"Oh, darling!" Marzia gushes as I step into her studio. Something about this room is overwhelmingly depressing; there isn't one part of it that is necessarily sad, but the way that I felt in here, especially before the Tribute Parade, is something that must have stuck with me.

"Rochelle, what a pleasure it is to see you again," Marzia says, shaking my hand before leading me to my familiar chair. The woman in front of me is unrecognizable from the distant, off-putting woman who dressed me prior to the Games.

"You were marvelous in the Games, dear," Marzia says, pulling a brush through my hair. "What a joy to watch. Always the underdog, truly... it just goes to show, being the best isn't always everything, doesn't it?"

I'm so overwhelmed by Marzia's change in demeanor that I can hardly find the words to respond to her. I just nod as she motions to one of her assistants.

"Now, we haven't had much time to prepare your outfit for the interview - everything happened so fast, you know - but I think you'll love this piece."

I can hear what Marzia is really saying - we didn't think you were going to win so we had to throw something together fast. If she puts me in a disgusting costume like the Parade again...

The assistant pulls a dress out of a nearby closet. It's a simple dress - the front is a shimmery emerald green, and the back is decorated with beautifully patterned lace. The dress is very well crafted - it must have taken hours to get the patterns just right. I would know, since once again, this dress is one that I worked on in District Eight.

I feel a wave of relief wash over me, but at the same time, I'm oddly disturbed to see another one of my creations on Marzia's hangers. Hasn't she been hired to be my stylist this whole time?

"It's... beautiful," I say to a beaming Marzia. "I made that dress."

"Yes, of course, dear," Marzia says, turning my head slightly to get a better look at my face. "What a wonderful garment... after the interview tonight, it'll sell out, I'm sure. Your works have been selling spectacularly, especially since your first interview. Who knew that simple dresses could become so popular - they're all the rage now!"

For the first time since I've gotten here, Marzia's words actually make me feel a bit better. Since the Games started, the clothing I worked to make - and hopefully, those made by the other girls - have been selling well. If there's any silver lining here, it's that I was able to help the girls at home, right?

Marzia helps me slip into the dress and gives me a look-over in the mirror.

"Magnificent," she breathes. "Now, dear, if you can, a quick shoutout to your stylist in that interview can go a long way..."

"Thank you, Marzia," I say, trying my best not to roll my eyes. "You know that this is my dress, though, so I'll want to highlight that..."

"Oh, dear," Marzia laughs. "These dresses aren't yours, darling. You were a great help in creating them, of course, as are all of the strong workers of District Eight. But these dresses belong to the corporations of the Capitol. And as your stylist, the designs you've worn, and by relation, those you've worked to create, are under my license. When you debut this dress on the stage, it will be immediately re-released as a piece in my Summer Showcase. If you want to support District Eight, I suggest that you tell everyone to go out and buy that dress. Because they will, trust me."

I feel sick. Yes, I always knew that my dresses weren't 'mine' - money makes the world go round, and I got almost none. But for someone like Marzia, who styled me into my own dresses and called it her own work, to get all the credit for my work... it's hard for me to even comprehend at this moment.

"Alright, they must be waiting," Marzia says, giving me one last look in the mirror. "Good luck in the interview, darling. You look breathtaking."

I have nothing to say to Marzia - I let her assistant walk me into the hallway, where Venetia is waiting.

"Oh, Rochelle!" she cries. "You look spectacular! That dress is to die for!"

"Thanks," I sigh - I know that Venetia won't care that I made it. "Let's go."

Venetia leads me to the side of the stage, where I'm taken by a member of the stage crew. Already, Valentina and Venia's theme song is playing, and the crowd is going wild.

I'm led to the edge of the stage - from here, I can see that both of the Hosts are present for the interview tonight. They're wearing their signature colors - Valentina is in an elegant red gown, while Venia has opted for a green pantsuit.

"Ladies and gentlemen," Valentina says excitedly, "please welcome to the stage the Victor of the 101st Annual Hunger Games... Rochelle Carrillo from District Eight!"

I try my best to smile for the audience - it seems like the audience is a lot smaller than during the pre-Games interviews. Am I imagining it, or do I hear some of the audience booing?

"Rochelle, welcome," Venia says as I sit opposite the two Hosts. "What a pleasure to have you here."

"I'm grateful to be here," I respond. "It's an honor."

"Now, Rochelle," Valentina says, leaning forward slightly. "Just before we brought you on stage, we watched a short recap of this year's Games, including the now-infamous ending. Tell us, what was going through your mind in that moment, from the moment that August pretended to kill you?"

"I was terrified," I admit. The crowd laughs, but I'm not sure if they're laughing at me or with me. "Anything can happen in the Games. I had a small knife, sure, but I wouldn't have been able to defend myself if Princess had decided to attack me. I was definitely scared."

"Understandable," Venia says with a reassuring nod. "Now, Rochelle, as the Games progressed, we watched as you grew closer and closer to August. You two were an unlikely pair, so how did this dynamic develop between you?"

"Well, it was rocky at the beginning," I say, "but August and I grew to trust each other because we had to. We both had trust in each other that we could stay alive long enough to be reunited, and I think that trust was what kept us together for so long once we found each other."

"Okay," Venia says with a knowing smile on her face, "but really, Rochelle. The audience wants to know: were you two really just friends, or was there something more going on?"

The audience erupts into whispers at Venia's question. I feel my face start to burn; is this really what these people care about? After I nearly died to get here, after twenty-three children were murdered for spectacle, do these people really only care about if I had a crush on August?

"We were just friends," I tell Venia firmly, and the crowd deflates. "As you saw, we grew close in the Games. We grew really close because we needed to rely on one another, and that helped our friendship develop. But, no, there was nothing going on between us."

"Right," Valentina says, giving one of the cameras a wink. "Rochelle, this year's Games have been informally called "District One's Games" because of the District One tributes' dominance this year. Statistically, four of the final five tributes consisted of the District One tributes and their two partners. What do you think you did in the Games that made you the Victor over the District One tributes?"

District One's Games... Do these people even know that I've won? This year is the first year that District Eight has won the Games in 24 years; if anything, it's District Eight's Games.

"I worked very hard in the Games," I attempt to explain. "I made decisions when I had to, and I withheld information when I had to. I think that I proved that you don't always have to be the strongest or even the smartest tribute to win the Games. You just have to be willing to make the right decisions at the right times. When August gave me the opportunity to coordinate how the Games would end, I set myself up in a position where I would be able to kill either him or Princess unexpectedly. I knew it was the only way I would win."

"Well, do you think that your final move was... cheap?" Venia asks. "Many viewers believed that giving August no chance to defend himself was an unfair play. Do you feel the same way?"

I want to vomit. Are these people really so bitter that August didn't win, after everything I did to outmatch him? After I spent two weeks manipulating him into letting me win?

"There are no rules in the Games," I choke out. "In the Games, there are no 'cheap plays'. Princess killed Diego's partner in front of me at the Bloodbath because she knew I would see it. Zinnia wanted to kill me while I was sleeping, and August sent Zinnia out into the desert, just to kill her partner at the Feast. None of those were 'fair.' But we all did them anyway, because all of us wanted to be the one to survive. If August - or Princess, for that matter - deserved to win, they would have thought to get rid of me before fighting each other. But they didn't. Clearly, I must have done something right, then."

"Of course," Valentina mumbles, shifting her notecards. "But, do you believe that it was fair to rip August from his dream without giving him a chance to fight for it? You know, as does our audience, that August's father dreamed of participating in the Games twenty-five years ago. Do you have any remorse for putting an end to that dream?"

"Everyone dreams of winning the Games once they're Reaped," I seethe. "Nobody gets Reaped and doesn't think that it would be nice to survive and continue with their lives. To answer the question, yes, I feel bad that August couldn't fulfill his father's dream. We grew close in the Arena, and I know that it meant a lot to him. There can only be one winner, though. I have a life as well. I may not have a family like August does, but I have people who care about me in District Eight. In that regard, I don't think that August's dream meant that he should have survived instead of me because I had a dream too. It may not have been twenty-five years old, but it was there."

I actually get a few cheers from that response; Venia nods in agreement before turning to face me once again.

"Rochelle," she says, looking right at me. "From the very beginning of the Games, we all saw your complicated relationship with Princess unfold. You started out as allies until you decided to cut ties with the other girls. It seemed like every time either of you was near August, you both did everything you could to turn him against the other girl. Set the record straight: what are your true thoughts about Princess?"

Oh, Princess... where do I start with that girl? "Princess was... misguided," I start. "I think that she had many misconceptions when she arrived here, and she had a hard time realizing that she was wrong. I think that she believed that she had a right to August's time and attention, and she had a right to win the Games. August needed to spend time with his partner for survival, and she had a hard time dealing with that. I worked so hard to turn August against Princess because I knew that if I didn't, he would choose her over me. Because she was so much stronger and so much more useful as an ally, my only choice was to convince him that she was not on his side. In the end, August chose me over Princess, and I think that Princess wasn't able to process that fact. She couldn't see why August would choose to trust someone like me over her. To set the record straight, I don't hate Princess. She did what she needed to do to survive, and I did the same. I don't think she was a good person, but I don't think anyone was a good person in the Arena."

The crowd seems to deflate at my answer once again - were the Gamemakers pushing some sort of narrative that Princess and I hated each other? I can see why it may have seemed that way on the outside - really, I don't doubt that she actually hated me - but can nobody see that our rivalry was a strategic move on my part? Does nobody see that I turned August against his own District partner, to the point that he wanted me to win over her?

A small bell rings off-stage, and Venia and Valentina act surprised, as if they weren't expecting the new sound. "That marks the end of our program," Valentina announces excitedly.

"Well, Rochelle, it was a pleasure talking with you. Thank you for making this year's Games so... fun," Venia says, shaking my hand. "I'm Venia Sharpe, with Valentina Remington, and this has been Wrapped with Venia and Valentina. Good night!"

The lights dim over the stage - that's my cue to leave, but I remain frozen in my seat. I'm in shock - did all of that really just happen?

The entire interview was August, August, August. Do I regret ruining his dream? Was it unfair that I outmatched him? Was I in love with him, and was I jealous of Princess because she was close to him? Nothing was mentioned about me, or about the work that I did. I only realize now that they didn't even ask me a question about Mandy's death. The moment I killed Pollux was the moment that I was at my strongest in the Games, and they chose not to mention it.

As a member of the stage crew grabs me by the arm, lifting me from my seat, all I can think of is the fact that I never got the chance to mention my dress. My simple green dress, which is probably getting produced in a factory by my friends at home right now. Just one shoutout could have sent it flying off store shelves; the revenue, even filtered through Marzia's greedy hands, could have made its way to the factories of District Eight. And I forgot to mention it. Some interview that was.

Ladies and Gentlemen, the Victor of District One's Games... Rochelle Carrillo.

A/N - Thanks for all the well wishes, I'm still feeling sick but getting better :)

My FFN was not loading properly for some reason so I only just now saw some of the reviews on the last few chapters! Just so everybody knows, this story will have a total of 45 chapters, including a newly added Victory Tour chapter! I originally planned to skip the Victory Tour just to switch things up since we'd already seen the Victory Tour play out in BH and UC but reviewers get what reviewers want lol

Sorry to whoever wanted a glimpse of Princess' time in the Games, unfortunately it wasn't important enough to Rochelle's individual story to be included - Princess mostly wandered the desert by herself after Zinnia's death, so there wasn't anything exciting to show, but we do get to see how Princess acts before and after this time period and we can see how being by herself and reconciling with August's betrayal affected her mentally.

~S