Chariot Parade

So I was so happy to get the ideas for this chapter so quickly that I had to write it down now so I didn't forget it. I'm so happy I've got two chapters up in the space of two days and by the way thank you so much for your reviews and I notice a lot of you write a fair amount, like you actually tell me what you liked about it and it really does make me so happy so thanks a lot. Enjoy the Chapter and May the Odds be Ever in Your Favour!

Capitol

Raymond Miles opens the door to his private box happily; life is good right now. People are off his back, Aphrodite is sweet and Clarice is as resourceful as ever, except a little moody. Narrating the chariot parade is Raymond's favourite part of the games simply because he, Raymond is the only one talking. Without warning, a boy of about 19 bursts through the door.

"Uncle; how are you?" he asks

Raymond sighs; as much as he loves his nephew Marcus, Marcus always wanted something. The question is, what would it be this time?

"Well if isn't Marcus. What bring you hear dear boy?" Raymond tries to sound excited, but still appears somewhat unnerved by Marcus' arrival.

"Uncle; the thing is- I kind of quit my job."

"Why would you do something like that?"

"I was thinking, maybe I could be your new co-host!"

"Marcus, are you insane? My boss is the president; I can't hire some kid without his permission."

"Oh come on, just for today."

Raymond glares at his nephew, but upon realising he'll never go away even if he were to say no, he pulls out a chair.

"Take a seat; just please try not to say anything stupid."

Jenneth Myra Speare POV

"You see Ginevra, I also used Demeter as my inspiration and since my tributes are from a richer district, I should get to use that theme since I have more to live up to, get it?" snarls the district 9 stylist Marilyn.

"Unfortunately for you Marilyn, considering Demeter is traditionally the goddess of agriculture, I'd say you don't have leg to stand on" the district 11 stylist, Ginevra snaps back.

"That's where you're wrong; Demeter is the goddess of harvest and that clearly means grain!"

They've been at it for about half an hour now; the shouting is starting to hurt my head. Each district is supposed to pick one of the 12 Greek gods or goddesses to inspire the chariot outfits. I don't understand why; I'm guessing it has to do with the arena. Most of them are pretty predictable; for example, district 4's outfits are inspired by Poseidon. But since there's an overlap with Demeter, now the stylists have been told to decide amongst themselves and with a pair of Capitol women, it's not exactly easy. It's been pretty plain sailing so far; I'm still scared but I have Luke to protect me now. He's nice; I never realise how good a friend he was. He said on the train we should fake a relationship to get sponsors but I'm not how I feel about that. I don't want to hurt Percy's feelings, or even Ruby's. Neither of them came to the justice building; I'm guessing they were too upset so we had to rely on his sister Lily and my sisters Mary and Beth to tell them the truth. Part of me thinks it'll work and Percy will know its fake, but my heart's telling me it's a bad idea. A very flushed Ginevra comes back with our outfits still intact. They're pretty but simple; I have white dress with a gold band tied around the waist and a crown made of orange autumn leaves. Luke's is similar but is made more like a smock with short sleeves, includes a pair of shorts for him to wear underneath and has the same autumn leaves on the shoulders and a fake plastic one attached to the band like a belt buckle. We get changed and when I see him, he looks great. I haven't looked in the mirror yet but Luke's eyes widen when he sees me. As walk out we run into our mentor Leef and our escort Steve. Leef nods approvingly; he doesn't speak.

"You're carriage is second from the back. May I just say, Jenneth you look lovely" Steve smiles.

"I agree" Luke kisses me on the cheek but I shrink away "Sorry, got a little carried away."

"It-it's fine" I stammer.

We walk towards out carriage and I instantly feel bad. Luke's only trying to help us get sponsors and I'm screwing it up. I only wish I could give some kind of message to tell him it's not real. Wait, that's it! I know what I can do. In my joy, I take Luke's hand and he looks up, startled. I wink at him and he smiles.

Mai Moonheart POV

I feel absolutely ridiculous. To go along with this Greek theme, our outfits are meant to be inspired by Apollo, god of the sun. We're in skin tight black long sleeved leotards and equally tight black leggings. Riddell is skinny so it doesn't look quite as bad, but on me it shows off all the places I'd rather hide. They tried to make me wear a corset but I knew it'd just make me look worse, like I have stomach rolls. The worst part is the hats; attached to both of them is a huge bright torch, kind of like a spotlight. It's supposed to show the sun shining alone in the dark of space according to our stylist Fiango. Riddell can barely keep his head up with his on. I'm terrified now; I've been laughed at before and it's just horrible. But it's alright; everything is going to be fine. I mean, my mentor Melissa seems ok but she behaves just a Capitolite; we have nothing in common. Our escort Genevieve on the other hand spent most of the train ride correcting Melissa's mistakes in mentoring as little patronisingly as she could possibly manage so I have barely spoken to her, at least not personally. My tribute partner is a kid so I can't even look at him without feeling personally responsible for the hardships he'll suffer in the games. He seems so harmless too; all he does is tell little made up stories and pretends their real. How can someone like that be put into such a corrupt place?

The chariot suddenly starts moving and I feel my hat go warm where the light has been turned on; here goes nothing.

"Welcome all to the chariot parade; tonight I'm joined by my own nephew, Marcus Miles" Raymond announces.

"Hey; Marcus is in the house!" Marcus' voice booms through the room.

I smile; ok, this is kind of fun right? After a short moment I start to get into it and stand taller. I notice Riddell shaking a little with the weight so put my hand on his shoulder in attempt to hold him steady. I deliberately grin widely at him so he gets the message and starts smiling too. Now we're positioned, I can look at the other tributes. District 2, who Raymond says are meant to represent the God of war aren't dressed too differently; they look like gladiators, with shining gold armour and carrying swords. Oddly, this year district 4 is dressed somewhat similar. They're wearing turquoise armour but they're wearing what look like mermaid tails; it'd look very childish if they weren't holding scary looking tridents. It's probably because they're supposed to represent the God of the sea.

"Next we come to district 5, representing Apollo, the God of the sun. I'm not too sure about this one myself; what do you think Marcus?"

"I've gotta agree Raymond, but you've got to admit, the girl is smoking" Marcus replies; his comment makes me blush, just as we're shown on the banners, which display footage from the cameras.

So much for not feeling embarrassed.

Reedman Phelps POV

I can't believe district 10 have to wear fur again; doesn't that Maralina bitch not understand we work on farms, not in slaughter houses? To be fair, at least this year it's relevant; we're representing Artemis, goddess of the hunt. Still why can't they dress us in farming clothes like what we wear in our district? Actually I know why; it's because Maralina says "You shood be gratefool that ve allow you to vear such igh class items instead of zat scruffy barn wear!" I can't stand her or my mentor for that matter. He's just a lazy git who sits around as if we're supposed to provide him with advice. My district partner, Ruby, seems tough for such a little girl; I don't doubt she could go far, but I probably won't be allying with her. Still, I'll have to try and find someone. Maybe tomorrow; some people will try to make alliances in training. I don't want to be a Career, not that they'd have me but at the same time, I'm not going with a bunch of little kids.

"Reedman! It's time to go; chop, chop!" proclaims Maralina, snapping her finger at me like I'm a dog.

I glare at her and get on the chariot with Ruby.

"Good luck" she whispers.

"You too."

The chariot moves quicker than I expected but I'm guessing it's because they're in a slight hurry to fill up the gap now district 9 have been excused due to "illness". It's not illness; it was an argument between the stylists from 9 and 11, an argument which 11 won. Coincidently, it's 11 I notice the most, but not because of their outfits. The boy is just smiling, waving and holding the girl's hand. But the girl keeps mouthing something every time she's shown on the banner, then blowing a kiss. I don't know what kind of message she's trying to send, but sending any message is playing with fire. It's odd, I could have sworn she was mouthing the name "Percy" but why would she do that if she has a relationship with her district partner. They may not be all over each other but you do get hints of their relationship every so often. I try to refocus my attention onto the costumes even though it's just district 12 left. I don't want to think about possible scandals in case I blurt something stupid out. With Mali and my family to think about, the last thing I wanna do is draw attention to myself.

"And finally, district 12, representing Hephaestus, God of fire!" Raymond reminds me where I am again and I look at the outfits.

The two are dressed in orange; she's wearing a layered dress that looks like it's practically made of tissue paper and he is wearing a tank top and pants in the same style with some weird hat on his head. Once they're in position out walks President Salem; god I hate this guy.

"As with last year, we must remember give our thanks for this yearly event by remembering how the games returned. Katniss Everdeen, evil rebel leader, wreaked havoc almost three decades ago and my mother encouraged this ridiculous behaviour. But when she died, I knew it was my duty to return Panem to its glory. The games serve as a punishment to all those who supported Katniss Everdeen, putting the whole of Panem at risk" Salem's voice is loud, but sounds even louder due to the silence; some people here agree with him.

But most of them are too scared to say they don't.

Jeez, I feel so bad for Salem; poor guy. Not. I probably won't get the next chapter up until at least boxing day but I may write a chapter on Christmas if I get a good idea and am not doing anything with my family simply because I enjoy writing this story. Regardless, have a badass Christmas and a damn good new year. MERRY CHRISTMAS (or Hanukah or Kwanza or a good day if you don't do anything)!