𝗙𝗟𝗔𝗥𝗘𝗦, hunger games

i. | imbroglio

▬ ❝𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘺𝘰𝘶, 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘺𝘰𝘶, 
𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘵𝘳𝘦𝘦,
𝘸𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘥𝘦𝘢𝘥 𝘮𝘢𝘯 𝘤𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘦𝘥 𝘰𝘶𝘵
𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘭𝘰𝘷𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘧𝘭𝘦𝘦❞

⋅ ˚̣- : ✧  ▬  PEETA MELLARK HAD ALREADY come to terms with the inevitability of his probable death.

After all, he had won the games the first time as a total fluke. It was with the capabilities of his own brain and an inexhaustible manner of manipulation that he had managed to scrape his way to the final six, and he had enough muscle on his youthful frame to put up a fair fight, but he had known that his wits alone could not bring him victory.

Had he truly attempted to put up a fight against Katniss Everdeen, in an attempt to claim the crown for himself, he was almost certain would have been met with less success. Indeed, the only way he would have left that arena would have been with an arrow buried in his chest.

But this year, things were completely different. This year, Peeta would be pitted against only experienced killers, most with a flair for death. This year, he had already accepted the futility of his fate.

And, having already thoroughly assessed the situation several times over, he had decided that he was accepting of this harsh fate. It was almost certain that, given everything that had happened in the last year as a result of his refusal to die, the star-crossed lovers of District 12 would not be leaving the arena together this time around. In fact, Peeta's intuition was enough for him to deduce that his refusal to die the first time most likely was the reason they were about to be faced with the same fate.

President Snow never did like to be outsmarted, and the lovers' suicide pledge had been enough to put them on death row for the unforeseeable future.

It was only a miracle that they had lasted this long. But it was clear that, due to their popularity amongst the population of Panem, eliminating the pair would not be so straightforward. For the bloodthirsty citizens of the Capitol, the only satisfying way to eliminate their favourite couple without causing a war, would be to provide them with something even more tragically entertaining than their united death - the idea that one may die without the other.

The plan was so simple it was almost laughable - Snow had a skilful way of reminding the pair that he was, and would always be in complete control of their fate, and that they existed only as puppets on his string.

It was a game that they had become far too inclined to play. A game he would almost certainly lose.

But Peeta did not need to die, he knew this too. Unlike his fiancé, Peeta was not the only potential tribute in his category, and he knew that Katniss had already pleaded to Haymitch for the protection of his life over her own. Of course she had - she always had been far too careless with her own life, but she was also smart enough to know that given the opportunity, Peeta would be as desperate to preserve her life as she had been to preserve his.

Plus, Haymitch had knowledge and experience of the games that Peeta could never dream of, and would be far too much use outside of the arena to risk being put in it.

And so, as the morning of the Reaping rolled around like clockwork, Peeta had accepted his fate as a fact.

These would be the last few weeks of his life.