When I wake up, I have dry tears staining my face and my pillow. When I have nightmares, I don't jolt awake and scream like my Mom, I stay asleep through the misery. Last night's terrors were filled with President Rose's dark features hunting down Iris and slitting her throat. At some point, my Dad turned into a wolf mutt and tried to kill Mom. And, I was chased around by the boy from 4 in the woods. He held a trident in his right hand, ready to throw at my chest.
Through the window in my cabin, I see the morning sun rising in the sky, flooding the room with a bright yellow color Iris loves. Almost on cue, Safa knocks on the door to tell me breakfast is ready. I brush my hair and teeth, splash some cold water on my face, then change into some trousers and a black long sleeve. I walk into the dining cart and see Daton and Safa sitting at the table. I sit down in front of him and wait for the food to be served. "Good morning, Daton." I'll try my best to be kind to him today. "Good morning, at least you're nice to me," He replies. Unlike many other victors, he hasn't fallen to alcohol or morphling. But, he has declined to food—lots of it.
It's kind of funny, actually. The victor from District 12 of all places, eats his weight at every meal. "So," I say. "Are you ready to give us some advice?" I try to keep the tone friendly, but some snarkiness seeps its way through. Xavier walks into the car and sits next to me as I speak.
"You're the daughter of Katniss and Peeta, right?" Daton asks me. "Yeah. I already know I've got a target on my back," I reply. "Well, maybe to President Rose and the other tributes. But, the audience will be all over you. You'll be a crowd favorite, the second you step into the Capitol. I mean, imagine how they'll react to seeing the daughter of two victors, and not just any victors, the star-crossed lovers of District 12!" He laughs mockingly.
"Yeah we get it, can you help us out now?" Xavier snaps lightly. "Hang on Snappy, today you both need to learn how to please your audience," Daton explains. "Willow, you may already have some sponsors on your side, but you, Xavier, don't have them yet. Now, if you can clean up your stubborn attitude, you'll easily win them over."
"Be nice, boys," Safa tells them. "As I was saying," Daton says. "When we get to the Capitol station, there will be paparazzi and people asking you questions, especially you, Willow. Do not answer their questions, just smile and wave. The longer you keep them guessing who you really are, the better."
"How is that better?" I ask. "Save the personal info for the tribute interviews the night before the games," He replies. "It'll surprise them."
Some attendants set out platers in front of us, placing four for Daton. The meal is a cooked chicken egg placed on top of a steak with some grain underneath. On the side is some fresh fruit covered in a sweet syrup. We eat in silence except for Safa's occasional comments on the food. "Alright, children," Safa says, dabbing her face with a napkin. "We have a busy day ahead of us, and we're almost there, so you should prepare yourselves."
Everything in the train goes dark for a second as we pass through a tunnel, which I guess leads into the Capitol. We exit the tunnel, and I see the giant mountains surrounding the huge white buildings of the Capitol. There's a dam passing under the train track, which I know was destroyed some time ago and rebuilt. "Woah," Xavier says. "I know, right!" Safa exclaims. "Yeah, don't get too distracted by the pleasantries," Daton says. "What he means is," Safa says. "Enjoy yourselves here."
The train loops around the city before stopping at what I assume is the Tribute Center. "Okay, children, it's time to leave." Safa starts to push us towards the doors. We both stand in beside each other, and the doors open in front of us. There are about 20 Capitol reporters all trying to shove their cameras and microphones in my face.
"Willow! How are your parents doing?" Probably horrible right now.
"Can you shoot arrows like your mom?" I'm not really allowed to say.
"Why did you volunteer for that little girl?" Because I'd rather have Rose slaughter me than my little sister.
A few others try to catch an answer from me, shoving their microphones in my face. We walk through the doors into the Tribute Center, and the voices disappear behind us. "Alright, your prep teams will take you to get all cleaned up, then you'll meet your stylist," Safa explains. Capitol attendants take Xavier and I through hallways, then separate us into small rooms.
In my room, there's a girl with long purple hair with bangs. She has purple eyes and a slight lavender tint to her skin as well. To her right is another girl with dark skin and big, curly blue-green hair. On the other side of the room is a man with artificial blue eyes, short purple hair, and white skin. The girl with the purple eyes approaches me. "Hi, my name is Pixi," She introduces herself. "That's Denny," She points to the boy. "And, that's Turquoise," She points to the other girl.
"We're going to be your prep team for the games!" Pixi exclaims happily. Her voice is high pitched, but gentle compared to the Capitol accents nearly everyone else here has. "We're going to give you a small makeover and prep you to meet your stylist," Denny explains.
I nod as Turquoise guides me to a table to lay on. They strip me down and place a thin, blue gown on me.
Denny starts to brush through my hair as Pixi and Turquoise begin to rip the hairs off my body. I've never been waxed or shaved before, so each rip off my body feels like it's taking ten layers of skin with it. It feels like hours of waxing both my body and face before they finally stop. They strip me of the gown they placed on me and start hosing off my body with showerheads. Pixi starts plucking away at some of my eyebrow hairs as the door opens.
I sit up slightly to see who it is. A woman, tall and slender, walks in. She has dark coffee-colored skin that is covered with gold glitter on the prominent parts. She wears a red dress with lace going down to her knees. "What did I tell you guys about stripping them down completely," She says. "It makes them uncomfortable."
"Sorry, Seraphina," Pixi apologizes. The woman looks towards me, then hands me the thin gown. "Hi, my name is Seraphina, and I'm going to be your stylist." I put on the gown again and fix my hair the way I like it. "I'm Willow," I reply. "I know who you are, Willow Mellark." She waves her hand, and the prep team leaves. "I like my clients to be comfortable, and they make everyone uncomfortable," She says. I smile a bit at her comment. "Listen," She says. "I know you're going through a difficult time right now. So, I'm going to try and make it as relaxing and enjoyable as I possibly can. First, we need to find a way to wow the audience tonight at the Tribute Parade."
She opens up her notebook and flips through a few pages. "I've already talked about the outfits with Xavier's stylist, Angel, and we've decided to not have you two go out in a flaming suit."
"Really? That's all they've been doing for years." I reply. "Yes, that's why we want to change that. Make you two stand out. Here, look at this," She shows me her notebook, and I see the sketches. It's an all-black dress, but instead of being shiny like others wore in the past, it's completely matte. The dress itself will have some smoke radiating off it, but no fire like my Mom's dress.
"So instead of looking like a girl on fire, or a random mine worker, you'll look like actual coal your District has started to harvest again," She explains. It's a pretty basic idea, but the execution will be beautiful. "It looks amazing," I say. "Alright, well, let's get you started," She replies. The prep team walks back into the room on cue and starts to set up my makeup.
It takes nearly an hour, but when I'm done, I see they've kept the dark makeup subtle, but present. There's a light dusting of black eyeshadow going all around my eye, and on the lid is a gold glitter. My lips and face stay relatively plain as well, and my dark hair has been curled even more than normal. Seraphina brings in my dress and helps me slip it on. It's just what I had imagined from the sketches. It's a matte black, long dress. The top wraps around my neck, showing off my arms and back. There are small wisps of smoke radiating off from the bottom and crawling their way up. "It's perfect," I say.
"You look stunning!" Denny exclaims suddenly. I laugh a slight thank you out to him before we all walk out of the room and to the chariot loading station. We're one of the first people ready, even before Xavier, so I spend a few minutes petting the dark horse that will lead my chariot.
"Wow, you look pretty terrifying,"
I turn around and see the boy from District 4, the same one in my dreams last night. "Let me guess, District 12? I can tell by the mysterious darkness that radiates from you," He says. I nod and look at his outfit. "Let me guess, District 4? I can tell by the lack of clothing on your body," I say. He's shirtless, showing off his toned stomach and arms, and he has some netted shorts on the lower half of his body. "Yep, you got it," He laughs out. He flashes a smile at me, showing off his perfect teeth.
"I'm Jay Douglas," He says. "Willow Mellark," I reply. "Oh, Mellark? Like the daughter of the star crossed lovers?" He's a bit stunned. "Yeah, guess it's pretty insane, right?" I reply. "Well, I will say you look stunning in that getup," He tells me with a smirk. No one other than family has ever complimented me like that. I catch myself blushing at his words, but thankfully, he probably can't see it underneath the thick makeup. "Thank you," I say, deciding to play along with whatever game he's playing. "You don't look too bad yourself, Jay."
He smiles, and I swear I can see a faint blush appear on his face. "Thank you," He says. "I'll see you later, Willow." He walks away to his chariot as Xavier approaches me. "Who was that?" He asks. "Jay from 4," I respond. He's wearing something similar to my dress, except in a shirt and pants. His top is cut off at the sleeves, which shows off his arms, and his pants radiate the same smoke as mine. Now, more tributes have appeared. The careers keep staring at me strangely and I can't tell if they want me as an ally, or if they're thinking of ways to kill me.
"Alright," Seraphina says as she approaches us. "You guys look incredible, it's nearly time to load up." Daton and Safa walk towards us, Daton with some sort of small cake in hand and Safa with a wide smile. "Oh, my word! You look stunning, Willow!" Safa exclaims. "Hey, you two look somewhat badass," Daton says. "Good job Sera."
"Tributes mount up, tributes mount up." The speakers go off, and the fanfare starts to play. "Alright, It's showtime!" Daton yells, slightly tipsy. Xavier and I stand side by side in the chariot. "Smile and wave kids, it's your time," Daton says. "Look like you couldn't be happier to be here when you get out there, okay?" Seraphina says. We both nod in response, and the horse starts to gallop forward.
I nearly fall backward, but Xavier grabs my hand to stabilize me. "Thank you," I chuckle. "No problem, I'll help you stay standing," He responds. Throughout the whole ride, he grips onto my hand to help me stand straight up. The crowd goes wild once they see me. My parents are still loved here despite the fact my Mom turned 13 districts against them, and on top of that, killed their president. I smile and wave at them, occasionally blowing kisses. I look over to Xavier and see him smiling at a group of young girls, probably about our age. So far, we've gotten along excellent. I couldn't ask for a better District partner.
Xavier and I are like instant best friends, I guess he just has that effect on people. We were never close and rarely ever saw each other out of school, but he's always been kind to myself and other kids. He floats around between the wrestling boys and some of the merchant kids because his family owns the tailor shop Iris loves. They make the standard clothing for the District, but also make some colorful dresses Iris constantly begs for.
The chariots park in a semi-circle below the balcony President Rose sits in. Our horse comes to a stop just as Rose stands to face the crowd. The crowd gives an applause to rival mine, and he waves his hand to them. The crowd silences as his lips open to speak. "Welcome Tributes," Rose starts. He's still young, only in his 40's, but he's already had so much Capitol surgery done. His face is inhumanly defined to match his sharp, commanding voice. Both his hair and eyes are jet black, and his suit is all white with a red rose pinned to the right side of his chest.
"Welcome. We salute your courage and your honor. And, we wish you a happy Hunger Games and may the odds be ever in your favor!" The crowd cheers for him, and the chariots start to make their final loop around the Avenue, before the horses stop in the same place we mounted up. Xavier and I step off our chariots and walk towards our happy prep teams. "Oh, that was incredible!" Seraphina exclaims happily. "Nice job kids, now we can start talking about that survival stuff Xavier so desperately wants to discuss," Daton says, patting him on the back.
"Willow," Xavier whispers in my ear. "Behind you." I turn around and see Jay walking towards me. I walk away from my group and catch the glares of some of the other tributes. "Wow," Jay says. "What a showstopper you are, Miss Mellark." I smile a bit at his comment. "Well, the crowd was quite literally drooling over your chest muscles, so you're the real showstopper here," I reply playfully.
"Well, Willow, I may need to ask Daton Fields over there to put in a good word for me, you're too pretty to not be on my side." He flashes another smile at me. I catch myself blushing again before realizing what he's trying to do. He's trying to win me over so we can be allies in the arena. I'm sure a lot of other tributes are thinking about it as well. Or, maybe he's trying to fake a relationship between the two of us so he can win.
Jay is using his charm to lure me into his death trap. I shouldn't be stupid like this, he's planning on killing me. I walk closer to him, nearly up against his chest, stand up on the tips of my toes, and whisper in his ear. "What makes you think I wouldn't be on your side, Jay." I catch his stunned expression and bright blush before walking away.
Two can play at this game.