Well, this one is longer than the last one! :) That's good!
This chapter was kinda sad to write; you guys know that I love Seneffie as a friendship ship. I ended up having to stop halfway through Effie's breakdown because I started crying! :P Oh dear!
I hope you guys like this chapter, and don't cry as much as I did! :)

Effie

The next few days were agony for Haymitch and I. Katniss and Peeta were kept under close observation in the infirmary, and we weren't allowed to go and see them.

However, I could tell that something more than that was bothering Haymitch. He kept staring off into space, thinking about something. When I asked him what was wrong, he wouldn't reply, or he would insist that nothing was wrong.

That wasn't the worst of my problems either. I decided to visit Seneca two days after the kids won, to thank him for keeping them both alive, and to apologize for my outrageous behaviour a week ago. It was so wrong of me to accuse him of being a murderer; it was his job after all, and he did a wonderful thing by letting both of them win. I had to thank him.

When I reached his apartment, however, I could tell that something was seriously wrong. Avoxes were coming out of the building with furniture and possessions; who they belonged to was a mystery to me until an Avox walked past me with a box, and in the top of the box was a picture frame with Seneca and I in it. It was when we were children, and we had dressed up as a prince and princess for Halloween. Only Mother, Seneca, and I had a copy of that picture.

Without hesitation, I ran into the apartment and up to the penthouse, where the Head Gamemaker's apartment was, and where Seneca had stayed for the last three years. It was almost empty when I got up there, panting. A man who I did not recognise was standing in the middle of the room, surveying the room.

"Excuse me. What is going on?" I asked, making myself known.

The man turned to me, and I still didn't recognise him. He had jet back hair and a serious expression on his gaunt face.

"You must be Miss Trinket, District Twelve's escort. It is a pleasure to meet you." The tone of his voice didn't convey any pleasure, but I took his word for it.

"Yes, I am. And who are you?"

"Rodric Castelle, apartment renovator. I've been hired to get this room ready for the new Head Gamemaker." He said, nonchalantly.

"New Head Gamemaker? What are you talking about?" I exclaimed. He wasn't making any sense; Seneca is the Head Gamemaker.

Castelle turned around to face me again, confusion written on his face. "You mean you don't know? Where have you been for the past day?"

"I've been looking after my tributes – I mean, my victors. What don't I know?" This man was seriously getting on my nerves.

"The old HG, Seneca Crane, is dead. President Snow wasn't very happy with the fact that both of your tributes won, so he executed Crane. They kept it under wraps, but I would have assumed that you had heard about it, being the escort for Twelve and all. And being Crane's friend." He picked up another photo of Sen and I lying on the floor and held it up, as if in confirmation.

But that didn't matter. I didn't hear anything after "executed". Sen is dead? He couldn't be.

"You're lying, he's not dead." I insisted.

"Right, so he's just moving house? No, Miss Trinket, Crane is dead. Ask the President yourself, if you really want." And with that, Castelle left, handing me the picture as he went.

I looked down at the picture. It was of Sen and I on my twentieth birthday, ten years ago. We both looked so young, the picture of a perfect friendship. Who could have known that after ten years, it could have been shattered?

Looking at his face, his perfect, handsome face that I loved so much, made tears spill from my eyes. This couldn't be happening! My best friend couldn't be dead, he just couldn't!

I dropped to the floor, my arms cradling the picture, and my eyes spilling over with tears. I kept waiting for everything to be okay, for the apartment to not be empty, for Seneca to find me on the floor and wrap me in his arms, telling me everything would be okay. I longed for his smell, his oh so recognisable smell. But the longer I stayed there, without any of those things, the more I realised that it wasn't going to happen. My best friend really was dead, and I had had a hand in killing him.

I did have a hand in killing him. My kids were the reason that Seneca was dead. Katniss' actions spurred Seneca to let them both live, therefore signing his death sentence.

Suddenly, I remembered the last thing that I said to my best friend.

"I'm sick of you insulting District Twelve and Haymitch! Twelve is my District, and Haymitch is a good man! A better man that you'll ever be!"

"How is he better than me? Please enlighten me."

"At least he's not a child murderer!"

That last sentence stung me. How could I have told him that? My last words to him were calling him a murderer. Guilt ran through me; how could I have done that?

I see the look on his face as I said that in my mind; how hurt he looked. He probably died in the knowledge that his best friend hated him.

"I don't hate you!" I screamed, sobbing. I couldn't get any other words out, the sobs took over my body.

I don't know how much time past until the person found me and helped me up. Time seemed to blur as I mourned over the death of my friend. The person helped me to walk, and then handed me over to the Peacekeepers. In any normal situation, I would be scared, but I could care less what happened to me. I am guilty. I am a terrible person.

Haymitch

Effie had gone out, I don't know where, and I was sitting on the sofa, watching reruns of old TV shows.

I had gone out earlier to ask about Peeta and Katniss' health. They had told me that both of them were okay, and had asked me to approve a surgical procedure that would add more curves to Katniss, after she had lost so much weight in the arena. I refused to let them give Katniss bigger breasts or anything; it was unnatural and I wasn't going to let the Capitol make Katniss one of them. They insisted that they didn't want her to look malnourished on television, so Cinna had come up with a compromise, putting padding in her interview dress.

I was still furious from the argument, flipping through channels and drinking whiskey by the bottle. It was nice to drink again.

Suddenly, two Peacekeepers stormed into the apartment, one of them propping up a delirious looking Effie. I was instantly alert and concerned, but I realised that I couldn't seem that concerned.

"What did she do this time?" I asked, not caring.

"Avoxes found her in the Head Gamemaker's apartment. We had to move her out."

That was all they said, as the Peacekeeper holding Effie let her go, presuming that she could stand. As they turned to leave, Effie's legs gave way and she fell over.

I had to resist the urge to run to her until I heard the door shut. Only then, I launched over to her and helped her up.

Tears were running down her face and smearing her makeup all over her face. Snot was smeared over her face too, mixing with the makeup. She was sobbing heavily, the ugly kind of crying.

"Effie, shh. It's okay; I'm here. You're safe now." I didn't know what she was crying about, but I knew that she needed to feel safe, so she could open up to me.

"Sen… Seneca –" She broke off, her body racked with more sobs.

"What happened to him, Eff?" I took her into my bedroom so we could talk more freely.

"He's… he's… dead!" She shouted the last bit, and then collapsed into my arms, crying all over my shirt. Not that I cared anyway.

Crane was dead? I should have known that Snow wouldn't be very happy with him either. But to kill him, wasn't that a bit extreme? I immediately pushed that out of my mind; Snow would do anything to punish those who he thought had done him wrong. Take my family for example.

"He's dead, and it's my fault! I said horrible things to him, and now he's dead!" Effie burst out, and sunk into tears again.

"It's not your fault. Just because you said some bad things doesn't mean that you killed him. Snow killed him. That's the risk of being a Gamemaker, I guess." I held her close, rubbing her back and trying to get her to calm down.

After about an hour of continued crying, Effie eventually stopped. She took one look in the mirror and shrieked in horror, fleeing from the room. About five minute later, she came back natural, with her blonde hair curled down her back, and her nose and eyes red from crying. She sat beside me; her legs crossed, and told me what had happened earlier when she went to the HG apartment.

"I felt so guilty! I had said some terrible things to him before, and those were the last things I ever said to him. Seneca was my best friend, and I loved him. And yet he probably died thinking I hated him." A solitary tear dribbled down her cheek.

"Why did you say nasty things to him in the first place?" I asked.

"I was angry at him. He was making fun of you; and I couldn't hold my emotions in, and I just snapped. It was terrible of me to do."

"You stood up for me, what's so terrible about that?" I failed to see why Effie was so caught up over this.

"I… I called him a murderer. I spat right in his face, and then ran away. And that was the last thing I ever said to him." She picked at her fingers, more tears dribbling down her face.

I didn't know how to console her. I hated Crane; as far as I am concerned, he was a murderer, so Effie was right. But she wouldn't want to hear that.

"What's done is done, Eff. You can't change the past." I rubbed her back, and played with the ends of her hair.

"I know, but… I can't help thinking of what I should have done differently. I shouldn't have yelled at him, or called him a murderer. I should have gone to him before, to apologize. I could have reconciled with him. But now it's too late, and I can't do anything about it."

A hot tear dropped onto my hand, which was resting on her leg. I wiped it away, and then reached up to wipe the others away.

"I'm sorry, Eff. Nothing I can say can relieve your guilt. But Crane would forgive you. He can't be that heartless."

"He wasn't. He was the best friend anyone could ever have. But I can't help thinking that he would still hate me. I said horrible things."

Suddenly, there was a knock at the door outside. I got up to answer it.

A Peacekeeper was at the door.

"What is it now?" I snarled.

He held up a letter. "For Miss Trinket."

"I'll make sure that she gets it," I sneered, and then snatched it from him. Who on earth sent letters anymore?

"Who was that?" Effie asked when I returned.

"A Peacekeeper with a letter for you." I handed the letter over, and Effie stared down at it, confused.

"This is Seneca's handwriting…" She trailed off, ripping the envelope open. When she finally got it open, her eyes scanned the paper, flicking from one side to the other with amazing quickness.

As she reached the end of the letter, she gasped, and tears started spilling from her eyes again.

"Effie? What does it say?" I asked, wrapping my arms around her.

In answer, she handed the letter over, and went back to crying. After an awkward shift of my body so I was holding Effie whilst being able to see the letter, I read.

Dear Effie,

If this letter reaches you, I am most likely dead, and they've cleared out my apartment. In case you're wondering why I wrote this, I know that President Snow isn't very happy about me letting both of your tributes survive. It's not unlike him to kill anyone who annoys him.

I want you to know that I forgive you for what you said. I know that you always feel guilty when you've done anything wrong, and if I died without you apologizing to me, I know you'd beat yourself up about it for the rest of your life. I want you to live a happy life, without my ghost hanging over you. I know you didn't mean what you said; you were just stressed. What I said was out of line, and I deserved to get put in my place. Please don't feel guilty about it.

I also wanted you to know that I love you, Effie. I have loved you ever since we were about 7. But I know that you don't feel the same way, and that there was never anything more than friendship between us. Now that I am dead, nothing is going to happen! But I wanted you to know anyway.

I'm sorry for leaving you, Effie. If I could cheat death and come back to you, I would. Unfortunately, I can't do that. I'm sorry for that.

Please don't be hard on yourself because of our parting words, I know that you are sorry, and I forgive you.

I hope that Abernathy treats you with respect, and loves you as much as I do. Yes, I know. I see the way you look at him, and the way you defended him convinced me of your love for him. If he doesn't, I may have to haunt him. I'm kidding, of course.

I love you, Eff. I hope that you have a wonderful life. Live it for me, okay?

Always yours,

Seneca.

I look up from the letter to see Effie's reading it again, her eyes pausing on bits and mouthing them over and over again.

"Are you okay?" I asked.

She nodded twice, and then gently took the letter from me. "He forgave me." She whispers that, and then presses the letter to her chest, crying still.

"Of course he did." I wound my arms around her and let her cry into my chest. I knew what it was like to lose someone that you cared so much about. It hurt like hell. I just had to be there for Effie.

That night, we lay together on the bed, while she told me stories about her and Crane when they were children; the time when they dressed up as prince and princess for Halloween, or the time when they rescued a stray cat and took it to the animal shelter, or the time when some boys were bullying Crane, so Effie went to them and stomped on their feet and told them to leave him alone. That one made me laugh; the image of little blonde Effie stomping on the big kids' feet was amusing.

I listened to her talk animatedly and laugh about the good times in her past, and suddenly felt jealous that I couldn't have been a part of them. But that was a stupid thing to feel. Nothing I could do would change the past and put me in hers, so why wish it? It was stupid.

The next morning, we were woken to a knock on the door. I slipped out of my room and answered it, leaving Effie to hide.

A doctor was at the door.

"Are they okay?" I asked as soon as I saw him.

"Both of them are fine now. However, I have some things to discuss with you, Mr Abernathy. May I come in?"

I let him in, and saw Effie slip into her room out of the corner of my eye. The doctor sat on the sofa, and I sat across from him.

"Katniss is fine, we had to do some reconstructive work to her ear, but apart from that it was the usual body polish and surface work that was needed. But with Peeta, it was a lot more complicated. The tourniquet that Miss Everdeen put on his leg caused a lack of blood flow to his lower leg, and we had to amputate it. He has been fitted with a prosthetic leg now."

I'm shocked. I knew that Peeta's leg would need some work, but amputating it seemed a bit extreme!

"I didn't authorise you to perform that operation. Surely I should have been told before it took place." I growled, outraged.

At that moment, Effie walked into the living room, all Capitoled up. She beamed at the doctor. "Dr Julian, what a pleasure to see you! What are you two talking about?" She sat on the sofa between the doctor and I.

"Good morning Miss Trinket. You are looking well. I was just telling Mr Abernathy about the operation that we performed on Peeta Mellark's leg. We had to amputate it."

"Oh, the poor boy! I hope he's alright." Effie flapped her arms around and squealed.

"He's fine now. In fact, they'll both be fit to be released in about an hour, if you could all go down to see them. We are to release them separately, as they want to show their reunion on live television, so we shall release Mr Mellark first, and then Miss Everdeen. Meet them in the Remake Centre in an hour." With that, Dr Julian excused himself.

Effie looked at me, smiling. "We'll finally get to see them again!"

"Yes, princess. Let's just hope that they're alright."

After an hour, Effie and I had joined up with Cinna and Portia, and were waiting for Peeta to be escorted out. One of the doors down the hallway opened, and two Peacekeepers exited, their bodies posed and ready to catch the boy who walked between them, just in case he fell.

I could hear the prosthetic clunk of Peeta's leg on the floor, its irregular timing as he struggled to keep a rhythm. But when he saw us, that struggle was forgotten, as he smiled widely at us. Effie strode forward, and enveloped him in a hug.

"Well done, Peeta, you were fantastic." She squealed. Portia went forward to hug and congratulate him too, while Cinna and I hung back.

The ladies led Peeta forward towards us, and Cinna patted him on the back, congratulating him. Then it was my turn. Peeta looked at me expectantly.

"Well done, kid. You did well." I patted him on the back.

"Thanks." He smiled. "Did they buy it?"

I knew what he meant, and nodded. "Bought it all up. Just. Katniss didn't do much to help, but you carried the show."

He looked at me confusedly, but Portia spared me any awkwardness of having to tell him that it was all an act.

"Come on Peeta, let's go and get you ready for your interview." She wrapped her arm around him and tried to lead him away.

"What about Katniss?" Peeta asked me.

"You'll be reunited in the interview. The Capitol will want to see that." I gestured for him to go with Portia, and he did.

Cinna, Effie and I waited for Katniss to come out, not speaking. I found that my foot was tapping the floor, which was something that didn't happen often. I had started drinking more since the Games ended, so I knew it wasn't alcohol withdrawals. However, just to make sure, I took another swig of liquor, and got a glare from Effie in return.

Suddenly, we heard a frantic voice calling "Peeta!" and we know that it's Katniss.

"Katniss!" Effie calls out, and we see Katniss round the corner.

She sees us and starts running towards us. I expect her to run into Cinna's arms, and I know that he does too, as he opens his arms to her, smiling widely. However, she surprises us all when she launches herself at me. I'm not prepared for hugging her just yet, so there's a little awkward moment before my arms wrap around her and hold her. She's so small; she must have lost a lot of weight in the arena. Relief rises in me; I'm glad that she's alive. The Everdeens don't need any more loss in their family.

"Nice job sweetheart." I say, and it's not even sarcastic. She did a good job keeping the romance thing going, just. She also did a good job keeping herself and Peeta alive; even if it does cost quite a bit. I would have to tell her about the consequences of he actions at some point.

After everyone has congratulated Katniss, she notices Portia's absence. "Where's Portia? Is she with Peeta? He is all right isn't he? I mean, he's alive?" She blurts out.

"He's fine. Only they want to do your reunion live on air at the ceremony." I confirm, and I can see the relief in her eyes.

"Oh. That's all. I guess I'd want to see that myself." She smiles at me.

I pat her on the shoulder. "Go on with Cinna. He has to get you ready."

Katniss and Cinna went off together, and I turned to Effie, who had tears in her eyes.

"They actually survived. We have two victors." She sniffed, wiping away tears.

We had some time to ourselves to get ready for the grand unveiling later. Cinna had laid out a suit for me to wear, complete with red dicky bow. I couldn't be more repulsed.

Effie, however, looked gorgeous in Portia's creation, a red and yellow dress that sparkled like fire. It was obviously to go with the whole fire theme.

We watched recaps for a while, and then at 5, I made us go downstairs, with the excuse that Katniss and Peeta would be down there by now.

And I was right. As soon as we get below the stage, I see the makeshift wall on the platform, and see the prep team crowding around Peeta. Portia is fixing his suit.

"You go with Peeta for the moment, I've got to speak to Katniss." I move between the makeshift wall and the real wall, and find Katniss is standing alone. Cinna and the others must have gone already.

She looks pretty, in a canary yellow dress with her mockingjay pin pinned to it. I move up behind her and put my hand on her shoulder. She jumps and whirls, an alert look in her eyes. She must be still half in the arena still. It's not surprising.

"Easy, just me. Let's have a look at you." She twirls, giving me a view of her. "Good enough." I said.

"But what?" She asks.

Could I tell her now? There's no-one around. But something doesn't feel right. I make my decision quickly.

"But nothing. How about a hug for luck?" I stretch out my arms, and she walks into my embrace. As soon as she is positioned right, I clamp my arms around her, and whisper into her ear.

"Listen up. You're in trouble. Word is the Capitol's furious about you showing them up in the arena. The one thing they can't stand is being laughed at, and they're the joke of Panem." I whisper, and I feel her stiffening. She laughs, to keep up the act probably. Clever girl.

"So what?" She whispers.

"Your only defence can be you were so madly in love you weren't responsible for your actions." I pull away from her and adjust her hairband, it went a bit wonky during our embrace. "Got it, sweetheart?"

"Got it. Did you tell Peeta this?" She asked.

"Don't have to. He's already there." I know that the kid will have figured it out by our conversation earlier. He knows that they're in trouble.

"But you think I'm not?" She says incredulously, adjusting my bow tie. I hate these damn monkey suits.

"Since when does it matter what I think? Better take our places." I lead her over to the metal circle that will take her up to the stage. "This is your night, sweetheart. Enjoy it."

Suddenly, something possesses me, and I lean in, giving her a kiss on the forehead, before moving away to my place. I don't know what it was, but it dawned on me that I cared about Katniss and Peeta too. I don't know in what way, maybe a fatherly way. But I know that I care about them, and I don't want anything bad to happen to them because of this.

I stand on my metal circle next to Effie's. She smiles and asks me if Katniss is fine. I nod, and ask her about Peeta. She confirms that he is fine. And then we wait.

The anthem blasts out, and Flickerman greets the audience. He introduces the prep teams, and through the dim light I can just make out Cinna's prep team rising up onto the stage. Then, Eff is introduced. I smile at her as she rises, and can just see her plastering on a wide smile to greet the audience with. Then, Portia and Cinna are introduced, and they get a huge round of applause. A part of me hopes to get a large applause like that.

I needn't have worried. As I am raised onto the stage; which reminds me awfully of the day I was raised into the arena; the crowd cheers, and then starts stomping their feet in appraisal of me. I'm touched, despite my hatred of these people. I stand and wave, blinded by the lights and the bright colours of the people before me.

Then, Peeta and Katniss are announced, and they are raised onto the stage. They appear in front of me, a bit to the side. They take one look at each other and run to each other, clinging and kissing. Peeta stumbles a bit with his leg, but manages to hold her. I realise only then that he's holding a cane.

After a while of them kissing, Flickerman goes to break them up so they can get on with the show, but Peeta only shoves him away and goes back to kissing Katniss. I can't help but grin; they're really playing this up. Though Peeta probably wasn't playing.

After a couple more minutes, I break them up and push them towards the sofa. Katniss sits beside him, but it's not enough. I give her a stern look, telling her to adjust herself. She does so; curling up on the sofa with her head on Peeta's shoulder. That's better, I think. Much better.

I end up in the chair beside Effie's. Luckily, it's not a love seat like the kids', just two single chairs, but they're reasonably close. Effie looks across at me once, and gives me an encouraging smile. We both know what we're about to witness; one of the hardest parts of becoming a Victor is watching your Games for the first time.

Over the next three hours, we watch the replay. I can see the emotions playing on the kids' faces as they see their actions. It's a horrible thing to witness.

One thing I can see clearly is that they omit all moments of rebellion, like when Katniss covers Rue in flowers. I can tell that they wanted to omit the berry incident too, but that's a scene that can't be omitted. It's far too important. They're scared, I realise. They don't want to show the rebellious side of the Games on air, really. They had no choice the first time, but they can omit it now.

The three hours pass slowly, but then the video's over, and President Snow walks onto the stage with the crown. What's he going to do this time? There are two Victors, and one crown. But before I can think on it anymore, Snow twists the crown and it splits into two.

He smiles as he crowns Peeta, but as he crowns Katniss, he's glaring at her. It wasn't very surprising, really. She was the instigator of the whole berry incident, not Peeta.

After that, we're all whisked away to the Victory Banquet at President Snow's mansion. I've never been to one of these before, only the parties in other places. It's rather lavish, but I still can't help but be disgusted by the amounts of food and those disgusting vomit drinks that they have on offer.

Katniss and Peeta mingle with the Capitol people, and Effie goes off, talking to her friends. A couple of times, I see her eyes wander, looking expectantly for someone, and then realising that he won't be here tonight, or any other night.

I sit by myself at the bar, sometimes being congratulated by assorted colourful people, until one man comes and sits beside me.

"Hello, Haymitch." He says, and orders a whiskey.

"Plutarch. What a pleasant surprise." I raise my drink at him. "For what do I owe this honour?"

"I figured a crowded room would be the best place to talk to you. Come." He got his whiskey and got up. I followed him to the corner of the room and sat down. No-one was here, but the noise was still deafening.

"Your kids seem to have made a big impression." Plutarch said, drinking his whiskey.

"Yes, they have. They're impressive kids."

"It takes some impressive actions to lead Snow to execute one of his leading men. Crane will need replacing, and I doubt many people will want to take the job." He looked at me, a twinkle in his eye.

"Maybe you should take the job; swing the odds in your favour a bit." I say, grinning.

"Maybe. We'll have to see if Snow promotes me. I'm still up for this, you know. I haven't lost sight of the goal." His eyes lost the twinkle and became serious.

"I know, and so am I. Let's see what the Quell has to offer before we start making any rash decisions." I say, and then get up, leaving him alone there. We don't want to seem too friendly, I am supposed to hate him.

The rest of the night passes quickly. I spend most of the time at the bar or talking to various people.

By the time we get home, I usher Peeta off with Portia to try on his new suit, and stop Katniss from following him.

"Why can't I talk to him?" She asks, incredulous.

"Plenty of time for talk when we get home. Go to bed, you're on air at two." I shoo her off. I really don't want her talking to Peeta much, because I don't want them to discuss their impending danger, and I want her to find out about his leg live tomorrow. It'll be a good thing for the Capitol to see.

I find myself in bed with Effie, tired after a long day. She's half asleep after dancing with various people, but she says one thing before she goes to sleep.

"Next time we have one of these ball things, dance with me." She snuggles into me.

I want to protest; my dancing is horrendous, but instead, I simply say, "Of course, sweetheart. I'll dance with you."

I give her a light kiss on the forehead, and then let myself fall asleep next to her. That night, I dreamed of us dancing; her in a white gown and me in a suit. It was perfect.

-Bawls like a baby!- Why did Seneca have to die?
Anyways, I hope you liked this chapter! :D Next chapter will be the end of THG (I know I promised that last chapter, but it got too long to put into one chapter!)
Please review, it makes me happy and motivates me to write more! I didn't get many reviews on my last chapter, which made me sad :( Hopefully you guys will like this one more! :D
Have a lovely week! :) x