Neither of the girls knew what to say or do.

Minnie looked awkwardly at Raiza, who had an unfazed look on her own small face. The eyes of the younger girl betrayed the hesitance she felt though, and the older one fidgeted slightly. It didn't help that they had been in the arena together. Sure, they didn't really know each other, but they had been there, and Minnie had killed Raiza's friend. Yes, it was true that she had come to terms with that particular death, and acknowledged that she had no choice in that moment, but it did not make it easier to look the child in the eye.

"Hey."

Raiza Relic was the first to talk for she didn't want to make it anymore uncomfortable. She didn't blame Minerva for anything, she was mature enough to know how things worked, and it would be stupid to burn bridges without even knowing the other person. After all, her family was 'dead', and she would live here in the Capitol. She had been assigned a house with servants and Raiza was surprised at this treatment. Nonetheless, she knew she had to be careful when here.

That didn't mean, however, that she couldn't visit the victor.

"Hi," Minnie greeted back warmly, the initial awkwardness reducing just a bit. They still stood quite apart, and after the greeting, neither girl knew what else to do.

"So," Raiza started, "You're going back home tomorrow?"

"Yes," Minnie replied, "I would've gone earlier, but my sister Michelle had a surgery recently and the doctors wanted her to stay here for just long enough to see if everything was okay and if she'd need help."

"Ah…"

Before either of them could add anything, the door swung open and the third survivor from their Games entered the room, looking completely different from earlier, looking quite pretty actually, and a lot less angry. The two girls were surprised to see her, and she too seemed unsure of why she was there.

Junova had returned to District Ten only to find that her father and brother had disappeared. Sure, she never particularly liked them, but it was still hard. She had, however, come to terms with it. At least she was alive, and she was here in the Capitol. She had been told she'd have to live with Raiza and she didn't quite know how to feel about it.

"June?" the other two girls said, surprised on seeing her there.

"I'm living with you," June said, not bothering with greetings, or perhaps she was too overwhelmed to form one.

"Oh, great," Raiza replied, and the awkwardness reached a whole new level now. Minnie wondered why June was here if she wanted to talk to Raiza, but figured that maybe she wanted to talk to her as well and just didn't know how to go about it. After all, they had all been competing to kill each other.

"Uh, please sit down guys," she said to the younger girls and was quite surprised that they both did just that. Just to do something, Minnie went over to the mini fridge in her room and came back with orange juice and glasses. She would have preferred alcohol but Raiza was a child.

"So uh, how're you guys doing?" she asked as she poured out three glasses of juice.

"Pretty good actually," June replied, "Like, family's dead but I'm alive so."

"Yeah, same," Raiza muttered.

"By the way, congrats on being the victor."

"Yeah. Congratulations."

"Well, thanks…"

All the three girls leaned back into their chairs, looking at each other. This was going to be a long night…I

It would have been great to be back in District Four had things not soured so much.

Minnie had never anticipated this to happen. She was still dumbfounded, sitting still on the wooden bench in her very own garden in her house in the Victor's village. She'd just had a fight, a fight with a person she'd never expected to have one with.

Minerva was thinking, thinking hard about the last few days in the Games. It all played in her mind; the game of truth and dare, her killing Julian and then her killing Venus, the vision morphing into a dead Arbor. She was back home now, with enough time to think, and couldn't help it. She didn't want to replay the events in her mind, it hurt so much, but she couldn't stop. There were no tears this time though, just a sadness in her heart. It had been her decision, a conscious one too, and she was done with blaming the universe for what happened. The blood was in her hands and nobody else's.

That didn't mean it wasn't painful to think about it though.

"I shouldn't have done that," she sighed to herself, unaware of another presence.

"Shouldn't have done what?"

"Volunteer."

It was after she had answered that she noticed who had asked this question. It was Michelle, her little sister, the most precious person in her life. And yet, when she saw Michelle's face, she couldn't quite place why she looked so upset.

"Why Minnie?" she asked as tears pooled in her eyes, "Aren't you happy that I can be myself?"

"I am happy Michelle. But-"

"But what? My happiness wasn't worth it? Ever since you've come out of the arena you've been this way. As if- as if I don't mean enough!"

"You're wrong!" Minnie retorted heatedly, feeling extremely tired, "You mean the world to me!"

"Then why aren't you happy?"

"BECAUSE I KILLED IN THERE! I KNEW WHAT I WAS GETTING INTO BUT I DID IT! Those three people… they don't EXIST anymore, and all because of ME! And no, NOTHING IS WORTH THAT!"

The moment the words had left her lips, Minerva regretted it, for Michelle was really crying now, and before she could say anything, the younger girl ran from there, sobbing. Minerva had, after all, never yelled at her in her entire life.

And now Minnie was just staring at the house that was now hers. She should probably go and talk to Michelle, and tell her how much she loves her and how much she's willing to do for her, but she can't get up, feeling too empty.

She felt someone sit down beside her, and she muttered a dry 'hey' to Sagittarius Ryans, who put his arm around her comfortingly, and she slightly leaned towards him, eyes still fixed on the house.

"I understand," he whispered, "But maybe you should go and talk to her."

"I…I don't want to. I mean I want to but-"

"I understand," Sage whispered, "If you want, I'll go and talk to her."

"You will?"

"Yeah, if you want-"

Before Sage could complete his sentence, Minnie had thrown her arms around him tightly, and he soon returned the hug, both the victors holding each other in a tight and silent embrace, feeling the warmth that they both needed. Minnie released him with a slight smile and nodded.

"I think I'll go and talk to her."

With that, she stood up and her former mentor stood up with her, holding her hand gently.

"She'll understand, don't worry."

"I'm sure she will."

Apparently, Minnie didn't really have to do much, for Michelle soon came out of the house, looking awkward and Minerva crouched down in front of her, smiling sadly.

"Sorry for yelling at you, kiddo," she said softly, reaching for Michelle's small hands and holding them, looking into her eyes.

"I should have been more understanding," Michelle muttered, "I'm so sorry too Minnie. You always look out for me and I-"

"Shush child."

And the elder sister pulled the younger one in an embrace, who returned it. Minnie stroked her hair gently, well aware that such arguments were bound to happen in the future too, and there was a threat that they could drift apart. However, as long as possible, she wasn't going to let it happen.

And Sagittarius watched from a few steps away, a slight smile on his face, when the sisters beckoned to him to join them. The boy stood rooted to the spot for a moment; why would they want him? And yet, he was drifting towards them, and soon the three of them were wrapped in a group hug.

Things may get worse in the future, but it was a good moment.

Ah, here it is, the epilogue. It could have been longer, but I am sick so I settled for this short chapter instead.

It's amazing that it's ending on the same day that it started: 26th December, exactly one year later. It's a great feeling to finish this story because I loved every single thing about it. Yes, there were things that could have been done better, but I think it was decent enough in the end. I want to thank everyone who submitted a character to this story; your contribution to the story is immense and I'm grateful that you sent your characters here when there are so many other stories out there, wonderful stories too. I also want to thank everyone who's been reading this, your support is invaluable and your feedback will definitely help me improve.

So, for the final time, please let me know what you thought of the story, if anything/anyone stood out to you and if you enjoyed it.

So here it ends. Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

Have a great day!