Secrets & Tears

4

        We had just finished eating when the car started dimming, the artificial bulbs inside being the only source of light. I realised we must have been inside the tunnels that lead to The Capitol, meaning we had just left District Two. 

        Light floods the compartment once more, and it starts slowing down, finally reaching our destination. I push Nyle out of the way as I run up to the window. My eyes light up as soon as I spot it.

        The ruling city of Panem, The Capitol is within my reach.

        Everything Mother told me... it couldn't compare to the actual thing. All the magnificence of glistening buildings surrounded by all the colours of the rainbow. Everything is so different from what I'm normally used to back in Four. Cars are seen everywhere carrying the beautifully dressed Capitolites around on the wide paved streets.

        Their stares follow us, and I wave at the crowd, who in turn smile and gawk at the train.

        "That's a smart tactic," Golden Boy said as he came up behind me. Everyone who saw him began going wild and he pulled out his signature grin as he waved at the audience as well.

        "What?"

        "Pretending to be interested in all of this. You really want to win, don't you?"

        I looked at him, and then back at the roaring crowd. "Right." I gave him a tight-lipped smile as I left. 

        We had pulled up into the train station, everyone staring at the train.

        I looked around, but it wasn't long until Roxxie ushered us towards the Remake Centre.

~°~°~°~°~

        I had been sitting in the Remake Centre for a little over an hour, my prep team furiously scrubbing any remaining dirt from my skin.

        Adonis, a handsome dark-skinned man, was in charge of my hair, making it silky and smooth to the touch.

        Avon, a woman with black hair, was in charge of waxing and bathing, along with her sister, Nova, who was in charge of nails.

        By my guess, they were identical twins, or they were surgically altered to give them that look. Everything was mirrored, making them look like dolls young Capitol children play with. One thing they had in common was their eyes. They were so blue, I wondered if they were altered, too.

        Nova started, "We're almost–"

        Avon took over, "Finished!"

        "Good thing you're not a whiner," Nova said while painting my nails.

        "Not hairy at all, either!" Avon looked at her sister and smiled a wide grin.

        "I think she's ready! Don't you, Adonis?" They said in unison while looking at my hairdresser. 

        For the first time since I got here, Adonis smiles. "Yes...Yes, she is."

        I look at all of them, standing in front of me with sickly looking grins, I don't realise the needle poking into my arm.

        "Don't worry. You won't feel anything at all."       

~°~°~°~°~

        When I woke up, my vision was foggy.

        "Oh, you're–"

        "Awake." The two women smiled.

        I rubbed my eyes. "How long was I asleep?"

        "The whole thing," Avon started.

        "You missed it!" Nova laughed.

        "Oh, your poor brother was so disappointed," they said together.

        "W-what?"

        "Oh, quiet, you two." Adonis spoke out. They ran off, giggling. "You didn't miss anything, darling. You've been asleep for barely fifteen minutes." He walked closer to me, grabbing my chin and moving it around, as if he was inspecting something. "Yes, it's coming along...greatly."

        His voice had authority to it, deeper than what was normally expected, and he didn't hiss the letter s as was normal for a Capitol accent

        I rubbed my lips together, suddenly feeling thirsty. There was a gooey substance on my lips, and as soon as he saw my expression, he answered my question. "It's a numbing paste. You were knocked out cold, but still. Precautions."

        "Precautions for what?

        "Vesta's ready to see you." He turned and ignored my question silently putting the supplies away as he left.

~°~°~°~°~

        I was left waiting for my stylist, the thing robe doing nothing to shield me against the coldness of the room.

        I heard the sound of tapping heels and turned around towards the door.

        An awfully pale woman walked in who I assumed to be my stylist, Vesta. I would say she looked normal, but that would be a lie. No one would be caught dead wearing simple clothes, at least, not in The Capitol. She had complex eye makeup, red with black spikes spiraling around her eyes. She had two thin braids intersecting in a cross across her forehead. The rest of her fiery red hair was held up in two braids, left to cascade around her shoulders. When she got closer I saw her abnormally pale eyes, just adding to how exotic her usual wardrobe was.

        "Hello, Lyra, I will be your stylist."

        "Hi." I say somewhat nervously.

        "You are very beautiful," she said as she walked around my bare body. "A beautiful canvas...and that's just what I need."

        "Oh, thank you."

        "How are you settling here so far? I'm guessing it must be very different than what you are used to." 

        I smiled. "Not really. I guess after some exposure, you get used to it."

        She paused. "And how'd you get exposure?"

        "My mother," I told her about my mother, Amphitrite. How she met my dad when he was at The Capitol and moved with him to District Four after he won. How she still had her hair dyed and couldn't get it out, no matter what she washed it with. She never had to face the challenges of the Hunger Games, and she used to tell me how nerve-wracking it was to see my dad in there. He was a marine biologist. That's how he won. He managed to identify seafood he could eat, unlike the others, who died in the bloodbath or starved from being in an arena that was basically all ocean. He was also the reason I loved the ocean so much.

        "She sounds lovely." I just nodded. 

        "She was. She died years ago."

        She stopped, not sure what the appropriate response was. She just looked at me and said, "Put on your robe, and follow me."

        She leads me to a sitting room. There are two couches facing each other, and in between there's a small coffee table filled with pastries. The walls are all blank except for one which is glass, looking over The Capitol.

        "So," she pulled out her sketchbook, "This is what I'm thinking. Glam, sparkle and glitz. Of course, District One already does that, so me and your partner's stylist were thinking of making it a little...homey."

        She smiled and pressed her sketchbook into my hands. I barely got a look at the design before she pulled it away again.

        "Everything is done, of course, I need to take your measurements and make sure everything fits properly...How do you feel about singing?"