I walked to the stage door and Johanna was there arguing with her stylist. "It has to go up." Johanna said rudely to her stylist. "I'll do it again." The stylist cried in frustration. "Ruth they're going to adore you. And there are a lot of sponsors in the audience. So of course, just be your usual self. Actually, be your happier self." Clive said about the sponsors as I stood next to Johanna waiting to be announced and Johanna stared at me in disbelief. "Really? A wedding dress?" Johanna asked me about the wedding dress as I rolled my eyes at her sarcasm. "Snow made me wear it." I said to her about Snow as Caesar's voice boomed through the doors. "Ladies and gentlemen, please welcome, you know her as the girl on fire..." Caesar said to the crowd about me as Johanna smirked at me. "Make him pay for it." Johanna said with the most animalistic tone ever. "With pleasure." I said with an equally same tone and a smirk.
"The victor of the 67th and last year's Hunger Games, Ruth Junewealth!" Caesar continued as I walked onto the stage and the whole crowd erupted into cheers. Snow watched from his mansion and smiled happily to himself seeing the wedding dress. "Ruth Junewealth, you look fabulous! Doesn't she?" Caesar said as the audience cheered and clapped their approval. I walked over to Caesar who was in the middle of the platform. "My, my. Wooh, wooh, wooh! Now, Ruth, this is a very big and very emotional night, for all of us. Wouldn't you say?" Caesar asked me and I decided to joke around with him. "Oh, don't go crying on me now, Caesar." I said to him and making the audience laughed. "I can't be making promises, you know me." Caesar said as I laughed. "You know I wouldn't believe you even if you did." I said about believing him. "I love her! The girl on fire, so cheeky." Caesar said to the crowd as they cheered even more. Caesar and I both laughed at his comment and the crowd also laughed. "But, Ruth, on a more serious note. I think we're all here a little disappointed, more than a little disappointed, that a certain wedding did not take place. Aren't we folks? But, am I correct in assuming that this is the gown that you would have worn on that day, yes or no?" Caesar asked about the wedding and the dress I was wearing. "Yes. President Snow thought everyone would want to see it." I said about the dress with venom dripping in my tone. "Well President Snow, as usual, was right. Was he not folks?" He said as he laughed turning to the audience.
The whole audience clapped in applause to the chose of President Snow. "I love it! I love it! Don't you love it?" Caesar said as the audience continued to cheer in excitement. "Will you do us the honour? Please, please, please?" Caesar asked me to twirl for the audience. I stepped forward and looked at Cinna who nodded his head. I spun around and the dress produced flames as I carried on and the dress became black. "Oh, my God! Oh, my God." Caesar said as he saw the dress. When I spread my arms, a pair of wings emerged to represent the Mockingjay, the audience rose to their feet to clap and cheer for me. "It's got feathers. And it's like uh...it's like a bird...it's like um...um..." Caesar said tying to think of the bird and I smiled. "Like a Mockingjay." I said about the bird name. "Your stylist has certainly outdone himself this time, hasn't he? What theatricality? Cinna, take a bow." Caesar asked Cinna to do as the camera zoomed in on Cinna who stood in the audience and made a small, gracious bow but I had the sudden instinct of worry but I was afraid for him. What had he done? Incredibly dangerous, a crime. It wasn't only the sign from my pin but the symbol of the rebellion and he did it for me. Somewhere in my memory I remembered his words to me about his emotions. "Don't worry. I always channel my emotions into my work. That way I don't hurt anyone but myself." Cinna had said and it made me afraid he had hurt himself beyond repair. The significance behind it would not be forgotten by President Snow. The audience who had been stunned into silence, broke into a wild applause. So loud when the buzzer went off indicating my three minutes were up I could barely hear it.
Caesar thanked me and I walked up the stairs to where the rest of the Victors were stood above the stage still in the view of the audience. Roy strolled casually on stage and Caesar remembered his crush so tried to walk with it. They opened with a couple of jokes and then Caesar got straight down to business. "So Roy, what was it like after all you have been through, to find out about the Quell?" Caesar asked as Roy scratched behind his neck. "I was in shock. Just a minute before I saw Ruth in all those beautiful dresses and then..." Roy said trailing off. "You realized there was never going to be a wedding?" Caesar asked gently about the wedding. Roy paused for a long time as though he was deciding something. He looked at the mesmerised audience, then at the floor, then finally at Caesar. "Do you think all our... friends here can keep a secret?" Roy asked about the crowd as an uncomfortable laugh went throughout the whole audience. I looked at him weirdly, who from? The whole of Panem was watching. "I feel quite certain of they will." Caesar said about the crowd also about a secret. "We were going to get married a day after we were chosen for the Quarter Quell." Roy said quietly as he just told everyone in Panam that we were doing the wedding the day after the reaping as the crowd reacted in astonishment while I looked down in shock. "But... how can that be?" Caesar asked in confusion.
