If the Capitol Returned (A Hunger Games Spin off)

Chapter 8- Heart to Heart

It was my mother. She came over and sat next to me.

"Mom, I can't win!" I blurted out. She hugged me and stroked my golden hair.

"You can win. It will be either you or Devlin honey," she explained. I nodded.

"I don't want to be in the Games! I don't want to kill people!" I complained like a spoiled toddler. My mother held me close.

"Honey, the day the guards came and took your father and I, we told Taddeo, Hagan, and Devlin to take care of you and teach you to hunt," she explained to me.

"I don't remember that day," I replied. I just remember Devlin screaming at me to go upstairs and then Hagan pushing me upstairs.

"Well, you were only about 6 when we were taken. The Hunger Games began again and the whole system rebooted," Katniss explained.

"What happened?" I asked. She opened her mouth and began to tell the mind boggling story.

"We knew it was coming the day Capitol returned. Peeta and I talked about it and we knew they would take us. We had talked to Devlin and Finn and how they would have to take over our family. You remember Finn, your oldest brother." Finn. He has soft, reddish brown hair and gleaming brown eyes. He was the most sweet, genuine, brave person I had ever met. I nodded and my mother continued.

"Devlin and Finn just cried. But we knew it was going to happen. We told them what was needed to take care of you, Hagan, and Taddeo and that the must not make a scene when we were taken. But then two days later, we heard a pound at the door. Peeta answered it. About 10 armed peacekeepers came in. They trampled Peeta and I and I then shouted at you and Hagan to get upstairs and hide. I remember Hagan scooping you up and taking you up the steps. The Peacekeepers grabbed Peeta and I and put handcuffs on our wrists and beat us. Finn tried to get us out, even though we warned him not to. I remember him screaming to let us go! He went over your father and I and tried to remove our restraints. Without thinking, a peacekeeper shot Finn. I remember sobbing and hearing the screams. I remember seeing Finn laying there, bloody and unconscious. I remember then Peacekeepers dragging me out of the house, as Devlin raced to Finn, trying to save him. But I knew he was dead."

"Oh my gosh," I whispered. I noticed tears coming into her eyes. She wiped her eyes with her sleeve and went on.

"Then I remember the peacekeeper calling you all down or else. I remember how Taddeo ran upstairs and scooped you up. Hagan scrambled down the stairs. Then the peacekeepers handcuffed all of you and Peeta and I started to sob. But they moved you guys to a house in the Seam, where I lived as a little girl.. Then I remember the Peacekeeper taking off his helmet and telling you that this is your home now. And then Hagan asked why they weren't letting Peeta and I out of our handcuffs. He replied that we were going to the Capitol. Then I remember calling and saying that I loved you and then the smashed the door shut We were taken to a train and put in cages. Then, they began to torture us. We were publically humiliated in the streets of the Capitol. It was awful. But I remember always being happy that my children were not here. That I was lucky it was only Peeta and I," she finished. We were both now full on crying and squeezing each other.. Then my dad came racing in.

"Is everything alright!" he shouted.

"Peeta, I just told her about the day we were taken," Katniss explained.

"Oh, I see. Well it is good it is over now," Peeta answered and then left.

"What was that?" I questioned.

"Peeta hates to talk about it. He was captured twice and he is emotionally scared," my mother said. I nodded, understanding what she is saying. "So how are Hagan and Taddeo doing?"

"Good," I said. I didn't want to say much more because of how I was feeling. Talking of home was also dreadful.

"Well it is getting late, maybe you should try to sleep Rosemary, but first watch the other reapings. They are on the television" my mother commanded. I nodded. She hugged me then walked out the automatic door. I put on a silk nightgown and put the unusually cozy covers over my skinny body. I turned on the television set and the reapings began. Two 18 year old volunteers from District 1. Two more 18 year old volunteers from 2. Two 17 year olds from 3. More volunteers from 4. All the others were pretty regular except for a volunteer from 7 who took her sister's place just like my mother did. Then my face popped up. Hagan being called and Hagan and Taddeo volunteering. I turned the TV off. I couldn't watch anymore. Only 1 of the 26 tributes would return alive. I fell into a deep slumber. Gory images raced through my mind of previous Hunger Games. I awoke screaming in the middle of the night, drenched with sweat. The hot sticky stuff swarmed my body, making me feel light headed. Then the door to my bedroom opened.

It was my father. I remember him doing that with Katniss when she would have nightmares.

"Are you alright?" he gasped. His sandy blonde hair was messy and he was wrapped in a navy blue robe. I nodded and rubbed my forehead.

"Do you want me to stay with you Rosie?" my dad asked. I nodded. He came over and sat on my plush bed. He put his arm around me. I snuggled into him. His soft robe brushed against my cheeks. He smelled of flour. Probably from baking bread for the citizens of the Capitol from when he was imprisoned. Or maybe the stuff just worked its way into his skin from his childhood. Anyways, my eyes began to get heavy and I finally drifted to sleep.