Chapter 4

Arriving at the Capitol and being whisked away to the prep team was all a blur. All Prim knew was that now she was surrounded by three Capitol citizens, each one looking a bit more bizarre than the last. But they were nice to her; they all seemed genuinely upset that such a young, beautiful girl had gotten reaped for the games.

"Truly, you have to be the most beautiful tribute from District 12 that we have ever seen!" gushed Octavia, the plump one with pea-green skin.

Flavius nodded his head, his orange corkscrew curls bobbing along with him. "A real diamond in the rough!" he agreed emphatically. Prim smiled and continued to let her prep team polish her down. They bathed her, buffed her, and made her glow. Once they were satisfied with their work, they ushered her into an adjacent room, where they said her stylist would meet her. For the first time since the morning of the Reaping, Prim was truly alone. On the train, Peeta was across from her. But she didn't even know where Peeta's prep room was, or what building she was in for that matter. She crossed her arms around her stomach and sighed. She felt so lonely, and District 12 seemed a world away. As the tears threatened to spill over, a man with dark skin and gold eyeliner opened the door. Startled, Prim jumped.

"I'm sorry," the man said, "I didn't mean to frighten you. My name is Cinna, I'm going to be your stylist." Prim's shoulders relaxed. Cinna was different than the other Capitol citizens she had met so far. Nothing about him was over the top. Besides his eyeliner, she could see him walking around District 12.

"How are you?" Cinna continued. "You've been through a lot these past few days." Prim smiled and her chest warmed. This was the first person since the Reaping to ask how she was doing. She almost wanted to tell him the truth, that she was scared and devastated and heartbroken, but instead, she shrugged, not wanting to burden her stylist with her emotions.

"That was a brave thing you did at the Reaping," Cinna states. "I don't think anything like that has ever been done before. Was that your sister who volunteered for you?" He asked.

Prim nodded, "My older sister, Katniss. She has always taken care of me and has basically given up everything for me. I couldn't let her sacrifice her life, too. Although, she would have had a good chance of winning."

"Well, I think you'll have a good chance of winning, too," Cinna says, seeming confident with that statement. Once again, Prim is taken aback by Cinna. Katniss had believed in her, told her she could win, but everyone else so far had looked upon the small girl with pity. No one gave her a second glance, there was no feasible way she could win. But, Cinna seemed so certain, so confident in her chances. It made her heart ache, and all she could do was whisper "Thank you."

"Of course. And it will all start with the Capitol falling in love with you tonight. Once they see you, they'll all bet on you." Cinna said while walking towards a wardrobe in the room. He pulled out a black unitard with red and orange tassels. "District 12's chariot costumes have been distasteful in the past, in my opinion. A lot of wasted opportunity. Well, that stops now. The beauty and potential of District 12's tributes start with you." Prim wasn't quite sure what her stylist was getting at, but she trusted him, so she let him put the unitard on her and do some finishing touches on her hair and makeup.

When they got down to where the rest of the tributes were waiting, Prim wasn't so sure how much she trusted Cinna anymore. He had explained that she and Peeta would be set on fire with a synthetic flame. He seemed perfectly confident that everything would go well, but Prim had seen too many coal mining accidents to know how serious injuries caused by burns could be. Peeta had arrived with his stylist, looking a little green.

"What do you think of this whole fire thing?" Peeta asked, trying to keep his voice even for Prim's sake.

"Let's hope it works," Prim says, trying to make light of the situation, but also being serious. As they waited for the parade to start, Prim looked around at the other tributes. She saw the other young tribute from District 11, and the monstrous boy from her District as well. She saw the Career tributes, all mature and muscular and beautiful. Even the smaller tributes were leagues larger than her. Prim's heart sank, not understanding how Cinna could be sure that she could win against these tributes who were basically full-grown adults compared to her.

Suddenly, it was time to board the chariot, and Prim felt her stomach in her throat. "You ready?" Cinna asked. Prim nodded, despite her heart feeling like it was going to burst. She closed her eyes… and nothing. She didn't feel anything. She opened her eyes, and her mouth fell open when she saw Peeta, who was seemingly engulfed in flames, but not in any pain. She turned to Cinna, who was saying something she couldn't make out. "He wants us to hold hands," Peeta yells so she can hear him. Prim nods takes her District partner's hand, and the chariot starts to move.

She's glad she has Peeta's hand because the sheer amount of people in the crowd left Prim in a state of shock, she needed something to ground herself. When she finally adjusts, she hears people screaming her name. Her name. Primrose. They were cheering for her. She smiles and waves timidly to the crowd, and they swoon. Primrose Everdeen has captured the heart of the Capitol. She has everyone in the crowd wrapped around her finger by the time the chariot stops in the center. She catches sight of herself on one of the television screens. She couldn't believe that it was her being broadcasted. Not once in her life had she ever felt so radiant, so beautiful. Then, President Snow appears on the balcony to give his speech. Prim has to stop herself from looking at the screen, where the cameras are seemingly glued to the tributes from 12.

Finally, the chariots do one last lap around the center circle and then exit. Cinna is there to extinguish the tributes, and the rest of the crew seems absolutely elated. Even Haymitch has a smile on his face and winks at Prim. "Showstopping performance, sweetheart." He tells her while nodding at Peeta. They seem to have some sort of conversation with their eyes that Prim can't make out, but she doesn't have time to dwell on it, as Effie is ushering everyone to the elevator and to their rooms.

Just as quickly as the beauty and adrenaline of the day came, it was soon washed down the shower drain. She watched as glitter and black makeup swirled with soap and disappeared. She felt exhausted and collapsed into the silk sheets of her bed. Tomorrow would be the first day of training; she would have to be prepared to learn as much as she could. As she drifted off into sleep, Cinna's voice kept repeating in her head.

"I think you'll have a good chance of winning, too"

For the first time since she had been taken away from her family, Prim thought that maybe, just maybe, she could return to them.

Author's Note: Hey everyone, sorry for going MIA for a while! I was on vacation in Thailand and then I just felt rather unmotivated, but I am going to try updating as much as I can! This is also sort of a shorter chapter, as I am trying to get back in the swing of things. Thank you for giving this story so much love while I was gone!