Chapter 5:

Doria Jannes, District Four, Age 16

Victor of the 80th Hunger Games

Doria thinks it's about time for some damn change in this country.

Of course, that's also what she thought five years ago and that is what got her into this mess. And she still stands by that and the choices she made. She was on the verge of being eligible for the reaping and while Four usually had volunteers, it wasn't guaranteed. And the thought of being reaped terrified her more than anything. So when given the option to try and prevent that from happening, of course she joined in as much as they would let a child help. She didn't think the rebels would fail and the Games would continue, landing her right in them.

Oh, if only her eleven year old self could see her now.

Does she regret standing up to the Capitol and trying to get the Games to stop? Absolutely fucking not. Would she do it again now? Probably, but she would be smarter about not getting caught. But she will never let the Capitol know that. Instead, she's played their little game. She's accepted that she would never make it out of the arena alive if she let them know what she truly thinks about them. So she lied. She lied right to their faces, told them how sorry she is for what she did and any pain and loss she contributed to. She told them how she has changed her way and how as a victor, she would like to help the country continue to regrow after the rebellion. She told them that her rebellious nature was in the past and in the Games, she would show them that. She took out any rebels who didn't do what she did. She only felt a little bit of remorse, knowing that could be her. But she was smarter than them. She knew what had to be done to have the Capitol allow her to live. And she's not going to let herself feel any regret for what she has done to survive.

And the best part? They believed her. They must or else she never would have made it this far, marching back to the cornucopia and ready to face the final tribute. Doria is ready for the change of letting actual rebels – not just children of rebels like Garia last year – win the Games. And it seems like the Capitol might just be thinking the same thing. This finale will be the true test of the Capitol and what Ovidius preaches about how loyalists and rebels can work together to rebuild the country. Doria versus Jayde. Rebel versus loyalist. Both from former career Districts. Doria is going to do everything she can to beat Jayde, but she'll be really pissed if the Capitol plays dirty to let the other girl win – even if she's been playing dirty this whole time.

The shining cornucopia comes into view and Doria takes a moment to pause and stare at it, knowing this is it. This could be where she wins or dies, and it might not even be fully up to her.

Leaning against the cornucopia is her last opponent, picking at her nails. But when Jayde notices her standing there, she quickly straightens up and unsheathes her sword before starting to walk towards her. "About time you got here. I was starting to wonder if they just took you out."

"Sorry to disappoint you, but I'm still here," Doria answers sarcastically as she resumes walking towards the girl. She notches an arrow and puts a bit of tension on the string, ready to fire quickly if she needs to.

"Well, I guess that will just make this finale more interesting then. One and Four, fighting against each other." Jayde shrugs, trying to appear casual, but Doria sees right through her. She's a little scared. "You know, in the past, we might have been allies," Jayde tells her, almost seeming a bit…sentimental. "One and Four, together with Two."

"Too bad Two's tributes sucked this year," Doria answers, getting a brief snicker from Jayde before the girl quickly composes herself and grows serious once more.

"Right," Jayde says, adjusting her grip on the sword she holds awkwardly in her hand. And that's the reason why One and Four haven't allied every year – none of them are really trained anymore, so why ally with someone trying to pretend to still be a career? "What do you say? A fair fight between two sibling Districts? Best tribute wins? That is, of course, if the Capitol actually allows you to win."

"I've shown them I'm loyal to them now. The past is in the past." Doria's grip on her bow relaxes just a bit at that statement, a bitter reminder that she could have tried so hard up until this point, yet have the Capitol decide to just kill her. And she would rather know that now. "Well I'm waiting," Doria yells up at the sky. They wait in silence for a long minute…yet nothing happens to Doria. She still stands there, ready to face Jayde…still standing.

Jayde stares at her in growing shock, clearly having believed that the Capitol wouldn't let Doria win and victory was hers to take. Doria begins to smirk at her and Jayde takes a nervous step back. "I think we have our answer," Doria says slowly to her as she adjusts her hold on the bowstring. "And I don't want to fight fair."

As fast as she can, Doria raises her bow and fires at Jayde before the girl can try to run out of her path. Her arm wavers from the difficulty of firing it, but she still hits her target. Just…not where she was aiming for.

Jayde drops to the ground, arrow sticking out of her chest as she wheezes and gasps for air. Doria had been aiming for heart, but a punctured lung will do the trick. But as long seconds pass, waiting for Jayde to die, Doria starts to grow anxious that the Capitol could still change their mind at any second and make her drop dead. With a few long strides, she soon stands above Jayde and notches her arrow, taking her time to aim right for the girl's head this time. She stares up with pleading eyes and pathetically tries to raise her sword, until it clatters to the ground.

Doria stares at the arrow protruding for Jayde's head for a second, until she hears her new favorite sound.

Boom.

She waits until she hears the announcement though and even then when Jovian tells the country that she is the victor…part of her still can't quite believe it. There was always that underlying doubt in her that they wouldn't let her win, no matter how hard she tried to make them believe her.

But they did. Doria did it. She's the first rebel victor.

And she knows that the first thing she does when she gets in the Capitol is thanking Garia for showing the Capitol that rebels should be allowed to win.

And we have our very first actual rebel victor, Doria Jannes, Victor of the 80th Hunger Games! Are you surprised that Korrina allowed a known rebel to win? Did she make the right call?

Doria was a lot of fun to work on because I got to show what someone who actually fought for the cause would be willing to do so they could win. And in Doria's case, absolutely everything. But hey, this clearly worked for her since she lived! And I'm just realizing that I have several D4 female victors that are willing to play dirty to win. I guess this is a trend for me XD

Next chapter we'll be taking a look at a victor that has been talked about a whole lot, but we have not yet seen just what happened in their Games, so I am very excited to share that chapter! Any guesses on who it could be? If not, that will be up in the next couple of days so I will see you then!