Chapter 38: Rumour Has It

Electra Lucina Ivie (D3) POV:

I wake up in a white, sterilised room shaking and screaming. On the bench next to me sits a pair of scissors and some tablets in jars. I pick up the scissors and hold them in front of me as a weapon in case any more tributes come towards me. The faces of each person in the arena circles around my mind as I remember everyone who died in front of me. Darkness circles around my mind and tears pour out of my eyes.

Every death and every pain that I saw is etched in my mind forever. My stupid eidetic memory will never let me forget the horrors of the games. Suddenly the door bursts open, causing me to jump and scream.

"Oh lovely you're awake!" My escort, Trixie, announces cheerily, as though I hadn't ear piercingly screamed upon her arrival. "We have to start getting you ready for the Victors Interview. We will make you nice and pretty!"

"Good luck with that, I got pretty scratched up in grand finale." I lift up my arm that I know had a deep gash from Luke, as well as various bruises and cuts.

However, when I look at my arm it is, well, perfect. No scratches. No bruises. Not even a scar!

"The medics fixed you up when you were asleep! Good as new!" Trixie hands me a mirror and I look into it worriedly.

Wow. They didn't just fix me up, they made me beautiful. My dirty blonde hair is smooth with perfect waves. My dark green eyes look…gorgeous. The way I feel, I imagined them to be bloodshot and dull. My face is spotless, my lips are coloured, even the scar on my eyebrow that I have had my whole life is gone.

"Now, get to work." Following Trixie's words my Stylist and prep team flock into the room, surrounding me.

While my prep team fix me up I notice Willow slipping into the room. She walks over to me, smiles sadly and just states "I won't say congratulations, but I will say I am glad to see you again."

With that, she turns and walks away.

When the makeover is done, I had no idea what my prep team could have been doing for two hours. I looked amazing before they even started all thanks to the medics. I don't even get to look in a mirror before they shove me in to the next room where my stylist, Donner, greets me with a dramatic hug.

"I knew you could do it! I knew you could!" He tells me, extravagantly jolly seeing as I had to kill people to win.

He hand me a dress that I slip on silently. The material is such smooth silk, its like nothing I have ever felt before. The dress is a dazzling yellow colour. Like the colour people imagine lightening is. The dress is strapless and drapes down to the floor, at the bottom is an intricate design that looks confusing up close.

When I am finally allowed to look in the mirror I am shocked. Not only does the dress reach the floor, but it drapes along behind me too. Also, the intricate design looks like electricity running through the bottom of the dress. My makeup makes me look even more gorgeous, I have black outlining my eyes and elongating my eyelashes. However, contrasting with the dark colours is a bright lighting bolt down my left cheek. My hair is down and flowy, but amidst the dirty blonde hair I notice a bright yellow streak, it looks gorgeous.

I don't just look beautiful now, I am- well -I am…. Sexy…

The whole thing put together I am stunning, gorgeous and irresistible. And I hate it. I was flawed, and happy like that. Now I am just some perfect image of the Capitol. I guess that's my life from now on, being the perfect vision of the Capitol.

Trixie bursts into the room and as soon as she lays yes on me she starts to tear up.

"Oh you look gorgeous! Wow Donner you are incredible, how did you do this? It looks like there is electricity surging through the dress!"

"That's nothing! You want to see amazing? Electra, slowly raise your arms out to the side." He says proudly.

I anxiously raise my arms either side of me, like a bird spreading its wings. As I do, electricity shoots out of the dress. The higher I raise my arms, the more of the dress is shooting sparks of electricity out of it. It's amazing!

I drop my arms back down to my side and the sparks stop. "Wow." Is all I can say.

"Oh gosh we have to go, we have to go! You have a meeting with the President in fifteen minutes and you can't be late for the President!" Trixie ushers me out of the door briskly.

"The President?" I reply, surprised.

"Yes of course, didn't you hear me? I only said it twice!" She giggles, spins on her heels and struts out of the room.

I stand there silently, not sure what to do until I hear her singsong voice call from outside, "Come along Electra!"

I run after her, well if you can even call it that, it's kind of like a stumbly jog thanks to my heels.

We go around a number of corners and through stacks of super secure doors. Even though I'm not really focussing I still remember the exact course we take. After a number of twists and turns we stand in front of a large door that I assume is the entrance to the Presidents office. Almost a second after we have reached it someone opens it up for us and we are marched inside until we are standing directly in front of the Presidents desk.

"Ahhh Electra, great to see you, have a seat!" I don't know why, but just being in his presence sends a shiver down my spine.

His words are welcoming but his voice is harsh and cold. His bloodthirsty eyes analyse me, as if he is noting everything I do and say. It freaks me out, but I guess I can't criticise as I am analysing and noting him too.

"I see Donner put you in the colour I requested. This yellow reminds me of lightening, of electricity. The electricity that reflects both your bright mind and your birth name."

Silence fills the room as I am unsure how to respond.

"You know, out there in the districts, people are getting sick of these games. They think that 104 years of games is too much. The last thing that they need is inspiration to force an end to the games." He stands and starts pacing around the room. "You see, the Victors are worshipped by the people of Panem. It is my job to make sure they stay in line. A lot of the time the Victors are stupid, so I don't necessarily need to have this talk with them. Most of the time, they support the games. However, you aren't stupid, are you? The problem is, smart can be dangerous." He pauses for a dramatic silence.

When he speaks again, the topic is unrelated, "Rumour has it your mum is an avox here is the capitol." I breathe in sharply at the mention of my mum. "You know, Miss Ivie, things change all the time, and if you make me happy I can make a lot of good things come to you." He walks towards the door and beckons me out.

I rethink the conversation as I walk to my interview. I didn't speak the entire time I was in his office, I just had nothing to say. However, I did think a lot and I know what I have to do.

"Okay Electra, you go on stage now, there will a countdown, then the lights turn on and the whole of Panem will be watching you." A strange man explains to me, probably someones assistant or something.

I walk up the steps and put on a fake smile. Seated in a very comfy chair, I hear somebody tell me the show will start in 3… 2… 1.

Authors note:

Not really much to say for this one! Sorry it took so long, I got writers block for a while and lacked inspiration. Reviews would really help me to get the next chapter out fast.