The Announcement

Peeta, Lily, Isaac and all lounged on the couch like we always did after dinner. Lily seemed to have been fidgeting a lot all throughout dinner, and I knew something was wrong.
"What's wrong, Lily? You've been acting strange all day." I asked my daughter, raising my eyebrow.
Lily hesitated for a while before answering.
"The kids at school, mom. They keep mentioning something that happened years ago. I don't know if it's true or not...but they keep mentioning your name when they're talking about it. They call it the Hunger Games." Lily seemed troubled.
At the mention of the Games, Peeta's eyes grew wide as he looked at me worriedly. We had agreed not to mention the Games to our children unless they asked. We didn't want them to know about it, and we wanted to keep them as sheltered from it as possible.
"One minute, honey. Your father and I need to discuss something. We will be back in a minute and then we can talk." I motioned for Peeta to follow me. I walked into the kitchen. My hands were shaking and tears were burning my eyes. I didn't want to revisit the time I spent in the arena, and I especially did not want to explain it to my children.
Peeta saw how nervous I was getting, and he seemed to be reacting the same way.
"I know. I know, Katniss." He gently took a hold of my hand, stopping it from trembling. "I don't want to think about it either. But we need to talk about it with them eventually."
"I know. Okay." I wiped the tears from my eyes and pulled myself together.
"But right now is not the right time. We will explain when they're older." Peeta gave me a reassuring smile and we walked back to the living room.
"What have the kids been saying about the Hunger Games?" I asked, sitting on a chair across from Lily and Isaac.
Lily looked at the ground, as did Isaac.
"They-they said you killed people." Lily's voice shook. I understood, it would be difficult to hear from your classmates that your parents had competed in a fight to the death.
"Oh..honey. I'm so sorry you had to hear it like that." I wrapped my arms around my daughter, embracing her, angry that her classmates made her think her parents were murderers. "Lily, Isaac, it wasn't like that at all. I promise."
Peeta pulled up a chair next to me.
"Your mother and I think the Hunger Games are not something you are ready to learn about. We will talk about it with you when you are older, but you are too young right now. We want you to know that we did not murder anyone. We are not murderers. We love you both, and we are very sorry if your classmates scared you with what they said." Peeta hugged both of the children. Peeta was always the one who coped with the memories better. He comforted Isaac and Lily, while I sat looking blankly at the ground, tears stinging my eyes.
"Okay, it's time for bed. Everybody go finish your homework and go to sleep." Peeta told the kids. He got up out of his chair but before anyone could leave the room, the tv flickered on.
A voice spoke from the screen.
"And now, an urgent announcement from President Romulus." President Romulus was the nephew of President Snow. After President Snow died, Romulus recieved presidency over Panem. I wasn't sure what announcement he had, because he was generally a very quiet president. He usually just watched the citizens of Panem from afar to make sure we didn't start another uprising.
Romulus's face appeared on the television.
"Greetings, citizens of Panem. Over the last ten years, I have done some thinking. What took place ten years ago after the 75th Hunger Games was unacceptable. You all destroyed and obliterated the country over something as silly as a teenage girl's decision to rebel. I hope you all have had a wonderful ten years free of consequences for your actions, for now your punishment begins." Romulus paused for a moment, staring directly into the camera in such a way that sent chills down my spine. It seemed as if he was talking to me face to face.
"For old times sake, I thought bringing back an old tradition would be suitable for disciplinary action. An old favorite of mine, and an old favorite of my uncle's, I am hereby bringing back the Hunger Games. But this time, with a small twist. Instead of being randomly picked, the children competing this year will be the offspring of all the victors from previous games."
My vision went black.