A/N: The Game Makers got bored! At least that's what writer brain says, and what writer brain says goes. As for the paper: I have the outline and it is due Friday. I'm good. But why won't anyone review Leverage: The Fairy Tale?

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Nate awoke to a popping sound and the smell of fire. He sat up and immediately jumped out of his sleeping bag. Sophie was awake too. She somehow already had all of her things packed up and was working on waking Maggie. Nate followed suit and packed up his gear. Maggie groggily got out of bed and started packing. Another pop erupted from nearby and the red-orange glow of fire became visible. Maggie's eyes grew wide and they ran.

Another popping sound came from directly behind them. Nate looked back and saw their camp explode into fire.

"Run!" He called out at the top of his lungs.

"What do you think we're doing?" Sophie screeched towards him with venom.

Nate decided to ignore her angry reply so he could fuel all his energy on running. He could feel the suffocating heat of the fire at his back and the thick black smoke was doing everything in its power to curl into their lungs. There were more important things to do than to engage in a battle of wits with Sophie Devereaux. Instead he just silently hoped she would trip on a rock and fall victim to the flames. It was a very encouraging thought.

The trio rushed through the woods as fast as they could. They were racing the stags, squirrels and mutts for survival. Everything was being scorched. The trees would crack into flames and birds would appear out of nowhere and take flight. Rocks were popping up from the ground in hopes of tripping whomever they could. The game makers must have been highly bored by the lack of deaths. The lives of two boys weren't enough for their blood thirsty souls. They wanted more. They always wanted more.

Nate looked back for a minute to see what was going on. Sophie was easily racing beside him but Maggie was quickly falling behind. The flames were licking at her feet and biding their time. She wasn't used to running. Eventually her energy would give out and the flames would soon catch up.

The brunette girl took note of this and did something highly unusual. She stopped. She stopped her running long enough to grab the blonde by the arms and hoist her away from the flames with a solid jerk. It wasn't enough though. A small strand of light followed the blonde as she spun towards the front. Maggie screamed in pain and fear. Her pants were on fire. In fact her entire left leg was now emitting red-orange flames. Then Sophie pushed her down.

Nate pulled out his knife with anger coursing through his veins. Sophie was not going to kill Maggie on his watch. Sophie didn't seem to care about what he was doing though. She quickly rolled the blonde girl down the nearby hill and was quickly following suit. Maggie was no longer on fire.

Nate sheathed his knife and quickly worked his way towards the pair to help the blonde to her feet. He grabbed both of their arms and ran. He led them around whatever path he could find as fast as he could. The smoke was thick and choking but he kept running. He could feel the girls losing energy fast. His eyes were watering from the smoke pouring into his lungs. He didn't stop. He refused to stop. He just kept running and dragged the girls behind him. He wasn't going to stop until he was certain they were safe. He kept running and then fell to his right.

The boy from District Twelve looked tilted his head to what used to be up and stared at the mass of hair. Sophie was still attached to his right arm but Maggie wasn't. She was lying on top of the girl from District One with her eyes closed tight. She was puffing smoke and her chest was still moving, but she was definitely out.

The soft cracking of the trees and the flames echoed throughout the forest and the smoke billowed into their lungs more and more. The flickering shadows of Death were dancing closer and closer to them. Soon they were going to join the mass of tributes fallen within the arena never to return. Nate closed his eyes and waited. He had failed Parker.

A leathery wet thing cuffed him around the mouth and nose suddenly. Nate opened his eyes and immediately felt air in his lungs. He lifted his head and saw nothing but dark brown eyes. Sophie was staring back at him with a big, green leaf covering her face all the way up to her eyes. Maggie was leaning against her with a plant of her own.

"Plants give off oxygen," Sophie explained with a simple shrug. She probably didn't realize what she just gave him with her green gift. "I figured these would at least give us enough clean air to make it out of smoke range. The fires seem to stop at the top of the hill."

Nate barely understood what she was saying. He was so filled with joy that they might make it out he didn't know what to do. He just nodded his head and quickly rose to his feet. He nudged Maggie with his shoulder and sighed at the blue-grey eyes staring back at him. He grabbed the baker's daughter in his arms and quickly began running again. Sophie was back beside him in an instant. She was running with him and kept her eyes peeled for danger. The game keepers were done with their fiery fun. Safety was now the tributes' only concern.

%

It took some hunting but they finally found a place that was free of smoke enough for them to breathe. Their leaf masks were removed long before then because they stopped working through the thick smoke and stuff. Nate delicately placed Maggie on the ground and used her pack to keep her head elevated. Then Sophie immediately removed her own bag and started sorting through it.

"What are you doing?" Nate asked. He was still a little sketchy after last night's close encounter. He had time during their search for clean air to recall that little dilemma. He didn't want a repeat performance.

Sophie didn't even look up from her bag. She just kept searching around in it for whatever it was she needed. She yelped in joy and pulled out a long green leaf that looked very similar to the ones they had used as masks. She immediately started pulling it apart and sucking on it.

"You're not going to put that on her burn are you?" Nate couldn't help the outrage in his own voice. That was just disgusting. Plus it could easily infect Maggie's leg and make it worse. There was absolutely no way on Earth he was going to allow her to do that.

"Human saliva helps fight off infection," Sophie responded. She even rolled her eyes. She delicately placed each of the pieces on the burn and hissed in pain at the contact. Maggie groaned and closed her eyes.

"This is going to help heal that baby faster," Sophie continued to explain. Her features were gentle when she turned to face the other girl tribute in their group. She was currently massaging the plant into the burn and adding water at intervals. "It should also get rid of a lot of that pain you're going through."

"Mmm-hmmm," Maggie nodded. She kept her eyes closed tight but Nate could tell she was feeling relief. Her smile was back.

"Good," Sophie purred, "I've got a few more of these in my bag for later. Right now we're going to wait until the pain starts to return before we reapply. I don't know if I'll be able to find any more for a while. The place I had found them before was near our camp. They're probably burnt to a crisp."

"If we're lucky," Nate said, "Haymitch might even find a sponsor willing to buy you some salve, Mags."

"Mags?" Sophie asked.

Nate shrugged, "I remember hearing somebody calling her that once. I figured it would be nice to hear a nickname from home. It might bring about some good memories. You know something nice to remember about the people back home."

"No," Sophie sad with an unreadable expression covering her features, "I don't."

They lapsed into silence after that. It wasn't exactly on purpose but it happened. Maggie was pretty out of it because of her burn and Nate didn't really feel like disturbing Sophie. She was doing everything in her power to take care of Maggie's wound. He was fine with staying quiet if it meant Maggie would be fine. He wanted Maggie to win if he couldn't.

"So what's this infamous Parker like?" Sophie questioned. She seemed to be done with what she was doing for the moment because she stopped and stared at him. Nate gulped.

"What do you want to know?"

Sophie shrugged and tilted her head to the left in thought. "Whatever you want to talk about is fine with me. Maggie's going to be out for a while and nobody's really around us right now. We're by a cliff and all. It's kind of hard to see us. We may even be able to roast our meals today."

Nate chuckled at her smile. The brunette was smiling at the idea of a warm meal and was kind enough to omit the word fire for Maggie's benefit. Yet, she was willing to kill them last night and was suddenly willing to help them this morning.

"Why didn't you kill me?"

Sophie froze at the question. She made no sign that she knew what he was talking about. Her eyes didn't even grow wide with fright or anything. She just froze and tilted her head to the left again. She was staring at him the whole time. She didn't even blink. It was creepy.

"Something in my gut told me you were worth keeping," she said.

That made Nate jump. He wasn't expecting an answer. Usually somebody wouldn't even admit to it. She just answered his question and acknowledged it in one foul swoop. It was like she wanted everyone to be aware that she was playing a game.

"Is that why you saved Maggie?" Nate paused as he thought about the best way to ask the rest of it, "Because your gut told you to push her over and roll her down a hill?"

"No, I saved Maggie because she was on fire," Sophie giggled. She seemed to think it was ridiculous for him to even suggest that.

Nate suddenly got a creepy feeling up his spine. It was the creepy feeling you would get when you were being watched. It was the same feeling he got whenever Parker was trying to surprise him from behind. The cameras must have been watching. It was time to give the sponsors a show. They needed something for Maggie's leg.

"So you wanted to know about Parker?" He asked. He even pulled his lips back to reveal his teeth just to make certain he was camera ready. He was going to put on a show alright.

"Yeah," Sophie nodded her head enthusiastically. Her eyes even sparkled at the gossip that was about to happen. She was aware of the cameras too.

"She's one of the rare blondes we have in the Seam," he explained, "Maggie is of course another one. Just so you are aware of how many there really are, let me give you a ball park. Out of all the people in the Seam there are five blondes total."

Sophie laughed and darted a quick look towards Maggie to make certain she didn't disturb her. She didn't. Maggie was sleeping like a log again.

"Five blondes total," she giggled softly.

"Yeah," Nate chuckled back, "Parker, Maggie, Maggie's parents, and some kid in Parker's class who likes to pick on her constantly."

"She must have her big brother Nate beating on him in return I bet," Sophie smiled at the image forming in her mind.

"She's not really my sister," Nate explained quickly. He didn't want to give her the wrong idea but he needed to clarify things too. "At least not biologically. I've kind of adopted her. She's my little buddy. That's all. We look out for each other when we need to. She's actually the one who taught me how to set traps for catching rabbits."

"Then why haven't you done that?" Sophie narrowed her eyes towards him. The glow in her eyes from before immediately evaporated and her fire returned. "We could be eating rabbits now and Maggie could use some food. Food's the best medicine there is."

Nate stared at her with wide eyes. He could feel the cameras pushing in on his face. He could practically see his image sprawled on screens throughout Panem in wait for his answer, baited breath and drool dripping from their mouths. They were all wondering what was going to come out of his mouth next.

"Oh," Sophie gasped before he could say anything. Her eyes grew wide for a fraction of a second and then concern appeared on her features as if by magic. She lowered her head and said, "I'm sorry."

"It's nothing," Nate waved it off without a second thought. It was partially true on some plane of existence, if not all of them. "The boy from District Five was just walking in the dark and fell into it. It was purely by chance that even managed it. Honestly, he would have suffered for a very long time if he hadn't fallen on my trap. If it was his ankle he would have been doomed to death anyway."

"At least it was quick then," Sophie added on helpfully. There was no judgment in her eyes when she looked at him. There was only sorrow and pity. It wasn't even the bad kind of pity. It was the kind of pity that suggested she knew where he was coming from. "At least he didn't suffer. I always hated how they would show tributes dying slow deaths. They were always the worst. Sometimes they would even allow it to go on for hours just to see how long it could go. Ooh, I can't stomach it just thinking about it."

Nate blinked. Sophie just insulted the Capitol and took the heat off of him all in one go. She even got him to open up about his family for a bit. Whatever her gut told her last night was a miracle worker. She was now doing everything in her power to help them out. He was going to take advantage of that for as long as he could.

"So do you only have Parker waiting for you back home?" She asked, "Or do you have a certain someone waiting for you to come back like the big bad hero you keep acting like?"

"Big bad hero, really?" Nate arched a brow at that phrase, "Just Parker and my dad. I'm not exactly a social person."

"Maggie seems to think you're somebody worth saving," Sophie said, "She did vouch for you during the interview. Maybe you're what they need to win the hunger games. You could be the champion everybody's waiting for."

Nate rolled his eyes and laughed at the very idea of it. Nobody except Parker and his father wanted him to win the games. Everybody else was just in it to see how far he could go. He wasn't somebody the town as a whole loved like Maggie. He was just the drunkard's son. Changing the subject was probably best.

"Eh," he said, "What about you? Anybody you have waiting for you to return as a victor of the games?"

Sophie's eyes grew a bit dark at the question. Nothing else on her face changed in the slightest. Her eyes just grew darker and that was it. That was all that needed to be done too probably.

"Oh the same old same old," she waved her hand and took a moment to study Maggie's face. "Looks like it's time for round two!"

The girl immediately started pulling apart another leaf and sucking on it. She carefully switched out the chunks in the burnt flesh and poured more water on it. The one leaf they had left sat there ominously. They needed that salve soon.

"Come on, Haymitch," Nate muttered under his breath.

Sophie looked up from what she was doing for a half a second. "Hmm?" she asked. Then she immediately went back to work fixing the blonde Seam girl's leg.

Nate startled a bit. "Nothing," he said.

He needed to figure out why their mentor wasn't sending anything their way. He said he would do his job if they did theirs. They were doing theirs. Sure, Maggie disobeyed but was that really a reason not to send her anything? She gave them some of the most valuable information she could. That had to at least earn something. What did he do wrong? Was Haymitch mad that they aligned themselves with Sophie? She was doing everything to help them now. Maggie was definitely getting better. What was he supposed to do?

"Are you alright?"

Nate jumped back in surprise and stared at his hand in shock. The brunette girl was staring at the knife he had drawn. She wasn't surprised by it in the least. She even looked a little disappointed. It was rubbing a nice red mark into her skin but she wasn't complaining. She lifted her eyes up from the knife at her neck and looked into his eyes. Nate gulped at the calm acceptance there. He pulled his knife away and flinched at the angry red mark on her skin.

"Sorry," he said, "You snuck up on me. I didn't even know I could do that."

"Well," she smiled back at him with understanding in her eyes, "I did sneak up on you."

Nate chuckled at that if only to relieve some of the tension of the moment. He pulled his knife on his ally and nearly sliced her throat. Okay, she did try to kill him so it made sense. What didn't make sense was the fact that that was his first instinct. He'd never done that before.

"You want to talk about it?" she asked. She didn't even seem perturbed by the fact that her neck was scratched.

Nate nodded towards the offending red area. "We should take care of that."

Sophie shook her head. "Can't," she said, "This is the only leaf we have and Maggie needs it more. If you're nice maybe your mentor will find a sponsor to send her some balm. I would feel much better if they did at least."

"Then you could treat your wound," Nate pointed out. His smile was of genuine relief. She wasn't angry with him for acting instinctually. That was good.

"Then Maggie would be able to walk without pain," Sophie countered. Her eyebrows narrowed towards him in confusion. Her head tilted to the left and she just kept staring.

"What?" he asked. Her staring was getting on his nerves. It was like she could see into his soul or something.

"I'm hungry," she said. Her head was still tilted to the left though. She wasn't saying everything that was on her mind. Maybe that was what Haymitch wanted. Maybe he wanted her to reveal something so they could get the balm for Maggie. Maybe that was the goal.

"What's your favorite thing in the world to eat?" He asked. It was the best he could come up with at short notice. He wasn't exactly sure how to talk to people anymore. That was Adrianne's territory.

Sophie's head went straight up and down immediately. She stared at him contemplatively for thirty seconds and then answered. "Whatever you catch," she said.

Nate stared at her in confusion. Was she for real? He just asked her for her favorite food and her response was whatever you catch. What was up with that?

"I'm not a very picky eater," she clarified. She could apparently read him well enough to know he was confused. That was good. She was at least human.

"Well," Nate plopped down in front of her and stared her straight in the eyes. He ignored the funny look she was giving him and continued. "If you could choose the one thing on the planet to eat whenever you wanted and didn't have to worry about anything other than your own happiness, what would it be?"

Sophie stared at him with furrowed brows. Her eyes flickered from him to the sleeping blond beside her. Brown orbs fell back on blue eyes and a decision seemed to be made.

"Drop biscuits," Sophie said with a nod.

Nate gaped at her reply. "Drop biscuits?" He asked.

"Drop biscuits," Sophie nodded. She smiled at the idea of the warm breads and then blinked. She stared back at him in confusion.

"The one food in the world you love most is a drop biscuit?" Nate asked just to be sure.

Sophie just nodded her head and furrowed her eyebrows in confusion. She didn't seem to understand what was so hard to believe about her favorite food. She didn't seem to see what was wrong with it.

"Well, I can't get you those," Nate sighed at the fact, "but I can get you a nice rabbit if you're patient."

"I have to gather plants anyway," Sophie said. The girl stood up and started lifting up her bag. She smiled widely at his confusion and stopped. "Whistle when she looks like she's still experiencing pain or that balm has been delivered. I'm going to make certain we have enough medicinal supplies for later. You should probably set a trap or two to collect some meat. The plants aren't going to last us very long in this heat."

Nate blinked and she was gone. How about that? He volunteered to get food and the girl just hopped off without a backwards glance. That was weird.

Nate stared in the direction he felt the cameras were. He shrugged towards it and sighed. "At least I know what her favorite food is. That's a bonus, right?"

As if in reply a parachute appeared from above. It slithered down with a soft clunk as it hit a rock. It was the balm they were hoping for. Nate had been right. Haymitch wanted Nate to learn things about Sophie. He could do that.

The boy from District Twelve immediately looked up and realized his ally hadn't seen the package delivered. He got his arrows ready and whistled out the first tune that came to mind. It was a simple tune really. It was just four notes he heard during a game long ago. The tributes from District Eleven had used that as their communication to make certain it was safe for the other to come out. One of the Careers had figured it out and used it to kill them both brutally. It was something Sophie would remember at least.

"Why are you whistling?" Maggie demanded curtly.

Nate spun towards her with relief flooding through his system. He bent down beside her and smiled wide. Blue-grey eyes were staring up at him again.

"Hey," he said, "How are you feeling?"

"My leg hurts a bit but not too much," Maggie said. She was smiling up at him again. That was always good. Then she turned her head a bit and realized something was wrong. "Where's Sophie?"

Oh right! Nate jumped to his feet and spun around with his arrow drawn. He whistled the four notes again and carefully stepped forward. There was a sharp snap to his left and he immediately spun towards it. His eyes grew wide and the source.

"You should have seen your face," Sophie chuckled at the boy. She was holding a few leaves in her hand and clutching at her side in hysterics. Her cheeks were turning red she was laughing so hard.

"What's so funny?" Nate asked. He just didn't get it. She made noise and he wasn't expecting it to be her. What could have possibly been so hilarious about that?

"Your face," Sophie giggled, "You looked like you didn't know what to do! It was hilarious!"

Nate rolled his eyes and then narrowed them at the girl. He'd forgotten how annoying she could be. He glared at her and waited until her laughing calmed down enough to speak.

"Maggie's awake and the balm's here," he said. Then he walked back the two paces it took to return to camp. Her giggles were renewed a bit at that.

"What's she laughing about?" Maggie asked.

Nate just rolled his eyes and shook his head. Maggie looked like she was going to argue with that but decided against it. She shrugged her shoulders and pointed towards the black pot attached to a silver parachute.

"Is that for me?" She asked.

Nate opened his mouth to speak but a brown blur interrupted him.

"Yep," Sophie pounced onto the ground beside the pot and immediately started opening it, "This should make your leg feel like new in no time."

The girl immediately set to work at removing the plants she had used. She gently rubbed in the balm and hummed all the while. She seemed in an incredibly good mood all of a sudden.

"I guess I'll go catch us some food then," Nate suggested softly. He wanted to be as far away from the weird girl as possible. Maggie narrowed her eyes at him. She knew exactly what he was up to. Nate just feigned an apologetic smile and bolted. Hunting was so much easier to understand than girls.

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Nate came back to a small fire and two giggling girls. He was kind of disappointed. He was expecting a dead body or two angry voices. He was not expecting evil smiles shared between the two girls. He was expecting everything but. It was worrying.

"I brought food," he said. He held up the three rabbits and the pheasant he caught with pride. He could use the pheasant feathers to create more arrows later on if he needed to. Plus, the pheasant guaranteed they would have something to eat for dinner.

"I'll cook," Maggie volunteered. She gave a wink towards Sophie and the brunette immediately burst into giggles.

Nate stood with his mouth agape at the odd closeness of the two.

"Give me that," Maggie rolled her eyes. She took the three rabbits away from him and immediately started working on their pelts. They were going to eat well tonight. Maggie was an excellent cook.

"What have you two been up to while I was gone?" Nate demanded immediately. He wasn't sure how he felt about the way the two were working so well together. He was almost positive that they shouldn't be this close.

"Sophie gathered some plants for us to eat," Maggie explained. She was already working on removing the parts of the rabbit you didn't want. She was very fast at that.

"I even found the stream," Sophie added. She was grinning wickedly from ear to ear. It made Nate's stomach boil to see that type of grin. The girls were up to something.

"What are you up to?" Nate questioned with narrow eyes. He knew Maggie and Sophie plotting against him was a bad idea.

"Maggie and I had a thought," Sophie started slowly. That didn't sound good.

"We were thinking that since you have those glasses," Maggie pointed towards his bag to indicate what she was talking about, "You should maybe go to the Career camp and set off all of those bombs."

"That way they won't have any food and that will increase our chances," Sophie finished with a nod. She seemed very proud of the idea. It was a good idea. There was just one small problem.

"Except that would require me to be a safe distance away and still get away once they've figured out what's going on," he said, "Unfortunately they would mean that somebody would notice my tracks. I wouldn't have time to cover them and then I'd lead them right straight to us."

"So we'll find a place of refuge tomorrow," Maggie suggested smoothly. She already had the rabbits roasting over the fire. "That way it's closer to the camp and you can use a tree for shelter while they're searching for you."

"Most of the Careers aren't like me," Sophie added on with a sugary sweet smile, "They don't know what to do when the food supply is gone. You saw them, Nate. They were busy training with the weapons and neglecting everything else. Taking out those bombs will take out their food. It's perfect."

"Except I have to be the one to do it because I have the arrows," Nate sighed. He understood their plan perfectly. It was a good one. He just had to figure out how he was going to be safe throughout it all.

"I could do it and throw some knives," Maggie suggested coyly, "That way if something happens they won't know who it is specifically."

"Or I could do it," Sophie nodded along after a moment. "Maggie and I did see them set up all the traps. We just thought it would be easier for you."

"We'll find the shelter tomorrow," Nate said, "Then we'll decide afterwards if it is a good idea to set off the rest of the plan."

"Excellent," Maggie grinned. She handed out the sticks of rabbit with a grin. It was scary how fast she was able to cook them. Maggie had the magic touch when it came to food.

"Yummy," Sophie smiled at the blonde happily, "This is the best rabbit I have ever tasted. How did you get it to be so juicy?"

"It's all about how you roast it over a fire," Maggie shrugged, "Do it the right way and the fat helps to tenderize the meat and season it for you."

"Well this is delicious," Sophie said. She quickly set down the other half of her rabbit and rubbed her belly. She sighed happily. "I can't even eat another bite I'm so full. I'll save the rest for later."

"Why didn't anyone volunteer for you?"

Nate watched as the brunette's features scrunched up in confusion and her face turned towards him. It was the one question that had been gnawing away at the back of his brain all day. He knew it was a shot in the dark. The brunette didn't like talking about her life at home. She even avoided the question at the interview. Maggie just lifted her eyes and tried to use the fire to measure out everybody's emotions. Sophie at least had the decency to look him directly in the eye. Then she did something even more amazing. She answered.

"I'm the daughter of the town beggar. My mother is a seamstress and a weaver. Believe it or not District One does have a section of poor and I'd be one of them."

"Why does being poor make you worthy of going to the games?" Maggie frowned at the girl's statement. In the Seam everybody's poor except the champions. Nate could understand her confusion.

"We're considered a nuisance," Sophie replied. She started sorting through the herbs she found to give her hands something to do. "At least my family is. My father lost his arm in some accident long ago and he couldn't get work so he trades things to make money. My mother weaves anything and everything to give him something to sell. I collect plants to eat and we sell the rest for medicinal purposes. Together we scrape by."

"You spent your time collecting food and feeding your family," Nate explained aloud for those who wouldn't catch her meaning. That was the reason nobody volunteered for her. Nobody thought she would win. "You weren't training like the rest of the Careers."

"They sent you here to die!" Maggie gasped out in realization. She was appalled by the idea of it. Nate agreed. No district should send a child to the Hunger Games because they wanted to watch them die. That was just as bad as the Capitol in his book.

"Well the jokes on them," Sophie smiled at her allies as graciously as possible, "Because I have something to fight for."

"Your family needs you in order to eat," Nate nodded his head in agreement. He knew exactly what she was talking about. He was doing the same thing and Sophie just made that plan considerably harder to achieve.

"How many times have you signed up for Tesserae?"

There was the question Nate was afraid to know the answer to. Maggie didn't want to know either but she asked the question. She asked because she knew it would be answered. They all knew the cameras were on them, waiting to hear the drama unfold. They knew Sophie wouldn't disappoint the opportunity to get them more sponsors. It was a sad risk they all needed to take.

"There are eight back home," Sophie began slowly, "Add me into the mix and I have signed up for Tesserae nine times since I was twelve. I'm seventeen now. The odds have never been in my favor."

Nate and Maggie sat stunned by the turn of events. That was why they were so interested in Sophie. That was why they were able to recognize the kind of threat she brought to the table. She was one of them. She was even in a worse position than they were. Nate had never been more relieved at what he asked of Paul until this very moment. Sophie's family knew she wouldn't be coming back. Paul's family had the comfort of knowing their breadwinner was still there.

"The poor fools didn't even realize what they got themselves into," Sophie continued briskly. She was trapped in her own thoughts and her allies were too interested to stop her. "They had always wanted tons of children. It wasn't until I turned twelve that they realized the danger they put themselves through. They have seven babies to send to the slaughterhouse of the games."

Nate instinctively knew her last statement wouldn't reach the rest of Panem. Nothing negative about the games ever reached the rest of Panem. It was a shame too. Sophie could have easily gotten people in the Capitol to think about what they were doing. She had that kind of presence and didn't even care.

"My mother had bought me this lovely olive green dress made of silk," Sophie mused to Maggie with a smile. She looked deeply troubled by the thoughts of her family not having anything once she was gone. "At least it felt like silk. She worked so hard to buy it for me. I was supposed to wear it on my very last Reaping day. It was supposed to be my good luck charm. I hope she sells it when this is all done and over with. That dress should get them enough money for a year's worth of food. Well, if they spend it wisely. Then they can at least go one year without registering for Tesserae."

"That's so sad," Maggie remarked. Nate distinctly heard a sniffle.

"It's just how things are," Sophie grinned towards her new friend. She immediately shook her head and started staring at the fire in interest. "I should probably put this out. That way nobody can find us later on. You two should look for somewhere up high to sleep. I don't really think it will be safe on the ground. The other tributes have probably had to move camps too. Plus, nobody's died today so far. Let's not risk a sand pit by staying on the ground."

"Nate and I have to talk anyway," Maggie nodded. She grabbed the boy's hand and pulled him out of earshot without a second glance back. She was too trusting some times.

Nate followed the girl as willingly as possible. He had his bow and arrows if anything should happen. It wouldn't though. They had given the Capitol something to look forward to as they watched. Besides, Sophie just melted a bunch of hearts throughout Panem with her story. Hopefully that would get them a sponsor or two for later.

"Nate," Maggie whispered towards him with big blue bug eyes, "We have to let Sophie win."

Nate sputtered at the direct approach. He had expected the conversation but he wasn't expecting it to happen so soon. He had a few jokes and implants of doubt he was going to use to avoid it. Maggie actually beat him to the punch. That was not a good sign.

"Maggie, for all we know she made that up to get the sympathy vote!"

"What vote?" Maggie stared at him as if he was being unfair. He was but that was beside the point. "Never mind. Look, can't you just once forget about strategy and be human? Her family needs her to go home, Nate!"

"Maggie, she could be lying." That was the lie. Nate was sure of it. The pitch to Sophie's voice was all wrong for her to be playing a game with them. It wasn't like when she was charming Marcus into focusing on her while Maggie snuck up from above. It was soft and vulnerable. It was the truth. She was telling the truth, but he promised Parker. Didn't Maggie understand the situation he was in? It was the exact same as Sophie's.

"You know she's not," Maggie placed her hands on her hips and glared at him. Nate was actually scared. If he didn't know Maggie and her thoughts on killing, he would have sworn that he was at Death's door. In fact, he was still going to swear on it she was just so mad.

"Maggie, I promised Parker. I have to go back to make certain she lives. You know my dad won't be able to handle another loss. I'm just as stuck as she is."

"She's got more mouths to feed."

"Those mouths can work just as much as she can."

"Are you really defending your behavior?" Maggie stared at him in disbelief. She looked so disappointed and outraged. It was like she was expecting him to be the white knight and save the day. He wished he could. He wanted to give Maggie that one shred of hope, but he couldn't. He had a family to feed too.

"Parker won't have anybody if I don't make it home," Nate sighed in frustration. He knew the tribute from District One deserved to live, but he couldn't. He couldn't count on Paul to protect Parker in every way that mattered. He couldn't count on Jimmy to keep the girl alive. He had to go back. He had to win this thing, for Parker. "I'm sorry, but I can't."

"Well," Maggie looked heartbroken at the answer he gave. He just shattered her world into a million pieces. He could even see tears streaking her eyes. He hurt her bad. "Then I guess you're not the man I thought you were."

She left him standing there confused. On some level Nate knew she was right. Nate knew she was thinking about the ones left behind. He didn't care though. He wasn't what she wanted him to be. He wasn't the white knight. He wasn't the good guy. Hell, he didn't even know what he was anymore. He just knew this one thing. Maggie was too good for the games. And it was going to be her downfall.