Reaper ~ THG AU

Ch. 14: Dress

^this is the closest I could find to what I pictured her dress looking like. Pretend it's her skin tone

"You look absolutely beautiful!"

Minerva gushes as she fixes my hair. I smile into the mirror, not believing what stares back. My makeup is flawless and magical. It's the closest to what I'd think a goddess's makeup would look like. A lot of sparkle, a lot of bold yet neutral colors, and gorgeous drawn on stems and flowers working as eyeliner.

"You did a fantastic job..."

"Thank you, Darling. Now...Noviana should be here soon with your dress. Until then-"

Before she can finish her sentence, Acacius, Seeder, and Ditus walk in. The escort smiles at me, almost gasping as they see my makeup. Seeder wears a formal dress, similar to the dresses from home. Acacius, on the other hand, wears a nice dress shirt that's a nice sage green color and black slacks. He has a nice tie and shining shoes, a few pieces of simple gold jewelry here and there. Mostly rings and stud earrings.

"You look...absolutely breathtaking, my dear..."

"Thank you, Ditus....you look amazing as well."

"Thank you! I was thinking of wearing a different dress then I was thinking, I wear a lot of dresses..should I spice it up and wear a suit tonight? Then-"

"We need to talk about what you two will be saying tonight."

Seeder interrupts Ditus, making the escort huff before standing up straight. Ditus nods, looking between the two of us.

"She's right. Okay. So the word is that both of you are hot! And I don't just mean looks!"

Ditus laughs, moving to take a seat on the small couch in my dressing room. Acacius stands near me as Seeder takes a seat next to Ditus. Minerva, Sanchi, and Julius all move to clean up the beauty products that litter the table behind me.

"Acacius...everyone finds you entertaining and charismatic. Use that. Also smile a lot! The ladies seem to really like that! Azalea, I want something similar from you. Everyone seems to think of you as this ethereal being."

"What?"

"Beautiful..selfless..powerful..majestic! Everyone either wants to be you or just wants you in general, Sugar!"

"And that is why..."

Everyone turns towards the door as Noviana walks in with a rack of dresses. All of them are beautiful, other worldly even. She stops the rack before us, smiling as the prep teams gasps behind me.

"We're going to dress you in the best dress possible. These are all unreleased designs of mine. All inspired by you or your district."

"Do they have..."

"Yes. All of her have a bit of my signature elements. Some light up, others flow by themselves...it depends on what you want and what looks best on you. I'm sure with all of these and everyone here, we can pick the perfect dress."

She sighs, moving towards me as Acacius eyes the fabrics. Julius steps forward, excited as he points towards a bright blue dress.

"Ooo! Pick that one first!"

I stand, moving towards the rack before grabbing out the dress he picked. I smile, walking behind the dressing screen with Noviana right behind me. I hang it on the hook before dropping my robe.

——

"None of them are right..."

"I liked the lilac one."

"Yes it was nice but not...it."

Noviana sighs as she eyes me in the white and gold dress. Acacius over looks the remaining dresses with his hand resting against his chin in deep thought. He snaps his fingers, pulling out a gorgeous dress close to my skin tone. He holds it up, giving it to me.

"Try this one on."

"Yes. That one. Now."

Noviana stands, a new pep in her step as she pushes me towards the screen. I sigh, once again letting her help me take off the dress before helping me into the new one. She smiles, pointing towards the leaves and flowers all over the corset.

"The tech in this one is special...you push here, and it automatically matches your skin tone. You push this one and the sleeves turn into Angel like wings as a form of accessory..and this one illuminates a few seams in the dress to cause a bit of dimension."

She points towards three different flowers, all a different shape and size. I push the first one she pointed at, a small one near my breasts. She gasps, nodding as she looks me over.

"This is the one. Let's go show everyone else."

——

"Okay..we'll wait here until they call for the districts to line up. I'm going to go order some drinks, anyone want anything?"

"A water..."

"Us too."

Seeder answers first before Acacius calls out. I smile towards Ditus before they walk away. Chaff looks up with a sad huff that the escort already left without his order. I really don't blame Ditus for doing so.

"So...what should we do tomorrow?"

"What do you mean?"

"Well...the cornucopia is always a bloodbath, but it also holds all the weapons and supplies that we may need to survive. What should we do?"

I look from Acacius towards the two mentors. They share a look before turning back towards my brother and I.

"How confident are you in your battle skills?"

"It depends on what we can get our hands on. I'm pretty okay with a sword or axe, better with a spear but they didn't have any of my preferred weapons in the training center and doubt they'll have them in the arena. Acacius is good with a spear but best with knives."

"Do you think you could make it out of the cornucopia alive if you both go in?"

"I think..." Acacius looks at me, his eyes studying me before turning back towards Seeder and Chaff. "As long as we're quick and alert, we can get out of there."

"Okay. Then here's the plan..."

——

"All tributes report to the side entrance to the auditorium.."

Acacius and I stand, both of us gulping as we move towards the double doors. I finish my water, feeling an unquenchable thirst coming on as Acacius guides me down a hall. Ditus and Seeder follow, telling us where to go as I take a deep breath.

We come to a softy lit hall, the other tributes lining up with the girls before the boys. I sigh, stepping up behind the boy from 10. Acacius stands behind me, sending me a smile as the the show starts. Caesar starts up the intro, hyping up the crowd before calling out.

"You know her as the girl from 1, I know her as the sword-welding huntress...a big round of applause for Caraty Blythe!"

The tall blonde steps out, waving and smiling towards the crowd she sends a few kisses before joining Caesar. Her dress is a sleek, pure white gown with gold highlights. I guess it was a good thing we didn't go with the gold and white dress.

She starts expressing how thankful to be here and to be in front of the Capitol. I turn, sharing a look with my brother as we both roll our eyes. Caesar and the Capitol citizens seem to just eat it up, cheering and laughing along with her.

Maybe this won't be so hard...

⚔️

A/N

The next chapter will be pretty long y'all so just be prepared.

Drink water!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!?!!!!!

Love
-the Author