𝓕𝓲𝓻𝓮𝓯𝓵𝔂 - (𝓕.𝓞𝓭𝓪𝓲𝓻)

04.

vol ii
☼ chapter four ☼

"You have no idea what you have just done!" For the first time, her escort is dangerously angry.

Rafael is shaking his head at her. "You're playing a dangerous game, kid. This could have some real bad consequences."

"You have to stick to the cards, Theia!"
"I know, Ambrose. I'm sorry—I just couldn't stand there, looking at his family and their expressions, and not say anything. What type of person would I be then?"

"Just—" He sighs frustratedly, trying to calm himself. "Just don't do it again. We cannot afford to have another mishap on this tour, and we've only just begun!"
Part of Theia believes it's the escort's need for perfection that has driven his fury, but another part believes it's more than that, that his worry runs deeper, and that this time it's her safety that is the true concern.
He was not the uninformed Capitol lackey that he had been before her games.

"Now let's prepare ourselves for damage control."

~

Each day turns into an indistinguishable cycle full of ceremonies, dinners, and train rides. Having heeded the warnings, Theia sticks to the scripts, not daring to diverge again. She puts on an almost pristine act, feigning smiles and waves to greet the cheering crowds who had come to see her.

Some districts had been more bearable than others. There were those who were particularly pleased to see her, and then, of course, there were those in which she got a frostier greeting. She didn't blame them; of course, she wasn't expecting districts 5 and 10—after she had killed their male tributes—to be overly welcoming.

Perhaps her most unsettling interactions, however, had been those in districts 1 and 2.

There had been no real fury over the deaths of their fallen, no obvious dislike for the victor of the Seventy-second Hunger Games. No, rather, there was an underlying sense of admiration for her. Theia found it sickening the way the young people in the crowd seemed to look up at her adoringly, as if she were this great hero.

She was not.

Chillingly, even the families of the deceased seemed to believe that their children had died honourable deaths at her hands, congratulating Theia on her esteemed win.

She was almost glad to leave, if it weren't for her next destination having been the Capitol.

The minute she stepped inside the city, she was bombarded: cameras and reporters following her every move, fans screaming and chasing her.

The training centre had been filled to the brim for her return interview with Caesar Flickerman, with guards having to prevent more people from storming the doors to gain entry.

It was glaringly obvious how much influence Theia had.

A large proportion of the crowd had worn items from Blayse's fashion lines, and she had even seen some that had surgically altered themselves to try and look like her.

Apparently, there had also been a huge rise in the uptake of engineering work in the Capitol, to the point where labs had been forced to turn away hundreds.

Everyone was enamoured with her. And it was becoming dangerous.

~

"Posture Theia! Stand up straight, please, dear; we need to have a memorable entrance." Ambrose thoroughly grooms his hair before moving to straighten his luminescent golden suit.