Chapter 3
I overheat easily, even in the winter.
Somehow, we make it to the front of the crowd. I know I should be more excited, since some of my own horses are going to be drawing the carriages tonight.
"Which four are in the parade tonight?" Apollo asks me. I can barely hear him over the crowd.
"Half-Note is District 1, Curtain Call is District 7, and Applejack and Rocky are District 12," I say. Half-Note if my show horse. My best.
"Here comes Half-Note," Apollo says to me. Half-Note does look quite beautiful, she is my best white horse, after all. She and another horse are decorated in gold. The horses have always been dressed in colors to match the District's product. Curtain Call is dressed in earthy tones and even has a few flowers braided into her mane. Applejack and Rocky's coats have been colored a charcoal grey. I hope that grey doesn't stain...
"Wait. Are the District Twelve tributes on fire?" I grab Apollo's arm to get his attention. If you haven't noticed, my animals are the one thing I love more than anything else. If they burn I swear to god I'm going to kill someone.
"I think they are. But it's synthetic or something, cause it's not burning anything," he sounds as concerned/amazed as I do. Apparently, most of the crowd behind us and on the other side of the road agrees. The quiet roar fades a little bit as people take in the sight before them. I glance at President Snow standing on his podium. I can't really describe the look on his face. Actually, I can never really tell how he's feeling. The two tributes look amazing the carriage, holding hands and everything. I'm surprised that none of us bet on the male tribute. He looks like he has a good chance of winning. He's big, but not super tall. The other tributes are dressed... strangely, I must say. Fish, power plant workers, golden warriors. I'm still worried about that fire. It is seriously giving me anxiety.
"Want some gum?" I turn to see Apollo holding a piece of chewing gum. I smile and take the gum out of his hand and pop it into my mouth. Gum helps with my anxiousness. Apollo always knows how to make me fell better. He's like my best girl friend, except he's obviously a guy.
To tell you the truth, there really is not that much to do at this celebration. Basically, you come to the City Circle, you watch the tributes ride by dressed most strangely, and then you go home and go to bed. The crowd silences suddenly, and I watch our great President Snow walk up to the edge of a giant stone balcony. Before he speaks, I receive a text message from Aemelia.
You have to bring the horses back tonight. Find this guy named Doan. Would love to help but cant. Stables should be marked. - Aemelia.
God dammit. Not only do I have to walk home, but I have to take four horses and a assumably whiny man. He probably won't even help me. So, I must come up with a plan to somehow give Apollo as little work as possible. But, little work for Apollo means more work for me, which also means that I could potentially be doing something very dangerous. Meh.
After Snow finishes the short speech, the audience claps. People start to leave once the tributes are safe wherever tributes go and Snow leaves the balcony. Apollo taps me on the shoulder and leads me through the crowd.
"We have to bring the horses back to my house," I say to him once we reach a slightly less crowded and quieter location. He says nothing, just stares at me in disbelief. "I didn't know about this until President Snow's speech, I swear." Oh, and another thing, Apollo hates horses.
"Don't expect me to be able to help much," he says a little coldly. Fine then. The two of us walk over toward the stable, a large building that looks like a business center. Odd actually. Large white walls, most likely stone, and two sliding glass doors. But on the inside, it looks the stable I have back home. Wooden walls, metal , and an open tack room. A serious looking man holding a tablet is standing in the middle. This must be Doan. He even looks like a horse. A handsome one, at least. Long face, long black hair, and he's pretty tall, too. His skin is obviously dyed, because normal skin does not fade from snow white to brown so dark it looks black. Apollo waits moodily by the door while I sort things out. When I tell Doan my name he says, "Vasik... that sounds familiar. Is your mother Corinna Gordon?" I nod my head and smile a little bit. My mother was gamekeeper about eight years ago. He smiles and nods his head as well. "Well tell her I say hi, okay? Your four are in the last few stalls," he looks over me for a second, "How do you plan on getting them home?"
"I didn't have much notice. I'm sure I'll figure something out," I say while walking toward the end of the stable. Rocky and Applejack are still gray, but the other two are out of their decorations. I brush my hand across Applejack's coat, and nothing comes off. Temporary dye, hopefully. What I am going to do is incredibly stupid, and I'm probably going to be killed by my father. Whatever. I motion for Apollo to join me, and like a good friend he kind of not really sucks up his emotions and helps me.
"Can you hold my shoes?" I ask him. He nods his head and takes my stilettos while I mount Applejack. Fortunately, the people took the halters and bridles along with my horses. I take Half-Note and Rocky while on Applejack, and I instruct Apollo to walk with Curtain Call. Now time for the hard part. I make a clicking noise with my tongue to tell to Applejack to walk and we slowly start on our way back to my house. Better safe than sorry.
"My feet hurt," Apollo says from behind me. I swear we haven't gone one hundred feet yet.
"I'm sorry. Make sure to keep Curtain Call away from the others. She's been marish," I keep my eyes open for anything that would make this trip more difficult than it already is.
"Pull you dress down. I can see underwear from back here." I purse my lips and shake my head.
"If I wasn't hold on to two horses and controlling a third with my feet, I would care more about my appearance." I hear him laugh a little bit behind me. I think about my situation and laugh a long with him. I'm in a really awkward situation. I'm walking three horses in the middle of the street back to my house, in a dress, with my underwear showing. After about forty-five minutes bareback on a horse with Apollo making fun of me, I finally get back home. Home sweet home. I dismount Applejack without shoes, which I regret, and lead the four into the stables and into their stalls. The other three of my horses make noises upon their arrival, but they are soon quieted. Once they are settled and comfortable, I get my shoes back from Apollo. I don't really know if he'll sleep at my house, nor do I care, but I just want to go to bed.
I guess this one is more filler, but it did give out some important details for later...
Yes, Apollo is a whiny princess.
Once I get in the habit of updating, I'll start playing with my schedule a bit more.
- Jo