Chapter nine already! I would like to thank Elysian Dawn for the reviews, I'm glad you're enjoying my story so far. I will be a bit busy over the next few weeks with homework, so I won't update as much, but I will whenever I can.

Chapter Nine - Paving over the Imperfections

Instead of hearing the roar of the ocean as I open my eyes, I hear the quiet noise of an engine, and my alarm clock going off. I sigh and roll over in my bed, the satin bedsheets brushing against my soft skin. Wait - I don't have an alarm clock! Or satin bedsheets! Where am I? I jump up out of my bed, and my feet land on soft carpet. I look around. A beige room, with a large TV showing videos of the reaping. Me being called up. I forgot, I'm going to the games... I immedietly stumble back and fall against the wooden bed frame, hitting my head against it. I pull my knees in to my chest, and begin to shake violently. I can't die like this! Not yet, after all I've been through to survive life in district four, I can't just throw all of that out of the window. I dig my nails into the palms of my hands and bite my lip as the TV starts to show something else. I seem to be falling deeper in to a dark abyss from which I will never to be able to escape. I keep expecting the floor beneath me to disappear, and for me to be back, swimming in the ocean in four, or maybe wake up in the hut, discovering it was all a bad dream.

After a while, I decide that I have to get up. I have to be strong. For everyone I know. I unclench my fists, and don't care about the marks left there by my nails which I usually keep short. Slowly, grabbing the ornate bed frame to help me, I stand up, and survey my surroundings again. I'm guessing I have woken up early, and I am on a train to the Capitol. Considering the situation I am in, I seem relativley calm. Normally I would be trying desperately to find any method of escape, but now, I just know that would be impossible. I would only injure myself, then have a worse chance in the games, even worse than I already do. They wouldn't shoot me, I'm going into the games. They can't just replace me.

I dust myself off, still in my mother's wedding dress from yesterday, and walk towards the small window. I am quite a tall person for my age, but I still have to go up on tiptoe to peek through. Even when I manage it, all I see is darkness. I decide I don't like travelling at night, the eerie silence and the darkness that surrounds the light of the train scares me a little. I move away from the window and pull a little drawstring, which pulls a thick piece of fabric ontop of it, blocking out the darkness.

I pace up and down the room for a while, unsure of what to do, until I hear a quiet knock at the door. It must be Raven.

"Come In." I whisper. But it takes me by surprise to see Donna standing outside. She takes a few steps into my room.

"Can't sleep either, huh?" she smiles knowingly.

I shake my head. "I just woke up. This is surreal, I can't really think of anything positive here. To be honest, I don't really enjoy anything luxurious here apart from the food. Im scared."

She sits on one of the carved chairs set up in the corner.

"See, this is why you will make a good tribute. You're always on edge, and you never trust anyone apart from those you really know that you can. You always seem to have that fight of flight instinct, constantly." she says, thinking to herself.

"No, I am just a good actress really. I am always on edge because honestly, I am scared of everything I shouldn't be, and not scared of everything I should be. I have to put up a good act for Raven." I sigh.

"Well, you can't fool me, but you can fool anyone else you want to. Just choose what direction you want to go in. Old career style, or the crying scaredy cat method. Either way, you'll come out on top." she laughs, her slight Capitol accent coming through. "Anyway, it's a good thing you woke up early. The stylists are about to call on you. Not you're real ones, just temporary, until we get off of this damn train. Honestly, you wouldn't believe how much time I have to spend on these things, back and fourth, back and fourth..." she murmurs as she walks out of the room. The door closes automatically behind her.

I lie on my bed for a while, fidgeting with my thumbs. Right now, if I was awake, in district four, this would be a great fishing oppertunity. What a waste of time, just sitting on this train, headed to almost certain death, when I could be having a feast back home. I can just imagine it right now. Just the three of us, sitting around the fire, snacking on seaweed while the fish cooks until it's just right, and seeing the perfectly golden sliced potatoes we grew in the garden being put along side them. Thats it, im hungry I need breakfast. I'm not about to call room service though. Those avoxes go through enough torture already, and it would be nice to let them have their sleep. They deserve it, I don't care what " crime " they committed, turning a "criminal" into an avox in the most horrible thing you could do to an undeserving person. And nobody deserves such a thing.

I almost jump out of my skin when my tablet starts making loud alarm noises. After catching my breath, I reach over to it, and try to figure out how to disable the alarm. I finally figure it out, and I can hear the buzz of voices, quiet, but still annoying. All the lights in the train seem to turn on at once, and I cover my eyes as the bright light hits them. I also begin to shiver again, my body's reaction to being woken up early.

Treasure's voice rings loud through a speaker built into the doorframe, I can hear it echoing through the whole train.

"Come on everybody, time to get up! We have an exciting day ahead of us, our first real impression on the citizens of the Capitol! We have to look good, we're on a tight timetable here!"

I find myself wondering what Treasure would look like without all of that glittter and fake hair. How long does it take for her to be transformed from a vaguely normal, slightly insane person, to... Well... Treasure? Maybe I will get a glimpse of her today, in her natural form. There should be a documentary on the TV, insted of the games, narrated like one of the school's books about nature.

Just the thought of that makes me happy enough to get up, and go to my stylists room. I open my door, and walk along the empty corridor, until I get to Ryan's door, and bang loudly on it.

"Ryan, you lazy lump! Get up!" I yell at the top of my lungs, trying to disturb any capitol citizens in the nearby rooms.

"Phee? Answer me this. Why would I want to get up?" comes the response, grumbled from behind the door, under multiple layers of duvets.

"Because your stylists are going to make you look gorgeous!" says Tresaure, from behind me, a touch of authority in her voice. Oh well, she is all dressed up already, and a huge blonde wig that shines in the flourescent light and is unnaturally straight along with a sickeningly sweet structured dress, in a shade of pink that makes me want to throw up. The only shade of pink I like is the colour of the flowers in flower field. I also notice her eyes. I think she has what they call circle lenses in, as they are also bright pink, huge and appear to glitter. As if she didn't look enough like an alien already.

"Oh what I wouldn't do to look fabulous!" jokes Ryan. His voice is clearer, he has gotten up.

"Aww, I wanted to jump on him!" comes the voice from next door. Raven. At least she seems to be a little happier.

"Well, Phoenix, you'd better hurry along to your stylist! I can't wait to see you looking all pretty!" she squeals, before running off into the next carrige. I start to walk in the opposite direction, then realise my stylist is in the same direction. I count the door numbers until I come across number twenty two. Thats what the announcement said, so I knock on the door, before it pulls itself open. There, is a team of people, obviously from the Capitol. My temporary stylists.

They might as well have said

"Hi. We're your stylist for the day. We'll be kidnapping you and never returning you until you look like some kind of strange, mutated creature, just like us! Makeover time!"

In fact, I wish they had just said that insted of a fifteen minute long introduction which I paid hardly any attention to. In other news, I can see outside again.

They sit me down on a smooth, leather chair in front of a large mirror, and get to work. They compliment me as they go, but I don't belive them.

There are no compliments when it comes to my hair. Frankly, I am not surprised. After pulling some of my eyebrows out, (Which was extremely painful by the way), they move to my hair, and start attacking it with horrible plastic brushes which I don't appreciate very much. I would like to speak my mind, but I bite my tounge for now. It can be saved for the real prep team. A few minutes after they have pulled the brushes out of my hair, they start clipping long, fake hair in underneath my real hair. It is the same colour, but it doesn't quite look natural. They start making my hair messy agin, and brushing it out. They say the call it backcombing, and that it is to make my hair look bigger. I want to say that this is what my hair looked like before, except I have side bangs, and it is longer, but just as messy, and that they wasted their time, but the voice in my head tells me to shut up. That they are the professionals, and they know what they are doing. They spray it with what they call hairspray every three seconds, and inhailing it makes me gag. It is one of the most unnatural smelling, foul things I have ever smelt, worse than the old fishing boat fumes.

Then, they start work on my face, spreding ice cold, skin coloured stuff all over it.

"You're so tanned!" exclaims one of them.

"Is that a good thing?" I ask, raising an eyebrow while one of them starts to work on my cheeks.

"Yes, at the moment it is!" the same one smiles again. Her skin is a bright shade of orange.

"Too long under the sun?" I snigger to myself, then realisng I have broken my promise of being good. I don't think she heard me anyway, all she is doing is reminding me of how popular I am in the Capitol. Apparently. I did everything I could to avoid something like this happening.

I am instruced to close my eyes, and after a few minutes, I am desperate to see the light, and I am sick of the tickling sensation the brushes create as the brush over my eyelids, but everytime I try to open my eyes, a member of the prep team will demand that I close them again. I can't beleive they sit through this all day. They must have no confidence at all. I wonder what my parents would say to me if they saw me now.

They tell me I can open my eyes, and as soon as I do, they meet a diffrent person in the mirror. Someone that looks like they are from the capitol. Is that really me?

The girl in the mirror has glowing skin, that shimmers, an almost bronze colour. At least I don't have bright blue eye makeup on. My hair is much longer, and slightly wavy, like I have just been in the sea. It reminds me of home. They have put a golden, metal crown of flowers in my hair. I reach out to the mirror, and the gir, in it does too. She resembles my father a lot. It must be me.

One of the stylists walks over to a closet, and pulls out what I will be wearing. I visably cringe. If I was back in four, I wouldn't be seen dead in that thing. It is bright white, and has a really, really low cut front, but it is covered by a white panel in the middle, creating that structured shape. It has a flared, knee length skirt. I reluctantly change out of my mother's dress, giving my team specific instructions to send it back to Will's house so that he can look after it for me. For my mother. They have put a belt that matches my crown on it, and start to compliment my figure. Damn, I didn't even know I had one. When they ask me how I did it, I want to reply with something like, oh, I don't know, years of malnourishment? But I keep my mouth zipped shut on that one. Then, comes the moment I have been dreading, the shoes. I don't want to break an ankle before I get into the games. Fortunatley, they put me in what they call "Baby heels" which are actually quite high to me. I have to practice walking in them until I can stand up properly without having to hold onto every object I can get my hands on.

When I manage to get out of the door, thanking them for what they did, which I didn't really want to thank them for, the first room I approach is Ryan's. I knock loudly on the door.

"C'mon Ryan, open up! Is being fabulous really that bad?" I laugh.

I hear him sigh, and fall back onto his bed. I have had years of practice of this with Raven, and I simply pick the lock with one of my hair grips. As soon as I walk in, I almost fall on the floor laughing. He is in a white suit, his hair all gelled up, and wearing shiny shoes, with a silver watch that sparkles in the light.

"Oh, I'm terribly sorry miss, I must have got the wrong room! But I must say, you look gorgeous in that outfit, it brings out your green eyes and beautifuly done makeup!" I laugh. He rolls his eyes.

"Hilarious." he smiles at me, getting up. I walk towards him, but my heel slips and I tumble to the ground, and stay there, laughing even more, at myself this time.

He helps me up, and we laugh together for a while, before it fades away, and we remeber where we are headed. I look out of the window, and see the lines of trees fading away, giving way to lines of electricity poles and train tracks that weave inbetween.

Treasure's voice comes over the speakers, loud and clear.

"Everyone, this is you're moment to shine! We are approaching the Capitol, I suggest you come to the windows at the front of the train so that the photographers can get your picture!

Ryan smiles sadly, and brushes a stray hair out of my face.

"Big smiles. You'll do perfect." he says. I nod, and walk with him out of his room, meeting Raven in the corridor. She gulps and grabs my hand. She is in the same kind of dress as me, just not as low cut, which I am glad about, or I would have to speak with her stylists. We reach the end carrige where the floor to ceiling windows are, and Grace and Treasure meet us there. Grace has practically the same outfit on as me, and I find it so strange, seeing everyone looking like they just stepped out of the Capitol. So different, so strange.

Our mentors join us as we look out of the window, fascinated. I am first to catch sight of a tall building, glistening in the harsh sunlight, a tower of glass and steel. Many others come into sight as we turn a tight corner, and we eneter a dark tunnel without any warning. An immediate reaction to surprise and fear, I run back, into the wall. Donna nods, what we had been talking about before was true. I stand up, slowly, cautiously, and Treasure starts to speak again.

"This, ladies and gentlemen, is the entrance to the Capitol. In a few minutes, we will be at the train station, just remeber to smile big, and wave to the people. They love you already!" she squeals.

In take a deep breath as I hear the roar of a crowd getting ever louder, echoing through the tunnel. This isn't a dream. I'm really here. I'm going to the games. I'm going to die...

I convince myself to get that thought out of my head as the tunnel grows lighter and lighter, and I can see the smooth brick walls flashing by, though we are slowing down.

Suddenly the light hits me, and blinds me for a second, but then, I see. I inhale deeply as I see the mob of people, all brightly coloured, and screaming our names. I let the look of shock on my face fade into a smile, but my heart is beating fast, and I want to run again. I lift my hand up, and tentitivley wave a little, a thousand hands wave back, and the roar gets ever louder. I realise it is beacause they see my ring. After a while of this, the glass turns what Donna calls frosted all of a sudden, so everything turns into brightly coloured blobs, and Treasure guides us towards the door, which someone on the outside opens for us.

The first thing I notice, is that the Capitol is utterly overwhelming to every sense. Polluted air, filled with sweet, floral perfumes hits my nose, and it seems I can almost taste it. The bright colours almost blind me as well as the wild camera flashes, and the screams and chants of the crowd torment my ears. We step out of the train, one by one, and I lift Raven down, before we stop for pictures, for what seems like forever.

Is it usual to get this much attention? I think as I continue to smile of the cameras. This is a big smile alright.

By the time Treasure has guided us towards the remake center, even when we are inside, I can't stop smiling. My jaw hurts too much when I do. I take in my surroundings. The walls are a shining, litterning stone, as well as the floor. One wall, the one we face, is a waterfall! I want to go up and drink it, but resist the temptation, and go where I am guided, towards a glass elevator, the experience of shooting down towards the floor where my stylists are terrifies me.

As soon as the door opens, I run straigh out. I can still hear the crowd cheering outside. Didn't they ever get sore throats?

I push open the door into another flourescently lit room, where a group of three people stand. My prep team.

They introduce themselves as Felicity, who seems to be the the leader, Stella - Leyla, but I'm just to call her Stella, and Marel named after a tribute from long, long ago. The highest bidding team appearently.

They say I have to make a big impression at the parade tonight, and that they know just how to do it. Yet again, I am sat down on the smooth leather chair, and they get to work, but this time, I get to look at my tablet, having at least a little entertainment will help me get through the day.

I go onto the social media sites, and flick through messages that say I am beautiful, talented, or that they are a fan using a filter. I also don't want anything about the engagement ring. It is a private matter.

I come across a message from anonymous, which is apparently going to be passed around the didtricts in notes once I am in the arena.

I open it up, and it has a simple sentance, with a couple of pictures.

"Phoenix Victoria, Relight the spark." it reads. The adrenaline kicks in immedietly, and I quickly look at the pictures. One, Katniss Everdeen, and her sister, Primrose Everdeen. The other, Me and Raven, standing side by side.

Anyone could guess that it was trying to depict us as the same person, with the same views.

"The mockingjay, reborn as the phoenix." reads the last quote.

"Phoenix, darling, wakey wakey, we have to do you're make-up now, what are you looking at?" asks Stella.

"Just Fan messages." I mumble vaguely, quickly backing off of the message and deleting it. I'm not quite sure what to think as I close my eyes.

I just have to keep away from all of this, become someone from the Capitol, to stay alive, until I get home. Home. Where I belong. I have to survive, and I'll do what I have to do to survive. Even if it involves killing another person. But my family always, always comes before me. So if I could take their place in death so that they could live, I would, oh, how I would.

So, that was chapter nine! Just getting a first glimpse at the capitol. I'm not going to describe it much, you'll see why later. Again, thank you for the reviews. It means a lot to me. Phoenix is about to become a different person, and hopefully, you'll be able to tell her lies from the truth. Thanks for reading!