I awake one morning, the snow falling outside but there's wood burning in the fire place of my bedroom that's giving out a comforting warmth and the relief that if the fireplace is lit then the housekeeper must be here. For now, the lockdown has ended. I drag myself out of bed and stuff my feet into my warm fluffy slippers, pulling my robe on before going downstairs to breakfast.

My parents are already sat at the table, my father with the newspaper he gets sent from the Capitol and my mother is sipping a cup of coffee.

The housekeeper, Mrs Storn, is at the stove stirring a pot of hot grain. I take my seat next to my little brother who's just turned three and has spent every day for the last week pretending to be a cat.

'Meoowwwww' he says and makes a weird noise which I think is him attempting to purr.

I ignore him, not because I want to be mean to him but because his childhood innocence annoys me. He doesn't know or care what's happening around us. I envy him.

'Saphirre at work?' I ask. Saphirre is my older sister, she's twenty one and works for the local dress maker. Fashion is her life, I'm convinced she should of been Capitol raised. Maybe even a sylist in the games...but I'm glad she's not.

'She had to go in early and catch up on some work' My mother says, draining her coffee. She looks stressed, she has dark circles under her eyes and her skin looks dull.

My father puts down his newspaper, if I thought my mother looked stressed it's nothing compared to how he looks like he's ages ten years over night.

'Crystal, Finnick called. He wants you to see him today' He says, folding the news paper slowly 'I said you'd be over after breakfast'

I nod slightly. It's a rarity that Finnick ever wants to see me these days...

Mrs Storn puts a bowl of hot grain before me and I take three spoonfulls before excusing myself to go get ready.

My bedroom has been decorated the same way since I was a toddler, pale blue with fish that look like they're swimming in the same direction along the walls.

I take another look out of the window and the snow appears to be coming down harder, I sigh and begin the resent the fact that Finnick has asked to see me. Winters in district four are short, last two months but they can get incredibly harsh and this year seems to be the worst for a long time

I get changed into a light blue winter dress that Saphirre made me when she first started working for the dress maker. I've chosen it for simple fact that it has a fantastic pair of winter boots that are perfect for the weather outside.

By the time I step outside my resent has turned into near anger at being dragged out of a warm home and into the snowy blizzard outside. My cheeks feel like they're being cut with blades as the wind hit them, my hair is soaked from snow flakes and I'm near frozen to the bone by the time I make the short walk from my home to the victors village.

The victors Village is a special section of the district - all twelve districs of panem has one- where the winner of the annual Hunger Games resides. There are twelve large beautiful houses.

I pass them one by one and notice Mags in the window of her kitchen. Mags is an elderly Victor, she won her games sixty five years ago and has a wicked ability to make a hook out of almost anything. She waves at me and I wave back, smiling politely. I walk up to Finnicks house and knock on the door.

'Crystal' He beams at me as he opens the door and pulls me inside quickly, shutting the door behind me.

'Good morning Finnick' I say annoyed, kicking off my boots 'So what do you want?'

I take my coat off and Finnick gives a light hearted chuckle, taking my coat from me.

'I figured I'd see my little cousin' He says, gesturing towards the kitchen, 'Make sure you're ok...I haven't spent enough time with you recently'

'You haven't spent enough time with me since you won those damn games' I mutter under my breath, hoping Finnick doesn't hear. Even with my annoyance I don't want to upset him, as it always does when ever the topic of his games comes up.

I walk into the kitchen and sit down at the table whilst Finnick puts my coat on the back of a chair by the fire to dry.

I stare at the fireplace, glad for the heat it radiates when I notice Finnick dangling a bag infront of my face. Goodies. Capitol goodies.

I make to grab the back but he pulls it away just before my fingers clutch it.

'You can have it so long as you don't ask to many questions' He says and I nod eagerly. I'm going to bug him anyway, I want to know what's bought on the sudden concern for me, even when he does bring home treats for me from the Capitol he usually just drops them off at my house. Never asks me to come over for them. I'm suspicious. Plus, I know that he trades in the Capitol for secrets. I just don't know what he trades with and I'm curious.

He hands me the bag and I open it excitedly

'So Crystal, how are you coping with all these lockdowns?' He asks as he sits down at the table opposite me. I shrug and pull my first goodie out of the bag.

'It's annoying, but it's not that bad I guess. Gets a bit boring being stuck in house but with the bad weather no one would be out much anyway. School would be shut. Most people can't work anyway' I shrug again, Finnick can't think of all the people in this district that I'm someone who's struggling. I'm the mayors daughter, our family is on good terms with the old peacekeepers. I'm the last person in this district who's struggling.

My first gift is chocolates. Luxury chocolates filled with different flavoured cremes.

'What's with the concern anyway' I ask, raising an eyebrow.

'It's just that things have been changing a lot and I'm not sure things are going to get better' He says 'Just making sure you're coping'

I pull my next gift from the bag, a bottle of perfume that smells pretty but I can't place the scents. It's a nice gift, but I think I prefer the chocolates.

'So Finnick?' I ask as I dip my hand back into the bag. He looks at me, giving me a look of warning but I carry on regardless 'You know something don't you? About the distrcts, the uprisings? You found out at the Capitol didn't you?'

'Just look at your last present' He says impateintly. I know he knows something and it's something big. I stare at him for a moment before my greed for presents takes over my greed for information.

I pull out a black scarf that has a magnificent animal in gold stitching at the bottom of one end. It takes a moment to recall the name of the animal. It's not one I've ever seen in front of my eyes, only in a book.

There's a book in my dads study, a very old book that I'm scared to touch most of the time incase it falls apart in my hands. It takes about the wildlife on show at a Zoo in the country that was before Panem rose from it's ashes. I liked looking at the pictures of the animals but the idea of a 'Zoo' saddened me. They lock animals in cages for the paying public to stare it. It seems barbaric - but then again we send a boy and girl to fight the death in the arena every year.

I remember showing Finnick the book when we were younger, showing him a picture of the animal on my scarf.

The name suddenly comes to me - a Giraffee.

I can't believe Finnick remembered that.

'Oh Finnick it's beautiful!' I exclaim, running my fingers along the stitching of the gold Giraffe.

I thank him several times over the next hour, the gifts are wonderful and the scarf is the icing on the cake. Finnick stands by the stave cooking a batch of Prawns for us before placing them on the table for us to help ourselves. We demolish them, chucking the peelings into a spare bowl.

I try asking him again what's going on in the capitol that has him feeling like he needs to look out for me all of a sudden but he ignores me every time.

I get ready to leave by midday, dissapointed that I haven't managed to get him to speak but delighted with the gifts. He hands me a bag for Saphirre and one for Kial too before I wrap my new scarf over my neck, going back out into the bitter cold.