Hey guys! i know I Know - I'm a terrible person! I know alot of you have been concerned I was abandoning this story but I can assure you - I don't plan on it any time soon! So sorry this has took so long - but like it says on my profile the last two month have been hectic! - 3 dancing competitions, a cheer comp, a gymnastic comp, twilight coming out, family over for the festive season, my drama Christmas show, five different nativity shows with 12 different little cousins and family friends, 4 Christmas fetes and as if that wasn't enough I've had 7 school projects due! - 2 English 2 Modern Studies 2 geography and a music project that were due in the last 2 months! few! and with Christmas just around the corner I can't see updates speeding up for a while, but don't worry I promise to update as soon as I can.

since it's been a while i'll remind you where we left off - Katniss and her family are on the train to the capitol so Katniss can anounce the arrival of the final hunger games, while on the train Iris went and done some exploring, that night when Katniss is putting her to bed, Iris asks her the question she has been dreading "what are the hunger games?" Katniss now has to make a choice tell Iris the truth or lie, only for her to find out later... please read on and review this story I hope you enjoy it, though i apologize that it is shorter than most of my chapters

It takes me a while to take in what Iris has just asked, my mouth moves wildly but no words come out "wh, wha, what where did you hear that -who told you that!"

"katniss? Are you okay?" I hear Peeta shout from Hunters room.

I just stand there, breathing heavily.

"mama, are you okay?" Iris asks.

"I'm. Fine. Just. Stay here. While. I. speak. To daddy" I say in between Breathes. "but mama, what are..."

"I'll speak to you later" I cut her off

She pouts at me but says nothing.

I walk out the room just as Peeta walks out of Hunters.

"what happened? You look like you've seen a ghost" Peeta says

I'm still panting "its iris..." my mouths stops working again as I try to explain to Peeta my distress.

"come on Katniss, what is it?" Peeta asks again. My breathing goes back to normal, and instead I try to keep back tears

"it's Iris. Peeta, she just -someone must of" I sigh and shake my head, still fighting back tears

"she knows Peeta" his eyes grow wide as he immediately realises

"wait a minute, you don't mean" my head nods violently and the tears spill over as I cry over Peeta's shoulder.

"yes, Peeta - she knows"

"calm down, it okay Katniss" he says soothingly "how much does she know?" he asks me.

"I don't know, but she at least heard the words, and she must have heard them enough to be curious enough to ask me" I say. Peeta sighs and pulls away from me

"well, I guess there's only one way to find out" he started to walk towards Iris' room pulling me along behind him. We entered the room to find iris sitting up in the bed attempting to read little mocking jay to herself when she hears us come in she looks up at me with wide eyes

"what's wrong mama? Why are you crying?" I laugh a little, wiping tears from my cheeks

"Don't worry sweetie, I'm fine" she doesn't look certain but her expression relaxes anyway and she sighs

"Okay mama"

"Iris me and mama just wanted to ask you about what you asked mama earlier" Peeta says, sitting on the edge of Iris' bed.

"Do you remember what it was you asked?" he says. Iris thinks for a second before nodding her head.

"Where did you hear about it?" he asks her. Iris thinks about the question again.

"It was the man who works on the train" I sigh "a lot of men work on this train Iris, try to be more specific"

"He had hair the same colour as daddies and he was wearing a black suit" she starts

"He was talking to a girl and I heard him say that these trains were the ones they use in the hunger games. What are they?"

I and Peeta looked at each other, we didn't say anything but no words were necessary- we were both thinking the same thing. This is it,

Sink or swim,

Now or never.

There was no way out of this without lying, Iris had specifically asked about the games - there was no way around the question. I look back at my daughters innocent bright blue eyes, is this really it? Is now really the time I'll have to explain this to her? She looks so small, so young, sitting on her Capitol -made bed and I can't help but want to just pretend - pretend the hunger games didn't exist, pretend prim was still alive, pretend gale hadn't had some part in her death, pretend iris hadn't just asked the question I had feared since her birth, pretend I wasn't on the way to the Capitol to sentence at least 23 innocent children to death...

But I can't pretend.

I take a breath, and Peeta nods his head and so we start, and we tell iris the truth - not the whole truth, but more than enough of it.

We start by reminding her what she already knows-

I start. "Iris, remember when me and daddy told you, about our childhood and how it wasn't as... Easy, as yours is?" she nods "how we told you that district 12 were very poor and that bad people ran the country" she keeps nodding "well..." I stop to think about how to explain this "see what we have now?, being able to go where you want and talk about what you want? When me and daddy were young we didn't have that... And before me and daddy were born - even before your grandma was a little girl , the people decided they didn't like how they were being treated - and they tried to fight with the bad people to change it"

"Why didn't they change it then?" iris says

"Because iris, the bad people won and they hurt lots and lots of people to win. But the districts were so strong and determined - that the bad people got scared and they were worried that we would try again and win..."

I shake my head and Peeta takes over "so they started the hunger games, to make sure the districts didn't try to fight again."

"But what is the hunger games!?" says iris getting inpatient

It was a game... A very bad, twisted game... So the Capitol could prove that they ruled us and controlled us. So every year, for 75 years, the Capitol took a boy and girl between the ages of 12 and 18 from each of the 12 districts"

"But daddy! There's 13 districts we learned that in school!"

Peeta smiles at iris "yes, but nobody used to know about the 13th district, it was only the first 12 people knew about. Anyway , they chose 2 children from each district at what we called a 'reaping' - everybody in the district had to go to it and they put all of our names in a big glass bowl and a lady from the Capitol picked out a girl and a boy and they were sent to the capitol - to

Take part in a... Game"

"The hunger games?" iris asked

Peeta just nods his head, so I continue "yes Iris the hunger games"

"What happened?" iris asks already sensing this story had no happy ending "the boys and girls had to compete - the competition went on for weeks until there was one winner. If you won you were given lots of money and food. But if you lost..." I trail off and Peeta finishes for me "you lost everything"

"but... How did you win"

My heart skips a beat - how do I explain to a four year old child how you won the games without frightening them to death?.

Peeta beats me to it "you had to eliminate the competition"

we Leave it at that and amazingly, Iris doesn't question us we each kiss her on the head and leave the room when she falls asleep, we go in and check on hunter and I kiss him as well and them I climb into my bed beside Peeta, and he holds me as I cry myself to sleep - just as he did on the tribute train. It makes this all too real. This is just the start, Iris will have to know exactly how the hunger games work before the final one begins. tomorrow we will be in the Capitol, this week I will make the announcement, In a month the games will begin and in a month my daughter will turn five. I have a sudden realisation that I have a week to write my speech - time is ticking, there never seems to be enough of it. Whoever said wounds heal with time was wrong - these wounds just seem to grow bigger and more painful the longer I go on.

Thank you so much for reading this chapter, and for your continued support through this story I hope that the next chapter will be up sooner! again please review, favourite and follow

Thank you to RuePeetaKatniss and EBRAJERCECullen 130 for following and favourite-ing this story and Eleanor for reviewing! It is really appreciated. Please tell your friends about this story and get then to follow, favourite and review too!

Until next time I hope you enjoyed this story thanks for reading goodbye! xox