Part One
Lavinia Snow is a petite girl with long red hair and sparkling green eyes. She is full of life, as described by her father's assistant one autumn evening while her father was having a dinner party. Lavinia never did and never has many friends. Her father is the president of Panem. She lives in the Capitol mansion. Not many of the Capitol children wanted to play with her. Her father is very protective of her. No matter how much Lavinia pleaded, she is never to go out by herself.
Today is Lavinia's sixteenth birthday. Lavinia often read books. It's one of the luxuries she knows other people in other districts would never have. It's come to her attention that most things happen on one's sixteenth birthday. Lavinia is determined for something spectacular to happen.
Every year, her father would host a big birthday party to celebrate with people who work for him. Gamemakers and sometimes Peacekeepers. Important people, whom Lavinia have never met before, would come. Capitol people love a good party.
Lavinia's mother died when Lavinia was very young. Lavinia never really thought about her that much. Lavinia also made it her duty to keep her nose out of her father's business. She knows he is president and that is a very busy man. That is all. She never cares how this country called Panem is ruled.
However, today, she is curious. She wants to know. Who are the Gamemakers? What is a Reaping? She is never allowed to attend celebratory events like the Hunger Games. She doesn't really know about it and she never did have a reason to ask her father. Busy man like him doesn't have time to answer his daughter's silly questions.
Perhaps today, on her sixteenth birthday, she will find out.
The party has begun. Lavinia is in her best dress. It is a light cream colour, made of fabric that is soft against her skin. Her red hair is bright against her light skin. She greets each passing guest with a dazzling smile. People often wonder from whom Lavinia inherited her vibrant red hair. Her father's hair has already turned grey and mostly white. Photographs of her mother reveals that her mother likes to wear wigs of assorted colours. There really is not telling.
"May I have this dance?" someone asks from behind Lavinia.
Lavinia turns to see a tall, dark and handsome boy. She immediately smiles and says, "Of course."
He leads her onto the dance floor and they dance to a slow and calming song. He whispers, "Miss Snow, I presume."
"Call me Lavinia," she says.
"Well, Lavinia, my name's Darren," he says with a smile.
Lavinia returns the smile as the song slows to a stop and another one begins again. Suddenly, there's a shout. A Peacekeeper is pointing to Darren. Rolling his eyes he says to Lavinia, "Well, it was nice meeting, Miss Snow, but I must be off."
A wave of panic floods over Lavinia. "When will I see you again?"
Darren grins. "I'll find you – if I haven't been locked up by this lot, that is." He leans in to plant a light kiss on her cheek. Then he disappears into the night.
A troop of Peacekeepers stop in front of Lavinia. "Why did you let him go?"
Lavinia looks at them and shrugs. "I didn't know he was a criminal."
"He's not. He's just a troublemaker," her father says, stepping out from behind a Peacekeeper. "I suggest you stay away from him, Lavinia."
Lavinia nods. "Understood, Father."
That night, Lavinia wakes up with the urge to go and look in her father's office. She has a feeling there's something big her father is hiding from her. There's that tired look in his eyes and the amount of Peacekeepers he has around these days. So she goes to the office and searches.
