(Peeta POV)

I always have two dreams.

One is beautiful.

One is terrible.

But they start the same.

Sunlight dancing in the trees. The sound of birds singing in the branches.

Usually, I start out with the good dream. I know it's the good one, when I dream about feeling tired. I must have not slept well the night before. Because of bruises on my back and buttox, I kept tossing and turning, and the next day I felt exhausted. I can't remember exactly what I had done wrong that time. Maybe I had forgotten to preheat the ovens. Maybe I hadn't measured out the flour and sugar correctly. Maybe Mother had just been in a bad mood.

Whatever it was, the beating it earned me, and the subsequent bad night, made me fall asleep the first day of class. The first day of kindergarten.

I had just closed my eyes for a second, when I heard a commotion. The teacher was addressing the whole class, telling us to listen up. I slowly started to regain consciousness.

The golden late summer light took the form of shapes and shadows that were tinged reddish pink by the blood vessels and translucent skin of my eyelids. Rays of sunlight danced behind my eyelids before they opened, until I could focus on the green leaves of the trees and the way they swayed. Warmth from the afternoon hit me as I lay slumped in my desk by the window. Birdsong trilled in majestic notes carried on the slight breeze let in by the slightly propped open window. It was the most peaceful moment I could remember. From then on, I loved to sleep with the windows open, even in winter.

I still tried to recapture that moment, even now. That fleeting feeling of peacefulness right before reality set in. I never had been able to reconstruct it just right. But in the dream the moment simply carried on wonderfully unbroken.

"Who knows the Valley song?" The teacher's voice called out, dragging me from my slumber. I picked up my head, turned toward the class and students, and blinked sleepily. One little hand shot up so fast, faster than the rest.

It was her. The girl my father had pointed out this morning. The girl in the red dress with two dark plaits on either side of her head. She had warm golden brown skin, and a small but confident smile. Her eyes were Seam grey. But she wasn't the least bit hesitant, she climbed right up on the stool our teacher pulled out for her and started to sing.

I live in the hills

You live in the valley

And all that you know

Are these blackbirds

You rise every morning

Wondering what in the world

Will the world bring today

Will it bring you joy

Or will it take it away?

And every step you take is guided by

The love of the light on the land

And the blackbird's cry

You will walk, you will walk

You will walk in good company

I love the best of you

You love the best of me

Though it's not always easy

The lovely, the lonely

We will walk, we will walk

We will walk in good company

Every bird had remained silent outside while she sang. They had been in awe. I was in awe. It was the most beautiful thing I had ever heard. A meeting of light and sound and joy that crashed together in my five year old mind, part dream, part mystery. All her. The girl in the red dress.

Katniss Everdeen. Ever since that moment I'd been a goner.

I dreamed of her song for the past year. Ever since my brother was chosen in the Reaping last year for the 74th Hunger Games. Ever since he was killed.

I dream of her singing that song. I dream of falling in love with her every night. I remember and remember even though I wish I could forget. But I can't. Then I dream of watching her kill my brother on national television.

**Author's notes: Hey guys, this is a new fic I've been wanting to work on for a while. Don't worry, I'm still going to keeping updating my other series, Golden Cages & Borrowed Wings. Its still important to me. But I also need an outlet for my Everlark fluff and smut obsession. And this idea has been rattling around in my noggin for a while. Hope you like it!***