i liked the comments i got! thank you cato is life and fclovesharrypotter ! you guys rock for the critism :) i think thats exactly what i need. im trying my best to keep the grammer correct, its just that sometimes i add stuff before i put it up online at the last sec and i forget to change it :P thanks again! and im sorry for the POV mix up, i had a thingy, but it wasnt working with me when it got put online so... sorry if i confused your awesome mind :)

I woke up to complete darkness, frantically, I started to wail, not knowing what else to do.

"victor! Victor! Wake up! wake UP!" he stirred next to me, making me feel better, just by being in his presence. I watched silently as he sat up patiently on his elbow, a smirk growing on his face silently.

"its just the tunnel through the mountains, go on, go see the capitol," the way he started shooing me away was a bit of a joke to me, but I jumped up and ran to the window, smiling and getting on my tiptoes in excitement.

The capitol buildings blinded me in the sun that shone brightly on their reflective surfaces. The bright neon and rainbow colors of the capitol made me shy away. A smile slung itself onto my face, I don't know why exactly, I shouldn't be excited about the city who is trying to cause my death earlier than I wanted. But I couldn't help it, it was so different…the bright colors compared to the usual brown, gray and black of district three's buildings. This whole world is so carefree and bright, nothing compared to my home. Being poor and living in a small shack with barely a family can make you look at this horrible city in pure awe.

I turned my head to victor, and found him shirtless with his hands behind his head in a calm manor.

"I love you…" frowning, I realized something that I usually would never have forgotten.

"I love you too victor," he eyed me, sitting up more and exposing his broad chest over the blue blanket.

"and? Royal, you cant fool me, something's up…isn't it?" nodding, I looked out the window again.

"yeah, I just noticed…I haven't sang… or played an instrument, for a whole 24 hours now! Not since this morning, I guess…"

" oh okay. when you get out of the arena, we can buy you every musical instrument out there…everything," I smiled largely, dreaming of playing all of those things for victor.

"that would be great.." he let out a loud chuckle, and reached his arms out so I would come to him. I did, and felt immediately happy in his arms.

"anything I need to know?"

"make friends…gain the careers trust, show them your brain, show them you could use a knife or something. Remember we tried one out last summer for a while? You took a liking to that-"

"a liking? More like a survival method if anything. I really wouldn't like that as my hobby anytime soon…"

"I think you should talk to a few victors too, the reapings this year aren't as strong as the past few years. There is careers from one, two, now three," he smiled, "and four…. So the group isn't that big…lucky, in my year, we had the largest assortment of careers…"

"which victors victor?" he laughed a little, and gave me a meaningfull hug.

"try finnick odair, be allusive with him. no doubt he will try and hit on you… you sort of know beetee… don't get anywhere near Johanna from seven though, she will stuff you in a blender and hit that button the second you start to annoy her. I would try a few people, you know, during the opening ceremony parade? That will work…" I smiled, and just as I stood up, a figure appeared in the doorway.

Beetee.

"we are almost there, better get out here or prep for your appearance." My heart lept, but I straightened up and walked through the door quickly with victor on my heels.

:IN THE TRAINING SPIRE A FEW HOURS LATER:

"tonight is the opening ceremony, you will get prepped by our stylists and what not," beetee informed both of us, I stood straight, not smiling, but nodding at everything and hoping that I soaked up the information quick enough.

"okay beetee," we both whispered. I crossed my arms over my chest and looking away from the oldest victor.

"now go to your room you two, your stylists will be there in a moment." I looked down the hall, not enjoying the numerous doors in fear of getting lost or walking into the wrong room. Dodge led us down the hall before departing into his room across from mine. Inside there was a dresser full of clothes, a large bed with black sheets. A door on the far wall led to the bathroom, and a "sliding" glass door that didn't slide open in fear of us committing suicide.

Suddenly the door slammed inward, and almost knocked me off my feet in surprise.

"your royal!" three people chirped, smiling widely. I stared at them, two were girls, while the man looked like a girl, but was a man….wierd…the first girl had sequins on her lips, and extremely long light blue hair. She looked fairly young, and I take it that she is about twenty. The second girl is slightly older, she had bright pink hair that fell in large curls around her shoulders. Her nails were long and bright orange, and she was the normal one out of all three. The man was the worst. He had green…teeth… when he smiled, they were green… he had red hair. Really red hair, like red red hair that made you see spots when you looked away.

"I'm honia," the first girl said, licking her bejeweled lips lightly

"I'm raffin," the man said, grinning his green unappealing teeth.

"and I'm assifa!" the last one said, picking at one of her nails absentmindedly as she stared at me menacingly.

"don't scare her assifa!" honia whispered, elbowing her friend with a giggle.

I stared at them timidly, not daring to be the first to start a conversation. Assifa seemed eager to get started, so she told me to get undressed and go to the shower. I did as she said, peeling off my clothes and stepping into the large shower. Water came on without my consent and it scared me slightly, I stiffened but realized that my prep team were out there pushing buttons on the control panel.

Soon enough I was clean and they were doing my nails and hair out there. They removed every piece of hair off my body with hot wax. It was so painful I gripped the chair I was sitting on with a death grip, and they had to redo my nails.

"honestly royal! Ever heard of a razor?" honia gasped, looking at my bare legs. she compared the clean waxed one to the one with hair on it.

"no!" I wailed, giving her a mean glance. She laughed a little, which set me on edge. I mean, laugh at me when I'm not sitting in front of you!

"try to do something to calm you down, anything…" raffin said sincerely from behind me as he took scissors to my hair to give its waviness a good natured style.

"anything huh?" I winced as she ripped another length of hair from my leg.

"yes, don't have to make us do your nails for the third time," came assifa from my right, where she held my hand and fixed my French tipped nails delicately.

"fine… as long as you guys don't mind noise…" I started to sing, the first song that came to my head. knowing it was the only thing that ever comforted my aching nerves.

Woah, ehhh, woahhhh, I've been waiting on the sunset bills my mindset, I cant deny there getting higher, higher than my income, incomes breadcrumbs, I been trying to survive, the sun gets brighter round sunset, helps me realize this is just a journey, drop your worries, you are going to turn out fine, oh, turn out fine… fine oh turn out fine, but you gotta keep your head up oh oh, and you can let your hair down eh eh, you gotta keep your head up and you can let your hair down eh eh, I know it hard , I know its hard, to remember sometimes, but you gotta keep your head up oh oh, and you can let your hair down, eh eh eh eh… I got my hands in my pockets kickin these rocks its kinda hard to watch this life go by, I'm buyin these skeptics, these skeptics mess with, the comfortness in my eyes I'm seein all the angles, stars get tangled, I start to compromise, my life in a purpose, is it all worth it. oh you turn out fine….but you gotta keep your head up….….only rainbows after rain, the sun will always shine again, I said only sunshine after rain the sun will always come again, it's a circle, a circlein, it comes around again….

(keep your head up- andy crammer.)

They were all staring at me, even raffin from behind me had stopped working on my hair in the middle of a cut with scissor blades wide open.

"no one said you could sing like that!" assifa crooned from where she sat on the floor doing my nails.

"that is something you need to bring up in the interviews! Your so talented!" chirped honia, and I smiled down at her.

"you really think so?"

"definitely!" raffin piped in as he continued to curl my hair and snip it in various places. I remained quiet for the rest of the time, sometimes I winced at their actions, but didn't show any resistance, there wasn't a way I would get out of this situation anyway so might as well live with it.

Soon enough, they stood me up, and walked around in circles, starting at me, with large smiles on their faces.

"your fit for public! Now sit down again royal, we are doing to get sol!"

"sol?" I whispered, but they were all out the door anyways, so I sat down and watched for someone to return and talk to me knowing someone would. I stared at my legs, they shone softly, and when I touched them they were smooth beyond compare. My hair felt light and soft on my shoulders, I noticed it had lost a reasonable amount of length. Its blondeness seemed fake to me as I rubbed its soft substance between my fingers, but he didn't do anything to make it so, so I just passed it off as my imagination.

The door burst inward, and I snapped my head up to see a figure in the doorway, not three, just one…

"hello royal!" the man said cheerfully, sauntering into the room with a wide grin on his face, "I'm solay, but you can just call me sol." He had light blonde hair, his dark blue eyes shone graciously in the light of the room, making me calmer than I thought I would be. He wore a loose white shirt and black pants. He carried a bag, a long bag that seemed about my height and had a hanger out of the top.

"hello sol," I murmured, making his smile widen.

"I have your outfit!" the thought made me cringe, but I hid it well as he set the bag on the bed and told me to stand and close my eyes.

I did as he said and felt something touch my wrist as I held my arms above my head. the clothing he was putting on me was light and very fitting, I could tell that he was trying to make me look fetching even without a glance at the clothes.

"okay, open!" it felt as if I wasn't wearing anything at all, but when I opened my eyes and got a good glance at myself in the mirror, I couldn't help but have a sudden intake of breath enter my lungs. The dress was beautiful, it didn't have much, but what it did have was great. It was a small, fitted, white tube top dress that was made out of the lightest material I have ever witnessed touch my skin. It showed off the small curves I had and made me look tall, especially when he had me step into black high heels.

"oh sol! Its gorgeous!" he laughed a little, putting his thumb on his chin as he observed me walk around the room.

" I take it you know how to walk around in those? I was scared you didn't know how, coming from three I don't see a need for them."

"no, but my boyfriends sister is into these things and makes me put them on sometimes," I giggled as I clicked the heels together, "but what does this have to do with three?"

"don't think I don't know what I'm doing! I have a trick up my sleeve! Doesn't your district use oil? They have to when they have metal and gears all over the place!" he cackled a little, making me uncomfortable. "I have an idea that will make you look… AH-MAH-ZING!" rolling my eyes, I sat on the chair near my bed and waited for him to turn back to me. Once he did, he was holding a bottle of what looked like hair gel, it didn't have a label, do I didn't know exactly.

"does dodge look like this too?"

"yes, but a little more manly in the clothing department," I laughed as he fingered a little piece of my clothing with his thumb and forefinger, "we'd better get your hair done, I have a marvelous idea…" I smiled sincerely, thinking of all the possibilities for my blonde wavy hair to be turned into a great mass of beauty or even clever artwork.

This is where he put me off…. When I looked in the mirror once he was finished, I was reminded that he is a capitol goer… he put black goop in my hair, making it look like oil, seeping darkly through my gold hair. It dripped wetly down onto my shoulders and stopped, it brought me relief for about three seconds before he dumped more over my head again. This time he put his hand against my forehead to stop the flow over my face. I felt the goop slide down my chest self-consciously, it continued to my waist, and stopped. He repeated the pouring process until it reached my ankles, he allowed it to stop then, getting a towel and causing the glob that almost reached my shoe to disappear into the absorbency of the towel.

"go look in the full length mirror! Go! Go!" giggling like a school girl, he almost grabbed my wet dripping wrist but decided against it and beckoned me instead. Sighing, I followed…

I gasped loudly, my arms went tense and my legs locked at the knees. My mouth was open, and I spat as some of the substance dripped into my mouth.

"don't you love it!" I struggled to get the look of shock off my face as I answered a solemn "yes." But that was a lie…I looked like a dripping candle, with wax cascading down the sides in a un-organized manor. My hair was plastered messily to my shoulders heavily, my dress had long drips down the front and no doubt the back. My legs had long streaks of still dripping "oil" and my arms had the same effect but it had continued down to my fingertips and was dripping lazily.

"that's great! Its going to harden slightly, then it will stop dripping, but not get stiff! Isn't that a great idea! Thought of it myself!"

"what is it exactly?"

"why, oil of course! I just added a bit of the hardening powder so it wouldn't bug you," a grin pressed itself onto his face and it made me cringe inwardly.

"oil? Oil is hard to get off!"

"so is a tattoo," I gaped, "but stylists can do anything, and prep teams do everything. so its their job, what do I care? They'll have a trick for it."

"but-…I don't see them until- the-…interviews!" he then frowned.

"oh well," it came as quickly as it went I guess. Sighing, I walked towards the door to go down to the chariots.

"oh! Okay! I'll see you down there then! Do good!" he didn't care, I knew it… I pressed the button and waited for the elevator. I smelled that elevator smell, it was that distinct smell of new metal and cleaner that made me smile.

"royal? Is that-? Hey! Royal!" came an excited voice to my left, I didn't turn, I felt if I did, this stuff would start to crack off me in sheets.

Victor came into my line of vision, I smiled again lightly, but only for a fraction of a second.

"I know they have some REDICULOUS outfits at this point in the games, but-" he eyed me worriedly, "what are you supposed to be?"

"I have NO idea!" I exploded, "He said oil! But I don't see us pumping out oil every ten seconds at home! Why couldn't I have been a control panel, or a massive TV screen? Oil! Of all things…" he started to laugh, which really peeved me off, I didn't look back at him as I entered the elevator full of tributes.

"see you at the opening event R-OIL! HA! Get it? royal? Roil? Okay-" he followed the door as it closed, "see you sweetie!" I sighed, turning my head to the left and seeing a muscular brunette in a octopus costume. Obviously from four.

"he your boyfriend?" he whispered, crossing my massive arms over his chest.

"yeah…"

"isn't he like five years older than you though?"

"he is 18, I'm 18, get over it…" he laughed, despite my rude comment, and tapped the hardened substance on my shoulder.

"what are you supposed to be?"

"oil? I guess. My stylists a wackjob."

"I'm an octopus!" I laughed at that, but it surprised me that we only said seven things to eachother and I'm already starting to like him.

"you're a career right?" he nodded, smirking as he did so.

"yup, trained since I was five," his chest was thrust out proudly just as the people from two walked through the doors of the elevator.

"well!" came the boy from two that looked just as stocky as the boy from four, "I have been training since I was THREE!"

"and your another career right?" the boy from four eyed me silently, not daring to interrupt his soon to be ally.

"yeah, since I was THREE." He looked proud. but his counterpart, the girl from two, kept rolling her eyes at whatever he said. I took it he was lying.

"another career District three?" came the career from four again, his district mate eyeing me suspiciously.

"I'm just wondering, its not that I'm a career! I'm from three!" I added a laugh for effect, smiling to myself as I remembered the plan fully. Now was the time to lead them all on, and have them begging for more…if I could actually accomplish that.

"and-" the one from four stepped awfully close to me, obviously trying to be intimidating, "why could you not be a career?" I held up and arm.

"does it look like I have tree trunks for arms? I cant throw a spear, I cant hold a mace. An axe will probably set me off balance…but-" I paused, making myself seem like I almost gave away a piece of important information.

"but?" he pressed, nudging my arm a little and getting closer to me by the second.

"but? What?" his smirk drew into a full fledged smile.

"I like you-…" he turned to the other career, who was staring at my getup as if it was alive, "don't you like her? She has some major spunk…enough spunk to let them put that on her," most everyone laughed, and I managed a small smile.

"what CAN you do then?" asked the girl from two, before nodding her head at the oncoming careers from one.

"I can sing…" the career from four laughed evily at that.

"yeah, I meant something useful!" I frowned, pulling on a face that made her take a step back.

"don't insult who I am…" the elevator chimed, showing us all that it was time to get off. I walked away from all of them, practically feeling their eyes on my dripping back as I went.
for once, I felt superior to something. The way they looked at me with reproachful eyes and meaningless smiles made me think of how I was treated at home, like a freak. I wouldn't let them do that to me. They could insult anything else, everything else…but music? Singing? Playing instruments? That's who I am, and if they don't respect that?- I will kill them all…

keep up the reviews! thanks again for all of them so far! luvs you! in a not creepy way...keep that in mind...