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"Dad, why do I have to hide?"

"Because I say you have to, Katniss. Now do as I say and go into the attic. Today of all days, I do not want these men to find you. Do you understand me?"

"Yes, Dad." Katniss mumbled and walked up the stairs. Haymitch only shook his head and turned to the task of hiding things that obviously belonged to a child of her age. They did this every year. When the day of the reaping came around, he would have her hide and then hide things, including his gun. He only left his bow showing. The second year the Peacekeepers had come by, they had seen it and had asked him why he now owned one. He had told them he needed a way to support himself. They had been satisfied with the answer and left him be. In town, he sold to some of them. He was just glad that it kept Katniss safe and fed. She was starting to learn to use it. Edgar was making her a bow to use so they could go hunting together. He knew that, soon, she would be able to go out herself and he would be able to send her into the woods to hide instead of hiding her in the secret panel above her room.

Katniss watched her father hide her things for a moment before pulling herself up the rope ladder he had strung up. Once she was inside the hiding place, she pulled up the rope and the panel attached to it. The panel was actually the door to her hiding place. When she was five years old, he had finished it. That was the first year she had hidden there. It was well insulated and kept her warm if she went in it to be alone. But there was also a window so light could go in. One day a year, she was to stay in the hiding place until he fetched her himself, using their secret word. She sighed and worked her way to the window. It was in the corner of her room and looked into the trees. Even when she was sitting next to it, no one could see her because no one knew it was there.

In the kitchen, Haymitch waited for the Peacekeepers. They always insisted on checking his house even though he didn't show any signs of having had a wife in the past nine years since they had first come to his house. He left the door open and let them check the house when they arrive at sunset. As always, they found nothing and told him to be in town at Noon for the Reaping. He waited a couple of hours before he took Katniss from her hiding place. Her frown told him that she was not happy at having to hide for no reason. He sat her down at the table and sighed. It was time to tell her why she had to hide. "She has to know what danger I am shielding her from." He looked at her. She was waiting. "Fine, you win. I'll tell you why you always have to hide from those men. They are Peacekeepers. They keep the peace here in the Capitol, and in Panem and the Districts. There is a tournament of sorts that the president puts on every year. It's called the Hunger Games. It's supposed to be a glorified event. But it's not. Every year, the Peacekeepers take children in a certain age range, twelve to eighteen. Each town, city, and village has to send a boy and a girl to the capitol city. From there, four pairs from each of the Capitol, the Districts, and Panem are selected to play in the Games. It's brutal, Katniss. The children are forced to kill each other until there is only one left alive. They are kept in the Capitol to mentor the next set of eight that come in. If they're young, like you, their family goes and lives with them, but they still have a chance of going into the Games." He watched her as he let her absorb the information he had just given her. It was a lot to tell a girl of her age, but she had to know what she was hiding from and why.

"Am I the only child they don't know about?" She asked. He knew she was wondering about Gale.

"Yes." Her eyes fell.

"Can I go with you tomorrow?"

"No. If you do, you'll be forced into the pool and I won't be able to hide you next year."

"How long do I have to keep hiding?" Her voice was almost yelling, but she coolly kept it down. "Why must Gale be forced to endure this torture and I don't?"

"Because I promised your mother I would keep you safe. Once you're eighteen and the Games have passed, you won't have to hide anymore. You'll be free to do whatever you want." He looked at her. She glared at him. He had almost told her that he had promised her parents. But he was her parent as far as she knew. When she was old enough to start asking what happened to her mother, he had told her that she had died when she was born. She had left it at that. If he slipped up now, she would never trust him again. "You can't go with me to town, but we'll have to watch it on the television anyway. I'll let you watch it this year."

"And every year after this?" She gave him the look the king would often give his soldiers. There was no doubt that she was her father's daughter.

"Yes." He conceded and she started making dinner while he went outside to get some fresh air. "That's the closest we've come to a fight since she could talk. She would have made a great queen. It's too bad she doesn't have a kingdom to go back to."

She sat at the table, a cup of tea in her hand. Her father had been able to barter it while he was in town for the Reaping. He had told her that Gale hadn't been chosen this year. That made her glad. She didn't want him to have to kill anyone. The television turned on and Haymitch explained that the children they were seeing were the ones that were picked from all the places in the Capitol and that it would be the same in the Districts and Panem. She only nodded and watched as eight children she didn't know were called to the stage. She didn't talk to many people outside of Gale and his family. Her father kept her secluded, but she didn't mind it. She knew that he was doing it to keep her safe. The television switched to the Districts and she watched the same thing happen. Then it was Panem. She saw the ruined castle and the black wearing guards. He told her that they had been the royal guard, in charge of protecting the royal family. Three children were called. She noticed her father seething with anger. Then another twelve year old was called. The blonde girl seemed sort of familiar to Katniss. She glanced at her father and saw him mouth words, his face pale.

"The final tribute is Primrose Everdeen, once princess of Panem." The announcer said. Katniss was confused at her father's reaction. As far as she knew, they didn't know the royal families from the Districts and Panem. "This promises to be a very exciting year. Happy Hunger Games and may the odds be ever in your favor!" The announcer said cheerily and the television turned off.

"She's alive." She heard her father whisper. She wanted to press him for answers, but decided against it and went into her room. He had promised to take her hunting before the parade tomorrow.

Haymitch barely noticed her leaving. "I thought they had killed her. Does that mean that her family escaped? And they announced her as Primrose. Do they know about Katniss? How long until they start looking for her?" All these thoughts ran through his head as he sat in the dark. He didn't know what was going to happen now. He remembered he had promised to take Katniss hunting with him in the morning. "Now is as good a time as any to teach her everything I know. That includes how to fight."

"Keep your breathing steady." She told herself. "Stay steady." She sighted along the arrow and released. It sank into the center of the target several feet away. Behind her, Haymitch smiled. "How was that, Dad?"

"Better. Much better. But I know you. You can improve." She looked at him and he smiled. "We all have room for improvement." She nodded and rubbed her forearm. This was the first she had hit the target all morning. The bow had been made specially for her small size and low strength by Gale's father. It was a gift from them for her twelfth birthday. Her father said that they knew what he was hiding her from and wanted to help them. That made her glad since she and Gale were best friends. "There may be hope for you yet." He took the bow from her and looked at her arm. It was red from the string hitting it. "You'll get to where it won't hurt. I'll make you a brace to wear for now. You have to practice so you can hunt when I can't."

"When won't you ever be able to hunt?" She teased. He barely managed a smile.

"So innocent and young." He thought sadly. "This is the age that she would have started training to go into the Games had Snow not invaded Panem. It should be the king teaching her these things. Not me. And now that Prim has been found, it's only a matter of time before Katniss is as well." He called her from the target. She grabbed her arrow and returned.

"Yes, Dad?"

"Go to the pond, you know the one I'm talking about. Gather some of the roots around there for dinner tonight. And don't leave until I come for you. Do you understand?"

"Yes, Dad." She said and clutched her bow to her. He nodded and she scampered off. When she was a good ways away, he returned to the house and reached into the trunk. He pulled out the blankets he had wrapped Katniss in when she was a baby. There had to be an explanation why. He sighed in frustration when he couldn't find anything tucked away.

"Of course there's not going to be anything. They were expecting to flee with her. But it doesn't make sense. Why would they recognize Prim as a princess when it was Katniss who was announced as the princess of Panem? There's got to be a reason." He shook his head and growled. "I'm over thinking this." He told himself as he put everything back in the trunk. "Maybe she was raised by her actual name but everyone thinks that she is the actual princess and her name was changed. Everdeen is her father's name. That probably wasn't changed and so they knew. That has to be it." A twig snapped outside. He narrowed his eyes and grabbed the gun from his waist. He hid the trunk and stepped carefully to the door. He looked outside it. Whoever it was knew they had made a mistake in stepping on the twig. He knew it wasn't Katniss. She may be stubborn, but she knew to follow his directions when it came to her being by herself. A figure blocked the doorway. They were too small to be male. "Maybe a female from the village." Then he noticed the hood. No woman from the village would be hooded. She stepped forward. He stepped behind her and put the gun to her head. "Don't you dare reach for the weapon on your belt. Lower your hood." She did. "Turn to me."

"It's good to see you're alive, Haymitch." She said as she turned.

"Coin?"

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