The injured peacekeepers are patched up before they're put into cells with the rest. After Madge shot Thread there wasn't too much fight in them. The few that had been here under Cray weren't interested in any fight at all. Life in 12 was easy for them, comfortable, they weren't going to mess that up over a battle that wasn't theirs. They were allowed to stay in their positions, to keep things running the way they had before, to keep the Capitol from finding out they no longer had a force loyal to them here in 12. Under the watchful eye of Darius and the Mayor, several peacekeepers made sure the Capitol was none the wiser to what had gone on.

Madge becomes a recluse, she doesn't leave her house but to visit her mother and only interacts with Lavinia, the avox she brought from the Capitol. She won't answer the door to me or any of the Mellark's. After being turned away every day for almost a month Darius goes to see the Mayor and they decide we should leave her alone. The decision doesn't sit right with me because it makes Gale check out. If something within him hadn't snapped before, it had now.

"Rory said Gale doesn't come home anymore. That he stays out in the woods?" Prim asks warily as we walk from school to the bakery "you wouldn't do that would you?"

"Sleep out there?" I wonder

"Stay out there. I've always been scared you'll get stuck or hurt beyond the fence"

"Hey little duck" I stop her, taking her shoulders in my hands and not having to crouch quite so low as I once did to be eye level with her "one day, for some reason you might have to cross the fence, but I want you to know as long as you're smart and careful, nothing out there will do you any harm" I pause waiting for an argument but get none "Gale goes out there because it's a comfort to him, he's probably safer out there than he is in the District"

"Katniss, what's going on?" my little sister, always so perceptive

"Nothing little duck. But promise me if something ever happens ... to me or to the district ... you need to get mom and some supplies and you get to the fence" once the words are out of my mouth I feel a sense of urgency for her to know this. She needs to know something might be coming and she needs to know what to do "do you hear me? You, mom, the Hawthorne's, you get what you need and you get out. Stay away from town, go the long way instead but you do it quickly. Once you're across the fence you go as far as you can North and you don't look back. If I'm not there Gale will look after you and if not Gale then the Mellark's alright, or Darius the red head peacekeeper and Haymitch, I can't believe I'm saying this but Haymitch Abernathy will look after you"

"Katniss?" she whispers, I've scared her

"Just tell me you understand" she nods "good" I exhale with relief "come on, Peeta and Rye are waiting"

"On a lighter note" Prim's sullen expression slowly creeps into a grin "Rye told me Peeta wants to take you on a date. A real one, you'll have to wear a dress and everything"

"Prim! Why is Rye telling you-. He is not!"

"Is too"

Upon arriving at the bakery I'm sure my cheeks are a violent shade of pink but no one seems to notice, besides Prim who hasn't stopped smirking. When Peeta kisses my burning cheek quickly, Prim bites down on her smile and I turn away from her.

"Lavinia came in today" Peeta whispers "she gave me this" I take the folded sheet of paper from him without looking away from his face, his expression worries me. I unfold the crisp white sheet, unlike anything I've ever had to write on, even in school and read it, then re-read it

'Madge needs help.'

"That's it? When did she give you this?"

"First thing this morning. Neither of us have been able to get away"

"I'm taking this to Darius. Can Prim stay here? She'll help"

"Of course. Katniss, come back when you know something"

"I'll be back as soon as I know what's going on" seeing the look on his face makes me burst forward and kiss his cheek this time.

I keep a brisk walk through town but break into a run when I reach the border to Victor's Village.

I don't know what I expected. Perhaps Lavinia mopping up blood or Madge swinging an axe at the furniture until she had enough firewood to warm the Seam through winter. Instead I find music. I can hear it from the gates of Victor's Village, it's radiating off Madge's house like the sound is trying to break free from the walls, shaking them almost. It's a piano piece but nothing like what I've ever heard Madge play. It's deep and dramatic and intense. When I reach the front door it's so loud I can feel my heartbeat resonating in my chest.

I don't knock and I don't call out for her. Instead I move over to the kitchen, my footsteps and the door closing masked by the music which is becoming increasingly erratic.

Lavinia is baking, she lays a layer of pastry a top some sort of pie and smiles to herself proudly as if she can't hear the music or as if it's normal to play such songs this loud

"Hello" I almost yell and her eyes dart up like that of a spooked animal, then she smiles 'hello' back

"Where's Madge?" she gestures for me to follow and leads me to the stairs. When we reach the landing she stops and pulls on a cord hanging from the ceiling. I've never seen an actual attic, most in 12 don't have second floors, never mind storage in the roof.

I pretend not to be surprised by the ladder that unfolds before us but can't help the rush of excitement at the secret entryway being revealed. Lavinia takes out a notepad and pen and scribbles, although when she hands it to me, the writing is perfectly neat.

'Don't be scared, she's just practising' I swallow at her words, it must be bad to warrant a warning

"You're not coming?"

'Pie in the oven' says the next note and Lavinia trots down the stairs leaving me to the terrifying music and whatever's on the third floor.

I take to the ladder warily and only peer over the edge of the hatch when I hear Madge grunting in time with the music. The room has been equipped with padded walls and training equipment. Wracks of weapons line one wall, targets hang on the other. There are a number of apparatus I don't have a name for but they look menacing or tricky. In the centre of the room is Madge, wearing leggings and a vest laced with yet more weapons. She kicks and jabs at a mannequin and then takes a knife from her belt and twists it into the rubber chest. When the hilt is all that's showing she yanks it back and plunges forward again, burying the knife, then again.

"Madge?"

"I'm not hungry" she calls back, going back to punching and elbowing the mannequin

"Madge, it's Katniss" she spins to face me and pockets the knife all in one motion and places her hands by her sides as if up to no good

"Hello Katniss"

"Hello Madge" she tucks some loose hair behind her ear and forces a quick smile "I- I wanted to see you" I offer as explanation for my intrusion "Lavinia showed me up"

"Oh she did, did she?" she seethes as I climb through the hatch

"You're music's loud" I yell and she grabs a remote off a nearby speaker, shutting the music off

"It's called Vengeance, the music system is downstairs but I moved a speaker up here"

"Vengeance? It's .. intense"

"I like it" she shrugs

"We're worried" I blurt "we haven't seen you in so long"

"Who's we?" she crosses her arms with disdain

"Me, Peter, Rye, Darius, Gale, your dad, Haymitch, all of us"

"I saw my dad two days ago and Haymitch is a drunk, the rest of you are just nervous I'll snap again"

"Madge, you have snapped" I deadpan

"I'm dealing with my grief" she argues defensively

"This" I gesture to the room "isn't dealing, this is madness"

"This, is my life, this has been my life since I was old enough to walk. This is my normal"

"You don't need this anymore, the games are over"

"Have you been in hibernation? Were you comatose when we took 12, were you asleep through everything that was said at HQ? What happened, what you did at the hob was an act of war. The games were just the beginning".