It was late, late enough that the last sounds of people chattering in the hallways had long since dissipated, replaced by the humming of computers and generators and the flickering of little LED lights on monitors and consoles. It was peaceful, not unlike the kind of peace that comes from the chirping of crickets and the flickering of fireflies. For those who were still working late into the night, it gave them a small taste of the outdoors that was almost foreign, trapped behind the mountains that separated the urban from the sylvan.

This time of year, very few people were still in the office this late. In the summertime, when things were busy and every person had a crucial role to play in the success of the whole, it was not uncommon to see the office bustling just as much at night as during the day. But during the rest of the year, almost everyone left the office as soon as their day ended. This gave their boss, Amethyst Emerald, time to work on some of her own projects and to formulate themes and ideas for the upcoming Games. Giving herself time to breathe at the end of the day was one of the few things that kept Amethyst sane as a Head Gamemaker, because it gave her time to process both the trauma that came with killing twenty-three children every year and the pressure that came with being the granddaughter of President Snow. Especially with the Quell coming up in just a few short months, it was more important for Amethyst than ever to keep herself calm and sane.

As Amethyst worked on, she noticed the faint sound of clicking heels coming down the empty hallways of the Gamemakers' Complex. Amethyst sighed and put down her pen, waiting for the knock on the door signaling that her sister was ready for their nightly meeting. She waited until she saw Ruby appear in her security monitor before pressing the button that opened the massive doors of the Head Gamemaker's office. The doors slid open to allow Ruby to enter, dressed and made up to the nines as she always was. As Ruby strode across the floor in her bright red pumps, Amethyst pressed the button again, causing the doors to close with a loud clang. Now the two could speak candidly, without fear of what their grandfather, or anyone else, might hear.

"How are you doing?" asked Ruby, placing a cup of coffee in front of Amethyst as she sat down across the desk.

"I'm fine," replied Amethyst. She picked up the coffee and drank almost half the cup in one go.

"Have you made a decision on how to interpret the Quell twist?"

"The 'a significantly higher chance of returning home alive than they would in another Games' part?"

"Yeah."

"Not quite yet. My hope is that it was intentionally left that vague," Amethyst suggested, "because there are so many ways that this could be interpreted, and that comes with a lot of challenges. Obviously, I have to make sure that I'm actually satisfying the Quell twist. But I also need to somehow balance making sure that the districts are satisfied with how I've interpreted the Quell twist and making sure that President Snow is satisfied."

Ruby raised her eyebrows. "How many times was he here today?" she asked.

"Six? Seven? Probably more, I lost count after his fifth."

"Oh goodness. He's never been in here this many times in one day, has he?"

"Nope. This is the most I've seen him in here in one day in the entire time I've been Head Gamemaker."

"Why is he so concerned about these Games?" asked Ruby.

"I don't know why you're surprised. He's been more or less like this since I started."

"Yeah, but I didn't think he could get this bad."

"Well, for one thing, it's a Quell. For another, these are probably his last Games. I'm sure he wants them to go as smoothly as possible, to cement his legacy or what have you."

"I think his legacy has been more than cemented," Ruby retorted. "And I doubt these are his last Games; why would he willingly step down from the presidency?"

"Because that way he can go out with a bang. Rather than risk his last Games being mediocre, he's guaranteed the best final Games he possibly can: not just a Quell but a Centennial."

"I still don't think he's going to relinquish power until he dies."

"You never know. He might trust you enough to do so. Somehow, he trusted me."

Amethyst and Ruby had discussed many times their opinions about what their grandfather was doing by making Amethyst Head Gamemaker for the 93rd Games at the young age of 24. Amethyst was the youngest person to ever take on the position, and while she was without question qualified enough to be Head Gamemaker, it was still an unprecedented decision for Snow to make. Many people chocked the irrational move up to Snow's age – and really, who would question the decisions of the man who had spent his entire presidency killing those who disagreed with him and his actions? However, the Emerald sisters saw his choice of Head Gamemaker for what it was: an attempt to consolidate power in advance of his inevitable death into the hands of those who would carry on his legacy and his way of ruling the country. This hypothesis was confirmed when President Snow brought Ruby, who was three years younger than Amethyst, on as his most trusted assistant shortly thereafter, and then heavily insinuated that Ruby would be the one to take on the Presidency. Of course, Snow's plan was predicated on his assumption that those to whom he was granting power shared his viewpoint on how to run the country.

"Anyway," Ruby nudged, "the Quell twist. Super vague. Isn't that a good thihng? Like we can finagle things to work the way we want to."

"Yes, and we can't make it look to President Snow like it's leaning too much in a way he wouldn't want – namely, too many tributes surviving. I know. But that's the way it is, and I think I might have landed on something that'll work."

"So? Share!"

"Alright. Well, the way I see this Quell twist is that we need a baseline outcome that fulfills the twist, meaning that under no circumstances can we have fewer than four Victors. That doubles the chances of someone coming out of the Arena alive in a normal year, from one in twenty-four to one in twelve, which is a significantly higher chance."

"Right. That's logical."

"But, I'm thinking we're not going to tell the tributes how exactly the four victors are going to be determined. That way it keeps up the like dramatic irony and makes the Games exciting, and like we can capture absolute shock on the face of a tribute when they find out they're a Victor. It'll be great."

"So even though there's less death, there's like more drama."

"Precisely."

"Not bad. How are you determining the Victors?"

"I think the last tribute standing in each slot. So like the standard male and female, and then the male and female of the additional tributes for the Quell."

"That makes sense."

"And I have some fun ideas about how to perhaps communicate that fact to the tributes without telling them. Subliminal messaging and all that jazz. So that's the first part of it. But then, I had this idea for a way that more tributes can have a chance to survive the Arena." Amethyst slid a piece of paper across the table to Ruby. "They wouldn't be considered Victors, just survivors, but I think it'll add a really interesting wrinkle to the Games."

Ruby read over the document. "Do you think that there will be an issue if a Victor does less to earn their Victory than a survivor does to earn their survival?"

"Nobody ever said the Games were fair. Fundamentally, they're both alive, which is the important part for the Outer Districts. And you and I both know that no Career would actively try to be a survivor as opposed to a Victor. As for the Capitol? It's all about how we edit and sell it."

"You really thought through everything."

"Hey, that's my job."

Suddenly, a knock on the door echoed through the room. Amethyst checked her monitors and groaned. "Guess who."

"Snow?"

"Snow. Chin up, Ruby." Amethyst grabbed the coffee cup, downed the rest of it, and quickly tossed it in the trash can under her desk. She grabbed a mirror off of her desk and checked her hair and makeup, then passed the mirror to Ruby and pressed the button to open the doors.

It was as if a blast of freezing air came into the room. Amethyst felt chills all the way up and down her body, and a quick glance in Ruby's direction indicated that the younger sister felt the same. The two watched in petrified silence as President Snow slowly made his way towards Amethyst's desk. Even at the crest of his hundredth birthday, President Snow still had the same piercing stare and intimidating presence that he had when he took over the presidency eighty-five years prior. And while being president for so long probably did harden Snow a bit, he had seemingly always been cruel, unbearable, and the worst person to disagree with.

Amethyst and Ruby watched with bated breath as Snow, dressed to the nines with his trademark white rose in the lapel of his suit, slowly made his way across the room to Amethyst's desk. The sound of his footsteps and his cane echoed through the cavernous room as he made his way towards his petrified granddaughters. When he arrived at the desk, he glowered at Ruby, who jumped up and moved the chair in which she was sitting over to right behind the old man. With Ruby's help but without acknowledging her, President Snow lowered himself down into the chair and placed his cane on Amethyst's desk. "I'm glad to see you here after hours, Amethyst," he said. "Working around the clock is a mark of a good Head Gamemaker."

"Yes, Mr. President."

"Now, I normally wouldn't come so late but I wanted to discuss something with you while nobody else is here. Before we do so, though, have you made any progress since the last time I was here?"

"No, Mr. President. I've just been ironing out the details for the survivor plan, to make sure that it's exciting enough for the audience."

"It's a very different structure for a Games or a Quell, Amethyst."

"Well, this is a Centennial. It can be different."

"And you are convinced that this is the most accurate interpretation of that woefully vague Quell twist?"

"I genuinely believe so."

"Well, I will still have to think on it. I will let you know. But, as we discussed, make sure you have a number of backup plans."

"I am working on them, yes."

"Very good. Now, I've come to give you some information about the Reaping."

"Oh?"

"Yes. Please ensure that these messages are communicated clearly and concisely to the escorts in question." President Snow handed Amethyst a folder of sealed purple envelopes. "They should know the consequences of revealing any of this information, yes?"

"I remind them of this every year."

"Very good. Well, I suppose I will leave you to your work. I will be back to check up in the morning. Have a productive night."

"Yes, Mr. President."

Ruby quickly stepped in to help President Snow stand up again and steady himself using his cane. With a cursory nod, President Snow turned around and walked out of the room, the echo of his footsteps lingering for a moment after the door closed. Once he was nowhere to be seen on the monitors, Amethyst and Ruby both let out the breath they were holding in.

"I can't wait until we don't have to deal with him anymore."

"Me neither. Then we can run things our way."

Well, for those of you who are new to my verse, meet the Emerald Sisters! And for those of you who are not new, meet the Emerald Sisters! These two ladies have been a pleasure of mine to write for ages, and mature Goldie is very familiar with them in middle age, so it was nice to kind of go back to when they were much younger, in their late twenties and early thirties. I'm excited to explore how we get to the characters we know from MMAM and the IDIDEs, and hopefully reveal some other fun stuff about my verse that hasn't come out in story!

Anyway, did anything jump out at you about these two? How do you think they're different from the characters we already know? What do you think about Amethyst's plans? And what did you think of Snow's little... visit?

I think that the next chapter will be the last one of just my characters' intros, and then we'll begin to see some of your characters! So if you want a shot to see them in intros you should get them in soon! I'm not closing subs just yet but please get subs in! Also, school starts this week so I'm not sure how quickly I'll be able to upload, and I would like to get back to IDIDE, so we'll see how this all goes. See y'all soon!

-goldie031