A Pawn to My Game

I wrapped my thin robe around my body as I tiptoed down the plain white hallway of the upstairs section of my new house in the Victor's Village. Snow's here? Snow, the President of Panem, is sitting across the hall from me, in one of the empty guest rooms.

I felt tears start to form but I knew that there was no reason to cry; he's probably only here to see if I'm okay. After all, I had been kidnapped. After volunteering for Posy Hawthorne, the youngest girl in the family that I have lived with all my life, I was thrust into Panem's Hunger Games, a televised fight to the death.

Only children between the ages of 12-18 can be selected. Posy, having just turned twelve, was surprisingly chosen. After everything that the Hawthorne family had done for me, I couldn't let her get sent to her death.

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Two weeks after I was born, my parents had dropped me off at District 12 (my home)'s gates. The mayor of the District had alerted everybody of my presence, and the mayor had almost been forced to take me in; food is scarce in our District, and nobody was willing to take in a newborn child.

District 12 is the farthest away from the Capitol of Panem insuring that we get the littlest amount of supplies and food. I was given a bit of luck when the Hawthorne family had decided to take me in.

At the time, they only had a two-year son by the name of Gale; they were expecting another boy at the time. Gale had hated me at first, but we learned to love each other as brother and sister, even though we never were. Gale's mother, Hazelle, had given me the option of either taking their name or being given a new name—I chose that I wanted my own name.

Gale's parents had given me the unique name (of) Anastasia Petrova. I'm almost always called Stasi for short, but it doesn't bother me.

Before Gale's father, Thomas, had died in a horrible cave mining accident, him and Hazelle had given birth to four beautiful children: Gale, Vick, Rory, and Posy. And then there was me: the kid that nobody wanted.

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It took Gale and me a long time to become friends; as young kids, Gale had always been jealous of the attention that his parents had given me.

After Thomas' death, of course, we were basically forced to get along. Hazelle became lost in her own little world, unsure of how to act without Thomas by her side. She took care of the younger kids, but she had changed.

To help out around the house, Gale and I learned how to hunt we taught ourselves. To this day, we're known as the two best hunters in District 12, even though hunting outside of District 12's gates is illegal.

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After being picked for the Hunger Games, Peeta Mellark was picked as well. It probably would've been better if I hadn't known him that well—after all, I was going to have to kill him, eventually. But I did know him.

In fact, his parents had given me a job at their bakery in town. I found out during the Games that Peeta had fallen for me, in more ways than one. Haymitch (our trainer), had forced me to use it to my advantage, which eventually helped us both get out of the Arena alive.

This isn't normal, though; there is only supposed to be one Victor in the Hunger Games. We had been the last two standing, and after they had changed the rules numerous times, we tried to give them an ultimatum: Let us both win or we would both kill ourselves.

Yes, it was very drastic, but it did get us both out alive. Throughout the Games, however, I had grown to like Peeta more and more, making my feelings even more confused.

I hadn't known that Gale had fallen in love with me as well.

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After the Games, I had been upset over hurting both of them so much that I had decided to run away and leave District 12. I also knew that it would piss off President Snow. It would make it look like Snow had taken me and hidden me away from the world after breaking the rules of the Games.

Rumors of rebellions have been sparking up everywhere through Panem ever since my Games. While running away, I was kidnapped by a man who insisted that I call him 'Sir'.

He treated me quite nicely, but used me as bait to lure President Snow to his shack in the woods. Sir had wanted to murder Snow. Every few hours he would tie me up to a chair and blindfold me, etc.

He beat and cut me on film, telling Panem that he would kill me if Snow didn't show. Gale luckily tracked us down before Sir could actually kill me.

Sir retaliated against him and tried to kill me. Unfortunately for him, Gale was able to stab him through the heart.

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I was snapped out of my thoughts when I almost walked right into a closed door. I took a deep breath before placing my hand on the knob; Snow was in there. Peeta had told me that Snow had requested a 'chat with just the two of us', and I was freaking out on the inside.

Both Peeta and Gale had agreed (surprisingly) that they would come and check on us after ten minutes. Just opening the door made my body ache; Sir had beaten me up pretty bad.

As I opened the door, a certain smell wafted through the air; blood and roses. I could've gagged, for the poignant smell overwhelmed the room. I shut the door behind me before turning to see President Snow sitting down on the bed across the room.

"Ah, finally. Please, Miss. Petrova; sit," he said nicely, waving his hand over to the bed. I stood pressed up against the door with my arms crossed.

"It's my house; I'd prefer to stand,". Snow pursed his lips and placed his hands in his lips as he nodded.

"If I may remind you, Miss. Petrova, I granted you the access to this luxurious house. Technically, this house is mine. Now sit,".

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We sat in silence for what seemed like hours before Snow said something.

"So how are you doing since your ordeal?" he asked me, folding his large hands together. I glanced over at his hands to notice blots of red under his nails. Why?

"Which ordeal are you referring to?" I shot back, leaning back in the chair that I had found.

He smirked, obviously understanding the jab. I had acted like I hadn't known which 'ordeal' he was asking me about—me getting kidnapped or the Hunger Games.

"I believe that there was only one ordeal that went through, Miss. Petrova,". I snorted at that; was he crazy?

"Mr. Snow, I think that everybody besides you considers the Hunger Games an ordeal, and a bad one at that. But if you must know, I'm not faring well after either, as you can see," I responded, pointing to the giant gash on the one side of my face that would likely scar. Snow jutted his chin up towards my cut before continuing.

"We can always get that fixed before the Victory Tour, you know,".

I shivered at the thought of going on the Victory Tour; seeing every family of the people that I had a part in killing? No thank you.

"No. I want everyone to see this," I replied, grazing a finger over the mark.

My ribs would heal and my bruises would fade, but this would definitely scar, which for some reason, I was happy about. The memories of Sir's evil grin will fade and the smell of his dingy old house will grow old, but I want the marks to stay.

The way he cut my cheek too deep will always be there with me, reminding me of mistakes I made and the troubles I faced. I watched Snow nod slowly, as if he was taking everything in. After a while, he looked around the room with a smirk on his face.

"Do you like your new home, Ana? I can call you Ana, yes?".

"If you're going to call me by something short, I would prefer Stasi," I replied shortly as I bit down onto my cheek. Snow chuckled quietly and turned to face me.

"Well I prefer Ana; it's beautiful. In fact, Anastasia is just gorgeous. Hazelle named you that, yes? How is the Hawthorne family doing lately?" he asked me, giving me goose bumps. Why had he wanted to talk to me so badly?

"They're doing as good as they can be after everything that's happened. It has been years and we're still coping over Thomas.." I sighed, brushing off tears of my step-in father.

He had been the father I had never had. Something passed through Snow's eyes at the mentioning of him.

"Thomas Hawthorne, yes.. He was a good man. But Ana, if you don't mind, I would like to discuss more.. Important matters,".

I grinded my teeth at the thought that Thomas' death wasn't important, but let him continue.

"What happened to you in the woods with Sir was obviously tragic, but I think we both know that Sir did not just waltz into town and pluck you out of your perfect little life,".

"It's far from perfect," I muttered, rolling my eyes.

"I see. But we both know why you left; couldn't choose between your two men. How cute," Snow spat as he matched my eye roll.

"You think that I would leave over something that petty?" I spat, crossing my arms, even though that in fact was the reason that I had left.

"Yes, I do; as do you. And you knew that it would make me look like the bad guy; like I snatched you away from everyone who loves you.. Am I right, dear?" Snow continued, fight sparkling in his eyes.

I remained silent, not wanting to show him that he in fact was right. I had wanted to force a rebellion upon Snow; make him pay for everyone who has died in the Hunger Games; Cato, Foxface, Clove, Rue.. He deserved all of their pain plus some.

"Anastasia, I suggest you speak up; don't make me bring Peeta and Gale into this,". My head snapped up and I shot him a glare from my chair.

"This has nothing to do with them, Snow,".

"Gale, no. But it does have a lot to do with Mr. Mellark, does it not? He did go along with your little suicide plan, after all," Snow spat, playing with his fingers.

As he glared back at me, I felt as if his 'blood and roses' scent was engulfing me, threatening to strangle me from the inside out.

"Well then make this between you and me. Peeta didn't do anything, I forced him," I rambled, not wanting him to bring them into this. Whatever Snow planned on doing, I didn't want them involved.

"But Miss. Petrova! You know very well that Mr. Mellark definitely played a part in that act; you wouldn't have done it if you weren't there.. No excuses. I know! Let's make a pact, since we are both very honest people. We shouldn't lie to each other, how's that sound?" Snow asked me, his smirk growing even wider, if possible.

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I would've answered his question, but there was a quick rap on the door. We both spun around to see Gale and Peeta entering the room. Peeta nodded towards Snow, acknowledging his presence once again.

"Everything okay in here?" Gale managed, but it looked like he was holding back from punching Snow as much as possible.

That was when it hit me. It would be so easy. It would be three against one, why not try and kill him?

All of our troubles would be over.

"Why yes, Mr. Hawthorne; in fact, we're doing quite well! Would you mind giving us a couple more minutes alone to chat? We're having a great conversation," Snow basically ordered; he would obviously not take 'no' for an answer.

I could tell that Peeta and Gale were looking at me for permission but I couldn't look at them; instead I stared at the ground, not really sure of what to think of all of this.

Why was President Snow really here? What did he want? All he's done is bring up random topics. I heard Peeta sigh before he spoke.

"Fine. We'll be back to check on you guys in a bit,".

"No, I think I'll bring her back downstairs when we're done talking. But thank you for the generous offer," Snow smiled graciously, as if he really meant it.

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"Why did you come?" I asked Snow as the boys shut the door behind them.

"Look, Anastasia. I think that we need to reach a mutual agreement when it comes to the next few months of your life," Snow rasped, playing with his chin lightly.

"And what kind of agreement would that be?".

"The Victory Tour is coming up, yes? Ana, I am not sure if you are aware of this, but specific scenes that were shown of you during your Games have sparked quite a rebellion amongst the Districts... Some actually believe that the Capitol can be overturned!" Snow began to laugh, as if this concept was crazy.

"So.. Your point?" I shot back, feeling incredibly eager to get out of this room; I would probably never re-enter this room after this.

"My point is that we both know you ran before getting kidnapped; you wanted to start a rebellion against me.. Obviously, you failed. When you have to make your speeches for the Victory Tour, keep them short, keep them sweet. Everyone knows that your kidnapping was tragic, and since I sent Gale to go and find you, I will look like a hero; like we're friends,".

I stared at him in disbelief, shocked at his words. Gale came on his own! Snow definitely did not send him.. Did he?

"And if you stray from those words by bringing up other topics, such as you choosing to leave on your own? Well.. Then it will be Peeta and Gale's problem,".

I decided to stray off of the topic because I had a few questions of my own.

"Mr. Snow, when I was kidnapped, Sir said something about reaching more salvation.. What did he mean?". Snow looked at me, his eyes filled with intrigue.

"Salvation, you say? Not surprising, coming from him,".

"Him? So you two did know each other? Who is he, Snow? Who?" I practically yelled, wanting to know his identity more than anything. Snow looked up again to face me before speaking.

"Sir, is Sir,".

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"Don't forget our agreement," President Snow reminded me before getting up to leave.

Once Snow finally walked out of the room, I couldn't follow him. I was frozen; glued to my chair. When I assumed that he had reached the lower level of the house, I flung the door open wider and walked quickly down the hall towards my room, glad that his scent was slowly leaving my lungs.

I slammed my door shut and made my way to my bathroom, locking that door. I tossed my robe in the trash, his scent engulfing it.

A few minutes later, I stepped into a scolding hot shower and sat there, letting the steaming droplets run down my face.

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I was in the shower for a long time; the water had turned cold a long time ago. I remained silent when I heard a loud knock on the door. Then I heard the knock jiggling, like someone was trying to enter; that was when I panicked.

Was Sir back?

Had Gale not really killed him?

I flashed back to the memories of Sir trying to beat me in his bathroom. Memories of him cutting me across the face with my own knife flooded my brain.

"Anastasia, open the door," I heard a voice say.

I couldn't understand who it was over the water, which made me panic even more. I cursed silently at myself for keeping the light off while I scrambled around for some kind of weapon. A shampoo bottle would have to do.

I heard the door's lock slide to the unlock position and I almost screamed.

Sir is coming back to kill me.

Over the water, I heard the door quietly open, a bit of light entering the room.

"Shit, let me get you a towel," the voice said again.

A towel? Whoever it was kept the light off; probably wanted to surprise me when they tried to kill me. The killer's hand reached past the curtain, fumbling for the handle that turns the shower on.

I scooted as far away from the hand as I could, something that did not go unnoticed. I held my breath when the ice cold water shut off around me, not wanting to know who it was. The shower curtain got pushed slowly to the side and I saw a man holding a towel towards me.

"Come on, I won't look,".

I stayed silent until the body sighed angrily.

"Don't make me get in there with you!".

My mouth open and let out a shrill scream when the man wrapped the towel around me, causing him to panic as well. He jumped into the shower despite my cries and flung his body against me, only a towel separating us.

"Sshhh, it's alright; don't be mad, I've seen you in a towel before," .

The joke that escaped his mouth made me cease the blows to his hard chest, giving me time to look up at his face.

"Peeta?".

"Yes, it's me. Now relax, you're safe now. Everything's okay,".

Peeta picked me up and led me into my bedroom, his eyes trained on anything but me the whole time.

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Peeta sat with his eyes shut like the gentleman he is while allowing me to get dressed. Once I was adorning sweatpants and a tank top, I pulled his hands away from his eyes, earning a smile.

"Stasi, what happened?" Peeta asked me as we both sat with our legs crossed on my bed. I shrugged and looked towards the pillows.

"Nothing, really,". Peeta rolled his eyes before slowly taking my hands in his.

"Anastasia, I just found you in lying down in the shower crying.. Not to mention in the dark. What happened?" he urged me on.

I knew that he was only trying to make me feel better by having someone to talk to, but it was only aggravating me more.

"Peeta, it was nothing. It had nothing to do with you, so please. Just drop it," I growled as I ran a hand through my dark brown hair. Peeta stared at me intently but I wouldn't budge.

"Stasi, you can tell me," he said quietly.

"There's nothing to tell. Snow was just checking to see how I was doing after.. You know," I lied, blinking rapidly a few times.

"I know you're lying but I'll drop it for now. I don't want to upset you more," Peeta replied before standing up and dusting his pants off.

"Where are you going?" I asked in a rush, jumping up beside him to take a hold of his arm.

Peeta looked down at the grip I had on him, a slight blush appearing on his cheek. He looked down at me through his long lashes, his lips parted a little.

"What?" I asked him, trying not to smile. Peeta looked back at the grip that I had on his arm before letting out a deep breath.

"You can do that over and over and it still takes my breath away,".

I had to look up to spot his bright eyes, seeing as how Peeta was a few inches taller than me.

I released the grip on his wrist before standing on my toes to place my lips to his.

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Once Peeta knew that I was okay, he went home. It was only lunch time and we were both starving. Plus, I haven't really had anything except for pancakes since I left District 12 in the first place.

I brushed my hair up into a high ponytail, put on a comfy pair of slippers (yet another luxury supplied by the Capitol), and headed for the hallway. Upstairs, it was incredibly quiet. I stood still and listened, however, and sure enough, I heard the kids running around downstairs.

I smiled to myself at the thought. Vick, Rory, and Posy had grown up in poverty, relying on Gale and me to make ends meet for them. After winning the Games, the kids could not ask for more. I was able to give them toys, food, clothes (even though Posy loved sneaking into mine)..

After everything that I've been through, I'm happy that I can give back to the family that has graciously made me a part of their lives for sixteen long years. I let out a deep sigh and headed downstairs for lunch, my stomach growling the whole way.

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"Anastasia! I'm glad to see you're up for lunch," Hazelle smiled, greeting me with a hug.

I tried to hug her back, but it didn't really work. As I greeted all of the kids, I noticed Gale watching me from the other side of the large kitchen. He was perched on one of the counters that attached to the stove, apple in hand.

As I released myself from Posy's death grip, Gale hopped off of the counter and walked over to me, engulfing me in a big hug.

I took his woodsy scent in as I pressed my face into his chest, not wanting him to let go. Gale kissed the peak of my head before letting go (much too soon for my taste) and heading over the kitchen table.

When Hazelle sat down the meal in front of us, I could feel my mouth water. After eating squirrel and pancakes for at least a week, cheesesteaks looked pretty amazing.

"Hazelle, I love you SO much right now!" I laughed, but not taking my eyes off of the food. We all grabbed our own sandwich when I felt Gale nudge me in the shoulder.

"What?" I answered him, my mouth full of cheesesteak.

"I just thought you should know that I spit in your sandwich,".

I stared him as I finished chewing, his smirk growing wider.

"Well then, I guess you should know.." I started.

He was engrossed in what I was saying that he didn't notice me snatching his sandwich away. I then proceeded to lick the entire sandwich before handing it back to him. Gale stared at it in shock.

"I accidentally licked your entire sandwich,".

Rory and Vick were howling with laughter at this, making Hazelle only roll her eyes playfully. Gale looked between me and his sandwich before shrugging his shoulders and taking a bite.

"Ew!" I laughed, looking away from the man on my left.

"What? It's not like I haven't swapped spit with you before," Gale said nonchalantly before taking another bite.

My mouth dropped open and I kicked him in the leg.

"What the hell was that for!" he laughed, shoving me in the shoulder.

"There are kids at this table, Hawthorne!" I gasped, my mouth still wide open.

"It's okay Stasi. We know you two are going to get married one day!" Posy said, smiling up at me.

I jumped a little when I felt Gale's hand snake around mine under the table, but I chose to ignore it.

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"So when does the Victory Tour start?" Gale asked me in bed that night while he ran his fingers up and down my arm.

I rolled over into his body, letting him wrap his arms around me. I nestled my head into his neck as he wrapped one hand around the back of my head for support.

"Next week," I sighed, making him get goose-bumps from the warmth of my breath hitting his neck.

"You'll do great. I mean, I'd prefer to have your ass here with me instead, but I know you'll do great," he joked, nipping me lightly on the ear.

I closed my eyes and tried to let his soothing bring me to sleep but it was no good; there was a question that I needed to ask and it wouldn't stop bothering me until I asked it.

"Gale?".

"Yes, beautiful?" Gale yawned, pulling me in closer.

"When you came looking for me after Sir took me.. Did Snow make you come looking?" I froze when Gale's fingers on my arm froze.

"What makes you think that?" he asked me before resuming the grazing of my arm.

"Well, it's just that Snow told me that he sent you because he knew that you would find me, and I just wanted to make sure—,".

"Wait, he told you that? And you believed him?" Gale shot back, his anger clearly rising.

I looked up into his eyes, praying that he wouldn't let me go.

"No, no, Gale. I didn't! I just wanted to make sure that—,".

"I can't believe that you would take that sick bastard's word over mine.. After everything we've been through!" Gale was practically yelling by now, and was squeezing me a bit too tight for my liking.

"Gale, you're hurting me," I tried to say, but he wouldn't hear it.

"After everything I've done for you.. I saved your life, Anastasia!".

I managed to wrestle my hands from his grasp in time to grab his face and pull him to me, capturing his lips in a kiss.

It took him a while, but he finally responded. We both broke apart later on, gasping for breath.

"I can't argue with you when you do that," Gale growled as he ran a hand through his already messed-up hair.

"So believe me when I say that I believe you over Snow; you know I do," I whispered, our noses touching.

I pecked him lightly on the lips before lying back into the crook of his neck again.

"God, I love you," Gale whispered against me as he ran a hand through my long hair.

"I know you do,".

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I woke up in the middle of the night feeling incredibly hot. I looked up to see that the ceiling fan was on full blast, so it must've been me. I was still wrapped in Gale's arms, but it couldn't have been that. I could feel a headache coming on, but it was weird. Was the room spinning?

"Gale," I muttered, nudging him.

Gale grunted into his sleep, so I nudged him again.

"Gale," I said with more force, startling him.

"What's wrong!" he called out, nearly jolting out of bed.

"Gale, something's wrong. I can't—I can't.." I stuttered as the room began to spin even more.

"Anastasia, what's wrong? Come on, tell me," Gale tried, checking my forehead. "Shit, you're burning up. We need to get you to a doctor or something," he stood up out of bed and grabbed two sweatshirts; one for me and one for him.

He sat me up and pulled it over my head and even fixed my hair.

"Gale.." I tried, but my vision was starting to fail.

"It's alright, I've got you. Just try and stay with me, okay sweetie?" he said as he picked me up in his arms.

I felt him wrap my arms around his neck but I couldn't tell where we were going.

"Stasi?" his voice asked me, but by this point, it was too far away for me to respond.

I leaned my head against his hard chest and let the darkness take me.