Lilly's POV ~

I gaze out of my window as we pull into the station. Cameras flash endlessly into my room. I turn to face Juliet. "So this is the Capitol?"

"Yeah. Soon you'll meet your stylists. Do as they say." She responses.

"What do you-"I begin.

"Uh uh! No resisting or questions. Just trust them."

"Okay."

Juliet helps me onto my feet and leads me to the train door. Cedar and Dawn are already there. I grab Cedar's hand and we walk out of the train. Everything is different. Instead of lakes and rivers, there are towers, people, and skyscrapers. The people all have pastel colored skin and bright hair. No one is what I would consider normal.

Peacekeepers grab our arms and pull us to the stylists. We are separated once again into separate rooms. My room is painted bright blue with bits of navy blue scattered randomly. "How considerate to remind us of home," I mumble sarcastically. Just then seven people flood into the room. They close the door behind them and stand to face me. The woman in the middle steps forward and talks in a capitol accent. "Hello, Lilly. I am Grace, the head stylist. These people are the other stylists. Their names are Heather, Heron, Marina, Eileen, Chase, Daniel, and Candy," she says pointing as she calls their names. Grace steps back into her spot and Heather steps in her place. She giggles in her accent and says, "You will need to remove your clothes."

I feel like running out and screaming. But I remember what Juliet said to me. I reluctantly remove my clothing and answer, "Now what?"

Heather flashes me and evil grin and signals the others to come towards me. Candy pulls out wax and covers my legs with it, while Chase decorates my face with blush, eyeliner, eye shadow, my lip balm, lip stick, and contacts. Eileen paints my nails and toenails bright pink with tiny dots of green as well. Daniel waxes my eyebrows. Heather and Grace whisper quietly to each other. Heron has disappeared completely. It takes about two long hours before they finish. They all step back and Grace claps her hands. "Beautiful. Simply beautiful." She hands me a mirror and I look at my reflection. My face is painted a pale shade of pink with a little bit a green on my eyelashes. My hair is still in the small ponytail I wore to the reaping, but other than that I am stunning. They all whisper, "It's time to get Melody," all in union making it obvious what is being said. They all rush out of the room waving goodbye.

I pull on my robe and wait. I peek out of a large nearby window. As I catch a glimpse of it, a woman (around age 24) enters the room. She walks over and shakes my hand. "Hello, I am Melody, your designer. What's your name?"

"I'm Lilly. Lilly Marina Ellis."

"Well, Lilly I think I just thought of your costume and I think you're gonna like it."

Cedar's POV

I have never felt this strange in my life. My face is covered in pale blue makeup with a little glitter. My designer, Kellan Davidson, is examining my body to learn my size clothing. He rushes back out of the room only to reappear two seconds later. This time he is holding my costume.

I put on the costume and stare at my reflection. I am dressed in a blue jumpsuit with small cuts along my side. A small fin is attached to my back. Only an idiot wouldn't know what I am. A shark. The costumes are supposed to reflect your district's job. District 4 is famous for our lakes, rivers, and ocean. I think about what Lilly's costume will be.

"Cedar…," Kellan says, "it's time for the chariot ride."

Chariot rides are my favorite part of the previous games. The tributes dress in costumes and hop onto a chariot. Then, they ride around the capitol waving at screaming fans. It is our best shot to gain sponsors. Kellan walks me down to our chariot. The chariot is painted a pale blue color and the horses are dyed pink and blue. I stand next to the chariot waiting for Lilly and her designers.

As Lilly steps into view, I look at her costume. It is amazing. Lilly is wearing a knee length skirt that is tie dyed white and baby pink. Her top is a ruffled green material similar to her reaping dress. Her hair is pulled up into a bun held up by a green clip. A few strands of hair stick out perfectly making the hairstyle look complex. Her arms are wrapped up in a green material. Lilly has been transformed into a water lily.

"Wow." That is all I say. The one word pretty much covers everything I am thinking of. Juliet, Dawn, Kellan, and Lilly's stylist all stand back and admire us. Juliet hugs Lilly, Dawn gives me a slight nod, and the other two high five each other. A man walks over to us and says, "We're starting!!! Everyone go to your assigned chariots!" He runs back out of view and I climb into the chariot. I stick my hand down and hoist Lilly up.

We stare as districts one and two make their way through the city. They all look so dazzling. I look at Lilly and grin. As District Two makes one final turn, Dawn signals us to go on. Lilly turns her head to Juliet and blow an air kiss. Our chariot rolls out of the building and we catch our first glimpse of the Capitol.

Lilly's POV

The warm sunlight sinks into my skin, warming my blood up. The pale blue sky is cloudless and birds fly above us singing their song. I tilt my head down and make eye contact with the capitol citizens. They all look at us screaming our names. I put my fingertips to my lips and wave them to the capitol in hopes of gaining a few sponsors. I smile and whisper through my teeth, "Don't get to excited, Cedar. They all are cheering for us to die." I wave and blow kisses throughout the ride. I few people throw flowers and slips of paper in my direction. I catch each one and wink in the direction it came. When we disappear into the training center, Cedar gives me a high five and we look at our gifts.

In total, we have received 2 roses, a water lily, 8 slips of paper with a phone number on it, and a mockingjay pin. When we notice the last item, we both exchange looks of confusion and curiosity. Questions race through my mind. Where did they get this? Why did they throw it at us? What does it mean? These questions are ended by Juliet and Dawn walking in front of us. I shove it behind my back and put on a smile acting as if nothing was going on.

"What's going on?" Dawn asks.

"Nothing, just talking about the chariot ride."

"Dawn, I'm really thirsty can you get me a drink?"Juliet says. It sounds convincing but the look in her eyes gives it away.

"Sure."Dawn answers at a slow pace.

Dawn walks away and Juliet comes closer to me. "Hurry, show me before he gets back!"

I stick out the mockingjay pin and show Juliet. All she says in response is, "Oh my god. You can't keep that. It's the rebels sign."

"I know. If I didn't know any better, I would say that Katniss Everdeen herself threw it. It looks almost identical."

Juliet lifts the pin closer to her eye and observes the markings on it. She flips it over and retrieves a small piece of paper. She unfolds it all the way and it is actually a standard size. Juliet looks me n the eye and says, "It says, 'I know how you feel. I am planning a third rebellion. The other two failed but this one is foolproof. We will break you out of the arena. Spread the word. Signed, K.E, G.H, & P.M'"

We all look at each other wide eyed. We all know who this is from. Katniss Everdeen, Gale Hawthorne, and Peeta Mellark, the rebels who survived the games.