Disclaimer: I only own Septa, Hima and her family, and Lin

Enjoy

I jump up as a scream tears through the air. I recognize it. It's my name in Joel's voice. "Septa. Septa, wake up." I feel hands grab my arms and swing, trying to get them away. "Septa!" my eyes snap open and I see Hima standing at the foot of my bed, a large bruise forming on her arm. I still feel hands on my arms and turn to see Hima's husband, Ed, holding my arms down. "Septa," Hima says softly.

"Sorry." I say and reach for the glass of water that is always next to my bed. "Did I wake the boys?" Hima nods. "Sorry." I say again. She just smiles, but the worry in her eyes doesn't go away. She knows that for the past four months I have been having nightmares. I usually wake myself up before they get too bad. This time I wasn't able to. I was watching Joel be killed and yelling my name as he killed the other boy. They hadn't shown that on the recap four months ago, but I was able to read his lips. For some reason, my name was on his lips as he died. That moment had told me that he had wanted me to be the one to kill him if he was going to die. But we were separated by the water and he did the only thing he could, he lessened the number of opponents standing between me and coming home.

"Septa, you can't keep going on like this. You look worse now than when you came out of there."

"Doubt it." I mumble. She doesn't realize that during the lapse, the Capitol surgically fixes the tribute so they don't look so vicious or near death. I feel like I have broken my ankle all over again. I twist it, again, as had become my habit whenever I was sitting or lying down. Ed let go of my arms and stood next to Hima. "I'll understand if you two want to take the boys and move back to your other house."

"Don't be ridiculous." Ed snapped. I look at him. He had escaped unharmed having come from behind. "Our place is here with you. What type of people would we be if we left you, our sister, here to battle nightmares on your own?"

"Septa, you don't have to be distant anymore. You have a family." Hima sat next to my legs and grabbed my hands. I froze. If she noticed, she didn't say anything. "We'll get through this, together. Maybe you can call your mentor and see if she knows anything that can help with the nightmares."

"I don't want her help." I snap. My mentor, Katniss Everdeen, is the only other known surviving victor of District Twelve. But she is the reason I am in this mess with the nightmares in the first place. If she had not joined up with the rebels of Thirteen, my district would have been safe from the Games and the people here never would have had to worry. I take a deep breath. "Sorry, but you're right. I need help. I'll call Lin in the morning."

"Why don't you call him now?" Ed says kindly. "The sun is coming up and we need to be heading to work soon. You'll make sure the boys get to school alright." I nod and Hima stands up and kisses my forehead.

"It'll be alright, Septa. You're not alone."

"Hima,"

"Hmm,"

"Next time I have a nightmare, don't come in. I don't want anything to happen to you."

"Something did happen." She gestures to the bruise.

"Something worse." I say and she understands. Out of habit from the arena, I started sleeping with a knife under my pillow the second night I was home. Ed gave my shoulder a squeeze and then they are both gone. I hear the door open and close. I have a moment of peace, in which I hide the knife, before Hima's boys, Cain and Isaac, jump on me.

"Is everything okay, Auntie Septa?" Cain asks.

"We heard you screaming." Isaac says a second later. I laugh and hug them both.

"I'm fine. Just a bad dream." Cain and Isaac aren't really Hima's kids. They are her brothers, but because they are still so young, they are her kids and they call me Auntie whenever I am around. "And your nephews? Are they asleep again?" I ask. The boys know that Hima is their sister and the one year old twins were they nephews.

"Yup," Cain says quickly, "It's like they never woke up."

"That's good." I say and the ten and nine year olds get off me so that I can get out of bed.

"Hima said that there are eggs in the pan if you want some." Isaac says and then scampers out the door. I laugh at them and watch them go. Heaviness settles on me. I won't be able to protect them in at least two years. Even though they do not have tesserae, it is still possible that they would be picked to go into the arena. "Aunt Septa!" Cain calls up the stairs.

"Coming!" I call back and get dressed.

Lin's POV:

He walked silently through the streets, making sure no one saw him as he made his way to the Victor's Village. Only one house was occupied. He had grown concerned about her when she had called him last Thursday. It was Monday and he knew that the house would be close to deserted. She didn't go out much from what her friend told her. She had become withdrawn and the nightmares were getting worse.

Katniss had been over for breakfast when the phone rang. It had been a short conversation and he had agreed to have a sleep tea sent on the next train. After that, he had decided that he would deliver it personally. Katniss had wanted to go along, but he had refused. He knew that Septa still did not trust Katniss. Septa believed Katniss to be Capitol, not District and Katniss couldn't prove otherwise. Now that Twelve had a second victor, Katniss was no longer required to meet her tributes after the Reaping. As far as he understood it, the new tributes would choose the mentor they wanted and it would go from there unless they wanted to be coached together.

He reached the house and knocked. There was no answer. "Is this one of the rare times she leaves?" He knocked again. He was about to leave when he heard the ring of a small hammer on gold. He had heard it on more than one occasion since the Games had ended. He walked around to the back and found Septa in her own personal smithy. She had bought it about a month after she had gotten home, using her winnings for it. She had started her own business, taking orders and just making golden statues of whatever she felt like making. She was still sent the special orders from the Capitol, only now she was being paid more for it. He watched as she touched a band to the beak of the bird and melted away the bump before plunging the small statue into the tough of water next to her. She held it there for a moment before pulling it out and then filing the beak smooth.

"Are you just going to stand there and stare at me?" She called, not looking at him. It was a skill she had acquired in the arena, seeing without looking. "Do you want something?" She asked again.

"Maybe a hug." He finally answered.

She looked up, a sarcastic remark on her tongue. "Lin," she whispered. "Lin!" She put her hammer down and ran to him, strands of brown hair escaping her pony tail. He caught her hug. "Why didn't you tell me you were coming?"

"I decided after we got off the phone." She walked to her forge and put out the fire.

"Let's go inside." She said.

Two months later, Septa's POV:

I take a breath as I open the door and Trica, Galla, and Fernic enter the house. Lin follows them and I barely see Rynna as my prep team ushers me upstairs to get me ready for the camera. Before the Victory Tour begins, I get to talk about my talent, though I plan to sell them and make it a business that can keep me occupied. Lin's helped it along, showing copies of the drawings I made right before the Games and some of the ones right after. I got letters asking for this and that and had done my best with drawing and making what they wanted. Six months later, they would finally be getting their items. Well, they will once I reach the Capitol at the end of the Victory Tour.

I get a regular bath this time, as the hair that used to be on my body has yet to grow back, and they let me soak. I listen to them talk about this and that and try to rest. The nightmares hadn't stopped with the tea Lin had brought me. If anything, it had made them worse and I rarely slept at all. My team noticed and applied a cream under my eyes without saying a word. Soon, I am dressed in a flowing skirt, with a second layer of fabric to keep me warm, and a long sleeved shirt with a square neckline that stops just above my breasts, showing nothing. Trica pulls my hair to the side and puts a clip in it. I meet Lin and Rynna downstairs and Lin hands me a stack of cards that I have to read from. They record my voice and then let me go upstairs where I can rest. Lin and Rynna join me in my office where Hima and Ed are being interviewed. Somehow, it was told that I had let another family move into my new house.

Before I know it, we are on the train and on our way, the Victory Tour has started.

I stare out the window as we pull into District 11. The first thing I see is the forty-foot fence that is topped with coils of barbed wire. It is the same as ours. I see the guards every ten feet, but I know that beneath that are mines from the distance they are from the fence itself. Do we have mines around our fence? I can't remember. I only ever went near the fence once and that was when I was little and taking a walk with my brothers. I turn from the window as Lin walks in and smile sadly. He returns the expression and I go to my room to get ready. I am silent as my prep team works. As the train begins to stop, Rynna comes in with a billowy dress, a soft blue. I like the color and smile. She helps me dress and then I am meeting Lin. Before I know it, I am waiting by the doors to the Justice Building. I hear the mayor introducing me and I walk out.

The first thing I notice is the families of the dead tributes from Eleven. I didn't personally kill them. They died in the initial blood bath. The mayor begins his speech in my honor and then I am saying the thank you I memorized with Hima's help. As the mayor hands me the plaque, I realize I am also holding a bouquet of flowers. There is applause and then I am being ushered back into the building. I get to shower and then I am being put into a different dress. I know I am just going through the motions. But I am numb. Soon we'll be getting to the districts of the five tributes I personally killed.

We're outside the dining room before I know it and arranged in the same order as in the Capitol. This is going to be a long week. And it is. Soon, I am no longer in tight fitting clothes because I've been sleeping less and less because of the nightmares. I somehow manage to get through my interview with Caesar. The banquet afterwards is a blur. Then, me and Lin are on the train back to Twelve.

Six Months Later:

I gaze at my reflection. The seventeen year old looking back at me looks far older than she should. Her eyes have seen more than any child should have the year before. I sigh and turn away. I am so different from the girl I was just a year ago at this time. This time a year ago, I was getting ready to meet my death in the arena. Now I am alive and a victor and a mentor. I look at my reflection in the standing mirror. The weight I lost during the last Victory Tour has finally returned. The nightmares have stopped some. They don't come as often anymore and I am able to sleep. I put a light layer of powder on my face for the cameras before pulling my medallion out of my shirt. Rynna taught me how, knowing she wouldn't be able to help me get ready for the Reaping as she and the prep team will be getting ready for the tributes.

A knock interrupts my thoughts and Lin walks in. I smile. "Are you ready?" He asks.

"No, but let's go. I have a feeling this won't be easy. Nothing is anymore." He offers his arm and I take it and we make our way to the square together where we meet the mayor. Now that Twelve has a new victor, Katniss doesn't have to come to the Reaping. She can meet the tributes in the Capitol. The clock strikes two and the mayor begins the ritual reading of Panem's history. Before I know it, Lin is standing up and going to the balls. He pulls a slip from the girls' ball and reads. I don't recognize her name, but I am filled with rage as she climbs onto the stage. She is barely thirteen years old. Lin reads the male tribute's name. An eighteen year old takes the stage. They shake hands and then we are all going into the Justice Building. An hour later, we are on the train to the Capitol and the Games begin again.

Alternative POV:

"Is she alive?"

"She is." He drawled, looking at the seventy-some year old. "But she won't do it again."

"What makes you so sure?"

"Had you seen her last year, when her tribute was crowned victor, you would know something was changed. Besides, a Mockingjay isn't what we need."

"Really? What do you suggest we do then? The Districts know her."

"A Mockingjay is just that, a mockery of something. We need a hunter." They turned to the screen. "We need an eagle." He said as they showed the Quarter Quell Victor step off the train in the Capitol. "We need her." He pointed at the screen as the cameras focused on the new mentor for this year's Games.

And this is the end of this part. I do not know what to name the next part yet, but when I do know, I will post the new fic. If you all have ideas that would be great. Thanks for reading and please review