"No!" I cry, pushing through the crowd with full force. It's too late to stop the whip, and I know I can't do anything about it. Instead I throw myself between the whip and Rory. I close my eyes as the whip lashes across my right cheek. The pain is immediate, and it burns like nothing I've ever felt before. I feel it swell immediately, but instead I'm focused on Rory's blood sprawled across the floor.

"Don't hurt him! Stop! He'll die!" I exclaim as I squat down on the floor. I look up at the assailant's face, and I know he isn't from here. 'Cruel' is written all over his face, and his dark black eyes glow with darkness. He lifts his arm again, and all I can do is close my eyes, anticipating his next whip.

"Stop!" Someone barks. Haymitch. He clomps up to me and lifts me up to my feet in one smooth motion.

"Great, just great," he mutters. "She's got a photo shoot next week, what'm I suppose to tell her stylist?!"

"She has interrupted the punishment of a confessed criminal."

The way he talks, his looks, his aura- everything seems to be a warning, telling me he's dangerous, that there's something evil about his presence. Where's he from? District 1? 2? Or from the Capitol itself?

"I don't care what she's done, look at her cheek! Think that will be camera ready in a week?" Haymitch growls.

The man's voice is still cold, but I can detect a slight edge of doubt. "That's not my problem."

"It isn't? Well it's about to be, because the first call I make when I get home, is to the Capitol!" says Haymitch. "Find out who authorized you to mess up my victor's pretty little face!"

"He was poaching. What business is it of hers, anyway?" says the man.

"He's her friend," Katniss steps up, holding onto my shoulders. "And she's my sister, so if you want to get to him," points to Rory, "you have to go through both of us!"

Our actions are bold, and I know that they would bring consequences. But for now my priority is to keep Rory alive. The new head peacekeeper looks over at his backup squad, and a rush of relief floods in when I realize they're all old friends from our neighbourhood, ones you could often see at the Hob. One of them, I think her name is Purnia, steps forward stiffly and says,

"I believe the required amount of lashes have been exceeded, sir. If your sentence is death, that would be carried out by the firing squad."

"Is that proper protocol here?" he questions.

"Yes sir," Purnia replies, and several others nod. I'm pretty sure none of them knew this stuff, or if this was even true, because proper protocol here for someone bringing up a wild turkey is to bid on the drumsticks.

"Very well then, folks. Take your friend, young girl. Remind him that if he ever poaches again, I'll be ordering the firing squad personally that time. Farewell then." He then walks away, and the sound of his boots dwindle. The other peacekeepers fall into an awkward formation behind him and march away.

"Rory!" I cry once more, throwing myself to the ground near him. Somehow a knife ends up in my hand and I'm cutting the ropes as quickly as I can. When I finally release him, he collapses onto the cold hard ground.

"We got to get him home," I say to no one in particular, gritting my teeth as I start picking him up. Katniss, Peeta, and Haymitch all help me. Katniss' friend, Leevy, runs up and asks if we need help. But Katniss is quick to decline her offer, and instead tells her to run to Hazelle, tell her what's happened, to come over.

"Prim, get some snow on that," Haymitch tells me, gesturing towards my cheek. I nod and follow his directions, and thankfully it helps numb to pain to an extent. When I get back to the group, some of Rory's friends are there, helping, and they fill us in on what happened.

"Gale and Rory went hunting together, and they caught a wild turkey-"

"-and they went over to Cray's to sell it-"

"-Rory was like 'I'm grown up, I can do it myself'-"

"-and then he knocked-"

"-but out came Romulus Thread, the new head peace keeper, and not Cray-"

"-and then they dragged him to the square and started whipping him!"

"Gale tried to stop them but it didn't work, and now..."

"Now what?!" Katniss panics with her face full of fear when they wouldn't continue.

"We don't know!"

"He was knocked out by Thread-"

"-then they dragged him off!"

Katniss' face turns pale, and I'm sure my face reflects hers. We continue to walk to our house, carrying Rory on our shoulders. The snow falls harder and harder until it's like a small storm. But we finally make it home. Mother silently stands there, taking in the scene.

"New Head," Haymitch grunts. Mother seems to understand, as she gives him a small but clear nod.

I find myself helping Mother to clear the long kitchen table, then spreading a sterile white cloth spread across it, and hoisting Rory onto the table.

She takes a kettle and pours water into a basin. Then she's ordering me to fetch her some remedies from the medicine cabinet. This is my specialty, and I'm willing to do anything to help. I quickly grab the items she needs- dried herbs, tinctures, and other bottles we had gotten from the store. Mother's long and thin fingers move smoothly from one ingredient to another, as she mixes this and that in the basin. She then gives me instructions to make a second brew.

"Can you save him?" I ask, my eyes pleading, full of desperation.

She gives no answer, but Haymitch does.

"Don't worry, he'll be fine. There was a lot more whipping before Cray, and everyone'd bring them to your mother."

I try to remember a time before Cray but I can't. Mother must have worked since my age, helping her parents just like I do. My healer's hands come from her side of the family.

Haymitch tells Rory's friends to return home, then a minute or so passes before Hazelle bursts in through the doors. She takes a seat next to Rory and holds onto his pale, cold hand. Mother doesn't acknowledge her, but we all seem to understand she's gone into her treatment zone, where it's just her and the patient. And me if she needs help.

It takes a long time for Mother to clean out all of Rory's cuts. Even for someone like her, this is a long and hard process.

Soon Rory starts to stir and moan. I feel so bad for him, because now I can see all the cuts clearly. And though I'd never been whipped, I can feel his pain. I almost wish he would have stayed unconscious, so he would feel nothing.

I run to the cabinets to find some pain killers, something we save for the most desperate times. But when I bring back the medicine, mother shakes her head and places it back into the cabinet.

"No Prim. We'll save it for later, when it's dire," she tells me in a solid tone.

"This is dire!" I exclaim, reaching for the pain killer once more. She stops my head and shakes her head. I feel the tears welling up in my eyes, but I let go. I knew Mother could deal with the situation, because after all, it was she who had gotten him conscious.

Suddenly there's a knock on the door and we both stiffen up. I take a deep breath and walk over to the door, expecting Peacekeepers. But in walks Madge, with a damp cardboard box in her hands.

"Use this on your friend," she says, her teeth chattering from the cold weather. "They're my mom's, but she said I could take them. Please use them." She runs back into the blizzard before I can say anything. I take off the lid and it reveals half a dozen vials of clear liquid that I recognize as morphling- all the way from the Capitol.

I walk back to the kitchen and show Mother the box. Whatever she's given Rory wasn't strong enough, he's sweating abnormally, and squinting his eyes like does whenever he's hurt. Mother quickly fills a syringe with the morphling and releases it into Rory's arm. His face relaxes, and so I know it took immediate effect.

Katniss, Peeta, and Haymitch fall into a deep conversation, and I run off to make stew and bread for everyone. It's been a long day and I knew we'd all need it. I come back and divvy up the food, which everyone takes gratefully.

The 'everyone leaves' part happened fairly quickly.

Katniss offered Hazelle her room, but Hazelle told us she better get home to Posy and Vick. Katniss decided to go with Hazelle, to escort her home, and also comfort her.

Haymitch and Peeta both volunteered to help the situation with Rory, but Mother sent both of them home. Mother quickly helped with my cheek, and only then was she able to rest.

I then suddenly found myself alone with Rory.

He's still unconscious. I hold his hand and I give it a light squeeze even though I know he can't feel it. I start to think about how he was upset with me in the woods. He had said something like you have no room for me in your life. I sigh as I think about how true that has become.

For the first time, I think about what it'd be like if we were in each other's positions. Rory being reaped, going into the games then winning, and comes back pre-occupied with a dozen other things, and barely acknowledging my existence. Just thinking about it stings, and I realize I should have always been there for him.

But what hurts the most is that it took 40 lashes across his back for me to realize it.

No wonder I won the Games, no one decent ever does.

You saved Katniss and Peeta, I think weakly as an afterthought. But even this was questionable, because I'm pretty sure death threats don't equate with safety.

I let a single tear drop as I caress Rory's face and whisper 'I love you'.

His eyes flutter open, and I give a weak smile.

"Prim," he says in a voice barely audible.

"Rory," I reply back, in a sad tone.

"Thought you'd be gone by now."

I knew I only had two options, suffer out in the woods- looking for a new home I'd never find, or stay here and go through the pain with Rory.

"I'm not going anywhere, I just wanna be with you."

"Me too," Rory says, managing to smile before the medicine takes over once more.

~A/N~ I am sooo sorry for the late chapter...I promise I'll be more punctual next time.

If any of you caught the High School Musical reference at the end, you're awesome.

BTW This was really hard to write, I have no idea why but it took me long time, brainstorming, writing, and editing (about an hour and a half?). I stayed up past midnight to write this, just for you guys!

Thanks so much for reading, if you enjoyed it, please vote. 

-Monica