Author's Note: We're finally back to another district that hasn't had a victor for decades.

….

The Eighty-Third Annual Hunger Games: Soleil Lucien, District Five (18)

Soleil Lucien's Games were largely overlooked. The Tribute Parade ended with a spray of bullets fired from the frontmost sections of the crowds onto the stage where the new government ministers were sitting. The officially newly installed President Elda had appeared to survive his first assassination attempt. A bullet had skimmed his shoulder and the Defence Minister was dead. Several others were injured in the race to get to safety and the year's Hunger Games immediately took a backseat.

The tributes were all hurried back into the Training Centre. Most of the victors were hastily questioned, given the bullets were fired from their general direction before the Games continued under heavy guard, suspicion engulfing the Capitol.

Soleil remembers Porter telling her not to be distracted by everything else. As her mentor, she would handle everything that happened outside of the arena but what she did inside was up to her if she truly wanted to come home.

She did want to see District Five again and Soleil left the waterfalls of her arena alive. There was a strange beauty to her arena, but she had been left with a particularly strong fear of water which she had no idea how to handle. But that did not seem to matter to anyone beyond Porter and Luna. Even Hal did not care, he just wanted to go home and leave the chaos of the Capitol behind.

But before Soleil could return to Five, she found herself on stage with President Lucian Elda who declared them to be kindred spirits in survival. He a Lucian by first name and she, a Lucien by surname, were united in a way that now surpassed their names, and it made Soleil feel sick. She had just wanted to go home, as she imagined every other tribute did too, and now she was being tied to the new President in a way she could not undo.

When Soleil did return home, she felt like she could breathe again. District Five was familiar. Hot and dry, with very little breeze. Nor did she have to go near the district's stretch of sea to cool down anymore as she now lived in the Victors' Village and had every convenience to hand in her new home.

Her relationships with both Porter and Luna were positive and eased her transition into her new, privileged life. Soleil, much to Porter's relief wanted to work for the district and make a positive contribution. Initially, Porter wanted her victor to work alongside her. But Porter's work was based on the hydroelectric dam and resulted in frequent visits to the site, something which Soleil would not be able to contend with. So, Soleil looked at new projects being planned for Five in the continual drive for more power and energy and chose to focus on a new wind farm outside of Five's main city.

The work would involve overnight trips and Porter was concerned. Her victor would be out of sight and in the vicinity of people she did not know on a construction site. There was the potential for a lot to go wrong and for Soleil to get herself and others into trouble. There was also the issue of her hydrophobia to contend with. So far, she had been unable to listen to the sound of running water for more than a few seconds never mind take a shower, but Soleil was determined to feel like she was doing something useful to occupy her mind.

Before her Victory Tour, Soleil started work, much to Porter's concern. But all appeared to go well. Soleil had integrated herself with the managers and office workers and had been using her free time to build up her knowledge. It was a significant change from her work in her parents' shop before the Hunger Games, but Soleil was keen to learn and become a useful worker like she had seen Porter and Luna do.

She managed to stay overnight on some site visits where it was relatively easy to disguise her hydrophobia for one night and had seen work start on the new wind farm development. The aim was to increase the power supply for the south of Panem and into the southernmost areas of the Capitol. The workers were being pressured to complete their jobs to the tight schedule imposed. One of Soleil's roles was to assess progress and it was out in the fields where her concerns started.

Work started early and ended late with short breaks and no further allowances for workers to leave their posts. Soleil found herself having to chastise workers for the most minor acts of rule-breaking and she was sure that her report had led to one of the workers under her supervision being whipped. In making her report, Soleil did not know what the consequences were, and she was horrified when she saw the man bent double, attempting to continue working the following day.

She arrived home in time for the Victory Tour disturbed by what she had seen but tried to put it to the back of her mind. But before she had left, she had taken photos of the scenery in the fields, a genuinely beautiful place in her district and had captured some of the early progress at the site which she knew would please the Capitol overseers of the work. Whilst she was doing so, she managed to take a photo with the man who had been whipped in sight. She hid that photograph, unsure of what to do with it, thinking that a break during the Tour would clear her mind and she would decide later.

But the Victory Tour only unsettled Soleil further. She could tell that Porter was nervous too. This was her first time mentoring a victor and District Five's first Victory Tour since Hal's victory decades previously. They had to present themselves perfectly and Soleil could tell that even seeing the other victors was a worry for her mentor.

Porter had already explained that Five's victors were their own group. Reaching out to Nine's victors for the most part and then keeping to themselves. Soleil was not enthused at the prospect of being cooped up with Hal for weeks whilst the other victors kept each other company. She wanted to try to get to know some of the other younger victors more so she would not be confined to Hal's company as soon as their tributes inevitably died.

Soleil remembered all the excitement surrounding Katniss and Peeta but once she had arrived in District Twelve, she was too surprised at the appalling conditions to make sense of her evening with the three victors. Besides, Katniss and Peeta were not the teenagers she had in her mind. They were older, almost ten years on from their arena, comfortable in their relationship with each other and clearly responsible for Haymitch's behaviour and welfare.

She realised in Eleven, Eight and Six that strict working conditions and punishments for rule infringements no matter how minor, were commonplace and not confined to her own workplace. During her speech, she saw workers holding onto injured limbs and their main squares surrounded by peacekeepers who were all too ready to manhandle people to where they were needed the second her speech ended.

To her surprise, Soleil found she had a shared interest in photography with Chloe in District Four and the older victor promised to bring along a quality camera when they next met in the Capitol. For reasons Soleil did not understand, this made Porter particularly uneasy, and she thanked Chloe through gritted teeth before they left. Her mentor's discomfort did not ease until they returned home to District Five after that evening.

The Tour and the scenes in many of the districts compelled Soleil to keep taking photos of what she observed during her field trips. She knew that what she was doing was potentially dangerous and that she had to cover her tracks. So, during the early mornings, Soleil made sure to take photographs taking in the beauty of the quiet, previously unseen part of District Five. She took in different phases of the project's construction as work continued and every so often managed to take a photo alluding to the working conditions and the continued suffering of the workers which only seemed to worsen as the project continued.

Workers had fallen to their deaths from the growing heights of the turbines and Soleil had a clear view of this from her office. Her colleagues winced on every occasion but gradually became more used to it. Nobody dared comment on it aloud. One of her visits ended in the execution of one of the workers for stealing food from the peacekeeper guards who regularly monitored worker compliance on the ground. Everyone was forced to watch and as one of the supervisors, Soleil was forced to stand at the front, near the condemned man's son who screamed as his father hanged in front of him.

As soon as her victor arrived home, Porter knew that something was amiss. At first, she thought it was due to Soleil's ongoing hydrophobia, something they were only making slow progress with. But if it were related to her fears, Porter knew Soleil would tell her. She asked Luna to try to decipher what was troubling their young victor, but the friends got nowhere with their gentle enquiries.

It was clear that whatever was troubling Soleil continued as she shortened her next planned visit to the site to merely an overnight stay as opposed to the five nights she had taken to spending there. She claimed that she had tasks to oversee from the central office, but Porter and Luna knew that was unlikely to be the reason.

As Soleil returned from her latest overnight trip, she appeared even more closed off and told Porter that she wanted to be alone. But the Games were soon approaching, and Porter could not risk her victor beginning a downward spiral before they journeyed to the Capitol, so she decided she had to intervene.

"Something has been bothering you for a while now. Every time you come back from the wind farm you get worse. There's no point in trying to hide it from me, Soleil. It's obvious. We can't go to the Capitol with you struggling like this."

"I'll get over it," Soleil replied.

"But you won't. You haven't so far. What makes the next few weeks different?"

"I don't need to be there so much."

"Work is increasing. You're close to signing off on the first phase. They'll need you there."

"They'll manage without me."

"If you have that attitude, you'll be removed from the project. It was difficult enough for me to persuade leaders that we could be involved, that we needed to do something positive for the district with our days."

"I'm not doing anything positive there."

"You're helping keep the lights on and people in work."

"They're not safe. People get hurt."

"That's work on the projects."

"It's work everywhere from what we saw on my Victory Tour."

"So, District Five isn't any different."

"No. But it's personal because it's District Five. People have been hurt because of me."

"Because you reported rule breaking?"

"I thought I was supposed to. I didn't know people would be whipped. People have been executed too. Not because of anything I've said but I had to watch it."

"We all have. I know from Luna and Hal that the same has happened on their projects. I know for sure it happens on the dam."

"So that makes it okay? We've all got people whipped so it's another club I've joined."

"It's what happens, Soleil. I suppose now you don't report unless you must."

"Of course not," Soleil said immediately. "Unless," she paused, "I should carry on as before when I didn't know. Because not reporting could get me into trouble."

"Luna and I don't report," Porter whispered. "Hal might if he's feeling in a particularly bad mood that day. But if you don't look for it, you don't see it, no need to hide anything."

"And that helps you."

"Well, Luna and I know that nobody has been hurt on the back of our actions for years now."

"But someone else might report and they get hurt anyway."

"And it won't be on you."

"I have photos," Soleil whispered.

"Oh no you don't," Porter hissed.

"You can see them if we go outside."

"No. Never. I never want to see those. Why in Panem would you think that was okay? Don't you know how reckless that is!"

"They're not all showing the bad stuff. I've covered my tracks as best I can."

"Have you shown anyone else?"

"Of course not."

"Well, that's something. Has anyone seen you taking them?"

"Only the normal ones, the fields at sunrise, progress with the turbines. I don't focus the shots on the bad stuff either."

"I don't want to hear anymore. And you are to stop taking those photos, burn the ones you have. You understand me?"

"Someone needs to see them."

"You'll only get yourself killed. And the three of us too. Your parents. Whatever we do comes back to each other. I am not having you ruin what Luna and I have worked for, my girl. I am not having you be responsible for your parents being shot either!"

"You're all happy with this continuing?"

"Five is a wealthier district. Most people have food and housing. The lights are on most days and the peacekeepers aren't too bad. You've seen for yourself how much better we have it than most."

"That doesn't make it okay. People get injured all the time. When they're sick, they die because the hospital can't do anything. I was injured in the arena and physically I'm fine. Nobody gets that chance here. I've seen hungry kids, Porter. You must have too unless you stay blind to that as well. Or think that's not on you."

"Don't you dare bring me into the Capitol's doing!"

"So, you do know it's their fault!"

"Of course. But what can I do about that?"

"Use your influence. Make things better."

"Have you realised just how precarious a victor's position is? Just because we have money does not mean we can throw our weight around with the people in charge."

"You don't see it, do you? People look to us, and we let them down. Everyone knew that man at work was whipped because of me. People looked at me when a man was hanged in front of his son. They expected me to do something."

"They don't get it. They never will, Soleil. They think we can speak up, but we can't."

"We could organise. Work to stop all this."

"Don't you even go there. You know how dangerous that would be, how stupidly reckless. You'd get caught."

"Not everyone thinks like that. I've been thinking too about the Tour. We're different from the other victors. There is a distance between you and them, not the Nines, but they've taken the same approach. I could see it in their faces. They're not scared, and they're disappointed in Five for being scared. I don't want that for Five. I know you do what you do because you love Five too and you want everyone to have a peaceful life, but there has to be a better way."

"The others can be stupid, idealistic. The Capitol is far too powerful. It would be a suicide mission and I value my life."

"They're not so strong if we're all together."

"You're young, idealistic too. I get it. But that's not how Panem works. You've seen enough to know that, and I've been around for far longer than you. The entire system is based on the districts providing and the Capitol protecting. A few idealistic victors won't cause the system to collapse."

"Do you feel protected? Does District Five feel protected? What do we get from providing? We have power cuts, and we produce Panem's power!"

"I don't see how we could do any better."

"So that's how you justify it? You can't see how anything could be better."

"I don't see how we could win, Soleil."

"You can't justify it then? The hunger, whippings, beatings, executions."

Porter sighed, "No. There's no justifying it. I've just buried my head in the sand and tried to help in the way I thought best. Have you got what you wanted?"

Soleil stopped for a moment, seeing her mentor upset for the first time since she had come home, "I'm sorry if I've hurt you, Porter. I never wanted to upset you. Seeing it first-hand made me angry and confused, the arena, working, it's a lot. I don't know what to think of myself, of anything. It just doesn't feel right to me."

"If you need to stop for a while, I can say you're sick. I'm sure there's something contagious you could have picked up."

"I'll just stay in the central office. Tell them I'm preparing for my first Games as a mentor."

"It will work until we're back, that we can do. Give you time to clear your head and come to your senses."

Soleil reached out to Porter, "We're good, aren't we? I need you, especially in the Capitol and you've been so helpful. I don't want to drive a wedge between us."

"We're okay, Soleil. Truly. I think I needed to hear what you said. We have been stuck in our ways for decades. I needed someone new to remind me how things are. Now I'm not about to go on a loud drive for worker protection and get myself killed, but you've given me something to think about. But before I drive myself mad, don't bring up those photos with anyone else, and make sure you do get rid of them, even if just for your sake. Don't go searching for rebels either, they're dangerous and don't know what they're doing."

"What about after the Games?"

Porter sighed once more, "I'm going to talk to Luna. You need a breather, don't go getting ahead of yourself. Get rid of those photos and don't ever let a word of this reach Hal. He's too volatile and Luna can't control him anymore."

"Understood," Soleil said as left Porter to her thinking and went to have some quiet time herself. It had become tense, but Soleil thought she might have sparked something in Porter that might help them all in the end. For now, she did not know what she was going to do. It was all too confusing, dangerous even, just to be having these thoughts and Soleil knew why Porter made sure they had their conversation quietly, next to an open door. They all knew the Village was bugged and that spoke volumes about the Capitol's attitudes to them all.

Soleil would make sure she did not keep hold of the photographs either. They would leave Five, but not in the way Porter wanted. She was sure it would anger her mentor, but Soleil knew she could not sit by. She had evidence of what was truly happening in Five that nobody else had seen because of the self-imposed distance their victors had created.

She felt, for reasons she did not quite understand yet, that she could trust Chloe in District Four. Maybe it was their shared interest in photography or the way she was truly keen to build bridges with someone in Five, but Soleil knew she would know what to do. She would have to keep the photos hidden as she travelled to the Capitol and that would take some thinking, but Soleil knew it had to be done and it was the right thing to do.