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Hey guys…

So, this is a very very short chapter. I'm sorry for that.

It's short because I can't describe how they get to the chariot parade. So, I'll start the next chapter when Adrielle and Vala are about to board the chariot.

Yeah. Again, I'm sorry for this chapter for being soo short. I'll stop 'talking' and won't keep you waiting.

Now…Please read!

-Kat

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Chapter 23 – Adrielle's POV

I opened my eyes…

The dress was incredible.

The top of the dress was covered with little grains. The grains looks like something familiar, I thought. I turned and touched them. They sparkled and gave off different colors. Mostly pink, red, purple, orange, and gold.The colors the top of dress gave off were the same colors as the sand back at home. It looked like sand! It had the exact same little details and the exact same colors that would fly around when caught in the light.

The bottom of the dress…the bottom of the dress was my favorite part. The bottom of the dress was covered in sparkles and was filled with colors of the ocean. The top most colors starting from sea green, to flamboyant light blues then to deep ocean blues and purples. The bottom of the dress faded into the dark, deep, purples of the ocean.

I stared at the dress in the mirror in disbelief. I blinked, my eyes let off another shower of sparkles. The dress rippled and moved.

I gasped, "Did it just…?"

Cassia laughed, "Yes. You like it?"

"I love it!" I said, emphasizing the word love.

"I'm glad you do," Cassia chuckled. "Was this what you had in mind?"

"Better," I said. "But, do you have a cape?" I asked hopefully.

She laughed even more, light hearted noise filling the room. "Yes, I do."

I squealed in delight.

Cassia took out a celeste blue cape out of the same black bag that my dress was in. I lifted my blue tinted hair out of the way. Cassia carefully put the cape on me, making a little snap! sound when it connected to my dress.

"There's a magnet connecting the two together so it won't fall off while you're on the chariot," Cassia explained to me. I nodded.

Cassia stepped away and examined me, like what she did earlier. She gave a little hmph, and then adjusted my dress a little bit. She gave a little sound of satisfaction once she was done fixing me.

"Take a look…" Cassia said, motioning to the mirror.

I turned and looked at the cape.

It was beautifully done. The cape dropped elegantly down my back and fell onto the floor. It was very long in the back, which worried me. I might trip on it. Or worse, it might get caught in the chariot during the parade.

Cassia laughed, "It's not going to get caught in the chariot."

I stared at her in disbelief, "How'd you know what I was thinking?"

She laughed again, "You were frowning at the cape. Then your face changed and you looked worried."

I smiled, "It showed that much?"

Cassia grinned, "Here's the shoes," she said giving me a weird looking fabric.

I took it and looked at it, trying to judge on what it was. I finally came up on a decision, "Is this seaweed?" I asked hesitantly.

Cassia laughed, "Yes. Took you a while to recognize it."

"We're using this…as our shoes…" I said doubting Cassia's choice of footwear.

She took the seaweed from me and wrapped it around both of my feet. They looked like sandals, but they were seaweed.

"There," Cassia said happily.

"That's cool. It actually looks like it was made for feet," I said.

"Because it was. Those," Cassia said pointing to my feet, "are sandals, we made them look like seaweed."

I grinned, "Awesome." She smiled back, thrilled that I liked her idea.

I made up my mind about Cassia. I had been secretly thinking about whether or not to trust her. Now, I decided I would trust her. She had made me an amazing dress and very cool shoes. I don't know what more I could ask for.

"I forgot to tell you, Vala and you are going to match," Cassia said.

My happy mood decreased, "Same makeup? Same dress? Same everything?" I asked, trying not to sound sad.

"Kind of, her makeup will be a little different. She has the same gold swirls, but it's drawn on the right side of her face." Cassia said, not detecting anything sadness form my voice.

I nodded soundlessly. Her reply didn't make me feel any better. I hoped that Vala had a dress a little different than mine.

A little ping went off in the room.

"Oh, it looks like we better go; the parade is going to start in an hour," Cassia said. "Take a look at yourself one last time before we head out," she said kindly.

I did, I looked at myself maybe for the last time until after the parade. That girl doesn't look like me, my mind thought unbelievably. I looked older, also younger at the same time.

I looked at the sand on my dress, sparkling a dozen different colors. Then I looked at the bottom part, the skirt of the dress. It was like I was wearing the ocean. My dress represented District 4 very well. I had on a magnificent dress.

I turned and looked at my cape; it was beautifully done as ever.

The shoes came up a little above my ankles. They looked good with the dress. I had thought they would clash with the dress and make my feet look like I had taken a walk through seaweed carelessly, but I was wrong. Always trust Cassia's judgment, I thought. She's almost always never wrong.

My face looked perfect, no blemishes. I looked closer at the gold swirls surrounding the right side of my face. It was painted with extreme, intricate, details. Usually my eyes stayed in one color. Blue, green, or gray. But now, all the colors mixed in, making my eyes entrancing.

My dirty-blond hair, usually up in a ponytail, was now cascading celestially down my back.

Everything about me looked fictitious, but everything was real.

I looked away and turned to Cassia. I ran up to her and hugged her. She stood stiffly, but then quickly returned the warm gesture.

"Thank you," I whispered. She smiled warmly, took my arm, and led me out of the room.

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Wasn't that short? Sorry…

I'll get to work on the next chapter now!
I'm really excited to write about the chariot and the parade!

-Kat

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9/27/12
4:46pm