A big THANK YOU to everyone who submitted a tribute. You guys are awesome!

I don't have too much to say about this chapter, except that updates will be weekly from here on in. If you're looking to submit tributes, I need male and female tributes for Districts 2, 6, and 10, female tributes for Districts 3 and 9, and male tributes for Districts 4, 7, 8, 11, and 13. District 12 will not have tributes because it was obliterated during the rebellion and the survivors are living in District 13. Hence, if you submit a tribute from 13 for this story or any of the sequels, you can choose whether the tribute is actually someone who grew up in District 13 or a refugee from 12.

Again, please read and let me know what you think!

Lidia Hamilton, Head Gamemaker

Lidia Hamilton strode down the halls of the Presidential Palace, struggling to keep her temper under control as she headed towards President Collins' office. Unfortunately, keeping her emotions in check was something she was hard pressed to do right now. Several very choice, extremely profane words were running through her head at the moment, proceeding or interweaving with phrases such as How could she?!, What was she thinking!, and most importantly, What am I going to do now?

The Head Gamemaker had a vague sense that she shouldn't be marching towards the President's Office when she was in a towering rage, even if that office did belong to her cousin, but right now she didn't care. Titania Collins was butchering one of the most beloved and important traditions in Panem, the way Careers mercilessly slaughtered helpless young tributes from the weaker Districts.

If I don't talk some sense into Tania, that will probably never happen again, Lidia thought grimly, knocking on Titania's office door. It was promptly pulled open by an Avox, who lead Lidia through two opulent sitting rooms before stopping in front of a large and imposing mahogany door that sported gold handles and intricate carvings depicting the main industry of each of the twelve Districts. The Avox lifted the gold handle tapped it against the door three times. Lidia, watching carefully, knew that this Avox had probably been trained to use a certain number of knocks to signal how important a visitor was.

"You may enter." Titania called out in her most imposing voice after a few moments had passed. The Avox again pulled open the door, allowing Lidia to enter before the door was shut behind her.

Titania, who was steadily working her way through a mound of paperwork that was piled on the sleek steel surface of her otherwise marble desk, looked up briefly and gestured for Lidia to take a seat in one of the two overstuffed plush chairs in front of her desk. Lidia slid into the purple chair, the one on the right, and waited for Titania to acknowledge her.

Surprisingly, Titania only waited a couple seconds before she set down her pen and leaned back in her chair. "So what brings you here today?" she asked serenely, though the calculating look in her deceptively innocent blue eyes gave away the fact that she already knew what had brought her young cousin to the Presidential Palace at this unseasonably early hour.

"Oh, give up the charade, Tania." Lidia snapped, unable to contain herself any longer. "I'm here because you seem to be intent on destroying the Hunger Games as we know them."

Titania folded her hands together and rested her chin on top of them. "Explain."

Lidia stared at her cousin, dumbfounded. Was she stupid? No, of course not; a stupid person would have never been able to take power in the Capitol, but she couldn't believe the person who had made such an incredibly poor decision was asking, her, Panem's most beloved figure, to explain why she thought said decision was such a bad idea.

"Let me start with the obvious." Lidia responded frostily. "In your speech last night, you said the number of tributes entered into the Hunger Games would decrease by one each year, and the victors would also increase by one. So in just over ten years, the Games will be gone for good. Or pointless, if everyone wins."

Titania sighed pointedly. "Contrary to what some people believe, Dia, I am staying true to what I said in my speech. The Hunger Games will continue. They will change form and evolve over time, but they will always be a fixture in our society. I personally saw to that when signing the treaty with the rebels."

Lidia fought against the urge to roll her eyes at Titania's use of her childhood nickname. "I think you're missing the point, Tania." She fired back. "The Games are about bloodshed, about demonstrating our superiority over the Districts. They're about making sure the Districts distrust each other enough not to start another rebellion. Which you seem to be encouraging with your lenient punishment, if one could even call it that."

Titania fixed her cousin with a piercing stare. "In my book, obliteration or near-destruction of several Districts counts as punishment. Twelve is completely gone. The Districts have already united once. The Capitol, which is supposed to be impenetrable, experienced some warfare. Panem is ready for a change."

"So you made a compromise that satisfies no one?" Lidia challenged.

"Yes, I negotiated a treaty that contains terms neither side is overly fond of, albeit for different reasons. Both the Districts and the Capitolites need to learn they cannot have everything they want. The scales have been unbalanced for too long, and if they remain that way, Panem will destroy itself. The treaty may not be popular, but it will preserve Panem far into the future. Keeping things as they are-by which I mean the Games-will not."

"Again, your solution is destroying the Games."

"Not destroying, Dia. Transforming." Tatania stood up. "Once the number of Victors exceeds the amount of tributes, the Games will enter an exciting new phase that will thrill the Capitol. One that you will be a part of. If you can remember not to continually question my authority."

"I'm not-"

"I am the President of Panem. You are the Head Gamemaker. Unless you would like to resign from your position so I can appoint someone who won't argue constantly."

Lidia glared back. "Fine. But just know that I'm not the only one who's questioning your authority. There are Capitolites rioting."

"Where?" Titania asked, completely unruffled.

"Sector 7."

Titania laughed. "Sector 7 is always rioting. It's considered the fashionable thing to do."

"They were throwing things at the Peacekeepers."

"I know that, because I was already informed this morning, most likely before you were even awake. My informant also told me that the material they're throwing at the Peacekeepers is literally confetti. As you can tell, I do know some things you don't, so maybe, just once, you should try to follow my lead instead of blocking the path of progress." Titania walked away from her desk and opened the door. "You may leave now."

Lidia stared at her, practically shaking in fury. The nerve, she thought. The pure and utter nerve of her. She marched out the door, not bothering to look behind her. As she stomped down the hall, she could only think one thing: Titania has to go.

Titania Collins, President of Panem

Titania took a deep breath after she had closed the door and returned to her seat. When she had regained her composure, she rapped the top of her desk twice. Almost instantaneously, a section of wall that was behind Titania and to her left slowly began to move outward. Out of the corner of her eye, Titania saw a tall, thin man with orange hair step out of the secret compartment that was hidden behind this particular panel of wall. The man pushed the door closed behind him and stole a quick glance in the mirror that hung on the secret door. Running his hands through his hair, he strolled over to stand beside Titania's desk.

Titania set down her pen. "How did it work?" she asked.

"Wonderfully." The man said. "I always knew observation windows like that existed, but I didn't know they were that effective."

Titania allowed heself a brief grin. "I know. I almost wanted to tell Lidia to go over there and check her face in the mirror, knowing that you could see her, and she couldn't see you." At the mention of her cousin, her smile quickly faded. "What am I going to do about her, Julius?"

Julius shrugged. "I'm not one to say. You tell me to kill people, and I kill them. You have advisors for this type of situation."

"I would prefer not to let my advisors know I'm thinking of killing my own cousin. I would actually prefer not to kill her, period, but she seems to have developed some animosity towards me since the war ended."

"She's a good Gamemaker." Julius pointed out. "She's been helping with the Games for five years, and everyone says she's the most talented one of them all. If anything, you could just have her killed off after the Games."

Titania closed her eyes, thinking. It was true that Lidia's talent was immense, but her vocal disagreements with Titania, which happened far too often for the President's taste, made her almost more trouble than she was worth. Actually, they did make her more trouble than she was worth, Titania concluded. And that could only mean one thing.

"Julius," Titania said, "I don't know how or when yet, but Lidia has to go."