Poisoned Flower (The Hunger Games)

Six: The Failure

The Everdeen household still held a tense atmosphere, even after the front door had closed behind them. Peeta stood in the hallway for a little while longer as he processed the information he had been given. He had thought Katniss and himself had done more than enough to convince Panem that they were still the 'star-crossed lovers' they had been inside of the arena. They were engaged for God's sake! However, Diantha's words had planted a seed of doubt in his mind. Maybe they wouldn't get through this alive after all.

Peeta turned when he heard someone join him in the hallway. He turned as Katniss walked over to him. She still looked exhausted and the area around her eye was completely swollen. Although she seemed a lot more aware than she had been since they had returned from the square a few hours before. The shock must have worn off. She checked that they had definitely left with confusion written all over her face.

"Who were they?" she asked.

"Diantha Snow" a voice answered from behind them. Haymitch stood leaning back against the doorframe with his arms crossed. The two men watched as Katniss' eyes widened as the name sunk in.

"Snow? As in- "

"President Snow, yes. She's his younger daughter".

"And you let her into my house?" she asked and looked at the two men as if they were crazy. She was the daughter of their greatest enemy; the daughter of the man who wanted them dead. "She could be telling him everything as we speak!"

"She isn't" Peeta reassured. He beckoned the two to the living room and to sit in the same place he had with Diantha only minutes before. He sat on one side with Katniss next to him. Haymitch was sat opposite them.

"She knows our relationship is fake" he continued. "Apparently the situation is getting worse. More and more people are rising against the Capital. She asked that we both put as much effort in the wedding preparation as possible so we can get out of this unscathed".

"We already know that though" Haymitch stated.

"Diantha said that we had convinced the people inside the Capital. However, less people than we thought are buying it in the Districts. Snow isn't happy at all".

"How do you know we can trust her? She could be tricking us" Katniss argued.

"She's not. Snow's making her do the same type of thing" Before either of the others could interrupt, he continued. "Look at the timing. She's been presented to the public now of all times. She told me she didn't want to, but Snow gave her no choice and wants to use her as another distraction technique. Also, she helped Gale when she could have just stood and watched".

"That still doesn't prove that she's not tricking us".

"She gave Prim the medicine for Gale that she could get in serious trouble for".

"It's true" Haymitch cut in. "That stuff is incredibly hard to come by and only the elite members of the Capital are allowed it. Sponsors always refuse to buy it for the games".

That still doesn't prove anything" Katniss snapped.

"You didn't see her when she was talking to me. She was genuine. I could see it in her eyes. She practically begged me to get through this. She said the same thing to me during the party at the end of the Victory Tour".

"Wait, you've met her before? Why didn't you say anything?" Haymitch questioned him.

"I didn't know who she was. But it doesn't matter. She risked speaking to me so close to Snow. Plus, didn't she seem different from everyone we've met on Snow's side? She doesn't seem the type to betray us. Also, that girl she was with. She was her Avox. We didn't even acknowledge them when we were in the Capital".

"Fine. I still don't trust her completely, but she could be valuable".

"Did she say anything else?" Katniss asked.

"Something big is about to happen".

Alone in her apartment, Diantha sat on the windowsill, watching the unusually quiet streets of the Capital down below. In the background her television was on. Almost everyone in Panem would be watching it with baited breaths as they would find out what horror would lie before them or their loved ones. Or, if they were from the Capital, how much fun the next Hunger Games would be. On the screen was her father giving a speech about the uprising and the upcoming Quarter Quell. She wasn't looking at the screen, but she could see the joyful gleam in his eyes. He droned on and on about the prosperity of the Capital and its districts; about how important it was to work together. Finally, she could hear him open the envelope and announced what would be so special about this particular Games.

"On the 75th anniversary, as a reminder to the rebels that even the strongest among them cannot overcome the power of the Capitol..."

He paused and Diantha knew what was coming. She looked at the screen as he continued.

"...the male and female tributes will be reaped from their existing pool of victors."

Diantha felt sick and the world around her started to spin. Her father's voice went all muffled as she tried to process what was happening. This wasn't a coincidence. Her father had tampered with the envelopes.

Her warnings had been for nothing.

Her risks had been for nothing.

Katniss would have no choice to be a tribute as she was the only female victor in District 12. Peeta wouldn't allow Haymitch to go, so there was no doubt that he would have to fight again. Only one of them would come out alive this time, if either of them did at all.

Another thought entered her mind. If this was their punishment, what lied ahead for her. Would her fate be death as well? Or would her father do something far worse. There was no doubt in her mind that he wouldn't let her live as she had. She had been shoved back into the spotlight for a reason. She had one job and she didn't do it.

'I need water' she thought as she felt her chest contract. It was becoming hard to breathe and her throat was unbearably dry. She stumbled to the sink and filled an empty glass with water. She gulped it like she hadn't had a drunk in days. Her hearth was racing. Her hands were shaking.

Her father's voice droned on in the background and she walked towards her television, still unsteady on her feet. She leaned on the back of her sofa as she looked at his face on the large screen. He was smiling; proud. She hated him. Without thinking, she screamed and threw a glass at the screen. It smashed into tiny little pieces onto the rug. She fell to her knees and hot tears flowed down her face.

She had failed.