Disclaimer: I do not own The Hunger Games or Alice in Wonderland.

Thank you to NKubie for pre-reading and my beta, Vintagejgc. Both of the ladies have been just plain awesome- they helped me brainstorm, shook their pom poms and held my hand. Love you both!

Chapter Two: Drink Me

I hear singing. It's me, my voice soft and pretty as I lull Prim to sleep.

Deep in the meadow, under the willow

A bed of grass, a soft green pillow

Lay down your head, and close your sleepy eyes

And when again they open, the fire will rise.

My eyes flutter open when I realize that I'm not with Prim. I'm not in District twelve anymore. I'm in the hunger games, fighting for survival.

Well...that's where I should be. Not falling down this hole, not floating peacefully with my reaping dress billowing under my hands. I notice my skin is adorned with leaves, one for each sting and I let out an "oomph," as I land on my behind.

I think of Rue, how she showed me the tracker jacker nest. Was she responsible for the healing leaves on my arms? Where is she now? Where is Peeta? Did he escape the Careers or is he one of them?

My thoughts are interrupted by a rustling in the leaves. My head pops up and I gasp. The white rabbit!

Peeta?

I follow as he races through the trees, crying in frustration when he makes his way under the thickets. I can't fit under them and have to fight my way through the thick brush, the bow and arrow at my back no help in this situation.

I emerge and spy just the tip of his puffy white tail disappearing behind a door leading inside a tree. How curious, I think before making my way there. Is this some sort of hiding place?

Could this be a trap?

I hear angry shouts of the Careers from behind me and I realize that it is too late to doubt this. I have to keep moving! I open the door and push my way in. Before me is a tunnel that I am just small enough to crawl through. I hear the pitter patter of little paws hitting the earth and I move into the darkness, toward the sound, hoping that what finds me at the end is an ally.

For a long time I crawl on my hands and knees, sweat dripping from my brow. The tunnel gradually becomes wider and taller. Finally I can stand and run, but I'm confused as I find myself in a long, low hall with a single tiny door at the end. One that the white rabbit just scuttled through.

"Wait!" I cry, rushing toward the door and kneeling beside it. This won't work. I'm much too big to get through! With a defeated sigh I sit back and try to regroup. My first thought is that I need to go back from where I came but I can't. There is no tunnel, just this stupid tiny door. I'm trapped in this place, closing my eyes and willing myself not to cry. I must think. There has to be some way out of here...

When I open my eyes, I have to blink a few times; to be sure what I'm seeing is real.

A small parachute floats toward me; it's carrying a small silver pot. I rise to catch it, suddenly excited. A gift from a sponsor! Inside is a dark chocolate confection that has 'eat me' scrawled in orange frosting and there is also a little bottle with a strange purple liquid inside, the words, 'drink me' etched on the glass.

I reach for my throat, my thirst severe. I uncorked the bottle and sip it greedily. With each sip I taste something different, something pleasant and satisfying. Cherry tart, roast turkey, pineapple! I'm so engrossed in this much needed sustenance that I drop the bottle in surprise when I begin to shrink down. I gasp as I compare myself to the door. I'm just the right size!

I reach for the handle but it won't turn. To my utter shock the door knob laughs at me, its voice strange… familiar yet taunting. "I forgot to tell you. I'm locked!"

"No," I whisper, recoiling as the door knob continues to chuckle. The sound is warm; it's rich and comforting; it sounds like home.

It grins, raising a playful brow. "But of course, you've got the key, so..."

"What key?" I ask patting my dress, which suddenly doesn't have any pockets.

"Now don't tell me you've left it up there!" The doorknob says, making a tsk tsk sound. "You're slipping Catnip. You've got to stop getting yourself in trouble."

I gaze upward and there on a giant glass table is a key. But I'm so small now that there is no way I can reach it. I groan and look at the Doorknob that has Gale's voice. "Try the chocolate, it should make you bigger."

I blink, hesitating, shaking as I reach for the silver pot. I carefully bite into the chocolate and squeak as I begin to grow larger. A few more nibbles and I'm big enough to take the key in hand and unlock the door. But, of course, I am once again too big to fit through it. I can't stop my watering eyes, the frustration of this place makes me weary, makes me cry. I break down and I can't stop. I'm a blubbering mess, a sea of ravenous tears fall and surround me. I've cried an ocean of tears and now I'm drowning.

Not how I thought I would go out in the arena. I cry harder in defeat.

I hear a cannon. Is it Rue? Is it Peeta? I can't bear the loss of either. I can barely hear Gale call my name.

"Catniiiiiiip!" His scream turns to a gurgle, sputtering on my tears, "The bottle! The bottle!" He manages before he is submerged.