Hi folks, here I am again. Thanks for reading. Much love!
When they reached the end of the tunnel, there was so much light it was blinding. Huge pretty buildings and structures everywhere. And spectators. So many people had lined up along the railroads to catch a glimpse of the tributes. Daniel was at the window, waving and smiling at them.
First thing, all the tributes were brought to the basement of their training center where they would be made to look nice for the opening ceremony. Regina's stylist was a blonde woman who had dragon scales tattooed onto both her arms, but otherwise she looked fairly normal. "Hello Regina, I'm Mal and I'm supposed to let you look nice", she introduced herself. She seemed nice. Well, Regina was obviously lucky, the two Capitol people she would have to deal with were kind.
There was not much to do to prepare her since her mother had always made sure she was well groomed. That's why Mal decided to only put makeup on her face, style the hair and dress her pretty. "For the opening ceremony, the tributes are supposed to dress in a way to symbolize the goods their district make for the Capitol. Since District 8 is textile, you can go with literally any clothing, which gives me a lot of liberties. And since your name literally means Queen, I just had the perfect idea for you. I am going to let you look like the queen you are, my dear. Close your eyes and let me surprise you."
When the stylist was done, and led her to a mirror, Regina didn't recognize herself. She was dressed in a purple gown that clung to her body hugging it like a second skin. Black details here and there were weaving through the material like vines. Mal had decided to use little makeup to only complement her natural beauty. Her long dark hair was flowing down her back with the natural curls enhanced. For the first time in forever, Regina truly felt beautiful. What a difference fabric could make.
"You look gorgeous, your majesty. And that scar on your lip makes you look like a total badass queen. Now, all that's missing is the victor's crown. The spectators are going to love you, my dear", Mal said. "Thank you so much for making me pretty", Regina said humbly. "Nonsense, the honor is mine. I've never felt so inspired just from seeing a girl before. You are like a canvas that begs me to paint it. It's an honor to work with you. Just so you know, I'm already planning your dresses for the victory tour." Oh, if only the woman knew.
In the catacombs, Regina and Daniel met again. He was wearing a noble ensemble as well, he was was clad in black with purple details woven in to complement her dress. They were different, but still belonged together. Their stylists had truly made a miracle. Their carriage and horses were a gorgeous black with purple decorations. It all looked like an ensemble piece. Regina let her gaze wander around to the other tributes.
All the way in the front, next to their carriage with noble white steeds, were the tributes from District 1, Jack and James. They were obviously a pair and very public about it, nauseatingly so. As if they didn't know that only one of them would come out of this alive. However, both were dangerous and very skilled, they had been training for this moment for years.
Right next to Regina stood District 7. The boy, whose name was August, looked so stiff, as if he was made from wood. Which was ironic given that district 7 supplied the capitol with wood.
District 2 was represented by Abigail and Arthur, two typical career tributes, just like 1. They were looking around judging, thinking they were above the others. The chances that the winner would be from district 1 or 2 were insanely high.
A sound signal rang and alerted the tributes to mount their carriages before they were headed onto the plaza to be paraded around.
The audience was cheering for their favorites, most of course for the first two districts. The next ones didn't get much attention, but then came district 8. Heads turned towards the enchanting beauty in purple. They shouted her name and threw roses. Regina felt like a piece of meat brought to slaughter under applause. The same applause that her killer would get in about a week. Thankfully, her mask still sat perfectly.
Over years, she had learned to never show her real emotions, that came in handy right now. It gave her the strength to smile while headed towards her own funeral. She chanced a glance upwards to the huge screens that showed their faces and if she didn't know any better, she wouldn't know she had already given up before the games had officially begun.
Even when all the carriages were parked on the main plaza and the president stepped out onto the balcony, she still felt the stares on her back like daggers. Well, at least they prepared her for the real deal she would get in about a week.
As soon as President Snow White stood in front of the microphone, the mass went quiet. Regina didn't hear what she was saying, she was too horrified by this creature that exuded so much darkness and evilness. Her autopilot took over once again and she stood tall and straight.
When Snow White was done, the carriages were pulled back into the catacombs where they dismounted. Many hateful and jealous glances were thrown towards the girl that had stolen the show, but Regina didn't notice them.
They were led to an elevator that would bring them to their floors. Each district had the floor with the number of the district to themselves, pretty easy. The elevator went up so fast that ears were popping. Regina didn't even want to imagine how hard it had to be for the tributes who had to go higher.
The loft was spacious and could easily fit more than just 2 tributes, 1 mentor, 2 stylists and 1 escort. Regina's room was far too big for her. The bed alone was about as big as her whole room back home. She quickly went to take a shower, to wash away the color from her face.
Stepping out wrapped in a towel that smelled fresher than mint, she went to her bed. The dress that she had carefully laid down before was replaced by a light purple shirt and black slacks. Someone had definitely gotten her taste, purple was her favorite color.
She put on the garments and went to the dining area where dinner was already prepared on the table. Daniel entered at the same time as her. "There is our queen of the day", he smiled warmly. Regina didn't know what to reply. She wanted to thank him for the kind words, but at the same time they were cutting through her like knives because all the beauty in the world wouldn't make a difference.
Again, Daniel dug in at the table while Regina opted for a salad and her favorite fruit, apples. She loved their fresh sweetness so much, one might say she had an obsession with the red fruit. She had never tasted apples as delicious as these and so she indulged herself. "Regal as a queen and has a thing for apples, I could build you your perfect persona, my dear", Mal said.
"This just screams Evil Queen. Just imagine what I could do with you, we could make them fear you and-" "I'd rather not play some role", Regina said. "I want to die as myself, please, not as a character."
"Okay", Mal relented, and that's one of the things Regina instantly loved her for. She let her speak her wishes and would never do anything she didn't want. Regina trusted Mal more than anyone. She would let Mal surprise her with what she came up for the interview in the end.
The next morning, their training began. Always over punctual, Regina was one of the first to arrive. When all the others had arrived, the instructor gave them a short introduction to the different stations and rules. They could go from station to station as they wanted and practice. Fighting with tributes was not allowed and it was recommended to not only practice already learned skills, but also learn new ones.
When they were allowed to begin, the careers immediately moved to the combat stations, which was to be expected. Some tributes just stayed in the middle of the room without a plan. Regina eventually went to the survival stations. The smart move would be to use the training time to make connections and potentially forge alliances, but none of the tributes seemed trustworthy to her and thus, she stayed by herself.
Regina started with the nature survival lessons about edible and non-edible foods and knots, the instructors were happy to see someone caring about their disciplines. There was also a mind training station that she found intriguing. It was about coordination and quick thinking and logic and she spent hours there. The entire first day passed like that.
The next one, she decided to try out some combat techniques. The station with the throwing knives was empty at the moment because the careers had moved on to the speers from there, so Regina approached the station. The instructor showed her throwing techniques and showed her to the practice targets. A couple of figures were drawn on the wall with targets on head and chest. She lifted the first knife and threw it. It sunk into the center of the head target.
"You're a natural", the instructor remarked. "Lucky hit", she replied. In reality, she had a natural accuracy and perfect hand-eye-coordination that allowed her to hit whatever she was aiming at. She tried a few more, all hitting perfectly.
But Regina didn't see targets anymore.
She saw living beings with knives sticking out of their bodies and blood streaming out of the wounds, and she couldn't. She dropped the knives she still had in her hand and ran to the bathroom. She couldn't do this, she couldn't kill! She didn't want to hurt anyone.
When she returned, someone else was at the knife station, a boy. She remembered him from watching the reapings. He was Will from district 10. He seemed like he had been a fun teenager before all this had happened. If he somehow survived the games, Regina hoped desperately that he could ever find his humor again. But since he was clogging the station, she opted to go somewhere else. Archery was free, so she went there.
It went just like with the knives, she instinctively hit every target. Everything she did, she did with 100% accuracy. But the bow and arrow felt a little more comfortable, they didn't feel so much like a murder instrument. Of course, she was fooling herself, but it made it easier to stomach it.
"So, what are you gonna do in your individual training session?", Daniel asked after the third day. "I'm not sure yet. I guess I'll just walk in there and do the first thing that comes to mind." Regina hadn't decided on a strategy yet. Maybe, if she scored low enough, she could fly under the other tributes' radar. But would that really work with the attention she had already gotten?
"What about you?", she threw the ball back to him. "I think I'll do knots", he said. He was deft and had skilled hands, he might do well. And just like Regina, he preferred the survival and defensive skills. Just District 8's luck that they'd get two pacifists in the same year.
That night, she couldn't sleep. Of course, she was sure nothing she did would make a difference to her imminent death, but that pesky part of her that just wouldn't give up kept debating what to show the gamemakers.
A high enough score would draw even more attention to her. That would bring sponsor gifts, that would never reach her since Gold had made it clear she was on her own in the arena. Could mentors do that? Withhold gifts from the tributes they were given to and potentially send them to another? Well, she would put nothing past Gold.
With a low enough score she could maybe lose the attention she had gotten, maybe the others would write her off. She could come across as a doll that was pretty on the outside but with no brain inside. That could actually work if she was just convincing enough.
Her mind was made up. She would aim for the lowest score possible.
The individual training sessions were held in order of the districts, the boy always before the girl. Regina wished Daniel good luck before he left her in the room with the tributes from 9 to 12. It took about fifteen minutes before she was called in.
She came to standing in the middle of the room, waiting for someone to tell her to begin. But the gamemakers were all distracted. Well, what did it matter? Taking a breath, Regina headed towards the station with the ropes and made some knots, purposely making them as loose as possible. After she finished a third one, one of the gamemakers told her she could leave. So someone had noticed her presence after all.
In the evening, the whole team was sat in front of the screen in the loft for the announcement of the scores. The careers from 1 and 2 scored high, nines and a ten. The girl from 3 also scored a nine. Regina hadn't had any interaction with Belle, but she seemed very intelligent. Nothing outstanding afterwards. Then, it was Daniel's turn. 7.
"Congratulations!", they all congratulated him and cheered. Seven points was decent and not something tributes from District 8 got often. Regina was up next. She closed her eyes and hoped for a 3 or 2. Her score was announced. 11.
Eleven. No. This couldn't be.
"Awesome, dear. You did so good!", Mal said. "No. I don't understand." Regina was trying to wrap her mind around this. "I was going for the pretty but brainless doll to make them forget about me. I didn't do much, I was aiming for a low score. Guess that's not a option anymore."
"I think they realized this would have been the outcome if they had rated you low. But they want you to be in top of the list. They want you in the thick of things. For show, obviously", Gold said. "Well, there goes my one chance." Regina got up and left. She would change her strategy. Enjoy her last day and hope for a quick death in the arena.
The next morning, she was woken up early by Tink. "Good morning, your majesty. It's time to get up so I can prepare you for your interview." Oh right, the interview. Another occasion for her to look pretty. After breakfast, rolls with apple jam and apple juice, they went to sit on the couch.
"What do you want to portray when you're up there?", Tink asked. "Portray? I want to just be myself. I don't want to be remembered as someone I'm not." "Fine", Tink relented. "And what is there to yourself that you can present?"
That was the problem. There was nothing she could say about herself. She wasn't talented in any field, nor was she smart, or pretty if it wasn't for Mal helping her. Cora had always made sure to beat her daughter down and kill every tad of self-worth the girl had.
"I'm nobody. I'm just a girl that people love because someone made her pretty dresses and the gamemakers gave her an undeserved high rating. None of this has anything to do with me!"
"Well, we can definitely go with modest and humble", Tink said. "You can say how happy you are at the opportunity to be made so pretty, you can give a shoutout to Mal. You can be the girl that can't believe she made it to this beautiful city. You could compliment our apples", she joked.
Yes, Regina had indeed never tasted apples as good as the ones here. But that was probably because everything made for the capitol had high standard while they couldn't care less about the inhabitants of the districts. Regina had planted her own apple tree in the yard years back. It died due to the poisoned air.
Tink ran practice questions with her and tried to bring out character, but nothing really worked. "Well, just be honest and give as much information as you want. When you really don't want to respond to something, twist Sidney's words to compliment the audience, that always works."
Due to the brutal teachings of Cora Mills, her posture and behavior was already perfect, so when Tink gave up with the talking part, she gave her the afternoon off. Regina spent it looking out of the window gazing up to the clouds.
When the time came, Mal found her and brought her to her room where she applied some makeup and touched up the curls. She had always kept the hair open, flowing like waves. Her dress was again purple, just how the girl liked it. But this one was far more elaborate and with more detail. Many tiny diamonds made it sparkle in the light. "Thank you, Mal", Regina whispered. "You're gonna do great", the stylist encouraged her. Regina shook her head.
She was led out towards the backstage area, drawing a few glares again. She got in line just when the fanfare announced the begin of the show. "Just another parade for the pig ready for slaughter."
Jack and James both portrayed the lovesick, but deadly, couple, that would definitely score them points with both the audience and sponsors. Abigail was more the calculating type, but also spoiled, while Arthur was a warhorse. Constantly boasting and being arrogant. He would easily be tricked or stabbed in the back, maybe even by the other careers when they couldn't stand him anymore.
Next up was the quiet girl from 3, Belle was actually likeable, she portrayed herself as the shy and kind little girl Regina had seen in training.
The girl from 4 was named Ariel. How original, a redhead from the fishing district named after the little mermaid. August from 7 was still totally rigid. He was like a real life Pinocchio.
Then it was her turn. Her name was announced, but Regina could hardly hear it over the cheering.
"Welcome Regina", Sidney said. "Wow, that was one warm welcome you got there." "Yes, the people of the capitol have been very welcoming to me. Thank you for your hospitality and love", she said to the audience. Well, that was starting off well. "Yes indeed", Sidney agreed.
"What do you like best from your stay here?" "Many things. Starting with the gorgeous dresses my stylist made for me. Mal is the best." She blew an air-kiss towards the woman who was immediately sought out by the cameras. Mal did a little bow for them, which gave Regina a few seconds to think about what to do next.
"The other thing I absolutely adore here are the apples." "Apples?", Sidney asked. "Yes, apples. As in the red fruit that grows on trees." She had the laughs of the audience with that joke. "I have never tasted apples as sweet as these."
Sidney went on to ask her about her training score. Great, what was she supposed to do now? "Well, I have many talents that I keep hidden", she said. "I wouldn't want to give my secrets away." She decided to go for mysterious. "I'm sure you have. One more round of applause for Regina Mills, everyone!" He let her bow and make her exit.
Behind the scenes, she was approached by Tink. "That was wonderful, dear. You are the gorgeous and humble, yet mysterious, girl. The audience learned next to nothing about you, but in a way that increased their interest. You have their hearts."
Will from 10 was funny during his interview. He had gotten a score of 3, but he was still optimistic. Either he had found his brightness again or he had learned how to pretend very well. None of the other tributes stood out.
Regina stayed up late that night, wanting to see the stars one last time. She lost herself in them. In district 8, she could almost never see them, the fumes from the factories were always clouding the sky. But here, it was clear. Just as clear as Regina's knowledge of her impending death.