Chapter 4 – The Capitol
Katniss woke up the next morning to a knock on her door. She groaned, hoping it wasn't Peeta with more flattery, but it was Cressida. The woman was holding a short-sleeved tunic and pants in a muted orange color, and a pair of tan slipper-like shoes.
"More orange," Katniss muttered.
"Yes," Cressida said. "Put it on quickly, and meet us in the dining car. We'll be in the Capitol in an hour. You can have breakfast before we get there."
Katniss arrived to see everyone was already eating.
"Sit down! Sit down!" Fulvia said, waving her over. The only empty chair was next to Peeta who was dressed in green from head to toe.
The moment Katniss slid into her chair, she was served an enormous platter of food. Eggs, ham, piles of fried potatoes. Next to it sat a cup of a rich brown liquid.
She looked at the drink curiously.
"It's called hot chocolate," Peeta said. "It's delicious. Try it."
After taking a sip, she flashed him a faint smile of thanks and drank the entire mug, before turning her attention to her meal.
Everyone finished ahead of her, but stayed in their seats conversing about what lay ahead of them when they reached the Capitol.
Kantiss had been ignoring the conversation and concentrating on her meal when she heard Fulvia mention her name. She lifted her head from her plate and looked up at the pink-skinned woman.
"Katniss, when we arrive, I'll be putting you in Cinna's hands. He's your stylist. You probably won't like everything his team does to you, but don't resist. Their goal is to make you the most desirable woman in Panem.
"Starting tomorrow, you'll have five days of training to prepare you for the show."
When Fulvia finished speaking the train car went dark. Immediately Katniss felt a hand atop of her left hand that was resting on the table. It gave her a gentle, reassuring squeeze.
She heard Cressida explain. "We're in a tunnel going through the mountains. We're almost there."
After several minutes the train slowed down and bright light flooded the compartment. Katniss blinked quickly, adjusting to the light. She turned to glare at Peeta for touching her hand in the dark, but he'd already left his seat and was standing at the window watching the crowds that line the station.
"Peeta, stay away from the windows," Fulvia admonished him. "I don't want anyone to see you on this train."
Peeta stepped back and returned to the table.
"Katniss, go look out the windows and wave. You're the star."
Reluctantly, she got up. They were entering the station now. It was far grander than the station in District 12. The Capitol was filled with bright colors, all of them looking artificial, the pinks too deep, the greens too bright, and the yellows painful to the eyes.
People waved and pointed at Katniss through the glass. "Who are they?" she questioned Fulvia.
"They are your admirers," Fulvia explained. "They're excited about the new television show."
Katniss took a step back. She wasn't prepared for this type of attention. Once the train stopped, Fulvia took her arm and led her out. There were armed Peacekeepers holding back the crowd which lined the way to the street where a large black car was parked.
The people were dressed in all the colors of the rainbow and had the most outlandish hairstyles Katniss had ever seen. A Peacekeeper opened the car's door and Fulvia pushed Katniss inside and then followed her, closing the door.
As the car pulled away from the curb, Katniss remembered the others. "What about Peeta, and Cressida, and Castor?" she asked.
Fulvia laughed. "Don't worry, we'll meet up later."
It didn't take long for the car to arrive at its destination. It pulled into an underground parking garage. Katniss got out and followed Fulvia into the lower level of the building, and then took a small elevator to the lobby.
She'd rode in an elevator before in the Justice Building back in District 12, and this elevator was much the same, a dark and creaky thing that moved like a snail and smelled of sour milk.
The elevator opened into a tiny corridor. Katniss followed Fulvia out into a broad lobby with walls of white stone that were at least thirty feet high. It was empty, except for two guards that stood watch at a desk positioned near the front door of the building.
One of the guards nodded to Fulvia, who led Katniss to another elevator. Fulvia pushed a button on the wall.
"You'll be staying in the penthouse apartment on the 12th floor. It's where the District 12 tributes stayed when they were preparing for The Hunger Games."
Katniss shivered at the grim thought that the previous occupants of the penthouse were all dead. The door to the elevator opened and the two women stepped inside. The back wall was glass that looked out toward the street.
Katniss watched in amazement as the crowds outside the building shrunk to the size of ants as they shot into the air. She was tempted for a moment to ask Fulvia if they could ride the elevator again, but thought better of it.
The doors opened to a seating area with couches and armchairs facing a large fireplace. At one end of the room was a dining area with a table surrounded by chairs. On the other end of the room, Katniss saw an arched doorway and a long hallway.
"The sleeping quarters are down the hall."
Katniss followed Fulvia down the brightly lit corridor. She passed a number of closed doors on both sides. "You're room is the last door on the right."
Fulvia opened it and Katniss stood behind her and looked in. The room was larger than her family's home in District 12.
It had a seating area with a couch and chairs, and a small round table with two chairs. A large bed covered with a green comforter was off to one side. At the far end of the room was another door that led to a private bathroom.
"Do you like it?" Fulvia asked.
Katniss nodded.
"This will be your home for the next several weeks," Fulvia pointed out.
Katniss stepped forward to look out of the large window across from the bed. Down on the street, she could see flashes of color as the citizens of the Capitol rushed past. She stood there for a while lost in her thoughts when she heard Fulvia cough.
"Time to go," Fulvia's voice took on a business-like tone. "I've got to get you down to the remake center. They're waiting for you."
They took the glass elevator down to the lobby, exited and entered a second elevator that took them down to an underground level. "This is where they remade the tributes for The Hunger Games," Fulvia said.
Fulvia sounded like she thought Katniss would be impressed, but she wasn't. Although the area was brightly lit, an aura of death and sadness hung in the air. Katniss didn't have time to think about it for very long because Venia greeted her.
"I'm glad to see you again," Venia said.
She had two other people with her, a man named Flavius, who had orange corkscrew locks and wore purple lipstick; and Octavia, a plump woman whose entire body had been dyed a pale shade of pea green.
Cressida and Castor were also there. "We need to tape parts of the makeover for the show," Cressida explained.
"Take all your clothes off," Venia told her.
Katniss looked around wildly. She was not going to strip down in front of all these people. Especially when she noticed Castor aiming a camera in her direction. She shook her head.
Fulvia laughed. "The people in the districts are so modest."
Everyone chuckled at her comment. Katniss frowned. Venia handed her a thin robe and directed her to the adjacent bathroom. "Undress in there. Take everything off and put on the robe."
Grudgingly, Katniss accepted the robe and went inside to change. When she came out, Fulvia had left. Venia directed her to a raised table and told her to lie down.
Katniss stared at the ceiling and closed her eyes tightly as Venia pushed the robe up to the top of her thighs. She winced as Flavius applied hot wax on her legs.
"Just get a short segment," Cressida told Castor. "We can come back later to get more. Watching someone get their legs waxed is hardly riveting television."
Katniss kept her eyes closed. Within a few minutes she heard people leaving the room.
"It's okay. They're gone now," Venia said.
Katniss opened her eyes. Only Venia, Flavius, and Octavia were in the room now.
"It's time to get to work," Venia said, untying the belt on the robe and pulling it off.
Katniss closed her eyes again, as every bit of hair on her torso was covered with wax. The worst of it was when they removed the wax and the hair it covered. Katniss gritted her teeth. She didn't want to cry out in pain, but the suffering was awful.
But it got worse, after all the hair was removed; they washed her body with gritty foam that removed not only dirt but also more layers of skin.
Once her body was worked over, Venia handed her the robe and guided her to a chair. Her hair was washed several times and various tonics were rubbed into her scalp. Her fingernails and toenails were buffed into uniform shapes and painted to bring out the natural shine.
Octavia carefully plucked her eyebrows and rubbed a foul smelling liquid over her face. After she removed the liquid, she had a small metal device that she used to pick at Katniss' face to remove any imperfections.
The entire process took nearly four hours. When it was done, the three of them stood back to admire their handiwork.
"Well, she's at beauty base zero," Venia said. "It's a shame we're not allowed to do any enhancements. She's ready for Cinna now."
Katniss' skin was stinging and she felt like a plucked bird, ready for roasting. She was wearing the robe and fluffy slippers.
She watched as her prep team put their beauty supplies away, when a young man with brown skin and dark hair entered the room. He was dressed simply in a black shirt and pants. He didn't look as outlandish as the other Capitolites. His only concession to self-alteration was metallic gold eyeliner that had been applied with a light hand.
"Hello Katniss, I'm Cinna."
"Hello," she replied cautiously.
"You have lovely hair," he told her, as he admired her locks, which fell loosely across her shoulders. "Do you usually wear it down like this?"
"No. I usually put it in a braid."
Cinna nodded and then led her into a nearby sitting room. There were two red couches facing each other with a low table placed between them. Katniss sat on one couch and Cinna took a seat across from her on the other couch.
He pressed a button on the table, and the top split open, revealing a second tabletop holding a luncheon feast. Two plates were on it, filled with chicken and chunks of oranges cooked in a creamy sauce and placed on a bed of pearly white grain, tiny green peas and onions, rolls shaped like flowers, and for dessert a pudding the color of honey.
Cinna motioned for her to begin eating. Katniss hadn't had any food since breakfast in the train. She was so hungry that she ate quickly. When she was done, she noticed that Cinna had barely taken a few bites. He wiped a napkin across his lips and pressed the same button as before. The split table closed covering the dirty dishes.
"Let's talk," he began. "I understand this show is about finding a husband for you. Have you ever been in love?"
Katniss flinched at Cinna's direct question. "No," she mumbled.
"You're a pretty girl. Certainly there have been admirers?"
Katniss shook her head. When Peeta called her the prettiest girl in the district yesterday, it was the very first time anyone had ever said anything like that to her.
Was Peeta an admirer? No. He was just being kind to her, trying to cheer her up after those awful people had criticized her on television.
"Are you excited to be on The Match Game?"
Katniss caught Cinna's eyes and frowned ever so slightly. He seemed kind. He was probably the most normal-looking person she had met that lived in the Capitol. She wanted to tell him the truth.
Cinna leaned forward. "What is it Katniss?" he asked softly. "Why are you here?"
"For my district," she whispered.
"Hold that thought," Cinna said. He got up and pushed a button on the side of the wall, which dimmed the bright lights considerably, and then returned to sit on the couch.
"What do you mean?"
Katniss told Cinna about the Capitol opening a medicine factory in District 12 if she agreed to star on the program. "There aren't many job options other than the mines for people in my district."
"You care a lot about others."
Katniss shook her head. She didn't think of herself as a particularly caring person at all. "I care about my sister Prim, and my mother, and my friends."
Her mind flashed to her best friend Gale and his family. Of course there was also Madge, Sae and Mr. Mellark. She suddenly thought of Peeta. He wasn't a friend, exactly, but he had been a friendly reminder of home ever since she'd left for the Capitol.
"I don't think you're giving yourself enough credit," Cinna stated. "Hopefully at the end of this show you'll find someone who will care as much for you as you care for everyone else."
Katniss was tempted to tell Cinna that that she already knew how the game would end, that the show was fixed and she would be forced to marry her best friend.
But she didn't get the chance because Cinna changed the subject and began discussing the clothing he'd designed for her to wear on The Match Game. He said he had designed six different wedding dresses and that people across the nation would vote to select the dress she would wear.
Katniss tried to pay attention to Cinna's description of the dresses, but the late lunch she'd gobbled down made her drowsy. Her eyes gradually grew heavy and she yawned a couple of times. Noticing her lack of attention, Cinna ended their meeting.
He directed her back to the room she had been prepped in and instructed her to put on a pair of grey pants and a snug yellow blouse that had been set out for her. Flat black shoes finished the simple outfit.
When she was done dressing, Cressida and Castor appeared and filmed a brief interview session with her.
"How do you feel?" Cressida asked.
"Very clean," Katniss replied.
"Really Katniss, that's all you can say," Cressida moaned. "You feel clean?"
"I'm tired, my skin is stinging, and I want to lay down and take a nap."
"Okay, we'll wrap it up for now."
Castor turned the camera off and Cressida led Katniss to the elevator. Soon they were in the large lobby. Cressida pushed the elevator button for Katniss. When the doors opened, Cressida shoved her in.
"Get some rest. We'll be up later for dinner."
The doors shut leaving Katniss alone to stare out over the Capitol and ride up to her penthouse living quarters.
When the elevator doors opened, she walked out into the living area, kicked off her shoes, and flopped onto the couch. She was tired. She could hardly believe that she'd left District 12 only yesterday morning. She turned her body so she was facing the back of the couch, curled herself into a tiny ball and drifted off to sleep, wishing that when she'd wake up she'd find that it was all just a bad dream.