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I'm running. Behind me, the fish are pulling themselves from the water. I look back and a scream rips from my throat. The mutts have the faces of the tributes. The ones that are chasing me have the faces of the tributes I have killed. I was wrong. They are going to kill me. They are going to crown the girl from Seven as the victor. I trip and barely manage to get back to my feet. I continue running, with a limp now because the brace has come off my ankle. Tears stream from my eyes. I can't keep running forever. I fall again. I try to get back up but can't. The first fish to reach me is the first tribute I killed. I can't see their face through my tears.

Suddenly, I am hearing an eagle, crying above me. It's got to be my dad. The medallion was his. I failed. I hear the eagle again and then the fish are gone. I look up and see two black eagles, larger than me. But they are looking at me as they would their hatchling. My ankle is throbbing. I look at them. They look at me.

"Sleep, everything is okay now." I hear before I lose consciousness, again.

I open my eyes to see a soft yellow ceiling. I turn my head this way and that. I frown. No windows. No door. Where am I? I look and see tubes coming out of my arm. I only feel silk sheets and know I am naked. I pull my hand from beneath the covers and find the scars from the arena slowly fading. Even my burns from my first days in the smithy are going away. I don't understand. I move my left foot, twisting my ankle. My eyes widen as no pain shoots up my leg. It's just a throbbing pain, a little worse than when I had the brace on, but not a shooting pain like it was during the fight with the girl from Seven. As I twist my ankle some more, my mind begins to work. I must be in the hospital, below the gym. I move my ankle again and fall back asleep.

When I wake up again, I notice the strap across my waist. Was that there last time? How long have I been in here? I try to sit up, but the strap is too tight and I lay my head back onto the pillows and close my eyes. I start when I feel a tray laid on my lap. I open my eyes and see a dark haired Avox. It's the girl from my floor, the one who brought me paper and pencils the first day of training. She presses a button and I am raised into a sitting position. I look at my food as she gently places the spoon in my hand. She gives me a small squeeze on my shoulder and then is gone.

I eat the broth first. It's a clear broth and I am glad. If it had anything in it, I may not have been able to eat it. I leave the applesauce untouched, the broth was enough. I sip the water and stare at the wall. Against the white wall, I am seeing the two black eagles from my dream. I shudder as I remember the fish. They will never leave me, the children I killed. How many was it? Two with the water, Violet, the boy from Four, and the girl from Seven. I gulp. I killed five out of the twenty-four tributes. Five faces that I will forever see in my dreams.

I shift and I feel my pendant. I look down and touch it with my free hand. I can't believe that I still have it. Why wasn't it taken from me? As I finger it, my mind returns to what happens now. Now I am a Victor. Now I can go home and wait for the Victory tour. Now I am a mentor. I slip the tray from my lap and pull my knees to my chest. I want my drawing utensils so I can fight away the boredom. But the Avox hasn't come back and I don't know what yelling at the wall will do.

I almost miss the cold liquid being slipped into my vein from one of the tubes and I am asleep again. When I come to again, I hear yelling. There are three of them. A woman and two men. One of the men and the woman, their voices sound familiar. Before I can put even a name to them, I am asleep again. My dreams are dreams of home this time. When I next wake, the band is gone. I move my ankle. No pain. I sit up by myself and see the clothes I had worn in the arena. I scowl. I never want to see them again, but I know I have to wear them to greet my team. I carefully take the covers off me and swing my legs over the side of the bed. I breathe, afraid that I am not strong enough. But my worries are needless and my legs are strong. I dress quickly and sit on the bed until the door opens. When it does, I am out before they can change their minds.

The hall I step into is deserted. I search my clothes for a weapon as I walk before I remember that the Games are over and I am safe. Halfway down the hall, I hear my name. I look and see Lin, Katniss, and Rynna standing in a big chamber. I run to them and I find myself running into Lin's arms. He doesn't say anything, just holds me while the tears stream down. I hug Rynna next and even give Katniss a hug. I am alive. I am going home.

I listen to Trica, Galla, and Fernic as they get me ready for the stage tonight. I try not to look at the mirror. I know I am thinner than I was when I went in. I do not want to see my ribs. My hair is pulled back and the gold eagle is put back in my hair. When Rynna finally comes in, she is not holding a dress in the traditional manner. My outfit is in two pieces. She helps me into the skirt, noticing it goes to the floor. Then she slips the shirt over my head, I feel a little bit of padding on the sides. She ties it at my waist and my hair tickles my back. I look at her.

"They wanted you surgically altered to give you back what you lost in the arena. Lin and Katniss had a huge fight with them over it. This is what I came up with to please everyone. That's the reason for the padding." I know who she is talking about when she says 'they'. I nod and turn to look in the mirror. The skirt and shirt meld as if they were one and the same even though I know differently. The silk is a deep gold, as if mourning what I just went through and what I would continue to go through. Without shoes or boots, my five foot four inches shows and I don't mind. I twist slightly and see the eagle still there. "That was my fight. They did a full body polish on you, well they tried to. I was not going to let them take this from you."

"Thank you," I finally manage. "Thank you for everything.

I pace the area beneath the stage, listening to the crowd above me. I am uncomfortable knowing that I still have to go through this. I just want to go home. Rynna and the prep team left me the moment we got here so they can get ready for this. I know how this goes, Rynna told me. The prep team will be introduced first, then Lin, Rynna, and Katniss. Then I will appear last, as the victor. I take a deep breath and jump, reaching for a knife that is not there. I relax when I see that it is Katniss. At least, I think it is. It's hard to tell since the person is hiding their face beneath a mask.

"Easy, Septa, it's me."

"Why the hell are you wearing a mask?"

"No one from the Districts can see my face. That's the rule. I never had to deal with it until now because I never had a victor before. This was Rynna's solution."

"It looks nice." Is all I can manage and she leads me to the metal circle that is waiting for me. She starts to say something but decides against it. Then she is gone. I rub the bottom of my foot on my leg. Rynna let my feet bare for emphasis. This is how my ancestors returned to the Districts. They had been disgusted by the Capitol's wastefulness and so had destroyed their shoes and walked out of the Capitol in the night.

The applause starts and I know my prep team is introduced. I take a deep breath as Lin is presented. Then I hear Rynna's presentation met with thunderous applause. Then a hush as Katniss steps onto the stage. I know everyone is wondering who she is. No one has ever seen the mentor for District Twelve as we have not had a victor since Katniss and Peeta in the Seventy-fourth Hunger Games. Then I am being raised up to the stage. I am met with deafening applause. I am the second Quarter Quell winner. At the last Quarter Quell, the Rebels blew up the arena and then the Rebellion started. I am barely aware of Lin escorting me to the ornate chair in the middle of the stage. Cesar makes a few comments about my outfit and I look at the screen. The seal appears and the three hour show begins.

The first forty-five minutes are the pre arena events, including the Reading of the Card. I don't miss the upbeat music as they show the training scores and the interviews the night before the Games started. Then it's the bloodbath. I see all six of them die. I keep my face blank, but inside, I am counting how many more fish are going to be appearing in my dreams. It shows the tribute from District Five that I killed with the mountain water. They are spending a lot of time on me, but that is to be expected, I am the victor. It shows the death of the tribute from Six and then me using my slingshot with the poison packet. It flashes to Joel and the end of his alliance. Then my fight with the boy from Four and me killing him. Then I am seeing myself running from the remaining Careers up to the mountain and jumping across the stream. I hear a groan from the audience when I break my ankle. I shift it slightly, still remembering it. That's when the mutts are revealed.

The screen breaks into four boxes and we are watching the two Careers, the girl from Seven, and me running down the mountain. I see what I had missed since I had been at the base of the mountain. The fish are running after the Careers. One is caught in the water, left by her companion. The fish catch the other one and the girl from Seven gets past the bowls that have become lakes. It cuts to Joel who managed to make it to the final four. He is on the other side of the river and managed to escape the flood. He is found by the boy from Three and they fight. I do notice that he is watching another fight before he starts his and realize that we are both fighting for our lives at the end. It stays on his fight, right until they both die. Joel barely manages to eke out third place, having driven his rock knife into the boy's throat. Then I am reliving my fight with the girl I had been looking for. The pain I feel is in my eyes. I watch the hammer fly, my pendant blinding her. I touch it and see Katniss's eyes flick towards me. They show our fighting, but block out our conversation, brief as it was. I see my own indecision turn into resolve and I kill the girl. It ends with me supporting myself with the bow and I notice tears. I don't remember crying as the hovercraft appeared. But then again, I was just glad to be alive. Maybe that is where the tears are coming from.

The seal appears and the anthem plays. The President takes the stage, followed by a young boy holding a cushion with the crown. He smiles at me, even his blue merchant eyes are smiling, as he places the crown on my brow. I see his eyes flick to Katniss and see something I don't recognize and it puzzles me. But I don't have time to think about it as it is gone and the President is escorting me into his mansion for the Victory Banquet. I am shocked by how many sponsors I have. Katniss wears her mask throughout the evening because of all the pictures that are being taken. The sun is coming up when I am finally able to go to bed.

I barely get a word in with my prep team and then Rynna is there. I am comforted by her presence. She pulls out my outfit. It's an elegant version of the outfit I wear in the smithy. "No dress?"

"No," she says. "It's time to show Panem who you are." She ties my hair back like I have it in the smithy and pulls my pendant from beneath my shirt. I smile as I look in the mirror. This is me. No make-up. No fancy alterations. Just me. She takes me to the sitting room where the chair is set up facing Cesar Flickerman and surrounded by mountain flowers. Cesar stands up and gives me a hug. Before I know it, the cameras are on and the interview begins.

"So, Septa, you have made it and succeeded where your family has not. How do you feel about that?"

"It's….. unreal." I say. "I mean, it's like I am in a dream."

"Tell us about your outfit. It's very different from what you wore before."

"Do you remember when you asked me what I do best? Well, this is it. I am a smith for my district." The look on his face is priceless and I can only imagine similar faces on those of the audience. He asks me a few more questions, including my plans after I return home. I answer the best I can and then he asks:

"How do you think your parents are going to feel now that they know you are coming home?" Now tears are falling and I don't care. He's asked me the one thing I cannot answer with certainty. "You do have your parents, don't you?"

"No." I say quietly, but everyone is silent and so everyone hears. "I lost them two weeks before the Reaping. But," I say suddenly, "were they alive, they would be planning as big a party as they could. And I also know that they are happy that I managed to make it home." He ends the interview then, seeing that I cannot go on. Lin is taking me back to my room so I can gather what I feel necessary. All that is there are my newest drawings I had done before the interview. I am barely paying attention to anything until the train is pulling out of the station and then out through the mountain. I suddenly notice that it is just me and Lin. He pulls me into a hug and I am glad to have a father figure now that mine is gone. At dinner, I am feeling better and we talk. "Lin,"

"Hmm?"

"My house in the Victor's Village, what can I have there?"

"What do you mean?"

"Can I buy a smithy so I can cast these drawings?" I hold up the book and he smiles.

"I'll see what I can do. What do you plan to do with them?"

"Sell them in the Capitol. Now that I don't have to work in the smithy, I am going to need a way to make money to support my family."

"What family?"

"I have a friend, Hima. I want her and her family to come and live with me. So I am not alone." He smiles and nods.

The two days passes quickly and I am eager and happy when I finally see our station rise up around us. I was happy when Lin announced that he was going to be staying in the District to help me get settled, if not longer. I wouldn't mind letting him stay in my house. I see the cameras and finger my pendant. I am home.

Author's note: No, it is not over yet. I am planning one more chapter, maybe two and then the next book of this series will begin.

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