Legacy Wiglesworth, 18
District 1 Female
My warm breath against the frosted windows glazes it in a cool mist. My head laying on my hands resting against the table makes me dream of sleeping. But that is not an option, I did not stay awake all night to just fall asleep. No, I stayed awake to see the beauty of the Capitol. I lift my head off of the little table facing the window. The sun slowly rises behind the forest that is drifting past us. It feels like a dream. I watch the dewy, fresh grass open up to the morning sun, and the plants show their frosted colour and beauty to the new day. I never realized the utter beauty of the world. I took it for granted.
"Up early enough?" I turn at the sudden sound and see Apollo, my mentor. He is wearing a dark emerald dressing gown and matching velvet slippers. I observe him as he slowly rubs his eyes to adjust to the brightness.
"I haven't slept," I admit to him. I turn away. If I miss seeing the Capitol because I was talking to my mentor, I will personally kill him once I win.
"That's not very good of you, is it?" He says. I don't respond. Behind me, I hear the clicking of metal and glass as he makes a cup of coffee. The slight plop of sugar entering his cup tells me that he is finished. "Well, I think I'm going to get a bit more sleep before I have to properly look after you kids."
Without turning around, I hear him slowly shift out of the room. Silence fills the area once again. I focus on the approaching tunnel I see up ahead. The train swiftly but silently glides along the tracks into the tunnel which I assume is under a mountain. Darkness takes over my view and I cannot see anything except the small glow of the TV.
Seconds go past before sunlight quickly consumes the inside of the train again. I rub my eyes to see what the new opening brings. The high rise buildings glisten in the early sunlight making them colourful and bright. A low hum enters my ears as we get closer to the city. The large lake reflects the quickly moving train as we speed over it. The Capitol seems wide awake as many hovercrafts fly around the buildings and tiny looking people walk around the colourful streets. From far away the city looks full of life and busy, I could only imagine what it would be like up close.
My breath gets taken away. All my wildest dreams and visuals have come true as I look at the bustling city. Buildings taller than I have ever seen would be normal here, nothing like in the Districts. Even though District 1 is the richest and most favoured District out of them all, it still has nothing on the Capitol. This is a beauty that has to be seen to be believed.
"Legacy!" I turn once again to the sudden voice of Regina, my other mentor.
"Yes?" I ask. My attention is quickly brought back to reality as she enters the room.
Regina glares at me through her cold and robotic eyes. I don't despise her, but I don't like her either. "Are you ready to go?" She asks.
"For what?"
"Preparation for the Chariot rides of course!" Regina says, her voice crisp and clear, seemingly wide awake even at the early hours of the morning.
"Oh yes," I smile. I nearly forgot about them. One step closer to winning. How could I forget?
"Follow me," It's not a question, it's a command. I obey as she leaves the room I follow close behind her and through the corridors until we get to the door where we entered the train. She opens it with no problem and walks out.
I almost scream. Almost. I didn't even feel the train slow down or stop. I follow her out of the door and it leads me onto a large platform. The massive indoor space is empty except for a few Peacekeepers around the sides of the room. Warm sunlight fills the interior through the large glass roof bouncing off the quartz tiles. Regina doesn't stop to admire its beauty though and keeps walking.
I stay silent as I continue to follow her off the platform and through a door. It leads into a tight marble-covered corridor which goes for about twenty meters before opening up to another door. We enter a small room. I see the girl from 2 whom I think is named Maya, as well as the girls from 5 and 9. They all are seated around the room, no chairs or tables, just sitting on the floor. They all move their gaze onto me as we enter.
"You just wait here," Regina says leaving the room before I can speak. The door slams shut with a loud bang as wood hits metal. I flinch.
"You're from District 1 right?" Asks Maya. I walk up to her confidently even though I look horrible in my nightgown and haven't worried about my messy hair.
"Yes! I'm Legacy. Your Maya right?" I shake her hand.
"Yep, that's me! So are we allies?" She smiles. I look around the room. The girl from 5 is playing with her hair completely ignoring us and the girl from 9 is rocking back and forth squishing something.
"Yeah, but what are we doing here?" I ask a little unsure why it's just us.
Maya also looks around the room. "I thought about that as well. I worked out that 1, 2, 5, and 9 are the closest Districts to the Capitol so we got here first."
"Sounds reasonable!" I agree.
"Yeah I got here just after 5 did and then 9 came like ten minutes later. Now you're here about half an hour after her. The other districts could take hours, but I guess they have all day since the Parade isn't until tonight." Maya says.
I nod at her statement. A smart career as an ally is always helpful. "So are we supposed to wait here until everyone gets here?" I ask but Maya doesn't get time to even open her mouth. A large door slams wide open, not the one that we entered but a new one. A short lady walks through. She wears a large headpiece made from hundreds of bird feathers and she is tightly consumed by a thick black plastic bodysuit that glows in the artificial light. Around her neck as a scarf are the furs of multiple small animals stitched together. She also wears large heels that make her extremely taller than she is and her face is covered in dark, bold makeup.
"Hello tributes, oh what a joy it is to see you!" She cries in a familiar Capitol accent. Her smile seems artificial and too happy to be real. "My name is Pandora, I am the Head Stylist and the lady that is in control of the Fashion side of the games this year!"
My ego is struggling to stay quiet, I love Capitol fashion. I smile, but notice I am the only one. "Right, you lucky tributes are in stage 1. You guys are the closest to the Capitol so you all arrived here the quickest." She takes a deep breath. "Stage 2 Tributes are from 4, 7, 8, and 10 and they will come by midday. The Stage 3 Tributes are from 3, 6, 11, and 12 who will arrive here by late afternoon."
"Just like you thought," I whisper to Maya. She smiles.
"Right now the males and females have been split and taken into separate chambers for preparation. Each of you will spend a few hours with your stylists before heading into the Tribute Centre for some rest. When everyone else comes, you will get final touch-ups before tonight's Chariot Rides. Any questions?" Pandora gives another large smile when no one answers. "Great! Follow me!"
She turns around and leaves the room. I look at Maya, who shrugs and we both follow after Pandora with the other two tributes behind us. She leads us into a large open hall. There are six large spaces on each sidewall of the room. No proper walls are separating them, only curtains.
"Okay," Pandora stops in the centre of the room and turns around. "You, Amora." She points to the shaking and fragile-looking girl from nine. "You head over to that Prep Room." Pandora gestures to one on the left-hand side at the far end. Amora looks nervous but follows that order.
"Astoria," Pandora points to the girl from five. Her olive skin and dark hair give her a wild but controlled look. "You're in that Prep Room over there." Pandora points to one on the right-hand side near the entry. She nods her head silently and walks over to it.
"Now Maya, I want you to head over to that far one over there." Pandora gestures to the second one from the end on the left. "And Legacy, please follow me." I watch as Maya walks over to her area, she enters the space and the curtains close behind her, but no one closes them.
"Okay," I say. I follow Pandora to the middle Prep Room on the right side.
"Legacy, as Head Stylist I had the option to pick a District to style if I wanted. Even though I am very busy controlling the rest of the Games fashion industry, I was allowed to style someone. Can you guess which one I picked?" Pandora smiles showing her false whitened teeth.
"Uhh, District 1?" I ask. I'm not stupid, if she brought me over here herself why wouldn't she style me?
"Of course not silly, I chose District 10! I love animals as you can tell!" I ignore her fake laugh and look down at all the dead animal furs that she wears. "Have fun!" And with that, she leaves.
Astoria Luna, 18
District 5 Female
I hear the booming crowd and the cheering citizens, they are going crazy with anticipation for what's to come. The flashing lights and rainbow colors of the crowd are easily seen at the entry to the Capitol City Circle. My hands fiddle with the bottom of my dress. The tight plastic reflects light and makes me look like I am glowing. My headpiece is a smaller, more fashionable piece that looks like a solar panel. I also have large gold hoop earrings and black knee-high heels encrusted in gems. Something I would never wear has been put over my body by my stylist Honevra.
"Astoria, stop touching your hair!" He growls at me. After the hours he spent putting my hair in a messy braid I can't help but touch it. I hate and love the way I look, I feel both weird and beautiful in this odd Capitol outfit.
I turn to Honevra who stands next to me. "Sorry," I say quietly.
He frowns. "Okay, Maeshous come over here!" He cries. Maeshous stands talking to his stylist on the other side of the Chariot. He walks overdressed in a similar fit. Instead of a glowing, solar dress, he wears an elegant suit with the same headpiece.
He grins when we catch eyes. "You look nice!" I give a small smile, slightly embarrassed. I don't know what I feel for him or what our relationship is.
"Okay! When you're out there, I want you to smile and wave. Act brave and confident so the Capitol can see who you are," Honevra says. Easy for him to say, he acts cocky and rude very easily unlike me who is more reserved and quiet. "Get it?" He asks.
I nod my head with Maeshous. "Good. Now hop in, you're about to go!" Honevra says before walking off with Maeshous's Stylist.
I look at Mae. "He wasn't that nice," He says. I nod once more remembering the agony and sudden pain of him waxing my legs and pulling out my hair. I still feel the sting in my roots from when he plucked my eyebrows, he didn't even say sorry or tell me what he was doing.
"After you!" Maeshous says.
I look at the large Chariot. I've always seen them on TV, but they are larger in life. It's a small step up into the standing area. I ignore Maeshous's offer to help and do it myself. About a meter off the ground, I can see everyone else already in their Chariots. The horses pulling us are a deep jet black color, they stand still and quiet. They obviously know what they're doing.
In front of us, I see Districts 1-4 waiting to go into the City Circle and present themself to the world. In front of us, District 4 is wearing almost nothing. Their private parts are covered in small shells, their body is wrapped around with seaweed and their tan skin has sand stuck to it. They look like a beautiful sea monster, both weird but stunning at the same time.
I look behind, District 6 are wearing extraordinarily large puffer jackets that make them look like the size of the Chariot. The polyester outside is an ever-changing projection of the galaxy and outer space. Both of them look beautiful and drop-dead gorgeous compared to my glowing tight plastic dress.
I turn back around to face Maeshous, he smiles. "You scared?"
I feel my cheeks go slightly warm indicating that they are red. "No," I reply and quickly face the front. I am though. I'm nervous about the Chariot Rides, the games, talking to him, and everything right now.
"Tributes, time to go!" I hear a voice chime through the area. The horses get ready and start moving forward. My palms are sweaty and full of nerves. I stand a little straighter as we follow the other Districts into the spotlight.
I can't hear any words, only screams, and cries from the crowd. They chant the names of their favorite tributes and reach over the boundaries to get closer. The city circle is illuminated with flashing lights and the rainbow citizens. The blinding lights from the crowd make it hard to see. I feel like sitting down and hopping out of the spotlight, but I can't, I need to stand up and stay brave.
I am brave. I am brave. I am brave. Astoria you are brave.
Luna Hallows, 32
Head GameMaker
My lips take another bite of the croissant making sure not to mess up my lipstick. I observe the Parade from my private balcony above the President's stand. I sit watching it unfold, the nervous tributes and the crazy crowd. The crowd scream and want kisses blown at them by their favorite tributes, but they don't care at all if they die.
The tributes do their final lap around the square. The stylists this year have gone above and beyond with the costumes. They are all incredibly beautiful, making sure no one steals the show. I requested that each tribute gets to be equal and have their time in the spotlight.
"Another one please," I say to the Avox standing next to me. It nods its head before passing me a tray full of the assorted pieces of bread. I pick a District 9 specialty, the warm fresh bun is soft and straight out of the oven, just how I like it. I take a bite and look upon the continuing Parade.
District 1 is wearing leotards encrusted with thousands of jewels. They sparkle in the flashing lights and wear the victor's crown on their heads, that are also encrusted with hundreds of jewels. Every year they do that, the victor's crown is a sign that they can and will win.
Each District looks equally beautiful with none in particular that stand out. It's good that each tribute has a fair chance, but boring with no show stealers.
"Luna!" I turn around and I see President Snow.
"Lutias? I-" I say in shock, I was just looking at him down on the podium below.
"Don't worry Luna, that is a doppelganger pretending to be me," Lutias smiles. "Please follow me."
I obey. I already know this was going to happen, but I didn't think it would be now. "Okay." I take one last glance at the Parade before standing up and leaving the little indoor balcony. I follow him through a series of elevators and corridors underground. From anywhere in the Capitol you can find a secret way to the Control room, you just need to know where to look.
"Luna, we are going to do it tonight, now actually," Lutias says after a short walk. We arrive at the Control center. The holographic board has a transparent live view of the arena.
"Do you want to do the honors?" He asks. I smile. This has what I've been waiting to do ever since we built the arena.
"Most definitely," I smile. He passes me the golden button. I take it in my hand and hover my finger over it for a second.
"Whenever you are ready," Lutias smiles. I grin before bringing my finger down hard on the button. The live view of the arena is covered in the light as it explodes into ruins. This is going to be the best Hunger Games ever.
A/N: okay before we start, go view my profile after reading this. IMPORTANT and AMAZING news is on it! ahhh i'm so excited to announce about the new stories and everything i have planned! yall go view my profile NOW!
okay now, omfg yall. okay but i am proud of this chapter. i feel as i have improved so much with this, the way it is written and the detail is something i would not have done when i started this story. what did you think, this chapter is so improved to what i usually write and the standards are going to stay this high now. so expect greatness for coming chapters.
okay but what did you think of this? i decided to only do 2 tributes pov and than luna's only because i wanted to add that last bit hehe. what did you think omg?! i personally loved this chapter, even if chariot rides are not that important haha! anyway, nights in the capitol and training is next!
also you guys i have a discord server! join if you have discord the link is on my profile. if you join, you can talk with so many other people as well as play games, talk about the story, get spoilers, and meet new people. exclusive stuff is on there so make sure you join!
also if you have any questions or theories or anything about the games, let me know and put it in the review section! i really appreciate every single review and it makes my day :) so pls leave one if you can xd
okay now for the chapter questions:
1. what did you think luna did?
2. what did you think of the chapter?
3. are you excited for the trilogy i have planned?
hope you enjoyed this chapter and can't wait for more, thanks for reading as well !
- cartier