hours past sunrise. You woke up early."

Katniss pushes the hand of her lover away and sits up. She stretches her muscles and looks at blue eyes staring at her. "Not as early as you."

The blonde shrugs it off. "I was thinking."

"You know, I really think you should do it", says Katniss, convinced that her opinion on this topic is no longer a matter to Clarke.

A smile forms on Clarke's face and she nods. "I won't accept the offer. You know I don't agree with the games and I do not wanna have anything to do with them."

Katniss slides off the bed and starts to undress herself with blue eyes watching her every move. "I know and I don't either. But it would make money and you could possibly be free. You know... go away from here. Live instead of just surviving. Don't we deserve better than this?"

She sure has some real abs coming from all the hunting, running and climbing she is doing to provide food for her family. But her skin is rough and unhealthy, her eyes are full of lost dreams and trapped hopes, her hair is broken and filthy. But she still looks so good.

Not that Clarke looks any better. "We do. But I won't leave without you. Never." Her skin is pale and she gave up on keeping her hair straight and healthy many years ago. Here in District 12 there's just nothing they can do about it. Shampoo is unknown and running water would be a pleasure. Most of the times they do not have power, but they survive. There's just one thing that's different about Clarke, that makes her different from all those people trapped in District 12's misery. Her eyes hadn't lost their sparks yet. She still has hope.

Hope for what? Who knows. She doesn't know. That the Hunger Games get cancelled? Well, that won't happen. That president Thelonious Jaha disappears and someone else rules? Not any time soon. Or maybe that suddenly the poorness of District 12 will end? No hunger? No sickness? No freezing in the cold? At least that would be something.

Now in her normal clothing, being also her hunting gear and what not, Katniss braids her hair in her usual side-braid-style. "I'mma go hunting before the ceremony starts."

"I come with you."

Katniss smiles and that's all Clarke is hoping for. They both know Clarke and hunting wouldn't go well together. She's breathing too loud, she steps on every cracking stick, she can't move in the woods and honestly, even if she didn't do anything wrong her presence would still alarm the animals. She just has this thing about her, that you notice her no matter where and when.

"I'll catch you later." Katniss grabs her father's jacket and throws it on. She kisses her blonde lover goodbye and leaves the house to go to the woods.

Feeling awkward standing around in the Everdeen family house while Katniss' mother and little sister are still asleep, she slips into her clothes and leaves the wooden building.

"I don't understand why we even do that", a woman's voice rings through the train compartment. "You could just blow these off, Heda."

A girl with brown hair in a tight ponytail turns around from the food tables she is facing. "I told you, Octavia, it's a way to bond with the Districts. Heda being there in person is such an honor and it's not their fault that the most Districts are just so awkward and poor and … dirty."

"Em pleni", Heda's voice interrupts the two girls. "Every year one of the Districts gets the honor to meet the Heda, the Game Maker, me. And this year it's the 12. See the bright side, next year will be the District 1."

"We all love the 1, Heda", Octavia says. "All the great costumes, I mean never as great as in Polis obviously, but they try, they try."

"Raven", the Commander addresses the ponytail girl.

"Mh?" She turns to the woman, her mouth full of explicit, delicious, bright colored food.

Giving the girl a small smile, very unlike Heda, she demands: "Cameras on stage, lights on me, a little bit on the crowd. We won't show the misery all around 12. The last we need is a poor, sad village destroying all the excitement around the Hunger Games."

"Aye, captain", Raven salutes.

Octavia rolls her eyes practically to heaven.

"What?!", Raven snaps at her co worker.

"You don't salute in closed rooms", Octavia says, chin up, arms crossed. "Except for the Medal of Honor. That's above."

"I have no idea what that is or what you even have, like, did you forget to record the last Hunger Games or maybe your satin isn't red enough this time? Did too many stars fall from the sky and you ran out of wishes?" Raven is furious. Octavia, yet again, managed to make a simple gesture into a hella fight.

"Just in case you actually are able to process simple words: I do have only one wish and that's for you to die in the games. I'd personally throw some shit at you."

The girls' staring contest is intense and if you'd walk between those two, you'd probably explode from their laser eyes or something.

Heda suppresses a sigh. "Em pleni." She straightens her back and looks down on the two shorter women. "We are a team. And I do not need this drama right before the games. Get it together."

Both brown haired women kept the staring for just as much before doing as the Heda says and ending their eye gonplei.

"Beja", Heda thanks them and sits down on one of the purple couches, Octavia sitting on the other one standing perfectly in a 90° angle to Heda's.

Just as the beautiful 21-year-old Commander reaches out for a tiny glass of red liquid on the table, the door to their train compartment opens silently and closes again. She looks up to see who's coming, her hand half-way to the liquid. "Indra." She pulls her hand back and sits straight in her seat, looking strong and fierce as ever.

"Heda", the short haired woman approaches. "Twenty minutes until the city of coal mines hits the surface." The commander gives the woman a nod. Indra honors the other two girls, being Octavia and Raven, with a glare saying as much as to better behave. Then she turns and leaves.

The Commander rises from her seat and walks around the table. "Raven, I have to excuse Octavia and I. It's time -"

"- to get your mack on." Shocked that she couldn't shut herself up before the words slipped her mouth, Raven regrets it instantly. Regretting not only interrupting the Heda but also accusing her of such things, even if it was more like a joke, she fears for her answer. After all Heda is her boss and she feels very much like she is going to get fired in a heartbeat.

Fighting with Octavia constantly, interrupting and accusing the Heda. She went too far this time.

But the Commander of the Hunger Games just smiles slightly and leaves it at that. She turns on her heel, grace all over, and with Octavia following her neatly she walks out and Raven is left alone with herself.

Clarke is just finishing the final touches of her hair. She took a much needed bath, put on a white simple dress, which is only reserved for the ceremony, and is now putting her hair up in a neat tight braided hair-do.

She was afraid, more than ever.

If today the name on the card being chosen by fortuity reads Katniss Everdeen, she can not do the slightest thing about it. She is 18 now. She is no longer a possible candidate for the Hunger Games, and that alone should be a relieve, but it also means that she can't volunteer. And if Katniss is the one, she would rather volunteer than see her one true love fight for her life in one of those stupid games.

She could just hope, pray and beg to the universe that it would not be her Katniss. Not her Katniss. Please let it be not her Katniss.

"Hey."

Clarke jumps in surprise and then laughs at her own fear. "Katniss!" She closes her arms around the young woman and soaks in the smell of flowers and trees and grass and soap.

With a smile Katniss pulls back and looks into Clarke's wonderful blue eyes. That spark, tho. Never lose it, Clarke. "I see you're all dressed up. Is this for me?", she jokes.

The blonde grins and spins for her love to admire the dress. It's not extraordinary but it's the best she has.

"You look beautiful. Just like you always do."

"Cheesy", Clarke pokes her arm and Katniss pulls her close in respond, she presses her lips on Clarkes.

Clarke can feel the little emotion-thingies in her stomach come to life and twirl and twist and dance and kiss and jump and run and oh she's having fun. Pulling the woman even closer to her, Clarke deepens the kiss; she doesn't want this moment to end. She doesn't want any moment she spends with Katniss to ever end.

But Katniss pulls back and reminds her of reality. "It's time", she says. "I love you."

Clarke watches as Katniss helps her little sister Prim find her way in the line. She watches as they separate and stand waiting for the ceremony to begin. Clarke saw Prim when the needle took a little bit of her blood. Primrose was not made for the wilderness, let alone for any kind of war.

But her name was in there once, it's her first year. She's 12 now. Katniss name on the other hand was in there quiet a lot. For the 5 years that she's been in the right age and a few times more to get food and oil in exchange to put her name in another time.

Clarke waits with the other adults, all of them with sad faces. A lot of them, parents, siblings and other relatives, scared that one of their young family members will be chosen.

"Clarke..." She didn't react, she didn't wanna take her eyes off her girlfriend. She couldn't. Her heart was pounding. This was torture. "Clarke", the woman tried again.

"Not now, mom."

"Clarke, I need to talk to you." Clarke loses Katniss as some of the Grounders, an army under the control of the Heda, pushes them forward and in line. She looks at her mother, Abby Griffin looks sad. "I didn't mean for this to happen."

"It's okay, mom. It's done and can't be undone. Just move on." Hurt by the memory of the loss of her beloved father and stubborn as always not to talk to her mother she turns to look at Katniss again, she can see her now.

Katniss' attention is all on her little sister, but for a moment, just a little moment she allows herself to give Clarke a smile and she nods. Clarke needs to talk to her mother. It was an accident and she knows it better than anyone. Abby needs forgiveness and she needs her daughter.

"Clarke -"

"Look, mom", she turns to the older woman and seriously promises: "When this all goes well, when I know Katniss is safe then I promise we will talk about everything you want. But right now, I just can't deal with more than having Katniss maybe sent into death. So could you please just wait until this is over? Please?"

Abby nods and it's only now Clarke notices that her mother's brown hair is not in a bun or in an up-do or in any 'do' at all. She didn't put on a nice dress for the ceremony, she didn't make her hair, maybe she didn't even wash properly. Her mother just didn't care what the capitol and the president would think if this was shown on TV.

Funny enough everywhere in the poor District 12 were TVs. Even in the coal mines, which is totally absurd, if you ask Clarke. But the only channel that it shows is the capitol TV. It's all about the Hunger Games and it's tributes, winners and losers both. But mostly winners.

So while most people do not own showers and have to wash in a big wooden bucket and while most of the time there's no power and even the fence to protect them from the wild animals in the woods is off duo to power problems, those stupid capitol TVs always work. All hail the president! Right?

"Stupid games", she mutters and she doesn't even care if anyone hears it.

After waiting around fifteen minutes more, finally they blow the horns and welcome the Game Maker with music and clapping. And Clarke just wants to scream into the Heda's face "WHY?". Why would someone do that? Build a place where people can kill each other in the cruelest way possible and where there can only – out of 24 children - be one to survive it all.

She gives Katniss another look, but the girl is busy not leaving her sister out of her eyes.

The music plays, the horns quiet down and the Game Maker walks with a straight back, confidence in her whole body and the dare to try and fight her in her eyes along the path her Grounder warriors made clear for her. She wears her usual Heda gear. All dark and dangerous; a mix of style, comfort, war gear and leader gear, with only one stroke of red cutting through the darkness like blood on ashes. Her hair is beautiful and she has complicated braids in it. But the most furious to Clarke are her eyes. Those dead eyes that stare right out of her war paint of black color spread across her eyes and dripping down her cheeks in four lines.

The Commander walks towards the small stage, that some technique people build up before the ceremony, and she knows she owns this situation. Clarke can see it in her body language. This woman probably doesn't know a thing about fear or hunger. She's cruel. All she knows is death. And how to enjoy it.

As the Commander of the Hunger Games reaches the stairs to the stage, Clarke's eyes are in a full glare. She hates this woman. Oblivious to the dead stares coming from the blonde in the crowd, the Heda settles herself in front of the microphone. She smiles and begins to talk.

"Welcome." Her voice sounds hard and with no mercy. She gains everyone's attention easily. I guess that's one way to put it. "I'm the Commander, Heda. I wish you all happy Hunger Games. And may the odds be ever in your favor."

"Of course", Clarke grumbles annoyed and angrily. "Be ever in your favor", she mimics the woman on stage and she receives a little push from her mother to be quiet now.

"The peace lies among our cities, and all together we create one nation. It wasn't always quiet this easy and neither was it any simple. The 13 Districts tried to settle a war against the capitol. But the capitol fought back. And we won!" Some Grounders roar to their Heda. "In an offer of peace, not wanting any more loss, Polis decided to take in all the Districts, so they would work hand in hand, heart by heart to build a better future. Unfortunately the District 13 wasn't quiet pleased with that arrangement. They settled for another attack, one that would have destroyed Polis, your capitol with your president and many innocent people, forever. But the capitol would fight back. Thanks to a hint, it was not too late to safe our newly combined nation – just that District 13 is now gone. The war between the capitol and it's enemy has ended all living things in the District 13. Shall that, among the games, be a reminder for all of us to not live in war, but in peace. Or we will all end like 13.

After 13 got destroyed the leaders of all the Districts and the president of our nation made a contract. In which it says that every year every District shall give one of their brave young man and women to go to the capitol and attend a game in which they will fight to death. The winner will be honored and offered many great benefits. Today this day has come along once again. Welcome, ladies and gentlemen, to the 74th Hunger Games! Let the game begin."

The Grounder warriors clapped and roared and slowly the people of District 12 fell into the clapping, not wanting to upset the fearless Heda.

Leaving the people to express their excitement for a while, the Commander watches over the crowd and she sees one blonde girl in a white simple dress who's not clapping along at all. Ignoring the fact that she doesn't seem too afraid of her, the Heda continues. "Now..." A pause for the people to quiet down. "...let's pick our tributes. As usual, ladies first." The woman goes to her left side and moves her hand into a big glass bowl full of papers with names on them. She picks from the top and goes back to the microphone.

Slowly she opens the paper and reads out the name: "This year's female tribute is... Primrose Everdeen."

Clarke let out a breath of relieve. It is not Katniss. Not her Katniss. Not... Her head snaps up in realization and she sees Katniss already running after her sister screaming that she's volunteering.

Her heart sinks. "No." Katniss. It's Katniss. Her Katniss. She's going. She's gonna fight for her life for a fucking TV show and she's probably gonna die. "KATNISS! KATN-!" A hand shuffles her mouth and an arm holds her tight so she can't move. She tries to fight it as hot tears run down her cheeks but the arms are too strong.

All of her being seems to crash as the woman she loves walks towards the stage, towards her death and she breaks down and cries as her mother tries to quiet her down.

Katniss climbing through the "highly dangerous" fence to get to the woods

Katniss letting her arrow fly

Katniss smiling at her

Katniss blaming her for the deer that escapes

Katniss watching her dance in the snow

Katniss kissing her

Katniss in her father's jacket

Katniss being lovely with Prim

Katniss eating dinner with her

Katniss falling asleep with her

Katniss waking up next to her

Katniss, so beautiful, so strong, so pure, so amazing

Katniss going to the Hunger Games …..