I finally got to finish this! Sorry I couldn't post this earlier. I went out of town and then just lacked the inspiration to finish this chapter. Anyway, more to come. Hope you enjoy it.

Again I do not own the Hunger Games, details or characters. Also the song used is sung by Ellie Goulding and property of Polydor Ltd.

Enjoy!

The New Definition

Inhaling a deep breath, Rendelle tried to calm her racing heart. There was so much preparation for this moment. All of Tacita's words of proper behavior and expectations circled her brain. Rendelle's natural instinct was to obey. Whether it was bad or good, she normally would take what was presented in front of her and ask no questions. When her mother and father fought, she and her siblings would remove themselves from the scene. When her brother was reaped, she kissed him knowing in her heart it was the last time she'd see him. When she, the youngest, was reaped she accepted the fact that it was her fate. If she was going to die, she figured she had a good run in life with no regrets. When the old man, Motton, who smelled of cigarettes and alcohol, told her to skip the cornucopia blood shed, she did exactly what she was told. When she received her first sponsored item, a knife and a note saying, 'make it interesting', she understood and killed a tribute in his exhausted state. Rendelle was surprised how well she coped with the gory aspects of her deeds. It was as if she could just shut off her mind and simply act as she was ordered.

So when the awful woman, Tacita, informed her that Agrippa was relieved of his responsibility over her, she found herself feeling something completely foreign. Enmity. She spent her days in a constant state of anger directed almost always at Agrippa and his absence. He made it clear that he was not interested in her romantically. However he did make promises that he did not make good on. Leaving her with a life amongst luxury that offered new levels of melancholy and loneliness.

The more she was around Tacita, Rendelle found herself despising every word that came out of the woman's mouth. She couldn't be sure about the source of her loathing for the woman. However, she could tell that dance classes, costume fittings, and voice lessons were ultimately going result in her detriment and the Capitol's gain. And to help the Capitol that brought Agrippa into her life fueled her anger even more.

To fill the minutes in the day, Rendelle put tremendous effort into doing little things to displease her manager. She cut her dresses shorter, refused hair dye, ate with her mouth open. Now, with the most reckless sense timing, she changed the song lyrics without permission. It gave her a thrill to know that she would be singing her words at the Capitol's largest social event, with the exception of the Hunger Games.

The first song was fast and easy to dance to. Any Capitol citizen would enjoy it. With all their frivolous words and actions, she doubted that any Capitol citizen could hear anything but the beat. In spite of herself, she found herself fearing the consequences. So she sent up a silent prayer in a vain attempt of self-preservation as she closed her eyes and launched her message.

I had a way then losing it all on my own
I had a heart then but the queen has been overthrown
And I'm not sleeping now the dark is too hard to beat
And I'm not keeping now the strength I need to push me

You show the lights that stop me turn to stone
You shine It when I'm alone
And so I tell myself that I'll be strong
And dreaming when they're gone

'Cause they're calling, calling, calling me home
Calling, calling, calling home
You show the lights that stop me turn to stone
You shine It when I'm alone

Home

Noises, I play within my head
Touch my own skin and hope that I'm still breathing
And I think back to when my brother and my sister slept
In an unlocked place the only time I feel safe

You show the lights that stop me turn to stone
You shine it when I'm alone
And so I tell myself that I'll be strong
And dreaming when they're gone

'Cause they're calling, calling, calling me home
Calling, calling, calling home
You show the lights that stop me turn to stone
You shine it when I'm alone

Home

Yeah, hee

Light, lights, lights, lights
Light, lights, lights, lights
Light, lights, lights, lights
Light, lights

You show the lights that stop me turn to stone
You shine it when I'm alone
And so I tell myself that I'll be strong
And dreaming when they're gone

'Cause they're calling, calling, calling me home
Calling, calling, calling home
You show the lights that stop me turn to stone
You shine it when I'm alone

The music died. That was her cue to bow. Unapologetically, Rendelle turned abruptly and walked away. There was silence. She had expected it. But still, fear bubbled in her stomach. Interrupting the stillness, a slow, deliberate clap sounded. Glancing around she saw Agrippa. He sent a smile to her as he urged the others to join suite. The woman next to him followed his lead, and in a matter of seconds the room was filled with applause. It was reminiscent of her time on stage with Caesar.

The relief was short lived as resentment took precedence and surged through her. She walked back into the space that served as her dressing room to remove the make up. She was done for the time being. Her stylist walked in to let down her hair and change her back to her normal attire.

Tacita walked in, "Darling, they absolutely loved the performance. I told you the last round of dance rehearsals was a good idea." Rendelle raised an eyebrow.

"Did you watch the performance?" Tacita was the only one there that would have noticed the lyrics being different than the original.

"Oh darling," her accent taking a patronizing tone. "I was so busy booking more performances for you." The older woman seemed very proud of herself that she could convince others to want her. As if Rendelle was only desirable with Tacita by her side.

"You think I should be grateful." The singer rolled her eyes; she was to be grateful for getting to do a job she never wanted to do.

"Indeed, I work very hard for my clients. You could use to a different tone with me," the older woman's tone came out callous and expectant. There was a moment of silence. Indignation from earlier still resonated within the singer. If she had to be trapped in this life and pretend to love it for the cameras, she would ensure that people around her knew her hatred. Her anger was becoming a bit of a crutch, giver her strength to continue on: living, singing, and obeying. Her, albeit small, rebellion expressed her resentment in a way she never knew before. She had to protect it. Rendelle slid off her seat and walked up to Tacita.

"Who is your client? Because I know I didn't hire you." A sneer appeared on Rendelle's face as she backed the other woman into the wall. The close proximity made the orange manager visibly uncomfortable.

"Well of course the Capitol hired me. However, I assure you, you won't have a single complaint." The older woman looked nervous, searching for the right thing to say. Rendelle casually looked down at her manicured nail.

"Tacita, do you know what I am?"

"You are an extremely talented client." Rendelle barked out a laugh.

"As true as that may be, do you know what I really am?" The woman was silent. Closing the gap even more, Rendelle pressed her hands to the wall, blocking Tacita from moving away. "I am the District 6 victor. I killed people in there sleep. That's the level I will go to survive. I assure you I will do what is expected of me, for the safety of my loved ones. However, I think President Snow has a kink in his plan. I can always do something dramatic and make a fool out of everyone here. My survival is not dependent on me living. So don't fuck with my survival." With that she left the woman to contemplate her words.

The fear in Tacita's eyes made Rendelle smile. For a brief moment, anger was banished from her mind. A giddy sensation coursed through her veins. Now she knew, the only thing more potent than anger was power.

The day before the Hunger Games was upon Panem. The Capitol buzzed with excitement. Rendelle sat still as Marius, her stylist, applied her make up and helped her into her outfit. The stylist patted her back and allowed her to look in the mirror

"Marius, what is this?" She eyed her reflection as if she hated the girl in the mirror. White powder covered her skin and her pewter colored dress was heavy with crystals.

"Oh honey, you are an up and coming star. You need to shine!" Marius' accent sang his words. Rendelle sighed.

"Won't I attract a lot of attention? It's not my job to take away from the tributes."

"Agrippa and I both agreed it was fantastic." Rendelle turned to look at Tacita dressed in a reptilian themed outfit complete with claw like gloves. "You look absolutely wonderful!"

"Agrippa." The name came out in a growl. This dress was his choice, no wonder it was ugly. The small red head traced her fingers up the long sleeves to the high neckline, then down the corset bodice. "It's heavy. Is this really Capitol fashion? It's extremely… stuffy."

"It's beautiful. Like a princess from the moon!" Tacita clapped her hands excitedly like she couldn't keep in her thrill. "Everything is going to plan. I will meet up with you at the Capitol Circle. You will be escorted by Marius and he will take you to District 6's box seats."

With a skip in her step, the older woman turned and left the room.

Turning to her stylist, "What do you really think Marius?"

He looked around the room as if scared someone might hear him. "It's rather out of fashion."

"Well let's do something about it." A mischievous smile spread itself on her lips.

Capitol Circle was packed. As promised Marius was her escort. The closer they got to the entrance, the more nervous Marius looked.

"Relax. It will be a hit. I am sure about it," Rendelle assured him. She currently was wearing the dress as Agrippa designated. The only difference was the clasps down the front and the long slit up the front, however the changes were barely noticeable.

Marius cleared his throat to indicate it was their turn to walk into the large building to meet up with the other spectators. She grasped his hand with a smile. As she lifted herself from the car, cameras and people called for her attention. Of course the former victor was one of the main attention grabbers of this Hunger Games.

She walked into the main spectator hall with her head high. She walked by children chasing each other with swords as their parents watched and cooed at the reenactments. She ignored some of the other people wanted to catch her eye.

"Oh darling you look absolutely wonderful. And you are not going to believe this. I have locked down the privilege for you to sing before the tributes make their debut," Tacita, wearing a silver dress, said excitedly.

"Ah yes, I did get the itinerary. I should be going up in about two hours. Isn't that right?"

"Oh good you read it. Yes until then I am sure you want to meet up with your former mentor and escort. They are sitting the District 6 booth toward the other end of the room." Tacita pointed out the man with white blonde hair talking with a girl with a light green wig.

"I see them. I guess I should make my way. Marius?" The stylist nodded and followed her lead. "You are being awfully quiet. Don't tell me, you're getting cold feet about our creation."

"I just hope this doesn't bite us in the ass." He spoke frankly. She liked that about him. Rendelle was more and more pleased that he became her personal stylist instead of having to share him with the other tributes.

As they closed the distance to 6's seating area, Agrippa looked up and smiled.

"Rendelle, you look lovely!"

"You picked the dress of course you'd say that," she said coldly as she walked past him to Motton. "It's good to see you old man."

Motton gave her a weak smile; "Don't tell me that you like me now too. I was rather comfortable with being the hated elder. You know, what I was before you kids came around."

The red head laughed. It was a real laugh and the first one in a long time. She wrapped her arms around him, thankful to be near a non-Capitol citizen for once. She breathed in his scent of cigarettes, and car fumes. "You smell like home. Did you know that?"

"And you smell like Capitol plumbing but you don't hear me complaining." With an endearing smile, she clung to him tighter. He sighed, "Okay, just don't call me dad."

She let him go and smoothed down her dress. Taking in her surroundings, "So what's the deal here? What am I supposed to do? I haven't even met the tributes. How are they?" She dared to let her voice reveal a hint of hope.

"They aren't like you. I don't think their fighters. Let me introduce you to the others."

"Others?"

"The other victors. You didn't think we were the only ones, did you?" If she was going to be honest, she never thought one way or the other about it.

"Um… should I be on guard?" Motton laughed.

"Not unless you are planning something. For the most part we are all friends here." Friends: that was a word she hadn't heard in a long time. It felt foreign but quite lovely as well. With a bright smile she followed Motton to a group of people standing near the food.

"Everyone I would like to introduce the 63rd Hunger Games Victor, Rendelle Nustack. " the elder district 6 escort said motioning to her. A pregnant silence spread among the group, as if they were analyzing her versus the rumors.

Rendelle's eyes looked from Motton to the group and back again. Not sure what to do, she awkwardly waved her hand at them and mumbled a hello. A young woman made her way to Rendelle. She was tall and had flowing blonde hair. Then she smiled and the red head felt her heart stop. The girls teeth were like tiny daggers. They glimmered in the light and it made them that much more frightening. They gave her a demonic look that Rendelle knew would give her night mares. Then it hit her.

"Enobaria, District 1. Isn't that right?" the youngest victor confirmed. She hadn't seen her up close however she watched the Games that her brother was reaped and killed in. Enobaria won that one.

"I guess it would make sense that you know me. I won the year before you," she declared lightly.

"I also know the person who killed my brother that year as well." Another weighty pause stretched out. Enobaria spoke first.

"You know it's always someone's brother, sister, best friend, son, or daughter. Did you think about it that way when you sliced that guys stomach open that first night. No, no one does." She revealed her teeth again and turned back to the bar.

Another voice cut the tension."You guys would be wise to just let bygones be bygones. No one here is living because they were angels. It's the nature of hell." Olive skin, dark hair and green eyes, the man before Rendelle was possibly the most attractive man she ever met. He stood at least a foot over her 5"3 with a calm smile on his face.

"They call me Vigor. It's a pleasure to meet you, Rendelle. And before you try to guess I won the 59th Games." He casually presented his hand for her to take. She returned the gesture with a strong shake. She wasn't going to let them see weakness in her. He raised an eyebrow at her pressure.

One by one each victor in the group introduced themselves. Two of the men, Chaff and Haymitch, were so drunk that they leaned against the other for support. She wasn't sure if they would make it through the night.

The last introduction was a homely girl only a few years older than herself.

"Hello, Rendelle. I am Cecilia." She gave her a sweet smile. Seemingly gentle by nature, this girl appeared out of place in the group of murderers. All victors had an edge about them. Somehow this girl seemingly came out relatively normal. Rendelle tried to think back to which Games she could have been in. Nothing came to mind.

She lightly chatted away with a man name Moss from District 10 and a woman name Lil from District 4.

"Don't let Enobaria get to you. She's still recovering from her Games," Lil advised the red head.

"Wasn't she a Career? I mean didn't she train for it her whole life."

"I, too, was a Career. Yes the training gives you the extra strength and you have the mind set to kill. However, to be killing in real life is very different than killing in theory. It's a trauma that you don't forget, regardless if you were trained to do it or not." In that moment the older woman became the wisest person Rendelle had ever met. There was a brief pause as the victors looked over at Enobaria, talking to a Capitol man and letting him guide her to another room.

"Well even if you don't mind taking a life, they know how to make sure you never forget." Moss's voice was deep and sad. His burly physique and sun-darkened skin gave the impression he spent a lot of time out doors. "We all kind of assumed that was what happened to you."

"It's true! They wouldn't let…."

"Shhhh!" Lil interrupted her. "Whatever is going on, we get it. We know you wouldn't want to be here. However, there are ears everywhere. You have to be careful what you say."

Rendelle's throat went dry. She thought of her songs. The lyrics she sang so proudly and with such passion. Perhaps, it was foolish to think no one would hear her messages. Granted she hadn't said anything too awful. Tonight's song, however, was bit more pointed. In spite of the danger, she would take her chances.

"I am singing tonight. I hope you hear it."

"So that's what you are," Moss confirmed, seemingly to himself. Vigor and the other victor from District 1, Wonder, joined their group.

"Yes, they tell tales of the lovely voice of the Captiol. Dare I say, we are in for a treat," Wonder roared. He was loud in manner and in dress. He looked like he fit in with the Capitol. Vigor seemed more thoughtful and introspective.

Nice dress," the olive skinned man observed. "It looks like it'll do its purpose."

Rendelle didn't know what he meant by that, however she didn't want to give away the game just yet.

From a distance, Tacita's called out Rendelle's name. The singer looked around and saw the woman summoning her. "I have to go. I guess we won't really have another time to talk after this, huh?" she spoke to Moss and Lil.

"Don't worry, we victors, despite our busy schedules, find our way to each other," she smiled and gave the small girl a strong squeeze on her shoulder.

The lights shone brightly, blinding her from seeing the crowd. It was better that way. She had a way of shocking the audience into silence. Her dancers lined themselves behind her. She motioned for the music to start. Two of the backups touched her shoulders and tugged backward on the dress. The clasps opened and the frock was torn away to reveal a short strapless dress made of the same dark silver material and crystals. It was tight, exposing both her skin and figure. It was her message to Agrippa. If she couldn't have her cake and eat it too, neither could he. He couldn't walk out of her life and have a place in it either. As she felt the sleeves roll off her arms, she felt cleansed of him. She was now ready to stand as a victor, not a victim, in front of the people that created her.