Peacekeepers were never a good sign. For a bunch of people meant to prevent chaos, they certainly caused a lot of it. Screams erupted through the garden as they barrelled through my party, looking for somebody in particular. I was the only one not running or scrambling for a way out. I stared at the Peacekeepers as they fanned out. They clearly wanted something in particular. But what was it?

There were only two other people not reacting to the chaos. My parents. In fact, both of them seemed relatively calm given the circumstances. Was it some kind of strange surprise, I wondered? I half expected them all to rip off their helmets and break into a song and dance. But my elation turned to fear when they spotted my mother and beelined for her.

I watched my father step away from her as the Peacekeepers seized her. She didn't struggle against them, simply casting a cold glance in my father's direction. Her eyes scanned the crowd, looking for me. I stood frozen, unable to move even an inch. When she finally looked at me, she offered me the saddest smile and mouthed two words to me.

Be good.

Being told what to do has never been my forte. As she was carted away, I ran after her, circling around the side of the house. I saw a Peacekeeper force her into a big black car. There were several vans on the street where the Peacekeepers had clearly been unloaded from, but I wasn't interested in them. I wanted to follow my mother.

I managed to make it over to the car, but a Peacekeeper wound down the window and shook his head at me.

"Stay away from the vehicle or we'll have to use force."

"That's my Mom!" I cried. "What are you doing? Where are you taking her?"

"That's classified."

"I demand to know!"

"If you know what's good for you, you'll let her go," the Peacekeeper warned me. "Just forget about her. You don't want to go where she's headed."

With that, they wound the window up and the car drove away. I chased it down for as far as I could, but I fell down halfway down the street, tearing my dress and scraping my knees. I winced in pain, but tried to get to my feet, desperate to follow the car. But the second I stood up, the car was out of sight and the Peacekeeper vans were driving off in the opposite direction. I'd been played for a fool, but I wasn't about to give up. I was going to find my mother and demand to know why she was being detained.

I ran back to the house with blood soaking my torn skirts. The party certainly wasn't going as I had planned. When I returned to the house, the guests were brushing themselves off, trying to figure out what they'd just seen. My father was stood with a blank expression on the patio with Cicero, who was offering him a glass of water. I grabbed my father's shoulders and shook him.

"Don't just stand there! We have to do something."

"There's nothing to be done," he said quietly. "She's gone."

"No! I'm not giving up just like that! Why are you so calm about this? We have to follow her, try and figure out what's going on!"

"It's too late for that. She made her bed. Now she must lie in it," my father insisted, physically turning his back on me. I couldn't believe what I was seeing. I knew him and my mother weren't close in any sense, but seeing him abandon her in her time of need struck me hard. It felt like he was letting both me and her down in one fell swoop.

"Dad..."

"You need to put it behind you," he said firmly. "If the Peacekeepers have business with her, then there's no reason we should get involved. She'll only drag us down to her level."

I shook my head in disbelief. "Fine. If you won't help me, I'll go myself. I'm going to find her and set her free." I turned to Cicero, clasping my hands together in a sort of silent prayer. "Cicero...you have a car. Please, you've got to help me."

Cicero glanced between my father and I. It didn't take me long to understand the meaning behind his furtive glances. He was only there to impress my father. He had no loyalties to me at all. Without him saying a word, I knew he wasn't going to help me. I knew, for the first time in my life, that I was on my own.

A part of me was so scared that I thought I might just give in, the way everyone else seemed to have done. I was still a child. I wasn't ready for everything that would come in the aftermath of my mother's arrest. But I had fire in my heart and determination in my soul. I wasn't ever going to leave my mother behind - she was the one person I was certain I loved.

"Fine," I said coldly. "I'm leaving now."

"What are you going to do? You don't even know where she's going," Cicero asked desperately. The second I walked away, he knew he would be left with no leverage to get on my father's good side, but that was the least of my worries. I smiled coldly at him.

"I'm going to demand an audience with President Snow."

Getting to see President Snow was no easy feat. For one thing, I had no money and I was still wearing my party outfit. Walking through the streets of the Capitol, I began to realize how ridiculous I was, tottering along in heels and hoping to get places quickly. I was stained with blood from where I fell, and my boots were pinching my toes, but I was determined to get somewhere. I wasn't going to give up until I had my mother liberated.

I walked all through the night. I was exhausted, having walked through my entire district and through the rougher areas, where Capitol prostitutes and drug addicts resided on the streets. They were the darker side of the Capitol we all tried to forget, and yet I was forced to be a part of them for several hours as I limped through their territory. I spent so much time among them that I began to feel like I belonged, but I kept pushing. I knew it would be worth it to get where I was going.

I eventually made it to the centre of the city after the sun had risen. I was ready to drop down with exhaustion, but I refused to let myself give in. The streets were practically empty - it wasn't often that Capitol citizens were up before nine am, and often they stayed in bed much later. We were never early risers - that was for the peasants in the Districts. I was glad no one was there to witness my struggles. The only person I wanted to see was the President.

When I reached his famous home, I was struck, as always, by its beauty. It was a magnificent structure, and it seemed odd that it only housed one man. I didn't know much about my President - the only time he seemed to show his face was in the Games season - but I had trusted him for a long time. I was certain he would listen to my concerns and help me understand what was going on.

There was an intercom system outside the gates, and I frantically pressed the buzzer several times. Nothing happened so I continued to press it. I wasn't planning to leave until I got a response. When the intercom finally crackled into life, someone sighed on the other end.

"President Snow isn't available right now. You can't just show up here."

"It's an emergency," I hissed. "I demand an audience with him. Right now."

"We don't just let any junkie scum in, you know. Sort yourself and come back when you're sober."

I blinked in surprise. I guessed I must have looked a bit of a mess, but I'd never been treated so rudely before. I was used to being high up the food chain, admired by all who met me. I shook my head in disbelief.

"You don't understand. My father is a Gamemaker...and my mother was arrested late last night. You might know them...I'm Aurelia Thorne."

The intercom went silent for a moment. Then, I heard whispering on the other end of the line.They were clearly feeling much less confident about shutting me out now that I'd revealed my identity. Several minutes later, the gate creaked open.

"Proceed," the voice told me. I breathed a sigh of relief and strode as confidently as I could into the grounds. I was ready to face the President, and I didn't care if I caused a scene. I wanted to know exactly what I was dealing with, and how to rectify the situation. Surely the President wouldn't keep me in the dark about what was happening?

I was greeted at the door by an Avox wearing a white rose on her dress. She stepped aside to let me in and then led the way through the maze of a house. I'd never seen anything so lavish. Most of the furniture and decor was white, but all of it was so fancy that I could just tell that it was designer. President Snow clearly had a distinct aesthetic, but it was somewhat creepy and sterile. I felt uncomfortable being there, for sure. But I held my head high and carried on my way. I wasn't about to back down and be intimidated by some white furniture.

I was led to a strange white room in the centre of the house. Like much of the rest of the house, it was white in color, and contained only a chair and table. The chair reminded me of the sort that you sit in to go to the dentist, and a single white light bulb dangled above it.

President Snow was standing by a table in the corner. It seemed to have a range of surgical tools on it, and a shiver ran down my spine, especially when the Avox closed the door behind me. I stood my ground, waiting for President Snow to turn around. When he did, he offered me an odd smile.

"Welcome, Aurelia Thorne," he said. It felt odd that he knew my name, but I supposed that if he knew my father, he must know of me too. "Why not take a seat?"

I was trembling. I'd never been so nervous. I shook my head. "I'd much rather stand."

"Suit yourself," the President said, taking several slow steps toward me. "How can I help you, Miss Thorne? I'm guessing there's a reason you woke me up so early."

"I want my Mom," I said. I was fully aware that I sounded like a child, but the tiredness and the seriousness of the situation was getting to me. "I want to know where she is and why she has been taken. I...I didn't know where else to go."

The President sighed and lowered himself onto the surgical chair. He looked far too relaxed and it was bothering me, but I kept my mouth shut. "I cannot disclose to you why your mother was taken. All I can tell you is that she committed treason," the President said without an ounce of sympathy. "We have been aware of her actions for some time, and we have been forced to detain her. She will be put on trial and most likely sentenced to death."

I couldn't believe what I was hearing. My mother wasn't a traitor of any sort, least of all to the nation that she loved. I knew what I was hearing couldn't be true. "No. You're wrong. My mother would never do something like that."

"Perhaps you don't know your mother as well as you think you do, Miss Thorne," the President said coldly. "I think perhaps your trip here has been a waste of time. There is nothing you can do now. You are lucky that your family hasn't been dragged into the mess she has made. Flavia Thorne is not your concern anymore."

"This can't be it," I said, shaking my head. "There must be something I can do...please don't kill her. Whatever she has done, I can fix it. I promise I can make it better."

"I can assure you, nothing can make what she has done better. And no punishment is more fitting for her than death."

My heart was beating at a thousand miles an hour. I knew there must be something I could do to appease the President. I'd come such a long way just to be turned away. And one thing was for sure - I was willing to do anything to save my mother's life. Even die in her place.

"Take me instead," I said all of a sudden. For the first time ever, I saw my President look shocked. I guess it took a lot to surprise him, especially after years of overseeing the Hunger Games. I hurried to continue my speech. "Take me and kill me instead. Let my mother live. Imprison her if you must, but please...don't let her die. She doesn't deserve it."

"And you are the authority on that, are you?" he asked, regaining his composure.

"I know her better than anybody."

"I wouldn't be so sure," the President said. He stood up and walked toward me. I was sure he was about to turn me away. "I admire you, Aurelia. I have never known a citizen of the Capitol to be so...fiery. But I cannot accept your proposal. It is not enough."

"My life is not enough to trade for hers?" I narrowed my eyes at him. "Does my life hold no value to you, President Snow? Is that how you see the citizens of your grand city?"

President Snow smiled. "You're good at twisting words to your advantage, aren't you?"

"When necessary. I'm not a fool."

"No, you're not," the President murmured. He paused for a moment, his snake-like eyes scanning my face. I tried not to break away from his stare, determined to hold my own. I planned to prove to him that I wasn't one to walk away from a situation. He chewed the inside of his cheek. His breath smelt coppery and warm, but I didn't flinch away from him.

"What are you willing to sacrifice for what you believe in, Miss Thorne?"

I swallowed. "Everything."

President Snow offered me a terrifying smile. "You know...I think there is one thing that you might be able to do."

My eyes widened. "Whatever it is, I'll do it."

"You might want to be careful what you say, young lady. I imagine you won't be so impressed when you hear my idea."

"Tell me," I demanded. I could barely breathe, shocked by my own anticipation. President Snow's eyes met mine at last.

"Aurelia...would you consider entering the 35th Hunger Games?"