"Silk."
"Silk."
"Silk, wake up," Steel whispers loudly, pulling me from my nightmare. "Silk," he repeats and my eyes flick open.
"Where am I?" I ask, sitting up and stretching. This isn't my room, it couldn't be; there's no Satin and the bed is much too big.
"The Tribute train," Steel sighs, his gaze lowering.
"It wasn't a nightmare after all then? I had a dream that Satin was reaped, and I was stupid enough to volunteer for her. So now she's going to be forced- along with Mother and Father- to watch me die. And you're in it too, you were being mean to me at dinner," I frown coldly, looking around the carriage we are sat in. "This isn't my carriage. My room's orange. This one is clearly very grey."
Steel smiles, "Yeah, it's mine. You told me about Aldo, Emerald and Vinyl, also the sponsors, and then fell asleep in my arms."
"Fell asleep in your arms?" I laugh, my face reddening. "I'm so sorry about that, I'm sure Satin would be quite jealous!"
Inside, I feel a pang of sadness, as well as a complete hatred for myself. Why did I volunteer to basically die? Steel will protect me as much as he can, but what about when he's not around? He won't die before I do, but I don't think he'll win either. The boy from Two seems too innocent; probably just biding his time, waiting to stab one, the other or both of us in the back. Literally.
Steel lifts an eyebrow and I shake my head. "Sure. Look, Vinyl came in about five minutes ago and said breakfast'll be in five minutes. Apparently the Capitol is about an hour away. We'll have ages for preparing, and then we'll look even better than they thought we ever could. Oh, you might want to get changed; your hair looks appalling," Steel smiles, standing up, "Now get out, I need to get ready."
I push the duvet off myself and half-walk-half-drag myself back to my room. The shower beckons me; maybe the hot water will remind me of home, calm me, even if it's only for a little while. I cover my body in a layer of sweet, citrus foam but keep my hair dry, knowing it'll only be redone when I reach the Remake Centre.
Fifteen minutes later I'm sat in the dining carriage, listening to Steel, Aldo and Vinyl's banter and waiting for Emerald to make an appearance. My plate's full of delicious food, like rolls covered in strawberry jam, a shiny red apple, a couple of slices of pink melon with a yellow peel and a glass of orange (and-who-knows-what else) juice. But I make no attempt to eat what seemed so appetising only a moment ago. The door opens and Emerald walks in, immediately taking the empty seat next to me. She leans over and takes a piece of melon, but instead of putting it in her own mouth, she sharply opens mine and puts it in there.
"You need to eat something Silk," she smiles. She knows me too well, my eyes are too big for my belly, and I can never eat when I'm nervous or scared. "They might not have anything in the Remake Centre and that means you'll have nothing until dinner. And that's after the Parade."
"Emerald is right Silk, you'll be starving. We know just how long it takes to get Tributes all 'prettied up' in there," Vinyl says to me, a rare show of something that doesn't resemble hatred or sarcastic pity.
"Look at Vinyl mellowing in his old age," Emerald laughs. It's strange to see them kind of getting along. "Anyway don't you two have something to tell Steel?"
"Right you are. Steel," Aldo pries his attention away from his breakfast and turns to Steel, "About sponsors... We've decided-"
"I know," Steel breaks in, his voice louder than it needs to be, "You're going to direct them all to me and leave Silk all by herself to die. I can tell you now, that won't work, because Silk and I are a team. I promised Satin I'd look after her. And if I don't Satin will literally kill me. So, you're faced with two choices; accept that Silk and I are a team and we share the sponsors equally, or I step off the pedestal and explode."
"There's no need for rash decisions." Aldo says. He can't afford for Steel to commit suicide this early in the Games. District One could kiss a Victor goodbye if that happened.
"You're the one making rash decisions, Aldo Archwick. Promise you'll send sponsors towards both of us, or I swear on my mother's life I will step off that pedestal long before the gong sounds."
I stifle a laugh. The panic in Aldo's eyes as he nods quickly is too funny not to laugh.
"Good. We've reached an agreement in this matter then," Aldo smiles nervously, his foot nudging me under the table. I don't know whether it is deliberate or accidental, but I don't ask him.
"Estimated time from the Capitol is half an hour," the automated voice from the box in the corner of the carriage tells us.
"Great. The stylists can work their Capitol magic on you two," Emerald rolls her eyes and hands me another piece of pink melon.
"Magic's one way to put it," Vinyl smirks.
At that moment, the train enters the treacherous mountains that keep the Capitol almost inaccessible for those not using the trains. They are one of the reasons the districts lost both of the rebellions.
"Almost there!" Aldo's grin covers his entire face making him look like a particularly scary clown.
"Don't ever smile like that again. I don't want my last nightmare to be your creepy face," I half-joke, biting into a warm roll as Emerald laughs.
Our bizarre conversation continues for the remaining half an hour journey and to say I am relieved to see the Capitol would be the understatement of the century. They haven't lied about the beauty of it. Even the pictures that captured my attention last night at dinner seem bland and boring compared to it.
As we pull into the station Steel stands and walks to the window, waving at the circus freaks, or Capitol citizens. I follow his lead and wave at them as well. They wave back and I smile. They're all going to remember Silk Magee, they're going to know who I am...