Author's Note: I know that some readers don't like detailed descriptions of how a character or his/her attire looks like, but there are some that want to know how Arva's and Atl's outfits look like too. So, just a fair warning that the descriptions are long and you can just skip the entire paragraph if you'd like. Also, thanks again for your reviews, favorites and follows!

**EDITED as of 13/3/2016

Chapter Four

Arva

Nothing. I looked nothing like how I was when I arrived at the Capitol. I could barely recognize myself in the mirror once my prep team was done. The entire look wasn't atrocious—no, I actually looked...beautiful. Hauntingly beautiful instead of frail-looking. Lur had attached matching, curled extensions onto my head so that my center-parted hair now reached my ankles, making it appear like rich brown waves. After putting on strappy white heels on my feet, Fiammetta had helped me into my outfit which was a breathtaking floor-length gown. It had long, flowy translucent white sleeves that began at the start of my arm and ended beneath my fingertips, and a white lace-up corset where the front was decorated with multiple small twinkling diamonds separated into columns by lines of pearls. The skirt, on the other hand, was made up of layers of white tulle with a chapel train and Flossé had attached several white starfishes of various sizes onto it after tying a choker made of strings of pearls around my neck. Andri, on the other hand, had painted my lips a pale blue and carefully lined my eyes with black eyeliner before gluing on black false lashes. She later used silver eyeliner and an icy blue one to draw some abstracts at the outer corners of my eyes. She had also dusted silver glitter powder onto my skin and placed a sea glass circlet against my forehead.

"What do you think?" Andri asked, an indulgent smile graced her lips at my look of awe, though there was no denying the pride in her eyes. "Juliet, your district partner's head stylist, and I didn't want this year's tributes to be dressed up as fishermen or be half-naked and draped in nets. They are looks exhausted by the previous teams. Instead, we decided on a theme, combining one of the mythical creatures of in your folklores with a kind of aquatic creature in the ocean."

"Do you mean the sirens and perhaps jellyfishes?" I breathed, gingerly touching my reflection in the mirror. The combination only made sense to me since common jellyfishes were translucent which could be represented by my gown's skirt—and perhaps the choice of color as well—whereas sirens could be represented by my hair and eye makeup.

"Correct," Andri nodded approvingly. "It's good to have someone, who's wearing one of my creations, with a keen eye and open mind."

"However, for your district partner's case, it would be mermen," she added with some humor in her tone.

My prep team then, led me out of the room and towards the lobby near the stables where Atl and his prep team stood waiting for us. Compared to my attire, his was rather simple. My district partner wore a halfway-undone collared translucent white long-sleeved top which showed his toned chest, and normal white trousers paired with white leather shoes. Both his tanned skin and hair have also been powdered with silver glitter powder, and he held a classic trident in his hand. A necklace made of shells, pearls and sea glass was also draped around his neck but what made his look stand out were the intriguing markings on his face, neck and exposed chest done by what I assumed as silver eyeliner like what Andri used to draw the abstracts near my eyes.

I smiled and greeted him, to which he replied with a nod before I stood beside him. Our prep teams were talking excitedly to each other, although Andri and who I assumed to be Juliet remained silent. Neither of Atl nor I said another word as we waited for our mentors and escort.

"Why, don't our tributes look exceptionally good this year?" Finnick's voice came into hearing as he and Mags approached us, earning squeaks and giggles from the members—with the exception of the head stylists—of our prep teams. The elderly mentor, on the other hand, offered us a kind smile.

"You look lovely," Mags complimented me in a mumble. It was the first time I heard her spoke. Her eyes were soft and they reminded me much of my mother's own loving eyes. My smile widened automatically.

"Thank you," I sincerely told her. Smiling again, Mags then turned to Atl and complimented him in the same mumbled tone as well. It also was then that I noticed how Atl's expression softened in the slightest around our elderly mentor too. Averting my attention to where Finnick stood, I found that only Atl and our head stylists were the only ones left next to him. The other members of our prep teams had gone off somewhere; our head stylists were engaged in a conversation with each other. Finnick neared me but thankfully did nothing else except smile.

Several minutes had passed before a beaming Elodea showed up, informing us that it was almost time and that our chariot was ready. We all followed her to where a white and gold chariot decorated with fishing nets, shells, corked glass bottles, pebbles and starfishes stood with two majestic white stallions in front of it. Atl was the first to climb into our chariot. He held his free hand out to me—momentary surprising me—and steadied me when I climbed in. He didn't let go of my hand afterwards, though. I glanced questioningly at him but his lips only curled up in reply. Holding hands before the audience meant only one thing and that was alliance.

"Smile and wave, this is your first chance to impress the audience!" Elodea reminded as District One's chariot lurches into action. I nodded at her and soon was our time to please the rest of the Capitol.

My lips were set in my usual gentle smile as the crowd's cheering grew even louder. I felt Atl's hand tightened around mine before he released his hold. Simultaneously, we raised our right hands to wave since his left one was carrying his trident while I had wrapped mine around his right arm, drawing myself closer to him. The cheering grew almost deafening as the audience watched our actions. They began chanting our district's name and some even threw flowers at us. However, it was only when we drew to a stop before President Snow's balcony where every chariot was eclipsed by the shadows did I realized the true meaning behind Andri's words.

"They're glowing!" a shout erupted nearby before being joined by more. "District Four is glowing!"

I glanced down at my dress and found that every bit of cloth on my dress was evidently glowing a shade of pale blue. The pearls and diamonds on me were also illuminated by it. At once, my gaze flickered to Atl's outfit and sure enough, his was glowing in the same shade but that was not all. The silver markings on his skin glowed along too and my eyes widened when I thought about the silver abstracts Andri drew near my eyes. For a second, I almost lost my composure. Then, I remembered where I was and smoothly schooled my body language to one of tranquility. Caesar Flickerman could be commenting on my reactions towards my outfit as well.

With a single raised hand, President Snow silenced the crowd before proceeding to give his welcome speech. I felt Atl's hand returned to mine. He squeezed lightly and through the corner of my eyes, I saw his smile. My own smile widened as I squeezed back. Whether it was truly smart or not, I would think about the pros and cons of my decision later but now, we were both officially allies and the both of us had done well in gaining the affection of the citizens of the Capitol.

Finnick

I made my way towards District Four's chariot once they've reached the Training Center and greeted the tributes before congratulating them on their performance. Honestly, I hadn't expected Atl to take Arva's hand nor had I really expected her to wrap her hand around his arm considering how they barely exchanged words in the train, but those actions of theirs had doubtlessly gained them sponsors. It was clever of them, I admitted, and it was clever of their stylists to put together their attires too but even without the surprise, Arva and Atl had outshone the other tributes. Taking note that the tributes of District One and District Two were glaring venomously at Arva and Atl, I wasn't the only one thinking that either.

'Hopefully, their skills will be able to fully back them up,' I thought as I led my mentees towards the elevator. We silently rode up to District Four's assigned floor. After District Four's chariot had gone into action, Mags retired to her room while Elodea had run off to mingle with her friends in order to gain more sponsors. Their stylists had gone off somewhere as well—perhaps celebrating their successful designs among admirers and acquaintances.

"The both of you did fabulously!" Elodea's excited exclamation greeted us when the elevator's doors opened. She had returned from wherever she had gone. District Four's escort carried on talking about how her friends were all impressed and eager to sponsor for the tributes of District Four while Arva and Atl politely nodded along. Then, Elodea sent them to their respective rooms so they could shower and change before dinner was served. I headed for the couch and waited.

"What should we focus on during training tomorrow?"

Surprisingly, Arva was the one who popped the question first. If she showed the side I lured out that morning on the train more often, I wouldn't have thought much about her asking about strategies without others initiating the topic. Even Atl was surprised.

"Assuming that the both of you are proficient in the skills you've mentioned on the train, it's best that you focus on the survival stations and try learning a new weapon in public training sessions. Don't show your full skills until the private sessions," I instructed.

"What happens of either one or the both of us is approached to become a part of an alliance?" Atl spoke up this time, placing his cutlery to the side as he stared intently at Mags and me.

"Observe them before you consider," Mags answered and I noticed Atl's gaze soften slightly. "It's also better if you and Arva remain together throughout training and in the arena," she added.

"Understood."

Once dinner was over, everybody but I retired to their rooms. Mags patted my shoulder knowingly when she passed me. I didn't like what I had to do every time I was in the Capitol. It was sickening—disgusting to the point where I would sometimes wish to have never emerged as victor despite how badly I wanted to continue living as well. Unfortunately, I couldn't dwell on the past no matter how the night terrors haunted me. I lived in the present now and there was no other choice. I must abide the president's orders for the sake of keeping the people I cared about alive and when needed, to gather more sponsors for my tributes if I wanted them to last long enough.

I jolted up from my bed, breathing heavily as the nightmare replayed in my mind. It wasn't long ago that I had only fallen asleep. My client this time was interested in keeping both Arva and Atl alive, and that was the only upside to what I had to do with her. I didn't often get clients who wanted to keep the female tribute alive too.

Suddenly, I was aware of another presence. The light from the hallway was streaming into the room. My head snapped up and my sea green eyes met Arva's baby blue orbs. She was watching me warily from her seat at the edge of my bed. Then, she sighed and shifted until she was next to me. She reached out and brushed my hair back, stroking it in a soothing manner. For a moment, I was puzzled by her actions but gradually relaxed into her arms when she began humming a lullaby. Right now, she reminded me of one of the people I missed dearly…My mother.

"When I was nine, my father and only uncle died in an accident out at sea," she stopped humming after a few minutes and began to talk. "Arlen, my brother was only seven and Cordi, our sister was only four. For days, we were devastated. Cordi wouldn't stop crying, Arlen and I refused to believe the news while mother was broken. We were a tight-knit family and never a day had we gone about without warmness and love. It was only when their bodies were brought back a day later that Arlen and I began to weep as well. They were slightly bloated but we could still recognize our dear father and uncle.

"Still, my mother did her best to be strong. She worked hard to provide for us and there were some others who helped as well, though they gradually diminished over time. Mother only ever mourned during the dead of the night when she thought none of her children would be able to hear, but I did. I first heard her muffled sobs when I snuck out of my bedroom to fetch a glass of water and whenever I found myself unable to sleep after that, I would lean on my bedroom door and listen to her cry alone…"

My mind wrapped around this new information. In the middle of her recounting, I had come to an understanding that Arva was sharing something about herself with me and the only reason why she chose to do so was because she stumbled upon me in my moment of vulnerability. It was like an equivalent exchange and for once, I didn't have to use my charms to gain something I wanted.

I waited for Arva to pick up from where she trailed off but she said no more and continued to hum the lullaby while stroking my hair instead. In a sense, it was humorous. Here I was, the same age as her and her mentor but between the two of us, right then and there, she appeared more matured. Though, I didn't quite care anymore at that time. I was grasping at the sense of security I hadn't felt in a long while and before I knew it, I drifted off into a dreamless slumber.