DISCLAIMER: Unfortunately, I don't own The Hunger Games.

Please read the A\N in the bottom!

Also, I want to thank again my lovely beta TheStoryOf14.


Chapter 1 –

It was barely dawn and Katniss was already up, pulling her hair back into a loose braid. She sat on the edge of the bed she shared with Prim, who was still asleep, and her deep breaths were the only thing breaking the silence.

It seemed more quiet this morning, as if Warsaw could finally fall asleep after being hurt and wounded non-stop by the Germans from every possible direction – the bombs and airplanes had been everywhere, and the Germans weren't known for their inefficiency. They were like predators; waiting in the dark, attacking only at the right moment and heading straight into the heart, and unfortunately they always hit their target. Warsaw was sleeping under a thick blanket of dust, and people chose to stay inside, trying to understand the new life they were now forced to embrace.

Katniss didn't have that privilege because she had to go to Sau's butcher shop. As soon as she finished high school Katniss had to start looking for a job, and a proper one. When father died he had left them some savings that had helped them to survive until last winter, and it was almost unbelievable that those savings even supported them that long. But life wasn't sweet, and they were indigent, and even though she tried, she couldn't remember the last time she'd bought something nice for herself, or even for Prim. In some of the most desperate moments during the past years she'd had no choice but to sell her most private belongings; some of them even used to belong to her dad, but she knew that he would have done the same. The piano was the first to go, and probably the most painful one - not only because it was the beginning of their new, unwanted life that consisted far too often of leaving things behind, but also because all Katniss' best memories seemed to have that very piano in them –the lullabies he played to Prim and her when they were little. She remembered the way he let Prim sit on his lap while he taught Katniss to sing, and she was overwhelmed by the intensity of the memory –she could almost smell him all over again. Now, almost three years after the moment that basically changed her life, their once fancy apartment was almost empty; all the paintings were sold shortly after the piano, and then the expensive silverware with most of their furniture and the Shabbat's golden candlesticks had to go as well. In the end, even mother's jewelry was pawned, except for her engagement ring, of course. All that was left from her fathers stuff was an old polish military coat from World War 1, a few biology and botanic books, his old gun, winter boots and some old photographs. Katniss knew that she would never sell those little items because they were practically the only connection she had left with him.

Her eyes drifted to the gray living room and it was difficult to see the resemblance between their apartment now and then–the paint on the wall had faded away and left ugly marks in the areas that suffered from a constant trickle in the winter, and there were no paintings that could cover it. Last winter she sold the last thing she could give away –grandfather's Hanukkah lamp and then that was that and they were left with only 2000 zlotys to survive on. Luckily for Katniss she finished school that year, so by the end of the year, just as things were getting really desperate, she started to look for a job. During her school years, she'd often had to feed the entire family with one sack of rotten potatoes for a week. Prim was alarmingly thin, her hip bones stood out and although she was 13 years old, her body hadn't developed at all and she rather resembled a 10 years old boy. Even though Prim never once complained, Katniss hated herself for it. Her conscience ate her from the inside for not giving her little, beautiful sister the life she deserved. It took her a month of looking everywhere, but she finally managed to get a job, and a proper one even, at Sau's butcher shop.

Sau was dad's old friend from elementary school and she always seemed nice and welcoming with her big gestures and little winks she gave her as a child. It was a warm day in mid June and the sun shone with full force but Katniss was cold, she hadn't brought food to her mouth for almost two days, but it was fine, she'd had worse.

As she sat on the bed and watched the sun rise up in the sky she couldn't forget the overwhelming smell of meat that still burnt her, almost four months later. Her eyes drifted with amazement to the variety; pork, beef and she saw even rabbit's meat.

"Katniss Everdeen!" Sau called happily and wiped her greasy hands on her apron, "How are you doing?"

It took her a few moments to comprehend that Sau was waiting for an answer and with a small struggle she finally broke eye contact with the meat around her and met Sau's smiling eyes.

"I'm good." She lied and stood there, overwhelmed.

Sau scanned her from head to toes and the joy in her eyes slowly disappeared, concern was on her face as she stared the starving young woman in front of her. "How can I help you, dear?" her voice was warm.

Katniss couldn't remember the last time someone was warm towards her, not to mention motherly. "I'm looking for a job." She hated asking anyone for help, and it didn't matter how many times she asked for it –it just got harder to beg.

The older woman smiled sadly, 'of course she is.' She thought to herself and considered it. With the age creeping her back was aching from lifting the meat and she got tired faster than before. Moreover, she knew she needed some help to handle things, and because she was single she had no one who could help her, and taking a stranger to work just didn't seem like the right idea. She knew she needed help, but she wondered how that fragile –looking woman in front of her would handle it. "You came to the right place." She decided she had to give her a chance, if not for her sake, then for her father's.

Katniss gray eyes shone and she suddenly felt strong and confident. Words chose to escape her mind as she stared at her, amazed. "Thank you. You have no idea…" she managed to say with sincerity.

"Don't thank me, dear." Sau went back to the meat in her hands and started cutting it again, preparing for a busy, full of costumers day. "Come tomorrow at six and a half A.M, and I'll show you the place, your job and we'll discuss your salary."

For a long moment the only thing that broke the silence was the sound of the butcher knife hitting the marble surface beneath it. Sau's golden eyes met Katniss' thankful gaze; she looked exhausted, but relieved. "And don't be late."

"I won't." Katniss wanted to scream and dance from happiness, to celebrate her excellent news, but her body couldn't register the thing that just happened, and she was shocked. Every time she wandered the streets searching for a job she knew she'd get 'no' as an answer, but she had to try, just for the attempt. And now she wouldn't despise herself everytime her eyes fell on Prim's skinny figure.

"Come on, little duck," Katniss woke up from her day-dreaming and her hand was stroking Prim's slim back, "You have school to attend. I fetched some tea for you and some leftovers from the bakery."

Deep blue eyes stared at her, frowning a little. "I had the strangest dream." Her sweet little voice still husky from sleeping, "I saw the German march into Warsaw since the Polish surrendered."

Katniss knew she wanted to hear some reassuring words, telling her that it was only a nightmare, that none of it was real, but they both knew it was, so Katniss stood up and started to organize her things for the day. "Rory and Gale will be here in tem minutes, so you better hurry." Was all she managed to come up with as an answer.

There was only silence between them until the muffled footprints voice on the stairs broke it. A man and a young man-boy walked through the door without knocking- there was no need, they were familiar and accustomed to their daily routine. The young one, Rory offered Katniss a little smile and walked over to Prim, while Gale walked casually to the kitchen.

"Morning Katnip." Gale greeted her with his typical sly smile. She frowned at him and pressed her lips tightly, completely impatient with his irritatingly good mood. "Ho, don't get so cranky, Katnip." He leaned casually on the counter next to her while she went back to making tea. Katniss was not in a good mood, and it was extremely hard to keep her mouth shut, although it felt like Gale wanted her to finally snap at him. He let out a deep sigh and she could feel him softening up next to her, "Come on, just let it out."

"There is a war, if you haven't noticed." Katniss finally managed to say with hushed voice, so Prim won't hear. There was a long pause before she took a deep breath and continued, "And now the Germans are here, if you missed them when they marched into our city." Her gaze was fierce, and focused straight on his eyes.

"You can't be surprised that these Nazis took over, Katniss." He used her real name, and not that stupid nickname he had for her, and she felt her muscles relax, "You should be surprised that it took them an entire month." A small laugh escaped their lips.

"I just don't know what do to with Prim." Katniss confessed as quietly as she could, "Not to mention my mother. And the worst part is that I don't know what is going to happen, and everything I know scares the hell out of me, Gale."

The young man put both of his hands on Katniss shoulders, squeezing them a little, "You know, I think we should just leave this city and run, far, far away from here."

"Sure, Gale. Just imagine Prim in the woods." They both laughed, and the atmosphere relaxed. She handed him a hot cup of tea - they always had plenty of herbs to make tea from, and they sat together in silence, each engaged in their own thoughts while they sipped from hot beverage.

"Prim, come on. I'll be late and your tea's cold already." Katniss called out and in no time Prim and Rory stepped in. Rory was a smaller replica of his brother; they shared the same strong jaw line, same gestures, tan skin color and gray eyes. The only difference was that Rory was shorter, since he was only 13, and his lips were a bit fuller than his brother's. But in general, Gale and Rory Hawthrurn and Katniss were astonishingly alike; they all had a tanned skin color that stood out in the sea of pale Polish, dark hair and pair of silver-gray piercing eyes.

Katniss had known Gale since they were both little because their fathers were Professors in the University of Warsaw and best friends, and after their deaths both families, or what was left of them, found solace in each other. Gale was two years older than her, and he'd been working in construction for the past two years, making just enough money to feed his three other brothers and his mother, who worked from times to times as a cleaner just to make it through the month. Gale was like the older brother she'd never had, and they quarreled like it too. But even though she sometimes wished she'd never met him, she couldn't deny that he helped her more than she wished she needed. It was mutual though, although neither of them ever asked for it, they needed each other.

"I'm ready." Prim said quietly when she finished her tea, and Katniss knew that her sister was having trouble getting the thought of the German soldiers in their city out of her mind. Everyone felt it, but no one knew what to say except for Rory who offered her a small, reassuring smile.

That was their daily routine - Gale and Rory came over a little after dawn and while Rory was with Prim, the older siblings sat in the kitchen and drank tea. When time came for the younger ones to turn left for school, and Gale and Katniss turned to the opposite direction and went to work.

"Be carefull," Katniss hissed into Prim's ear and played with her long, blonde braid, "I'll see you soon, OK?" there was a tight hug and gray eyes met blue ones. Prim nodded and they walked away.

Although it was way past dawn the streets were empty, their footsteps on the concrete pavement the only noise echoing through the silence. She didn't want to recognize the smell that hung in the air - a reminder of war combined with dust and gunpowder. When they approached the commercial area Katniss' eyes widened with shock - the whole place was filled with German soldiers, all immaculately dressed in their olive-green uniforms, filling the street. Some stood in groups and smoked, laughing in German next to supply trucks that were decorated with red swastikas. It's wrong, she thought to herself in disbelief, and walked passed them without looking at them, as if not acknowledging their unwelcome presence. She let out a breathe she didn't realize she was holding when they pasted the Soldiers. Her eyes drifted to Gale and she couldn't miss his stiffness; his hands were clenched into tight fists and he pressed his lips together until his mouth was nothing more than a thin, pale line. She searched for something to say, but nothing came. Words weren't her strong side, so her eyes went back to the street and they walked, as if nothing happened.

They reached Sau's butcher shop in what seemed like seconds for her. "Listen," Gale said authoritatively, "Get home before the sunsets." There was no point in arguing, so she gave him a quick nod and entered the store.

Sau was already next to the counter, cleaning up the store and when she heard the doorbell she lifted her eyes from the floor and found Katniss'. "Good morning, girl." Katniss couldn't figure out the unfamiliar glance the old woman gave her. "Was it pity?" she thought to herself and dismissed it almost immediately. Katniss didn't need pity, nor did she want it, and there was no reason for Sau to feel that towards her.

"Morning." she answered, trying to be polite, and went to the back of the store and lifted the meat to carry it over to the storefront. On her first day she couldn't lift anything, and had to ask old Sau for help, because her muscles weren't made for it. As time passed she got stronger, and was finally worth the money that Sau gave her. The old woman gave her a list of addresses and next to each one was written in an elegant penmanship the amount and type of meat that Katniss should hand over and its price.

Her hands started cutting the meat into portions, trying to clear her mind from unpleasant thoughts. The overwhelming smell of meat - and plenty of it - didn't bother her anymore; nor the different types of sausages that hung from the ceiling, or the unbelievable amount of pork meat, not even the little rabbit meat packages.

The last couple of months they hadn't been hungry, and Katniss couldn't ask for anything better. At first all the money was spent on food and Prim even gained some weight, giving her cheeks a healthy pink tinge, and Katniss couldn't ask for more. It wasn't much, but it was more than enough. But In the past month people were afraid to leave their safe shelter with the war knocking on their doors, and business, especially small ones, were in danger of bankruptcy, so she had to work almost for free. In response old Sau had found the perfect solution - Katniss had to wonder in the streets of Warsaw while the sirens shrieked above her head and deliver the meat to the customers who were too scared to get it theirselves. Sau wasn't evil - she was desperate for money, and Katniss got more money for risking her life daily, and more money meant life.

The list for today was ready and Katniss noticed that with time less names were written on that piece of paper, and although it meant Katniss needed to carry less meat, she knew it wasn't going to get better. She padded her bag with ice packs and put all the meat inside.

"Be carefull." Sau's hand reached her shoulder and her lips curved into a sad smile as, once again, her eyes fill with pity and Katniss clenched her jaw tightly and left, not wanting to see that irritating look on the old womans face. She needed some time for herself. Katniss loved walking, but she'd never been in a position to take the time for it because time meant money, but now she made money from walking, and to her, it was an opportunity to clear her mind. She tightened the bag's straps and started to wander in the gray and dusty streets of Warsaw.


A\N:

This is important -in the prologue I wrote that Mr. Everdeen died from a heart attack, but I changed it, and forgot about editing it, so I will tell you in the future how he died ;)

So, I know this one is longer, but pretty boring (but it took me only two days to update). Please be patient, it will get really good from next chapter (that will be posted on next week) ;)

Thank you for reading, and reviewing. I can't tell you how much it cheers me up!

If you have any questions feel free to PM.

R&R (please)