"Cole no!" Katniss shrieked. The eight year old didn't understand why he killed himself. She didn't understand why he couldn't live. "Cole!" The girl cried. "And the victor of the 72nd Annual Hunger Games is Katniss Everdeen: The Spark of Panem!" Seneca Crane announced as a helicopter extended a ladder down to claim the child.
"Haymitch," Katniss cried as she woke up. "You did it, Sweetheart," he said, throwing the child into a hug. "I want my daddy!" She cried. There was a tense atmosphere in the room. Katniss Jade Everdeen wasn't supposed to live. President Snow had thrown the then seven year old girl into the arena to punish her father for attempting to rebel. He made the man watch as her name was reaped and nobody volunteered, then he killed the man in front of her. She was meant to die, but she survived. There was no telling what would happen now.
"You know her, you love her, please welcome Little Miss Katniss Everdeen: THE SPARK OF PANEM!" Caesar announced as Katniss skipped onto the stage. "So Katniss, how does it feel to be the youngest victor of all time?" Caesar asked. "Amazing!" She squealed, as she was expected to. She was supposed to be adorable, Haymitch told her, she was expected to be young and innocent. Innocent Capitol children don't cry over the Hunger Games so neither should she.
"Where are we going?" Katniss asked her mentor. "We're going to see President Snow," Haymitch answered for the fifth time that day. The eight year old was growing home sick and wanted nothing more than to go back to her district to be with Prim, her mother, or the Hawthorns. "I wanna go home," she whined. "We'll be there soon enough," Haymitch told her. "But I wanna go now," Katniss whined. Haymitch sighed, not in the mood to deal with another tantrum from the child. He shushed her and continued to drag the child to the President's office.
"When we get there, you'll need to be on your best behavior, alright?" He asked. Katniss nodded her head. "You'll do everything he says, alright, like a good girl," he continued. "Yes Haymitch," Katniss answered, boredly. Haymitch groaned, half wishing Cole were here to help reign the girl in. Unfortunately, the seventeen year old had made a vow to get the child out of the arena, leaving Haymitch alone with the freshly turned eight year old. She celebrated her eighth birthday on the last day of her games.
Not much longer they arrived at the office door. "Katniss, this is President Snow," Haymitch introduced as soon as the aforementioned man noticed them. "Take a seat," he ordered them. Shooting Katniss a look, Haymitch and the girl both sat down in front of the president. "Before we start with our meeting, I heard that someone celebrated their birthday in the arena," Snow said in mock cheeriness, "Happy Birthday Miss Everdeen." Katniss smiled proudly as she said, "I'm eight now!" The president barked up a laugh at the childishness as he said, "Congratulations." Katniss tuned out the rest of the meeting in favor of staring at the items on the President's desk. "I'll see you tomorrow Mr. Abernathy, and I'll see you at the ceremony Miss Everdeen."
"Mitchie, what's the ceremony?" Katniss asked as Effie tried fruitlessly to get the girls to sit still. "Sit still so Cinna can fix your hair," Haymitch the child. "What's the ceremony," Katniss asked again. "I'll tell you when you sit down," Haymitch attempted to bargain. "I'll sit down once you tell me," Katniss shot back, glaring at the man as best she could. Their staring match was broken by the sound of laughter. Finnick Odair and Cashmere Nicholo had unknowingly snuck into the pent house to watch a glimpse of the youngest victor. "Mitchie?" Katniss asked, confused. "Meet Finnick Odair and Cashmere Nicholo," Haymitch introduced them. "Hello there, Kitty," Finnick greeted. "I'm not Kitty, I'm Katniss," the child protested. "It's a nickname, Sweetie," Cashmere. "Oh," she pouted, "If you call me Kitty, can I give you a nickname?" She asked them. "You can call me anything you'd like, Kitty," Finnick told her. "I'm going to call you Finny, and you're Cash," She announced. The adults cooed at her as she gave them their nicknames.
"Can you let Cinna do your hair now?" Haymitch asked her. "What's the ceremony?" Katniss asked sitting down. "The Ceremony is when they make you an official victor, they give you a crown-" "-Like a princess?" She gushed. "Exactly like a princess," Effie answered. The child grinned at the prospect of having her own tiara like a princess did. Haymitch continued to tell her about the Victory Celebration.
"Katniss sit still," Effie said for the millionth time as the child wiggled again. Haymitch groaned. He was not meant to deal with children. He didn't have the temperament for it. President Snow made it clear that he was to keep the girl innocent. The Capitol citizens were obsessed with her adorable nature. He also warned that a certain brand of his closer friends were obsessed with her for much darker reasons, and if anyone screwed he wouldn't hesitate to oblige them. Katniss would be used against all of the victors. That was both her punishment for surviving and their punishment for not trying hard enough to kill her off. It was cruel, she would be raised to enjoy her time in the Capitol. He would be forced to ensure that she remained blissfully unaware of the misdeeds of their president while he continued to hurt her.
"Congratulations to Miss Katniss Everdeen: The Youngest Victor of All Time: Panem's Little Princess!" President Snow announced. The old man hadn't been much of a fan of her original nickname once the rebels started whispering. He needed a way to make them see that she was his, Katniss Jade Everdeen belonged entirely to the Capitol. He smiled in satisfaction as the little girl twirled for the citizens of the Capitol. "Yes," he thought, "Katniss Everdeen is mine."
