"No!" She cried, springing forward.
It was too late to stop the arm from descending, and she instinctively knew she didn't have the power to block it.
Instead she threw herself directly between the whip and Gale.
She flung out her arms to protect as much of his broken body as possible, meaning there was nothing to deflect the lash.
She took the full force of it across the left side of her face.
The pain was blinding and instantaneous.
Jagged flashes of light crossed her vision as she fell to her knees.
Livia brought a hand to her cheek while the other kept her from tipping over.
She felt the welt rising up, the swelling closing her eye.
The stones beneath her were wet with Gale's blood, the air heavy with its scent.
"Stop it! You'll kill him!" Livia cried.
She got a glimpse of her assailant's face- Hard, with deep lines, a cruel mouth.
Gray hair shaved almost to nonexistence, eyes so black they seem all pupils, a long, straight nose reddened by the freezing air.
The powerful arm lifted again, his sights set on Livia.
Livia gritted her teeth in anticipation of the next lash.
"Hold it!" a voice barked.
Haymitch appeared, tripping over a Peacekeeper lying on the ground- It was Darius.
A huge purple lump pushed through the red hair on his forehead.
He was knocked out but still breathing.
Haymitch ignored him, pulling Livia to her feet roughly.
"Oh, excellent", His hand locked under her chin, lifting it, "She's got a photo shoot next week modeling wedding dresses. What am I supposed to tell her stylist?"
Livia watched the flicker of recognition in the eyes of the man with the whip.
Bundled against the cold, Livia's face free of makeup, her hair tucked carelessly under a hood, it wouldn't be easy to identify her as the victor of the last Hunger Games.
Especially now, with half her face swelling up.
But Haymitch had been showing up on television for years, and he'd be difficult to forget.
The man rests the whip on his hip, "She interrupted the punishment of a confessed criminal."
Everything about this man, his commanding voice, his odd accent, warns of an unknown and dangerous threat.
Where has he come from? District 11? 3? From the Capitol itself?
"I don't care if she blew up the blasted Justice Building! Look at her cheek! Think that will be camera ready in a week?" Haymitch snarled.
The man's voice is still cold, but Livia could detect a slight edge of doubt, "That's not my problem."
"No? Well, it's about to be, my friend. The first call I make when I get home is to the Capitol", says Haymitch, "Find out who authorized you to mess up my victor's pretty little face!"
"He was poaching. What business is it of hers, anyway?" The man spat.
"He's her cousin", Peeta's got Livia's other arm now, but gently, "And she's my fiancé. So if you want to get to him, expect to go through both of us."
