Once the tributes are picked they have two hours to visit before they leave. We were all ushered to different rooms and sat there until a visitor came. My first visitor was Yue, of course. She was in tears but very grateful.

"I can't believe you did this for me," she sobbed, wrapping her arms around me.

Even though her parents had more money than most people in town, it was clear that they were often too busy for her. No one ever really paid her that much attention or did kind things for her, so this really took her by surprise.

"Don't cry," I said shakily.

She wiped her tears away and sat on the chair across from me. "I don't have that long to visit, but there's something I need to tell you," she said.

I nodded for her to go on. "When I was little, I was even worse off than I am now. I was born quiet; I never cried. My mother and father knew I was going to die," she began. "No one knew what was wrong with me, and everyone had given up hope… except one person."

I was confused, but waited for her to continue. "You're mother, Katara. She asked my parents if she could take me to a pond in the woods that she claimed had magical powers. My parents we're very fond of your mother and trusted her, so they let her take me, despite the dangers.

"This pond holds two links to the spirit world, and the only reason they haven't been wiped out is because they are the ocean and moon spirits. Without them, we wouldn't be able to survive. She took me to the pond and gently lowered me into the water, hoping it would heal me," she now had a small smile on her face.

"But instead of the water healing me, the moon spirit swam over to me and touched my hair, turning it white. After that, I opened my eyes for the first time in my whole two months and started crying," she finished.

My eyes widened with shock. I believed her, but I couldn't believe no one ever told me about it before. "That's… amazing," I said.

She nodded. "And it was all thanks to your mother, Katara," she said.

"She was amazing… but why are you telling me this now?" I asked.

"Katara, you're just like her. You're strong, motivated, determined, and smart. She always listened to her heart and did what was right, and you need to do the same thing. You need to win this, Katara, for me. For your father… for the district," she pushed.

My eyes went wide. She was asking me to do something that I knew I couldn't do. If I won, then that meant… Sokka would die. I can't let that happen; I won't let it happen. But I also know that he's thinking the same thing, and that I would have to outsmart him if I was going to keep him alive.

"I'll…" two peacekeepers opened the door.

"Time's up," one said, grabbing Yue by the arm.

"Good luck, Katara!" she shouted nervously.

I swallowed hard and managed to smile a little before they dragged her out. I crossed my arms tightly and managed to hold back more tears. It was now all beginning to sink in. Yue was chosen as tribute. I volunteered to save her. Sokka was also chosen, we're going to have to fight each other. One of us is going to die; I'm going to do my best to make that one be me. I realized I would never see Yue again. I would never see my house again. I would never go hunting in the woods with Sokka again. I would never go to the hob and trade what I caught for whatever greasy Sue had that day. In just a few weeks, I would never see anything but the arena again.

I jumped a little when the door opened and I saw my father there, standing in front of two peacekeepers. I figured he'd already seen Sokka, and now he was coming to see me. I wondered how this all was affecting him, knowing his two kids would be sent away to fight to the death, and one of us, possibly both, would never return. He'd already lost his wife, and now his kids.

"Katara," he whispered. I could tell he was about to cry.

"Dad, listen to me… you need to stay strong," I ordered.

He began to sob, and I hugged him tightly, tears falling down my face. "I need you to stay strong, dad. You have to do me a favor," I pulled away and put my hands on either of his shoulders.

"Anything," he said quietly.

I swallowed hard. "I need you to hunt," I whispered. "And every day you do, take it to the hob and sell it. That will keep you alive. I need you to check on Yue every day, because she's usually home alone and sometimes gets very sick. Take care of her, dad."

He nodded quickly and hugged me again. "You remind me so much of Kya," he whispered.

He always told me this, and I knew it bothered him in a way. I looked almost exactly like my mother, and I could tell it hurt him to see me sometimes because he wanted to forget about what happened to her. I tried not to let it get to me; I wanted to forget, also. We all wanted to forget…

"Whatever happens, I love you," I said through tears.

"I love you too," he whispered.

He didn't stop hugging me until the peacekeepers came back, and I didn't protest. I knew this was the last time I would ever see him.

They dragged him out of the room, just like they did to Yue. He was my last visitor, and for the next hour I sat alone and cried. I thought of my mother and what she would do in this situation. It didn't take me that long to figure it out; she would save the people she loved. That's exactly what I intended on doing. I begin wondering what I was going to do in the arena, but then changed my thoughts to something else. I didn't want to think about it as much as I didn't have to; I wanted to keep the last thing I had that they could never take from me… my freedom to think freely.

After the hour was up, the peacekeepers came for me. I robotically followed them to the train that we would be living on for the next few days while traveling to the capitol. I shuddered at that thought.

Once we got to the train, I was greeted by an overly ecstatic Effie. "Well hello, dear!" she exclaimed with a huge smile on her face. "Let me show you to your room."

I followed her through what I was guessing to be a dining room and to a large hallway. She walked over to a large, metal door and opened it. She smiled at me. "Go on, check it out. There's clothes for you in the dresser, you're going to want to change; it's much warmer in here."

I had to admit that it was pretty hot in my furry water district clothing, so I walked inside and opened the dresser. Effie was practically gleaming when she said, "I hope you like it. Come to the dining hall in about an hour; dinner will be ready then."

She shut the door and I hear her clonking heels walking away. I didn't understand how people from the capitol dress the way they do… they dye their skin, hair, get tattoos, wear weird make up, weird clothes, weird shoes, weird… everything.

I skimmed through the dresser and smiled when I saw a water tribe kimono and loose pants. I quickly put it on and grabbed a pair of comfortable looking boots that sat beside the dresser. After putting them on, I finally looked around my room.

It was a pale blue, like the water district colors. The bed was very, very large. I had never slept in a real bed before, and it was hard to believe I would be sleeping in something so lavish and beautiful. There was a huge mirror on the wall, except that it wasn't really a mirror. It showed my reflection, yes, but the background was something else. It was a beautiful waterfall. I was so captured by it, because it was somehow flowing. I put my hand against the mirror and it suddenly changed scenes. I pulled my hand away and looked at what was now a gorgeous sunset.

I had to admit, this room was pretty amazing. But I still wished I was back home with my brother and father. I sighed and opened a door, wondering what it was to. It was a large, nicely decorated bathroom. Inside was a huge bathtub, a full length mirror, a sink and toilet, all things I've never had before.

I was still looking around when someone knocked on my door. "Uh, come in," I said shakily, scared to see who it was.

My brother opened the door and ran over to me. "Katara, are you alright?" he asked, hugging me tightly.

"I'm fine," I lied. "How are you?"

He shrugged unhappily. "I hate it here," he said.

"Yeah," I agreed. No matter how nice it was, I hated it too.

He sat down on my bed. "I can't believe this all happened," he said, "it just hasn't sunk in yet."

I sat down beside him. "I know, it's so crazy," I agreed.

"What are we gonna do?" he asked sadly.

I looked at him and decided what I should say. "We're going to try and win," I stated.

"But only one of us can win, Katara," he said.

I closed my eyes for a few seconds and sighed. "Then we're just gonna have to figure that one out, aren't we?"

I knew who I wanted to win, and I knew he was going to try and keep me alive, just like I would do to him. This was going to be very, very hard, but I knew it was what my mother would do, and she always did the right thing. Besides, there was no way I could live without Sokka, the only solution was that I die so he could come back home.