I updated twice - a double feature! Go back right now.


Chapter Forty-Nine - "Around and Around..."


I return to Overwhil for my twelfth and final grade. The rabid adoration has died down a little bit, all things considered. I still get gleeful murmurs from the freshmen, but receive nods of respect from the sophs, juniors and fellow seniors. I hate the looks in their eyes. Unlike them, my tragedies are everyone's tragedies.

The price of being a victor.

Summer turns to fall and fall turns to winter. What's supposed to be the 'final hurrah' of a young person's life is more like a slog you just wish would be over. The Pilsner's are…functioning. If it were up to me, I'd keep my distance for obvious reasons. Dr. Rhodes yearns for me to stay in touch with them by virtue of technically still being their 'daughter-in-law'. They dote on me like I'm their own, but do I truly deserve their love? Since the birth of Domita's child, she has since decided to finish via distance learning. I don't blame her. After the summer of HG 77, returning to Overwhil is like a slap in the face, looking at the various locations and thinking back to a better time when the group was intact - alive. Victors' Affairs must've told the Academy something, because I was not allowed a moment to myself. I was 'voluntold' to join various sport teams and academic clubs, leaving my spare time scarce.

Not to mention Bea. She might as well be my mother. I'd be plump and lazy if it weren't for her constantly pushing for me to do something on our off time. I try to do things for her, pay for her during our ventures into the town, anything. Instead, she simply grins and lays her head on my shoulder.

"You still being here is more than enough payment," she says softly.

Oh Bea… I can't even muster the words to explain how much I appreciate you.

The Linscott siblings tour the nation the same way I did, keeping in tune with the theme of 'victory' and 'reconstruction'. Upon receiving the siblings here in 2, I guess Serene and Kaiser were right about Post-Rebellion victors being different from our predecessors. Paisley, being the heiress to a community home in District 11, is making the rounds between different matrons and administrators across the nation.

"I'm going to present my findings to the Capitol when I get there," she says to me in her southern drawl.

I'm skeptical. At least with Emery's initiative, she's using her own money. "You're just gonna march into the Presidential Mansion and stake your claim?"

Paisley waves dismissively. "Why not? If she's so dedicated to change then I bet my bottom dollar she'd jump on the opportunity to fix the homes and let me tell you, there's plenty to fix."

Her brother on the other hand, Clarence, is different from most males from his District. Instead of a silent brute, he's a talkative, lean figure and a veteran of a loyalist militia to boot. His loyalist tendencies, coupled with the fact that he murdered multiple of his own district partners - in self-defense - must make him extremely unpopular in his home district. He's what I'd imagine Maximus to be like if he were to have survived.

Their Tour is the highlight of my final semester. Winter becomes late spring. Commandant Rudiger is the one to privately present me with my acceptance letter to Ravinstill Military College. Given how much I 'enjoyed' history and politics here at Overwhil - 'enjoyed' meaning forced to study instead of wallowing in my anger and despair - it should be a breeze. Bea is studying medicine, just like her bigwig mother.

"Perhaps some time in the Capitol will be refreshing," she says to me. "Big city, tons of opportunities."

I shrug. From what I've seen in brochures and presentations, it's the same deal as Overwhil, just now we're adults. "Whatever you say, ma'am."

Commandant Rudiger knows all too well my inner demons, opting to clasp my shoulder with a firm hand rather than an empty sentence of encouragement.

And so, thanks to Dr. Rhodes and Bea's pushing, I write my last exam and somehow emerge from twelfth grade with numerous plaques highlighting my achievements and a high average to boot. If life were any different, I'd be a hermit in my house. Maybe even a permanent, rotten fixture on the floor. Instead, I join my graduating class in marching off campus and out the infamous front gates we marched through as fresh-faced freshmen cadets four years prior.

It was supposed to be the six of us marching out of here. The six of us doing the custom of tossing our headdresses into the air. The six of us coming together with our parents to celebrate our completion of school. Only Bea and I remain. I can't help but feel dismal as I see the other cadets greeting their parents, taking photos, celebrating in general. I'm not entirely alone. The Pilsners, Bea's folks and of course Dr. Rhodes are there to help celebrate me.

Outwardly, I appear thankful. Inwardly…It simply isn't enough to quench the longing for my family. Still, they're the family I now have.

The Seventy-Eighth Hunger Games are upon us. Since I didn't attend the Seventy-Seventh, they expect me to attend these. Another batch of rebel relatives or outright rebel soldiers themselves are selected and I could care less. Pluto instantly regrets asking me if I'm going to greet the tributes. He should know better. That doesn't stop one, a male that much I know, from knocking on my train door that night.

"Hi." He frowns when I opt to glare at him instead of respond. "I-I was wondering if you were going to mentor-"

"Who says you deserve to be mentored?"

He lets out a startled gasp. "So what's the point of coming if you aren't going to mentor?"

"You got eyes and ears, don't you?" I snap back. "What did President Choudhury say back in 76?"

It takes him a minute to conjure up a response. When he realizes, his face fills with dejection. "That these are…a punishment Games…"

"That's right. I'm here to get a front row seat, is all." I cross my arms and lean against the doorframe. "I want nothin' more than to see you rebels flounder."

"But I'm not a rebel…"

"You're complicit," I hiss, pressing myself against his chest while paying no mind that he's got a few inches on me. "Just know you don't have my support and I'll be happily awaiting your death."

And his death would come in the form of a District 1 blondie that Caesar dubs 'The Black Widow', who quite literally sleeps and kills her way to the top. Never seen the angle played this hard before. A least Serene and Kaiser have another addition to their roster. As for District 2, I don't mind going without a victor for a while, just as long as they aren't a reb or reb-adjacent which might as well be anyone who isnt' from Overwhil.


Ravinstill Military College and the Capitol are basically Overwhil Academy and District 2 without the emotional burden. The school is located in a rural suburb outside of the hustle and bustle of the city proper. Callista makes her way back into Bea and I's lives and we're a trio again. Slowly but surely we get used to the routine again and hit the ground running. The lectures are a breeze and the assignments are nothing but a bump in the road. The cadets and civlians are starstruck but that of course, comes with being Zenobia. The men here are Randall-like, but their idolizing of me keeps them as acquaintances rather than more, much to Bea and Callista's dismay - and teasing .

My head is no longer 'barely above water'. 'Treading' slowly begins to turn into strokes. Alongside Bea and Callista, new additions to my circle slowly enter my life, relieving the pressure. The of-age DeWynter family members, especially Armitage DeWynter and his girlfriend Pearlana Singh, may attend the rival Capitol University, but they're good for a weekend foray into the City Circle. Viondra is forever busy, but manages to make good on her promise of supplying me with all her textbooks and notes.

I haven't seen Emery since arriving. The upside of being my 'second fiddle' means that she's free to live without much intrusion. Bea makes note of Emery's 'Dear Emery' columns in 'Panemian Girl' magazine.

Commandant Rudiger is right. The Capitol is a refreshing place to be. But you can only stroke for so long before tiring. All while new people enter my life and progress is being made in my budding career, the anger of what happened remains as clear as day. Gone are the nights of crying myself asleep. Headaches are the permanent fixture now, coupled with the mocking laughter of a certain 13 soldier. All I can do is grit my teeth and bank on the fact that he and his people are paying through the nose. Though sometimes, even that isn't enough.

As the 3 o'clock bell tolls, Callista, Bea and I join a sea of other cadets sauntering down the grand steps of RMC's central hall. I see a ginger-haired man in a three-piece suit. Behind him is what I assume is a black government car. I immediately gravitate towards him. At first we think he's a passerby, but his eyes fix solely on me, as if he knew this time was the time I'd be let out.

"Hello…" My brows furrows as I try to put a name to the face. The pre-Games party at Viondra's. "Gideon Montresor, right?"

Gideon grins, inclining his head. "Hello Zenobia. A belated congratulations on your victory."

He extends his hand and I meet it, allow him to pump it.

"What brings the president's senior advisor out here? I ask, following his free hand as he gestures towards the awaiting car.

"The president would like a word with you," he says, peering behind me towards Bea and Callista. "They can come along but they are not to be privy of the situation."

Nodding, I motion for my confused friends to follow along. "Don't worry, I'm just as confused as you are."

I spend the entire car ride wracking my brain about what could possibly be the matter that President Choudhury requests to speak with me. Gideon seems as nonchalant as ever, even going as far as to entertain Bea and Callista about his job at the Presidential Mansion as well as asking them how their studies are going. If the request was made in anger, surely he'd be more mum. So why call me?

Once we arrive at the mansion, Bea and Callista are made to stay in a private reception leaving Gideon and I to venture deeper into the Executive Wing. Barring a friendly grin, the receptionist to the State Office doesn't say a word. The armed guards have already stepped aside. Gideon makes a show of jokingly ushering me in and there we have it - I'm in the office of the most powerful person on Earth. The person in question sits with Romulus Thread and other general officers.

Gideon clears his throat. "Your Excellency, Zenobia Rivendell, Victor of the Seventy-Sixth Hunger Games."

Quietly, the President dismisses the soldiers. I catch their eyes and trade nods of respect before approaching her. I snap to attention, making it so my heels clicking together are audible. "Good afternoon, Your Excellency."

"Hello, Zenobia." she gestures to the ornate sofas, grinning. "At ease. Sit."

I do as ordered. She isn't mad. I don't know why she would be. I watch her now as she takes her place adjacent to me, folding one leg over the other.

"How are you finding the Capitol, RMC?" she asks.

I shift my attention back from the portrait of President Snow adorned with a mourning band, to her. "Well. I appreciate the change of scenery very much. School is going great. Just like Overwhil."

"I hear that you're doing quite well athletically. You're one of if not the fittest woman on campus? Seems like no contest."

I nod. "I help the sports faculty out a lot in that department."

She hums in approval "And you're studying...?"

"Politics, ma'am."

"Politics," she repeats, grinning. "It seems, given recent happenings, that everyone want's to be a politician. What if I said that there's no rush, that there's more pertinent things than haggling with peers or sitting through meetings."

I frown. "Ma'am?"

Her expression becomes grave. "Just because the fire is doused doesn't mean that we have to deal with the residue. Embers and such." she activates a holo on the tea table, displaying 'TOP SECRET' a map of Panem and the wider continent titled 'Anti-Insurgency Operation Zones'. Just like the wartime update of rebel locations, there are splotches of red amongst the friendly green. "I must admit, Panem is currently in a very precarious position. Our peace and our order are at risk."

President Choudhury taps a button on the holo, sliding through the faces of two District 13 soldiers. I sit up a little taller, breath hitching as my eyes focus on their names. Sutton Matix. Anja Matix.

"The comparison between Katniss Everdeen and yourself are not lost on me," she says. "Both of you played your roles very well, though something tells me you'll play it far better - as if you aren't already."

I'm confused for only the fewest of seconds until I realize what the President is getting at. The map, the faces of his parents. She wants me to take part in mopping up the last remaining flames of this 'rebellion'. "What about my schooling?"

"Conventional school will always be there. No need to worry about that." President Choudhury replies. "Unless you decline, that is. Everyone agrees you've done more than enough for Capitol and country. However, I think you would agree that a hero's work is more often than not, never done."

I stare at the portraits of the two Thirteens, long and hard. I wonder if they know about their dear son. I could very well pay them a visit, explain to them in detail what happened? I'm sure they and their ilk keep tabs on the goings on via the airwaves. Oh, I'm sure they know about me. Panem's judge, jury and executioner. I know very well there's a difference between the Games and war, but my foray was a war in of itself.

I look the President straight in the eyes. "When do I kill them?"

President Choudhury pauses, leaning back in her seat as the tiniest of grins spreads across her lips. "I'm glad you marched out of that aisle, Zenobia."


My final author's note: And I believe that is that. I was at an army base in the middle of nowhere, so I wasn't comfortable to properly proofread and post these chapters, so here I am. After one whole year ten months and twelve or so days, and hundreds of thousands of words, I am done. It would've been done quicker if university wasn't in the way.

...Explanations? Explanations.

I think I had the duo victories thing planned out from the beginning. I couldn't part ways with Emery, who was my OC for about a decade now. In regards to Zenobia, the poll results I got (Two of them), makes it so that if she were put on a chart, she would be 'neutral'. It's hard to genuinely like a Capitol loyalist whose ruthless and has a distorted moral compass. One friend of mine said she was becoming increasingly 'odious'...I agree, thus the 'ying-yang' effect I've created.

Zenobia - the Ying - is the 'perennial' victor, person who would 9 times out of ten win given the perimeters. Even if two people took the poll, I imagine that everyone reading this would agree that they feel conflicted about her character. You support her 'justifiably' due to her background, however her traits and actions are somewhat problematic.

She represents the 'face' of the duo. With this Capitol's blessing, she'll be...alright. But we all know the Capitol doesn't care about her per se, but rather what she does for this universe's propaganda machine.

Emery - the Yang - I think is the true hero most of you prefer over Zenobia. This was the plan. Originally in my SYOT universe, I had it so that duo victories were a thing following the so-called failed rebellion. So I thought, why not bring back old characters such as Emery back? A decade old, crazy. She was a Rue clone once upon a time. I'm happy with what I did with her. Always loved the archetype of the precocious young one persevering despite everyone's doubts.

She, I'd say, is the more 'genuine' of the duo. Whereas Zenobia was the Capitol's perfect storm, Emery is the morbid reality of what a victor would genuinely deal with, especially one at her tender age. She's also, I'd imagine, the one people were paying attention to the most, anticipating her inevitable death.

...

Oh yeah, I'd like to apologize for the lapses in updates sometimes. Work, school...sad sad sad. At least I'm free now. In the future I think I'll be leaning towards stockpiling content before releasing.

You'll be seeing more of Emery and Zenobia - especially Emery - soon enough. I also plan on exploring a 'new district' some might be familiar with. Expect that in the late summer/September. Hopefully I can take chops of how to improve myself, because I think I can do better. Spelling, development of concepts and themes so that they're better understood, overall flow/mechanics...I think they can use some work. I'll take your word for it, Anna, when you said you saw improvement.

When you get older and develop your fanfiction some more, the concepts seem so much clear. My old SYOT universe I developed as a teenager is pretty much a fever dream now. By this time next year, I'd imagine 90% of it will be not relevant anymore - a 'fever dream' as one former submitter put it.

...

Many thanks to people like, SilverMoon, Quietwraith, Anna, Iomhar, Red Sting, Titanic-X and all the followers and favorite-ers.

Thank you, Elim9, for Gideon Montresor. I haven't written what I've wanted about this 'minor' character - I will soon - but your form that you sent me all those years ago pretty much serves as the bible to my alternative universe. I hope to explain exactly how this universe came to be shortly.

...I just read my traffic graph and I'm grinning like an idiot.

Hvala Vam, Spasibo/ba? Aciu, Xie Xie, Danke, G'Day and thank you to the 7.8 thousand people reading this as they sat on the bus, snuggled under the covers or took the time out to do so. Russia? Ukraine, Lithuania, Taiwan, Georgia, Ireland, Australians! People all over the world seem to love the fandom as much as I do. As a geography nerd, thank you very much, person reading this. Makes me happy knowing that you're chilling somewhere reading. Hopefully I get better for you. Hopefully you Baltic/Eastern Europeans are doing well.

So yeah, thank you...you.

...

So, Zenobia is essentially back to square one. Her actions and concurrent actions won't do her any favors with much of Panem at-large.

Emery, as our 'true embodiment' is, like most people in this universe, left to pick up the pieces after her life was turned upside down. Her views are shaken.

As the chapter title - and Katniss - says; "It goes around and around and who wins...?"

Well...