My name is Katniss Everdeen. I am a criminal. I just won the 76th hunger games. I have just suffered a fate worse than death. And I have no idea if I will be allowed to live after this.

My eyes flutter open and I take in a blindingly white room. I'm on a soft bed and I'm in pain. It takes only a minute for me to remember who I am, why I'm here and how I got hurt. I can't believe I made it out of the games again. I am in a hospital in the capitol, that last place in the whole of Panem that I ever want to be in. The capitol and 13 have done this to me. I was… no I still am a criminal. Surely winning the new games doesn't equal a clean slate. So why am I still alive? Why did they bother to heal my wounds. Actually, why did they leave me to suffer my rib injury?

I closely examine my body and find changes, my patchwork fire-mutt skin has evened out and the disastrous calamity of my hair has been lengthened. Fixing my outside doesn't make my inside feel any better. I feel empty, and scared. I want to go home, and live out my life with the boy of my dreams. They say absence makes the heart grow fonder, that is a lie. Absence makes the hear realize just how hard it is to live without each other.

I notice now that someone has entered the room. A tall man in a doctors coat approaches me.

"Katniss, how are you feeling?" He asks with a soft, warm smile.

I don't even know what to say, no emotion or feeling comes to mind that would appease his question. It only makes tears well in my eyes as I think of the fresh horrors I have lived through on top of the multitude in my past.

"We'll work on that question later." He offers, "I just want to tell you your rib injury will take time to heal. It was very damaged, and we did the best would could. 3 of your ribs are synthetic pieces. The rest have been treated with our medicine. There is a bandage around your chest that is providing support and transferring pain medicine into the site directly."

I nod as he checks on the places where knife wounds used to be, "These left barely a scar. There is the faintest white line for them, you will barely know they were there."

That's where he is wrong. I remember exactly where they were and how it felt to have a knife cleave through my skin on my shoulder.

He says good bye and opens the door for a young girl to walk in. She is carrying a bag and a tray, she smiles and walks up to my bed. She exudes Capitol culture, her hair canary yellow and its twisted up with cotton candy pink flowers. She has small pink flowers, like a cherry blossom tree tattooed on her arm. It is quite lovely against her soft light brown skin.

"My name is Blossom, I'm going to get you dressed and ready to go." She smiles.

I offer a small smile, but even that is forced, I just didn't want to be mean to this nice girl. After a painful struggle to get me standing and zipped into a pale buttery cream colored dress. It is feminine and gives me shape despite the weight I've lost again. Something about the dress and the soft delicate precision I see in it feel familiar. Blossom is finishing up a very natural make-up except for the smoldering eyes she's created for me.

"Who made this dress?" I whisper, I notice how frail and alien my voice sounds.

She smiles, "I think you know that answer."

I do, Cinna made this. I am about to cry again as I think of my beloved designer. I turn to Blossom and I think she sensed my next question.

"I'm his daughter. He showed me this dress, he made it for you before he died. He told me that if I ever had the chance to style you, it was imperative that you wear this dress. He said that one day the girl on fire would need this dress. He said that after the flames have extinguished and the destruction is done there is room for new life and new hope."

I can't even process it all, and what she has said is exactly true. The rich pure color reminds me of soft glowing hope of a new day. I reach out and hug her, it's all I can do because even thank you is not enough. I decide because I couldn't say no to something so perfect from Cinna that I would not complain about the high heels to match the dress.

"I must go now, I'm really glad I got to meet you." She smiles and takes in her creation on my body.

"Thank you, Blossom. Really… I just can't even describe how much this means to me." I say as I can imagine Cinna saying twirl for me.

I slowly spun around and Blossom smiles, "That just made it complete."

She waves goodbye and next comes in a guard, "Miss Everdeen, please follow me."

In light of Cinna occupying my mind, I have forgotten the fact that I may have just been healed and dressed up to killed. I slowly follow the guard and try to ignore the two other than have joined the escort behind me. I was risk still, I was unpredictable and I was still a criminal. Each step jarred my ribs in the most unpleasant way. I was lead outside to a hovercraft and a man waiting by the ladder. He looked fairly important.

I stood before him not sure what to do since he was probably the one to kill me.

"Mrs. Everdeen, you're successful win in the 76th games has eliminated your criminal status. I hope that with the lesson you have learned here you will not revert to criminal behavior. If you shall, repeat offenders will not be given this option. Death will be the punishment that awaits you if you fall back to your criminal ways. As head gamemaker I pardon your criminal status, you are henceforth a free citizen of Panem."

I don't know who he is but I would very much like to hit him. He is speaking to me like I am unworthy of his attention. I want to leave immediately, I have just met the man who tortured me in the games. I am supposed to let it go and thank him for pardoning me. Did he expect me to say thank you and profess that I am forever in his debt. He will get no such thing from me. I grab onto the ladder and ascend into the craft. This time I am not chained to a wall. I am allowed to sit comfortably.

The Capitol is disappearing in the background, and finally I can let myself realize I won't be dying today. I am going back to 13, but most importantly I am coming back to Peeta. He is my home, and my everything. I close my eyes and think back to the hallucinated dreams of myself and Peeta. Even through the dreams the arena flashes back into my mind. It makes me cringe and my body trembles. I'm haunted by the faces of those I killed and the ones I couldn't help. I already suffered from nightmares of my other games, and the deaths of my father and sister. It seems that even now, as a free citizen I am held prisoner in my own mind.

I feel the craft land, and instantly my heart begins to race. I don't know what to expect, all I hope is that Peeta is okay. The pilot opens the hatch and lets me descend the ladder first. My feet touch the tarmac and in the distance I see one person. I can't make out who it is, so I slowly make my way to whoever it is.

I break into a sprint I will no doubt regret later, "Haymitch!" I cry out.

He stands with a smile on his face and his arms out stretched. I hug him ignoring the throb in my ribs again.

"Sweetheart… you did it." He sighed and places a gentle kiss on my temple. "I am so proud of you."

I'm crying now, "Haymitch… you could have gotten in trouble by giving me that clue!"

"It'll be our little secret, Mockingjay." He smiles, and wipes the tears off my face.

He guides me toward the door to go back into the depths of 13. I can't say that I am happy to be here after all these people decided that I must be punished by return to the hunger games. If more of them had known what it was like to live through the games once, I bet they would have chosen death before going back again. Or for the fact, going back a third time I can guarantee none of them would ever do that.

"Where is everyone?" I ask, but mostly all I want to know is where Peeta is.

"Dinner I suppose…"

We end up at the dining hall and Haymitch opens the door for me. Inside is everyone still alive who cares about me. I stare into the faces of Gale, my mom, Annie, Beetee, among other of 13 who have never wronged me.

I search and don't find Peeta anywhere. I bury my disappointment inside and rush inside to my mother. She holds me and we cry. We cry for Prim and the horrors she had to watch me live through a 3rd time. Gale hugs me tightly and seems to only be concerned with how I am feeling. The last thing I want to talk about is how I feel. It feels great to find support in my friend and family here, but one big portion is missing. I know it and so does everyone else. I find some of my appetite and go to make a tray of food. I am alone in the line when I hear all background noise stop. I turn around and find the one person I want most standing in the middle of the room. Eyes are trained on him then on me. They don't know who to watch first. Some people in the room know how Peeta and I really feel, but more only know the semi-faked romance of the star-crossed lovers of District 12.

My tray falls to the floor is a resonating clatter. I sprint toward him as he does the same. Somewhere in the middle I melt into his arms. His strong body cradles my own in the embrace I was desperate for. His eyes find mine, and I've lost all control. I kiss him, reveling in the wonderful feeling of it all. His hands pull me closer to him yet, as our kiss deepens. I've become unaware of the audience we have, the only that matters to me in the boy I'm in love with.

I had to breathe eventually, I painfully break away and lift my hands to his face feeling it to make sure this is real.

"Real." He smiles.

"Peeta…" I whisper.

"You came back to me." He sighs and kisses me again.

I smile and break for air, "Peeta… I love you."