Chapter 2
The sunlight gleams off the buildings that are so brightly coloured, they almost hurt my eyes. The train enters a tunnel and we watch in silence.. Then roars and screams as the Capitol citizens recognise the Tribute train. We get shifted off the train and taken to the prep rooms. I lie for what feels like forever while my prep team strip of every last hair from my body, they sort out my eyebrows, nails, hair and make-up. They don't do much with my hair, they say its the perfect length and the waves are beautiful. I thank them. "Right Renèe, we are going to weave these red ribbons in amongst your waves and then we'll let you see Cinna." I thank Venia, Flavius and Octavia and sit in excitement about meeting my Aunt's old friend. My prep team are exactly how I imagined them from Katniss' description. Flavius' orange corkscrew curls and purple lipstick, Octavia's pea green body and Venia's spiky turquoise hair. The weaving is done and they leave. I sit, waiting for Cinna to enter, when finally he does. I hug him. He looks exactly the same from the pictures, not aged a bit. The line of earrings on his lobe, his chocolate skin, the line of gold on his eyes. I smile. "Hello." He greets me warmly. "I can see Prim in you Renèe, and some of Katniss as well. You have natural beauty." He puts an arm around my shoulders. "Seeing as you are related to the girl who was on fire, I thought we should carry on the tradition." I look at him curiously. "You mean, fire?" He nods and my sombre face cracks into a large grin. He laughs lightly. "I predicted it would have this outcome."
In less than half an hour I am dressed in a small navy puffed skirted dress with red flames licking the hem. It gathers at the waist and a red band stretches around the stitch line. The best feature is on my back. Jet black wings that flutter. I spin around happily. "I love it Cinna!" He replies, "So do I." I giggle and he links our arms. "Lets go to your parade."
We arrive by our carriage and we meet Ash and Portia his stylist there. He is dressed in a navy suit and black bow-tie. His outfit seems boring compared to mine. We climb onto our chariot pulled by black horses and District 1 lead out. We hear the roars of the crowd. I gulp nervously. Cinna is climbing up behind us holding a large canister. "This is the fire, don't worry, its safe." We nod and he lights my fluttering wings. Then, Cinna moves to Ash and lights his bow-tie. I notice our images on a board showing the Tributes and we look incredible. The chariot jolts and Cinna jumps off. Me and Ash link hands and we move forwards. I put on a winning smile and the crowd scream for us. We hold up our linked hands and the crowd goes wild. I grin and grin and my mouth starts to ache.
The chariot reaches the front and our fire extinguishes itself. The President Snow stands up and opens his puffy lips. He "welcomes" us with the usual speech and we leave. Katniss and Peeta come over. "That was better than our parade. Renèe, you look absolutely radiant. And Ash, that bow-tie is just amazing!" We thank them and we get taken to the training centre. I enjoy the lift ride, seeing all of the tiny Capitol people below growing smaller and smaller. Then, we stop and the doors slide open. Effie bounces out into our living space and Katniss shows me to the room that was once hers. I smile at it and give her a large hug. "I'm so glad you are my mentor." She grins and presses something into my hand, its my Mockingjay pin. I thank her and she leaves me. I take the ribbons out of my hair and step out of my dress. I jump in the shower and let the hot water cascade over me. I jump out and am about to grab a towel when the mat dries me. I place my hand on a white box and a current runs through me, drying my hair and untangling it. I go back through to my room and put on a pair of silk pyjamas and climb into bed. I fall asleep instantly.
When I wake, it's by an Avox. I open my mouth to talk to her but then remember she can't. Avoxes are traitors of the Capitol who had there tongue cut out. It makes me shudder when I think of it. They then are made to work for the Capitol, the silent servant. She draws my curtains and I sit up and rub my eyes, yawning. She leaves and I notice clothes at the end of my bed. I slip into the baggy, fuchsia top and black leggings. I tie up the laces on my plimsolls and go for breakfast. Everyone is already sat around the table. I join them and reach for a cup of hot chocolate. I notice Ash is dipping his roll in his so I copy. I pop the chocolate roll into my mouth and am met with incredible flavours. I consume my roll and fill my plate with a lamb stew. I hear Katniss laugh. "What?" I ask.
"That's my favourite meal, the one I always had for breakfast during my Games." She replies.
"Oh." I chuckle. "At least we kept it in the family." And now the whole table's laughing for some reason. I glance quickly at Ash and he's laughing. I smile and eat my stew. A timer goes off and Effie claps her hands. "Quickly, quickly you two. Finish up! You need to go to training!" Me and Ash share a glance and start shovelling food into our mouths. I drain my mug and run to brush my teeth. I brush fast but thoroughly. Soon we are heading down to training. Katniss and Peeta warned us, "Don't show your skills." I certainly won't, but I don't know about Ash. The doors open and we enter the large training area. I stare around while a grin spreads on Ash's face. The other Tribute's are all here. Most of them are bigger than me. We get a speech telling us about how in 4 weeks, 23 of us will be dead.. I switch off and stare around at the other Tributes. There's one boy, quite good-looking, but huge. He looks brutal. I guess he's from 1 or 2. Many of the other Tributes are forgettable. But one small girl with coffee coloured skin sticks in my mind. Her resemblance to the late Rue is uncanny. She must be a relative of some kind. She catches my eye and I smile warmly. She looks away and I realise everyone has dispersed to different training area's. I head to the Fire-making Station. I excel at it. In seven minutes I have a fire lit. The trainer smiles at me but I move onto the Knot-tying Station. I struggle with one knot but eventually, after about an hour, I manage it. I then repeat the process and become a master at it. I spot a fake tree to climb and take a run and leap straight into the tree. I sit back and look at all of the other Tributes training, while I am concealed by the leaves of the tree. The large boy who I have discovered is from District 1 is slicing dummies in half with a sword. I squint my eyes and scour the room for Ash but I can't find him. "Psst." I hear above me. I stare up and notice Ash sat in the branch above me. I grin and climb up next to him.
We finally stop for lunch. Me and Ash spent most of the first part of training up the tree in a whispered conversation. We decided that we would be in an Alliance together. The Careers are all sat together in a big group at the end of the table. They're so noisy. Me and Ash converse quietly, until I get a suspicion that someone is listening. I turn and see the little girl who looks like Rue's head bob behind a pillar. I get up from the table, having eaten my fill and follow her behind the pillar. She's sat on the floor, gnawing on a chicken leg. When she sees me she starts to scamper away but I whisper. "Its okay, I won't hurt you!" She smiles and I sit next to her. I hold out my hand. "I'm Renèe." She takes my hand, hers small inside mine. She replies.
"I'm Viola." I smile at her name. I love the Viola flower. Its a delicate blossom, with beautiful petals. I always used to pick them for my mother, along with Primroses and Katniss plants. "That's a beautiful name." She thanks me but then we are disturbed by Ash coming to join us. Viola shrinks away but I reassure her. "Its okay, he's a friend, we're in an Alliance." Ash kneels down next to her and says in a soothing voice, "My name is Ash. What's yours?" She stutters back her name and he grins at me, knowing how often I have a Viola flower in my hair. I nod and he asks her, "Would you like to join our Alliance?" Viola's mouth cracks into a grin and she nods. "I'd love to, thanks." We all smile and she comes with us back to the table. We eat a little more before we all re-enter the Training area. This time, Viola joins us in the tree.
