The bonding between Katniss and Peeta is complete. However, in the Future, Haymitch made his appearance to Snow and now Haymtich has to act quickly if he wants to preserve the future.

I do not own the Hunger Games

The Future

On the island of the Olvidos Haymitch cursed under his breath, furious with himself. He'd let his anger get away from him and had given away his element of surprise. Everything that came before was erased as this new reality formed. Haymitch had to change the original plan quickly. The Prince and the King looked at him expectantly, waiting for him to do something more. Haymitch did not speak, he needed to regroup.

"CRANE!" Snow yelled from below.

They could hear the unease of the horses as they moved around in the silent night.

Haymitch needed to get down quickly.

"Haymitch!" King Daniel exclaimed as Haymitch walked by him, his staff made a clicking sound as it made contact with the stone floor.

"Right, follow me," Haymitch said as he briskly walked from the gatehouse wall to the stairs. He walked down the stone stairs to the bailey. When he reached the bailey Haymitch noticed the bedlam as people ran to and from the castle.

Haymitch walked toward the center of the bailey needing to concentrate and center himself. The castle was behind him. There were two gates, the one to the north of him was the smaller gate that led to the trading village. The one directly to his left was the larger gatehouse where Snow and Crane lay just beyond the moat.

"What are we going to do?" Ryker asked.

Haymitch opened his eyes. The Prince and King Daniel stood before him, he could see the dread in their eyes.

"Where is the lad?" King Daniel demanded.

"Fletcha is gone," Ryker said.

"Gone?" King Daniel cried. "Where is the lad? He is the only one who can save us!"

As the King spoke there was a large explosive sound. The ground shook violently, nearly knocking down all three men. Some people were knocked to the ground. The sound of a child crying in the background.

"The lad is on a mission, all is not lost," Haymitch calmly said.

"The only reason I allowed you to stay within our city walls was because of the lad." The King was visibly upset.

"King Daniel you must calm down, it does no one good to see you upset," Haymitch replied.

"What are you going to do to save us until the child of Eragon of Everdeen comes back?"

"I have a plan."

"Fine what is it?"

"First you must calm and gather your people, get them to stand on the walls to make it look like there is more of an army present."

The King nodded and left. Haymitch could hear the King take command of the situation.

Turning to the Prince, Haymtich said, "You need to go up to the wall, the men look up to you as much as your father for guidance. If they see that you are calm then they will be calm. We cannot show Snow or his army that we are shaken by this."

"You're right," Ryker responded and headed up back to the wall.

Haymitch looked around the bailey. His instinct was to get on that wall and see what was going on. Nonetheless, he had to first make his way to the large wooden gates. Lifting his hands he waved them as he began enchanting a protective spell. He needed the gatehouse and the walls to hold for the night.

"Supplementum Et Etiam Custodire," Haymitch said, a blue wave left his staff and wrapped around the structure.

Finished, Haymitch took a deep breath. He felt slightly drained from the amount of magic he just performed. The night was still not finished, he looked up to the heavens noticing a few clouds gathering. He sniffed the air and was able to sense the lightning. He could use nature without exhausting his energy.

Haymitch picked up his pace needing to get to the wall. The ground shook beneath Haymitch's feet as he climbed toward the top. He held on as rubble fell around him. The wall groaned and the ground shook as the doors rocked. The men and women on the wall were looking at their King for reassurance. Haymitch could hear the King and the Prince ordering the armed men and those who were not armed to keep a brave face.

"Are they using a catapult?" King Daniel asked.

"No, it's a ball of fire," a terrified soldier whispered.

Haymtich looked over the side watching as Crane created a large red ball of energy. It wasn't fire but to the untrained eye, it looked like a ball of flames. Fire was an element that could not be tamed easily. The gift for taming one of the four elements was extremely rare and Haymitch had never met one person, though there were rumors.

Below Seneca launched the large red energy ball at the massive wooden doors. It occurred to Haymitch the more magic Crane used the weaker he became. It was a gamble to try to destroy the door. He was glad that he had reinforced the gatehouse doors with a protection spell.

"Sire the door cannot handle such feats of magic," one of the guards said to King Daniel.

"Haymitch, do something!" Haymitch looked down from the wall at Snow and his wizard Crane. The man had lost his facial hair.

The solution was simple, he needed to waste Crane's energy. Above the night sky churned.

Haymitch lifted his hand and he could feel the charge of power as he drew it from nature, right before he threw down another bolt of lightning on the ground where Seneca Crane stood.

The explosion caused Crane to fall to the ground.

Crane stood up and locked his gaze with Haymitch. Haymich drew from nature once more creating a bubble of water to combat the fire Crane threw at him. Crane suddenly stopped and fired a pure magical shaft of power at Haymitch. Haymitch did not fire back; he instead put up a defense shield, hoping this would tire the other wizard.

Crane slagged forward and Haymitch once more used the electricity in the air to strike at where Crane stood. The man flew in the air and landed near the horses. They skittered about braying. The riders were having a hard time controlling their mounts.

Crane slowly stood up, and Haymitch could tell he was weakened.

Snow looked up and Haymitch was sure the man spotted him.

Haymitch drew another thunderbolt and cast it in the direction of Snow's men. They scattered. Snow was having a hard time controlling his horse.

Haymitch summoned another thunderbolt and it sailed through the air and struck the other side. It caused them to retreat.

"HAYMITCH!" Snow yelled.

Haymitch chuckled, hearing the man's frustration. Next to him, Ryker's eyes were wider than a saucer.

Snow retreated.

"By Jove, you are a grand wizard," King Daniel said in awe.

"I just granted you two days to be able to fortify the palace and train people to fight," Haymitch said to King Daniel.

King Daniel nodded and walked away with his general. Ryker was left behind.

Two days was not a long period of time but it was time they needed to train and fortify the castle.

Haymitch headed up to his quarters. He didn't make it far as Ryker was waiting for him as soon as he entered the castle.

"You conjured lightning," Ryker said.

"What I did was a trick, and spooked the horses. The real bit of magic was to allow Crane to lose some of his power. He's going to need two days to recover."

"Were you born with this power?"

"It is as innate to me as breathing." Haymitch began walking away. He was tired and he wanted a drink but couldn't. He had to stay alert and the prince was rather annoying. He headed to his room and the prince followed him.

"Haymitch why aren't there more magical people?"

"Many have been hunted down and killed by Snow. The ones that have a mystical connection have kept quiet."

"Was Fletcha the same way?"

"Yes." Haymitch was glad he reached his door.

"What about Fletcha, do you think he will be able to kill Snow in the past?"

Haymitch sighed. "I hope so."

Ryker nodded. "The extra time will help him, won't it?"

Haymitch was surprised that the young prince had been able to discern the intent. "Correct, it'll give Fletcha time to be able to complete the mission."

"What if Snow dies what happens to us?"

"Everything will be fixed," Haymitch said. But in reality, he wasn't sure. Time was not on their side if Katniss couldn't complete her mission.

"In other words, the time that is now will no longer exist."

"Correct."

"What if Fletcha fails," Ryker asked the one question Haymitch did not want to answer.

Haymitch raised an eyebrow. "Do you wish to help?"

"Of course I do…everything I hold dear is at risk."

The dread that was on the lad's face was no longer there. Haymitch contemplated the young Prince. "It takes much more than just lack of trepidation."

"Do not treat me like my father. I am not a helpless child, I am a man," Ryker said through thin lips.

Haymitch could see a spark in the young man's blue gaze, something he had not seen before. Stunned Haymitch, narrowed his vision, wanting to make sure what he saw in the eyes of the young man was true.

The young Prince gripped the pommel of his sword as Haymitch walked around him. Haymitch could not believe he had missed this. There were unsubstantiated whispers, of a hidden family with an ancient talent that was thought to be lost to the ages. Haymitch had never considered thinking of the Mellark lineage until he saw the sign in the light of Ryker's eyes.

"Haymitch?"

"No need to worry," Haymitch said, crossing his arm across his chest. His mind worked furiously to amend the plan once more.

"What are you planning?"

"What do you know of your family's history?"

"We are descended from a noble house of valiant warriors. We came into power because the people willed it, much like King Arthur who was destined to be king. What more is there?"

"There is much more than what you've been told."

"Stop speaking in riddles, old magician," Ryker growled. "My family and my people are at risk."

"Your family has a proclivity for fire, which is unmatched."

Ryker looked puzzled.

"There something you can do to help defend your people?"

"There is?" Ryker said excitedly his eyes sparkled.

"Yes, though I must warn you…tis not an easy task."

"I shall be your most faithful student."

"Good. Come along there is much to do and only two days in which to enact our plan."

Authors Note:

Thank you to jroseley for coming to my rescue and for finding that colossal error - I always say that a good beta will always make you shine. So thank you for making me shine :)

From this point forward we will be transitioning back and forth from the Past where Katniss is to the Future - and so on and so forth.

Thank you for reading the previous chapter and for its warm reception.

Also, shout out to Dandelionlovesyou - for wondering about Ryker...hehe it made the story richer and I think better.

Translation Of Latin:

supplementum et etiam custodire = reinforce and protect