The Exonerated Districts

The Head Gamekeepers Dainx Diadem was nervously waiting to be called into the president's suite. He tugged at his collar in a vague attempt to breathe a bit deeper. This was bad news. Normally the president sent him emails via his secretary containing orders relating to the next Games and praise for the last one. In recent years however the praise had been getting shorter and shorter.

Finally an avox opened the door and he could hear the deceptively soft tones of President Glaze calling him in. He tried not too look as if he was dreading the meeting.

"Ah Dainx sit down" the president gestured to the chair in front of his desk and continued to read a report for an agonizing minute or so "I assume you know why I've called you here?"

When Dainzen didn't reply the president scoffed.

"Surely you've noticed it man! The Games are getting boring" Dainx drew in air sharply. Boring Games tend to mean dead Gamekeepers. The president walked over to the huge window overlooking the capitol "I'm not talking about your Games Dainx. It's been happening for years my predecessor warned me it was happening. You've done the best you can with what is frankly becoming a set format. We all know that District 1,2 and maybe 4 will have a victor and the other tributes may last a while but eventually all they really are is cannon fodder.

"It's been this way for years Mr President" was all Dainx could manage"

"Yes but I'm going to change it. The election is in three years and if I give the good old Games back to the Capitol I'll be a sure favourite."

"What do you want me to do Mr President?"

"District One will win this year" Glaze said.

"Ok how will this help?" Dainx asked not bothering to pretend the Games couldn't be fixed. All he had to do was make District One and Four die in some sort of natural disaster. No one would suspect a thing.

"Since the Games began District Two have had 567 victors, District One 499, Four 271 and the rest have been divided between the other districts. We are currently renovating the council's chambers and are going to 'find' an ancient document proclaiming that when a district has 500 victors then that district is exempt from the Games having earned the Capitols forgiveness. We will call them Exonerated districts."
"Does this mean there will only be 20 tributes President?"

"No to add extra spice we will hold a reaping every year to decide which two districts will provide two extra tributes to make up numbers. All this will be dictated in the document. Eventually District 4 will earn a pardon. I suspect different districts will rise to become superior but that will be in another lifetime.

That year Panem watched as in the 1466 Games the female tribute from One, Spectacle fought her way to victory. No one did question the flood, which took out some tributes with the tributes from Four saving Spectacle and Chester from Two. Nor the wild bear attack when Spectacle was of hunting with Four's male that killed Chester and the female from Four. Any other tribute that seemed threatening had terrible luck but that's all it was considered to be. In fact the Games ended in just 16 days and the Capitol celebrated a particularly gory Games. Spectacle was clever enough to slit the throat of Four and easily managed to pick of the other tributes.

A month later the nation watched as President Glaze announced the news of the document pointing out that One and Two were now Exonerated districts"

As Glaze predicted the 1467 Games were magnificent and went down a storm. Districts Five and Ten where the 'lucky' ones who sent 4 tributes and even better a 12 year old from Five earned the love of everyone including the three other tributes from her district meaning they were willing to lay down their lives to protect her, leaving her hidden in a cave with enough food to live comfortably. The anguish of the last living tribute from five, 15-year-old Jango, when he discovered a tribute from Eight standing over her dead body made for great telly and Five had its first victor in 40 years.