Thanks for clicking and hopefully reading!

So I'm back with another one-shot! Well, it's more of a two-shot, since I got a bit carried away with it...oops. But I hope you like it!

This two-shot is about Mrs. Everdeen, and basically her whole backstory; continuing on to the 'challenge' I made myself with writing backstories to the Hunger Games characters. This will take place from the Hunger Games all the way to Mockingjay, though this chapter will be based on her life before she had children.

For story-writing purposes, I gave Mrs. Everdeen and Mr. Everdeen first names. You seriously cannot expect me to just call them Mr. & Mrs. Everdeen the whole entire time. Seriously. So for this story, Mrs. Everdeen's name is Camilla and Mr. Everdeen's name is Sage.

Disclaimer: Suzanne Collins owns the Hunger Games trilogy and the lullaby that Katniss sings to Rue.

You have to promise me you'll fight through it.
. . . . . . . . . .

How do you fight a sickness when you don't know what it is? How do you diagnose the symptoms if you can barely even think, let alone move? How do you cure yourself when you're numb all over, empty on the inside?

How do you continue living when you've lost the will to live?

But no, this isn't really living. This isn't living at all; not when the days are all mixed into each other, not when there's no sunlight, not when there's no feeling.

She knows this. This is not life.

This is some sort of sick, putrid purgatory, and the days on this earth are merely some punishment.

She must have been really terrible in her past life, because all she's done is try to help others.

Camilla Hyland had been learning her whole entire life how to help others. How to treat others, how to care for them, how to keep them alive.

But she was never taught how to keep herself alive.

.

They had called her beautiful, and she never believed them. Yes, she had hair as golden as the sun and eyes as blue as the sky to match, but all Camilla thought was attractive about herself was the fact that she was a merchant, from the richer side of District 12.

She never understood why they had a richer and poorer side to District 12 when they were all starving anyways.

But all the boys that chased her, all the boys who smiled and flirted - she knew they only wanted her for her parent's richer background. It was because they were healers, and they had money that not many had to buy food.

And the boys were charming and sweet, yes, but Camilla knew that in time, she would mean nothing to them.

So Camilla ignored the boys and stayed with her girls, because Camilla knew that these girls were her friends, people who she could trust.

Maysilee and Madeline Donner were Camilla's closest friends, and they were never separated from each other. People in the district often said they were triplets; with their golden hair and piercing blue eyes.

Camilla shared everything with the twins. All of her secrets, some of her treats, even her clothes. And the two twins shared with her everything that they had, too. The three girls were inseparable, and what they did, they did together.

Walking down the streets together, buying food at the market. Sitting in class next to each other, eating lunch together. Holding hands tightly as they walked to the Reapings, wearing their pretty dresses, their hair in braids.

But there was one secret, one thing that Camilla kept from Maysilee and Madeline.

The boy from the Seam.

Because how many times has Camilla ranted on and on about the infuriating boys from the Seam, with their tanned skin and coal grey eyes, teasing her and following her everywhere she went? How many times have the three of them been victims of their mockery of their background?

Camilla Hyland swore that she would always, always dislike those irritating Seam boys.

Oh, but she was only thirteen when she said that. And even though only two years have passed, things have changed so much.

She couldn't tell Maysilee and Madeline that she, Camilla Hyland, the Merchant healer, fell for some dirty Seam boy.

It was her little secret.

.

She had just been working, helping out with her parents. They were busy with their own patients when he stumbled in.

"Hey - I'm looking for a healer? I need some help." He asked, stumbling in.

Camilla eyed this boy with judging eyes; his dishevelled brown hair lined with dirt, his bright grey eyes.

And of course, she noticed his tan skin - he was from the Seam.

Didn't he see that there was a healer right in front of him? Camilla was wearing her neatly pressed white dress, sitting in the healer's chair - those Seam kids were truly as daft as she thought they were.

"I'm a healer." Camilla snapped. "What do you need?"

Then the boy looked at her, and he smiled a little, his eyes brightening.

What did he think she was - a meal?

"I - uh - fell, trying to - um - chase my friend." The boy hesitated, his eyes never leaving hers.

His stare unnerved her, and she wanted to leave as soon as possible.

But still, she couldn't turn away.

"Any cuts? Scrapes? Bruises?" Camilla sighed, getting up towards the boy. "What injuries?"

The boy sat on the table, with a tablecloth draped over it as a mattress for the patients.

"A few cuts and bruises on my arms and legs. Just some medicine should be fine." The boy grimaced, rolling up the sleeve of his shirt.

Camilla gathered up the materials she figured she'd need - some gauze, some rubbing alcohol.

The Seam boy must have been playing with his Seam friends, she thought. Rowdy, loud children.

However, when Camilla walked over to the boy, she gasped.

It was definitely not just a few cuts and bruises.

There was a large gash on the side of his arm, bleeding heavily. There were multiple bruises on his leg and a cuts riddling his hands.

The boy caught Camilla's shocked look and grinned painfully.

"It was an intense game."

Camilla closed her mouth and bit her lip, glaring up at the boy. She had thought she could have just cleaned out a few scratches, slapped a few bandages on and be rid of this boy in seconds.

But no, those troublesome Seam kids just had to bother her.

Silently, Camilla got to work. She washed the wounds gently with her towel and basin of water. She didn't look up with the boy hissed at the stinging pain, or when he flinched. She wouldn't give in to those captivating grey eyes again.

Carefully, Camilla applied a salve onto his large gash and wrapped gauze around it securely. The boy inhaled sharply as she did, and she noticed his fingers grasping the edge of the table tightly, his knuckles turning white.

Camilla bandaged the cuts and iced the bruises. She cleaned up the boy and ignored the feeling of his eyes on her the whole entire time.

It was only when she was finished did she look up to him again.

"There. All done. All fixed up." She said shortly. "Now, time to go."

"Hold your horses! I know you're eager to get rid of me, but I'm not leaving that easily." The boy smiled, moving his arm gingerly.

Camilla gritted her teeth, curling her fists up into tight balls. Those Seam kids were the worst, always bugging her. What was he going to do now, tease her for having food in her cupboards?

"Thank you." The boy grinned charmingly. "You did a great job."

"You're welcome. Now leave." Camilla growled, pushing the boy out the door. He had overextended his stay in her home.

"Whoa, there." The boy was a few years older than her, and much bigger. Camilla couldn't push him away. "My name's Sage. Sage Everdeen. What's your name?"
"Why do you need to know?"
"I think I should thank the pretty girl who fixed me up well properly, preferably using her name."

Camilla glared at Sage, and he smiled back at her. He absolutely irritated her with that cool demeanour and easy smile. It was clear though, that he wasn't going to leave until she told him her name.

"I'm Camilla. Camilla Hyland." She gritted. "Now get out."

"Thank you for your time, Camilla Hyland. It was a pleasure meeting you." Sage grinned charmingly. "I'll be on my way now."

"You do that."

Sage stepped out of her house, and the second his foot left the threshold, Camilla slammed the door and bolted it shut.

Camilla leaned against the door, trying to get Sage's maddening grey eyes out of her head. Through the closed door, Camilla heard Sage chuckle before walking away.

The tune that he whistled as he walked away stayed in Camilla's head for the rest of the day.

.

Camilla always seemed to bump into Sage wherever she went. He would always call out her name, and she would always pointedly ignore him.

Maysilee and Madeline, of course, caught along quickly. The two of them never missed a beat.

"Who's that, Camilla?" Madeline whispered as Sage passed by them, giving Camilla a bright smile.

"Why is he always smiling at you?" Maysilee hissed, looking back again and again to catch sight of Sage again.

"I don't know who he is." Camilla lied. "Just another Seam kid who's hitting on me again, probably."

It was the first time Camilla had ever lied to her friends, and she was nervous, sure that they would see through it in a second and demand to know the truth.

Camilla didn't know if she was relieved or upset that they didn't catch her lie.

"Oh, tell me about it!" Madeline sighed. "Kenden was staring at me again yesterday and..."

Camilla nodded and added in comments here and there as her friends chattered, but her mind was on Sage and the gash on his arm.

.

Sage came over to Camilla's home often.

With new bruises, new scrapes, new gashes. Once or twice with a broken bone, and frequent cracked ribs or fractured fingers.

And every single time, Camilla took care of him and healed him back again.

He always tried to talk to her, starting up conversations that she never continued. She only spoke when it was absolutely necessary, but the tenth time Sage came to the door, she couldn't hold her tongue.

"I'm beginning to think you're getting hurt on purpose." Camilla sighed, exasperated.

"Maybe you're just not doing a good enough job." Sage grinned, holding his arm, which was held at an awkward angle.

"Why - how dare you - you -" Camilla sputtered, seething.

"I'm just kidding. You're doing a brilliant job." Sage laughed. "I'm just a clumsy fool."
Camilla sighed, and opened her door wider. Sage walked in and took his usual spot on her dinner table.

"I'll agree with you on that note." She muttered underneath her breath.

"What is it this time?" She said, louder this time.

"I think I dislocated my shoulder." Sage winced, holding his arm gingerly. "It's not moving right."
"Anyone with eyes can see that." Camilla snarled. "Now sit still."
Sage did as he was told, and Camilla did her job.

"And how, by chance, did you dislocate your shoulder?" Camilla growled, carefully repositioning the arm again.

"I was in a fight with one of the boys. Some things just got out - ow, ow, ow, ow!" Sage answered, cut off by Camilla pushing the arm correctly into the socket again.

"I didn't hear any fighting." Camilla stated, dusting her hands and stuffing a herb into Sage's mouth. "Chew."

Sage chewed, and scrunched up his nose in distaste as the taste of the bitter herb filled his mouth.

"It was in the far side of the district. In the Seam." Sage answered, testing out his arm slowly. "Hey, it doesn't hurt anymore!"

"It shouldn't; not after that herb." Camilla washed her hands. "Why don't I believe you?"

"But look, I can move my arm like this...and this like...and like - ow, okay, maybe not like that but -"

"Sage. I know you didn't get into a fight with anybody." Camilla frowned. "You get along perfectly fine with everybody in the Seam."

"So you've actually noticed me!" Sage exclaimed, grey eyes shining in the moonlight.

"Sage, tell me how you dislocated your shoulder!" Camilla shrieked, her voice rising to a shout.

Camilla wasn't worried about her parents hearing her - they never paid too much attention to her anyways, besides when they were teaching her how to be a healer - plus, they were at Maysilee and Madeline's house for dinner with the Mayor to discuss some important matters for District 12.

Camilla, though she wouldn't admit it - was worried about Sage. Though he annoyed her to no end, it scared her to have this large seventeen year old come to her doorstep at least once every week with another serious injury.

Sage stared at Camilla with defiant eyes, and Camilla continued to glower at him. Neither broke their stare.

Finally, Sage sighed in defeat.

"You wouldn't believe me if you tried." Sage said.

"Oh - so now you're making assumptions? You Seam kids - " Camilla threw her hands up in the air, only to be interrupted by Sage.

"See? That's it, right there!" Sage hopped off the table, advancing to Camilla. "You Seam kids - you wouldn't understand! You don't understand!"
Camilla backed away instinctively. Sage was taller than her by a good head, and was broad. His eyes seemed to be set on fire, and they were alone in the house - nowhere to hide. Sage was a big seventeen year old, and Camilla was just a small, skinny fifteen year old girl.

"Don't think that all of the Seam kids don't know how you Merchant children feel about us - especially you and your twin friends." Sage spit. "You with your new, ironed dress and ribbons in your hair; dinner on your table every day, you -"

Camilla stood a step closer to Sage, standing on the tips of her toes, glaring at him, no longer caring about Sage and his intimidating size.

"My family and I barely have anything to eat every day!" Camilla shouted. "So don't think -"

"Don't think what?" Sage thundered, but Camilla did not cower. "At least your family has food to eat every day!"

Camilla fell silent, the words dying in her throat. The Seam families didn't have anything to eat? She had thought, at least, maybe they'd have some rice or a loaf of bread to share, but never, never imagined that they went by each day with nothing but air and water passing their lips.

Immediately, Camilla was ashamed. Ashamed of how Sage walked into her house once every week to see her counter stocked with what she thought was just a meager meal - when really, it was a feast to him.

Camilla was ashamed of all she had thought about the Seam kids for the past fifteen years.

Sage was still looming above her, his grey eyes burning in the bright moonlight.

"I - I'm sorry." Camilla said in a small voice. "I didn't -"

"Know? How could you have known?" Sage sighed, shaking his head. "It's not your fault anyways."

"But this whole entire time I've always been saying things about the Seam families and - " Camilla started, thinking about all the times she complained about missing a meal again, or how the stinky smelly Seam kids were lurking around the market again. How could she have been so blind, so selfish, so, so... despicable?

Like the Capitol?

"I'm sorry." Camilla finished lamely. It struck her as funny, how she used to hate the idea of the Seam boys hitting on her, thinking they only liked her for her money. Maybe they just wanted to be friends. Heck, now she would give all the food she had in her pantry now to the whole Seam area.

Camilla felt self-hate, shame, humiliation, and embarrassment for how she had been acting this whole entire time.

"Don't be. It's not your fault." Sage smiles sadly. "And I'm sure you've had your fair share of hunger."

But Camilla knows that the hunger her family feels must be nothing compared to how Sage and his family deals with every single day.

"You might not believe me if I told you how I dislocated my arm," Sage says, breaking the silence, "but I think you'll believe me if I showed it to you."

"Show what?"

"Meet me at the marketplace, where the goats are. Tomorrow, at dawn, if you really want to know."

Before Camilla could open her mouth, Sage was already gone with a wink and a grin, leaving her alone in her empty house.

.

Camilla debated not going to meet up with Sage - nobody was out at dawn, anyways - but her curiosity got the best of her. She felt compelled to know how Sage kept on hurting himself so badly - maybe then he'll stop coming over every week.

So at dusk, Camilla threw on Madeline's lavender dress that she borrowed, walked out the door, trying not to feel so guilty.

Sage was already with the goats, throwing tiny pebbles at them, scaring them off.

"So what are you, besides from a terrible fool of a klutz and an animal terrorist?" Camilla asked, bright and clear, hands on her hips.

Sage looked up to see Camilla, looking like a vision of perfection in his eyes - the soft dusk light, her beautiful lavender dress, sky blue eyes, and golden hair.

He smiled.

"I'm a hunter."

.

"What are we doing here?" Camilla hissed as they neared the electrical wires. "Hey - don't do that! We'll get in trouble!"

"By who?" Sage grinned. "There's no cameras or Peacekeepers here. Come on!"
He slipped through a weak link of the fence, and Camilla gasped.

"Oh my gosh! Stop! You can't do that! This is District 12's boundary!" Camilla whispered sharply. "You'll get fried!"

"I won't, and I didn't. That's a weak link, and the Peacekeepers never recharge this old thing anyways."

"How have you not shown up at my door, electrocuted yet?"

"Don't be scared." Sage teased.

Camilla glared defiantly at Sage.

"I'm not doing it."
"Oh, come on."

"I'm not breaking the law!"

"Don't be afraid." Sage coaxed. "Just slip over this space over here and you'll be done with it!"

"That's it. I'm leaving." Camilla spun on her heel, ready to walk away - but Sage's voice stopped her.

"Don't you want to know how I dislocated my arm?"
Camilla spun back to face Sage, a devious look in his eyes.

"Come on, it's not that bad."

Camilla sucked in a deep breath of air, glared at Sage one last time, and slipped through the barbed-wire fence, standing next to Sage on the other side. Outside District 12.

"That's my girl." Sage whispered, smiling.

"I'm nobody's girl - and definitely not yours." Camilla growled. "Now show me."

Sage's smile, if possible, got brighter.

"Follow me."

.

"What, may I ask, exactly do you do in outside of District 12? Where you could get killed?" Camilla hissed, carefully navigating her way around the puddles.

"Almost there, you'll see." Sage said from somewhere ahead, voice muffled. "Ah, here we are."

"There's nothing special about here." Camilla mumbled.

"Oh, but there's something very special - " Sage turned back to Camilla, holding something in his hands, "- about this."

Camilla gasped. Sage was holding a large bow, longer than half his height. It was curved elegantly, but ending with a deadly point and strung with a wiry, strong string.

"And of course, this goes with it." Sage grins at Camilla's reaction, swinging the quiver of arrows for her to see.

Camilla stars, awestruck at the bow and arrows. They were made of wood, the arrowhead carved from stone; pointed and deadly.

"But what - how - why -"

"I'm a hunter, remember?" Sage says simply. "I hunt animals and gather plants."

"But - "

Camilla was speechless. She couldn't believe that someone would escape the safety of their district, to venture out into the wilds of the unknown and hunt for food.

But he was hungry. Hungry people did crazy things.

"I'm always hurt because I'm still trying to get the hang of things." Sage chuckles. "Cutting myself making arrowheads, falling out of trees trying to get bird eggs... I've still got a lot to learn."

"But why?"

"Shouldn't you already know the answer to that, Camilla?" Sage's grey eyes bore into her blue ones. "My family is hungry. My three little sisters and my baby brother. Do you honestly think we can live with an empty stomach for months on end?"

Camilla shook her head, still too shocked to speak.

"Being a coal miner only pays so much. And the tesserae only lasts so long, Camilla." Sage turns back to the bow and arrows. "I have to feed my family."

"How many times have you signed up for the tesserae?" Camilla asked quietly, the only words she could get out of her mouth.

Sage stared at her for a few moments before answering.

"Seven."

"But that means your name is in the draw forty-nine times!" Camilla gasped, horrified. "You'll be Reaped for sure!"

"Food is food, Camilla. I can't let my family starve."

Camilla falls silent once more, staring at the soft curve of the boy and the deadly straight points of the arrows. She remembers the hunger she feels when she skips a few meals, and she multiplies it by ten. Camilla imagines having four younger siblings, with no food in the cupboards.

When she opens her eyes once more, Sage is staring at her. Her eyes look...different when she opens them again, he thinks. Beautiful, still, but different.

"Show me how you hunt."

.

Sage had always liked Camilla. Admired her from afar, you could say. Even though she was a Merchant girl and he was a Seam boy, he still liked her - they were still people in District 12, and that made anything possible for the two of them.

He liked the way the sun hit her hair perfectly, and the way it falls effortlessly into loose waves. He liked the way her eyes matched the colour of the sky, and how they seemed to see through you. He liked her pale skin and her red lips, and how she walked like she was dancing.

Sage Everdeen liked Camilla Hyland very much.

All the Seam kids knew about her - as that girl who didn't like them very much, but then again, the Seam kids were always separated from the Merchant children, so it wasn't a surprise to Sage that she thought they were poor slobs.

Some things just can't be helped.

But Sage liked that she was a healer. That she helped others, even when she didn't really want to - he had seen that happening through firsthand experience - and that she always seemed to have a cure.

And now Sage told her his biggest secret and his deepest thoughts.

And Camilla wanted to see him hunt.

Sage liked the forest very much, how it glimmered with all the bright colours the Seam didn't have. How the leaves rustled and how the animals skittered about. The forest was beautiful in his eyes, and not only because it provided him food.

Camilla next to him as hunted was like the sun shining brighter, brightening his spirits.

.

Camilla watched him, watched as he pulled back the string of the bow and let the arrow fly. Over and over again, rarely missing at all. He caught birds and squirrels, and he put them in a satchel attached to his belt.

Camilla was used to seeing blood, and it didn't disgust her at all. In fact, it fascinated her, the way the arrow arced through the air with grace - deadly grace.

"Watch this." Sage whispered. Camilla nodded, wide-eyed, following his quiet footsteps.

Sage whistled a cheery, bright tune; short but sweet. The forest was silent for a second, and then the birds chirped back the same tune.

Mockingjays, Sage mouthed to Camilla.

Sage whistled another tune, and this time, the birds fluttered closer to him, trying to listen to his melody.

Like a deadly big cat, prowling about, Sage notched the bow silently and slowly pointed his arrow to the direction of the birds.

He pursed his lips and whistled one last time, the melody no longer sweet to Camilla - it was haunting, paired by the way Sage stared at the birds.

As soon as Sage finished his whistle, the birds opened their mouths, fluttering their wings excitedly. But before they could let out a chirp, Sage let his arrow fly, skewering two through their throats.

They fell to the forest floor, twitching. Sage picked them up, yanked the arrow out, and bagged the birds.

"Don't look at me so surprised, Camilla." Sage grinned.

"I'm not." Camilla said defiantly.

Sage smiled and continued walking, and Camilla smiled too, though she made sure no one saw it.

She loved the forest.

.

Over the next few months, Camilla accompanied Sage to the forest.

She told herself it was so that he wouldn't get hurt and come running back to her house over and over again. But deep down, she knew it wasn't true.

Camilla liked the silence of the forest, the lush green leaves, treading softly through the grass.

And maybe, just maybe, Camilla liked Sage, too.

Camilla followed Sage through the forest, finding herbs and plants that she could use, gathering them up in her little basket. She even taught Sage which plants were edible and which weren't.

Sage and Camilla talked in their little expeditions, and this time, Camilla actually answered back. Their conversations were short and rare, since they didn't want to scare away any game, but they both found themselves always eager to return each morning at dawn to the goats, where they would see each other and hunt in the forest again.

They hunted at day and returned just in time for school, no one ever suspecting a thing. Camilla's parents never noticed the extra plants and herbs in the drawers, since Camilla hid them by her bedside for her emergency stock. Madeline and Maysilee never mentioned anything, since they knew nothing about Camilla and her wild side at the forest. Camilla felt a little guilty about not telling them, but she didn't want to let them in on the little secret that only she and Sage knew about.

For months, Camilla and Sage hunted together. Sage taught Camilla how to swim in a lake they found, and Camilla taught Sage which berries were safe and which were poisonous. Camilla climbed up the trees to gather the bird eggs, just so that Sage wouldn't fall down and dislocate his arm again.

And on Camilla's sixteenth birthday, Sage taught Camilla how to use a bow and arrows.

"No, like this."

"It is like that!"

"No it isn't!" Sage repositioned Camilla's arm. "There you go."

"Now shoot?"

"Now shoot."

Camilla's arrow hit the robin right in its bright red chest, and it fell dead, plopping onto the floor.

Camilla turned and smiled at Sage, eyes shining.

"I did it."

"That's my girl." Sage smiled back at Camilla, his grey eyes proud.

Camilla blushed, and that time, she didn't mind being Sage's girl.

.

At the Reapings for the second Quarter Quell, Camilla meets up with Sage in the forest before they are called to the town centre.

"I'm nervous." Camilla confesses, fidgeting with the ribbon in her hair.

"You shouldn't be." Sage smiles, ruffling Camilla's hair. "You won't be Reaped."

Camilla glares at Sage, taking her hair out of the neat braids and redoing them again.

"I'm not worried about me." Camilla says, tying the ribbon again.

Sage turns over and looks at Camilla, his grey eyes shocked and sad at the same time.

"I'm worried about you."

.

Sage is not Reaped.

But Maysilee Donner, one of Camilla's best friends, is.

She walks up, trembling, and all Camilla can hope for is that Madeline is not Reaped, too.

Stupid Capitol and their Quarter Quell - why did twice the tributes have to be chosen? It wasn't right. It was bad enough, sending two in. Sending four was sheer torture.

Madeline is not Reaped. And neither is Camilla. Even Sage is not Reaped.

But Maysilee; dear, sweet Maysilee is, now forced to fight for her life on television.

Madeline can't contain herself, she feels like she's being ripped in half. And maybe she is - her twin was always a part of her. They were two peas in a pod, practically the same person.

And now, she was going to die.

Madeline and her family say their hysteric goodbyes to Maysilee, and Maysilee can't stand to see her twin and her family like this. She will win. She will come home.

She has to come home.

Just before Camilla goes in to say her goodbyes to Maysilee, Sage stops her.

"Here, give her this." Sage drops something into Camilla's hand. "Tell her to keep it as her token."

Camilla only nods, on the brink of tears. Sage wraps his arms around her gingerly, the first time he's ever done so. He can't stand seeing girls cry, especially Camilla - his friend, his confidant, his girl.

"Tell her it'll give her luck. And strength. And happiness, too, I guess, since we could all use a song now and then." Sage whispers into Camilla's blonde hair.

"What is it?" Camilla asks, sniffling. She looks at what Sage gave her for the first time, the tears in her eyes making it hard to see what it is.

"It's a mockingjay pin."

.

Maysilee dies.

It's expected, but it doesn't make it any easier.

Madeline screams and screams, and she won't get out of bed. She can't. No medication, no pills, no herb will make her move again; all she can do is cry into her pillow - the pillow that she shared with Maysilee.

Camilla visits Madeline, and it's obvious she's not okay. The two are both heartbroken, but Madeline seems to be shattered beyond repair. At the end of the day, every day, Camilla leaves Madeline's bedside, feeling like she lost both of her friends in both hits.

And all of the people say that the infamous golden triplets of District 12 have been shaved down to one single, lone girl. One is dead, and one is paralyzed with grief.

But District 12 has a winner - the second time it's ever happened in the history of the Hunger Games - and it's Haymitch Abernathy.

But no one's really celebrating, because even though he's back and they never come back, they should have never left in the first place. This is wrong; all wrong, wrong, wrong.

Camilla finds that the only happiness she could possibly seek out after losing both of her best friends is seeing Sage in the mornings, hunting in the forest. She gathers plants and fruits, and tries to take her mind off of everything.

Sage sees this, and he knows that Camilla is hurting.

So instead of hunting, one day, Sage leads Camilla to the lake he showed her when he taught her how to swim.

"Are we swimming today?" Camilla asks sadly. "I don't really feel like swimming."

"No, we're not." Sage says, sitting down on the dewy grass. "Today, we're sleeping."

"Sleeping?" Camilla asks, shocked. "But don't you have to hunt for your family?"

"I just didn't sell anything at the Hob yesterday, so it's fine." Sage explains, patting the grass next to him. "And I have some leftover game for you and your family, too."

Camilla sits down.

"Thanks." She says quietly.

Sage lies down on the prickly grass and stares up at the pink-grey sky. Camilla does the same.

"Why are we sleeping?" Camilla asks, turning to meet the coal grey eyes that she's grown to adore.

"Because everything's better in our sleep." Sage answers, smiling faintly. "And things could be a bit better now."

"Yeah." Camilla whispers, and she feels tears rolling down her cheek without her permission.

She's cried enough. She's cried a river, a lake, an ocean. You'd think she'd run out of tears, and she thinks so, too - but unfortunately, she just can't stop.

Sage and Camilla lay there in silence, with the occasional chirp of the birds. Slowly, Camilla finds herself dozing off, her head leaning towards Sage's shoulder.

But no, she stops herself every single time. Camilla doesn't know what Sage and her are.

Friends? No, that doesn't seem right. Allies? That reminds her too much of the Hunger Games. Acquaintances? They were closer than that. Partners? They were past that point, too.

Camilla didn't know what they were, and it frightened her.

Sage senses her unease, and knows just how to cure it.

Softly, Sage begins to sing. A soft, hauntingly enchanting song.

Deep in the meadow, hidden far away

A cloak of leaves, a moonbeam ray

Camilla finds herself falling asleep, Sage's voice pure magic. All the birds stopped singing, and the world was absolutely silent as Sage sang the lullaby, his voice quiet and soft in her ears.

Forget your woes and let your troubles lay

And when it's morning, they'll wash away

Camilla marveled at how the world just fell silent for Sage, the peace wondrous, Sage's voice lulling.

Here it's safe, here it's warm

Here the daisies guard you from every harm

Camilla's head clears, and everything is bright. The heartbreak of losing her best friends are throbbing painfully in her chest, and the tears are still trickling down her cheek. But in Camilla's heart, she feels something else - something inexplicable, something wonderful - blooming.

Here your dreams are sweet and tomorrow brings them true

Here is the place where I love you