the 19th Hunger Games: ch.3

Chapter 3

Trust me, being prepped isn't fun. At all. No fun. It hurts when you're a girl. Maybe it's nasty for boys too but I don't know. I wasn't at Oscar's prepping. I had a nice team though. A man and a woman getting rid of seriously all my body hair with the exception of those on my head. They did cut it though, shorting it until it was a beautiful white wave just past my shoulders, instead of my hips like it used to. It was easier to comb this way and pulling it back into a simple ponytail would make it less likely that I would get tangled up in something in the arena. I didn't mind the cutting. It didn't hurt and it was sort of mesmerizing to see all those locks of hair falling to the ground. They washed it and sprayed it with all kinds of stuff and secretly I wondered whether or not it would do my hair much good. But when they were done with me and I was allowed to put my robe on, I was looking pretty close to beautiful. My eyebrows were fine thin lines, slightly darker than they used to be. May hair was a pretty fountain of sparkling white and my legs and armpits felt so soft and smooth it was miraculous I'd never minded hair before. My whole skin was like satin and I didn't even know what satin was.
   When they were done with me, Celia the female and Taint the male, I had to wait for my stylist whose name was Yune. I didn't have to wait long though because before too long the door opened and a young woman walked in. She was very extravagant and that made me nervous. Being one of the a bit richer kids in 10 I'd always had reasonably good clothes, but this woman was so stylish I looked like a kid from 12 in comparison. She wore this baby blue wig that flowed down all the way to her knees. A piercing was visible just below her eye and on the side of her face ran a light, almost white tattoo of a flower. I wasn't sure what kind of though. She wore a short blue-ish dress with sparkles and an open back, another tattoo covering her back white piercings around the edges. Every piercing had a small diamond so in the light her whole back lit up. The tattoo was shaped like to marvellous sparkling angel wings. It was stunning.
   She reached out her hand to me that I gently shook, but she appeared to have a nice firm grip.
"Hi, I'm Yune. And you must be Xanthe." I nodded in awe. What was I supposed to do, bow to her? She wasn't royalty but she might as well be. "Don't be nervous, I might look weird to you but inside, I'm just a person." She smiled gently at me.
"So what now? Are you gonna dress me up like you?"
"No I'm not. This wouldn't do you any good." She kicked of her 12 inch heels and only then I realised she wasn't much taller than I. "I'm gonna make you look beautiful but simple. Impressions are the most important thing for a future victor. Come one, take of your robe so I can see you." I felt rather uncomfortable about it but, I reasoned, the two from my prep team had already seen me naked so this creature could too. I untied the knot and let my robe slip of my shoulders. Immediately I felt naked and vulnerable again, like at the reaping.
   Yune started circling around me, every now and then touching me. To straighten my back, brush away my hair to see my neck, bent my knees… Finally she was done and stopped her pacing to face me. "You have a good figure. We can work with that just well. What do you do back in your district?"
"I go to school," I answered, "and when I get home and in weekends I help my parents with the herding and feeding of cows. They're ranchers."
"Lovely," she said with a delighted smile. "Do you have a horse?" I nodded and a tiny smile broke through my mask.
"Yes I do! Her name is Medea and she's completely black. Very fast too." She observed me for a few long seconds and then said, "You know what I like about you? You talk about now, about what you do in the present. Most tributes talk about home in past tense. That's what gets them killed. Their memories are in the past and consciously or not they're mind is set on dying. But yours is set on living, I can sense it. I think you might stand a chance. But you're gonna need my help since you have no mentor. And I think Ahm isn't really much help either, is he?" I shook my head, starting to like this strange Capitol specimen. I decided that if I really got out of the arena alive and not in a body bag, I'd write a book about all the Capitol specimen I'd encountered. Sort of like a guide to another world. That would be fun.
"I adore horses," Yune said absentmindedly. "But now, let's discuss your costume for the opening ceremonies. I've got a great deal to show you. Come on, put your robe back on and let's sit down." I quickly picked up my robe, tied the knot and sat down next to her on soft brown chairs in the corner of the room. Out of a bag I hadn't noticed before she took a sketchbook, which she opened with care. There were loose pieces of paper everywhere, some with notes and some with tiny drawings. "Mace is you're counterpart's stylist. He and I have been brainstorming about the most enchanting costumes for the opening. Come, lean in closer so you can see them." I did what she asked of me, putting my elbow on the side of her chair. I saw delicate sketches of male and female figures, thin, perfect bodies with faceless heads, dressed in truly amazing clothes. "Here are some of the options," she said. "Your district is livestock but we refuse to do anything with cows. But since 10 has horses too…" Her voice trailed off as a horrid idea popped up in my head.
"Oh no, you're not gonna dress us up as animals, right?" She turned her face to me and flashed me a brilliant smile.
"Of course not, that is so over-done. No, but we want to give you the elegance of a horse. The tall legs, slender bodies, shiny manes… Their trot is really graceful. I want you to be as graceful as possible. Here, this is my favourite." She showed me a picture of the elegant female faceless body dressed in a tight white suit with the back dipping so low you could see the small of the lower back and a neck line so deep everyone would see my chest and cleavage. I didn't have much of the latter, but still. Tight flat boots wrapped up to just below the knees as gloves went up all the way to the elbows. Fine ribbons worked their way up from the elbow the shoulders, then down around the body, forming a loose belt around the hips. And from that ribbon belt a thin veil-like piece of cloth flowed down elegantly to the floor, waving around the legs, forming a puddle on the floor.
"It's… not bad," I breathed.
"Wait until you see it," Yune smiled. She flicked her fingers and a second later Taint hopped in, excited smile pulling up the corners of his lips, a bag in his hands.
"Can I unzip it?" he whispered. Yune nodded and in no time he had my costume in his hands. In real it was much more stunning than in the sketchbook. The white was so brilliant it nearly blinded me and the ribbon was so sparkly it lit up the room. And the flowing fabric was so light it felt like feathers.
"It's beautiful!" I managed.
"I knew you'd like it," Yune said and she seemed at least as excited as Taint.
"What will Oscar wear?" I then asked.
"You'll see," was her only reaction. "Come on, let's get you dressed and ready for the big opening."
   It took a few hours but finally it was done. I was all zipped up into my bright costume. My make-up was light, just a tiny bit less white than my suit. More like my hair and according to them it brought out the shine in my blue eyes. They'd put a thin layer of glitter in my cheeks and finally put my headpiece on my loose hair. It was like a crown, fragile, shiny white with tiny sparkly thingies laid into the metal. From the back of it soft see-through strips of fabric flowed down my back and when I ran a bit, it was like the mane of a horse. I wasn't quite sure how this represented my district, but I was glad enough I didn't have to walk around in the ridiculous cow costumes last year's tributes had. Or the ones of two years ago. Kids were stark naked, bodies painted black and white. It was horrific. No, I wouldn't complain.
   Yune took my hand and guided me out of the dressing room. She hadn't showed me my reflection but said I looked stunning. I had to believe her for it. I only knew about the thing that looked like a mane from circling around and touching it.
   She brought me to the elevator, stepped in and smiled.
"This is it, Xanthe. You'll see Oscar down there." We whisked down to the lowest level of the remake centre and when we got out, I looked to my left and saw small Oscar standing there in suit like mine but more man-like. Looser outfits and boots, no sparkles, no flowing fabrics and no ribbons. Pitch black. His dark hair and eyes seemed even a darker shade than before and he looked almost proud to be here. It was mere façade enhanced by the ever so thin layer of make-up. But the grave look suited him well.
   Yune and a man who must be Oscar's stylist, Mace, guided us to our chariot. All the other districts where there too, standing next to or in their chariots, looking grave, even more than Oscar.  I saw the poor kids from 12, only covered in black underwear with coal dust covering their bodies. The girl was shivering and looked absolutely horrified. The twin kids from 5 looked stunning though. Their thing was power and that was exactly what they radiated.
   Yune and Mace helped us up onto the chariots and then jumped off themselves as the vehicles, pulled along by a team of two moon-white and two pitch-black horses started moving.
"Good luck!" Mace called after us. "We'll see you on the other side." Oscar and I glanced at each other.
"Ready?" he asked.
"Never," I responded, echoing his previous reaction. He smiled, raised his arm and placed it on my upper arm. I did the same so our arms were locked but we weren't holding hands. Friendship was what we radiated and friendship was exactly what we needed. "Here goes nothing," I whispered as we broke into the sunlight, music overwhelming us.
   What happened next was something I had not expected. As the sunlight hit our suits, he started radiating shadows of utter darkness, overwhelming and fierce, while I lit up like the sun itself, rays of light touching the faces in the crowd. It was mesmerizing. I could see it not only on the stunned faces of the victors but also on the large screens on the sides of the road. And it wasn't just my radiance that enchanted people. It was also the pure darkness coming from Oscar. The small boy, merely thirteen years old looked like a grown man now, powerful and someone you'd rather fear. But the crowd decided to love it and started chanting our names. Also the names of the district 5 twins were chanted. The rest of the tributes pretty much disappeared into nothingness. Oscar's grip tightened around my arm as he fought to keep his face straight. No smiling, not now. Smiling was meant for the interview before the Games. This was the moment to make a strong impression.
   The horses pulled us along as the crowd went nuts everywhere. First at the sight of the shining twins, then at the sight of light and darkness that were the tributes of 10. We were marvellous. This had to make some people think they'd like to sponsor us. Then I realised no one would because only a mentor could close sponsor deals. But I was determined not to let that bring me down.
   After about twenty minutes we reached the City Circle where the Anthem was played and where we were welcomed. Lovely. Nothing like being welcomed to a city of people who'd love to see you die. Finally we were escorted into the Training Centre where we'd stay until the Games. As we rode into the building I stopped radiating light and Oscar stopped being a living shadow. Our prep teams and stylists welcomed us. Yune gave me a hug and kissed both my cheeks once.
"That was absolutely stunning," she breathed. "The crowd loved you two!"  Oscar and I exchanged confident glances but the annoyed mutterings of the other tributes pushed the excitement away for a moment. They were ready to kill us just then and there. The horrors of the arena would only enrage them further. Lovely, really.
"Come on kids, lets get you undressed," Mace said as our prep teams escorted us out.