Julius Monaldo 1st Games
The new President started the games because he is angry. The President is only 22 years old but the past two years since the death of his father proves just how ruthless the young man can be. Before the bomb blast that killed President Commodus the war was going well for the rebel side. Once Romanus took control things got very bad for the rebels very quickly. Youth apparently did not translate into a lack of competence or an abundance of mercy.
That is why 18 year old Julius Monaldo is here right now.
Julius Monaldo looks around at the other 23 tributes standing on their platforms.
His mother is dead, his brother is dead, and his father is dead.
The only ones left are he and his sister.
His sister who is 9 years old and who without him will probably starve to death in the slums of District 2.
The decision is easy to make. Especially as he's pretty sure most of the other tributes are rebels.
The same rebels who killed most of his family.
The countdown starts down from 60
At 45 seconds he thinks of his beautiful mother. The love she had for him that was ended with a rebel bullet to the face a year and a half ago. Julius is starting to forget how exactly she sounded like.
At 30 seconds he thinks of his loyal father. A man who may have been stern and was definitely pompous but never anything but loving. A man who preached loyalty to the Capitol till the very end. A man who remained loyal up to and including the moment a rebel bomb blew him to bits as Julius finished his last year of schooling. Julius is starting to forget how exactly he looked like. The bomb took all of the photos in the house as well.
At 15 seconds he think of his brave brother only 3 years older than him. A proud patriot who fought and died with a knife in the gut from a crazed rebel in district 8. Julius is starting to forget the most about his brother. He has barely seen him since Augustus had volunteered to enter the army five years before.
In the final 10 seconds he thinks of Claudia. Dilly. His poor little sister and the only thing he has left in the world.
At 0 Julius Monaldo goes into an arena with mostly one thing on his mind and it is not the family members he is slowly losing memory of nor is it his little sister though she is there. Mostly he can only think on …
Vengeance!
The boy from 6 dies quickly as do the boys from 7, 8 and 9 and the girls from 5, 10 and 12.
He has killed seven people in as many minutes but he is not yet done.
The tributes from 1 are next.
The two blondes worked together and Julius kills them together. It's nothing personal but his sister is the only family he has left and only one can go home. He got on with the District 1 tributes, non rebels that they were, and enjoyed the company in the half day the Capitol said was training but now is definitely not the time for sentimentality. He will see his sister again! Not even the pretty blonde 1s will stop him from his goal.
The pretty girl dies with her throat cut.
The handsome boy dies with his heart pierced.
The tributes from 3 are clever. Perhaps one year their intellect will result in Victory. It is not this year because Julius kills them both.
The boy dies quickly with a strike through the neck.
The girl does not die quickly and with her rock and his head comes closer than any other tribute does so far in attempting to end him.
It doesn't help her though in the long term and his spear also finds her throat.
There aren't many tributes left now. Only the tributes from 4 and his District partner from 2.
The tribute boy from 4 dies quickly if amusingly. Julius doesn't mean to inject humour into the situation at first but the situation with the boy leant itself to it. He later thinks it's mostly the 4 boys fault as a last dying middle finger to his killer.
"Are you ready to die 4 there's no hospital near here and no one is coming to save you?"
"A hospital what's that?" The boy from 4 asks with what Julius at first thinks is genuine inquisitiveness or confusion even as the 4 boys stomach is torn open and the boy gasps his last breath.
"Are you kidding me 4 it's a huge building with sick people in it…?" At this point Julius realizes that the boy from 4 is laughing at his gullibility despite a clearly mortal wound. After realizing he's been had Julius laughs along with him. Julius doesn't realize the boy has died until the cannon booms 17 seconds after the 4 boys funny last words have left his mouth.
Julius' laughter is still on his lips.
The Girl from 4 attacks then but unlike her district partner is dispatched rather effortlessly.
The Capitol laughs even as the rather pretty 4 girl perishes in a slow but painful process as her lungs fill up with water from the river in the small enclosed arena. Five minutes last before she is finally brought to peace.
Julius does not laugh and a grim determination is now on his face.
At this point Julius Monaldo has only one opponent left.
His District Partner
Julius Monaldo knows his District partner well. If he were a betting man (which he won't be until at least the 13th hunger games) he would guess she was thinking exactly like himself right now. After all he has been observant enough to know Minerva has finished 5 other tributes. Between them both the number stands at eighteen. Julius pauses…
Between two people eighteen dead teenagers.
He doesn't pause for long though as he knows most are rebel scum but he also is aware of one thing.
Minnie isn't a traitor. Their dads were both peacekeepers. Their older brothers as well. They've both trained fairly equally the past 8 years for the war, private tuition from fathers and brothers.
This makes it harder.
Unlike the 1s Minnie is a firm friend and to most others this would make what comes next impossible. Unfortunately Dilly is 9 years old and he will go home for her. He likes Minnie a lot. Well he liked Minnie a lot….
He cools himself down
He compartmentalises.
Minnie "was" a friend but if it's down to her or helping Dilly then Julius would rather die before he leaves her alone.
So Julius has to not die.
Which means he will of course have to kill Minnie. He will kill his District Partner. Most importantly of course he will kill his friend. The moment comes slowly and dramatically.
The Capitol incidentally absolutely loves it. (The Capitol are also frankly split on who to root for… The handsome ruthless killer or the pretty ruthless killer both ways either tribute will prove to be a popular Victor)
He is armed and ready.
"I'm sorry Minnie but it's you or me…"
She is also armed. She on behalf of her younger brother is also ready.
"No hard feelings Julie" she responds with a smile. "I know what it is!"
From 8 years of friendship Julius knows that unfortunately Minnie does know. She's fighting for a sibling too. Panem forgive him though he must do what he must!
They fight…. The one on one duel is regarded as the best of its type in the arena for over two decades and it ends brutally. They are both adept… both trained to kill rebels… Julius loses an eye. Minerva loses her life.
The Trumpets sound…
"Julius Monaldo of District 2 you are the Victor of the First Annual Hunger Games!"
Two weeks later
President Romanus crowns him a Victor two weeks later. In his left eye socket is a glass orb that is entirely black. Julius does not wish to forget what it cost him to win and he won't allow anyone else to forget it either.
It has cost him far more than just his eye.
Nevertheless he hopes he will be what the Capitol wants. He hopes he has been good enough. He moves into the Victors' Village and he embraces life to the fullest. To the Capitol he is mostly perfect but he knows he has made two mistakes.
First he knows he shouldn't care for Minnie's family…
Nevertheless though he takes care of Minnie's brother. Julius for all his faults is a man of honour. Poor young Pi is safe and cared for. Julius even helps train him up a little. Julius knows it borders on the illegal but hell a bit of knowledge never went amiss and if he owes Minnie anything it's at least that.
When he dies he hopes Minnie will forgive him.
Secondly is the fact he knows he cares too much for Dilly. He fought so hard to ensure Dilly was ok. It's important because:
Dilly has a life to lead.
Dilly is all he has left.
At first he is relieved because:
Dilly is a pretty nine year old who should be on nobody's radar.
After he has become more paranoid he convinces himself she will be fine because:
Dilly is his little sister and he won the games to make her safe as can be.
Julius knows the Capitol knows he only wants his little sister to be ok. To be happy. Which thanks to his Victors salary…
She is
Julius knows the Capitol knows he only wants his little sister to be healthy. Which thanks to his Victors salary…
She is
Julius knows the Capitol knows he only wants his little sister to be rich enough that tesserae will never be a problem. Julius knows the Capitol knows he only wants his little sister to be safe from the reaping thanks to him…
Unfortunately…
She isn't.