Hello again guys! I'm sorry if this chapter and the previous chapter are a little bit hard to understand. It turns out I do have a concussion but fortunately just a mild one. Also, I'm sorry if Cato and Clove are OOC. I'm not exactly the best at writing those types of characters… also I don't really think they were like that 24/7, maybe that was the part that had to play to get sponsors. In public though I'll do my best.

Clove found Alexandrite in one of the living room cars later that evening curled up on one of the plush couches reading. In all honesty Clove had been discreetly looking for her all afternoon but it had become evident she hadn't wanted to be found. Surprisingly though, at least to Clove, Hunter wasn't present. Clove thought those to were physically inseparable. Clove took a seat in one of the armchairs, mentally going through how to broach this subject.

"Is there something you want or are you just going to continue staring at me with blank expression.", she asked in her melodic voice without even looking up from her book. Clove was slightly taken aback from the remark. Definitely wasn't like that bubbly District 1 Victor she'd seen on TV. Alexandrite looked up.

" What? You expect me to be that Capital Darling all day long? Trust me, it's harder than it looks." Alexandrite paused for a moment and took a deep breath.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to be snappy. What was it that you wanted?". she asked rubbing her forehead with one hand.

" To ask you what you meant earlier about never saying no to the Capital.", Clove asked. Might as well be blunt.

"oh, that. Well, the answer is quite simple Clove. The Capital doesn't like being turned down. In fact, they outright can't stand it. You see Clove, after a Victor has won, the Capital always asks something of the Victors. If they're attractive, become prostitutes for those richy richy Capitalites. If your tough, maybe a secret gun for hire or assassin or personal guard. If you refuse, they will make you pay. Most of the time that results in the death of loved ones. No matter who they are.", she said solemnly. That's when it clicked for Clove.

" You refused, didn't you? You refused and they killed someone you loved.", Clove stated more than asked.

" Yes… I was asked to be a Capital prostitute at the end of my Victory Tour. I refused. Later that same night, I found my parents dying in our living room. I guess some would say I was lucky, because I got to say goodbye. It turns out, not even Victors are truly spared from the Capital's wrath.", Alexandrite said quietly. The pain in her voice was quite evident. Clove remembered that being all over the news. Both Alexandrite's parents were Victors, so of course the Capital made a huge televised event of it. She had heard that it had been televised in the Capital and in District 1, but not in the other Districts.

Alexandrite picked up the remote, and scrolled through some different footage options until she selected one a few minutes later and gestured to Clove to watch. It was a Capital news report from District 1 Victor's Village. The house had been marked off with yellow caution tape and two body bags were being brought out of the house, Peacekeepers swarmed the area. And right in the front lawn was a shell shocked Alexandrite covered in blood with tears streaming down her face, while she held two toddlers tightly to her. Soon you see Andranite, Alexandrite's twin brother, pushing past the news reporters and tearing through the tape while plowing his way over to his sister. The two talk and he ends up hugging the trio as well. Then the footage shifts to a clip from the a funeral. Almost everyone in the Capital had been packed into Capital Square. Two ebony coffins rested in front of the Victor's Mausoleum, a grand marble building that looked like a cathedral where all Victors are buried, with rows of Victors and important Capital officials seated on either side. Both Alexandrite and Andradite are there, one of the two toddlers poised on one hip. Neither of them break down but silently cry as the caskets are taken into the mausoleum. Then the cameras shift to Alexandrite and Andradite pushing there way through the crowds, ignoring the endless array of questions and into a black limo.

" The two kids are Amethyst and Jasper, my baby brother and sister. They're twins too, both 4 now, 2 at the time this was recorded. Since I was a Victor, I was allowed custody of them. Andradite and I both have custody now. They're in 1 right now, I don't want to risk bringing them to the Capital. We'll start training them next year, I wish we didn't have to but since we're Victors its certain they will be Reaped."

" You think the Capital murdered your parents?"

" I know they did. I've been trying to find out who pulled the trigger ever since. I know I can't get Snow, but I can at least get the bastards who pulled the trigger… please don't say any of this to anyone.", Alexandrite asked.

" Your secret's safe.", Clove had a whole new respect for the woman. She showed some true District 2 qualities there, especially revenge. Clove silently swore she'd help Alexandrite with her revenge, she might even get some killing out of it to boot.

Thank you to everyone who reads this, it means so much, especially when you guys review. I was thinking of doing bio's for the other Victors like Alexandrite, Andradite, Enobaria, Brutus etc. Thoughts?