Twisted (Clato fanfiction)

Part Twelve - Crushing Chariot

It seems all we do in the Capitol is walk down mindless corridors. Here I am, once again, following someone to an unknown destination, maybe that’s not always the best idea but I guess I have to trust these guys. I’m  half shoved into a small room and gold plastic and metal clothing pushed into my face. The dull room is whitewashed, like a store cupboard, unloved. The floor is a dull grey, this is what I expect in the Districts but not here, not the Capitol. A spider gracefully spins a web in the corner and I shudder, spiders always give me the creeps.

“ I’ll be back in 2 to 3 minutes, make sure you’re dressed by then. I don’t want you making me look bad, I worked hard to get where I am.” Lurrias’ voice sounds sharp even through the closed door.  I’d forgotten she was even there, I was too busy keeping an eye on the spider in case it decided to jump on me or something strange, I wish i didn’t have such an over reactive imagination. Sighing I unfold the outfit and examine the monstrosity. It’s exactly like Lurrias had said, gold, warrior.  The rectangles of the bottom half of it reflects the one partially rotten light swinging precariously from a crack in the ceiling. The atmosphere in this tiny room is like I would expect being in the arena is, waiting for someone to jump out at you from nowhere, wielding a weapon. Looking around I tell myself nothing is going to happen and try to bring my attention to the item crinkled in my hand.

“No way am I wearing that.” I say, only to myself. But I know I have to, god knows what will happen if I cause trouble here, I don’t even want to think about it. Reluctantly I slip on the outfit, it’s a roman prize-fighter styled dress, with a matching headband and wings stuck on the side of the head wear.  I adjust the length of the dress as Lurrias stalks in, making me jump because I never heard her outside, I still thought she was gone. She inspects me with her eyes, looking pleased with herself.

“You don’t fill that out half as bad as I thought. I’m relieved, all I could imagine was a sack of potatoes on you but obviously there’s more muscle and body fat on you than I expected.” Her tongue is as sharp as the knives I use at home. Home, even my less than perfect life there I would do anything to go there but there’s no escaping my fate. I should be offended by what she says but I'm past the point of caring.

 “Why thank you, I like to surprise people.” I shoot back, giving her a false smile.  She gives a high pitched nasally laugh, which I swear could’ve broken the light bulb. 

“I think it’s best if we go and find your little boyfriend now instead of wasting time talking.” On that note she strode off, expecting me once again to follow.

She leads me into a giant chamber underground. The smell of horses is sickly strong, there’s something comforting about the smell though. A hive of people rush around terrified teenagers in ridiculous costumes, making mine look pretty stylish, but there’s hardly any competition. I spot Cato in the middle and we walk over to him, I see Lurrias glancing at him for just a few seconds too long and I can see Cato’s getting a bit uncomfortable. He turns to me and tries not to laugh.

“It’s not funny,” I say sulkily, folding my arms like a child.

“It sort of is babe.” He chuckles. He looks down at his body, his outfit is the same as mine but we look completely different, he looks god- like, no wonder Lurrias was checking him out. I start to feel stupid and I just want to get away. Lurrias doesn’t like the attention not being on her so she presses her fingers against Cato’s chest, brushing down it and then they stop, pull a rectangular piece of material straight and leaves her fingers there. My cheeks burn with anger, Cato looks away then turns to study my face. He swipes Lurrias hand away and takes a step towards me, cupping my head in his hands. I stare deeply into his eyes, I see pain, I see sadness but I see love and happiness, my heart melts away. Our lips inch closer and closer until the press together, adoring. It’s over too quick and I have to come back to the sad reality. Lurrias is nowhere to be seen, she must’ve sulked off somewhere but that’s fine by me. I lace my fingers around Cato’s while he smiles affectionately at me, I’m grateful for the make-up my prep team covered on me because otherwise he would notice my red cheeks.