(Katniss)

"How the hell did this happen?"

Peeta and I gaze upon Haymitch as he frantically paces in front of us in Command.

His head snaps up and he points at Boggs, "How many casualties?"

I can feel my eyebrows furrow, casualties?

Boggs clears his throat, "Five. And two injuries."

The room is so tense that you can cut the tension with a sharp knife. I can see Finnick clutching Annie in the corner of the room, whispering soothing words to her.

"It's okay Annie. He's not here anymore. You're safe."

My heart tightens at the thought of what President Snow must have done to her.

Gale is running his hands through his hair, exasperated. I can tell that he's worried. As we all are.

"If he was here then why didn't he just kill us? I saw him, he was in my compartment," I say.

Haymitch rubs his eyes and sighs, "It's simple actually. He wants us nervous and he wants the rebellion in chaos. He wants us to trust no one. Because let me tell you something, I don't know how he got the passcode to enter the District, so someone must have helped him from the inside."

Peeta speaks out, "Who do you think it was?"

He shrugs, "I don't know, but we can't trust anybody."

I shake my head at him, "That can't be all he wants. He could have that even if he killed Peeta and I. There has to be something more, especially if we have a traitor in our midst."

Haymitch nods his head at me, "Exactly. So what he wants is –"

"A good show," I cut him off.

Everyone is staring at me intently, I take a deep breath.

"Ladies and gentlemen…let the 75th Hunger Games begin."

After we've been dismissed from Command, Peeta and I head into our compartment. Although it makes me sick to be in there, because it's tainted by his scent. And it's revolting and almost activates my gag reflex.

I dispose of the rose and when I turn around I see Peeta sitting on the bed with his head resting on his hands.

I approach him, "Peeta? What's wrong."

He starts to shake his head and his body begins quivering, "I just don't know what I would have done if I lost you. I'm sorry that I couldn't get you out of there faster."

I place my hand on his back and rub wide circles on them, "Oh Peeta, you wouldn't lose me. I would never leave you."

Did he think that it was his fault? That it was his fault that I got captured instead of him? No, it wasn't. It was just a mishap and a misjudgement. But I wasn't privy to the fact that President Snow wanted Peeta, not me. So if for any reason, I am the one that should be afraid of losing Peeta.

He looks up at me, his blue eyes rimmed with red, "I just wish that I could have saved you faster, so you wouldn't have to suffer."

I raise my eyebrow up at him, "Suffer? What do you mean?"

He gives off a chuckle that's devoid of humour, "Katniss, I'm not stupid. I know about your hallucinations."

My eyes widen, "How?"

Peeta gives off a sigh, "One night in the hospital, the night I saw you with Gale, you were screaming at me to get away from you, to not touch you and to leave you alone."

I blink.

"Katniss…" he begins to caress my left cheek, "secrets have a cost, they're not for free."

I nod my head at him, aware that everything he's saying is true.

Peeta continues to caress my cheek, "Katniss I'm right here, whatever you're going through I'm always here. You can tell me anything."

I bring my hand up to grasp his and when I do, I realize that it's wet. Why am I crying? I don't cry for anyone.

But I've put up a strong façade for so long that it seems like my walls are starting to crack. The weight of the world has finally landed on my shoulders and I've finally realized it. The torture, the fear, it's all coming back to me in a rush of waves that's it's unbearable to withstand.

And soon I collapse into Peeta's arms.

He cradles me in his arms as he mimics Finnick from earlier on.

"Shh, Katniss it's okay. I'm here. You're not alone."

And for once, I believe that I don't have to fight this war on my own.

I told him everything.

The dim light that was flickering in the compartment made it all the more heartbreaking. It sort of represented my fire flickering away into oblivion.

After I let everything out to him, I wasn't sure if I could be the Mockingjay anymore; because everything just dawned on me and I just completely had a breakdown – a breakdown that was delayed for a very long time.

But even after revealing the horrors of my torture to Peeta, he never left my side. Not even after I told him that I was raped by a Capitol man. I told him that I felt dirty and that I felt like I had no more worth being taken advantage of like that.

That I was just done.

But Peeta pulled me back up. He told me that I should use my experiences to make me stronger, to show the Capitol that they can't break me – that they don't own me.

And that is exactly what I plan to do.

I swipe my arm on the scanner in the lunch room as I get served turnip stew with mashed potatoes.

I take my tray of food and make my way to the assigned Everdeen/Hawthorne table with Peeta trailing behind me.

As I set my tray down I can see Peeta's blue eyes flittering from my table and to his family's. I connect eyes with his father and he gives me a warm smile that is the mirror image of Peeta's.

His father gives a soft smile to Peeta, "Go on, son."

Peeta gives his father a curt nod and shuffles in beside me, sitting opposite of Prim.

From the corner of my eye I can see Peeta's mother scowling at me. I cringe.

The stew isn't all that bad, it's bearable, but it's nothing compared to the lamb stew in the Capitol. The mashed potatoes are probably the best thing that they've served in Thirteen so far.

Peeta and I don't speak at the table, he knows that after everything that we've been through this morning that it's best to just keep to ourselves for now, because each other's presence is enough to calm our nerves.

Prim pipes up and breaks the silence, "They took me as an intern today at the hospital."

Peeta smiles at Prim, "Nice job, Prim!"

"Good job little duck. Look at you, already with a job," I say.

A blush appears on her cheeks, "Yeah, the people there are really supportive. They even said that I was better than some of their nurses!"

Gale smirks, "You better be, I don't know how you patched up all of Rory's childhood scars."

The table laughs – it's a whole contrast to this morning, but I can tell that the tension is still looming over our heads.

Finnick walks over to our table with Annie clasping onto his arm. He has a grin on his face that's so huge that it might tear his face apart.

"Why so happy Finn?" Peeta asks.

Finnick is jumping up and down, giddy like a little child, "Annie and I are getting married!"

Everyone bursts out in numerous voices congratulating the happy couple. Honestly, I'm a bit jealous of Finnick and Annie, because whatever President Snow seemed to have put them through completely disappeared, and it's like their starting fresh. But on the other hand Peeta and I still have to overcome our inner demons.

We continue to eat as my mother finally enters the cafeteria from her shift. But our family reunion is short lived because Boggs' voice soon rings out across the lunch room.

"Everdeen, Mellark, Hawthorne, Odair, Mason! Coin wants you in Command now!"

I share a look with Peeta and he's looking at me with wide eyes. What does she want?

He grasps my hand under the table and pulls me up with him, leading us out of the room with Finnick, Gale and Johanna trailing behind.

Johanna huffs, "What does she want?"

I can hear Gale snort, "Well if we knew we would not be as clueless as we are."

"Close your smart-mouth, you don't know where that might get you."

"I'd advise you to do the same."

She chuckles, "Please, Hawthorne, it's my personality, everyone knows that."

He snarls, "Then I suggest you shape up."

"Well that wouldn't be any fun then."

I can hear Finnick let out a hearty laugh, "And it wouldn't be any fun without her smart-mouth."

"Damn straight."

I let out a low chuckle as we reach the door to Command. I push it open and the room greets me with its usual sinister vibe. I have never had good news delivered to me in this room, and the fact that President Coin seems to be always occupying it doesn't make it any better.

We take our seats around the table and I'm surprised that Beetee is already seated and that Haymitch is sitting beside him as well.

President Coin is in her usual attire, her short black hair pinned up tightly into a bun at the back of her head so that it makes her face look stretched out. And even she has to wear the grey clothes issued by Thirteen. But there's just this presence of her that unnerves me.

"I ordered every stationed security team to search the District in hopes of finding Snow, but it seems that he has gotten away without a fingerprint even left. Now, what he wants is obvious and I don't want us to get held back on this, because that is exactly what he wants.

"I've put the District on a higher security standard, ensuring the safety of our citizens. I've also issued a full identity check of every citizen to make sure that we don't have a traitor in our grounds. Now, to show Snow that he cannot scare us, I want all of you to head out to District Two in an hour to film a propo."

I scrunch my face up. And President Coin takes apparent notice.

"Is there a problem, Soldier Everdeen?"

I purse my lips, "Well, I just think that sending us out now, will just show Snow that we are unnerved. Because if we act upon this immediately, then he'll know exactly why we did it. He's not stupid, and if we go out to do this now, then he'll just succeed.

"Adding onto that is the fact that District Two hasn't allied with us yet, and none of us has received proper training yet just in case we have to go into combat."

President Coin narrows her eyes at me. "I never planned for the victors to go into combat. You're all just meant to be there for the propos. Even Soldier Hawthorne."

Gale slams his fist onto the table, "What do you mean we're not meant to go into combat? What? You're just completely contradicting what this entire rebellion is about! The Hunger Games! Oppression of the Districts and the aftermath of the horror that they put us through. And now you're telling us that we can't participate in something that we started?"

She glares at him, "Precisely. You're all too valuable to lose."

I glower at her, "Valuable? We're no use if we just sit here and be the pretty faces. We need to go into combat. It'll make people think that we aren't cowards. We're victors! We know something about surviving!"

Coin clenches her fists together, her knuckles turning white, "I'm aware. But this isn't a game Soldier Everdeen. Not only twenty-three will die. Not only twenty-four lives are at stake. A whole country is! Millions upon millions are at risk, and if we even slip up just an inch, lives will be lost. It's a much more serious matter, it isn't a game anymore."

"Killing is still killing despite the circumstances," Peeta says.

"But that's exactly what he wants! This is all a game to him, because it's the only thing that he knows how to do. And now he's making us turn on each other and he's succeeding," I say.

President Coin throws me a vicious look, "But that's only because you are questioning my motives. I hope you don't forget, Soldier Everdeen, that you live in my District, and I can have your family thrown out of Thirteen at my command. So I suggest that you shut your mouth and follow orders, or else there will be hell to pay."

I sit back and the table watches us glower at each other. That vile, vile woman. She's as evil as President Snow.

And from the look that she gives me I know that the only reason that I'm still around is because she needs me for her rebellion to work.

As soon as I'm not needed anymore, I know that she will ensure my demise.

The hovercraft lands in a small clearing on the outskirts of Two. I clasp my sleek black bow in my hands as I look over the District.

It's big. Much bigger than Twelve. But it isn't as big as Eleven.

In in the distance I can see Peacekeepers marching through the Town Square in vast numbers.

Haymitch walks up beside me, "Two is one of the main providers for Peacekeepers."

I look at him, "I thought that they were just masonry. Why would they produce Peacekeepers?"

"Well you've seen the District Two tributes. You've seen how bloodthirsty they are. It's obvious that they're out for blood and that their loyalty lies with the Capitol.

"And I highly doubt that Capitol citizens would want to give up their privileged lifestyle for a much harder life in the Districts."

I slowly nod my head at him, "Just another secret that the Capitol has kept from us."

The security team that Coin has issued us is busy checking the camera equipment to make sure that it isn't rigged.

As I'm gazing upon them I ask Haymitch something that's been bothering me since the meeting in Command. "Haymitch…do you think that breaking into Thirteen was Snow's plan?"

He shakes his head, "No, I don't. I think that he's planning something much bigger. And I think that we need to watch out, we can't trust anyone…not even ourselves."

I turn around and look over the District, "I refuse to be a pawn, Haymitch. I don't want to be piece in Snow's and Coin's game anymore. And I'm going to make sure that they know that."

Haymitch gives me a grim look, "Be careful, Katniss. You don't know who you're dealing with here. These people won't hesitate to kill you.

"And remember…a pawn taken off a chess board is still a pawn."

The weapons that Beetee issued for us are amazing. The black bow is beautifully crafted, the design obviously by Cinna's hands.

Peeta got issued a sword that, like mine, recognizes only his voice. And if Peeta's throws the sword it transforms into a boomerang, but before he throws it, he has the option of whether it should be sharp, spiky or normal. There's buttons on the handle of the sword for that.

If Peeta chooses the sharp option, then when the boomerang is in the air it can cut through anything in its path – it's even made to cut through bone.

And with the spiky setting, the boomerang is made to distribute sharp metal spikes through the air when flying.

And the normal option is used to knocking someone out.

Johanna got a beautifully crafted axe while Finnick got a trident and Gale with a gun.

Right now, the camera crew is filming us sneaking into Two, scurrying on the outskirts of the District, trying to evade the Peacekeepers who will so obviously shoot at us without question.

Our plan is to get into the Nut through the front entrance, and convince the workers on the inside to side with us on the rebellion. And they will spread it through the District.

The Nut is in view as we approach the mountain, now we just have to get down the cliff without being seen.

One of the guards that's protecting the victors – Ace, takes the lead and leads us down the mountain, alerting us if any Peacekeepers are in sight.

My bow is poised and loaded with an explosive arrow as we make our way down the cliff, carefully placing our steps.

Once in a while, I can hear Johanna mutter about a painful ankle.

But Ace seemed to have missed something.

I don't even have the time to shoot my arrow when the first gunshot rings through the air.

"To the Nut! Inside, quickly!" Boggs commands.

I grab Peeta's hand and run down the cliff, stumbling on loose rocks and tripping on the hard soil.

Soon though, I lose my balance and I tumble down the remainder of the cliff, bringing Peeta down with me.

Luckily though, my bow is strong and holds through the fall. I can feel blood on my skin from the grazes that the rocks had given me and blood begins to drip onto my eye. I blink it out fast because I need to see where we're going.

Peacekeepers are flooding into the proximity of the Nut, almost covering every inch of the outside entrance.

The security team has ushered everyone inside the Nut while firing at the Peacekeepers. One by one each of them fall.

Even with my protective Mockingjay suit, the bullets still graze me. And I can tell that this suit was not made for such powerful bullets.

Peeta's suit caught on the barbed wire that is used to secure the District when we fell from the cliff. And the entire backside of his suit has been ripped apart.

The air has the foul smell of dust and gunpowder as I empty my stomach on the floor of the Nut.

I heave heavily as I cough out the remains of my stomach. This is the top floor of the Nut, so no one works here. We're safe, for now.

Ace, Finnick and Gale are closing the entrance of the Nut, leaving behind the rest of the security team to fight for us.

This isn't right. We should be out there as well.

But before the door is fully closed I hear another gunshot and a cry of pain.

And when I turn around I see Peeta on the floor with blood seeping from his back.

I dunno if I'm very proud of this chapter. I kind of just wanted to get this one out so that I could get to the good stuff that's coming soon. I feel like the end was too abrupt, but like I said I just wanted to get it done.

So anyway, yeah, this was chapter 10 and I hope that you liked it!

Kingdom of Glass is going to be over soon, because according to my plan it has about 4 more chapters to go :3 The last chapters are going to be very action-packed XD

By the way, I know that I said 75th Hunger Games, and no that is not a typo. As you know, this is a sequel to my other story and the rebellion is happening a year early.

So anyway, thank you for reading and reviewing! And like always…reviews are appreciated :D