President Snow steps up to the microphone as I stare at him with hatred. No, with absolute and utter detest. I realise suddenly how much I hate this man, and all the blood and roses that come with him.

"Tonight," begins Snow, "on this, the last day of their Victory tour, I want to welcome our two victors. Two young people who embody our ideas of of strength, and valour. And I personally, want to congratulate them on the announcement of their engagement."

So fake, I think, as the crowd goes wild. He knows we're not happy about this. He knows everything. Or he's guessed by now. And he's just stood up there, rubbing it in.

"Your love has inspired us," Snow goes on. "And I know it will go on inspiring us every day, for as long as you may live."

Which isn't very long if you have something to say about it.

Snow raises his glass in a toast to us and takes a sip. I watch as the crowd jumps up, screaming and clapping. Then the fireworks start and everyone turns round to see those. I, however, keep my eyes planted on my enemy, this time begging for news.

Did I do it? Was it enough? Did promising to marry Austin work and cover up my mistake in Eleven? Are the uprisings stopping?

Then I see him looking at me. He's scrutinising me like prey for a predator. Food for a snake. Then, slowly, in answer to all of my unsaid yet very much thought of questions, he gives a small and inexplicable shake of his head.

☘︎☘︎☘︎

That night, on the train back to Twelve, I couldn't sleep. I couldn't even close my eyes, for fear that if I did, the nightmares would come.

So, I decide (rashly) to get out of bed and go and have some of the luscious Capitol food on board the train.

However, when going to the food carriage, I look into the same control room again, only this time, nobody's inside. However, one of the screens is on.

For a second, it's just the news, then UPDATE ON DISTRICT EIGHT is on the screen. Suddenly, I remember Snow's words.

"You should imagine thousands upon thousands of your people dead. This town of yours reduced to ashes, imagine it gone, made radioactive, buried under dirt as if it had never existed like District Thirteen."

And that is exactly what I see now. The street is on fire, with the flames licking up everything that you can see. But there were people there, and Peacekeepers. But the latter wasn't forcing the former back, it was...

My heart drops. Fighting. That's what they were doing. The people were fighting back. District Eight's a district that's bigger than most, and surely a bit more rich, so this must've been relatively easy to organise.

I know exactly what's going on. And if it's happened in Eight, why not in the other Districts? This is the way to get everybody killed.

And it all leads back to me.

President Snow was right.

I am the spark.

The spark that was left unattended. The spark that has grown into a flame and then a fire and then has burned through Panem without mercy.

I have started an uprising.

☘︎☘︎☘︎

I get back to Twelve late at night, and wake early in the morning. I go into Gale's room, hoping to rouse him and take him to the woods, but it doesn't happen. He's not there.

I sigh and head downstairs, where I see my mother, and Vick and Posy at the table. "When did you get back?" My mother asks me.

"Late last night," I answer. "But I slept on the train."

Vick offers to spread Posy's toast and this seems to shut her down talking. I sigh as he says. "If you want to know where Gale is, he went out to go find Katniss."

I know immediately what he's trying to tell me. Gale's in the woods.

In the next half an hour, I get changed into my hunting clothes, welcome Mrs Everdeen and Prim, who are here to collect some herbs and medicine. But my mother makes them stay, and I know that once Rory's up, Prim will want to stay too.

I sigh and head outside. I've been practicing and practicing what I want to say to Gale inside my head, but when I get to the woods, I don't end up using it.

I go straight to our usual hollow, knowing that they'll be there. And they are.

But as I near the woods, I hear my name.

"So we run?" Gale's asking Katniss.

"Yes, Gale, you know we can do it, you said we can do it, the morning of the reaping."

"And who's 'we'?" Gale suggests.

"You, me, our families."

"Well, Willow's not back yet and since she and Austin are joined at the hip now..."

"Gale!"

"I'm just saying! If we take Willow, we're probably gonna have to take Austin, Haymitch... hell, probably Effie Trinket as well!"

"She'd be fine if she stays here," Katniss said. I hear nothing but envy in her voice. "Austin's gonna protect her and-"

"And what?" I stepp out from behind the tree, my eyes filled with tears yet narrowed.

Katniss recoils in shock. "Willow..."

"Save it, Katniss, I heard everything," I say hatefully, I sigh for a second, looking down, before levelling my head and staring right through them. "Don't you realise that all I'm doing is to protect you? Don't you realise that I was so hurt when Snow threatened to have you both killed? Don't you know that you were the first people I wanted to talk to when I got back?"

The two of them looked at me like I had just confessed I was an alien. "Snow?" Katniss asked.

"He came to see, and threatened to have both of you killed."

"Anyone else?" Gale raises his eyebrows.

"Well I'll just go and ask him to photocopy the list if he has time!" I shoot back. He knows who else. Me. Him. Austin. Katniss. And all of the families that we belong to.

"Don't you think the President's bluffing?" Gale asks inquisitively.

"He's not bluffing," I shake my head.

"So what are you going to do about it? Get married?" Gale rolls his eyes at me. I too roll my eyes to the back of my head. "Snow's manipulating you, can't you see? He's throwing your wedding, they won't let-"

"Well he's not spending much time picking the cake with an uprising in Eight!" I yell back. All three pairs of eyes widen and the two that belong to Katniss and Gale turn to me.

"What?" Katniss asks in point blank shock.

"What did you see?" My brother asks.

"There were people fighting in the street and fires and the peacekeepers were gunning them down but the people were..." I trail off.

"What? The people were what?" Gale urges me on.

"They were fighting back."

They both digest this. "It's happening," Gale says under his breath. "It's finally happening."

"I should've just eaten the berries in the arena and died like I was supposed to, then none of this would be happening and everyone would be safe," I say miserably.

"Safe to do what?" Gale asks. "Starve? Work like slaves? Send their kids to the reaping? You haven't hurt people, Willow, you've given them an opportunity, they just have to be brave enough to take it. There's already been talk about it round town, people wanna fight!"

"We have to go, Gale, before we get killed," Katniss tries to convince him. "We will get killed."

But Gale turns to me. "What about the other families, huh? The ones who can't run? People are looking to you, Willow-"

"I don't want anyone looking to me!" I yell. "I can't help them!"

Suddenly, there's a sound of engines and Gale pulls me down. I look through the long grass and see about twenty peacekeeper vans driving into Twelve.

"You do what you want," Gale whispers in a deadly voice to me through the grass. "But I'm staying here."

☘︎☘︎☘︎

"Willow!"

"Go. Away."

"No! Come on Willow!"

"No."

"We have to talk!"

"I have nothing to say."

This conversation had been happening from the moment I had set foot back inside District Twelve. Katniss, who I thought had stayed with Gale, had actually followed me back out, trying to make up with me.

"Willow!" Finally, she managed to grab my arm and turn me round.

"What?" I say.

"Listen to me!" Katniss takes both my shoulders. "I'm sorry for what I said, it's just-"

"Just what? I protected you Katniss!" I start to sob. "Do you have any idea what I'm going through? Every time I sleep, another nightmare comes, every time I shoot, Marvel appears in my head, a person I killed! I killed, Katniss! Do you understand?"

Katniss moves towards me, putting her arms around me. I sob until I can't sob anymore, leaning against the person that I hated a few seconds ago.

I realise that having enemies won't help me anymore. I need all the allies I can get. But if there's one thing I know about them, it's this.

President Snow is not one of them.