...~...~...~...~...
As soon as the train stopped, the Tributes were guided out past the screaming crowds, into an expensive car and driven to the building where they would be prepped for the Tribute Parade.
Amelia and Finnick were split before they could even place two feet on the ground ,much to their discomfort. But before they were too far apart Finnick called out to her, saying he would see her soon followed by a reassuring smile, though his eyes were filled with uncertainty. Amelia took those words to heart, and breathed deeply to try and push down a wave of Anxiety that threatened to appear, she hadn't been on her own since her Games, always with Finnick, or when he had to come to the Capital, she would be with Mags and Annie.
She was led through the building, down hallways and through doors, all were painted white or grey. Being in the Capital where she knew how the people dressed in such outrageous colours and patrons, even went as far as to decorate their houses just to match their outfits, it unsettled her to be surrounded in the definition of 'simple'. She was pulled from her thoughts as she was guided up to a door that was labelled 'District 4-Female'.
Just as the Peacekeeper twisted the handle, the door was flung open and a blur of colour shot out at Amelia, and a familiar voice filled her ears.
"Oh sweetheart! how I have missed you! look at you, you're gorgeous! Just how I remember you!" The man continued to ramble on, gushing over her hair, skin and face, while flinging his arms around.
Cosmos was exactly as she remembered him, personality and all. He still had his Galaxy dyed skin and white hair -though she noticed he had shaved the sides- and he still dressed up in brightly coloured suits and wore his signature silver bow tie.
He had been Amelia's stylist for her Games, but had retired as soon as it had ended, and while he would send check up letters to her, they hadn't seen each other since. Amelia had adored him the moment they meet, feeling just as comfortable around him as anyone else from her District, and while he had the image of a Capital citizen, he sympathise with everyone suffering in the Districts and wishes to help other, he was a very kind and caring man behind the makeup and fancy suits.
Thinking of their meeting brought the question of why he was back, from what he expressed to Amelia, he made it clear that he didn't want to dress children up for slaughter. Not his exact words but she understood them well enough.
Noticing her questioning look, Cosmos smiled sadly and shook his head.
"No sweetlin', I'm only here for this one Game." He scooped up her hands and swung them side-to-side. "I came back for you, dress you up and made you beautiful! -Not that you aren't already of course!" Amelia could see his eyes start to water. "Oh! sweetheart! you shouldn't have to go back, you should be on the beach, with little baby's everywhere!-" He continues to gush about what her babies would look like and how many she would have. Amelia's eyes held adoration as she looked at her dear friend, she began to imagine herself with a child, it was nothing but a pipe dream now.
The sound of a throat clearing stopped Cosmos rambling. The Prep team had let the two reunite but had gotten impatient waiting and didn't want to waste too much time as they didn't know how much work they had to do on Amelia.
"Right, Right! Got to get you ready, you go with them and get cleaned up and then! We'll get you in your dress!" He kissed both of her cheeks and hurried out the room, leaving Amelia at the hands of her prep team.
"Come along Amelia, we have everything ready for you." One of the females said walking over towards the young women. "We were made aware of your... condition and will do our best not to hurt you too much." The woman guided her to the raised bed and gently pushed her to lay down.
Amelia knew that the next hour was going to be torture, they could only go so far at being gentle while pulling out hairs and knots. She could feel her Anxiety flair as the team moved closer to her with tweezers.
...~...~...~...~...
As predicted, an hour later Amelia sat in the prep room with dry tear streaks down her face. The moment the first hair was plucked, she had busted into tears, to her it felt like a small serrated knife was repeatedly being stabbed and pulled from her skin. The Prep team was tempted to stop right there and then but was afraid of what would happen when it was found out that they didn't do their jobs, so the only male on the team sat beside Amelia and held her hand and tried to comfort the poor girl through the process.
Amelia longed for her blanket or Finnick. With the tingling pain all over her, every time she blinked she would see her old Arena, she could imagine the Mutts eating her skin, her blood flying everywhere.
Thankfully, Cosmos walked in just as the tears started to well up again. Upon seeing them he rushed over, throwing the dress bag on a chair nearby. He wrapped his arms around her gently and smoothly rubbed her back.
"Oh sweetheart, how could I have forgotten? I'm so sorry!"
Amelia shook her head and leaned back, she gave him a reassuring look and patted his shoulder. She had nothing to blame him for and he didn't need to apologise at all, it's not like she expected everyone to know or remember, of course not. When she's back in the Arena, no one is going to care if she hurts, if anything it would be them that make her in pain in the first place.
After a moment to collect herself, Amelia and Cosmos moved on to finishing getting ready, applying makeup and styling her hair until it was time for the dress.
"Now this year Bexley and I decided not to collaborate, and just do our own thing-" Cosmos gestured to her to close her eyes, to which she did. "-and trust me dear, when I say I had too many ideas." Amelia could feel the fabric had slipped over her head. "Now, it's a tiny bit showy but beautiful, if I do say so myself, and I do!" She could feel Cosmos fiddling around with the dress, adjusting it if she had to guess. "Alright, you can open your eyes now."
The dress was beautiful, Amelia had to agree. A body hugging dress that fell to her ankles, the material was see-through and the colour matched her skin. It was decorated with pearls and lace, covering everything and nothing at the same time, though nothing she didn't want shown was on display, thankfully. Long trumpet sleeves of lace fell just to the tip of her fingers and a high slip that opened to her hip allowed for movement. It was indeed very revealing, but beautiful all the same.
She glanced up and saw that her face was decorated with pearls, both big and small, and her hair had strings of pearls twisted in.
Amelia turned to Cosmos and pulled him into a hug, whispering a cracked 'thank you' into his ear, the first time she had spoken since leaving her District.
Cosmos beamed at her, his heart swelling. He glanced at the time and jumped.
"Oh! That's the time already! We best be going, don't want to be the last to arrive!" He ran around the room picking up things he needed and a pair of ridiculously tall high-heels, he guided Amelia to a chair and slipped her heels on,"Though usually I would recommend being fashionably late, today is not the day!"
Amelia staggered to her feet, not used to wearing heels and them being extremely high did not help. Cosmos quickly grabbed her arm and hooked it with his, helping to stabilise her.
"I would have loved to give you something smaller dear, but Bexley insisted that you match height with Finnick."He said sympathetically as they made their slow journey to the ground floor.
Amelia just shook her head. If she could jump off slippery rocks around rock pools without falling flat on her face, then she should be able to stay up right in these shoes.
...~...~...~...~...
They reached their destination with plenty of time to spear before the Parade begins -Cosmos breathed a sigh of relief at that- Amelia could hear the screams from the crowd above her, almost deafening from where she and Cosmos walked, down the line of carriages to the fourth from front, where Finnick and his stylist Bexley were waiting.
Upon arrival Finnick looked up -as if sensing she was there- and stared wide eyed at Amelia, to which she grew self consciousness at. Cosmos cleared his throat, snapping Finnick out of his gaze.
"Look at you, never thought I'd see you in Capital's clothing again." He cheeked, walked over and planted a kiss on her forehead, minding the pearls,"You look gorgeous." He whispers, then leans back, confused,"did you get taller?"
Amelia gestures to her feet, a look of understanding crossed Finnick's face.
"I do not envy you at the moment." He smirked at her teasingly, which led her to pout slightly and 'slap' his arm, which was more of a tap. Amelia couldn't help but smile at his teasing, she knows he's doing his best to keep it together, to not show his fears. Being in the Capital was horrible for Finnick because of what Snow makes him do.
Amelia looked down at what he was wearing and felt sadness and sympathy, she hated that Finnick was forced to show off his body, something that made him very uncomfortable.
Finnick flagged down one of the Avox's that was feeding the horses and grabbed a handful of sugar cubes from the bowl she was holding. He chucked one in his mouth before holding one out for Amelia and grinned, his cheeks filling out like a chipmunk.
"wan' won?" He mumbled with his mouth full, waving it in front of her, as if to tempt her.
Amelia let out a breath of air that resembled a giggle at his silliness before taking it from his hand and placing it in her mouth.
"That's my girl!" Finnick cheered, wrapping his arm around her waist and pulling her to his side, allowing her to lean into him. All the playing around helped them forget the dreadful future.
During their one sided conversation, the two stylist's had walked off, leaving the two alone for now. Off in the distance Elora could be seen talking with someone -who she suspects is her sister- and Mags was most likely waiting in a quiet place for the Parade to finish, leaving the two to their own company. They looked around at all the familiar faces, trying not to think about how they would be in a kill-or-be-killed situation with them.
"Well look who just walked in,'The Girl On Fire'." Finnick commented, watching as Katniss walked over to her Chariot,"Why don't we say 'hi'?" He looked at the petite women beside him.
Amelia watched Katniss, weighing the pros and cons of going over, but decided there wasn't any real harm in going. She nodded to Finnick, but as they started to walked over Amelia stopped him, she reached down and undid the clasps on her heels and slid them off, she quickly walked back to their Chariot and placed them on it and hurried back to a chuckling Finnick, hooking her arm with his.
As they walked up to Katniss they could hear her whispering to her horse. It seemed she heard them coming, as she turned her head towards them.
"Hello Katniss." Finnick said casually, contemplating whether or not to use his 'charm' on her.
"Hello Finnick," She responds, her eyes flickering down to the -now- short woman standing close beside him,"Amelia." She nodded her head to her. Amelia gave a small wave in return.
"Want a sugar cube?" He offered, showing the pile in his hand,"They're supposed to be for the horses, but who cares about them, right? They've got years to eat sugar, whereas us...well, if we sees something sweet, we better grape it quick." He wrapped his arm around Amelia again, smiling cheekily at Katniss.
"No thanks," She says bemused,"But I'd love to borrow your outfit sometime." She looked at what he was wearing, or rather the lack thereof.
"You're absolutely terrifying me in that get-up. What happened to the pretty little girl dresses?" He asked, leaning against the horse, Amelia reached around him and patted the large animal.
"I outgrew them," She retorted. Amelia felt sad for her, she had to grow up fast because of the Games, just like all the other children.
"It's too bad about this Quell thing. You could have made out like a Bandit in the Capital. Jewels, money, anything you wanted."
"I don't like Jewels and I have more money than I need. What do you spend all yours on?" Amelia could tell she was getting annoyed now.
"Oh easy, Amelia." Finnick winked at said women,"But besides her, nothing. I haven't dealt with money for common things in years."
"Then how do they pay you for the pleasure of your company?" Amelia could feel Finnick stiffen at the comment, Katniss has no idea how close to home she was.
"With secrets," He says softly, before jumping back to his playful self, "What about you 'Girl On Fire'? Do you have any secrets worth my time?"
"No, I'm an open book," She scoffs,"Everyone seems to know my secrets before I know them myself."
"Unfortunately, I think that's true." He smiles in amusement. He lowered his gaze to Amelia who seemed to be distracted by something, or rather, someone.
"Ah! Looks like Peeta is coming. Sorry you have to cancel your wedding. I know how devastating that must be for you." He shared a sad look with Amelia, she squeezed his hand that still rested on her hip before looking back at Katniss again, dipping her head in farewell.
The two turned away from the young women and made their way back to their Chariot again. They passed Peeta and his stylist, Finnick greeted the boy as they passed.
"Well, I would say that went...well." Finnick grinned, popping another sugar cube in his mouth. offering another one to Amelia.
Amelia nodded slowly. It could have gone much worse -if not- more awkward.
They reached the Chariot as the announcement that the Parade would begin in ten minutes blared out of the speakers.
Amelia sat on the floor of the Chariot and picked up her plain white strappy heels and slipped them on again. She stood up and wiggled her toes,allowing them to settle in as comfortably as possible then she turned around when a hand came in view. Looking up she sees that it belongs to Finnick who had already jumped up onto the carriage, Amelia slipped her small hand into his and allowed him to pull her up.
Cosmos came back and fixed her hair and moved her dress about to the point he was satisfied then kissed the back of her hand and wished her luck then hurried off somewhere.
By then the first two chariots had left and the third was starting to leave. Amelia could feel pressure on her chest and her breath became laboured. Finnick squeezed her hand gently and leaned over and kissed her head.
"It's okay, ten minutes and it'll be all over. I'll be here the whole time," He leaned over to look her in the eye,"I'm not exactly going to jump off a moving Chariot." He grinned.
Amelia's lips twitched, amused but nodded her head and took in a steady breath, she shakily squeezed his hand in thanks. The Chariot moved forward and the cheers grew louder when they came into view.
Finnick -true to his act- waved at the crowd and blew kisses, gaining screams. Amelia shyly waved her hand, she looked up at the screens and noticed they changed to the Tributes from 12, showing the two being covered in flames, she hoped they were fake.
All the Chariots came to a stop, waiting for the President's speech, but as soon as Amelia looked at him the world stopped, all the cheers faded into white noise and the heaviness in her cheats returned.
This was the man resalable for so many deaths, will be resalable for her own. It's almost surreal being in the presence of a monster.
...~...~...~...~...
The Chariot stopped and two Avox's rushed over and tended to the horses. Finnick jumped off and held out his arms for Amelia. She walked to the edge and placed her hands on his shoulders, he wrapped his arms around her and lifted her off and placed her on the ground and kissed her cheek.
"Get a room, Lovebirds!" A voice yelled out behind them. The two turned quickly to the voice and saw a...Tree? Finnick laughed.
"I don't think... I have seen a more... attractive... tree!"He managed to get out between breaths.
"Ha ha, laugh it up pretty boy, at least I have clothes on." She deadpanned, crossing her arms.
"I'm joking Johanna." Finnick said calmly before snorting at her.
Amelia looked at the two with fondness, before going to her friend and giving her a hug.
"See, this is why you're my favourite, Amelia," Johanna hugged her back while glaring at Finnick,"Not my fault that my Stylist is a complete idiot."
"You can't blame them, they did the best they could... Considering what they have to work with." Finnick had to jump away as Johanna threw her heel at him.
You could feel the happiness drain from the air when a Peacekeeper walked up to the small group, he turned to Finnick and handed him a letter.
"The Presidents request your presence." Was all he said and the three felt their stomach drop. Finnick nodded his head numbly and the Peacekeeper walked away.
"Screw him! How I wish I could run my axe through him." Johanna snarled, glaring daggers at the messenger though her words were not meant for him.
Amelia looked at Finnick and could see his walls crumbling. She walked up to him and wrapped her arm around him, her hand combed through his hair. She didn't know how to help him, how she wished she could.
She brought his head down and rested it on her's, wiping a tear before it could be seen.
"It'll be over soon." She whispers. For anyone else those words would be haunting, knowing they were going to die soon, but to Finnick they were almost comforting. He nodded his head, holding her hand to his cheek, taking in her warmth. He pulled away and looked at Johanna.
"Look after her." Johanna nodded, as if she was going to leave her friend to the mercy of these animals.
Finnick looked at Amelia one more time before walking away and opening the letter.
Amelia watched him go until he couldn't be seen anymore. Johanna grabbed her hand and started pulling her to the elevator.
"Come on, let's get out of this ridiculous clothing. Mine starting to ech."
It wasn't that she didn't care about what Finnick was going to be forced to do, she just didn't want to be reminded of what she was almost made to do.
(Old A/N)
Sorry for not updating. Haven't been inspired to write lately. .*
(Update 2.July.22)
-3381 words-