Chapter 5:

Katniss walked across the room and began up the stairs. It was a quiet night, the only sound came from her own footsteps. She reached the top and pulled the door open firmly. She halted in the doorway and took a deep breath, she smiled slightly, this was better.

It was dark and gloomy outside, but it was never truly pitch-black here, not like it was in the districts. The lights from the buildings, moving cars and the lamp posts at the side of the road ensured that the streets always were illuminated.

She had spent the entire day on the train, travelling to the capitol. Her legs itched from lack of physical exercise, her attempt at sleeping had been unsuccessful, and after a few hours of tossing and turning she gave up. She needed to move, to get some fresh air, so she decided to go up to the roof. The view was great up here, the training centre was one of the tallest buildings in the city, which allowed her to see over the surrounding buildings, and into the distance. The city stretched out as far as she could see.

In daylight the streets below her would be buzzing with life, now they were deserted.

Katniss would never want to live here, it was too restrictive, too many people. She had never liked being surrounded by people, and often went out of her way to avoid it. In the Capitol that was very difficult, as there were people everywhere. Except up here, this was her safe haven, here she could relax.

She had her hair down, as she had been trying to sleep. The wind caused it to blow into her face, she brushed it away, and put it behind her ear. She closed her eyes and simply enjoyed the feeling of wind against her face.

The door opened behind her and she sighed, she wanted to be alone. Regretfully, she turned around, it was Peeta.

"Hey," he said. He was fully dressed, in a green shirt and black pants. His eyes were tired, but his hair was still styled perfectly. He did not look like he had slept at all.

"Hey," she said, and went back to looking at the city. He came over to stand next to her, his shirt ruffled in the wind. Two peacekeepers crossed the street below her, they moved slowly, seemingly without purpose. She watched as they disappeared around the corner and out of sight.

"We're back," he whispered.

"Yeah," she said, softly.

"What do we do now?" he asked, more loudly.

"We have to help her. We have to find out what her strengths are, and help her to make them useful." She answered. In her eyes it was their only way forwards, as it would give Madge the best chance for survival. Her eyes scanned the buildings around her, alert, lights were on in several apartments, and occasionally she would spot shadows moving past the windows, but it was too dark to see anything clearly.

"We should look for allies," Peeta said.

Katniss shook her head. "No, there will only be twelve tributes this time. It is too risky."

"It will give her a better chance to survive the initial combat. After that, everything is possible." Peeta said.

Katniss disagreed, she had given this a lot of thought. "The games will be different this year, they can't afford the initial bloodbath. They have to make the games last, and keep the suspense going."

"Did you notice that we stopped in district eight on the way here?" he asked, changing the subject.

She nodded, the train had stopped briefly, in district eight. She had been in her cabin at the time, and had thought nothing off it, maybe the train needed some fuel.

"Paylor was there, I saw her get on the train," he said.

Her head snapped towards him, this was news to her.

He said, "I did not see her afterwards, so it is possible that she got off again."

"I wonder what she is doing," Katniss whispered, her brow furrowed as she tried to work out the possibilities. It was highly likely that she had stayed on the train and therefore joined them to the capitol. Why else expose herself to them and the Capitol. She could have met with Haymitch in secret if a meeting was all she needed.

"Maybe she is here for the games…"Peeta said, "a lot of important people come to the Capitol to be part of the celebrations."

"Maybe," Katniss said, unconvinced.

They stood in silence, a car drove past below, leaving an exhaust cloud behind.

"I'm going back to bed," he said suddenly. She watched him go in silence, now that he left she did not want him to go.

She would need to follow after him soon. Her body could not withstand more sleepless nights, her energy already suffered. She sat down heavily, her back against the railing, she gazed up at the night sky. It was a cloudy night, the stars were hidden from her eyes.

Tomorrow everything would start again, but this time her role was different. She needed to make someone else survive, and it worried her.

Thirty minutes passed before she started to make her way back down the stairs. She walked past both Madge's and Peeta's room on her way to her own, both had their lights turned off. She sank back into her bed, the soft mattress yielded to her weight and formed around her back. She was tired, and her head ached, she needed to sleep.

Her legs started to itch almost immediately, the blanket was heavy and too warm; it trapped her. The trip up to the roof and back had not been enough. She tossed and turned, trying to find a comfortable position. Her left leg was halfway over the blanket which covered the other leg, the pillow was in-between her left arm and her head. Her right arm was lying awkwardly in front of her body. She opened her eyes and glanced at the clock on her nightstand, three-twenty.

Katniss threw the pillow at it, it flew across the room and collided noisily with the wall. She sat up, her eyes narrowed. She got out from the bed and with a few firm steps, she walked out of the room. Her feet took her to another door, adjacent to her own. She knocked once, lightly, then opened the door.

Peeta sat up in the bed, he stared at her with a frown. She gave him a grim look and walked resolutely up to the bed.

"Scoot over," she said. He hesitated but did as asked, she collapsed on the bed beside him. She grabbed a piece of the blanked, and closed her eyes. The bed shifted as Peeta adjusted his body beside her, soon the only sound came from his slow, regular breathing.

Katniss slept.

The day of the first training session was upon them and Katniss was nervous. Nervous for Madge, nervous for what her competition would look like.

They sat around the dining table; her, Peeta, Madge and Haymitch. Effie had already gone off somewhere, leaving them to discuss tactics.

Haymitch ate pancakes, with an unhealthy amount of syrup on top. They were listening to the radio while they waited for him to finish up.

"The weather is going from bad to worse in district ten, and I must tell you…" The broadcast was cut short as Haymitch turned it off.

"Okay, done. Let's get down to business." He stared directly at Madge, "is there anything you are good at?" he asked bluntly. Katniss winced, but said nothing. Haymitch had more experience at this; she would allow him to run the show, for now.

Madge glared at him. "Nothing that will be of any use in the arena," she said bitterly. The stone faced girl that had won over the people from Capitol was gone, replaced with a cynical realist. The initial shock from getting picked had settled and been replaced with fury.

Haymitch's eyebrows rose, "well, that's it then."

"What?" Madge said, her eyes wide, her hands shook slightly.

"I can't help you then,-"he paused, "-combat skills is not what will keep you alive." He touched his head with a crooked finger. "It's what's up here, there has been victors in the game who never fought anyone." His eyes were sharp, focused. "So tell me again, what can you do? What will make you survive?" he asked.

"Hold on," Katniss said. Haymitch glared at her, with surprising intensity. It only made her push on, "she is not like us."

"I…"Madge said, and hesitated, "I am pretty good at hiding, and I can move without anyone hearing."

"Good," Haymitch said. "That's something."

"Focus on learning survival skills today, making fire and setting traps. Once you have a basic understanding for it, then move towards the combat stations." Haymitch said.

Madge nodded, there was some fire in her eyes now.

"Scout out your opponents, find out their strengths and weaknesses." Katniss said.

Peeta spoke up, "talk to them; make some connections."

"But don't get attached." Katniss was quick to cut in. "There won't be a rule change this time," she said, and looked pointedly at Peeta.

"Make some friends," Haymitch said, Katniss sent a glare in his direction. "But, more important than that, avoid making enemies."

"Now, you should go. Take the elevator down to floor zero, someone will meet you there to guide you." Haymitch said.

Madge nodded, and got up to leave. Her mask of indifference was back on, hiding all her emotions. Katniss watched her walk away in silence, then when the elevator door closed behind her, she snapped towards Peeta.

"Why did you do that? No one will want to team up with her, and if they do it is only so they don't have to search for her. She is a mayor's daughter for god's sake." Her voice was loud and angry.

"This year it's different, there is no careers, no volunteers. For once, everyone start out the same." Peeta said, just as heatedly.

Haymitch laughed, they turned towards him angrily.

"You are both wrong. She is going to die out there, but it is not because she is the mayor's daughter or because she didn't team up with someone. It is because she is untrained, unfit, and lack the guts for it." he said, then turned towards Peeta. "And, what are you talking about? Don't you remember your own games? The careers were dangerous, but so was everyone else. Can you remember anyone like Madge there? How do you think she would have done?

"During your games the tributes was decided by chance, this time the people of capitol decided. Who do you think they would pick? The weak farmer boy, the sweet little child? Or the strong, scary butcher?" He said, his voice rough.

"Then why did they choose Madge?" Peeta asked, heatedly.

Haymitch shrugged. "She was unlucky, she was simply the best of the worst."

Haymitch sat back tiredly, his grey eyes dull. "She only have one chance of survival, and that is with a lot of luck." He looked at them, "and sponsors. That is where you two come in, the capitol still loves you, which should give us an edge going into this."

He paused, and glanced at the clock hanging on the wall behind Katniss. "We have to go, wouldn't want to be late now would we."

Katniss furrowed her brow, "Where are we going?" she asked as she got up to follow him. Haymitch walked up to the elevator and pressed the calling button. The number on the top of the elevator doors changed from zero to one, and then kept going upwards until it reached twelve. The doors opened and the three of them stepped into it.

He smirked. "We are going to see some old friends."

They went in the same direction as she had gone one year ago, but instead of taking a left to enter the training hall, they took a right and up some stairs. At the top there was a plateau, where a peacekeeper stood guard in front of a dark brown door. He opened it for them as they approached.

"Thank you dear." Haymitch said and made an extravagant bow as they walked past him. The guard did not react, and stood stock still, eyes facing forwards.

They entered a large room, with white walls and parquet floors. People were spread out around the room, standing in small groups and chatting amongst themselves. As they walked in, everyone turned in their direction.

Haymitch grinned, and turned towards Katniss and Peeta. "Let me introduce you, to the finest people in Capitol." He said loudly, and gestured around the room. "Sponsors, go mingle." He added, quietly, for their ears only.

Katniss scanned the room, she did not recognize any of the people here. Haymitch moved away from the door, and into the room, leaving her and Peeta standing awkwardly behind. Haymitch drew some of the attention with him when he left, but most of the onlookers still stared openly at her and Peeta.

There were both men and women here, both frail and strong. Most of them seemed to be middle-aged or younger, but it was hard to tell with the makeup. Everyone in here had massive amounts on, she could not see anyone that had a natural look about them. It was the one thing that everyone in Capitol had in common, that and the bad posture, everyone seemed to have their head tilted backwards, and it could not be comfortable for the neck. Katniss rubbed her own in sympathy.

A group suddenly broke off from the rest and approached them, it consisted of three women and one man. The man was portly, he was wearing blue jeans and a black shirt, both was too tight for him. The three women were almost identical to each other, they wore tight tops and short skirts, the only difference were the colouring. Katniss decided to call them black, blue and yellow.

"Hi, you are Katniss Everdeen?" Blue asked.

It was more of a statement than a question. "Yes," Katniss answered, and tried to smile. She was out of practice, so it ended up more somewhere between a smile and a grimace. The amount of perfume that these women wore was making her want to gag. Her response seemed to spur them on, as they moved closer. Soon enough, they were standing in a half circle surrounding her.

"And you must be Peeta Mellark," the woman continued. She had a nagging, chirpy voice, it reminded Katniss of Effie. Blue was looking at Peeta with wide green eyes, her mouth slightly ajar.

"He is," Katniss said quickly. The woman did not turn to her, but kept her eyes on Peeta. Katniss gave up smiling.

"Could you sign this?" the man of the group asked her, and handed her an arrow and a pen. She blinked, how was she supposed to do that? She glanced up at him, he was nodding excitedly at her.

She gave him a blank stare.

"Just on the top there, yes there." he said.

She wanted to jam the arrow down his throat. She gripped the pen tightly, and tried to manoeuvre the arrow in her hand, there was simply no way. But then she had an idea, she put the pen in contact with the side of the arrow, and wrote Katniss, partly on the arrow and partly in the air. She handed the arrow back to him, it was impossible to see her name on it, instead the arrow was covered by lines and dots. He took the arrow with both hands, and held it gently.

Then Peeta was at her side, he grabbed her hand firmly and pulled her away.

"Unfortunately we have to go, but it was very nice meeting you." He said hurriedly over his shoulder as they left the group behind, who waved back with wide grins. Except for the first woman, she was looking at Katniss with narrowed eyes, her mouth was a thin line.

"Why did you want to leave so quickly?" Katniss asked, snarky. Peeta frowned at her, and glanced back at the group. He shuddered, and pulled her further away.

Peeta dragged her over to another group, this one consisted of two men and two women. Both men were wearing dark shirts with violet ties, Katniss smirked at Peeta, he had started a trend. The women had long, free flowing dresses, in grey and green.

"Hi, I am Peeta, and this is Katniss." Peeta said, introducing them.

"We already know, of course." The biggest man said, he continued by introducing the group.

"…and all four of us are from the west side of the capitol."

"The only side really," the woman to his left said.

"Yes, you might as well rename the east part to district thirteen, the people living there..." The second man said with a huff, he was skinnier than the first man, and looked considerably younger.

"I will have to go visit the west part then," Peeta said.

"You must, as soon as possible" the younger man said, "we will be happy to show you around." He added, hopeful.

"Thank you, but for now I am afraid our hands are tied. The hunger games is right around the corner, and we don't want to disappoint." Peeta said. "Next time," he smiled at them.

"The games are going to be amazing this year, I just know it." The older man said, the three others nodded beside him. He turned towards Katniss, "Do you have any hints? Any inside tips? " he asked, there was an unhealthy gleam in his eyes.

"No, I don't." Katniss said. Peeta put an arm around her, "we can't spoil it, but from what I have heard it is going to be spectacular." he said.

The two capitol women glanced between themselves and grinned.

"Pay attention to the tribute from district twelve, she is the one to watch." Katniss said, her words were rushed.

"The games have not even started yet, and here you are, influencing the sponsors. I am not sure that is good practice." A new voice chimed in from behind her, she spun around. It was a man, he was tall, with broad shoulders and blond hair. He was also standing entirely too close to her, barely a foot away, leaning down towards her. Peeta's grip around her tightened.

"Finnick." One of the women squealed, the man in question turned his attention to her and grinned.

"There you are madam Eari, I have been looking all over for you." He took her hand and kissed it. A dark red blush spread across her cheeks, and she giggled.

"I am afraid I need to steal Katniss and Peeta for a bit," he said, and sounded genuinely sad. They said their goodbyes, and followed after Finnick to an empty corner of the room. Katniss had seen him before, on television, he had won the sixty fifth games. She had only been seven at the time, but she remembered it vividly. He had been from one of the career districts, and had emerged victorious through murdering everyone else.

"Here you are, the tributes of legend." he said and smiled.

"What do you want?" Katniss asked stiffly. He was standing further away from her now, but she was uncomfortable under his gaze, it was as if he knew everything about her, it was unnerving. He was an attractive man, even she could see that, and the way he moved, told her of an unnatural agility.

"Just wanted to say hi, we are fellow mentors now. We should be friends," he said.

"We don't need any more friends," Katniss said.

"Maybe you don't," he said, the smile still on his lips. He looked around the room and continued in a hushed tone. "To the Capitol we are nothing more than fancy slaves. We are fascinating brutes, every little act of bravery or intelligence amazes them. In us they see primal instinct." He paused and glanced over to the group they had left earlier. "It excites them."

His eyes were still on the group, Katniss was uneasy, she did not know why he was telling them this, in here, where someone was bound to hear.

"Some simply can't help themselves; they need a closer look." His attention came back to Katniss and Peeta, and for a second Katniss could see a flash of anger in his sea-green eyes, then it was gone.

An elderly woman came over and stood by his side. She had long grey hair and walked unsteadily.

"This is Mags, my mentor," Finnick said. A few seconds later, Haymitch came over too. He gave a curt nod to Finnick and Mags, and then started towards the door, it was their cue to leave.

When they arrived back to the apartment they found Madge sitting by the window waiting for them. She got up immediately after spotting them.

"How did it go?" Katniss asked her.

Madge smiled brightly, "I did as you said, and stayed by myself in the beginning, focusing on learning how to survive. The others seemed to have the same idea, as we all ended up at different stations. The instructor taught me how to make shelter and to tie knots, then I went over to the combat stations. Most people had gathered around them now, so that seemed like the place to be." She was speaking hurriedly, excitedly.

"Calm down," Haymitch told her. Madge took a few deep breaths, then continued.

"That was where I met Gauis and Theta, tributes from district ten and eleven. They took me aside and asked if I wanted to join their alliance. You should have seen them, they are just like me, children of the mayor. We need to stay together." Madge said.

Katniss narrowed her eyes, this was not good.

Haymitch found himself a drink and settled in the chair by the sofa, the others followed him and sat down as well.

"Tell me about the other tributes." Haymitch said.

"There is Cara from first, Tom from second…"

"No, not their names. Tell me about their skills," Haymitch said impatiently.

"Oh…" Madge hesitated, "well, most of them are larger than me, even the girls. There was one guy that was really good with a spear, and the girl from fifth was throwing around a weird knife…"

"What about the people you allied with? What can they do?" Katniss asked.

"Theta was really good with the plants, she always knew what they did, and Gauis seemed really strong."

"Did you find any weapons that suited you?" Peeta asked.

"I think the bow, I tried it a little, and hit the target twice."

Katniss frowned, "the bow is a really good weapon if you can use it, but if you can't then it's useless. It is not a good weapon for you, you should find something light and sharp instead. Something small that will work well with sneak attacks, so that you can use your abilities to the fullest." She furrowed her brow in thought, "snares might be your best bet; you set them up and then trick people into them."

The next few days passed quickly, Madge left early every day, and came back a few hours later. Then, the four of them sat down to discuss her training, Katniss and Haymitch mostly asked questions about what Madge did, what the other tributes did, and if there was any game masters watching.

Madge still focused most of her attention on the survival stations, only occasionally going over to throw some knives. Katniss was teaching her how to create snares in the afternoon, away from prying eyes. Madge still had an alliance with the boy from ten and girl from eleven.

"Then you snap it behind here, and you're done." Katniss said, she was showing Madge how to create a basic snare, the one she used to catch rodents and other small animals back home.

Madge nodded, and went to work on her own snare. She drew the string back slowly, making sure it was taut before she slipped it behind, as Katniss had done a few seconds earlier.

"Great," Katniss said. "This one you will be using to hunt for food, as while it will slow down a human if he gets caught, but it will not hinder him for long, as it is easy to get out off." They were on the roof, it gave them the most privacy, and Madge needed to be able to do this in all conditions. The slight wind up here made it a little more challenging.

"The instructor said that it was really difficult to make a snare that could kill someone instantly." Madge said, her voice soft.

Katniss nodded. "Yes, the snares are designed to trap, not to kill."

A shiver ran though Madge, her head was turned downwards, and the hair hid her eyes.

"So I need to kill them myself, in cold blood."

"Yes, you will. They will beg you not to, but you have to go through with it." Katniss said, firmly. "It's them or you, there is no choice." The words were heartless, but she could not back down now. If Madge went in there half-heartedly, she would not stand a chance.

Katniss and Peeta sat on the floor, their backs against the wall, a wooden door beside them, it led to the stage. They had been here before, not too long ago, but this time it was not them that were going on it. Something that Katniss was eternally grateful for. Madge and the other tributes were standing on the other side of the door, Katniss could hear Caesar loudly; he was interviewing the tribute from district eleven. Madge would be on next. Katniss and Peeta sat out here, as none of the mentors were allowed inside; this was the next best thing.

"She will be okay," Peeta said.

"She will have to, we can only do so much." Katniss rubbed her hands together, not because she was cold, but she needed to keep moving even while sitting still. Peeta grabbed one, and held it still.

"…and now, for our final tribute. Please welcome Madge Undersee from district twelve." Ceasar shouted.

Katniss sat up straighter, all her focus was now on hearing the words from the other side of the door. The applause died down, and Caesar started to speak.

"How are you Madge, can I call you Madge?" Caesar asked.

"Yes, if I can call you Caesar."

"I would be offended if you called me anything but," he said to loud laughter from the audience. Katniss knew that he was smiling, that toothy grin of his, with the sparkly white teeth. How much had it cost him to become like that, how many operations had he gone through? She shook her head, clearing it.

"I must say, you look amazing tonight," Caesar said. "Is that real?" he asked. Katniss could not see them, but she had seen the dress before, when Cinna had brought it to them.

It was a white dress, with light blue markings running from the middle down.

There was silence, Katniss smirked; they had planned this.

Then something happened, and even through the door, she could hear gasps from the audience.

"Wow, I have never," Caesar said. "You can fly? That is bound to give you an edge."

"I wish. Regretfully, it is dress and not me," Madge answered.

"It is still incredible."

"Thank you."

"So, what are we to call you?" Katniss heard suggestions coming from the audience.

"No, no, certainly not." Caesar said, turning each of them down. "I got it, the girl who walks on air. Do you guys like that?" loud cheers from the audience. Then there was a pause as Madge got back to her chair.

"Tell me, how is your first impression of the capitol?" Caesar asked. "And don't tell me about the showers." He added, more laughter from the audience.

Katniss glanced at Peeta, there was a tinge of red on his cheeks. She smirked and bumped her arm into him, he glared at her good naturedly.

"It has been good, but I am afraid I haven't had much time to enjoy the city." Madge said as the laughter died down. She was soft spoken, her voice formal and respectful. The perfect picture of a mayor's daughter. She was the tribute that was the most similar to the people in the Capitol, and they had decided to use that to their advantage. They wanted people from the Capitol to look at Madge and see themselves, their sisters, or children.

"Let us hope you get a chance to change that later, though I am afraid that the experience would be different as a victor."

"I think I could live with that," she said, to cheers from the crowd.

"Madge Undersee everyone, the tribute from district twelve!" Caesar shouted.

Katniss stood up, and drew Peeta up with her.

"That went better than expected," she said.

"Yeah, she did really well." Peeta said.

A few seconds later the door was pushed open and Madge appeared, she looked unfazed by it all. This time Katniss could see through it, they had spent so much time together lately that she was able to pick up subtle cues. Madge's upper lip twitched slightly, and her hands were facing towards her body, she was nervous.

"How did I do?" she asked.

"Didn't you hear them?" Katniss asked, perplexed.

"You did amazing," Peeta supplemented.

A smile spread across Madge's face, and they walked back to the apartment together.

The man turned the glass around in his hand, and gazed down at the map before him. It was a map of the twelve districts, with the capitol at the centre. He put the glass down on the table, it rested on top of the map.

"That will do fine," the man muttered. He was a small, thin man and had stark white hair. He moved the glass off the map, and his eyes found the spot it had just been occupying. This was where it would start, where his influence was the weakest, but he was not worried. He had prepared for something like this for many years, and as it was, it was too early for them to challenge him.

Even if they succeeded there, it would be for naught. He had something they didn't have, he had someone on the inside.