Chapter III
"Here is where we leave you. You're going to be handed over your prep team who will basically pretty you up for your stylists. As you probably both know the stylists dress you up for the tribute parade. It's important you do everything they say and under no circumstance offend them," Finnick told us as we arrived outside the prep rooms. I was about to ask what would happen if I were to offend them but I thought better of it.
I entered the prep room shuddering at all the different things they were going to "pretty me up" with; hot wax, nail clippers and what looked to be an eyelash roller.
"Hello Kris, I'm Maximus, this is Daphne and that's Clio. We are your prep team!" A man dressed in what was perhaps the strangest suit I had ever seen walked in with two equally strange looking women. They were the very definition of "Capitol Dress" with Maximus' multilayered suit and his oversized puff collar as well as Daphne's outrageously long eyelashes and Clio's overly tattooed skin. I wondered what these people look looked like as children. Had their parents dress themselves in such odd outfits since they were babies?
"Are you alright dear?" Daphne tentatively asked. I must have been staring at them, but who wouldn't? You would be able to see them a mile away with how conspicuous their outfits were.
I decided it was best to get on the best terms with them as possible. That way they would be gentler with me when they used their torture devices on me. "I'm fine thank you. Just marvelling at how pretty you all are." I lied through my teeth. Who said flattery would you get you nowhere?
They positively beamed at me, obviously believing the lie. Maximus was the first to respond, "Well aren't you a sweet thing. You're much nicer than some of the other nasty tributes we've had to deal with." Maybe they wouldn't be so nasty if you weren't sentencing them to the death.
"She's pretty too. We are so lucky this year," Daphne squealed, "Oh I remember one tribute from Nine a couple of years ago that was positively grotesque." I was about to tell him how most Capitol people look "grotesque" everywhere else but I remembered Finnick's advice not to offend them. So instead I settled for intensely glaring at them.
"Well let's get started. Lay down here Kris," Clio pointed to a gurney-like chair, noticing my discomfort at Maximus' and Daphne's words. It was the first thing she said and I find that I liked her voice. It had a soft, melodic tone to it and without much of the Capitol accent either. I laid down on the "gurney" and they immediately started working on me. Washing my hair, waxing every hair on my body that was not on my scalp and then washing down my skin with a burning hot liquid. I wanted to ask what each thing was before they used it but found it was probably best if I didn't know. A couple of hours went by with Maximus and Daphne either pointing out every physical flaw or complementing me on the weirdest things. Clio just smiled and shook her head at them. She whispered to me at one point, "Pay no attention to them. They're basically children." I decided that I liked her.
Finally, they deemed me good enough to be handed over to my stylist. As I waited for her I couldn't help but dread the outfit I would be put in. As the fishing district the stylists always put us in something sea-related. We were usually dressed as fisherman, mermaids or anything that was blue. Over the years, it did start to get repetitive. The same old costume bored the capitol, causing the tributes to fail to make an impression. If we're not memorable enough we may not be able to get sponsors and without sponsors we could very well starve to death in the arena. But I supposed it was better than some of the stuff they put District 12 in.
I heard footsteps outside. My stylist walked in. She was a freakishly tall, muscular woman with yellow dyed skin. Piercings adorned her face; on her ears, in her nose and I swore I could see a bit of silver in her mouth. Her hairstyle wasn't as extreme as some of the other Capitol people's but was still a sight to see. It was shaved on both sides of her head with the only remaining hair styled into a rather tall, dyed red mohawk. She was wearing a frilly dress and platform shoes without the actual heel. I wondered how she managed to walk from one side of the room to the other.
"Hello Kris. I trust you're doing well." Despite not feeling well at all, I simply nodded to not cause any offence as I was too bewildered at her appearance to do anything more. "My name is Hestia and I am of course your stylist. You must be hungry," She continued, offering me some food. For a while I just shoved food down my throat while Hestia watched with a blank face. I couldn't tell what she was thinking which worried me.
"Let's get you dressed now," Hestia said after what seemed like hours of her just staring at me. I was obviously naked as she dressed me and under her gaze I couldn't but feel self-conscious, a rather new feeling to me. I had never much cared about how other people thought of me but under her piercing gaze I couldn't help but feel as though I was not good enough.
"You can take a look in the mirror now." My first thought was, do I have to show that much skin? My stomach was bare; my breasts were barely covered with only a small shimmering shawl like top. The skirt was extremely short as well but very pretty and at least multilayered to look like I was wearing a bit more. It reminded me of the scales of the fish that made their homes in reefs. My legs were a little more clothed than the rest of me with blue and black, 'fishnet' opaque tights but were still easily seen throught My hair (courtesy of Clio) was curled a little to look wavier and even tinted to look blue. I was wearing black heels that made me seem even taller. To top it off I was wearing a pearl bracelet and pearl earrings to better symbolise my district. Admittedly, I looked beautiful but I was still feeling overexposed.
"So, what do you think?" Hestia asked. My fascination with my outfit had made me almost forgot she was there. I wanted to thank her for making me look so beautiful but all that came out was, "Are you trying to turn me into Finnick 2.0?"
For the first time since we met she showed emotion. I had clearly made her angry and had offended her, which according to Finnick was the exact opposite of what I was supposed to do.
"What is that supposed to mean?" I couldn't help but feel a little bad. She had put in so much work into this and I wasn't even grateful. But then I remembered that I was here because I was being sent to my death while she and the rest of her Capitol friends were able to sit back and enjoy the show.
"It means that you're trying to exploit me like they did to Finnick. It's obvious you have recently altered the costume so much more skin is shown." That was true. Even at the young age of fourteen they had sexualised Finnick to appeal to the crowd. And the costume didlook altered to show more skin.
"Did you ever think I did it so you could get more sponsors? They always love an attractive tribute. And yes, I'm doing what they did to Finnick but it kept him alive and it's going to keep you alive too," She said this with a rather cold voice that frightened me just a bit. If possible I felt even worse. I remembered what Laurel said about using my looks to my advantage and here was someone who was offering to do just that! Hestia was actually trying to help me and I basically sounded like an ungrateful brat. Scratch that, I wasan ungrateful brat.
I took a deep breath, "I'm sorry. I shouldn't have said what I said. I didn't mean to sound like I didn't like it. Because trust me I do. It just feels weird that they're going to see so much of me." Hestia looked up at me with a sad smile on her face. Was she sad that I had to do this? Wasn't she just going to enjoy the show like the rest of them?
She took a deep breath, her anger having dissipated, "It's fine. You're right. It waswrong to show Finnick in that way as it is wrong to show you too. But you need to understand that we need to use everything to our advantage if we are going to keep you alive." I sat there for a little while just absorbing what she had said. I was going to have to play along if I wanted to make it back to District 4. Even if that meant these people see more of me than I would care to want.
"Come on now. The tribute parade is about to start soon. " I followed Hestia down a series of corridors, trying not to trip because of my heels. Devon and his stylist were already there when we arrive. Devon was wearing an outfit that matched mine but was thankfully not sexualised and of course more masculine. He was pulling of the "cute kid" look rather well. His hair was tousled and his dimples were more prominent. Surely a couple of people would take pity and sponsor him. For a second I was overtaken by a sudden urge to protect him, to not let him die. But then I remembered that if he was going to survive then I would to die and I couldn't do that.
"Wow! Now there's a sight to see." I turned to see Finnick strolling towards us with Eunia and Mags in toll. He looked even wearier than when we arrived in the Capitol.
"Hello to you too," I grinned overdramatically. "Don't I look absolutely gorgeous? They're making into a female version of you. Making me the Capitol's next sex symbol, " My voice dripped with sarcasm. I thought he'd at least crack a smile but all he did was frown. I thought he enjoyed black humour but apparently not.
"Trust me that's the last thing you want." This made me feel guilty. I turned away from him, trying to avoid looking at him as much as possible. He was much too depressing right now.
Instead I looked around at my fellow tributes to find that only District 1 and their mentors had arrived. Whilst Septima and Marble were stunning in their getups it was their mentors that captivated me.
The three of them were familiar, having won recent Games. The brother and sister who won consecutive Games- the 63rd and the 64th- were both inhumanly beautiful as was the third mentor. What was his name? Jason? Jackson? Jasper. That was it. He was very familiar to me having, having won the previous Games. He had killed the District 4 girl from last year. She was a volunteer from the North, having been trained all life to win the Games.
In the end, it had come down to him and the girl from Three, who had been his ally. It had been rather interesting, seeing as One and Three rarely teamed up.
Jasper had forgone the usual Career Alliance, seeking instead to team up with Three because of her intelligence. Together, they had come with a devastating plan that killed nearly all the Careers, baring one. Afterwards they had split up, when the pool of tributes had nearly died out. In the end they couldn't avoid each other as the last two left, and Jasper had ended up shooting a mercury tipped arrow straight the girl's skull.
The mercury tipped arrows had been a sponsor gift. He was a favourite last year due to his looks. Whilst he wasn't as beloved as Finnick, since he was a little older the Capitol had already gotten their clutches on him. I hated to admit that his prep team somehow made him even more beautiful, his ink coloured looking unnaturally shiny, the pale pallor of skin glistening. I frowned at that. It was the sort of artificial beauty that the Capitol was known for. Did I look like that? Artificial and Capitol-like? I shuddered at the thought.
"Why are you looking at District 1 like that?" Finnick whispered over to me, his frown gone, and his charming, flirting persona reappearing as though it had never left.
"How am I looking at them exactly?" I pretended to be confused.
"Not them, him. You're looking at him like he's good enough to eat," He said pointing to the victor as I started blushing.
"I have no idea what are you talking about," I lied as Jasper caught me staring at but instead of being crept out he merely smiled at me. I was blushing furiously now and unfortunately Finnick noticed.
"Please don't tell me you have a crush on him, " Finnick whispered to me. If possible I turned redder. The others luckily didn't hear our conversation and thus looked confused to why I resembled a tomato. Thankfully before they could ask any questions we were signalled to start getting on our carriages.
"Kris, you need to engage the crowd but don't look childish. Show them you are not to be underestimated. Smirk at them, shoot them flirtatious looks and sway your hips a bit. Make sure your facial expression conveys raw determination and strength." Hestia's advice was the best yet. I could do that. I could make them fall in love with me.
"Devon do the opposite. Do engage the crowd but genuinely smile at them. Remember the cute kid act. Show off your dimples, " Devon's stylist, Tullus told him. He again nodded too nervous to say anything. I tried to give him a reassuring smile but I too was getting nervous. This would be the first time the Capitol would truly get too see us up close and personal.
Getting onto the chariot was probably one of the hardest things I had ever done. The heels Hestia put me in were already hard enough to walk in but climbing onto the chariot was a different story. With great difficulty, I had managed to get on albeit embarrassing myself a little, well actually a whole lot. I swear I saw Jasper laughing when I tripped. The thought made me go red again.
The parade started and District 1 was off. I couldn't help but admire how they looked as they dazzled in their jewel-inspired outfits. I stopped admiring them when I caught the vicious look on the female Tribute, Septima. She would be playing the murderous killer angle. Fun.
Finnick, Mags and our stylists told us good luck once more and then they too left. Any second now and we'd be off as well. Open for the capitol to see and judge. As District 3 left my nerves got so bad that I was about to throw up. Our horses started moving. I took one last look behind before we left. Titus - the District 6 tribute – did not seem to be coping well as he was barely able to hold himself up.
The horses started moving and within seconds we were pulling up into the Capitol's square where President Snow would be giving a speech. The crowd was cheering, screaming even. Devon and I tried to engage the crowd. It seemed to be working. Some of them were even cheering ournames. I looked at Devon. His nerves seemed to have completely disappeared. He was smiling, laughing and looked like he was genuinely enjoying himself. I decided to loosen up and do exactly as Hestia instructed. I swayed my hips, shot some flirtatious smiles and the crowd absolutely loved it.
The chariot ride came to a stop. A couple more minutes and the rest of the tributes made it to the square. Some like the District 1 and 2 tributes looked confident and were real crowd pleasers. Others like the District 9 girl were wrecked by their nerves and looked as though they were going to pass out. I saw Katri, the District 7 tribute, looking unhappy and I could guess why. She was dressed as a tree, like most District 7 tributes had been for the last couple of decades. I took one last glance at all the other tributes before I saw myself on the Capitol's screens. I had always known I was beautiful but I never truly felt it until that moment. And in truth, I didn't think I would ever feel like that again. I was simply stunning.
When President Snow began his speech, it was possibly for the first time since in years that I actually listened to a speech made by the Capitol. Every syllable of each word was pronounced so…snakelike and jeering. I was so utterly disgusted by him. He sent twenty-four children to fight to the death each year. And for what purpose? The Districts already knew they we were at the Capitol's mercy. We knew that there was nothing we could do. We were utterly helpless. He finished his speech, clearly content with how it went. I couldn't help but think he shot me a look as he left.
"You were both amazing," Tullus said as we arrived back from the parade, beaming with pride. Eunia gave Devon and I both a hug in which I couldn't help but return. Mags too gave us a hug and mumbled something inaudible. I had gotten good are deciphering what she was saying so I was pretty sure she was congratulating us.
I properly looked around at all the other tributes. I glanced once again at District 1 who as always looked beautiful with their (hopefully) non-permanent jewel encrusted skin and graceful looking outfits. District 2 looked strong with their gladiator outfits. District 3 was a mess of cables, and 5 were emitting bright epilepsy inducing lights. District 6 outfits looked like they were wearing the same metals that cars were made from. District 7 were again trees while 8 seemed to be mismatch of different materials. District 9 looked absolutely ridiculous, as their costumes resembled a loaf of bread. 10 and 11 were similar looking since they were both dress like farmers. It was District 12 that really makes me look twice. They were completely naked unless you counted the coal dust that covered them from head to toe. I found it hard to look away, well that was until I caught Jasper's-the District 1 mentor- eye. Was it my imagination or was he staring at me this entire time?
"Again, you were both wonderful, so very wonderful. But it's time to take you up your rooms." It was not till Eunia spoke that I stopped looking at Jasper. It was that moment I decided that I couldn't afford to look at him or anyone else that way. No, I had to be independent and focused if I was going to win the games.