My gown is cutting off the circulation in my rib cage. I fear the lack of air supply will make it impossible to leave this party unscathed. We've been forced to endure a whole torturous hour already. It seems I have met every citizen of the Capitol in this short hour alone, but this is only the beginning. The Victory Tour may be over, but the dinner, dancing and toasts are still to come. And President Snow has yet to even arrive at his own party.

"There's someone I want you to meet." Cato gestures towards the center of the ballroom. It's all I can do not to groan. Not another introduction. A middle-aged woman emerges from the throng, almost as if summoned by an invisible force. Her pale blonde hair contrasts expertly with the blood red jewels at her throat—a status symbol I don't overlook. She is one-hundred percent a creation of the Capitol.

Cato takes the woman's hand and guides it into mine. "Ruby, I'd like you to officially meet Katniss Everdeen."

"Oh my, the Girl on Fire in the flesh. What an honor. I am so pleased to meet you, my dear."

I smile back politely. It's impossible to tell with these people if what they say is genuine or an elaborately designed act. "Pleased to meet you too. You are Glimmer's mother?" Cato hasn't told me…but I already know. The same hair, the same eyes…even the infectious confidence. It's obvious to anyone paying attention.

"You don't miss a thing do you?" The cheerfulness does not leave her voice, but her eyes harden, almost imperceptibly. "Let's take a walk, my dear...and leave Cato to the men."

I catch his eye. Please don't leave. Please don't leave me alone with her Cato. But Cato nods, taking his cue to disappear. "I'll find you later, Katniss." A group of young Capitol men is already flocking around him.

"Have you tried the champagne yet, Katniss?" Ruby asks, as I shake my head no. "Oh you must, it's simply divine. I'd recommend having as much as possible tonight." She presses a glass into my hand and pats my arm reassuringly. Silence descends and I realize I have no idea what to talk about with this woman.

"It must have been very hard to lose a daughter like that," I finally manage. "I'm so sorry for your loss."

"Thank you. Some days are more difficult than others, even when losing a child as willful and stubborn as Glimmer was."

Willful, stubborn? Those aren't exactly the words of a mother rolling in grief for her newly dead daughter. I guess I shouldn't be surprised. After all, this is the Capitol. I try to compose my face into a softer expression, but she's already recognized my judgment and read my thoughts.

"Oh darling, don't let me fool you! I'm really very upset about my girl, but the face I show to the world is not the same in private. You'll soon find that everyone is always watching. What has Cato told you?"

"About what?" I don't think Cato would appreciate me spilling all his secrets if Ruby truly knows nothing, even if she is Glimmer's mother.

"The plan of course. Crane, Heavensbee, even dear old Caesar," she points them out in the crowd ticking them off as she goes. "And it all begins with the biggest snake of them all!" Her eyes rest on President Snow. "I will be quite pleased when he's gone. He's overstayed his welcome."

I move closer to the corner. We will both be dead if anyone hears us. "So Cato told you?"

"Told me!" She laughs. "Darling, I engineered this. These things must be carefully orchestrated you know. And I have a feeling you and I will become very close over the coming weeks."

"But I don't understand. You're from the Capitol. Some of them must be your friends."

"A very long time ago I considered myself a true citizen of the Capitol. I was enamored by it—the parties, the luxury, the gluttony. But I grew tired of it all, just as I grew tired of all the sheep that live here. The moment I married the Mayor, I knew that one day I'd have a real shot to realize my dreams and get away from these people. I'll consider myself a citizen of District One, at least until more favorable circumstances come about."

"The Mayor's wife? You mean Glimmer is the Mayor's daughter?"

"In appearances, yes."

"Why are you telling me this? And here of all places?"

"I think you'll find with experience, that revenge and anarchy are dishes best prepared in the wolf's lair."

"What is someone hears us?"

"Look around, my dear. Is anyone even paying attention to us?"

Well, I guess she has a point. People are staring at us for sure. A short woman standing a few feet away is looking longingly at my collar bones as she plays with her hair. Another one twirls her wine glass, pushing her hip out at an unnatural angle in an attempt to emulate Ruby's powerful posture. Her eyes are fixed on the jewels.

Ruby's mouth moves closer to my ear. "The women watch us because they want to be us. The men…because they want to have us. And that's where it ends. No one is none the wiser to our plans. We don't have feelings…not really. And we certainly don't have ones as traitorous and unpatriotic as those brewing in both our minds. You and I exist purely for decoration, to exact a means to an end through persuasion and obsession. How could we ever plan anything so truly terrible when we are possessions of the Capitol?

I don't even have a response. I can only manage a nod. Everything she says makes sense. It's as if she's discovered and devoured a manual on Capitol Psychology.

"No one so rewarded and celebrated by the Capitol would be foolish enough to give up their one true blessing in this fucked up place," Ruby continues. "The sane don't bite the hands that feed them, but Cato and I are a different story."

"He really loved her you know," I say, struggling to push the lump that's formed back down my throat. I don't know why I say it. It's stupid for sure and irrelevant based on what she's telling me. For the first time, I'm finally living through Cato's frame of reference….imagining a small, frightened child growing up in this society with only a sister, and the promise of family, to cling to.

"You are a sweet girl," she picks up my hand and pats it calmly. I take a deep swig of champagne, drowning my emotions. "Cato is the best brother a sister could ever ask for, but there is so much more you don't know about him."

"More?"

"Oh yes. No doubt his Glimmer's death is a strong motivator, but he does not subsist on that alone."

"I don't understand what you mean." This woman speaks in riddles.

"He is angry at the Capitol and rightfully so. No one deserves to lose a loved one in that way, or be forced to kill or be killed. This cruelty has gone on long enough. I'm in full support of destroying these creatures if it's the last thing I do. But as you well know, Cato's appearances deceive…and he is not as bad as his image creates him to be. But he does have something dark in him. It all goes back to his father and his relationship with the mother of course. All things I'm sure he will tell you in due time."

"His stepfather? I did meet him when we visited District 2 on the Tour. He didn't seem like a very nice man."

"Oh no darling, I mean his biological father. He makes the stepfather look like an angel."

"Cato's never said anything to me about him." I clutch her arm a little tighter.

Ruby pats my arm again, handing me another glass. "Drink up, you're looking a little empty."

I take a full swig to satisfy her. "Please, tell me about him." The curiosity presses on me like a tidal wave. I don't know why I care. Something about Cato's secrets is too tantalizing not to investigate.

"I'm not sure he'd want me to tell you. He is very private about certain things."

Cato's halfway across the room, immersed in heavy discussion with wannabe Capitol politicians. It will be ages before he disentangles himself. "Oh I know he trusts you," I bat my eyelashes just a little bit. "Please, I want to help him."

"Oh all right." Ruby laughs, coloring a bit under my novice skills in flattery. "Cato's father was quite a character. I know I couldn't resist his charms, much like any woman that crossed his path I'm sure. He was so suave….a real gentleman. One sweet word from him and it would make your whole day—just like floating on a cloud. Absolutely nothing could bring me down."

"I know the effect," my eyes drift across the room to Cato. Sometimes I wish I didn't feel the way I did. I look back at Ruby, her words registering. "But you said…his stepfather…angel?"

"Oh my, yes! A real gentleman he was, brought up on good looks and acting skills designed to charm even the coldest of the cold. But I was young, and in my naivety I forced myself to overlook even the cruelest of hearts. He had me under his spell, wrapped around his finger. I was a puppet in his hands and I did anything and everything he told me to. He was my life."

The picture she paints is vivid. But it's hard to cast someone as proud and regal as the Ruby standing before me into the role of a frenzied, submissive pawn.

"What did you do?"

"I knew he was married—to some two-bit country girl. He'd never bring her here of course, it would have ruined his career. He was on the rise. Everyone that was anyone wanted a piece of him and his infectious ideas, me included. I didn't care about her…the washed up wife. I thrived on the fact that I'd won."

"His career? He was a politician?" I rack my brain trying to think back to all the famous Capitol administrators we were forced to learn about in grade school. Nothing sticks out to me.

"He was a dabbler, darling. He put a finger in everything. Politics, the military, seduction, and even rebellion."

My eyes widen.

"Oh yes, he was a rebel by all senses of the word, but one that found and played the correct side. He was always good at saving his own skin, and persuading others to save it with him."

"So what happened?"

"Well, he had affairs of course…children, here and there obviously. Dabbled in some dangerous games. Then morphed into a man his closest friends would not have even predicted. He did terrible things, unspeakable things. And one day he took it too far," she sighs, draining her glass. "And of course, with Cato and Glimmer being hidden and shunned all their lives, praised and paraded the next—living with the shame of all the terrible things he'd done. It's enough to drive anyone mad, or at least to their breaking point."

"It must have been terrible for them."

"Certainly not easy." She takes my empty glass and sets it on a table. "Well I'm so glad we had this chat. I hate to cut it short, but I think the feast is about to begin and I fear we must separate for now."

"Thank you. For everything." I'm truly grateful for her information. Cato always seems to leave me out in the cold.

"Of course, darling. But I will warn you…be gentle with Cato, for he is a dear sweet boy. He does not know Glimmer's death was all part of the plan…and that would push him over the cliff I'm sure."