Chapter Four, Stay Smart

The doors of the train slid open before Silyah, who was officially two steps away from her Victory Tour. Taking one last glance towards the swarm of people awaiting her departure, she took those two steps, her hands sliding along the railings of the stairs leading inside the vehicle. Shortly after having walked on board, her team made its appearance behind her. The girl was about to inquire about Elijah's whereabouts when she saw something that rendered her speechless. Unable to utter a single sound, and not even able to bat an eyelash, the blue-eyed girl could do nothing but stare at the source of her astonishment.

"Do you mind if I ask you why you look so surprised, Miss Natho?"

Still in disbelief, the girl was only able to pronounce a single word: "Artemis?"

The raven-haired teenager looked down at himself, as if to tell her that she didn't need to point out the obvious; he already knew who he was.

"What are you doing here?" asked the pale girl. Even her voice had been unsure of which emotions it should have conveyed.

"Technically speaking, I survived the Games too, Silyah. I am as much of a victor as you are. It would only be fair for me to go on this tour with you," replied the boy, his good old smirk stretching one corner of his lips. He walked up to the girl. "Aren't you pleased to see me? I have come a long way to see you again."

Silyah couldn't help but smile despite the loud alarm bells ringing in her mind. "Well, I am happy to see you all in one piece," she grinned. "Mind you, you're in a much better shape than you were six months ago."

Artemis adjusted his crimson tie. "Thanks to your help." The boy's eyes then locked on the golden aremèsia hanging from Silyah's neck and his smirk morphed into one of his rare sincere smile. "I am delighted to see that you haven't tossed that memory away. Since I never heard from you again, I thought that you might have forgotten about me," he said softly, leading the brunette away from the train's doors to go take a seat.

Silyah felt slightly uneasy. "I wish there would have been a way for me to talk to you…" Abruptly, she stopped walking. Something was wrong. Horribly wrong.

"There is a –" Artemis's sentence was cut short and Silyah's heart skipped a beat.

The Hunger Games victor looked around the room, alarmed by the sudden cannon-like noise she had heard. Unfortunately, she didn't get the opportunity to look for very long, for her ears caught a scream of agony.

Within less than a second, Silyah saw Artemis drop to the ground, but he wasn't the only one to do so. Across the room, another dark-haired figure had fallen, his left hand wrapped around a dull silver firearm.

Silyah turned her head as blood began to tint the floor underneath Artemis, unable to watch such a thing happen once again. It was then that she saw that there were four people in the room rather than three. Paralyzed by fear, she watched this fourth man pick up the revolver from the mysterious figure's limp hand, leaving a white rose in its place.

"Did you ever think you would get away this easily, Miss Natho?" Although his voice was soft, it chilled the girl to the bones.

President Snow was staring at her, somehow looking pleased and disappointed at the same time. Swiftly, he fired another bullet in Artemis's direction. This time, Silyah could not muffle a scream of her own. Seeing how much it affected the girl, Snow fired again, and again.

"Stop it!" Silyah screamed as if it would make any difference. Of course, her request was completely ignored. "Stop shooting him!" The young woman couldn't prevent her voice from cracking as she tried to yell over the gunshots. "Please stop! He's already dead!" she shrieked. "He's already dead! He's been dead for a century! Stop it!"

The President of Panem glanced down at the boy. Silyah barely had the time to react before she saw the man's arm move, now aiming the gun towards her chest. All she heard was one final cannon sound.

Silyah's eyes brusquely shot open, as they did every time she woke up after her endless nightmares. Shrugging away the terror was now a part of her daily routine.

"This is completely ridiculous," she rationalized, murmuring the words to herself. Every concern she and the People might have had about protecting their secrets, as well as Artemis's "death," had been taken care of during the past few days. There was no way Snow could ever discover the truth about Artemis.

The girl sat up in her bed, taking a few deep breaths to calm down. It was during one of those breaths that her nose caught something in the air. Was that bacon? Albeit still being slightly shaken from her latest dream, her curiosity sparked up. She attempted to put a bit of order in her hip-long braided hair, then followed the smell into the kitchen where, to her brief surprise, she found Elijah behind the stove.

The raven-haired boy turned as he noticed the brunette.

"Breakfast?" wondered Silyah, slightly confused and perhaps still a bit asleep.

"Mhm," nodded the boy.

The girl opened the fridge to pour herself a glass of orange juice, glancing over Elijah's shoulder in the process. "You can cook?" The girl felt something she hadn't felt in a while: amusement.

"Yes, actually, I can. You seem amused."

"Oh, it's just that I didn't expect that." She walked over to the counter, taking a seat on one of her stools. "Don't get me used to this," she added with the slightest of grins.

"Never. Being your guard dog is quite enough; I do not desire to be your maid as well, Silyah," the boy assured her. "It's just a habit. I always make breakfast for my lab rat of a sister."

"Now that's more like it," mumbled Silyah under her breath.

"She'd starve working if it weren't for me," mentioned the boy with a slight smirk. "Sadly, her way of thanking me is by teasing me."

"That's what siblings are for," sighed Silyah, still eyeing the cooking pan between the boy's hands.

"I can assure you that it won't burst into flames if you stop staring at it, Silyah."

"Sorry, I'm just really surprised. I couldn't cook to save my life… Well, I did do it to save my life with… Well, in the arena."

"I know… You could learn a thing or two from my mother."

"Oh, that's right," the girl briefly recalled her mentioning that she was a cook who provided meals to the District 3 workers. "After the tour, perhaps…" It could eventually be useful.

"You'll need some normal hobbies after all," said the boy as he placed a plate of freshly prepared eggs before the girl.

"Thank you." Silyah grabbed a fork and considered the plate in front of her. "I don't think cooking will ever be a hobby of mine though." She forced herself to take a bite, not having the heart to tell Elijah that she was rarely hungry just after waking up.

"Well, perhaps not, but it could at least help you get back to a more normal life."

"Yeah…" She loaded her fork with a bit of egg. "This is really good by the way. You didn't have to do that."

"You're welcome."

The girl almost apologized for having judged Elijah negatively on the day they had met; but instead, she looked back down towards the plate the painfully familiar-looking boy had given her.

"Are you mentally ready to meet Effie?" asked the brunette, making small talk to suppress her growing stress.

"As ready as I can be."

"You better be. She loves gossip, and you'll probably have to ease her curiosity on numerous occasions." Silyah furrowed her brows lightly, remembering that time when she had caught the woman crying in her bedroom. She shook her head. She'd get to the bottom of this mystery one day, but now was certainly not the time.

"I'll do my best," replied Elijah.

Silyah eyed the boy once more, realizing that he was fully dressed up and ready for action. "At what time did you wake up?" She glanced at her nightwear and ran a hand through the top of her braided hair.

"Roughly three hours ago."

"Oh dear," Silyah could not understand morning people.

"One would think you'd be used to getting up early."

"Why would that be?" The girl let out a dry chuckle. "I'll let you in on a little secret of mine: my average wake up time is noon." It was mostly because her nightmares were exhausting her, yet keeping her up most of the night, but the girl left that part out. Seeing that Elijah looked relatively surprised and intrigued, Silyah explained herself. "It's not like I have much to do. I'm not required to go to school, and I am really not ready to face the people I used to know. I can work on my own projects any time I want and I'm basically supplied with my every needs. My only obligation as of lately was to call Kelp with you on Fridays."

"Don't you have your garden?"

"Do I look like an outdoor person to you?" She raised an eyebrow. "There is a program taking care of my garden for me. I only take care of the settings. Keeping things alive is too much for me to handle…" The girl swallowed the knot in her throat. Elijah's empathetic gaze didn't help her uneasy feeling. "Which reminds me, I have to go check on those settings before leaving…" She grabbed her plate, which had almost been completely emptied, and placed it in the dishwasher, telling Elijah to do the same when he would be done. "I'll be back shortly," she told the nodding boy, heading towards her bedroom to get dressed.

A few streets away from the Victors' Village

President Coriolanus Snow briefly glanced over the schedule in his assistant's gloved hands, displeased to see that they were two minutes late in their daily plan.

"Shall I ask the driver to go faster?" offered the woman. She barely needed to look at Snow to know his answer. The advisor thus lowered the screen that separated the presidential vehicle's passengers from the driver and told him to "quit the District visit and get to the Victors' Village." When she turned her attention back to the President, he was in mid-conversation with his escort, who also doubled up as his bodyguard.

"Of course she'll be punished," had stated Snow in a dry, yet calm tone. "When the time is right."

"When the time is right, Sir?" The advisor, catching up on the discussion, raised an unconvinced eyebrow.

"Miss Natho is being cooperative for now. In addition, ask yourselves, how can we possibly punish her? We can't kill her, her lover is dead and she cares so little about her family that she asked to be moved to the Victors' Village without them. With a bit of time, one of her weak spots will shine, believe me." There was a strange glint in the President's eyes, which seemed dark yet oddly aglow. "My visit today will be a mere warning shot. A storm is coming, and trust me, the ice walls she built around herself will shatter." The man sent a withering glare to his advisor and she clearly understood that he had a plan in mind.

After a few more minutes on the road, the dark car pulled over in the village and parked in front of Silyah Natho's mansion. The President's escort got out of the vehicle, holding the door for Snow. The man ordered his advisor to stay in the car before following the escort up to the steps of the newest victor's house.

The escort, all dressed in black, knocked four times on the door.

From within the residence, Elijah turned towards the door. Silyah was busy, so he figured he might take the liberty to answer. The boy went to the entrance, opening the door for the visitors.

Two men were standing in front of him, one of whom was partially hidden. The one he could see properly had a visible foreign look on his face: surgery, without a doubt.

"May we see Miss Silyah Natho?" asked the younger one of the two; the one who was concealing the second man with his broad frame.

"I am afraid she is currently unavailable," replied Elijah politely.

"And I fear that you are dealing with a higher authority, Mr…?" the man paused, allowing Elijah to fill in the blank.

"Fowl."

"Mr. Fowl?" enquired a voice coming from behind the first man. His tone betrayed a well-calculated amount of curiosity.

Elijah instantly recognized that voice. He had heard it so many times before; every citizen of Panem had. "President Snow… I suppose victors get a visit before their tour?"

The Presidential escort was slowly pushed aside by the leader of Panem. "Indeed…" His snake-like eyes swept over the young man. "It seems this visit will be slightly more informative than how I first thought it would be… Mr. Fowl," he then said, walking into the house.

Elijah took a step back. He wasn't exactly scared of the old man, but he knew that he had the power to do things to people he cared for. "Informative? In what sense?"

Coriolanus Snow carefully observed Elijah, clearly noticing that the Fowl boy in front of him was not the one whose death had never truly been confirmed. "Don't you think I don't know about your family, young man?"

Elijah sent him back his stare with his piercing blue eyes. "Why does this matter?"

The President smiled. "Well, despite the circumstances, I owed them quite a bit," he spoke slowly. His voice was the only thing that betrayed his advanced age, as the rest had all been taken care of by the Capitol surgeons and doctors. "They helped stopping an uprising during the 74th Victory Tour…"

"That's true. My father was there," nodded the boy. "However, unless you fear that another one is coming, I don't see how that information is relevant."

"It could become relevant… After the show your little friend gave during the last day of the Games, or rather, the lack of show, some repercussions are to be expected... Tell me, what's your name, boy?"

"Elijah." The teenager looked at the white-haired man, not wanting to trust him, but compelled to do so. "And if I may mention, there is hardly anything to worry about. My half-brother is dead; end of story."

"This story is unfortunately far more complex," commented Snow as he began to pace through the hall. "Surely, you were disappointed by the fact that we were unable to bring Artemis's remains back in his district. Also, a few people were perturbed when they realized that the last minutes of the Games had never been televised."

Elijah looked down, but smirked slightly. "We actually never met… But haven't your bright Capitol scientists and technicians figured anything out?" he questioned, trying his hardest to hide a mocking tone.

"Interested in what we could have found?" asked Snow, sending chills down Elijah's back even with his softest voice.

"It has to do with my family; of course I'd be interested."

Snow's usually emotionless features turned into a small grin. "We haven't found a thing," he admitted. "Absolutely nothing."

"Maybe you didn't look hard enough," shrugged Elijah. "Or perhaps what caused Artemis's death was something that destroyed all evidences and created a glitch with the cameras. My half-brother was clever, after all."

"And are you as clever as him?" asked Snow, raising an eyebrow.

Silyah was almost done double checking the settings of the heating system that kept her garden in a constant summer-like state when she heard muffled voices, most likely coming from the hall of her house.

"Elijah?" she screamed, trying to get her voice to reach the front of her house. "Are you speaking to someone?" She wondered if her team had arrived early.

She took a peek through her glass back door, seeing that there was some movement in her front hall. Although she was intrigued, the girl went back to her verifications. She had to make sure that she wouldn't come back from the tour only to find out that her entire garden had frozen over and died. Even if Silyah was far from having a green thumb and usually despised the outdoors, her garden had the ability to soothe her and she didn't want to give it up just yet.

As she was closing the control-panel of the heating system, a sudden sound startled the girl.

"Miss Natho, I will have to ask you to follow me, please," said the deep voice that nearly made Silyah's heart jump out of her chest.

The young woman spun around, landing face-to-face with a tall man with relatively broad shoulders. "Excuse me?" she uttered, confused.

"You have a visitor." The man dressed in black held Silyah's backyard door open, motioning for her to get in.

Suddenly feeling a bit shaky, Silyah took careful steps towards the man, immediately knowing that he was from the Capitol. Once she got in the house, he lightly pushed her towards her office, which made her narrow her eyes at him.

"If you excuse me, sir, this is my house and I don't tolerate snow-covered boots on my floor," she said, being surprisingly authoritarian and unsure of if she should feel guilty about it. She took all the time she needed to remove her coat and footwear and even took the liberty to see if Elijah was still in the hall, which he was.

"I'll go wait in the living room," he mouthed from across the hall, looking paler than usual.

Silyah nodded, relieved to see that nothing had happened to the boy, but still extremely worried about what was awaiting her inside the office. Her dream was at the back of her mind, making her tremble.

The man from the Capitol cleared his throat, which earned him another look from Silyah, but had the sufficient power to lead her into the study.

Taking a deep breath, the teenager walked into the room and finally met her visitor's eyes. Of course, she had anticipated that President Snow would be the one waiting for her. The mixed smells of blood and roses had been a dead giveaway.

"Good morning," she said, almost amazed by her dry and controlled voice.

"Greetings Miss Natho," replied Snow, who was seated behind the girl's desk. "Please take a seat," he ordered. "How are you enjoying your new residence?" he then asked her as she dragged a chair towards the desk.

"It's nice," answered Silyah, seeing no point in pretending to have an attitude. "A bit big for one person, but that doesn't matter much, does it?" The brunette felt like hitting herself with the chair she was sitting on. What an inappropriate time for her sarcastic sense of humor to make one of its rare guest appearance; she was probably about to pay the price of all her little lies and secrets considering that the President of Panem was currently in front of her.

The man in question twisted his face in what seemed like a small smile, which looked incredibly odd given his surgically "improved" features. "It's a shame your Ice Prince can't help you fill a few rooms," he commented.

The girl ignored the inappropriate comment as she remembered her latest nightmare in great details. She was truly beginning to feel paranoid. What if the President had come to have her killed in order to muffle rumors? What if he knew about Artemis's secret?

"No need to be so nervous, I am simply here to ask you a few questions…" The man paused, his casual air hiding a certain menace. "To spare us some time, how about we both agree not to lie to each other?"

Silyah froze for a split second. "I…" She coughed, her voice unfortunately choosing to leave her on her own.

The President observed her for a moment before taking back the speech. "While I may not be the most caring person in this country, I can assure you that I am always honest," he told her.

Glad that he had mistaken her silence for surprise, Silyah cleared her throat. "I do think it would be a smart choice to remain honest…"

"I have a feeling there are certain conditions in that sentence…"

"Well," the girl tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. "If we must be honest with each other, I have to tell you that while I will try my best to answer your questions, there are certain things I won't be able to explain and I really don't want this to be a problem."

Snow nodded. "Naturally…" The man noticed a slight panic in Silyah's eyes. "Fear not, I won't request any explanation in the next few minutes. For now, I want you to tell me: what are your plans for the tour?"

"I don't plan on making any shocking reveal anytime soon if that's what you want to know," stated the girl. "I will attend the tour and do as I'm told, nothing more."

"What about the boy we graciously allowed you to bring along?"

"He won't cause any issues. He plans on staying backstage through the entire tour. He'll only be there to help me by psychologically apt to face big crowds."

The President raised an eyebrow.

"I live alone for a reason," clarified Silyah, directing a subtle blame towards her interlocutor.

"How preventive of you," commented the frail white-haired man.

"Please understand that the only thing I wish is for this tour to go smoothly and be over as soon as possible."

"That is a very smart wish, Miss Natho."

Silyah gave him a bittersweet smile. "I think I went through enough challenges to save my own life for me to willingly throw it away by doing something stupid, Mr. President."

The man gave her a terrifying smile. "Good to know we're on the same page on that matter…"

"Is that all?" Silyah crossed her fingers, hoping that he wouldn't have anything else to say.

"Not quite, Miss Natho," Snow leaned towards the victor. "I told you that you wouldn't have to provide me with an explanation for what happened in the Games just yet – and I won't go back on this statement, but mark my words: you will have to do so in given time. The people of Panem have the most unpleasant theories and it would be in your greatest interest to prove them wrong." He let that information sink in. "Here is the deal: you will have until the end of the 81st Hunger Games to give me a clear and complete retelling of how Artemis Fowl died. Everything you will tell me will be broadcasted before the new victor's interview, so you better make it convincing. In the meantime, if I see that you are involved in anything I deem rebellious, or if you can't provide Panem with answers, I will expose the fact that you got out of the Games without a single wound, which I presume you would like to keep to yourself. Then, I will personally make sure that you will talk."

Silyah nodded quickly, gripping the edges of her chair to prevent her hands from shaking.

"Surely, you are familiar with Finnick Odair's business in the Capitol?"

Silyah felt her heart drop down into her stomach. "You can't be serious."

"Remember what I said about honesty?" calmly stated the President. "You're the only one who has the power to inflict this upon yourself." The man got up from the chair. "One last thing before I go… While I do not need to get into the details, I judge that enough time has passed since your return to District 3 and I do believe that at this point, I should have at least a vague idea about what killed Artemis Fowl. I only want a simple answer; it will remain between you and me."

Since she was seated, the girl felt extremely intimidated by Snow's gaze. She felt as if her heart was about to explode. Explode! What that even believable? "An explosion," blurted out the girl without giving much of a second thought about her answer.

Snow gave a small grunt. He was not satisfied, that much was clear… On the other hand, he had obtained two words from the girl and that was two words more than what he had started out with.

"Once again, it was very smart of you to reply." He presented the girl with the white rose he wore on his lapel as she got to her feet. "For you," he told her. "You should also take this last advice: stay smart, Miss Natho."

Silyah took the flower delicately, as though grabbing it more firmly would activate some sort of weapon. "I will."

Snow gave her a smile a parent would give a disobedient child and smoothed out his coat. He outstretched his hand towards the arch that lead out of the study, motioning for Silyah to go out before him. Straightening her shoulders, the teenager obliged, leading the President back to the front door.

"I shall see you again in the Capitol, Miss Natho," said Snow as he retrieved a pair of leather gloves from his pocket and put them on. His stern tone echoed of a threat, which was not exactly surprising. "And so will we, Elijah…" he then murmured as he saw the boy getting out of the living room, which was just beside the front door. With no further salutations, Snow and his escort took their leave from Silyah's house, leaving behind the lingering smell of white roses and blood as a reminder of what was now at stake.

The two pale teenagers started at the door in silence. The strange feeling of being watched loomed over Silyah, but the girl figured that it was probably caused by the fact that Elijah was with her.

"You know," began the girl, "as much as I try to convince myself that I'm not scared of Snow, I'll have to admit that I'm actually terrified of that tyrant." She said the word "tyrant" as quietly as possible, as if the man it described might be listening.

Needless to say, Elijah seemed to agree with the girl. "What did he say to you?"

Silyah turned to him. "He talked about the last minutes of the Games… He told me that if I did not provide him with a decent explanation and proofs of what happened, he would, amongst other things, expose the fact that I got out of the arena unharmed, which could both anger the People and Panem. No need to be a genius to figure out this could end for me…" As she replayed her most recent conversation in her head, she let go of a low gasp. "Under the pressure, I told him that Artemis's passing had to do with an explosion," she breathed. The girl felt like slamming her head into the wall, but then, she saw Elijah smile.

"Did you? That is… Creative. We can definitely work with that." As the spark of an idea lit up in his brain, hope blossomed in Elijah's mind. With enough research, they could give Snow what he wanted without giving him anything at all.

"I am glad you think so," she gave him an uncertain smile. This case was far from closed, but for now there were other things to take care of.

By the time the doorbell rang, Silyah had managed to put a bit of order in her house with Elijah's help. The whole place was now presentable and looked rather warm and cozy despite its humongous size. This time, it was Silyah who got to the door first to greet the Capitol citizens behind it.

"There she is!" exclaimed Effie, barely even in the house yet, but still quite visible with her white and pale blue wig, which matched the accents on her gray dress.

Although it was only there for a fraction of a second, a genuine smile graced Silyah's lips. "I've been here for the last six months," she remarked, poking fun at Effie's greeting.

"Still as witty as ever, aren't you?" Effie's singsong voice filled the hall, just like the sound of heels that accompanied her everywhere she went. The woman walked up to Silyah and kissed her on both cheeks.

"So, where's the prep team?" wondered Silyah once the salutations were over.

"Prep teams, darling. They'll be here very shortly; they are picking up their –" Effie's eyes suddenly fell on a dark-haired teenager, making her do a double take. At first, the woman thought she had seen a ghost, but at second glance, it was clear that this teenager was a new acquaintance. "Now, tell me, who is this handsome young man?" she asked, as if she was implying something. It was as though she wanted to be the first one to be made aware of an exclusive news.

"Oh, erm, this is Elijah Fowl. He's Artemis's half-brother. He was one of the first people to visit me after the Games," explained Silyah, running a hand through a strand of her hair.

The boy slightly bowed his head. "I'm the one who will accompany her during the tour."

"It's lovely to meet you," Effie walked over to him, greeting him like she had greeted the Hunger Games victor.

At this moment, a swarm of people entered the house and Silyah finally understood what Effie had meant by prep teams.

"Clockwork Angel! How I missed you!" cried Xarone with excitement. "I can't wait to show you what we have in store for you! You're going to love it!" He grinned, nearly clapping. He then observed the girl carefully. "Hmm, not so bad… We'll be able to work with that," he said, giving her a wink as the members of the small army each took their turn at kissing Silyah's cheeks.

When it was his turn to be introduced, Elijah almost wished he could have turned invisible, but sadly, that was not one of the abilities he possessed.

"The resemblance is shocking," murmured a woman with brown and black braided hair, which almost reached her knees; both she and the yellow-haired man beside her contemplated Elijah.

"If I may intervene, we're going to run late if we don't get started right away. I suggest you both hurry up and take a bath so the stylists may get to work as soon as possible," said Effie, eyeing the watch on Xarone's arm.

"Both?" repeated Elijah. "You have been informed that I will never be seen on camera, right?"

"Of course, but if you have to take part in this tour, you'll have to be dressed accordingly," explained Xarone as though it was an obvious fact. "Izolt, Throika and Marshia will get you ready and Ilranor will dress you up."

Elijah sent an alarmed gaze in Silyah's direction, but it was too late for the two teenagers who were both whisked away in different bathrooms; Ilranor's team invading the one on the first floor as Xarone's dragged Silyah to the one beside her bedroom on the second floor.

After some time spent in the skilled hands of her prep team and stylist, Silyah emerged from her room, dressed in a black jacket with sharp lines worn over a simple dark tank top and high-waisted pants of the same shade. Rather than being shoved into torture instruments, her feet had been dressed up in chunky casual-looking heels, which were comfortable enough. As far as accessories went, Xarone had insisted on making the girl wear her gold aremèsia pendant under her jacket and the silver bracelet that had been her token in the arena around her wrist.

Once she got to the kitchen, she met up with a fresh and dashing, yet perhaps still slightly traumatized Elijah, who was making small talk with Effie. The woman sporting a pale blue lipstick turned to Silyah as soon as she noticed her.

"Oh! Isn't she beautiful? Dark makeup really accentuates your pretty blue eyes!" she smiled enthusiastically as she glanced back towards Elijah, who nodded absent-mindedly. She looked back towards Silyah, collecting herself to go back to business. "The camera crew just came back from interviewing your family and they started filming some of your artwork since we were starting to have a tight schedule. As soon as they'll be done with that, you'll have to go with them to say a few words on camera."

As if on cue, someone arrived in the kitchen to request Silyah's presence in her small art studio so that they could film her while she talked about her talent; something which was mandatory for every victor.

Since they weren't required to work or go to school, the winners of the Hunger Games all required an activity to both occupy their time and entertain the Capitol audience. For Silyah, finding a something of the sort had not been too difficult. Even before the Games, she had been interested in multiple art-related fields, such as drawing, writing and sewing. With her newly acquired fortune, she had been able to get a decent camera and multiple computers to try her hand at photography and image editing, which she relatively enjoyed. The girl had not worked on many projects since her return from the Capitol, but with what she had already done, she had a sufficient number of creations to show off to the world.

In a little more than an hour, the Hunger Games victor had wrapped every scene that had to be shot indoors, in addition to having recorded some voice-over that would eventually be used in the final montage of the introductory Victory Tour footage. Shortly after finishing up, Silyah found herself in her hall once again, surrounded by her expanded District 3 team. Outside, the camera crew was beginning to set up their material.

As Elijah and his new prep team were being briefed on the procedure they'd have to follow to avoid appearing on camera, Xarone was dressing Silyah up, adding a black wool cowl, delicate laser-cut leather gloves and stiletto winter boots to her current outfit.

"Places everyone! We'll be going live soon! This will be the first outdoor shot and it will consist of our departure for the train station!" beamed Effie's voice as she caught sight of the time, startling Silyah, whom she was turning to. "Now, dear, everyone will be watching, so smile and be graceful!"

"Graceful? With those boots the best I can do is look 50% steady. Not to mention that there will be snowy stairs involved."

Elijah suppressed a chuckle. That girl was unbelievable; her greatest fears seemed to range from being killed to walking down a set of five stairs… Perhaps snow was the thing that linked the two scenarios.

"Hey, you! No laughing," Silyah shot him a deadly glare and the boy took half a step back. He raised his palms in front of him, but his smug grin was still plastered on his subtly made-up face. "I'd like to see you walk with heels that high."

From behind Silyah, Effie cleared her throat. "Remember, big smile!" You're going on an exciting trip after all!" The brunette barely had the time to put on a fake grin that Effie was shoving her right out of the door. "Just take it one step at the time!" she told the girl as she threw her out.

For a fragment of a second, Silyah was taken aback by Effie's advice. Yes, to be able to get through this trip, she would have to stay smart and take everything one step at the time.