"Oh, Kagome. It's been far too long," the old lady said.
This was really awkward. I patted her shoulder and she released me. "Um, who are you?" I asked, trying not to sound like a horrible person.
She blinked and then looked at me. I didn't notice when she first walked in, but she had an eyepatch over her right eye. "I'm Kaede. Do you not remember me?" she said.
One, if I remembered, I wouldn't be asking. Two, I think I'd remember someone as shriveled up as she was.
"I'm sorry, but I- wait. Kaede?" I stopped.
A long time ago, there was this little girl would had the same name. She had long black hair and eyes that looked like hers. She would sometimes play with Sota as they were about the same age.
I never really liked her, though. She looked too much like her sister.
Kikyo.
"What happened to you?" I asked now that I remembered.
Kaede's eyes softened a bit. "Something happened with my sister and she moved to the Captiol and took me with here. Being a child here isn't easy. They forced me to use all kinds of make-ups and other products that were horrible for me. Here, image is everything," she explained.
"Is that why you look so-"
"Old? Yes. I had some allergic reactions to the chemicals used and well, you can figure it out."
It was hard to look at her this way. Kaede was as young as Sota, yet she looked like she could be someone's great-grandmother. The Capitol is absolutely terrible.
"How come you're stylist? You should be in the reaping," I asked.
"I look old, so they assume I am. Besides, Kikyo made sure to keep me safe from the Games," Kaede said.
"Where is she?" I asked through clenched teeth.
"She's the female tribute of District One."