Peacekeepers: The 49th Annual Hunger Games

The Tree

Ev

He was almost an hour late to our spot. My feet dangled from the tree as I watched animals beneath me, unaware that I was even there. For almost an hour, I was vulnerable to anything. Peacekeepers, animals; I was certain one of them would find me and count on me to be their newest victim, but nothing came. Not even Mason.
What did President Snow want him for? The thought of the horrible stench of roses reeked in my mind for that entire time, and after a couple of minutes, I started to fear that Snow heard the things Mason and I said. I started to fear that he cut out Mason's tongue or worse. It didn't surprise me. Why else would President Snow come to see him? Mason wasn't anything special. He wasn't a victor, and he didn't have power. He was merely a mill worker.
I was certain he was dead.
But still, I waited for him, playing with the ring made of straw we gave each other to promise there was no one else. It was the closest thing to an engagement ring we could get, and the moment I turned eighteen, my job would be changed from berry picker to, most likely, child care. My pay would be raised, and Mason and I would have enough to pay the fine of legal marriage.
I heard a slight crunching of snow and leaves, coming towards me. It was heavy, too heavy to be a dear or even a hog. It had to be a person. I pulled my legs up cautiously, watching the ground for Peacekeepers.
And that's when a familiar head of dark hair appeared.
I relaxed, sighing and my shoulders slumping.
"You ass!" I called teasingly. Mason glanced up and smirked slightly.
"That's not a nice word, Miss Greenly." He said as he started to climb the tree.
"I've heard worse." I responded, moving over so he'd have room beside me. Mason kissed me with a wide smile, his eyes closing. I kissed back, but I kept my eyes open.
When he pulled back, I smiled.
"Things are going to be better for us, Eva," he whispered. "I promise."
"What did he want?" I blurted out.
"Sorry?"
"What did President Snow want with you?" I repeated. Mason's confusion turned into a wide grin. He reached into his pocket and dug around for a minute. "Mason?"
He pulled his hand out revealing a silver ring with the biggest diamond I'd ever seen on it. My eyes widened and I could feel my jaw drop open.
"M-Mason-" I started but he didn't let me finish before he slid our straw ring off my finger and slid on the new, expensive one.
"President Snow offered a trade." Mason explained. "He would allow me to marry you for a cheaper price, if I become a Peacekeeper."
My breathing stopped in my throat. I couldn't say anything for a minute. The idea of Mason becoming one of the people that kill for fun, the reasons we had scars on our backs, made me angrier than I'd been in years.
"Mason. Goddamn." I whispered, running my hand through my hair. "You didn't say yes, right?" I half-yelled. Mason watched me with wide eyes.
"Ev, I don't know why you're so upset. We can get married."
"Yes. Yes, we can get married. But you will become one of the people that have ruined our lives."
"Ev-"
"Don't." I said angrily, and pulled off the ring. I threw it to the ground. "I don't want anything from him. You hate President Snow. Why are you working for him?"
He looked sick as he watched the ring fall to the ground.
"Ev-" he repeated reaching out for me. I pulled my arm back.
"Don't, Mason." I whispered. "You can't possibly be thinking about doing this! It's betraying Blossom. It's betraying me!"
"Betraying you!?" He snapped. I knew I hit a soft spot with bringing up Blossom. "I'm doing this so I can give you what you want! This new pay means we can get married, Eva. Everything I'm doing is for you."
"You're not doing any of this for me." I said angrily, shaking my head. "You're joining the people that gave us our scars, Mason."
"But things will be better when I'm a Peacekeeper."
"Nothing will ever be better for us, Mason." I whisper. "I thought we were going to run away, leave the district when we got married?"
"Now we don't have to!" Mason yelled. I was utterly fed up with him. He wasn't listening to me even a little bit. He was joining the people that sent our friends and family into the Games every year, the people that shot you if you broke a law, the people that beat you for squashed strawberries.
"We already didn't have to, Mase. We wanted to. We wanted to escape all of this. You can't say yes. You can't become a Peacekeeper."
"I've already accepted, Evangeline!" Mason shouted. My blood ran cold. I only imagined Mason being the one with the whip. Mason being the one with the gun. It scared me to death.
"I've gotta go..." I choked out, and jumped from the tree. Before now, Mason always caught me, so the sudden impact with the ground caught me off guard, but I tried not to do or say anything to give it away as I stumbled from the woods.
I ducked under the fence, glad for the darkness and the grass shielding me from anyone's sight.
The moment I got home, I fell against my bed and held my head in my hands. How could he do this!? I thought to myself. How could he think this was a good idea!?
We had spent years formulating a plan- more of a dream than a plan really- about how we would get away from the district. Mason and I would travel on foot in the night and be far away before they even noticed. We slept in trees for so long, that wouldn't be a problem, and we knew that we could go for days without food. We could be in a better place outside of Panem. A place with no Games, no Peacekeepers, no rules. A place we could be our own kinds of people.
I looked up from where I sat, to my window. There, on the windowsill, was a small item that made my heart stop. A single white rose. I stood quickly and tiptoes over cautiously, reaching out for it and taking it in between my fingers.
My breathing was shaky as I looked at every aspect of the small flower. There wasn't one imperfection with it. It was as white as snow.
He was there.
I dropped the rose and took a step back from it, as if it would detonate in my fingers. I turned, searching my room for any other signs of President Snow's existence, but my room was as immaculate as it had been when I left.
My breathing steadied itself slowly, easing my nerves for a couple of minutes, but I didn't dare change my clothes. It felt like he was watching me. I fell asleep in my T-shirt and overalls, only letting my hair fall from it's braided crown halfway before I gave up my efforts and left it like that.

The feeling of being watched lingered all night long, making me sick to my stomach. I hid under the covers all night. Even if I did nearly suffocate, that was better than someone else watching me sleep.
My dreams were all filled with Mason. Mason's kisses, Mason's laugh, Mason's anger... Mason. He was the love of my life, but at the same time, I did not want to see him- maybe ever. The first few dreams were all good things, before they turned dark. He had a gun and pointed it at Maisie. He had the whip and beat me. He and Snow laughing evilly and looking at me with a mutual evil in their eyes.
I woke with a jump. Mason would become a monster if this happened, that was a guarantee. He would become a weapon to be used against us. He would become just another leaf to protect the rose from predators- predators like me. The ones that threaten to destroy him. Mason would become a weapon against me.
I can't let this happen.