Amethyst Swift District Two Mentor's POV:

Olivia's stylist Augusta pours out the champagne as we watch the intro section to the results show; usually it's a glamorous re-showing of the reapings and parade including a few little behind the scenes sections and interviews with mentors and escorts of the more interesting tributes. This year however it's a grim crime show, detailing everything they know about the explosion and who could be behind it.

The president is shown for a moment looking very alive and perky, though I know they can do wonders with a bit of makeup and a clever filming angle, it's been done to me plenty of times. I also notice they don't show below her waist, were the rumours about her being bed ridden really true.

Olivia sips her champagne slowly as she watches the show but Cassius is still buzzing from being elected the careers leader.

"I'll be a great leader" he tells Nero for the umpteenth time, "I'll follow from your example sir"

"Hmm" replies Nero "just don't make enemies of those District One tributes too soon okay, I don't want you to lose that advantage before the playing fields a bit smaller."

"Shhh it's on" says Olivia and we all focus on the screen, the final shot of the pre-show is of the tribute centre as it looks now, all lit up and surrounded by peacekeepers hoping to prevent another attack.

"And that's where the tributes are now, it looks very safe now doesn't it Marcus" says to his co-host Nye. Nye isn't new to hosting, I've seen him do beauty pageants and movie award shows but this is the first time he's presented the games and I can tell by the way he's bouncing a little on his seat that he's rather excited about this.

"It sure is, Nye" Marcus replies "No more harm will come to the tributes now"

Olivia laughs as does Nye "until the games at least" he comments on the TV as Olivia mutters the same thing.

Marcus smiles, an uncomfortable smile of someone who is just realising he may not like his companion. I know that smile well; I wear it often in the capitol.

"On to the results I think" Marcus says "First up the illustrious District one."

"Famed for their jewellery" Nye adds, wriggling a ring encrusted and hand "And we certainly have two jewels this year, cousins"

"Cliona Irvette, Age eighteen, training score Eleven" Marcus says

"Hellios Baucch, Age eighteen, score Eleven" Nye says.

"Good scores Nero comments"

"I'll do better Cassius boasts" and I see Olivia wriggle nervously on her seat I lean over and whisper in her ear.

"Confidence"

"Now District Two, two blonde beauties" Nye says "And two fighters as well I think"

"Olivia Visious, age seventeen, score Ten" Marcus announces

"You didn't focus did you girl!" Nero snaps as we all shush him.

"Cassius Rhodes, age eighteen, scores Eleven."

Cassius cheers and pumps his fist in the air as I feel Olivia slump beside me, she probably thinks we'll give up on her now.

"Ten is a good strong score" I tell her as Nye shows Marcus his new watch straight from Three.

"You got a Eleven, so did Nero." She sighs

"Lana got a Ten" I remind her "and Lenna got a Seven I believe"

"That was her plan though, act weak. I'm not doing that!"

"Mac Dalton, age eighteen, training score Seven" Nye tells us

"Sevens too good for a kid from three" Nero comments "take him out early" Cassius nods and Olivia looks relieved that she no longer has the lowest score announced.

"Tek Kilo age sixteen, Scores Four" says Marcus

"Now for District Four, the seaside district" gushes Nye "Oh I do love to bee beside the seaside" he sings to an old little tune.

"Lysandra Seldin, age seventeen, scores Ten"

"See your friend got a Ten too" Cassius says.

"Lysandra, is not my friend" Olivia replies coldly "she's just an easier target than Cliona"

Cassius chuckles "if you say so"

"Halcyone Morris, age fifteen, scores Nine"

"Nine is good for his age" Nero comments "I assumed he trained under Marena"

"yea" replies Cassius "but he didn't want to volunteer according to Lysandra, she says he thinks Marena rigged the reaping"

"That's impossible" I say as Nero chuckles.

"Well I suppose if she know the right people" he comments and I gasp, surly not, was nothing sacred anymore?

President Rosa Snow's POV:

They've moved my bed back to my own quarters at least so I could watch the results show in comfortable surroundings. I'd sent my Doctors away and told Cyan to go home to watch the results show, I wasn't needed for anything official till the next afternoon and I was going to make the most of my time off.

Despite all the prodding and poking from these doctors however I was still bed bound and unable to move my legs at all, it was infuriating. To top it off my daily reports from Ajax were getting more and more defeatist as he told me there was day's worth of footage around the parade route to search though and that hundreds of people could be potential suspects. I had never felt so angry.

Meanwhile however despite the chaos surrounding the bomb investigation inside the training centre everything was going as usual. I'd been receiving some reports about various tributes and a final report on the arena as the finishing touches had been made. Otho has also let me into a couple of his surprises for the games to get my approval and I did really approve.

Nye and Marcus didn't have a very good rapport I decided as I watched the two of them blunder through the training score show. Despite her failings Nina had a much better way of making you care about the pointless number we assigned to each tribute. I had tried to get a picture of each of the interesting tributes from Otho and though the likes of fifteen year old Hugh Krakis with his score of Five didn't interest me. I knew that people would be glued to the screen trying to pick out a winner and make some money.

"Christine Quinlan, aged sixteen, score of six" Nye announces.

She was an interesting one Christine, all our intel on her home life led me to believe she'd be quite a loud and flirtatious tribute, but my report from the training centre showed her to be quiet and studious. Then again I suppose the prospect of entering the games would give most of us a bit of a shock. Still a six was good and she was a pretty girl, we could do with a victor from Six I decide and make a note to ask Otho not to kill her off for a ratings boost. Let her have a chance at least.

Next is the deaf kid 'Axel Maloney', Marcellus tells me he scores a three which I find pretty impressive, he must have been able to prove some kind of skill in the training centre.

"Porscha Lance, Age sixteen scores five" Nye tells me of Axels district partner.

"Now for District Seven" Nye says "the hardy wooden district, but there's nothing wooden about these two is there Marcus"

"Not at all" Marcellus replies, I never knew why he preferred to use a shortened name on the television, it sounds so common, like a District name. Cyan tells me he likes to appear appealing to the masses but I'm not impressed by it, we need to be standing above the masses as Capitol citizens it's one of our duties.

"Lem Davenport, age sixteen, scores eight" Nye says

"Amber Haigh, fifteen years old scores five" adds Marcus, I know little about this two other than they seem to have allied with the boy from Nine. It's been a while since we've had a victor from Seven and only one female victor at that. But it looked like this wasn't their year.

District Eight is up next and after Nye makes a point of mentioning how he admires the craftsmanship of Eights shoe makers wriggling his feet above the desk to prove a point or win a bet; Marcellus announces the first score;

"Cecil Maeve, aged seventeen, Score of two" Ouch a two, poor kid I decide.

"Lurex Lilita, aged seventeen, Scores Four" Nye finishes. I believe she's the one that keeps trying to run off. Stupid kid should have focused more on her training and less on an escape plan. She has a one in twenty four chance of winning the games but a zero percent chance to escaping them.

Nina Ricci's POV:

I'd left my apartment for the first time in days this morning; I'd had to run down to the buildings office to pick up a parcel. I'd took the stairs so I wouldn't get trapped in the elevator and every step had been an effort. I'd spent about half the walk deciding it was a trap and that I should run and the other half convincing myself that if it was a trap then I may as well just give myself up to the peacekeepers and be turned into an avox.

No being avoxed would be too light of a sentence. If they ever caught me I'd be dead.

I'd opened the door to my apartment's office and had been passed a small box from the buildings supervisor.

"Nice to see you out and about Miss Ricci" he'd said "You still not feeling too well? You do look a little pale"

"I'm still not good" I say "Could you keep bringing my food deliveries up Han?"

"Of course Miss Ricci" he'd replied and I'd walked quickly up my stairs back to my room and locked the door behind me. I was breathing deeply and felt a bit dizzy so I'd grabbed a bottle of water from the side and gulped some of it down to try and calm myself.

Being a fugitive was really stressing me out.

I'd left the parcel on the counter by my door all day, scared of what could be inside it. Who had sent it, why had they sent it, would it hurt me? I wrestled with my worry and guilt all day and even as I habitually sat down to watch the training scores show I couldn't stop glancing over to the counter worrying about what could be in the little unassuming parcel.

The results show was almost ending now just the outer districts to be announced and Nye looked visibly bored. He really was a bad host; he had no filter and just kept rambling inane comments about each of the districts.

"The grain of Nine really does stretch further than the eye can see you know Marcus" he says

"Pleb Solvent, aged sixteen scores a Seven" Marcus says, cutting Nye off.

"Auvita Farrow aged thirteen scores Six" Nye adds, with a slight scowl.

The box on the counter draws my eyes again as Nye witters on about how much he loves the beef steaks that Ten produces as if he were the only person in the world who'd ever discovered meat tasted good. It was a small cube box and it hadn't exploded yet so it must be safe, mustn't it?

The scoring show catches my attention again as;

"Sussex Nuehern age eighteen score of Eight" Nye tells me

"Ethel Delian, age eighteen, score of Nine" Marcus adds

Two strong scores from Ten I think and two older tributes, I might put some money on them.

Assuming I ever left this apartment again.

Somehow I knew the contents of that box would make that decision for me.

Good or bad I knew I had to open it and face my future.

Ignoring the TV screen as the final few scores are announced I step over to the box and taking a deep breath slowly open it.

I pull out a small hat, it's pale blue with feathers and a small metal bird resting on the rim. Next to the hat is a message on a small card.

'You're acting like a guilty person' it read 'Come with me to an interview party tomorrow and reply to your damn texts so I don't have to keep buying hats!'

I smile slightly, she hadn't signed it but the card must have been from Nox. I turn and look at the desk where my phone had been laying for two days now, dead. Sticking it on charge it wakes up and starts to flash at me telling me of all the messages and missed calls I had. Sure most would be from Nox but it still comforted me to know someone was there for me.

Otho White's POV:

All was going well with the results show, our scoring system had yet again fairly accurately given a good overview of each tributes ability. I was as I expected I would be a little irritated we could never share some of the more intimate details of our scoring system.

Like how I could tell that Mac Dalton was purposely trying to score low in the personal sessions but I'd been watching him during the training days so bumped his score up to seven. I knew that would really irritate the kid. Just as I knew Olivia from Two would be livid with getting a lower score than her training partner and that it would make her even more motivated to beat him. Some like the president found the training scores pointless but I didn't. A well thought out training score could make or break a tribute and influence the whole games.

Take young Miller Knight aged fifteen with his low score of Four as announced by Nye, he's going to take that score and either work with it to improve and try his hardest or if I suspect if he's weak he's not going to last ten minutes in the arena, it's his choice what to do with his score not ours.

"Graciela Bone, aged seventeen score of Six" Marcus announces.

I had to work hard to get Grace that score the others wanted to lower it to five but I knew a Six was needed here. She was a capable girl and obviously knew her way around more than just the survival elements of the training centre.

Then there was Velorum Enwin aged fourteen, strange kid. Kinda stupid looking he literally just stood there looking at us dumbly for a couple of minutes until we told him to leave.

"Scores One" Nye tells us and I smile. That score will either kill him or secure him a victory although he doesn't really look smart enough to use it well. Most likely he'll manage to survive the bloodbath but will be gone after a couple of days.

"And finally, Maddie Peters aged thirteen scores Three." Marcus finishes.

Maddie was what we call a 'good kid' a 'sweet little thing' but her obvious disability and inability to do much in the training centre left her with a low score. Unfortunately I couldn't see her improving on that in the arena. Sometimes we just reap kids that don't have a chance; yes it's unfair but hey where would be the fun if it wasn't.

A/N: Another chapter done ... interviews next then on to the games! Please review and tell me what you like and dislike. Who do you think will make it to the end?