Most Victors get pretty dresses or sharp suits for their interviews. Not me. My legs were encased in skintight black leather pants and a tribal-style brown top wound around my top, leaving my stomach exposed. The only say I'd had in the ensemble was my nails, which were painted silver. My stylists had wanted pink. The second I objected they reacted like I hissed at them. It's not like I was going to do anything. That would be like hunting a puppy.
Seutonius didn't look very happy to see me. He was as professional as ever, but I knew when he looked at me, he saw the six Tributes that weren't here because of me. He kept his face impassive and his questions curt.
"I'm sure none of us are very surprised to see you here again," he said with a smile fake enough to fool the crowd.
"I can't say I am either," I said.
"What do you plan to do now that you're a Victor?" he asked. I'd hoped he wouldn't ask that, and I didn't exactly have an answer.
"I suppose I'll go home," I started. Seutonius waited a moment for me to continue and then rescued me.
"We're just dying to see the replay. Let's get that started," he said. Oh yes, you all know so much about dying, I thought with a glowing smile.
The replay started, and I watched the hunt from start to finish. I looked so intense and focused during the Bloodbath, but it didn't last. I was horrified to see how plain my emotions were during the Games. I wasn't crying like a baby, but everyone could see I was terrified. I wanted to crawl underneath the chair and hide.
The Games certainly were a spectacle this year. Audience members screamed as we watched the terrible shark attack Alexa, and even I was impressed when Eleanor killed the snake. When it was down to me and Kazuo, it seemed like emotion and control both left me. I watched as I smeared myself in camouflage paint and crouched in a tree above Kazuo. The crowd erupted when I burst out like a leopard and fell upon him. It had felt so detached when I was there. It was like seeing it for the first time.
I watched twenty-three Tributes die, and something bothered me about it. Most of them looked like terrified kids. Some, like Aimee, looked peaceful, and that was worse. When I saw Kazuo lying on the ground, all I could see was Artemis. Artemis over and over, dying forever. I didn't know any of those Tributes, but now they were just like her. Somewhere, other people were feeling the same way I felt when I watched her die. I couldn't manage to feel guilty- I only wanted to live- but I found that I didn't want to hunt anymore. I didn't know what I wanted. Hunting was all I knew.
President Galba seemed genuinely pleased when she approached with my crown. She always seemed to approve of Career Victors. We tend to be grateful to the Capitol for letting us train. I scrutinized my crown as I waited for her to present it. Like every other part of the Games, I'd studied them minutely for years, and it was easy to see that every detail was significant. My crown was sturdy and thick, not a light tiara or circlet like I'd seen in other years. Six large rubies circled around it, and smaller ones studded the bottom. It was a blood crown, fit for a hunter. It was a perfect choice.
The chapters are getting shorter since there's only one POV. A few more and we'll be ready for a whole new start.