A Rebellious Spirit | Book III

Chapter Nineteen | The Penthouse & The Team

As soon as the chariot came to a complete stop, Orion jumped off of it and Quinn followed close behind him. What Quinn had told him was true, that had been the easiest part of the entire ordeal. Next would come training, watching the competition, and then finally choosing an alliance and then it would be impressing the gamemakers. Then came the really difficult part, the actual games. But Quinn had decided not to say that to him, besides that he already knew what was ahead.

"You two did great," a woman exclaimed as she approached the two of them, Ciruss was a few strides behind her. She had ruby red hair that was pin straight, and she wore a nice tailored black suit. "The jackets were perfect!" she smiled.

"Quinn, this is Madam Kelsey," Orion introduced, "My mentor." he said, his tone didn't show that he was exactly pleased with her.

"Wonderful to meet you at long last, Quinn." she smiled as she held out a hand and gave it a quick shake. "Orion, dear, we need to get going. To catch up with District One, if we catch them-- we could get on the elevator with them. You need the best allies you can get, and since you'll probably have plenty of sponsors, there will be plenty of tributes who will want you around-"

"I don't want to be allies with One," Orion stated as she gently grabbed his arm and began to lightly pull him to follow her, but his feet stayed planted firmly on the ground.

"Madam Kelsey," Ciruss said calmly, "I understand that you've had...training for this?" she nodded, "Well, whatever they taught you in District Two, isn't true." Ciruss stated, "I have experience with this, and trust me, the best place to find allies is training-- where you see their true colors."

"But-"

Ciruss shook his head, and put a hand on Quinn's shoulder. "We need to worry about getting them ready for training tomorrow, not forcing allies on them. At least not yet." he said as the group of them began to walk towards the elevators.

Madam Kelsey let out a long, exasperated sigh. "Well I'll just be going ahead of you, to make sure the penthouse is ready." then with that, she turned around and hurried towards the elevators.

Ciruss looked at Orion, "You're right, you don't want One as allies." he stated, "Those two...since I've known them, they haven't been all too...friendly towards anyone."

The three of them made their way towards the elevators slowly. They didn't want to step onto the one that Kelsey had gotten into. But they ended up in the same elevator as the District Three tributes-- Wiress and Beetee. Beetee had been one of the best techs in Panem for years, so he was in no way ready for the games again.

"Your outfits were amazing," Wiress said nicely and sheepishly.

Beetee nodded in agreement, "We could see them from our chariot."

Quinn forced out a small chuckle and a smile, "Thank you."

"Really, the mockingjay on the back was outstanding." Beetee urged, but whatever message that he was trying to convey didn't sink in to her. But Orion seemed to get it, because a small smirk spread across his face as he thanked them. "We'll see you two in training tomorrow?"

Quinn nodded.

Wiress smiled, "Some of the others are going to be going for much of it." she confessed.

Quinn raised an eyebrow, "Why not?"

"They don't need anymore training." he said simply as the elevator doors opened, and Ciruss ushered the two of them from the glass elevator. The Capitol Favorites had been given the first penthouse. They made their way down a hallway, until they got to a set of doors.

Orion pushed them open, and revealed the beautiful penthouse with a huge crystal chandelier that hung above the sitting room that had dark blue furniture. Then the dinning table sat along a wall that was completely made of glass. However, it didn't point out towards the city, it looked towards a hallow place that you could look up and down to see the other floors. Then there was a hall that led to the bedrooms. It was a a bit bigger than the old penthouses.

Remilda clapped her hands together as she emerged from the hallway, "There are my favorite tributes!" she smiled, "You two looked wonderful out there!" she exclaimed as she wrapped an arm around the two of them and guided them away from Ciruss and towards the hallway. "I'll show you to your rooms, and then you can change into something a bit more comfortable, and then whole team can have our first team meeting!" she beamed as she got to the first bedroom, "This is Ciruss' room," then another on the other side of the hall, "Madam Kelsey's...then this one is for you, Orion."

But Quinn looked up at her shocked still, "Remilda,"

"And this one is yours, my dear." she beamed as she pushed open a door to another bedroom.

"Remilda?"

She looked back at Quinn, as if she hadn't heard her the first time. Then she smiled, "Oh, no, my dear. Remilda is my twin sister," she said simply, "She's sporting green hair this year, mine is blue-green." she said simply, "I'm Mayslee, President Snow appointed me to be your escort-- and Remilda gave me special orders to keep a close eye on you." she replied.

Quinn looked her over, and then nodded a bit. "Well, thanks...for showing me to my room, I guess."

"Of course," she grinned, "See you soon for our team meeting."

Quinn gave her a curt nod and then disappeared and quickly began to strip out of the clothes that she had been put in by Lace. Quinn could ready tell that it was going to be a long stay in the penthouse with this time. The only people she could even stand to be around was Orion, Ciruss, and Lace. Mayslee was pushing it, and Madam Kelsey was a nightmare.