Hi, all how was your Thanksgiving or Black Friday. The official Holidays have begun...so I hope you can settle down for a little break...Happy Reading...

PS I don't own the Hunger games...


Cashmere stood facing Snow. The handsomely decorated Captain's quarters was plush with riches plundered by Snow's vicious fury. A small chest filled with treasure sat in a corner, the gold coins and brightly colored gems twinkled in the sunlight. Ornate handcrafted chairs were positioned about the room strategically. A large massive mahogany with another Pirates name carved into the relief's sat in the middle of the chamber. Seeing the spoils the man gained by killing the innocent and those not so pure souls, reminded Jo, just how dangerous Snow was.

Jo overheard the conversation from her hidden spot in the boat. This morning she'd flown to the lookout point and waited until the Skull's Majesty landed. The ship was severely damaged, and in the chaos of getting the ship repaired, Jo snuck on board slowly trailing after the only man on the ship that could take her to Cashmere.

Her suspicions were correct the Fairy was working with Snow.

Snow softly hissed questions and orders like a snake. He interrogated Cashmere about Katniss and the power of the fairies. It intrigued Jo to hear the Capitan ask about how Katniss got the ship to the shores of Never Island. She carefully took notes of what her fellow excommunicated Fairy stated and Snow's reactions.

It was true, no one but Cashmere could make the ship fly without faith or trust. Cashmere used the forbidden magic, a wilder primitive outlawed magic. In the predawn ages of mankind, the Fairy Guild decided not to base their power on this source. Cashmere used own power ability to create Fairy Dust. The Alchemist Fairies were entrusted with the knowledge of the ancient ways, and Cashmere was of their class. She used those dark forces (fear driven by anger) within her to create her blend of Fairy Dust that allowed her to do wonders. The magic was wild and hard to control. It could drain a Fairy of their light and caused extension.

Jo briefly relied on this to survive before Katniss showed up in her life. It nearly destroyed her. The Guild used the belief in each other to survive making the collective a safe haven. However, the nothing compared to the blind faith and trust of a child or human that pure of heart. Anger Jo discovered was powerful and hard to control. Jo could see how much Cashmere's internal fury diminished her beauty. She looked weathered, a pale shadow of her former glory.

She still commanded attention even as Snow yelled at her. Cashmere was unafraid of the Captain; she gave as good-as-she-got against Snow. He bellowed and threatened her to annihilate her. Cashmere silently stood her ground.

The stalemate lasted for a long time before Cashmere eventually acquiesced to him. Snow walked out slamming the door. The things in the room, not bolted down, shook with the force.

Jo waited until the Capitan left before, she concentrated on Cashmere. She'd been worried about how to reach the other Fairy. After listening to the exchange, Jo felt hope. Hope was the one thing that destroyed fear. A little hope went a long way, and Captain Snow understood this better than anyone else. She was going to use this to spur her arguments.

Jo watched Cashmere's shoulders slump downward. Cashmere sat on the surface of the desk. Her glow seemed to spark and then dim. It signified she was at the end of her life.

"I hate you, Snow," Cashmere spat.

Jo listened carefully.

"UGH that poor little girl, she's gone from her family's side," Cashmere whispered in a sad voice. She wiped her face. "Why couldn't you say no to him?" Cashmere continued her talk with herself. "I'll tell you why because you're a vain creature who wants to live. But is living worth selling your sense of goodness so that a murderous, vindictive man can carry out his plans? Is this worth it?"

Jo made her presence known.

"I thought you were a myth," Jo said flying out toward Cashmere.

Cashmere looked up startled to see another of her kind. She wiped her face, and instantly it hardened. "Who are you?"

"I'm Jo, another outcast like you," Jo said flying to sit next to her.

Cashmere wiped her face. She bitterly said, "Well take a good look at me."

Jo remained silent there were many things she could have spoken, things that were mean but she refrained. It was not an easy position Cashmere found herself involved. She couldn't fly. She couldn't defend herself, she needed Snow, he was the only one who kept her alive. Cashmere's dependency on his belief was no longer a motivating factor in helping him.

"What have nothing to say?" Cashmere stood and crossed her arms.

"I'm not judging." Jo didn't move; she learned long ago from Katniss that to catch a prey you needed to be still and not move until it was necessary.

Cashmere looked at Jo in the face trying to see if her statement was true. It was, Jo was not judging the Fairy. There were circumstances most likely out of her control that pushed the Fairy to do things that were beyond her comfort zone.

"What do you want?" Cashmere asked at last.

"I want to give you, what no one else has given you, including the Fairy Guild," Jo said.

"What is that?" Cashmere said sotically, but Jo could hear the curiosity behind the cynicism.

"A second start," Jo said. She'd been listening to Peeta and Katniss speak in woods about second chances. Jo's respect for the boy Katniss had chosen, grew. It wasn't easy starting over again, and if anyone on this island understood that, it was Jo. She was tossed out of the Guild and condemned to a solitary life until her light sparkled out.

But she was given a second chance the moment she'd met Katniss on that beach. Had she'd left Katniss alone to die, she would have never known there was more to life than pain and hurt. With Katniss, she'd had grand ventures they'd done things on one on the island had done before.

She was now offering it to Cashmere. "I was given a second start at life with Katniss. I've lived a life no has ever had. I'm giving it to you now, to do something noble to prove that you are more than just what Snow wants out of you."

Cashmere plopped down heavily on the desk. "I no longer want to serve him. He is a malevolent being who needs to be stopped. He stole an innocent child."

"I know," Jo said. "The little girl is the niece of the boy Katniss left the island for. She wants to grow up and have children."

"You let her go?" Cashmere was shocked.

"Yes, I did," Jo said. "It's her life to live. She loves him." Jo shrugged. "It was a hard thing to do, but in the end, it was the best decision."

By the skeptical look on Cashmere's face, it was evident she did not understand human emotions. "What is love?"

"Love is sacrificing yourself for the sake of another. Love is letting someone go for the good of their person. Love is never boastful, and it doesn't hate. Love is hopeful, and it's one of the most beautiful parts of people. When two humans come together and join in love, their baby's first laugh is what creates us. The combination of the love expressed by the parents and the joy of the child creates a Fairy." Jo had looked to Cashmere before she continued. "You were created from that love, and so was I. I never understood it until I saw Katniss and Peeta together."

"Love," Cashmere whispered.

"I am offering you a second chance Cashmere, an opportunity to know love, a chance to do the right thing." Jo urged. She did not know if Cashmere would accept her invitation.

"I want a second start," Cashmere confirmed. "How do I get it?"

"First we have to sink the ship," Jo said.

Cashmere asked incredulously, "How?"

"Well the boys they like to play with fire, but I have a different idea." Jo winked mischievously.

"What are you thinking?" Cashmere grinned.

"Tick, Tock, Tick Tock, Snow's afraid of a big ol'Crock," Jo sang as she flew above trailing a brilliant light behind her. It sparkled in the darkened room, and Cashmere's reflected the radiance in the irises of her eyes.

"I like the way you're thinking." Cashmere said, "But I can't fly."

"I can, and I know where we can find Coin," Jo said extending her hand.

Cashmere laughed as Jo dusted her. Her wings fluttered with life. "Let's go find that ol' crocodile."

"Lets," Jo agreed as she held the hand of Cashmere.

Together they left.