A/N - Welcome to Hunger Games: The Ultimate Crown!

This is Book 2 of a trilogy I'm releasing in an AU where the second rebellion fails and the Games continue. Book 1 is out on my page, and it's titled Hunger Games: Bleeding Hearts. I'd definitely recommend reading that one before starting this one, since in that story the Victor of the 125th Games is not known until the end. In this story, the Victor from Book 1 will be a central character and our narrator for the entirety of the story.

If you're really set on reading this by itself, I can't stop you, but you may miss some references to the first story.

With that out of the way, please enjoy Hunger Games: The Ultimate Crown!

Chapter 1: Prologue

Everything in life is a cycle. Life itself is a vicious, unforgiving cycle. Days, months, years, everything repeating. When you get lost in the cycle, you're hypnotized. You blink, and just like that, years have passed.

That's what happened to me. It's been twenty-five years since I was declared the Victor of the 125th Hunger Games, and I can't believe it's been so long. Everything I've suffered through since that day has dragged me down, but when you get used to suffering, it all becomes a cycle of its own.

Every year, the cycle repeats. The Reapings proceed, 23 children die, and a Victor is announced. Six months later, they return on the Victory Tour to remind us of everything we've lost. The world around me has rushed into tomorrow, ushering in year after year of even more children sent to their deaths in the Arena. To me, it feels like just yesterday when Lacie sacrificed herself, when I was crowned the Victor. I had no idea what I was getting myself into back then.

I was one of the lucky ones to escape the Arena with a shred of innocence left. I never realized how much Lacie shielded me from the others, how much she sacrificed to allow me to keep the innocence that I held until her dying breath. All of that was for nothing. The kid I used to be is gone. The one shred of innocence I had, or what was left of it, was ripped from me over so many years as a Capitol puppet. I've done unspeakable things, even worse than what I did in the Arena. I've watched countless children die on TV, so many that it's hard for me to remember all of their names.

I'll be blunt and answer the question on everyone's minds. If I can't escape the cycle, why don't I break it? Why don't I take one of the alcohol bottles in my overstocked cabinet, smash it, and thrust the shards into my chest? I've gotten so close… and trust me, I've considered it. But I can't. After 35 kids gave up their lives for you to live, would you be able to? Me neither.

I sound like a hideous person, don't I? I don't want this to be a shock. It has been a long time since you've heard from me. I've changed a lot in twenty-five years. But I think I've worked myself into a state of hysteria. Thinking about the past does that to me. I apologize. I think I lied a bit when I said my innocence has been ripped from me. I'm still Soren Murdock from District Four. I'm still Roman's brother, Cressa's tribute, and the boy Lacie gave her life for. It could be a whole lot worse - sure, I love my alcohol, but there are others who have it a whole lot worse. I'm from District Four, so I don't have to mentor every year like some of the poorer Districts. Some years, I can escape from the Games. I just never considered how much being a Victor would change me. The common conception that once you win the Games, you're set free for the rest of your life, is unequivocally false. As a Capitol celebrity, they can make you do whatever they want to please the Capitol public, and I mean anything.

Since my Games, twenty-five long years have flown by, and I don't know if I feel sixteen or fifty. Time is weird like that. I guess I do feel old, though. Roman and Cressa have their own children now. A new generation of 24 new Victors have sprung up beneath me, and many of my old friends have left this world. And every year, we've crawled closer and closer to the 150th Hunger Games. The Games that every Victor in Panem has been dreading.

It's only six months away now. The 149th Games have come and gone, and the Victory Tour is in a week. After that, it's only a matter of time. I don't want to think about it, but I may have to very soon.

I sit at the dining room table of my home in the Victors' Village, staring down at a single golden envelope. It's a standard Capitol envelope with the usual seal and lettering. My heart is pounding in my chest as I stare at the letter. In my twenty-five years of being a Victor, a golden envelope such as this one has never been good news.

I have to open it. I have to see whatever Snow has in store for me this time. My hands shaking a bit, I slowly rip open the envelope, pulling a card out from inside.

Dearest Victor:

I hope this letter finds you in good health. This letter is a formal invitation to a meeting of Victors in the Capitol on January 8th of next year. I, President Tantalus Snow, formally request your attendance, along with those of all living Victors of Panem, to the Capitol following this year's Victory Tour to discuss personal matters regarding the future of this nation.

Panem Today, Panem Tomorrow, Panem Forever.

Tantalus Snow

I feel the blood rushing from my face. What does Snow need all of the Victors in one place for? Whatever it is, one thing is for certain - it can't be anything good if Snow's involved. If it has to do with next year's Games, we may all be in serious trouble. I feel slightly nauseous.

The phone next to me rings, and I stand to pick it up. "Hello?"

Someone on the other end is crying heavily. "Soren, I'm freaking out…" It's my sister, Jasmine.

"Jasmine, it's okay," I say, trying to sound as calming as I can. "What's wrong?"

"Did you get the letter?" she asks.

"Of course," I mutter. "Wouldn't miss it. What do you think about it?"

"Just… overwhelmed," she says. "It's all crashing down on me. We're in serious trouble if Snow has something planned for next year. One of us might die. I just can't think about it."

I shudder a bit at the thought. We've all fought so hard to be together as a family. Roman and I both won consecutive Games, and almost ten years later, it was Jasmine's turn to enter the Arena. That makes it sound like it was easy, though. We've sacrificed so much to be together as a family, and now all of that work could be for nothing.

After twenty-five years of waiting, the anticipation is eating away at my soul. I need to know what's happening now. But I have no power. All I can do is wait helplessly as my fate is decided for me.