Welcome back to my story! We're getting to know the characters a bit better, and the Games are getting closer! The characters are a little OOC, but remember, they've been brought up in a very different world, and I tried to reflect that onto their personalities.
I do not own any of the characters or the world this story is set in.
AMERICA POV
"Stand up straighter, Miss Singer." I am currently getting my dress fit for the first time the Capitol will see the tributes. I am to look like a queen, and Maxon my king. I don't get a say in what I wear, but I don't mind. I know it will have jewels on it, as is the tradition of my District. Far better than those coal-miners in District 12. It's no wonder they never win the Games. Their costumes are so ugly, no one would ever waste money on them. They must get all the dim-witted designers. I don't really care.
"Thank you, Miss Singer. You may leave." I am about to walk out of the room and leave them to making my dress when I see Maxon. He walks towards me and offers me his arm.
"Care to join me in walking to our rooms? We should practice our royal walk for the ceremony." I giggle and take his arm. He will not be wearing his kingly clothing until this evening, but the Capitol has provided us with nice clothes to wear until then. Being from District 1, our clothes are never shabby, but these are nice even for us. They must be a huge change for all the poor Districts.
Maxon is wearing a fine white shirt with simple gold trim and a red coat, which I cling to. He and I had briefly met back in District 1, but over the train ride we had grown to know each other well. Then last night, the final night on the train, he had taken be onto the roof and kissed me. He was an excellent kisser, and it saddens me to think of him dying in the games. I hope we both make it far.
Neither of us are careers, we had both been chosen randomly. It is a sick twist of fate that someone as beautiful as Maxon could be chosen for such a horrible game. Careers are becoming more and more popular, but unfortunately, there are still not enough children willing to die for the regular kids to be safe.
We were supposed to watched the other tributes on television back on the night of the Reaping, but I had been too distraught about the thought of dying to even think about that, so I am the only one of us who is seeing the other tributes for the first time. We are about to be shown to the public and are all looking our best. I look just like a queen. The only thing missing is the crown, however, a crown could be interpreted as a show of power from the Districts, and so they are illegal. My dress is a deep blue, and I look much older than I am. Maxon looks incredibly handsome, and it is all I can do not to kiss him right now. I probably would have, had the stylists who had just spent hours applying and reapplying my makeup not been right there.
The other tributes are not quite like I expected. I have seen very few members of other Districts, aside from the dirty, starving children on the television every year during the Hunger Games, but I have always been assured that they are ugly savages. They aren't.
A few stand out to me. Districts 4 & 8 look they tried the whole "royalty" look as well, but of course they don't pull it off as well as I do. Both tributes from District 10 are wearing way too much make-up, they almost look like vampires. They wouldn't know what a vampire is though, they would only have the poor education from 10. They must have a young, emo stylist. The tributes from District 5, the girl from District 4, and the boy from 7 look like they have experience fighting, and I made a mental note to make friends with them. The girls from 4, 7 and 8 are also quite pretty, and I decide to befriend them as well. A girl can never have too many friends in the Hunger Games.
"Maxon Schreave and- and America Singer. Please come forward." The Capitol lady stutters before saying my name, as many people do. America is what Panem was called before the revolution. It is a dangerous name to have, as it reminds people of the war, but I like it. My father, unlike many people who feel lucky to live in District 1, including me, hates the Capitol. Or, I should say, hated. He was executed for being suspected of harboring rebellious thoughts. But I know my father wouldn't have done anything. Calling me America was the furthest he ever got to rebellion.
KAI POV
Clearly, our stylist thought Cinder was prettier than I was, according to the amount of effort put into our costumes.
To be fair, Cinder was very pretty. Incredibly pretty. Marvelously pretty. Absolutely gorgeous.
Of course, she didn't know that I thought that, and, quite clearly, she did not like her costume at all. Her face was fixed in a frown. She was dressed as a cyborg, with a cybernetic left hand covered in make-up. She was also wearing the classic Capitol red heels, which, by the way she was shifting around, were not comfortable.
"Why are we wearing this?" she complained, fidgeting with her hair with only her right hand, so that she didn't mess up the make-up on her left.
"To represent your District, Miss, the hand is for-" The our stylist began explaining but stopped as soon as Cinder fixed her glare on her. I couldn't stop a snort of amusement and quickly turned it into a cough so that I could laugh without being discovered. Cinder let out a sigh and turned around.
Being in District 3, we were third to be shown to the Capitol public. I was fairly content with my costume, so I didn't mind. Cinder, though, kept getting more and more nervous and fidgety as the time passed.
"Hey," I whispered. We weren't supposed to talk. "Are you OK?"
"I'm fine." She snapped. Over the past few days, I had gotten to know her and noticed that she got angry whenever she was not OK, but I decided to leave it alone. I would have taken her hand if that wouldn't have made the nearby stylists faint from anxiety. Or if Cinder would have let me. I gave her a smile, but she had already turned away.
ROSE POV
My costume is excellent. I can tell Dimitri thinks so too, though he would never admit it. He keeps looking at me out of the corner of his eye.
I smile flirtatiously at him, and he looks away. Damn him. He's been so cold the entire trip. I get it, we're going to have to kill each other, but that doesn't mean we can't be best buddies while we're slitting each other's throats.
That is, I'm going to slit his throat.
No, I hadn't volunteered. No, I wouldn't have volunteered. But that doesn't mean I'm not better than any of the careers. My mother taught me to fight when I was a young child, and I was brought up prepared for the Games. It would have been a lot easier had I not been picked out of the Reaping bowl, but it doesn't matter, I'm going to win this.
Dimitri walks in a manner that implies control, an important aspect of fighting. I've had enough experience to know when someone else has been trained, though not how much. Not that it matters, I'll still be better than him, but it's always good to know how strong your opponent is.
I thrust my chest forward, both for the crowd and for Dimitri. Sparks fly off my costume, which is entirely black, apart from a light show representing the electricity produced in my District.
It's also good to be friends - or more - with your opponent.
Thanks for reading! I'll be back soon with more! Don't forget to review! :)
