Dakota Grangerford, 12

District 9 Female

Dakota was fuming. Her teeth ached from how tightly they were clenched and she couldn't stop the tapping of her fingers against her thigh. When they took her from the arena, she yelled and hit and fought until they were forced to sedate her. But she had every right to be upset! She had to kill her friend!

Now she was in a hospital bed somewhere in the Capitol. A nurse had come in earlier to remove her IV, but he ignored her when she asked to see Maddox. She'd been alone for about twenty minutes now and she was going stir-crazy.

Finally the door swung open and a tall woman in a doctor's coat stepped inside.

"Ms. Grangerford," she said formally. "You are in good condition and are cleared to leave the hospital. A nurse will be here soon to help you dress and escort you to your car."

"Great," she mumbled. "Can't wait. Where's Maddox?"

"Mr. Hume will meet you at the Tribute Center." She flipped the pages on her clipboard down and left quickly. Dakota bit back a scream.

Everyone was treating her badly. No one seemed to care about her at all. She should be used to it, but for some reason it was grating on her more than it ever had before. She could imagine Mars's voice beside her.

"It's because you're worthy of kindness," he'd say.

Angrily fighting back tears, Dakota stared at the clock on the wall. Another twenty minutes passed before the nurse from before came in. He unceremoniously helped Dakota into a wheelchair and pushed her out of the room.

She stared at her socked feet as they made their way down blank beige hallways. Finally, they entered the reception area and went out the front doors. A black car was waiting for her, and she felt herself sag in relief when Maddox stepped out.

"Hey kid," he said, giving her shoulder a friendly nudge. "Come on, let's get some real food in you."

"Sounds like a plan," she said. So Maddox and the nurse helped her into the car and they drove off.

About thirty minutes later, she was sitting at the table in her apartment in the Tribute Center. A heaping pile of mashed potatoes covered in gravy sat on the plate in front of her. Draco and Amity were chatting about her interview dress, but Maddox was just watching her.

"What?" she snapped, looking up from her plate to glare at him.

"Nothing," he said, rolling his eyes. "I'm just thinking. We've got a lot to do. Calm down."

Dakota wrinkled her nose in annoyance. Maddox could go from supportive to grumpy in the blink of an eye. It was annoying. And she didn't like people planning her life out behind her back.

"So, when I'm home, will I get to live in the Victor's Village?" she asked. "Or am I going back to the orphanage?"

"The Victor's Village," Maddox told her. "We've arranged for several caretakers to live with you on a rotating schedule so you're never alone. Your friend Sarah volunteered to help out too."

"She did?" Dakota asked, surprised. Maddox nodded.

"Ceres is back in District 9, organizing everything. Everything will be ready when you get back."

"Huh," she exclaimed, leaning back a bit. It was surprising to hear that Sarah wanted to help her. Though she had come to say goodbye when Dakota was reaped… maybe she cared more than she let on.

After dinner, an avox helped Dakota with her bath. She was beyond being embarrassed by the situation; back at the orphanage, all her baths were done with the help of someone else. Usually Trinity.

When she finally got to lay down under her soft covers, a strange sadness washed over her. All day she'd been clinging to her anger in a desperate attempt to remain strong. But now that she was alone she was faced with the overwhelming urge to bury her face in her pillow and cry.

But she refused to let the tears fall. She wasn't a baby. She could handle this. But every time she tried to let sleep take her, Mars's face appeared in her mind.

"I'm sorry," she whispered to the empty room. "I know this is what you wanted, but I still feel guilty." She fell asleep imagining all the things he'd say to her in response.

The next day was filled with prep. Amity coached her on her interview with Caesar, just like she did before the Games. Her escort was trying to be supportive, but Dakota could tell she was doing poorly and that Amity wanted to give up.

Her answers were either dull and sullen or angry and accusatory. Neither would be considered acceptable. But Dakota didn't care about what was acceptable anymore. Killing your friend wasn't acceptable. Forcing children to brutally murder each other wasn't acceptable. But it was Panem.

Finally Amity handed her over to Maddox.

"Dakota, this is going to suck," he told her. "But I need you to cooperate. This is entertainment for them. They can't let anything ruin that."

"I don't care," she snapped. "They can be as angry as they want. They can't hurt me. No one loves me. No one cares about me."

She let out a bitter laugh.

Maddox slammed his hands down on the back of the sofa.

"Damn it Dakota!" he shouted. "I'm really trying to help you here, but you're not making it easy!"

"Why should I?" she shouted back. "Nothing was ever easy for me. The Capitol doesn't want things to be easy for me. I bet they didn't even want me to win! Why would they care if their victor is cranky if they didn't want her in the first place?"

Maddox looked at her with a stony expression.

"Mars wanted you to win," he said flatly. Dakota bit down on her tongue to keep herself from yelling.

"And so did I," Maddox said. "There are people on your side, Dakota. But if you keep this up, you'll lose them."

"Fine," she snapped, slumping back in her chair. "What do I have to do?"

Finally, after hours of proverbial torture, it was time. Dakota's chair, which was decorated in lights, was wheeled to a platform under the stage. Her team was all around her, ready to rise up as well. Her heart was pounding wildly and she was fighting the urge to scream.

At least she looked nice. Her dress was a pale rose-gold color and fell to her mid-calf. Her feet were bare and she had a crown of small white flowers in her hair. Twinkling white lights were wrapped around her wheelchair.

Slowly, one by one, her companions were introduced. Her prep team went first, followed by Draco, and then Amity. Maddox shot her a glare before he went up, and then she was all alone.

"And now, the girl we've all been waiting for… Dakota Grangerford!" Caesar called out. There was a buzzing sound and then she was rising up, up through the floor and onto the massive stage overlooking the central square of the Capitol.

Caesar was by her side in a moment, placing a warm hand on her shoulder. The crowd clapped and cheered, but it didn't seem as enthusiastic. Dakota was right. They were hoping for a different victor.

Without asking, Caesar pushed her chair to the center of the stage, where he sat down in his armchair and turned to face her.

"Dakota, we are so happy to have you back here," he gushed.

'Are you?" she thought grumpily, but kept the words sealed behind closed lips.

"Thank you," she gritted out instead.

"I must say, your victory was quite unexpected. How do you feel about being the ultimate underdog?"

"I'm not surprised," she said flatly, fighting back the more unpleasant response. "I've been underestimated and undervalued my whole life. Why would it be different here?"

The crowd gasped. Even Dakota was a little shocked by her words. Was she undervalued? She always thought she had no value. There was nothing worth anything when it came to her. Right? But somehow, her statement to Caesar felt true.

"Well, we value you greatly," Caesar said reassuringly. "Your victory caused a lot of excitement. We were all on the edge of our seats when you and Mars were the only ones left. What was going through your mind?"

"I didn't want him to be in pain," she said honestly. "And I wanted to keep my word. So I did."

"Yes. It was very noble of you. Now, let's watch the replay of your Games!"

They started with the bloodbath, which didn't feature Dakota much. But she still watched with bated breath as Mars ran in to gather supplies. Somehow, he avoided any direct confrontation. But many other tributes suffered gruesome deaths. The girl from 5 was beheaded. The girl from 4 had her knee shattered. It was infuriating to watch. But she did.

The recap showed her and Mars hiding as his district partner Moira was killed by the Careers from 2. It showed the girl from 1 provoking some wild beasts and getting caught in their stampede. It showed the girls from 8 and 12 being attacked by the boy from 11, and killing him.

Then the girl from 1 died from internal wounds. Dakota and Mars shared a censored conversation, discussing why Mars was willing to help her. The boys from 1 and 12 hunted down the boy from 5, and the one from 12 goaded his ally into killing him.

Dakota faced off with the lion. The audience grew more animated when the beast appeared onscreen and Dakota felt the same rush of fear and adrenaline run through her. Everyone gasped when she stabbed it in the nose and cheered when the lion ran off.

The next big event was the girl from 8 helping her ally kill the girl from 7, and then completely turning on her. The girl from 12 bled out as Indigo grabbed their supplies and ran. The next morning, the Careers imploded. The boy from 1 accidentally killed the boy from 2 and everything went downhill from there, leaving the boys from 1 and 12 as the only survivors.

Interestingly enough, her conversation with Mars about goodness wasn't shown. She let out a huff when it was clear they skipped over it. The Capitol knew nothing of goodness or kindness.

And then came the final day. The girl from 8 killed herself with the help of a sponsor gift. The tornados chased everyone else to the Cornucopia. Iago killed Prince. Mars joined the fight and killed Iago

And now came the part she was dreading. She watched herself struggle over to Mars and listened to him instruct her on where to make the cut. She did. And with triumphant music that drowned out her scream, Dakota was declared the victor of the 54th Hunger Games.

She hadn't realized how hard she was biting her lip until she tasted blood. But she kept her expression neutral as the audience rose to their feet and applauded. Caesar joined in too.

"Now, please rise for the National Anthem!" Caesar said once the cheering died down. Dakota smugly remained seated as the music blared across the square. And finally, President Snow walked onto the stage.

He and an assistant with a velvet pillow approached her quickly. She sat up straight and squared her shoulders as the President stopped in front of her.

"Congratulations on your victory," he said coolly.

"Thank you," she replied, her voice equally cold.

President Snow revealed her crown with a flourish. It was made from a deep golden medal in a woven pattern and had blood red rubies embedded in it. She let him place it on her head as the audience whooped and cheered.

As she turned to face the crowd and the cameras, Dakota let her wheelchair thump over the President's polished dress shoe. He let out a barely audible huff of pain and she couldn't hold back her smirk.

And the next day, she was going home. The train sped along the tracks, blurring the surrounding landscape and making her sleepy. She spent the ride napping and watching old movies in her room, but rose when Maddox came to fetch her.

"We're almost home," he told her.

Home. District 9 had been her home for her entire life. Its orphanage was all she knew. Now she had her own house and a team of people to care for her. She had more money than she could even imagine. But she was still just Dakota.

When the doors to the train car slid open, there were paparazzi and well-wishers and cheering district citizens everywhere. She recognized no one. Her victory was special to District 9 because they would get more food. Not because of her.

And then she spotted a familiar face in the crowd. Sarah was standing with her hands clasped behind her back. People moved to the side as Dakota wheeled her chair over to her.

"Hi," Sarah said, not meeting Dakota's eyes.

"Hi," she said back. The silence dragged on for a bit longer before Dakota met Sarah's hesitant gaze.

"I'm sorry."

"For what?" Sarah asked.

"For not realizing you were my friend. I thought I was always alone. I thought I wasn't worth befriending. But you were there."

"Yeah…" Sarah murmured. "And I'm still here. I'm not going anywhere. I promise."

Dakota smiled.

"Thanks."

And Sarah gave her a hug.

Wow... I did it. We did it. We reached the end of this victor exchange, which I started over a year ago. Thank you to AmericanPi for being so patient with me, and for sending me Dakota in the first place. I really grew to love her and I've had SO MUCH FUN including her in my other SYOTs. She's one of my favorite victors ever (sorry Mozu, Oberon, and Mira! I promise I love you all too!)

I hope this ending did Dakota justice. She deserved a happy ending and I tried to give her one. And thanks again Pi for this amazing girl :)

Have a nice day, be kind to each other, and never stop reading!

- Fiona