A/N: Major Songbirds and Snakes spoilers.
PEETA POV
"The earlier rule change declaring that two tributes of the same district may win has been revoked, and there can only be one victor. May the odds be ever in your favour." My heart sank. Only moments ago, Katniss had shot an arrow through Cato's head, sparing him from his horrible fate of being torn apart by mutts that resembled the other dead tributes. I looked at Katniss, who looked just as shocked as I was. We should have known - they weren't really going to let us both win.
"They can't do that," she whispered, and then she looked at me. "No, they can't do that!"
"But they are," I told her. I thought that we were getting out, that we'd both go home and we'd be happy for the rest of our lives. I loved her, and judging by her actions towards me in the arena, she loved me, too. She'd kissed me several times and risked her life for me, how could that be anything but love? But now, that wouldn't happen. One of us would have to die, and we wouldn't get to be together after all. I pulled a knife out of my pocket, and I saw her reach for her bow, but I simply flipped it over in my hand, offering her the handle. "Go on, do it." She stared at me, as if she couldn't understand what I was doing. I was sacrificing myself for her so she could live, how could she not see it? "Katniss, take it."
"No," she said, throwing down her bow and her quiver of arrows. "I won't."
"Katniss, one of us has to die," I said to her.
"Then it'll be me," she replied. Why did she have to be so stubborn?
"You have something to live for, I don't. Please, Katniss... let's just get this over with, so you can go home and get back to your family," I begged her. She took the knife, looking down at it in her hands. "Just do it quickly..." She looked up at me, then shook her head and threw the knife as far away from us as she could. "Katniss-"
"I'm not killing you."
"I'm not killing you, either. Do you really think that I could? Katniss, I've been in love with you since we were eight years old. I can't! Please don't make me..." Suddenly, she pulled me into a tight hug, which I returned.
"If you won't kill me, and since I won't kill you..." She reached for a pouch on her belt, then opened it up, dumping the nightlock berries we'd found earlier into the palm of her hand. "...then we'll go together." I stared for a moment at her hand, and then looked up at her face. She was serious. She wanted us to both commit suicide. "If they want to take one of us away from the other, then they won't have a victor this year. It's either both of us or neither of us."
"Katniss..."
"Hold out your hand." I did as I was told, and she dropped some of the berries into my open palm. I looked at them for a moment, and then back up at her.
"I can't let you do this..."
"I'm not leaving this arena without you," she said, and I nodded gently. With her free hand, she caught my chin with her fingers and brought her lips to mine one final time, kissing me with a passion that I wasn't entirely sure was actually there, but it sure felt like it. I knew then and there that her feelings for me weren't a lie, that she really did love me, even if she didn't say it, and perhaps didn't know it. She broke the kiss first, and then met my eyes. She had tears falling from them, and using my thumb, I wiped them away, then took her braid between my fingers to feel the softness of her beautiful chocolate brown hair one more time. "Together?" she finally said, and I nodded gently.
"Together," I replied, and we raised the berries to our mouths.
I felt the berries touch my lips when we were both startled by a loud booming, "STOP," and then silence. "May we present the victors of the 74th Hunger Games, Katniss Everdeen and Peeta Mellark of District Twelve." Katniss and I both threw the berries to the ground and I felt her throw her arms around my neck as I lifted her up and spun her around excitedly, then I set her back on her feet and buried my face in her hair.
"We're going home," I said to her through tears of joy. "Both of us, we're going home..."
It was the day of the senate meeting. It was a few days after the Capitol attack on us that nearly killed Calum. He was doing better, but we certainly didn't feel safe. We knew that the Capitol had found us, and it was only a matter of time before they attacked. We had to take action, or else the rebellion would be crippled. I walked down the hall with my head held high knowing I was prepared to agree to any attack on the Capitol. As I walked into the command room, I was faced by a scene that made me realise why Gale hated how lighthearted everyone was about the war.
"Take it back, you snot-faced twat," I heard Katniss say to Finnick, who only laughed.
"Nah, I don't really feel like it," he replied.
"Is that all everyone ever is to you? A twat?" Calum asked Katniss, who laughed.
"Pretty much," she replied. "That's what you called him though, that time you saw Finnick in Thirteen, remember?" Both Finnick and Calum laughed.
"Oh, right," he said, and he turned to the few who were listening. "So we're getting ready for a mission out to District Three to collect some technology when all of a sudden, Finnick shows up wearing a hospital gown demanding to tag along. When Boggs, bless his soul, said yes, Finnick ripped off the hospital gown, tossed it to the floor and ran off to find some proper clothes. And at the time, I didn't know anything about the bloke other than he had a reputation of being a prick so I said to Katniss when she asked what the hell was going on, 'I just saw that twat, Finnick Odair, in his underwear. Should I be flattered or humiliated?" said Calum, and the table erupted into laughter.
"It was pretty damn funny," said Katniss through laughter, and she saw me out of the corner of her eye. "Peeta!" she said happily, reaching out a hand to me, and I took it and sat down in the empty seat beside her.
"What's going on? All I heard was 'I saw Finnick Odair in his underwear'," I said as I joined the conversation.
"Doesn't everyone want to see me in my underwear?" Finnick asked.
"I still want to borrow that outfit you wore in the tribute parade at the Quell," Katniss said.
"I for one would love to see you in that, however, you're only allowed to wear it in the bedroom," I told her, and the table laughed again as she turned pink.
"Peeta!" she hissed, playfully shoving me. She stood up and grabbed my chair, which had wheels, and pushed me away from the table towards the door. "You're banished from the table, go sit in the corner," she said with a laugh as I scooted my way back.
"You have no banishment powers," I said as I resumed my spot. Haymitch walked into the room at that moment and observed the room.
"Well, I'm glad the energy is high, because our alert levels are in the yellow," he said as the room silenced. "Some of you know but most of you don't so I'll spill the beans. The Capitol found us. We had a Capitol sympathiser feeding false information to us and feeding the Capitol information about us. He came in on that District Five medical ship that had over seven hundred people on it. It was easy for him to slip in, while we were erupting into chaos." The room was silent for a moment. "I know... I felt the same way when I found out about that, too. He's in custody and he's been dealt with, but that's no comfort to any of us knowing that the Capitol can attack at any moment."
"So what are we going to do about it?" asked Lystra Eshwater of Ten. "I believe District Twelve called this meeting?"
"Yes, originally, District Twelve did call this meeting, but it's turned into more than just that. District Twelve believes that we are moving the rebellion too slowly, and I am in agreement with that, especially since the Capitol found us," Haymitch replied, and he motioned for us to take the floor. This time, I chose to speak, since Katniss had been the one speaking for us before. I stood up and cleared my throat.
"Katniss and I are both in agreement that the war has gone on for long enough. Every district is now seeing an active rebellion, but no one knows the front lines like myself, Katniss, Gale and Calum. We were all travelling throughout the districts extensively for two years trying to ignite rebellions and unify the districts. It took three years of active rebellion to get all districts in one room, and it's time to put an end to the waiting. District Twelve proposes a plan for attacking the Capitol," I said, and a couple of gasps emanated from around the room.
"And what exactly is this plan?" asked Gale.
"Invade the Capitol. Destroy the dam that gives them power, destroy the railroad tracks and the roads that bring supplies into the Capitol. Destroy the Nut that provides a base for Peacekeepers," I replied.
"The Nut is impossible to destroy. We have been trying in District Two, but it is impenetrable," said Magnow Rose of Two.
"What all have you tried?" I asked him.
"We've bombed it several times, but to no avail," said Magnow.
"Have you tried flushing them out?" asked Katniss.
"Flushing them out? Whatever do you mean, Ms. Mellark?" asked Magnow, finally calling Katniss by the correct name.
"You could always send in a poison gas," suggested Prodigy Prelius of One.
"What good is that going to do? They can just fill in whoever dies with more people. You've got to destroy the actual base itself," Carolina chimed in.
"But we can use the actual base itself for our own purposes. It would be unwise to destroy it," said Lenerok Kifflin of Two.
"Why don't we suffocate them? Don't they get their air from a vent in the mountains there?" asked Gale.
"Block the vent, block the entrance, so they're trapped," said Katniss. "Isn't there a train that runs under the Nut?"
"There is," said Magnow.
"And what do we do after we attack the Nut?" asked Zosia Verity of Eight.
"We have control of the Peacekeepers," said Lenerok.
"They'd lose the ability to maintain contact with the districts and be forced to be brought to the Capitol to protect Snow," I chimed in, still standing.
"That is an excellent idea, Twelve," said Tremor Ureon of Ten.
"But how do we do that? Two says they've been bombing the Nut for ages and have yet to make even a scratch," said Clarabella Dustin of Five.
"Create a landslide," said Katniss. "Big rocks to block the entrance and the vent, they'd be forced to come out under the train tracks in order to not suffocate and we'd head them off there."
"And then what?" asked Gladius Firk of Six. "We get the Nut, we cut off contact between Peacekeepers outside of the Capitol. And then what?"
"Destroy means of transportation and power to the Capitol. Cut off their ability to get any resources outside of the Capitol," I said.
"And whose responsibility would that be, Mr. Mellark?" asked Gladius.
"Isn't District Six transportation? You provided transportation for the rebellion as well as the Capitol. Destroy transportation lines leading to the Capitol. Trap them in there, no one gets in or out," I replied.
"So we destroy the tracks and roads, we destroy the Nut, and we destroy the dam that provides electricity to the Capitol, as well as the districts, mind you," said Clarabella.
"Not to Fourteen," said Carolina. "We have our own source of electricity using the currents of the ocean. Finnick's idea." She gestured towards Finnick.
"We could probably find a way to utilise Four's access to the ocean to provide power to the districts," Finnick chimed in.
"But hopefully, the siege of the Capitol won't take long enough to require that," said Chase Winters of Four.
"I like that. The Siege of the Capitol," said Karis Paylor.
"When I was researching rebellions, there were names of all the battles that took place and they were remembered through memorials where they took place," Katniss chimed in.
"Perhaps we can consider memorials once the rebellion is won," said Cytherea Lewes of Eleven.
"So dam, Nut, transportation. Then we take the Capitol? Why don't we just skip all the extra stuff and attack the Capitol?" asked Johanna.
"The Capitol is still very strong. We have to starve them first," said Gale rather calmly. I was surprised, considering he always spoke to Katniss like she was stupid. "I've been doing research, too." He looked at Katniss. "The American Civil War was a war between the United States and the Confederate States. The Confederate States basically broke away to maintain slavery, which the United States wanted to abolish. The United States cut off all supplies to the Confederate States by implementing a blockade. No one got in, no one got out. They were starving by the time the war came to an end and it was an easy victory for the United States. So we have to starve the Capitol and weaken it before we can attack it."
"But can we do that before they get us here?" asked Pascasia Mezarinne of Nine.
"Frankly, I don't believe that you can," came a booming voice, and we all jumped and turned towards a screen as we saw the terrifyingly white, snake-like face of President Snow grinning menacingly at us.
"President Snow," said Katniss, standing up.
"How'd you get through?" demanded Magnow, and Snow only chuckled with amusement.
"I have my own hackers, too, you know. Your little propos invading my airspace proved that there was a door, and a door can be entered from both sides," said the man. "Your little senate was such an excellent idea. The districts uniting under one flag, making decisions together like a team. But it won't be enough to defeat the Capitol. When your little experiment fails, which it will, the Hunger Games will return with a vengeance, and you'll regret ever rebelling."
"It failed the first time, but it won't fail again," Katniss warned him, stepping towards him, but I stopped her by grabbing her wrist.
"Ah, look at this. The Mockingjay and her little pet. Star-crossed lovers, were you? Still keeping up the charade, I see?" Snow said back to her.
"It was never truly a charade, not fully," said Katniss. "Tell me, Snow, have I convinced you of my love for Peeta yet?" He smiled menacingly, and chuckled again with amusement.
"I've known the truth of your little charade for quite a while, Miss Everdeen. I think you'll find that love is a weakness. Be careful how you use it. I believe your former mentor can tell you the damage that love can do to you," said Snow, and Katniss and I both looked at Haymitch, who remained motionless. We then looked back at the screen.
"Did you learn that from Lucy Gray?" asked Katniss suddenly, and Snow froze for a moment, the mere mention of her name bringing a certain fear to his eyes. But only for a moment, before fading again, and then his momentary look of fear was replaced by amusement.
"As I said, love is a weakness," he replied.
"That's why you killed her, wasn't it? The songbird sang a tune that you didn't like, so you shot it out of a tree. Along with Sejanus Plinth," said Katniss, stepping towards the screen. She was now standing before the screen, in front of everyone. "I was told the story of Lucy Gray by an old friend of yours, Maude Ivory. She told me how she once admired you and your nearest and dearest friend, Sejanus Plinth. A district boy, brought up in the Capitol. She said he was hanged for treason, when the only other soul he told that was outside of his rebellious plan was you. It was obvious that it was you who sent him to the Hanging Tree. Is there anyone left that you love? That you would die to protect?"
"I told you, Miss Everdeen, that love is a weakness," Snow repeated.
"So you wouldn't care if your granddaughter was killed by a rebel gun," Katniss said to him. "Love is a strength, Snow, not a weakness. My love for Peeta kept both him and myself alive, and the love that everyone in this room holds for their home has kept the embers of the rebellion burning." While she had been speaking, I stood up and walked over to her, standing by her side and taking her hand.
"Love created the Mockingjay," I said. "Your life has been wasted because you refused to let love into your heart and it's made a monster out of you."
"Maude Ivory said you once had a heart of gold... You could have done great things, had you let love into your heart," Katniss said to Snow. "We know you know where we are, Snow. And we know that you have the ability to bomb us whenever you please, but know that no matter how many times you try to shut us down, we will always rebuild. Strike us down, and we will build a new home from the rubble."
"The rebellion isn't won yet," Snow reminded us. "Be careful what you wish for." Suddenly, we felt the room shake, which meant only one thing: the Capitol was bombing District Fourteen. Carolina jumped up, grabbing Weaver Redstone by the wrist.
"We've got to get everyone to the bunker!" she shouted, and she and Weaver disappeared from the command room.
"We'll have you know, President Snow, that this entire conversation has been broadcast across all of Panem," said Beetee Latier, who must have hacked into a camera in the room and was broadcasting the conversation. Snow only smiled.
"Good," he said. "Let all of Panem watch you drown."
"And let them hear the story of Lucy Gray, the one you tried so hard to suppress. The story of the girl who you helped win the 10th Annual Hunger Games by cheating, the songbird who captured the heart of a snake and charmed it not to bite her," Katniss told him. And then she started singing a song.
Are you, are you,
Coming to the tree
Where they strung up a man they say murdered three?
Strange things did happen here,
No stranger would it be
If we met up at midnight in the hanging tree...
Are you, are you,
Coming to the tree
Where the dead man called out for his love to flee?
Strange things did happen here,
No stranger would it be
If we met up at midnight in the hanging tree...
Are you, are you,
Coming to the tree
Where I told you to run so we'd both be free?
Strange things did happen here,
No stranger would it be
If we met up at midnight in the hanging tree...
After the third verse, Snow must have gotten frustrated with the song, demanding that Katniss stop singing it. "Does it bring up harsh memories? Of the hanging of a coal miner who blew up the mine to kill some Peacekeepers? Of the cry of the Jabberjay as it mocked his dying words calling out to his lost lover? Does it remind you of the death of your friend, Sejanus Plinth, who trusted you and was blind to your true intentions? Does it remind you of the death of a woman you claimed to love, who made you into a man that you didn't want to be?" Katniss demanded of him, and she finished the song as the command room continued to shake from the bombing raid.
Are you, are you,
Coming to the tree
Wear a necklace of rope side by side with me?
Strange things did happen here,
No stranger would it be
If we met up at midnight in the hanging tree...
Snow must have turned off his broadcast to us, but the bombing didn't stop. The room shook more and more as Capitol hovercrafts released bombs over where they believed we were. Katniss turned to the remaining senators in the room.
"Let it be that on this day, Thursday, the twenty-eighth of July in the year 2163, that the District Senate has decided to go through with the Siege of the Capitol. The days of the rebellion are numbered," she said, and she looked into the camera that Beetee had set up. "And so are yours, Snow."
KATNISS POV
We remained in the command room for the duration of the bombing, drafting an official declaration of war on the Capitol. It was decided that leaflets would've dropped over the Capitol to warn the citizens to flee while they could, before the neck of the Capitol was strangled. Once Carolina and Weaver returned, the declaration was signed by all twenty-eight members of the District Senate, and was also signed by Haymitch. A Declaration of Independence was also drafted, signed again by all members of the District Senate and a copy of it would be sent to the Capitol. On the Panem Declaration of Independence, I signed my name where District Twelve's section was, and I passed it to Peeta. "We're officially making history," I said to him.
"What a time to be alive," he said as he passed the Declaration to District Thirteen. When it was all signed, Haymitch sat us all down, ignoring the dust as it fell from the ceiling with every bomb that exploded on the seafloor, and read out the Declaration, Beetee's camera trained on him as he read the declaration to the nation.
"To President Snow, the Districts of Panem declare their independence from your tyrannical and inhumane leadership. We have decided that enough is enough, and we are no longer asking for our freedom. Either you will grant us our freedom, or you will go down with the Panem that you created, and a new Panem will rise from the ashes. If you do not accept our declaration of our independence, then we will have no choice but to declare war on the Capitol. The people of Panem will be free, and the people of Panem will not take no for an answer," said Haymitch, and he continued on.
"Signed, the District Senate, made up of Aristotle Archer and Prodigy Prelius of District One, Magnow Rose and Lenerok Kifflin of District Two, Beetee Latier and Dravius Pillock of District Three, Finnick Odair and Chase Winters of District Four, Odeon Avisdee and Clarabella Dustin of District Five, Ellorah Harpernet and Gladius Firk of District Six, Johanna Mason and Jonny Woodstock of District Seven, Karis Paylor and Zosia Verity of District Eight, Pascasia Mezarinne and Tremor Ureon of District Nine, Lystra Eshwater and Rufus Ripley of District Ten, Cytherea Lewes and Kypp Jecker of District Eleven, Katniss Fòlais-Mellark and Peeta Mellark of District Twelve, Gale Hawthorne and Calum Fòlais of District Thirteen, Carolina Abernathy and Weaver Redstone of District Fourteen..." He paused, but only for a moment. "...and Haymitch Abernathy, Advisor to the District Senate."
Beetee ended the broadcast by setting up pictures of each member of the District Senate including their name, their district number and the year they won the Hunger Games, if applicable, to appear on the screens across Panem.
"Now," said Haymitch. "Get down to the bunker before the walls crack and we all drown."
"The big metal doors to the bunker are likely closed by now. We won't be able to get in. We'll have to wait the bombing out, we're safe in here," Carolina said.
"I guess that's all we can do," said Peeta. He wanted to sound confident, but I could hear the tone of worry in his voice. We waited out the bombing for another hour until we didn't hear the bombs any longer, and the emergency repair crew started getting to work. There really wasn't much damage to Fourteen, considering the Capitol had no idea where the base actually was. The main part of the base was easily a good hundred feet away from the island, which was likely what they were aiming for. Before Carolina would let the emergency repair crew get to work, she made sure there were no more Capitol bombers in Fourteen's air space. As the members of the senate dispersed once the all-clear was given, I turned to Haymitch.
"What about Capitol runaways?" I asked him. "Don't they deserve a voice in this, too?"
"Most of the Capitol runaways have declared Thirteen or Fourteen citizenship. It would be hard to give a voice to an area we want to destroy," Haymitch replied.
While we had been waiting out the bombing, we planned our next moves. The Nut would be attacked at the same time as the railways and roads that led to the Capitol, which would happen in another week or so, and the dam would follow suit after that. We were planning the Siege of the Capitol in about three weeks' time. All of this was carefully planned, and each senator would communicate with the commanders in each of their districts to carry it out.
"I want to be there for the attack on the Nut," I said.
"You're a senator, sweetheart, not a soldier," said Haymitch.
"It was my idea, I should be there to execute it," I said to him.
"You ain't got time. You've gotta train for the Siege of the Capitol," Haymitch told me.
"You want me to participate in the Siege?" I asked him.
"You're one of the best leaders the rebellion has. You're no soldier, but you are a commander. We wanna put together a special team, with Peeta as your second in command, then Gale, both Fòlais boys, Donnel Mellark, Zeodary Sage, Finnick Odair, Hadley Walker and Graham Leper. Also giving you Cressida Dubrow and Castor and Pollux Chatham. They'll be your camera crew that films you tearing down the Capitol," he told me.
"You really want to film that?" I asked him.
"You said it yourself, sweetheart. We're making history here. The people of Panem want to see the Capitol, which has been killing its children for nearly eighty years, get torn down by the Mockingjay." He took a sip from a flask that he must have been hiding in his pocket, and then we were joined by Carolina, who entered the room.
"The walls have been secured, District Fourteen is back up and running," she said. "Also, I'll be joining Katniss in the Capitol."
"No the hell you are not ," Haymitch said to her with a lot of his traditional sass. "If you think for a moment that I will consent to you being sent into that bloodbath-"
"You're only an advisor, Dad. You don't make the decisions, the Senate does, and the District Fourteen senator has decided that she's going," Carolina told him firmly.
"I can't talk about this right now," Haymitch snapped. "Not doing this. Nope! Not at all!" He turned and left the command room, his voice echoing off of the walls of the corridors. I turned to look at Carolina, who watched her father stomp off.
"You know, he's only trying to look out for you," I told her. "You're the only one he's got."
"He has you and Peeta, too, not just me," Carolina replied quietly.
"But you're his only blood. He's our mentor, you're his daughter. You take priority over us," I told her. "Have you ever seen footage from his Games?"
"No... He never told me what happened in them, either."
"He did something that the Capitol didn't like... There was a canyon at the very edge of the arena during his Games, and if you threw something down into it, it would fly right back up. It wasn't supposed to be used as a weapon, just to prevent tributes from committing suicide. Well, he used it as a weapon, and made the Gamemakers look foolish, so they punished him by killing his parents, his sisters, and his girlfriend and her family. He was seventeen, at the time... This was the reason he sent your mother to Thirteen, so you'd both be safe from the Capitol, otherwise you'd have been born in Twelve and probably would have gone into the arena. The Capitol liked when Victors' children went into the Games, and Snow would have loved another opportunity to hurt Haymitch." Carolina looked at me and nodded gently, then glanced down at the ground.
"I know he's worried about me... When we were searching for a place to build Fourteen, we encountered a lot of Capitol attacks, including in an underwater submarine. I thought we were going to die... he told me he loved me and that he was sorry that he couldn't protect me from the Capitol forever. But that's it, isn't it? He can't protect me from the Capitol forever. No matter what happens, I'm an enemy of the Capitol. My name is on that declaration, same as his. If we lose the rebellion, I'm as dead as he is, as all of us are."
"It's every parent's dream to protect their child... it's why I never wanted to have children, so long as the Capitol was in power." I let out a sigh. "He's proud of you and everything that you do. That much is obvious. And even though he never got to know you as a little girl, to him, you are one. The Capitol took your childhood away from him and he's trying to find ways to get it back without treating you like a child. He knows you're an adult, but remember that you were lost to him for sixteen years."
"I know... Your dad was a nice man. He was very kind, and selfless, and so smart. He always said that he knew you were alive out there somewhere, 'too stubborn to die' were his exact words... He died creating the Pox vaccine against the disease that killed so many of us, and made some of us infertile. Calum had it, too, as he was your dad's first vaccination." I smiled gently hearing someone mention my father to me. I missed him dearly. He never got to see any of his children grow up to be the people that they are today. Most of them died as children, and only three of us made it to adulthood.
"Fathers are something, aren't they?" Carolina smiled and nodded. "Haymitch will come around, he always does... Like with me, he knows he can't stop your spirit." We chatted for a few more moments before Carolina had to take care of more documentation regarding the damage to Fourteen as well as the flooding, and I simply sat in the command room enjoying the silence.
In this very room, history was created. The Panem Declaration of Independence was signed on this very table by twenty-eight District senators and one senate advisor. I thought back to each individual member of the senate, and tried to recall their history from school.
Aristotle Archer was fifteen years old when he won the 63rd Hunger Games in 2151, making him twenty-seven years old.
Prodigy Prelius was sixteen when she won the 57th Hunger Games in 2142, making her thirty-seven years old. She'd lost her daughter to the 70th Hunger Games in 2155.
Magnow Rose was sixteen when he won the 53rd Hunger Games in 2138, making him forty-one years old.
Lenerok Kifflin was seventeen when he won the 48th Hunger Games in 2133, making him forty-seven years old.
Beetee Latier was sixteen when he won the 40th Hunger Games in 2125, making him fifty-four years old.
Dravius Pillock was sixteen when he won the 41st Hunger Games in 2126, making him fifty-three years old.
Finnick was the youngest Victor to ever win the Hunger Games, having been fourteen when he won the 64th Hunger Games in 2149. He was now twenty-eight years old.
Chase Winters had been eighteen when he won the 59th Hunger Games in 2144, making him thirty-seven years old.
Odeon Avisdee was fifteen when he won the 55th Hunger Games in 2140, making him thirty-eight years old.
Clarabella Dustin was sixteen when she won the 68th Hunger Games in 2153, making her twenty-six years old.
Ellorah Harpernet was seventeen when she won the 47th Hunger Games in 2132, making her forty-eight years old.
Gladius Firk was fifteen when he won the 61st Hunger Games in 2146, making him thirty-two.
Johanna had been sixteen when she won the 71st Hunger Games in 2156, making her twenty-four years old.
Jonny Woodstock wasn't a Victor of the Hunger Games, but he was young, too, probably somewhere in his mid to late 20s.
Karis Paylor was much younger than she looked. She easily looked close to forty years old, but she had been sixteen when she won the 62nd Hunger Games in 2147, making her thirty-two years old.
Zosia Verity had been seventeen when she won the 49th Hunger Games in 2134, making her forty-six years old.
Pascasia Mazarinne was the oldest amongst us, having been sixteen when she won the 39th Hunger Games in 2124, making her fifty-five years old.
Tremor Ureon was sixteen when he won the 46th Hunger Games in 2131, making him forty-eight years old.
Lystra Eshwater wasn't a Victor of the Games either, and was somewhere in her late 20s or early 30s.
Rufus Ripley has been eighteen when he won the 44th Hunger Games in 2129, making him fifty-two years old.
Cytherea Lewes had been sixteen when she won the 54th Hunger Games in 2139, making her forty-two years old.
Kypp Jecker wasn't a Victor of the Games, but was somewhere in his late 30s or early 40s.
Peeta and I were both sixteen years old when we won the 74th Hunger Games in 2159, and we were now both twenty years old.
Calum (and Cailean) had been born the year after me, making them currently nineteen years old.
Gale was two years older than myself, making him twenty-two years old.
Carolina was a year younger than me, making her nineteen years old.
Weaver Redstone was easily somewhere in his early 20s.
And then there was Haymitch, who was sixteen when he won the 50th Hunger Games in 2135, making him forty-four years old.
Reflecting on the age group of each member of the senate, the average age of our age group was about thirty-five, but about half of us were below that age. We were kids, the majority of us, and it was up to us to decide the fate of our future. All but six of us had been thrown into an arena to fight for our lives. I suppose it is always the children who suffer the sins of the past, and must be responsible for changing the future.
My thoughts were interrupted by the sound of a throat clearing, and I looked up to see Peeta standing in the doorway of the command room. I smiled sadly at him, then looked back at the table before me. "The future's finally begun," he said, walking into the room. "Are you ready for it?"
"I don't know," I replied honestly. "I wanted nothing more than the rebellion ending and for the Capitol to fall... and now that's about to happen, and I'm a bit..." I let out a sigh. "What happens after?" I asked, looking at him, and he shrugged.
"We go home," he replied. "C'mon, Katniss, it's been a long day... You need some rest." I nodded, then stood up and pulled him into my arms for a tight hug, and without saying a word to each other, we left the command room.