The fields passed in a blur as she bit back tears glancing once to the side, she didn't even know the male tribute. Though her stomach grumbled, the thought of food made her sick. Her mind drifted to the orchards where she felt at least somewhat safe, now, she knew, she would not be able to keep her promise. Eventually, she did turn and take a small piece of bread to calm her grumbling stomach, then the door slid open.
She saw Chaff one of the winners from her district but she ignored him her fingers gently tracing the single small daisy on her sister's headband. When the train went dark, and her head shot up, her fear exploded in her chest.
They had reached the Capital and she hid from the people's prying stares. Seeing bright flashes of colorful clothes as people strained to get a look at her. The train ground to a halt and she bowed her head as she was pulled roughly out of the train by the peacekeepers and into a white building she didn't know. The man led her to a slightly secluded area where three bizarre-looking people waited.
One of them, a man looked her over and she suddenly became aware of the dirt staining her skin, face, and hair. The other two one man and one woman looked disgusted before the first man said. "Get her on the table, we've got a lot to do." She shrank back as the other two grabbed her, cringing by the arms, and pulled her onto a table lit up a bright white by light panels all across the surface. Her terror increased as they roughly tugged off her orchards uniform and underthings leaving her body bare for them to look over.
She moved to leave as their prying stares roamed over her bare body and again the first man said, "tie her down, let's get to work." Fear slammed through her as restraints locked her wrists down and the three people collected tools she didn't recognize from around the room. The woman approached with what almost looked like the hoses they used in the fields, and cold water rushed over her. She bit down on her shout at the two men began scrubbing down her body, washing away the dirt from the orchards and fields harshly.
Her skin stung as the two wielded their painful brushes, the water rushed over her again before a blast of heat rushed over her, biting against her skin. The shorter man, his skin a dark orange-red moved to the side of the room his hands manipulating a machine she didn't recognize and the other two circled her face wielding tweezers that caused her face to hurt as they pulled at her eyebrows. The taller man, the one giving orders had purple hair and blue designs on his face, while the woman had green hair and yellow skin.
She saw the shorter man come back over and pull a thick liquid laden brush from a small pot and heat surged over her leg and foot. Then a heaviness settled over it and she felt the same thing happening to her other leg. She was about to release a breath when pain raced down her leg and she nearly screamed, "she's sooo hairy, this is gross!" The woman said looking down at her in disgust as she grabbed at her other leg, and the same pain seared through her, nearly taking her breath away.
This continued until she felt a tugging on her scalp, "how many knots can a person have." Her hair tugged at her scalp as her hand was lifted, and her skin stung. "Have you looked at her nails it's going to take forever to fix this mess!" She felt something close around her nail and a burning pain sparked in her hands.
Her eyes shot open as she saw the woman pull out the other half of her forefinger's nail. A small machine at her side, blinking back tears as the men rubbed her body down with freezing cold cream. Closing her eyes as the pain continued until finally, after what seemed like days, it stopped.
She opened her eyes to see a pale-skinned man moving to the side of the room pressing a button, her restraints released the man handed her a silky blue robe. "Come with me," he said and she shifted to her feet shivering when they touched the cold metal floor and she pulled on the garment covering herself. Following him out of the room and up the stairs.
Her footsteps made no sound as she followed the man into the next room where a spacious couch sat next to a fireplace. She sat down as the man did the same, "I'm sorry for the prep team, they are, overzealous." She swallowed her throat dry, her voice hoarse, "I can tell." The man tilted his head pressing a small button and a glass of water appeared from a hole in the table beside her, and she took a sip. "Thank you." How nice it must be for these people, everything coming to them at the press of a button.
He sat down and she drank from the glass again, "I suppose introductions are in order, I am Reed Nightshire, your stylist for the Games." She lowered the glass her hands shaking, "my name's Alyssum, Wildstone." He nodded, "I know and I hope you at least like what I have for you." Her laugh was dry and blank, "do I have a choice."
The thoughts in her mind were simple, she was likely already dead. The odds were never in her favor, she was smaller than the girls her age, nearing fifteen. Her only combat experience was with the peacekeepers, which had only ever taught her how to take a beating, and with her neighbor Rush in an alleyway where she had simply run as fast as she could away from him after kneeing him between the legs. Meanwhile, she was up against Careers who had trained their whole lives for this moment and wanted to go to the Games.
"I'm dead either way so you might as well leave me in this." The man tilted his head his fingers drumming on his knee before he pressed a small button beside him, this one green. Out of the floor spun a mannequin and he said, "if you're dead either way, might as well make an impression." A small smile spread across her face, not a real one but she drained the glass of water she forced herself to rise to her feet saying, "I think, I like the way you think."
