Chapter 3: The Girl on Fire

I watch helplessly as the monstrous boy from District 2 closes in on her. Then, without warning, the sword plunges into her body and she falls to the ground. I manage to make my way to her, dragging my injured leg behind me. I hold her limp body hopelessly in my hands as the boy turns to me to finish me off.

I wake with a start. My body has broken into a cold sweat, and my heart is pounding. Everything about that dream was so painstakingly real. I look out the window and see the sunlight streaming in. We will be arriving in the Capitol today. I strip off my sweaty clothes, shower, and dress in something clean.

When I enter the dining car, the only person there is Haymitch. This is good; maybe I can talk strategy with him while he's sober.

"How are you feeling?" I ask. He can't be feeling too great. He might not have remembered any of our conversation last night.

"Hung over. What exactly happened last night?" My heart sinks. Nothing I said has stayed with him. I might as well have been talking to a sack of flour last night.

"Well you stained the carpet and your clothes, and then I asked you to save Katniss instead of me." Might as well get straight to the point.

"How very selfless of you. All hail the conquering hero! What's wrong with you? Don't you have someone you want to go back to?"

"My family can live without me. Katniss' can't. I have no one who cares about me anyways. The only person I would have to go back to is her, and obviously we both know that can't happen. She barely knows I exist anyways."

"That right there is something I can work with, kid. You have potential. Why are you so set on letting her have all the glory? You do realize you're supposed to be enemies, not lovers." Haymitch seems to find this idea hilarious and breaks into a laugh. I can't stop the blood that rushes to my cheeks.

At this moment, Katniss walks into the room. I don't know how much she heard but she definitely saw the blush on my face. She doesn't say anything though; she just sits down and begins to fill her plate.

"So, Haymitch, you're supposed to be our mentor right? Got any advice?" Katniss says.

"Stay alive," Haymitch says with a laugh as he pours something out of a flask into his orange juice. I am so enraged by this that I knock the flask out of his hands, and spill the orange juice all over the table. Haymitch reacts and punches me in the jaw. Haymitch goes to reach for the flask, but Katniss grabs a knife and misses his hand just between his fingers.

Haymitch looks impressed. "Looks like I got a pair of fighters this year." He turns to Katniss, "Can you hit something with that knife besides the table?" Katniss throws the knife and hits the wall right in the seam.

"Look, I'll agree to help you guys as long as you do exactly as I say." I walk over to put some ice on my jaw, and Haymitch says, "Let it bruise. It'll show you fought and didn't get caught, which will show the sponsors you would be a formidable opponent." I put the ice back in the bin and walk back to the table. "When we get to the Capitol, you guys will meet your mentors. No matter how much you don't like it, you will do everything they tell you."

Well, that doesn't sound good. I don't have much time to think about it though because as soon as he says this we pull into the train stops. We must be in the Capitol. I go to look out the window and motion for Katniss to follow. She comes and stands beside me for a few moments and then leaves because I'm assuming the bright people of the Capitol disgust her. They disgust me too, but I have to get them to like me, so I can get sponsors for her. I smile and wave at the crowd, which causes them to go ballistic. I keep smiling even though I know these are the people who will watch me die.

I sit in a chair waiting for my prep team to come in. They are supposed to get me ready for my stylist; I don't know exactly what that means. My prep team enters talking in their chirpy Capitol accents. There are three of them: Accalia, Horatius, and Marius. Accalia has the dark eyes you would see in the Seam of our district. The similarities stop there. Her skin is died a rainbow of colors striped down her body. Her hair is a bright blaring red that is far from natural, and she is wearing bright red lipstick to match. Horatius and Marius aren't quite as outrageous. Horatius has glittering silver tattoos running down his arms and up his neck, and his hair is spiked out in a million different directions. Marius could almost be normal if it weren't for his bright red eyes and his face covered in a layer of makeup including black lipstick to make him look truly frightening.

They come and circle around me as if they are trying to see what to do with me. I can't help but feel self-conscious with three pairs of eyes inspecting my every flaw. Accalia is the first one to speak.

"Well, we won't have to do much with you; you're already so handsome. We'll just cut your hair a little and do the usual treatment." I'm a little afraid as to what she means by the usual treatment. As it turns out, I should be. As Marius cuts my hair, Accalia comes out with a syringe filled with a suspicious looking liquid. She tells me to hold out my arm, and injects the liquid into my arm. I feel a burning sensation in my face for a couple minutes, and then it goes away as suddenly as it came. Accalia tells me it will keep me from growing a beard in the arena, but she doesn't tell me how long it's supposed to last. They finish my prep. I don't feel much different except for the fact that my morning stubble has been replaced by smooth skin.

After a few minutes, my stylist comes in. I can't help but notice how ordinary she looks compared to my prep team. Of course her hair is a bright orange-pink color, but it almost seems pretty as it brings out the gold flecks in in her eyes. She is wearing pretty minimal makeup: her eyes are lined with black and she is wearing deep red lipstick. Not the obnoxious color Accalia had but a more subtle color. The most different from my prep team is her clothing. She is wearing a simple black, form-fitting dress. It is a nice break from the usual blaring colors of the Capitol. She introduces herself as Portia and asks me if I've eaten and I say no. She leads me to a small table where we can eat lunch. The food is again so rich that I have trouble keeping it down.

"So, what will we be wearing for the opening ceremonies?" I ask. I sincerely hope they don't plan on putting us in coal miner's outfits like every other year. It would be hard getting Katniss sponsors with that first impression.

"Well, my partner, Cinna, and I both think that District 12's usual costumes are rather uninspired. We want to help you guys make an impression, and in order to do that it has to be unexpected. Whereas most stylists focus on the miner, we want to focus on the coal itself. More specifically, what the coal fuels, fire."

In an hour I find myself standing by my chariot in simple black leotard, a gold headpiece, and a cape with a flame pattern on it. I wipe my hands off on my outfit to get rid of the sweat that has begun to form on them. I can't believe Portia is doing this to me. In a few minutes my cape and headpiece will be lit on fire. She told me it will be completely synthetic, but I'm not convinced. Working with it on a daily basis, I'm fully aware of how unpredictable fire can be.

I see Katniss walk up and she looks just as scared as I am. "I'll tear off your cape if you tear off mine," I say to her. She just nods and we climb onto the chariot that will take us out to the audience. Cinna, Katniss' stylist, comes behind us and lights our capes and headpieces. I don't feel a burning sensation on my skin so I trust that Portia must have been telling the truth. Katniss must realize this too because she makes no moves to extinguish the flames.

After the District 11 chariot leaves, it is our turn. As we go into the crowd, I can just make out Cinna telling us to hold hands.

"What did he say?" asks Katniss.

"I think he wants us to hold hands," I reply as I reach for her hand. I think this bothers her a little, but she complies. We take in the enormous crowd before us. They're already screaming for us, but when we begin to smile and wave to them, they go crazy.

I don't understand why they are screaming for me; granted, the fire makes my blue eyes pop, but I'm nothing special. But, when I look at Katniss I want to scream for her myself. She looks like a fiery angel, shining and brilliant. I have to force myself to look away and focus on the crowd. I make a silent note to personally thank our stylists. Thanks to them, much of these opening ceremonies are focused on Katniss.

We pull in front of the stage where President Snow will address the tributes. I can already see we are getting a good amount of screen time, especially as it gets darker, making our costumes glow brighter. President Snow even seems to be focused on us, specifically Katniss. It seems no one can take their eyes off the beautiful Girl on Fire.

As we pull back into the training center, Cinna and Portia seem very pleased with our performances. As does Effie, who is simply bubbling with joy. I think it's the first time she's finally had a pair of tributes make a splash at the opening ceremonies. Haymitch even seems particularly pleased.

"Whose idea was the hand holding?" Haymitch asks.

"Cinna," I reply.

"Perfect," he says, "just a touch of rebellion."

It's that word, rebellion, which will change my life forever, and threaten to crush everything I've ever loved. It will threaten to take Katniss away from me.

So, Chapter 3! We had the opening ceremonies! Thoughts on Peeta's prep team and Portia? I figured she would be similar to Cinna but I made her a little more Capitol-like because I thought Cinna was just a little more unique. So please tell me your thoughts and I hope you liked it!