Disclaimer: I don't own The Hunger Games

"Sweets to the Sweet"

- William Shakespeare

I am shaking from the deep red hair atop my head down to my leather boots. I clutch my portfolio in unsteady hands. My face feels hot. A bead of sweat dribbles down my neck. Then another. And another. My eyes are locked, staring at the cool lilac wall straight ahead of me.

It's okay, Yalia, I tell myself. But obviously it's not okay. Nothing about the Hunger Games is okay. But I have to think of Ziva. I have to land this job to protect her.

"Yalia Stride?" The cool female voice nearly shocks me out of my seat.

"Me!" I announce. Blushing, I stutter "s-sorry. I mean ... that's me. I'm Yalia. I'm here."

"The President will see you now."

"Okay. Thank you." I follow President Crimson's assistant into his office. She gives me an encouraging nod, and I sit down opposite the president of Panem.

"Yalia Stride," he says, before I can open my mouth.

I try to say "yes," but no sound comes out. Instead, I nod. Try as I might, I cannot bring myself to meet his hard, cold gaze.

"It's an honor, President Crimson," I finally manage to say in a weak voice, looking down at my portfolio.

This is it, Yalia. This is your one chance to become Head Gamemaker. Impress him!

I force myself to look at him. "I brought with me a portfolio full of ideas for the upcoming Games. Shall we take a look?"

"Not just yet, my dear." The way he enunciates the last word makes me squirm in my seat. "Do I make you uncomfortable, Ms. Stride?"

"No. Of course not, sir," I lie.

"Ms. Stride I would like to get to know you a bit better. I think that was what went wrong with our last Gamemaker. You do recall Head Gamemaker Charlin, I presume? Or rather, ex-Head Gamemaker Charlin. It's a pity we had to, um, let him go, but his personality simply did not mesh with mine as I'd so hoped it would."

I can feel the blood rushing to my cheeks.

President Crimson pauses. He is looking at me. I resist the urge to hide my face in my hands. I chance a glance at him. His expression is inquisitive.

"My dear Ms. Stride, you have nothing to fear. I sense you will be a far more obedient Head Gamemaker than your predecessor."

Head Gamemaker? My predecessor? Does that mean I got the job?

"Don't rejoice just yet," he chides, as though reading my mind. "I still need to see what you've brought for me."

I reach for the portfolio, but he shakes his head. "Not just yet, my dear. There is more to discuss."

Unsure what to say, I wait in silence for him to continue.

"You're not all that verbose are you, Ms. Stride?"

I shake my head sheepishly.

"But that's quite all right. I prefer to do most of the talking."

I meet his eyes long enough for him to wink at me, sending a chill down my spine.

"Now, my dear, why don't you tell me a little bit about your daughter" he says each word slowly and deliberately.

"My daughter? She's wonderful. Her name's Ziva. She just turned twelve."

"Ah. I see."

I swallow a lump in my throat. I should not have mentioned her age.

"By my rough calculations," the President goes on with a coy smile, "that would make her eligible to be Reaped this for the next upcoming Games."

I nod, staring at my boots.

"And I take it you are well aware that the names of the children of the Head Gamemaker are removed from the Reaping pool?"

"But that's not the only reason I want this job," I mutter unconvincingly.

"It's quite understandable, Ms. Stride. It pains me to include Capitol children in the Games at all, but it was a necessary measure to quell the rebellion after the seventy-fifth Games. I take it you remember?"

"I was just a little girl then. I don't remember much myself, but I've learned all about it in school."

"Isn't eduction simply wonderful?" He does not wait for me to respond. "Forgive me, Ms. Stride, for recapping what you have undoubtedly learned during your youth, but perhaps you might benefit for the perspective of someone such as myself who was so heavily involved in the story? Yes? Wonderful. Well, Ms. Stride, luckily, I was here to lead an army for Panem to put down the rebellion, namely by executing its leader, Katniss Everdeen, before she and her rebel friends could become too much of a threat to Panem. When President Snow died of, um, natural causes, who better than myself to take over the position of president, don't you agree Ms. Stride?"

I nod and coerce my lips into something of a shy smile.

"Well the the people of Panem certainly agree. I've been doing a rather better job of leading Panem than Snow, wouldn't you agree, Ms. Stride?"

I nod and attempt to smile once more.

"After the rebels were put in their place, and the districts submissive once more, I ushered in an era of Hunger Games that was better than ever. I banned all Victors from the first seventy-five Games from mentoring, as they might still hold the seed of rebellion in their hearts. Especially that Peeta Mellark. I sometimes wonder whether my benevolence in letting him live was foolish. But no matter, he can always be taken care of later."

I can feel my eyes widen in horror. President Crimson does not seem to notice; he is too engrossed in the story.

The only precaution I had to take to ensure the success of my regime was to add two Capitol tributes to the Games. While I love every single citizen of the Capito - man, woman, and child - this seemed a small price to pay to keep the Games going. It is a small price to pay for Hunger Games that are better than ever. The districts were appeased as they felt the Capitol children were not receiving special treatment. Of course, you Gamemakers always give our Capitol tributes some help from behind the scenes. But the districts don't have to know about that."

I feel sick to my stomach. If I get this job, Ziva can't be Reaped. But her friends, classmates ... they all can. I always hated the idea of the Hunger Games, especially since I became a mother. I can hardly stand notion that young kids should being forced to fight to the death. Twenty-three children's families may never recover. Yet, I became a Gamemaker anyway. I had to. It was the only way I could work my way up to Head Gamemaker and ensure Ziva's safety. I have done, and will continue to do, whatever it takes to ensure my daughter's safety.

The president flashes his coy grin once more. "Of course, I needn't fret. Nor you if this meeting continues to go well," Continues to go well? That's a good sign, right? "as the children of the president and Head Gamemaker are safe from the Reaping."

I breathe a sigh of relief. The president's gaze does not waver from my face, and, for the first time, I meet it with equal strength.

"It's not just about Ziva," I assert forcefully. He seems convinced by my lie "I had a lot of fun creating my Arena plans!" This is partly true. I do enjoy the creative component of Gamemaking even if I find the concept of Games themselves repulsive.

My use of the word "fun" seems to reassure him.

"Well then, let's see those plans of yours."

I fumble with the portfolio for a moment before pulling out my Arena plans.

"As you can see-" I begin, prepared to launch into the monologue I practiced over the past few weeks, but he holds up a hand to silence me. His eyes scan the pages, one by one.

"How ... sweet," he mutters with a chuckle. "Yes, your plans seem to be quite promising, Ms. Stride. It will be their worst nightmare disguised as their wildest dream. Welcome to the ninety-fifth annual Hunger Games, Ms. Stride." He extends his hand for me to shake.

Elated, I grasp it, adding "and may the odds be ever in your favor."

He faces the window on the wall to his right, lost in thought. "And may it be oh so sweet, my sweets."

Unsure exactly whom he his addressing, I nod politely and exit the room, mind reeling.

This is it. I've done it. I've actually done it! I let out a yelp of delight as I pass by President Crimson's assistant's desk, but I don't care.

President Crimson appointed me Head Gamemaker. Ziva is safe from the Hunger Games. All I have to do is keep the job until she's past Reaping age.

Thanks for reading this! Welcome to the 95th annual Hunger Games SYOT! The submission form and some more details are on my profile.

Just to recap a bit: In this universe, which I have dubbed the CrimsonVerse, President Crimson formed an army to kill Katniss and quell the rebellion following the events of Catching Fire. He took over after President Snow's death a decade later. President Crimson reinstated the Hunger Games, starting with the 76th 10 years after the 75th. All other living Victors were banned from mentoring tributes, just in case they still had any rebellious ideas they could instill in the tributes. To prevent another rebellion from occurring, President Crimson added two Capitol tributes to make the Games seem less unfair to the districts.

I can't wait to meet your tributes! Happy submitting!

Questions to think about if you are so kind as to review this chapter :D

1) What do you think of Yalia and President Crimson?

2) What do you think the Arena will be based on the story title and this chapter?