Hello, friends~! This is my very first FF. *squee* Of course, R&R and whatnot. XD A special thanks to Sownth and Kris, for pushing me to finally publish my writing. Love you all~!

Disclaimer: Hunger Games and all affiliates are in no way owned by me.

7:42 AM, June 8th, Year of the 100th Hunger Games

My brother, three years my elder, was a fool. A weak, sentimental fool. And now he's dead. What an idiot.

But, I suppose, I really must thank him. Ever since his little rebellion failed a quarter century ago, the Hunger Games have run so much more smoothly with me captaining the ship. Not a thing has happened during the past 25 years that Snow could even blink an eye at. And this year is the grand finale. This year is the fourth Quarter Quell.

I'm sitting here now, in my plush, custom-made Head Gamemaker's chair. Technically, it was custom-made for my brother, but whatever. It's mine now. I crossed my legs and tucked a stray strand of my green hair behind my ear. I really need to get a new coiffeur. It simply wouldn't do to have my hair done by a woman older than Caesar Flickerman—for the Hunger Games, no less! I wonder what his color scheme would be this year… Never mind that, I thought as I made a mental note to get a new beautician.

"Miss Crane? Miss Crane?" a voice called to me, snapping me back to the meeting. What was it for again? Oh, yes—the finalization of the arena. Uncrossing my legs, I leaned into the table and my chair automatically pushed itself forward a couple inches in reaction to the shifting of my weight. I looked to my right-hand-man, Julius, attentively. "We've built the tunnels and the caverns already. The maze is all set and the Launch Rooms are being prepared as we speak. Prep teams and designers have been brought on board—almost all have worked for us in the past—and muttations have been bred. All that's left now is the tributes themselves."

"Good work, Julius," I said to him, nodding in hid general direction. I do not give compliments very often at all, and the young man beamed at my words, the silver tattoos on his temples gleaming. "The first Reaping is tomorrow, in District 12. I presume this year's Escort has already been dispatched?"

"Of course, Miss Crane," one of the other Gamemakers squeaked. Her voice was high and shrill, and I almost didn't recognize her—Sela, my goddaughter. She'd been brought on board this year, because she was so young. Only nineteen, she'd joined the board as soon as she graduated school. Of course, she'd gotten a makeover—most Capitol parents only let their kids get body modifications once they'd turned eighteen. She'd obviously gotten her eyeballs done—they were completely blue, all except the black slits that were her pupils. Her hair and lips were the same icy hue, too, making her pale skin look exponentially paler and giving us all the vision of a freezing snake. The light blue makeup over her eyes didn't help, either.

I looked over to her seat at the oval-shaped table, sizing her up. You'll do, I thought, but I forced myself not to say them out loud. I turned back to Julius.

"After District Twelve comes District Five. After that it's Four, Ten, and Eight, in that order. Have you sent out their Escorts yet?" I asked him. He looked over to Sela, unsure, but she nodded.

"The Escorts for Twelve, Five, Four, and Ten have been dispatched," she squeaked. "The Escort for Eight should leave in two and a half hours, at ten-fifteen sharp."

"There's your answer," Julius said as he turned to me. Interesting. Sela has only been here for two months, but she is already garnering respect. I had severely underestimated the girl.

"Good," I replied curtly. "Caesar's sent in his questions and Claudius has been briefed on the contents of the arena?" Murmurs filled the room. "Julius?" I said, looking at him expectantly. "What is the meaning of this?"

He muttered something about Claudius being sick. I sighed. Everything had been going so well… But no matter. There was still almost a month until the games begun. We would have plenty of time. "Very well, Julius, just make sure that Claudius gets briefed soon." Everyone in the room looked at me, shocked at my lack of a reaction. Usually I was prone to fits of rage whenever there was a setback in the preparation of the Games. Frankly, I don't even know why I didn't explode. I peered at the faces staring at me around the table and sighed. They grew accustomed to my outbursts quite quickly when I had first been appointed, so I assumed they would adjust to my tranquility equally as fast. I began to gather my papers and whatnot, brushing off my bright orange pantsuit and putting that irksome strand of green hair back in its place once more.

"Very well then," I said. "If everything is ready, then—"

"Excuse me, Rockelle," Sela said, raising her left arm meekly. I saw that it, too, has a serpentine tattoo on it—a blue cobra slithering up to her elbow, completely visible due to her all-too-revealing strapless blue dress. It even matched her blue-tinted snakeskin nails. I had to admit, this girl had a very nice fashion sense.

I nearly flinched when I heard her squeaky voice again, but I held it in. She was obviously not used to calling me "Miss Crane", which was understandable, I suppose, considering that I had known her since her birth and all. When we were at family dinners and such, everyone went by their first names. I decided to let it slide this time, much to the other Gamemakers horror, and turned to look at her.

"Thanks," she said with a wry grin. She stopped me…so she could thank me? I thought. There sure is something off with this kid.

"For what?" I asked her, confused. For letting her borrow my backup apartment? For paying for her sweet sixteen? For letting her live with me when her parents kicked her out for a month? For giving her fashion advice when she was little? The list was endless.

"For putting me on the Gamemaker committee with you, Rockelle, " she said, smiling shyly. This was a strange feeling, this. Wow. I'd never been thanked before, and, truth be told, it felt kind of good to know I did something nice for someone else.

I am so going soft. This was most definitely not good.

But it did feel nice. Maybe I'll start doing things like this more often. Maybe I should try to do kind deeds once in a while. Maybe I'll go easy on the tributes this year. After all, it is the hundredth Hunger Games.

Nah. I like watching them suffer a whole lot more than I like doing good things. This was going to be fun.

Hello again, friends. I really hoped you liked that-I spent hours working my butt off to get it published today. A promise is a promise, eh, Kris/Sownth? Lol. Imma be updating this story sporadically (but never more than a week apart, so don't you worry your pretty little heads), and I'm praying that I'll get it finished in time for the New Year. X3 Feedback, both positive and negative, is wonderful, so please, review. Fefe out.~

*Please note that Rockelle, Julius, Sela, and others seen in this chapter probably won't make a reappearance unless you beg them to.*