Dedicated to TheUnexpectedVictor for being an amazing fan :)

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I once had a purpose. Had a reason I wanted to live. For some reason, I still have one. I could have died. But I willed myself not to. Some buried instinct told me not to. Told me I had a purpose, I just needed to figure it out.

At this very moment, I'm clueless.

"Don't talk, don't look don't even THINK about doing anything. These people are important, like celebrities. And don't act like one of their crazed fans, because you are nothing like a fan. You're like a fly, and everyone hates flies." Jock whispered harshly to me. Yesterday, after I'd been checked out of the hospital and gotten some scared or evil glares, he had taken me to a tiny apartment in the poorer part of the Capitol, the one that was hidden away from the dam and water views. He had told me I would live in it, but nothing inside it was mine. It all belonged to the government, and if I made one false move, I'd be on the streets.

I'd figured out this much about Jock. He was a selfish government personnel, that used to be in a good, secure job that he enjoyed, but with the shifting of the governments, he had been booted down and now hated the fact he had to take care of me. He often spat harsh words at me, reminding me of who I was. Every time he did so, my heart pranged with guilt and I had to blink away the tears in my eyes.

Murderers child.

This morning he had shaken me from bed with an evil smile on his face, and told me to get up and dressed quickly. He'd shoved a bowl of dry cereal at me and then, when I hadn't been eating fast enough, he had scowled and hit me.

There was another's court case today. One that I would have to attend. Last night someone suggested to put me in a district. Now they were all debating if they should, and if so, what district would I be put in and who would look after me. So Jock may be off the job.

The doors opened and Jock and I were lead inside. Jock headed to a seat at a high panel, and I was pushed to a seat in front of the panel of judges. The panel was full of people that either wanted to kill me because of my grandfather, or couldn't care less about me, because my grandfather was dead. At the center of the table was the judge, an next to him, was her. You'd think that I would recognize her, as she was my idol for the past year or so, and the fact she was the face of the rebellion. But she looked so different, more worn, more sad. She stared out of the window with a gaze full of longing.

Katniss Everdeen. The Mockingjay.

The judge banged a wooden hammer, calling the court to order.

"Jock Trevis, please stand and report."

Jock smirked at me slightly, then plastered a serious look on his face and turned to the judge.

"This girl, Melanie Snow, granddaughter of the well known murderer, President Snow, is a selfish nuisance. She is commonly being rude, and disobeying things she is told. I stand for her execution, as none of us want a reminder of her grandfather."

"We are not murdering her, mr Trevis. Please take your seat." The judge says, and I may just have been imagining it, but I could hear a slight undertone of annoyance in his voice.

"Raff Lascius, please stand and state your offense."

A man with orange straight hair, gives me an evil smile and then looks at the judge.

"This small girl is, as Jock said, an unnecessary nuisance." This small girl is 12, and no longer a small girl, I think. "The Capitol does not need a reminder of their previous president, so, I suggest we take her to a district, and give her to one of them to take care of."

"I don't believe the district would be very happy with that. None the less, I will consider your suggestion. Please take a seat."

The judge shuffles with some papers and then looks through his glasses down at me.

"Melanie Snow, please stand."

I was roughly shoved up by the guards behind me.

"State your defense."

I take a deep breath, open my mouth, and sigh.

"I just... I don't have a family now. I never really did. Sure, I had people that acted like my family, but no one ever really loved me." I take a shaky breath, trying to get the shakiness out of my voice. "I just don't want to die."

Katniss shifts her eyes from the window and looks down at me.

"We will not kill you. But no one wishes to take care of you. And we will not protect you. And of course, Panem does not want a reminder of your grandfather hanging around. So you must go to the streets of the Capitol, and hide." The judge says, and looks me in the eyes. That's when it happens. Something none of us would expect. Katniss stands up.

"No." She says, catching the attention of everyone in the room. "I'll take her."

The man sitting next to her, Haymitch, grabs her arm."Katniss," he whispers harshly, but she shakes him off and looks down at me.

"I know her grandfather was a devil. I can see why you would hate him. But why hate her because she was related to him. This whole new system is supposed to make things better, and fair. How is that fair?"

The judge looks over at me with a curious gaze, and then at Katniss.

"Alright, you may take her with you back to district 12. But she is your problem now."

The judge shuffles some files in front of him and shouts,

"Case dismissed."

I get up, and Katniss comes down and takes my hand.

"Come on Mel. Lets go home."

Mel. A new start, a new name. And I liked it.

~~~

The train trip was amazing. I had never seen past the dam the Capitol was built on, and I now knew that I had been missing out on alot. I watched from the back carriage, the one with the largest windows, as the outside world flipped by. Snowcapped mountain peaks in one district, then open plains the next. And then we got to four. At first, all was obscured by the buildings (many of which were charred from the bombings in the rebellion) but then the train had a clear view of it. And it was amazing.

Blue. All blue. All else that could be seen were some fishing boats close to the shore. and then, on the horizon, a straight line. A single straight line that stretched as far as the eye could see. The ocean. And then we disappeared into a tunnel, and it was gone.

"It's amazing isn't it?" Katniss said, leaning against the door of the room, startling me. I look away from the black window and at her.

"The ocean? Yes, it's beautiful. I could never see it in the capitol, only pictures."

"Really?" She asks, with genuine surprise, walking over and taking a seat next to me on the plush window bench. "I thought it was different in the Capitol."

I shake my head. "Not really. They kept what the districts looked like a secret, except from showing the reapings."

I look back out the window as we exit the tunnel, and all I can see is a blure of green. As my eyes adjust to the speed again, I realize they're trees. Trees. I'd only ever seen this many on the TV in the hunger games. In the Capitol, there were too many buildings to have so many trees. Sure, the Snow mansion had a private garden that was filled with, but not like this.

Katniss frowns at my look of awe, and then understanding crosses over her face.

"Oh, right. So what was it like, growing up in the Capitol?" She asks.

I shrug. "Fine. But boring."

"Boring?"

"Perfect, but no excitement. We always had perfect food, perfect housing, perfect everything. But no excitement. We had no problems, no difficulties. It was all planned for us. The only excitement came from the games and the victory tour. That's why they were so lead up to."

"Really? I never thought about it like that."

"No one in the districts ever do. They think that we are just spoilt brats that love watching kids kill each other."

"And you aren't?"

"No. I hate the hunger games. But I'm forced to participate in the 'spirit' of the hunger games. And then I was one of the 'special guests' at the victory tour party. But it wasn't all bad. I got to sponsor people I liked."

"Like who?"

"You. I was one of your biggest sponsors."

"Really? Why? Because I had a chance at winning."

"No. You inspired me. You knew that you may not win. You knew you most likely WOULDN'T win. But you volunteered for your sister, because you didn't want her to die. I guess..." I trail off.

"You guess what?" Katniss asks.

"I guess I wished that someone loved me that much."

When look up, our eyes meet, and I feel like I can tell her anything.

"Thank you." I whisper.

"For what?"

"For saving me back there. You could have stood by and done nothing, but instead you stood up and took me, even with all my grandfather put you through."

She shrugs. "I don't hold grudges on people who didn't do anything wrong."

"Yes, but you still could have just watched on the sidelines, but you stepped up and saved me. Thank you."

She gives me a smile, and I look into her grey eyes and see the pain and longing lift slightly. And then it returns, and she looks away.

"I'm sorry, I have to go." She gets up and leaves, and I'm left sitting there with a heavy heart and the sun drawing lower behind me.

~~~

All is silent. Judging from the clock beside my bed, it's almost 10:00 at night.

I lay, staring up at the ceiling. It has a projection on it, that makes it look like its the night sky, with all the stars.

I remember, once when I was very young, 3 or 4, when my mother was still alive, I woke from a nightmare about the games. One of the tributes had stepped up for her alliance member, and the careers had killed her gorily. My mum had held my hand and calmed me down, then told me to look out the window. The Capitol was quiet, all mourning for the lost tribute, and the city lights seemed to be toned down a bit, giving way to the stars above. She had pointed at them and said to me,

'See those stars? They are all the past greats. If you are brave, selfless, or just kind, one day you'll find yourself up there. All the great people of the past are up there. From recent, to long ago, the stars contain all of those heroes. Even the smallest of small.'

'Will you go up there?' I asked her, with that 4 year old curiosity. She had smiled at my eyes of wonder.

'Maybe one day.'

I close my eyes and remembered what her arms had felt like around me. The smell of her perfume, like cinnamon and sugar. I sigh and open my eyes, slipping out of bed. I needed to get out of there, away from the memories. I head down the hallway, in the direction of the back carriage, but I stop when I heard voices coming from the lounge room.

"Sweetheart, she's an outcast. All she'll do is put a mark on your profile." Says a low males voice. He speaks with a slight slur in his voice,

"Whatever Haymitch. I saw something in her."

"What did you see? Your sister? I'm sorry to break it to you sweetheart, but she's gone. Dead." I hear a clatter and peek through the crack in the door to see Katniss pinning haymitch against the wall, holding a knife against his throat. A single tear slips down her face.

"Wow, sweetheart, you don't want to kill me."

"I know." She whispers. Her grip slackens on the knife and she let's Haymitch go, putting the knife down on the coffee table. "Hope."

"What?" Haymitch says, taking the knife off the table, just to be sure she wouldn't try it again. Katniss looks at Haymitch.

"I saw hope. She looked at me in that court case, and when our eyes met, I saw hope. Just like I saw in Prim's. And that's why I stepped forward. I need some more hope. Maybe she'll give it to me."

Haymitch nods.

"You never know, girl on fire."

You never know.

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Hope you liked this chapter, or LOVED it as some people commented in the last chapter ;)

I'm going on holidays, so the next chapter won't be up for a while, but you never know, I still have mums iPad with wifi down here, so maybe not so long to wait. But anyway, BYE! I'm going out tubing behind the boat! I hope I'll tip my brother *evil smile* or my cousin... That would be just as fun!

Give me some votes and comments while I'm away. It would be a nice surprise to come home to 200 votes overall on my profile. Anyway, bye for now.

Xela732

P.S. Oh, and merry christmas and a happy new year! Hope you get what you wanted!