A/N: Hey, guys! For those of you who have a tribute in my newest SYOT, well, I have it saved on my laptop, but it won't hold an internet connection…. Sorry! Anyway, here's another (longer) chapter of A Primrose In The Ashes. Hope you guys like it!
The stylists for District 12 were a bunch of wackjobs. Portia, Flavius, and Octavia were beyond obsessed with the latest Capitol trends. It was all about makeup, outfits, and Botox. Cinna, on the other hand, was the least obnoxious of the four. He actually asked me how I was doing, and talked with me. I decided I liked him. I wasn't even bothered anymore that I was standing in front of him, naked, while he scanned over me, nodding and shaking his head at times. He ran a hand through my hair.
"Hmmm, very nice. We could work with this. How do you feel about pigtails, Prim?" Cinna asked. He just assumed I wouldn't kill him for calling me Prim and not Primrose. He assumedright.
"I don't really like pigtails. I like my hair natural." I said.
"Hm, natural. I could do that." Cinna said, continuing to look over me.
He walked out of the room so the other stylists were free to do what they pleased with me. We were only a few hours from the chariot rides. I hoped Gale and I wouldn't be dressed up in boring coal miner's suits like the District 12 tributes were last year.
Portia and Octavia massaged lotions and oils into my skin until I smelled like I had taken a nap in a bed of flowers. They shaved every part of me, leaving me feeling as vulnerable as a newborn. They took my nails disapprovingly and cleaned them, rinsing the dirt out from underneath them and filing them into perfect crescents.
Once I was all prettied up, they allowed Cinna back in. He had a few bags in his hand, and a silly grin plastered on his face.
I groaned. "We're not going to be stupid coal miners again, are we?" I asked.
Cinna feigned shock. "What? With me around, nothing's going to be bland about you and Gale, my dear. No one will forget these chariot rides."
Cinna pulled something colorful from the first bag and unfolded it carefully. My hands flew to my mouth when I saw how beautiful it was. I didn't deserve to wear such a brilliantly crafted thing. It was a red leotard, with tiny lines of orange flowing up it.
"It gets better. Put it on." Cinna ordered.
I did as I was told. It looked beautiful on me; I didn't see how it could get any better. But, Cinna proved me wrong once again. He held a small remote in his left hand. When he pressed the little red button, I stopped breathing. I was on fire. I knew it wasn't real, but for a second I doubted myself. How could I not be feeling the heat of the flames licking my skin? Why wasn't I burning? Cinna adjusted it so it looked like a dying campfire. It still looked stunning.
"Now, Prim, when you're first going into the stadium, the suit will be set to black. Then, I'll just press this button, and it will slowly start to come to life. Same with Gale's suit." Cinna said, grinning.
"It's amazing." I said, to awestruck to say anything more.
"An outfit is only as good as the one who wears it. Now," Cinna said, turning the suit off, "I'm going to keep your hair down, like you said you preferred it. We'll just do light makeup; we don't want to detract from your outfit, do we?" Cinna led me into a room that had a full length mirror on the far right side. A chair was in the middle, flanked by tables with rows upon rows of various Capitol makeup. Glitter eyelashes, all kinds of eye shadows, kohl, eyeliner, you name it. Even eye shadow made with real gold dust.
I took a seat in the chair, and closed my eyes. Cinna brushed my hair gently, and I felt his fingers work through it. I would keep my eyes closed until the very end, to keep it a surprise. I liked surprises.
Cinna stopped playing with my hair, seemingly satisfied with the result. I then heard some things being moved on the tables next to me.
"Open your eyes and look up, sweetie," Cinna said. I opened my eyes, but didn't look in the mirror. Cinna put some mascara on, and a tad of red eyeliner. I didn't know anyone who could pull off red eyeliner. Maybe my luck had run out. He dabbed some light gloss on my lips. I had told him I didn't want to wear lipstick. He mixed some eye shadows together and put something orange-tinged onto my eyelids. He applied a light coat of blush, and stepped back, scrutinizing my face. He narrowed his eyes, looking for any imperfections in my carefully done makeup. Finding none, he exhaled and smiled.
"Look in the mirror, Prim." He said, stepping aside so I could get up and see myself. I walked to the mirror, keeping my eyes on the ground. I was still afraid of the red eyeliner. I was sure I would look like a clown.
When I finally worked up the nerve to look in the mirror, my lungs failed me once more. Instead of the clown I was sure I resembled, I saw a beautiful, striking young lady.
My hair was curled lightly, and it ran in waves down my back, giving the slightly unkempt look. My makeup made my cheekbones more prominent, and my lips shined in the faint light. My eyes gave off a glow, looking as if they too were on fire. My eye shadow had been manipulated by Cinna so that it looked like my eyes were engulfed in flame. It was shockingly beautiful.
I looked at Cinna.
"Cinna," I croaked.
I cleared my throat. "It's amazing. Gosh, I sound like a broken record player. But it's true. It's amazing, Cinna." I said, hugging him.
Cinna hugged me back and stepped away, smiling. "Now, go out to room 34D and wait there for the chariot. I also pulled something together for the horses." He said with a wink.
I knew where 34D would be. We were in 32A, so it must be only a few doors down. I walked into the room and sat in a seat, careful to not mess up my makeup.
The door opened, revealing a stunningly handsome man. I was just about to introduce myself when I realized the man I was staring at was Gale.
His black hair was brushed, and his muscles were obvious under the tight suit. He crossed his arms, and I saw that he too was wearing eyeliner. Somehow, it only made him look sexier. I felt my face flush when I realized what I was thinking. Surely Gale only though of me as a sister, nothing more. After all, I was only 12. Soon to be 13, in a few days. But I probably would be dead by then.
"Hey Prim," Gale said, sitting down in a chair opposite mine.
"Hey, Gale. Cinna did amazing with the outfits, don't you think?" I asked.
Gale laughed. "I suppose so. You look beautiful, Prim." He said. I felt my face heat up again, but I conquered the feeling. I wasn't supposed to be falling for Gale. He was 15 and a half, and I was barely 13.
"Thanks. You don't look too bad, yourself," I said. I had to play it off like it was no big deal, even if it sort of was. At least, to me.
Then the giant double doors I had failed to notice earlier opened wide. Standing in front of us were horses who looked like they had just come from the depths of hell. They were covered in flames, but they didn't seem to mind. As long as they got an apple, they were fine.
Their midnight black eyes reflected the flames, ad it gave me the shivers. It was just so amazing. Then , the horse's flames died down, so they just looked like regular horses. I remembered that Cinna had said we would be inconspicuous at first. Cinna walked out from behind the horses, and smirked.
"Whoa." Gale and I said at the same time. We looked at each other and laughed.
Cinna went about to attaching the harness to the horses, and the harness to a chariot. Soon, the horses were all set to go.
We were in the last room for the chariot rides, being from District 12. Right before we go onto the chariot, Cinna stopped us.
"Never before have tributes showed unity. When you first enter the stadium, hold each other's hand. Play the crowd. Then I'll turn on the outfits. Got it? Good. Now, go blow the crowd off their feet." Cinna said. We stepped into the chariot, and began the daunting process of waiting in line to enter the stadium. When we were seconds from seeing the crowd, Gale grasped my hand and gave me a small smile. I knew he was missing Katniss.
Katniss! I thought suddenly. What would I do? Didn't Gale love her? What right did I think I had to have a crush on Gale? He was Katniss's, and Katniss was his. My face burned with shame when I realized I hadn't thought of Katniss all day.
I calmed myself right in time. When we arrived, the crowd was silent. Not the good silent, either. The bored, waiting-for-it-to-be-over-so-I-can-sleep silent. When was Cinna going to make us go up in flames?
We waved, and soon had the bored crowd's attention. Suddenly, I was engulfed in a raging inferno, as were Gale and the horses. I heard the audience's collective gasp, and the thunderous roar of thousands of hands coming together. I blew kisses to the crowd, and smiled brilliantly. Gale was quite the ladies man. Every time he blew a kiss to the audience, girls would pretend to grab it and hold it to their hearts. We were still holding hands, and it gave me comfort to know that I had someone in these Games, even if that someone didn't necessarily feel the same way towards me as I did towards him.
We continued laughing and gaining the crowd's favor, ignoring the looks of awe and envy from the other tributes. There were two lists Gale and I would be put on: The first to die list, and the allies list. I was hoping for the latter.
As the chariot rides drew to a close, I felt a sudden pang of home sickness. I missed Buttercup. I missed Mother. I missed Katniss. Why, I even missed Peeta.
When we got to our rooms, the first thing I did was gingerly pry of my now dead suit, and climb in the shower.
I scrubbed all of Cinna's work away, watching the drain fill with blacks and oranges and vibrant reds. I pressed a button at random, and a sweet smelling shampoo came out of a nozzle. It smelled like oranges. As the warm water cascaded down my body, I wondered what it would be like if, instead of Gale and I going into the Games, it was Katniss and Peeta.
One thing was for certain. I had to impress the Gamemakers in the training center, or I wouldn't make it past the bloodbath.
A/N: So, what did you guys think? I wanted to switch up the outfits, because I don't want to go all copycat on the Hunger Games. XD Leave it all in a review! And, like I said earlier, I'll update the SYOT fic next time I have internet (on my laptop; I'm on my Mom's computer right now), which will probably be in a few days.
~Fire