ONE WEEK BEFORE THE REAPING:

Syrio Flowers POV:

"Sir!" The young Gamemaker outside Syrio's office looked as nervous as he had on his first day. This was, however, early in Justus' third year at Game HQ and the usually boisterous and irritating lad looked pale and worried. Usually Syrio would have put it down to him being hung over, but he knew for a fact that Justus' team had been in early. They were discussing the same issue everyone had been discussing since Syrio's announcement three days ago.

"Enter," sighed Syrio, looking up from another irate letter from a bookie demanding the reinstatement of the Career pack.

Justus entered and perched on the large lush sofa that spread in a curve around the centre of the room, facing towards the gamemaker's large screen. That way, Syrio could watch the games in peace when he wasn't in the control room, which unfortunately wasn't often.

"It's about the Career pack, sir."

"I guessed it would be. Who's arguing against it now? It better not be more damn bookies."

"It's the districts, sir. One and Two in particular are not happy."

Syrio dropped his face into his hands and sighed before composing himself. "No," He stated. "I made my ruling and it's final. If these Games should be the biggest disaster of all time, then I'll take the blame."

Syrio shuddered after he finished his speech, he hoped that he wasn't being recorded in here. He may have just dug his own grave.

"It'll be fine." He declared, waving his hands in the air. "Won't it Justus?"

The young gamesmaker didn't answer.

Jewel Platinum's POV:

District One was still in shock. No alliances! This meant the end of the career pack and the end of the alliance which had helped secure so many victories over the years.

I process the information slowly, taking in all of the possibilities, running all the scenarios until I secure my son Price a win. Yes, Price CAN win and this year will be the optimal year for him to win. New rules will mean confusion and tributes forgetting the rules, resulting in some deadly punishments. Without a career pack holding him back, Price will be able to win the games in his own time and in his own way.

"You've got that look again, mother." The voice of my son drifts in from behind me. He grins as he throws his school satchel across the training room floor and grabs a sword from the side of the room.

"What look?" I ask as I grab a similar looking sword and charge towards my son, aiming for his stomach.

"That 'my darling son is going to win the games and bring us honour' look." He replies calmly as he expertly deflects my every blow. "You're thinking that 'my son is going to volunteer next week and he's going to win the games without the need of a Career pack.'"

"Of course I was my boy" I reply with a smile as I continue to slash my sword at him. "You will do what I never got the chance to do and you will enter and win the games."

"Of course I will, Mother!" He replies as he disarms me and hovers his sword by my neck for a moment. "For you AND for our district."

"Good boy" I reply as he removes his sword. "I'll see you in a few hour. Practice your defensive stance, it's a bit wobbly." I say as I sheathe my sword and head out of the sparring room. I have a class to teach, an advanced knife throwing one to be precise, and those ten year olds can't be trusted alone with the weapons yet.

"Good evening, Mrs Platinum." Another young boy, Price's age, nods at me as he enters the room, Marble is Price's classmate and a fellow trainee. He's a good lad but I see him as ending up like me, never entering the games, and if he's not careful, fading away to be just one of the many who never made it to the arena.

"Good afternoon, Marble." I reply as I leave the two boys to practice, confident that Marble Opal poses no threat to my son's assured victory.

After teaching my class I watch my son train for a moment longer. He's joined by his other close friend Rubin. Rubin poses more of a threat than Marble. His family even takes out the Tesserae rations to ensure their one of their children a place in the games.

The longer I watch Price and his obviously superior skills, the more I am confident of his assured victory. Price can do it.

"Mother!" he exclaims, shocking me "How long have you been there?"

"Long enough. You're not observant enough boy, I could have been waiting till you were unprepared and you could be dead right now."

"Be more observant." Price notes out loud, always learning and improving himself.

He bids farewell to his friends, knowing he'll be seeing a lot more of them over the following days. School is all but cancelled for those hoping to volunteer for the games. We head outside the training centre to our car, another luxury our family can afford and others can't. All thanks to Price's father and my darling husband. Peirce inherited his vineyard and our home from his father, who inherited it from his father, etc, etc.

I met my husband at the training centre but I always knew he never planned on volunteering, for him it was more of a social thing. Of course if he was reaped he would have to fight, but he wasn't, and then on the year of my eighteenth reaping (Peirce was twenty at the time) another girl shoved me to the floor and took my place in the games. She lost of course, I don't recall what killed her in the end, or her name come to think of it.

Once we arrive home Price jumps out of the car and greets Victor, our dog. Victor hold a long stick in his mouth as he enjoys the attention being lavished on him, he'll miss Price as he fights in the Games.

"Dinner's at Seven!" I call after my son and our dog as they run off into the distance. As I open the back door of our large farmhouse, I'm also greeted by an excitable male.

"Jewel, darling." My husband wraps his arms around me as if he hasn't seen me in weeks, not hours.

I kiss him on the nose and for a moment I am the happiest woman in the world.

Iunia Blanc's POV:

I look up from my paperwork to see the time. It's heading up to nine pm and Alexandria hasn't come to get me yet. What could that girl be up to now?

I scrape the chair away from my desk and lock up the weapon request forms in a safe before leaving my office and locking it up for the night. I hope that my girl, my protégée hasn't got her hands on another cat.

"Alexandria, darling, are you ready to leave?" I call down into one of the vast training rooms where she usually stays long after the others have all gone home.

"Soon, Iunia!" comes a reply in a sweet light voice. She always sounds so innocent, my Alexandria. No one would suspect the truth. "I'm almost there."

At the far end of the room in a box of light she stands, a pile of knives by her side.

"Ninety seven!" she whoops as a knife strikes the dummy across the room in the forehead. I can see it's already pierced with knives from it's ankles upwards, as are ten more dummies around the room. I smile.

"Ninety eight!" She calls, as another knife strikes the neck of the dummy.

"Ninety nine... One hundred!" The last two knives fly out of her right hand at the same time, striking into the dummy's eyes at the exact same moment.

She holds up her empty hands, showing that she is no longer armed. I walk over to her and begin to help her pull the knives from the dummies. Some of them are pretty well punctured and will probably have to be scrapped. Others we can salvage for the littlies to practice on.

"I'm going to volunteer next week." she tells me. She's been telling me this since she turned twelve.

"I think you should wait, you'll have a better chance once you're eighteen and I'll ensure you a place that year." I've been telling her this since she first told me of her plans.

"But imagine it Iunia, District One with such a young victor!" her excitement shines through but there's something deeper. I know because I have it too, a viciousness, a need to kill.

"I would recommend against it" I reply dead pan, Alexandria never listens to me anyway, she never has. Who knows how her parents coped with her while she was a young impulsive toddler. Before that day, before I took her as my own and saved her life.

"You can't tell me what to do, you're not my mother!" she shouts at me, a common insult and one she should know doesn't insult me ever.

"I know that Alexandria, but I am your guardian and your head trainer and I would suggest that you wait."

We lock up the knives and leave the training centre mostly in silence after that, I can see the determination in my young wards eyes. She wants to volunteer. She wants to win. To prove herself, I suppose, to show that she doesn't need me anymore.

We walk away from the centre and towards the victors village. It's a warm evening, so we walk slowly taking in the air as we go.

"Tell me of the arena again, Ionia," she asks eventually "Tell me what it felt like to kill."

"It felt beautiful, my dear." I smile as the memories flood back. She looks up to me, her excited green eyes shining in the evening light. "It felt like I was doing good in this world, cleansing it of the unworthy and proving my worth"

"I want to prove my worth too!" she pouts. "I know I can do it,"

"I know you can too, my darling," I reply, "but not this year. Okay?"

"No. I will volunteer and I will win"

We arrive home and Alexandria stomps up to her room. I smile, the girl may as well have been my own daughter. Strong and ruthless. Everyone told me I'd entered the games too early as well but they were wrong. Maybe I'm wrong too.

I leave a plate of meat and potatoes outside Alexandria's bedroom. It will be gone in the morning, I know. After eating my own dinner I retire to bed.

Thinking of my ward as I drift to sleep, it was inevitable that I dreamt of her that night. The night I chose her.

I had been out walking in the district, lamenting the standard of some of our trainees, when I'd heard a gunshot and a scream. A team of five peacekeepers had burst into her house in the night and had shot her family dead. They had deserved it of course, they were traitors. Their minds were full of dangerous thoughts and their house packed with Mockingjay propaganda.

I should have left that place. I should have distanced myself from the traitors and their child. But when the peacekeeper aimed at the screaming toddler, something in me stirred. Was it my regret of never starting a family? Or my need to finally save a life, not destroy one? I'll never know but I put my firm arm on the peacekeepers rifle.

"I'll take her." I told the man wielding the weapon. "She will be a great asset to our district and our country."

The man lowered his gun. I swept the girl up into my arms and rushed her back to my large empty house.

"What's your name?" I asked the little one as I lowered her onto my couch, unsure if I'd made a good decision.

"Alex" she squeaked. "Are you my mummy now?"

"No." I replied "I'm Ionia, and you're my darling Alexandria."

THE DAY OF THE REAPING:

Syrio Flowers POV:

I settle myself down for the long haul with a glass of Bloody Mary and my notepad in front of me. Others may choose to use the electronic tablets but I always preferred the more rustic approach, easier to destroy should the need come.

The reapings start as they always do with an excited pair of presenters in the studio chatting about last year's games. This year Nina and Marius are sat side by side, joking and laughing as the district four girl gets her comeuppance and expressing their shame that our victor Cane never got his epic final battle. They make it sound exciting but I know the truth: it was dull. Hopefully this year will be better.

After a while of idle chit chat the clock strikes 10:00 am and they cut to District One where, as usual, there is a party atmosphere.

Their district escorts is dancing on the stage as a local band plays some popular music.
"Hello hello hello, District One!" she calls.

"Hello, Livilla!" they call in response.

"Are we ready to pick some tributes?" she calls bounding from one side of the stage to the other.

The crowd cheers. Of course they're ready! There is a supply of eager volunteers standing at the front of the crowd. It's a show for them, truly the games as they should be.

"Gentlemen first, I think" calls Liv, her curly blue hair blowing in the light breeze. "Marble Opal!" Marble emerges from the front of the crowd, from the volunteer section. Excellent, I think. A reaped champion, he's a strong boy and looks like he could be a favourite in the capitol.

"So Marble, are you ready to take on the Games?" calls Liv, sticking a microphone in the boy's face.

"No." he states. "I would like to be replaced." There is a gasp from the crowd.

"How old are you, boy?" Liv asks, hoping what we all do: that he plans on volunteering next year.

"Eighteen." he mutters. "I'd like to be replaced, please."

I am in shock, a eighteen year old trainee turning down the games. It's almost unheard of.

"I volunteer!" several voices shout out from the crowd and after a quick rush and scuffle, a single male reaches the stage.

"Your name?" asks Liv, still confused at Marble's reaction.

"Price Platinum." announces the boy and the crowd cheers. I watch in shock as Price shakes Marble's hand and, after whispering something that looks like a thank you, Marble leaves the stage and walks shamefully back into the crowd. I would not like to be that wuss of a boy this evening.

"Okey dokey, onto the girls!" cried Livilla as she steps over to the second large bowl. She makes more of a show of it this time, sweeping her hand around the slips before picking one.

"Hope Greengrass." she calls and a tall fifteen year old steps out of the crowd. She doesn't look like a trainee to me, more the kind of girl who would rather spend her days inside doing whatever District One kids do instead of training.

"Would you like to be replaced, Hope?" asks Livilla, shoving a microphone in the girl's face.

"Yes" she replied simply, there is no shame in her turning down the games. She is not the victor type.

"I volunteer!" again several voices call out, mostly from the front row, but one voice calls from further back. A girl rushes to the front and pushes the older girls out of the way.

"Alexandria, no!" calls Ionia, the district's oldest victor, from her place up on the stage. So this is the girl she adopted, I think as the young girl stands on stage

"My name is Alex Santos." she announces. "And I'm going to win the games!"

Wow. I think as the screen cuts off from One. That's certainly unusual such a young volunteer, in District One of all places. However, there's little time to ponder her choice as District Two springs up on my screen.

A/N Hullo again this is an updated chapter beted for me by the wonderful Ivy000! I've just sent her the second chapter so that will be up and amazingly grammatically correct soonish.