Chapter 4: Welcome to the Capitol
Oliver and his district partner Aimee gazed out the window in awe when they arrived at the Capitol. Citizens stood outside in their city circle, staring up at them as their train went by. Being from District 3, they were among the first of the tributes to arrive at the Capitol. Dazzled by the scenery, Aimee was soaking up all there was to see in the Capitol. Oliver continued to look around at the sights in the Capitol, but not out of amazement. Oliver's eyes widened with fear, and his heartbeats were rapid, his heart on the verge of bursting out of his chest. Being reaped scared him enough, but now that he was at the Capitol, he was flat-out terrified. He gulped as he accidentally made eye contact with a random Capitol citizen and turned away, when he suddenly felt the train come to a screeching halt. They had arrived at the train station, officially at their destination. The escort and two Peacekeepers hurriedly ushered Oliver and Aimee off the train, and they headed to the remake center, where their makeovers awaited them.
After being waxed, tweezed, and plucked at by her prep team, Aeris nervously waited for her stylist. Dressed in nothing but a thin white robe, she was seated on a red leather couch in the middle of the styling room, while her prep team ran around collecting fabrics and other materials they needed to create costumes for other tributes. Aeris could hear the sound of high heels clacking against the white tiled floor above the sounds of the prep team's footsteps. The District 10 female glanced up at a Capitol woman twice her size as she walked towards her. She looked fairly normal for a woman from Capitol, at least more so than other Capitol citizens Aeris had seen so far. Aeris admired the woman's bright blonde hair, which had more of a golden glow to it than her own blonde locks. The woman had light green eyes surrounded by silver eye shadow and a few rhinestones around her eyelashes to match her green blouse with diamond-studded buttons, silver skinny jeans, and silver pumps. She smiled at Aeris as she greeted her, shaking her hand for extra formality.
"Hi, Aeris, I'm Natalia, and I'm going to be your stylist for the chariot parade and interviews," the woman said to Aeris, who only responded with a small nod. "Now, I have all of my materials ready, so we can get started now. We'll start with your outfit for the chariot parade, as that's in a few hours, and then we can move on to your interview outfit. Does that sound good?"
"Okay," Aeris mumbled, as Natalia motioned for her to stand up before gently placing a powdered, manicured hand on her shoulder and leading her over to the full-length mirror on the wall.
"So Aeris…" Natalia trailed, looking at her tribute in the mirror. "Your district is livestock, right? How do you feel about a ritzy cowgirl outfit?" Aeris cringed and shook her head. "No? That's fine then. We can keep brainstorming until we think of something nice."
Hours later, epic ceremonial music was playing, and the City Circle was packed with Capitol citizens, who were cheering and applauding for their favorite pairs of tributes as they rode by in their designated chariots for their districts. The first chariot reached the center of the City Circle, and people oohed and ahhed at District 1's outfits. Diamond was dressed in a golden, satin gown covered in jewels of all different colors, with matching heels and her blonde hair flowing behind hair, adorned with a bejeweled headband. Silver was dressed in a golden, jewel-studded suit and dress shoes to match Diamond, and his hair was neatly slicked back. Both were standing proud, smirking with vanity as they absorbed the applause. The crowd kept their cheering going as District 2 came strolling by. Regan was dressed in a glittery silver dress and heels, with her hair tied back in a big bun, and Caius was wearing a silver suit and dress shoes, with his hair slightly spiked. Regan was also soaking in the cheers of the crowd, waving and blowing kisses in all directions, while Caius smiled and nodded at the crowd as their chariot passed by. Trailing behind were the chariots for Districts 3 and 4, who were riding closely together. Oliver was wearing a white shirt with green and red buttons, black pants, black dress shoes, and a black blazer, while Aimee was wearing an evening gown that was white on the top with the sleeves and the rest of the gown being black. Aimee's brown hair had been cut and styled in a pixie bob, allowing the crowd and viewers at home to get a better view of her dress. Both outfits reflected the standard image of computers and television to match their chariot that was shaped as such. Oliver and Aimee had big smiles plastered on their faces as they stood there and waved to the crowd, when Oliver stumbled and fell out of the chariot. Aimee yelled out a "Crap!" and reached out to grab Oliver's arm, barely pulling him back inside the chariot before it could leave him behind.
"Hey, are you okay?" Aimee asked once Oliver was once again situated in the chariot.
"Heheh, yeah," Oliver replied, laughing sheepishly. "Sorry, my bad." Aimee chuckled and rolled her eyes as she looked behind her at District 4's tributes. Emmaline was dressed in a green mermaid gown that ruffled like strings at the bottom to represent seaweed, with her hair pulled back into a bun with a matching green headband. Feeling glamorous from her outfit, Emmaline was smiling and she daintily waved to the crowd like a princess. Cyrus was beaming in an ocean blue tuxedo with sandy brown buttons and dress shoes, mostly standing proudly with an occasional wave to the crowd. "Show-off," Oliver muttered, also looking over at Cyrus and Emmaline. Aimee craned her neck to catch a glimpse at District 5's chariot. The Capitol crowd stopped and stared in awe at Kelilyn, who was dressed in a black gown with an atom spread across the chest and metallic green heels, with her hair pulled back into a bun with a pin in the shape of an atom securing it. Ivan was wearing a black v-neck blouse with a sparkling atom printed on it, black corduroy jeans, and black dress shoes, with his hair newly buzzed. Both were barely listening to the cheering of the crowd; instead looking up and around at the other tributes and the crowd. Kelilyn turned around and found herself making eye contact with the girl from District 6, who was decked out in a white dress with blue streaks and white heels to represent what the trains they built looked like. The girl's brown hair cascaded in curls behind her, with a blue headband on top. Her district partner was wearing a white dress shirt, a blue tie, white pants and shoes. The District 6 tributes were in the middle of a conversation, tuning out the Capitol citizens, when the girl made eye contact with Kelilyn. Also staring at the District 6 tributes are the tributes of District 7. Both tributes were dressed in brown corduroy business suits; Bettina wearing a skirt, and Jack wearing slacks, both complete with fancy boots. Both had curly hair that bounced around their heads as they turned to wave to both sides of the crowd. Some of the applause had died down as the crowd's attention turned towards District 8's chariot. Ariani was wearing a puffy pink gown with a beige, puffy choker on top and beige ruffles on the bottom to resemble a spool with thread (minus her pink wedge heels on the bottom), while Darien was dressed in a gray tuxedo with tiny pins shaped like needles attached all over, with gray dress shoes poking out from his rather large feet. Ariani's face was partly covered by her large curls that matched the fluffiness of her attire, while Darien's hair was completely brushed back off his face. Both shifted awkwardly from the discomfort their outfits gave them, but still managed to force out weak smiles as they gave small waves to the crowd.
"This outfit sucks," Ariani muttered under her breath, though managing to keep the fake smile on her face. Darien chuckled while he was waving to a group of Capitol children standing in front of their parents. The chariots were starting to reach the end of the City Circle, just below the president's mansion, and District 9's chariot was trailing behind them. Both tributes blended into the background, with Lita in a plain, strapless yellow gown and flats, with her brown hair flowing freely behind her, and Felix wearing a yellow polo shirt and tan slacks, with shoes to match his shirt. Lita cringed when she looked at her district partner; the only thing with him that stood out was that he was now bald. Why his prep team decided that shaving his head completely was a good idea was beyond her. Nevertheless, they politely waved to the crowd while looking around at the other tributes. The chariots were carefully spread out, so the only tributes they could see easily were from District 10. Aeris smiled down at her white cocktail dress and ballet flats, both with black splotches on them, just like a cow. Her blonde hair was pulled back into a ponytail with a black and white hair tie, and cowbell earrings dangled from her ears. She turned to her district partner and giggled; apparently he had consented to wearing a cowboy costume, complete with a cowboy hat and boots. She had to admit, it was pretty dorky. Instead of waving to people or watching where their chariot was taking them, the two tributes turned to check out the attire of District 11's tributes. Naoko was dressed in a yellow dress similar to Lita's, only shorter, with her hair resting on her shoulders in pigtails, and Grant was dressed in a beige shirt and glittery blue overalls, with matching beige shoes and his hair neatly spiked. Some parts of the crowd were still cheering, but others had stopped considerably by the time District 12's chariot rolled around. Rosemary had on a black gown with puffy sleeves to resemble pieces of coal, paired with black shoes. Her hair was pulled off her face in a tight bun, with a shimmering back hair tie wrapped around it. Hamish was wearing a black, v-neck t-shirt, black jeans, and black combat boots, with his hair half-spiked on top of his head. Rosemary waved and even blew a few kisses to the crowd, but occasionally tensed up, feeling uncomfortable as Hamish placed an arm around her shoulder at times while he waved. Finally all twelve chariots reached the end of the City Circle, and we lining up in front of the president's mansion. Several feet above them, a middle-aged man known as Coriolanus Snow Sr., the president of Panem, stepped out onto one of his many balconies, and looked down at the tributes. His wife and three year old son, who was named after him, stood behind him, scrutinizing the tributes while the president addressed them.
"Welcome, tributes," President Snow Sr. began. "We are happy to have you here in the Capitol. Congratulations on being chosen to represent your district in this year's Games. We hope that you're ready, because it will be one brutal, bloody battle in the arena. But for now, enjoy your stay, and we look forward to seeing you in your interviews. Be excited, because the Games are about to begin." The Capitol crowd roared in applause, while some of the tributes gulped and cowered with fear, as the president and his family turned and returned inside the mansion. The escorts then ran over to help the tributes off their chariots, before escorting them inside the training center.