"Oh, it's- it's like a bird, it's like a- like a-" Ceasar struggles to find the words. I know he's stunned. I'm stunned. Panem is stunned.

"Like a mockingjay," I answer, holding my head high as my arms and wings are still splayed out.

Ceasar laughs, whoops and holds my hand high in the air. "Well, your stylist has certainly outdone himself this time! Everyone, Cinna!"

The cameras turn to Cinna as he waves, not smiling or giving anybody satisfaction. I purse my lips and try to think positive. I can't manage it.

Cinna's risked his life in the process of making this. And President Snow surely won't let this go unpunished. And the fact that this mockingjay is fast becoming the symbol of the rebellion...

"So Austin," Ceasar says a few minutes later, when I'm standing in a row with the other tributes behind him. "The wedding, the marriage... never to be."

"Well, actually, we got married," Austin says. I do a double take. Where the hell is he going with this? "In secret."

"A secret wedding? Alright, do tell," Ceasar's always one for some gossip.

"We want our love to be eternal," Austin smiles.

I sigh, because the look on his face...

If it wasn't obvious that he wasn't acting before, it certainly is now.

"You know, Willow and I have been luckier than most. I mean, I wouldn't have any regrets at all if it weren't for..."

He comes to a stop and trails off. I'm really scared about what's coming.

"What? If it weren't for what?" Ceasar prods him on.

"If it weren't for..." Austin tries again but can't find the words. He takes a deep, heavy, breath, then answers. "If it weren't for the baby."

There! He's done it again! Wiped out the efforts of every e-

I am pregnant.

What the fuck-

I remember Haymitch's words.

"These victors are angry, Willow, they'll say anything to try and stop the games, I suggest you do the same, too."

And that's what Austin has done. And it clearly has worked because the crowd has gone crazy. "Alright, alright, this is news," Ceasar says, but this isn't enough. "Let's find out more! This is news to all of us!"

But the crowd has already gone crazy. "Stop the games!" Several of them shout.

"She can't go in that arena!" Someone contributes.

"Stop the games! Stop the games! Stop the games!"

Peacekeepers eventually calm the crowd down and Austin comes up to stand beside me. I instantly hug him and whisper. "You gave it your best shot," into his ear. He nods slowly as we stand.

I don't mean it to happen, but it does. Instantly, I reach forward and grab Austin's hand, then I catch Chaff's stump of one in my other.

Then it happens. All up and down the two lines, the tributes start linking hands. Some tributes are instantly up for it (Mags, Beetee and Wiress) and some take a bit more convincing (Brutus and Enobaria), but we all eventually do it.

And then we raise our hands in the air. By now, the audience has stopped listening to Ceasar's outro and are turning their attention to us.

And then the studio goes black and all the lights cut out as well as the broadcast, but it's too late, they've already seen us-

Seen another act of rebellion that I initiated.

☘︎☘︎☘︎

Austin and I are sitting on a bench in the dark room that I once throttled him in after the previous interviews. I'm still in shock from what had happened over the past half hour. Baby- Austin- holding hands- pregnant- cut out- rebellion-

"There's no way they'll cancel, they can't," I say surely. They're not gonna cancel the games just because I have a supposed baby in my stomach. They're not.

Haymitch and Effie come out of one of the side rooms. "Baby bomb was a stroke of genius, unfortunately, the games are still on, this is goodbye, for now," Haymitch says gravely.

Effie, I notice, is holding two small black boxes in her hands, and when I nod towards them, she answers with. "Presents, for the boys."

She hands Haymitch one box and Austin the other. "What is this?" My mentor asks, flipping the box lid up and revealing a golden fire bangle.

I look into Austin's and see a nacklace- no, wait, not a necklace, it looks like a sort of chain maybe.

"Your token," Effie answers Haymitch. "Like I told you. Hair for me, pin for Willow, gold bangle for you and for Austin, the medallion we talked about."

"Thank you, Effie," Austin looks down at his new gift.

"We're a team, aren't we?" Effie sighs heavily, but the tears still get the better of her. She goes forward to hug both of us. "And I'm so proud of my victors. You're... we're-

"Well you both deserved so much better," she's properly sobbing now. She grabs my hands.

"Thank you," I say in a voice I'm surprised she hears.

"I am truly sorry," she says, looking into my eyes. This is when I realise how much Effie Trinket has changed in my eyes. She used to be a weird, frivolous, squeaky Capitol lady that was so shallow you couldn't fill her with a millilitre of water. But underneath all that, there's a kind, caring woman that I'll always be sorry I never got to learn more about.

As Effie turns and goes, Haymitch tries to do the same, but Austin grabs him and pulls him into a hug. "Thank you, Haymitch, for everything."

Haymitch pulls out and gives me a sort of nod.

"Any last advice?" I ask almost foolishly.

I get the answer I was expecting. "Stay alive."

This is when I realise how tough of a position we've put Haymitch in. Austin or Willow... Willow or Austin...

"Wait, Haymitch!" I realise I've almost missed my chance as he walks away. I force him into a hug. "Remember our deal," I hiss in his ear. "Do whatever it takes to keep him alive, promise me."

He nods and I turn to go. "Willow," he calls me back and I turn. "When you're in that arena... just remember who the real enemy is."

I have no idea what kind of clue this is supposed to be, but with thoughts of a baby, a boy, and a mentor crossing my head at the moment, I don't have time to think about it.

☘︎☘︎☘︎

Cinna stands before me as we enter the room in which I will enter the games from. We stand face to face as he makes the final alterations.

I'm in a body suit that is blue and black. It's very lightweight and just now, I'm quite cold in it. Cinna voices my thoughts. "The suit is light, no thermal, so I'd say you're headed for tropics or desert."

"Sixty seconds to launch."

I look towards him, trying to convey all the words of thanks into one sentence. "That dress was beautiful, I think it was the best one you've ever made."

"Thank you," Cinna doesn't smile, but he doesn't accept the praise, either.

"I just wanted to tell you because I'm not-"

"Stop," he shushes me with a finger to the lips. "Remember I'm still betting on you, Girl on Fire."

He pins my mockingjay pin to my suit, just above my elbow, then covers it with a rolled up sleeve. One look towards him and I hug him. This time last year, I thought Cinna would be the last bit of the world I'd ever see. Now I know he is.

"Ten seconds to launch."

He signals the cylinder and I stand upon the plate, watching the glass circle around me. I wait for the plate to start rising, but it doesn't. It's as if it's waiting for something.

And when three peacekeepers bash through the door, I know what.

They punch Cinna in the head, making him fall against the glass, then continue to beat him again and again. "No! CINNA!" I shout, tears in my eyes, pounding the glass. But I, of course, am helpless, locked here in a little 'haven'. Going into the Hunger Games.

"CINNA!" I shout again, starting to rise, but he's long unconscious.

The last glimpse I get of him is his bloody forehead and limp body, getting lifted out of the room. I sob for a second before standing up, waiting to surface into the arena.

The first thing I see when I get out is trees, surrounding an almost perfect circle of sand. But there is more to this arena than that.

I'm standing on an island in the middle of a sea of water. The cornucopia stands tall on a bigger, stone island at the centre of this. In the water, there are twelve stone strips, with two tributes to each wedge, and with the strips separating the wedges from each other. I suspect this means something, but I'm too crazed about Cinna to form a rational thought.

Yes, in my head, I can only form one.

This is no place for a Girl on Fire.