Chapter Thirty-Eight; Lights, Camera, Action!

(Stephanie's POV)

The noise was reaching extraordinary levels even for the amount of people crowded in the place.

They were currently still in a sort of reception area while Capitol officials made their way swiftly through the gathering crowd, registering tributes as they came across them.

It was also duly noted that as the last tributes arrived, the doors to the building were shut and locked with Capitol guards standing on either side of them.

Stephanie barely registered the prick on her finger as she was counted in, Isa babbling away excitedly.

The place was overwhelming. The stairs were not too far away, the bannisters on either side of them huge metal contortions expertly crafted, yet if push came to shove (literally) they wouldn't stop you plummeting to the white marble floor below. Everywhere she looked Stephanie could see white doors, opening and closing with people rushing out of them. There was a hall to her far right ahead that the registered tributes seemed to be being ushered down.

Frenkin was pressed against her side. She could almost feel him trembling.

Stephanie looked around at this… pandemonium, and thought one thing.

She needed Haymitch.

Both her and Frenkin's stylists were talking happily with one another, giving delighted squeals when they seemed to recognise people of note coming out of the rooms. Her stylists' silent spell this morning seemed to be forgotten at least, Stephanie thought.

Isa was doing her best to point out famous stylists or photographers as they passed, but Stephanie could barely hear her.

Every other stylist and escort in the room was doing the same for their tributes and it had to be said that a lot of the other tributes were a considerably more talk-active than Stephanie or Frenkin. Though maybe it had something to do with the camera crews circling the crowd to get shots like vultures, who were also making as much noise shouting out orders and such. Then there was the Capitol officials talking and trying to get people to move. The high walls of the room seemed to reverberate every single sound tenfold so all in all there was a bloody huge din of noise.

A Capitol official spoke to Isa briefly and moved off just as quickly.

"What did she say Isa?" Stephanie asked the escort.

"She said move."

Frenkin despite his little strength managed to grapple until he caught Stephanie before she crashed to the hard floor.

Stephanie righted herself, pushing herself off Frenkin for a moment and rounded on Ficen.

"What the hell was that for?" Stephanie snarled, hands clenched into fists by her sides.

She saw a couple of guards nearby drift casually closer to them.

Stephanie knew she hadn't a chance. This was Ficen's territory, and boy did Ficen know it, if the smirk plastered on her face was anything to go by.

"She said move down the hall," Ficen repeated loudly, her words surprisingly clear above the din.

Stephanie let out her breath through clenched teeth and then turned on her heel to make for the hall.

All the while she could practically feel Ficen's gaze burning a hole in her back.

They were shown into a large room that reminded her of the room they were shown to when they first arrived to be styled. It had individual 'stations' for each tribute and their styling team that were organised in a grid-like fashion. The room was white, walls and ceiling, and the floor was checkerboard. Frosted glass changing screens with their district numbers on them gave their own area some privacy and when pulled out made the little area seem like a surprisingly spacious cubicle.

Ficen was already marching towards theirs and Stephanie followed her reluctantly.

She and Frenkin were facing one another but they only got to share the briefest of glances with one another before the screens were pulled across so they may change.

Stephanie noticed immediately the tense atmosphere in the way Lashes, Bright and Silver stood to the side awkwardly while Ficen pillaged through the outfits that were hung up on a rail in the far corner.

On either side of her Stephanie could hear the excited chatter of other stylists and tributes, and it only made the silence of her own that much more peculiar.

Ficen picked out an outfit and immediately Lashes, Bright and Silver got to work on picking out the appropriate accessories to go with it from the other tables of things.

Stephanie obediently started to unbutton the blazer, slipping it from her shoulders and then unzipping the skirt and letting it pool on the ground around her feet. All which she insisted on doing behind the cover of the rail of clothes.

She took down the dress. It was long – to her ankles, with a huge split up one side to about her mid-thigh and strapless. Stephanie sighed. She would never understand why stylists felt fit to leave out what she considered highly important parts of her clothing, like sleeves and half a skirt, etcetera. It was fitted and yet loose enough not to have her gasping for air. She was surprised that it was jet black, as she had half expected it to be neon orange if Isa had chosen it.

She slipped it on over her head, tugging it down. It was made of some velvety material that was actually quite soft, Stephanie conceded. There was some sort of silver design that ran the whole way up the dress in a thick band from just above the mid-thigh split until the top of her dress.

She was given jewellery, mostly silver and diamonds in keeping with the theme. Stephanie only hoped there was no powerful magnet nearby or she was done for. She had to wear crisp white gloves that went the whole way up to her upper arms and were a real effort to get on and off. Black shoes with a silver heel that Stephanie glared at, was her footwear.

A short time later and there was a smart rap on the screen that led onto the 'aisle' down the centre of the stations. A voice told them they had to be in room 107 in five minutes.

Stephanie fleetingly wondered if there were really that many rooms or did they just like to make it seem like there were.

Ficen 'shooed' or rather more along the lines of scared away Lashes, Bright and Silver to the said room to "prepare" she said.

Stephanie tried to ignore the charged atmosphere that resided, ready to turn volatile and explode at one wrong word or movement.

She dropped her gaze to her hands, thinking how if Ficen didn't make a move in the next minute she was just going to get up and leave to try and find the room by herself.

Stephanie gasped sharply as the feeling of cold metal slid around her throat and she looked up, the colour instantly draining from her face as she recognised the silver and blue necklace.

"Isn't there a different necklace I can wear?" Stephanie asked testily.

Ficen smirked slightly. "What's wrong with this one?" she asked innocently.

"Nothing," Stephanie managed through gritted teeth. She got up and followed Ficen stiffly along to the said room 107.

Stephanie did her best to stifle the nerves, but she just couldn't help the feeling of being disorientated and lost without Haymitch near to reassure her.