Aurelia Charm, 30, Victor of the 82nd Hunger Games

June 8th, 94 ADD

3:07 AM

"What's going on?" she demanded. "It's the middle of the fucking night-"

"I'm well aware," the Gamemaker interrupted. "Please. Sit."

Aurelia crossed her arms. She'd been dragged from her room on the first floor of the Training Center fifteen minutes prior, and she was not in the mood to put up with bullshit. "No."

The Gamemaker sighed. She sat on the other side of the table, setting down her thick bundle of files and papers and raking a hand through her hair. The circles under her eyes were deep enough that Aurelia guessed she hadn't slept that night. The woman was familiar- a few years older than Aurelia, with long black hair and cool brown eyes. In her own exhaustion, however, Aurelia couldn't quite place her. She wore a simple black blazer, her Gamemaker status only indicated by the pin on her lapel.

"That's fine," she said. She folded her hands neatly on the table. "Miss Charm, this interview is hereby being recorded. You are under investigation for violating the rules of pre-Games conduct: specifically, Rule Two, which dictates that there is to be no instances of physical violence between tributes prior to the commencement of the Hunger Games."

Her mouth went dry. "What?"

The Gamemaker watched her closely. Aurelia didn't flinch away from her gaze, instead staring down the Gamemaker's calculating brown eyes. "What are you talking about?"

The Gamemaker lifted an eyebrow. "You don't know?"

"Yes," Aurelia snapped. "I haven't touched a tribute. I would never even think about-"

"Miss Charm," she interrupted- Aurelia had already had enough of her interruptions- "I will remind you that Rule Two specifically addresses violence between tributes. If you were being investigated for causing physical harm to tributes, I would have referenced Rule Five."

Aurelia narrowed her eyes. "What happened?"

The Gamemaker opened the file on the top of her pile. "Earlier this evening," she said, "we received a report from three Mentors stating that their tributes had suffered physical harm by other tributes during the training period."

Aurelia's jaw went slack. As the Gamemaker pulled out photographs, she stepped closer to the table and finally took her seat. A half-dozen x-rays laid before her, and it didn't take a doctor to understand that the bones pictured were broken.

Aurelia looked up. "Which Mentors…? Which tributes?"

"Unimportant," the Gamemaker replied smoothly.

She connected the dots. "You think my tribute was involved?"

"We do."

Aurelia pushed the x-rays back across the table. "If she was," she said, "she never told me a thing. I had no idea."

"Miss Charm, do you believe your tribute would knowingly cause serious physical harm to another tribute in violation of pre-Games conduct?"

She considered this.

(She knew that Olympia was fucked. Even if she didn't do it, Aurelia's tribute was fucked. The question was if Aurelia cared enough to defend her. And defending Olympia, to her understanding, only dragged Aurelia down with her.)

(Did she think Olympia would do it? Maybe. The tribute hadn't sought out much assistance from Aurelia. Aurelia knew she was trained and chosen, so she had the skills.)

(But there was that little voice in the back of her mind, familiar and persistent, that reminded her what happened when she didn't do her job. How long it took her to right that wrong. Sienna Asher survived in spite of her, not because of her. She owed it to Sienna to not make that mistake again.)

(But at her own expense?)

(She wasn't going to doom herself, of course. It had been twelve years since her own time in the arena, but Aurelia's instinct for self-preservation had not faded. She could be strategic about this- not throw Olympia to the wolves completely, but let her receive her own consequences.)

"You think she did all of this?" she asked, gesturing at the glossy photographs. "By herself? That, I don't know."

The Gamemaker met her eyes. "Yours is not the only interview I'm conducting tonight, Miss Charm."

"Braun?"

She gave a slight nod.

"Shit," Aurelia said. "Diana? Godric? Finnick?"

The Gamemaker pursed her lips. "Miss Charm-"

"I prefer Aurelia," she interrupted.

"Aurelia," the Gamemaker corrected. "Please answer the question. Do you believe your tribute would violate pre-Games conduct?"

"I'll be honest," Aurelia said. "I don't know her very well. She hasn't been very interested in what I have to say. And I can't make her listen to me if she doesn't want to, so I don't try. I'm not the best source on her integrity. Do you think it was intentional?"

"Due to the report given earlier tonight," the Gamemaker replied, "as well as the types of injuries inflicted, and the quantity… yes. We suspect this was meant to be a covert sabotage of other tributes prior to the Games. Hence this investigation."

Aurelia shook her head. "That's…" she trailed. "If I had any idea she was planning to do something like that, I absolutely would've told her not to. That's insane. And unnecessary. And stupid. God, that's so stupid. How many tributes? At least three, right? You mentioned three Mentors?"

"We have confirmed four," she answered, "and suspect more."

Aurelia's jaw dropped. "More?"

"Aurelia," the Gamemaker said, her lip twitching, "you still have not answered the question. Do you think your tribute is capable-"

Aurelia threw her hands up in the air. "I've already said I don't know," she said. "Maybe. Maybe not. She has skills to cause harm, yes, but if she did do it, I heard nothing about it."

"Do you believe your fellow Mentor, Augustus Braun, would support violation of Rule Two?" she asked.

"No," Aurelia said, her response immediate. "Absolutely not. He would've lost his mind. He hates breaking rules."

The Gamemaker gave a slow nod, and then removed another file from her stack. "But you don't," she said.

"Excuse me?"

She selected a packet from the file, flipping through a few papers before finding the one she wanted. "According to your file, the circumstances around your Volunteering for the Eighty-Second Hunger Games were not supported by the majority of your district. The statements given by Augustus Braun in his Final Eight interview on you show a great deal of disapproval, in fact. And your popularity within District One since then reflects his statements."

Aurelia's jaw tightened. "Excuse me?"

"Aurelia-"

"No, we're back to Miss Charm now," Aurelia interrupted sharply. "What does that have to do with anything?"

"You've indicated a willingness to break rules in the past," the Gamemaker stated simply. "Perhaps that extends to this situation. It's a link worth considering."

Aurelia shook her head. "No, no, no," she said. "First of all- I should've had the spot in the first place. Clearly. Second of all, rogue Volunteering is very different from breaking people's ribs during training. Are you serious?"

The Gamemaker tilted her head. "Do you think I'm joking?"

Aurelia stared at her. "I think you don't know what you're talking about," she replied.

"You didn't see it as cheating," the Gamemaker said slowly. "But violating Rule Two, you do see as cheating. I understand."

"Who the fuck do you think you are?" Aurelia snapped.

The Gamemaker raised both eyebrows. "Miss Charm-"

"Don't 'Miss Charm' me-"

"My name is Bellona Hargrove. Please calm down."

The name stopped her in her tracks. "Hargrove."

"Yes."

Aurelia sat back in her chair, crossing her arms. "Actually?"

The Gamemaker bristled. "Yes, actually."

"Huh."

"Is there a problem?"

"I don't know. I just wasn't expecting that."

"We're taking this very seriously," Hargrove replied. "Tampering with the Games, as you may be aware, may result in capital punishment. Depending on the crime."

"Well, I didn't."

"Then why so uncooperative?"

Aurelia glared at her. "I've been plenty cooperative."

"I think we have different definitions of 'cooperative.'"

"So?"

Hargrove glanced at the file she'd just referenced. "I'm not sure your definition of 'cooperative' is in line with anyone's, actually."

"You want to talk about District One again?" Aurelia snapped. "Fine. Let's talk about One. You're right. One doesn't like me. I don't like One. If there was anyone I'd cover for, District One would be bottom of the list. I'm not fucking myself over for them. I told you what I know, which is nothing. Got it?"

Hargrove watched her for a long moment. Aurelia glared back. Hargrove took a moment to jot a few notes in Aurelia's file before looking back up. "Understood," she said slowly. "You're not loyal to District One."

Aurelia continued glaring.

"Would you consider yourself loyal to the Capitol?"

"It keeps me alive, so yes," Aurelia replied. "Very much in my interests."

Hargrove tilted her head. "I see."

"Pays for my house, too."

"Are you loyal to anyone?"

Aurelia rolled her eyes. "Yeah. Me."

"That can't possibly be the only-"

(No, it wasn't the only. Of course not. Aurelia was not the same young woman that had won the Games, or the same that had Mentored Sienna Asher. Some of her views had… shifted. Her relationship with Sienna had undergone change. The ice between them, already cracking, had shattered several years ago. The night Sienna had shown up sobbing at Aurelia's door, and Aurelia didn't turn her away. Things had been different ever since, and for the better of both. Aurelia saw things differently now.

But Bellona Hargrove didn't need to know that.)

"It can," Aurelia interrupted.

"Could that change?"

Aurelia eyed her. "What do you mean?"

"I'm wondering if an arrangement can be made."

"...Oh?"

"I'll be frank," Hargrove said. "These Games are going to be short. District One is not going to win. We already have confirmation that Olympia deChanel broke Games conduct."

Aurelia exhaled, trying to keep her rising irritation at bay. "So you're playing games with me. In the middle of the night. The night before the Games. When I could be sleeping."

"No, I'm interviewing you," Hargrove said evenly. "My point is this: the Hargrove administration has allowed numerous training centers, including in District One, to persist. However, if they continue to result in incidents such as this, they will be closed. Which, to use your terms, is not in our interests."

"Why not?"

"Volunteers benefit the Games, as do high levels of skill," Hargrove answered. "The Capitol's audience tends to favor both. But with incidents like this, the various district-run training centers cannot be allowed to continue."

"So you're shutting them down?"

"We'd like not to," Hargrove said, "but that would require significant reforms."

"What kinds of reforms?"

"Emphasis on the guidelines of the Games, and how to work within them, instead of resorting to illicit strategies," Hargrove answered. She raised an eyebrow. "An emphasis you could provide."

"Except I don't care about what happens to District One."

"Which is where an arrangement comes in," Hargrove said. "You undertake a reform of District One's training system."

She frowned. "What do I get in return?"

"That depends," Hargrove replied. "What interests a person who only looks out for their own interest?"

Aurelia sat back in her seat, considering.

(A recent conversation came to mind.)

("If you could do it all again, would you have Volunteered?" Sienna asked.

"No," Aurelia replied.

Sienna turned away from the twelfth-floor window, city lights at her back. It had been nearly ten years since they'd met, and the Sienna before her now was a far cry from the fourteen-year-old girl struggling to put on a brave face. "I thought so."

"If this is about the Career thing again-"

"It's not," Sienna interrupted. "I agree with you. I don't think there's a way to stop Careers, or Volunteering."

"Even if there was," Aurelia noted, "I just… at least they're preparing for the Games. I'd rather see an eighteen-year-old who knows what they're getting into than helpless little kids."

"I still don't like it."

"Yeah, I don't either," Aurelia said. "But that's what it is. Telling people to stop training isn't going to work. They don't figure it out until it's them." She swallowed, pushing back the memories of a volcanic wasteland, heat on her skin and blood under her nails. "Until it's too late."

"Exactly."

"So it's pointless, Sienna."

"But what if it wasn't too late?")

"Well, like you said, One doesn't totally love me," Aurelia noted. "So for me to actually get things done in the training academies, I'd need authority. Legitimate authority." She smirked. "Beyond Braun's, maybe. Given that this went on under his watch and everything."

"We can give you a title," Hargrove said. "And any other proof of authority you'd need. I'll put my own seals on the documents."

"That's a start," Aurelia said. "I'd also like a personal line of communication with you."

"For what?"

"No one's going to roll over and let me take over, especially not Braun," Aurelia answered. Her former Mentor had never been her biggest fan. He'd made that clear from the moment she went against the Academy's choice and became a rogue Volunteer. "There'll be issues. And I want it to be clear that I have the Capitol's support behind my decisions."

Hargrove rolled her pen between her fingers, thinking. "I… I suppose that could be done."

"And, of course," Aurelia finished, "a salary to reflect the position. In addition to the yearly stipend."

Hargrove nodded, jotting down a few notes on one of the papers in Aurelia's file. "That can all be arranged," she answered. "Direct line of communication. Proof of authority. Salary. Seems like adequate compensation to me. I'll have documents sent to One's apartments at the conclusion of the Games."

"Good," Aurelia replied, careful to keep her tone smooth.

(This development... this could be very helpful.)

"And to be clear, Miss Charm," Hargrove continued, "everything we've discussed today is confidential."

"You recorded it."

"I believe in keeping records," she said. "But the breaking of Rule Two, in particular, is confidential."

"Fair enough," Aurelia said. "So how do I explain the… promotion?"

"However you'd like, without mentioning cheating," Hargrove replied. "One's lapse of Victors, perhaps. Or high placements."

"Thanks for the reminder," Aurelia said, her voice flat. "I'll take the hint that we're not doing well this year either, then."

Hargrove didn't respond, but she didn't meet her eyes, either. She flipped the file shut. "This interview has been most productive, Miss Charm," she said. "I'm confident you had no involvement in the misconduct. Thank you for your… cooperation, if it can be called that."

"Obviously, because you then proceeded to hire me for a job," Aurelia smirked. "And if we're going to be working together… Aurelia is fine."

"Aurelia," Hargrove amended. She stuck out a hand. "Bellona."

Aurelia raised an eyebrow, but she didn't flinch. "Bellona," she repeated. She shook the Gamemaker's hand.

And then she was escorted back to One's apartments, and finally went back to bed.

(Less than two days later, Olympia was dead. For the twelfth year in a row, One had failed to bring home a Victor.)

(But Aurelia? She was in a better place than ever.)

Bellona Hargrove, 33, Head Gamemaker of Arena Design

June 14th, 94 ADD

8:58 PM

"Mother," Bellona said, "is this truly-"

Minerva Hargrove fixed her with a cold stare. "I've enacted greater punishments for lesser crimes," she replied.

"It was a mistake, not a crime."

"It's both." Minerva shut her top right-hand desk drawer, its contents prepared for the meeting to come. "And this mistake is unforgivable. A six-day Games, Bellona. Half the tributes dead in the first five minutes. And our Victor was very, very nearly one of the tributes responsible."

"It's salvageable," Bellona said. "Frankly, our Victor is ideal."

"Mallory Catelli is suitable, yes." Minerva placed her hands on her desk, eyes still on Bellona. "It's worrying that you continue to defend this woman."

"Holliday," Bellona emphasized. "She's been around since I was a kid. Never shown a sign of disloyalty-"

Minerva slammed a hand against her desk. "Allowing the Games to fall to such low standards is a sign of disloyalty," she said, voice raised. "We've been over this, Bellona. The Games are the key. The Games are everything."

"I know. That's why Holliday needs to be the one running them-"

"She is not fit for the position!" Minerva bellowed. "If she has made such a mockery of my Games, she cannot be allowed to continue at her current level."

"So demote her," Bellona said.

"That's what this is."

"Mother."

"I don't understand why you're so upset," Minerva said curtly. "Who do you think will be taking over the position, Bellona?"

"I'm not interested in a promotion."

"It's not your choice."

(Bellona thought back to the days before her mother became President of Panem. She remembered when her mother first assumed the title of Head Gamemaker, following the back-to-back dismissals of Crane and Plutarch. There had always been a coldness to her, sure, but never like this.

Then Snow died. Then Bellona witnessed her mother's bloody climb to the presidency. There were many, in those early days, who made a bid for Snow's power: all failed. All save one. Snow's method was his poisons; Minerva's was sugared promises. She'd dismantled Victor prostitution- to keep the chances of another Victor rebellion, such as the 75th, under her thumb. She'd reshuffled the bureaucracy in both the Capitol and the districts, declaring a war on corruption- to replace Snow's allies with her own. She'd clamped down on the violent black market in Ten- only after it was uncovered by a tribute and made a problem. A newer, better Panem, she said. Perhaps it depended on who you asked.

In a way, Bellona should have been grateful. It had always been her dream to follow in her mother's footsteps to the Games, and now the opportunity to do so had been placed before her. She'd loved parts of it- she loved the design, the art, the stories. The Games were more than death, and Bellona believed that more than anyone. She loved her mother, too. Always had.

So she'd buried herself in her work and tried not to flinch when Minerva opened that desk drawer.)

"You really think I'm suited to the position."

Minerva tilted her head. "You're loyal," she said. "Smart. Know the Games better than anyone, except me. Excellent at reading people, notably tributes and Victors. Years of experience in Gamemaking. Yes, darling, you're more than suitable."

"I-"

A knock on the door interrupted her.

"Ah, Holliday," Minerva said. "Please. Come in."

Holliday Opifex, Head Gamemaker, shut the door behind her. Her brown hair, her graying strands dyed black, was pulled back in a simple braid, and she wore a bright blue pantsuit. Her glasses magnified her dark circles- it had been a long six days of Games, and an even longer two weeks. "Minerva."

"Do you know why I've called you here?"

Holliday gave Bellona a long look before addressing Minerva again. "I have an idea."

"Please, have a seat."

"I'd rather stand."

"Fair enough." Minerva sighed. "This is about your performance, yes."

"This is far from a worst-case scenario, Minerva," Holliday started. "This was the perfect year for a fast Games. It was compact, but it had all the elements our audiences love- death, betrayal, love, friendship, and the pacing was something new. This was far from a failure."

"You allowed a group of tributes- teenagers- to break the rules."

"They were punished."

"The rules shouldn't have been broken in the first place," Minerva countered, her jaw tense. Bellona held herself still, not wanting to draw either's attention. "It took days for the rulebreaking to even be brought to your attention. A group of Mentors had to show it to you."

"Showing our Victor relations are stronger than ever."

"No, that's not it," Minerva replied. "They went to you because they needed you. They had no other option."

"Those three Victors in particular, however-"

"Please," Minerva interrupted. "If anything, they should've been able to go to you when the first injury occurred. This is how we lose their loyalty, Holliday!"

"Their loyalty is intact," Holliday argued. "Bellona's arrangement with Aurelia Charm shows that."

"The deal shouldn't have been necessary."

"But she was willing to make it," Holliday said. "We have Charm, we have Volkov and Catelli, now, and Braun, Van Zandt, Odair- this was only one incident, and it won't happen again."

"Your standards have slipped," Minerva said.

"We even put on Myrellis-Verilla's wedding, Minerva- we have his loyalty-"

"And less than a year later, he learns that trained tributes have illegally broken his tribute's ribs!" Minerva said. "Which of those things do you think he'll care about more?"

"He's been a model Victor. So have the others. This will be forgotten."

"Not by me," Minerva said.

"Minerva…"

"This was not one incident," Minerva said, her voice deadly quiet. "This is the result of lowered standards. Of an atmosphere of mediocrity. To return the Games to their rightful honor, changes must be made."

"Of course."

"The first of which," Minerva said, "would be the termination of your employment."

"Minerva."

Bellona watched her mother's hand stray towards her top right-hand desk drawer.

"Years, Minerva," Holliday said. "Over twenty years we've worked together."

"I'm well aware."

Holliday changed tactics and looked at Bellona, whose mouth went dry at the eye contact. "Bellona," she said, "I've known you since you were a little girl. You- you know this is unnecessary. You know that."

(She did know that.)

"Begging is beneath you, my dear friend," Minerva murmured, unlatching the drawer with a click.

"Bellona, I know you don't agree with this."

Bellona couldn't bring herself to reply.

"Bellona, please-"

Her mother slid the drawer open and removed the single object inside.

"You've forced my hand," Minerva said, wrapping her fingers around the trigger. "I'm sorry."

Holliday's eyes were still on Bellona when the bullet kissed her forehead good-bye.

Bellona watched.

Just as she always had.

Minerva put the gun down. "Congratulations," she said, turning back to Bellona. "Head Gamemaker."

June 23rd, 96 ADD

3:37 PM

Bellona let out a breath of relief as Qibli Vestron's last detonating arrow reached its mark.

(He was perfect. He was absolutely perfect. He was exactly the Victor she needed- a talented Career who went out of his way to follow the rules. Every move Qibli had made was by the book, and even better, he was from District Two.)

The control room erupted in applause as the District Two Male collapsed, writhing in pain from the glass shards of the destroyed Cornucopia. Clodovea, her Gamemaker of Climate, caught her eye with a wide smile. Bellona returned it.

(Last year's Games was far from ideal. It wasn't unheard of for tributes to use the technology of the arena in their favor- for example, Three's Berenice Kavanaugh in the Eighty-Eighth. Last year, however, Three's Gianna Tesoro, at only fifteen, had taken it to an entirely new level. Bellona's arena, a simulation of outer space, had become much deadlier than anticipated when Gigi managed to override the airlock system. Thankfully, it took her over a week to master the controls, and the act of leaving her allies to suffocate was dramatic enough to capture the audience's attention.

But Gigi had tampered with the arena. Successfully. Not breaking the rules, but bending them. And then she won.

Not an ideal start to Bellona's Head Gamemaking career.)

Finally, a Games where everything went according to plan.

A Games that stabilized her position as Head Gamemaker.

(A Games that spared Bellona from the contents of her mother's top right-hand desk drawer.)

She could do this. She could keep pulling this off.

Really, she had no other choice.

and that's the end of prologue time! hooray! i'm very hyped to jump in and start writing this lovely cast of mine and really get this fic off the ground.

so with that... see you next time with true, zinnia, and fleur!

rb