Peeta skidded to a halt at the front of the cells, frowning at his peacekeeper.

"What is it, soldier?"

"Um… never mind, General. Everything's ok now." Peeta's brow furrowed further.

"Did something happen?"

"Uh… no sir. I mean, yes sir. But, uh, we're ok now." Peeta crossed his arms.

"The truth, Soldier. NOW."

"Minister Antonius ordered for me to distract you, General."

"Distract me? Why would he-" Peeta's eyes widened in realization and he turned on his heel and ran. He nearly crashed into the wall but he grabbed hold of the cell bars to keep himself up right when he saw Duartyr lying a puddle of blood, the Minister standing above him with a knife. Peeta gripped the bars with white knuckles.

"Minister," he said weakly. "I saw no notices of execution for today."

"This was necessary, General. He was feeding you lies. I couldn't let his deception continue."

"Peeta," Duartyr let out in a choking gasp. "Remember." Peeta winced as Antonius kicked Duartyr in the head and the former general lay still. Antonius leaned down and wiped his bloody knife on the man's ragged shirt.

"President Snow needed information from him," Peeta said through gritted teeth.

"President Snow will thank me for killing him. Look at what he's done to you, Peter! You're confused and questioning everything. Lavinia tells me you ask about your family and where the two of you met. She's devastated that you're not letting her help you."

"I have asked her to help me! She just gets really sad for some reason and I don't want to make it worse."

"The guards have told me of the lies this man has been telling you. Would you believe a traitor to the Capitol? A man who has been disloyal to his president?"

"Some things he said… made sense. Why hasn't anyone here answered my questions? Why was he the only one?"

"Very well, Peter. Ask your questions and I'll do my best to answer them. Guards!" The peacekeepers appeared and Antonius waved a hand in disgust.

"Dispose of this. Come upstairs with me, Peter. I'll try to wipe away any doubts you may have." Peeta cast one last glance at Duartyr as the peacekeepers dragged him out of the cell.


Peeta frowned as they stood in front of President Snow's office.

"Why are we here?"

"President Snow can help answer your questions. After all, the prisoner has lied about him too, right?" Not waiting for an answer, he knocked and pushed the door open. The secretary nodded and Antonius pushed Peeta through the next door.

"President Snow, sir," they both bowed. Snow scowled as he extinguished his cigarette.

"What's happened, Antonius?"

"Our young friend here has some questions. I thought you might help me answer them for him." Snow continued to scowl but gestured toward the chairs.

"What seems to be the problem, Peter?" Peeta glanced sideways at Antonius.

"It's been two and a half weeks since I woke up with head trauma, sir, and I still can't remember anything. I know the doctors said it will come back but isn't it strange that I have forgotten everything? My parents, my home, my wedding day… none of it is there. I find this odd, President Snow. And I have heard some things that make me wonder."

"Peter has been listening to the prisoner Duartyr," Antonius said quietly. "He's been feeding him lies about who he really is. He said the Mockingjay is actually good." Snow grunted and leaned over to punch a button.

"I just received this from intel. You tell me if she's good or not." Peeta leaned in to inspect the picture on the screen. It was a young woman, he could tell, but her eyes were angry and full of hatred. Her features were twisted as she pointed at the burning building behind her.

"What happened?"

"She just bombed a hospital in District 8." Peeta's head jerked up. Snow nodded and gave a heavy sigh.

"Men, women, and children. Hundreds of them, dead. Look at her, Peter. Does that look like someone who does good things?"

"But why would she do something like that?"

"She is a rebel. She believes we are the enemy. She is trying to blame the country's misfortunes on the Capitol, and in doing so, turn our people against us. District 8 did not agree with the rebels, so they attacked. Her father did the same thing, until we got rid of him. We must do the same with her." Peeta stared at the woman's face, trying to find her in his memory.

"Where are my parents?"

"You were an orphan when you became a soldier. Only 15 and so eager to serve your country. Your superiors called you a fine soldier." His eyes did not leave the screen.

"And Lavinia? When did we marry?"

"Only last year. You were betrothed when you were both young. Arranged by your parents and by hers. You agreed to marry her in your parents' memory. She was in love with someone else but understood her duty. I imagine that is why you do not feel the most tender feelings coming from her."

"Is it true that you have been poisoning me?"

"Of course not, Peter. We are trying to help you. I told the doctors to give you the best treatments available, so you may regain your memory."

"Why do they call her the Mockingjay?"

"The mockingjay was a mistake. A creature that was never supposed to exist. It has become a symbol of revolution, and the rebels chose the symbol to slight us, as the creature was our accidental creation in the first place. She is a living symbol of defiance." Peeta's eyes remained locked on the image of her face.

"Help us, Peter. Help us rid Panem of her." Peeta finally nodded and stood.

"I'll summon the troops. We will launch an attack on 13. She won't get away with this."

"Do you have any more questions for us?" Peeta glanced at Antonius before turning back to Snow.

"No sir. You both have been very kind to me, since I was brought here. Your family has been wonderful to Lavinia. I am sorry I doubted you."

"Your distrust is expected, given what you have been through. Nevertheless, let us put aside those feelings and concentrate on winning this war."

"Yes sir." Peeta bowed to both of them and swiftly left the office. He nearly ran straight into Aurelia Snow.

"Forgive me, Miss Snow, I'm terribly clumsy."

"No harm, General Mellark," the girl giggled. "I was actually coming down here to find you."

"Me?"

"Your wife needs you."

"What's happened," he asked in a panic.

"She has just been in the bathroom for a long time and when I went to check on her, she was crying. I decided to come and fetch you. I'm certain you can comfort her."

I'm certain I can't, he thought to himself. All Lavinia did was cry and he was never able to say or do the right thing. He didn't even understand why she was so upset in the first place, and she certainly wouldn't tell him.

But he nodded and gave her a little bow.

"Thank you, Miss Snow. I'll check and make sure she is alright."

"General," Aurelia's hand on his made him freeze. "I must ask you. What happened to the other woman?" Peeta's face screwed up in confusion.

"I beg your pardon?"

"It's just… you refused to sleep with me on my birthday because you said you were in love with one woman. That you were a virgin, waiting for her. But then you return to the Capitol with someone else. Did you not find me pleasing to look at?" Peeta felt a chill as all his breath seemed to leave him.

"Miss Snow, I… I find you to be beautiful and too precious for a mere peacekeeper to even look at. I assure you I did not mean to offend you."

"Then where is she? Katniss, I think her name was." All of the color left his face. Someone cleared their throat behind them and both of them whirled around.

"Aurelia, dear, please come into my office for a moment."

"I'll go and find Lavinia. Thank you for bringing my wife's distress to my attention, Miss Snow." Peeta bowed and hurried off. Aurelia flounced into her father's office, unaware of his rage. The Minister trembled in his seat.

"Aurelia, what did I say about repeating THAT name ever again?"

"I just wanted to know what happened to her, Daddy. He seemed to be so in love with her, and-"

"This does not concern you," Snow growled, towering over his daughter. "And you will never speak to General Mellark again, do you understand?"

"Daddy!"

"Go to your room, Aurelia, and stay there."

"I'm not as dumb as you think I am, Daddy," she crossed her arms and pouted. "I know you two did something to him after Grandfather died. You didn't think Mother and I would question why you want us to be nice to this woman that you're telling him is his wife?"

"Your mother knows her place. It is time you learned yours."

"I think you're right," her eyes darted to the screen and her brow furrowed. "Goodnight Daddy." Snow fumed as his daughter closed the door behind her and slammed his fist on the desk.

"At least the picture seemed to convince him," Antonius said halfheartedly.

"Let's hear what the brat has to say," Snow punched a button and the picture moved.

"I want to tell the rebels that I am alive. That I'm right here in District Eight, where the Capitol has just bombed a hospital full of unarmed men, women and children. There will be no survivors."

"You have some explaining to do," Snow snarled at Antonius.

"Sir, our troops saw a clear shot to bring the Mockingjay's hovercraft down so they took it."

"On your orders."

"But sir-"

"Shut up, Antonius."

"I want to tell people that if you think for one second the Capitol will treat us fairly, you're deluding yourself. Because you know who they are and what they do. This is what they do and we must fight back! President Snow says he's sending a message. Well I have one for him. You can torture us and bomb and burn our districts to the ground, but do you see that?" The camera drifted up to a Capitol plane, burning on the roof of a warehouse. "Fire is catching! And if we burn, you burn with us!"

"Little bitch," the President punched the button to stop the video.

"Let's be glad he didn't ask to see the video." Snow snapped a pencil in his grip.

"You ordered for them to bomb the hospital?"

"I ordered for them to fire on the hovercraft. It landed and they escaped into the hospital, so we targeted it. The bitch fired on us first."

"She brought down Capitol planes? With what?"

"Her arrows. She's gifted with the bow. A rival to the goddess Diana, they say."

"Then I can't wait to fire one into her husband's heart right in front of her."

"There is something else, President Snow." Snow was rubbing his temples and shaking his head.

"I had to kill Duartyr." Snow's hands dropped to the desk.

"You what?"

"I had to, sir. He was telling Mellark everything. About her, about their life together, about his time in 2. He even told him we poisoned him. We need to keep a close eye on him."

"You killed the one person who had information about the rebellion?"

"He isn't the only one, sir. There are others. Victors who joined the rebel army."

"But we can't get to them because they're under the protection of District 13," Snow said slowly as if he were talking to a child. "Just as the Mockingjay is. How do you propose we torture the information out of someone we can't get to?"

"Then we send him to 13. Let him go after her himself."

"And if she kills him first?"

"Then we won't have to do it ourselves," Antonius shrugged. "There are rebel camps along the way, I'm told. Order him to ransack them and kill the refugees. Turn him into a monster before he gets back to her. That way, if he does find his way back, she won't even want him anymore." Snow looked considering.

"Give him the orders. And get my wife down here. I need to speak with her about Aurelia." Antonius scrambled from the office as quickly as he could.


Peeta leaned against the wall outside the bathroom, listening to Lavinia's whimpers. He closed his eyes and shook his head. Aurelia Snow was yet another person to bring up that strangely familiar name. Katniss. He mouthed the word, his lips feeling numb. And why would Aurelia lie? If anything, as the daughter of the president, she would back up whatever her father said. Yet she had said Peeta had loved this girl. He ran his hands through his hair and his head hit the wall behind him with a loud thud. Wincing, he rubbed the back of his head and sighed. He wished his memory would return. He just wanted things to make sense again.

"It's our wedding night, Peeta. Don't you want me?" His eyes snapped open and he looked around.

"Hello?"

"Do you want me," the voice repeated softly.

"I want to know who you are," he moaned. "Tell me. Please."

"I'm yours." His palms pressed to his temples and he groaned in frustration. The bathroom door opened and he spun around. Lavinia gasped in surprise.

"Peter, what are you doing here?"

"Miss Snow said you weren't well. I wanted to check on you."

"I'm fine. Just morning sickness."

"Why don't I escort you home?" She nodded and accepted his arm. Mrs. Snow came rushing out of the nearest room and froze in her steps.

"Mrs. Mellark, are you feeling better?"

"I am, Mrs. Snow, thank you. My husband is escorting me home."

"Thank you for taking such good care of her, Mrs. Snow," Peeta bowed to the President's wife.

"It was delightful to see you again, Lavinia. I will send you an invitation for another very soon."

"That would be… delightful," Lavinia said with a weak smile. Cassandra Snow watched them walk arm in arm down the stairs, then followed leaving some distance between them. She folded her hands and made her way to her husband's study.

"How is he, Egeria?"

"I haven't heard anything, Mrs. Snow," the secretary nodded toward the door. Cassandra pushed the door open and peered inside. Her husband was standing in front of the glass, a drink in one hand and a cigar in the other.

"You're troubled."

"Your daughter nearly destroyed everything we have worked for."

"Don't be so dramatic," she rolled her eyes.

"She is not to speak to Mellark again, Cassandra, do you hear me?"

"Good luck with that," she snorted in reply. Snow's eyes narrowed.

"Do you think this is a game we are playing here? Do you want a sixteen year old sitting in this office? For the board to arrest her because she doesn't know how to rule a country?"

"Caius, do us both a favor and stop pretending you did any of this for your daughter. Your father was weak, I will grant you that, but you didn't have to kill him."

"You would rather rebels take hold of the country? Because that's what would have happened if he had remained in power."

"And yet it looks like that's a possibility even after your father's death," she nodded toward the screen, where Katniss's face was frozen, anger etched in every line.

"Bitch," he growled under his breath. "I need to get rid of her."

"So brainwashing the peacekeeper didn't work," she sounded mildly bored as she checked her reflection in the mirror. "Did you think he would actually kill her?"

"We haven't tested him at his full strength. Antonius thinks we should order him to attack the refugee camps on his way to 13. We can send him to kill her."

"Antonius thinks," she scoffed. "That idiot is the whole reason we are in this mess! If he hadn't ordered Thread to arrest the girl in the first place, you could have continued the poison. Kept your father frail and unable to rule, rather than kill him altogether. What happens when the Minister decides to blab about all of your transgressions?"

"He knows I will bring him down with me if that happens."

"I don't know, Caius, seems to be that you could save yourself some trouble if you just go ahead and get rid of him. That brings the witness list down to one. Or eliminate it altogether."

"You think I am wasting my time," he said cooly.

"I think you are taking a huge risk and wasting a lot of resources. How many people have you had to pay off for their silence? You should have kept that poor woman's husband alive, to motivate her further."

"I'm not worried about her. I would have kept him alive but Antonius gave those orders, not me. Still, I don't think she will be a problem. She wants to keep her child safe. She will stick to the story."

"And I understand Antonius killed another one today? His hands are getting quite bloody, Caius. Are you going to just let him continue?" Caius growled as he sipped at his drink.

"I won't kill Mellark. He could be valuable. He could be the key to bringing down that girl."

"Your father underestimated the Mockingjay once, Caius. Don't you make that same mistake."

"Just make sure Aurelia stays away from Mellark, alright? I'll ship him out as soon as I'm able."

"Fine," she sighed. "And what of his little wife? Can I look forward to more awkward tea parties in the future?"

"Did she say anything of importance?"

"She knows what's at stake, Caius. She may be from 12 but she's not a fool."

"Seems like they all are."

"You have always had such a bias against District 12. They're just poor, Caius, they aren't mutts."

"They're not like us, Cassandra." She pursed her lips and shrugged.

"Do what you will. I know you're going to anyway. And if you have Antonius killed, make sure you find the papers that your father gave him."

"What papers?" Cassandra rolled her eyes.

"The papers stating that Aurelia is next in line, not you. Honestly, Caius. Use your brain for once."

"What makes you think there is a paper trail? He told Antonius in confidence until he could make it official."

"Is that what Antonius told you? Very well, dear husband, believe your traitorous Minister of Defense rather than your clever wife. You will not, however, lay a hand on Aurelia. She is innocent."

"You think I would murder my own daughter?"

"Why not? You murdered your own father," she gave him a smirk before she flounced out of the office.