Daughter of the Games (Sequel to Pregnant in the Games)

Chapter 14: The Tribute Parade

That night, I couldn't sleep. My thoughts had me up all night. Grey has some deadly, unknown sickness that could cut her life short. I kept thinking about the Tribute Parade, the world's most important first impression. On top of that, I kept thinking about Ni opening up to me, how shady Ivan's emotions have been since the Reaping, and how my family in District 1 is doing. My mind didn't get a moment of rest. 

I drifted off at some point very early in the morning. My sleep was cut off all too soon when there was a knock on my door. Raven came to woke me so that we can get ready for the Tribute Parade. She brought me to the table, where I ate breakfast. Ni sat to my right. Raven sat to my left. Across the table, Grey and Ivan ate in complete silence. Grey looked okay; there were little signs of her sickness. Ivan, on the other hand, looked like Hell. I had never seen him appear to be so upset. He looks like he got even less sleep than I did. He kept glancing at Grey with tentative eyes, as if he was afraid that she would dissolve into dust at any moment. His eyes were red and swollen, showing that he had been up crying. The relationship that Ivan and Grey have is really special. They're closer than Cane and I ever were. And now that we might be losing Grey, it's tearing him apart. 

Once breakfast was finished, Raven brought us to the bottom floor of the building, where our stylists were. Grey and I were given to one team of stylists; Ivan and Ni were given to another. The stylists got to work on us, plucking and waxing. Then our designer came in. Our designer's name is Lace. He's probably one of the most flamboyant Capitol people I have ever seen. He looks mostly normal, with the exception of his tattoos. He's covered in an embroidery design, which is where he gets his name. Almost all of his exposed skin is covered. The tattoo run up his neck, stopping just below the chin. Some of the tatoo strands came up higher onto his face. There's also swirls tattooed on the outside of his eyes like an eyeliner design. He's wearing turqoise contacts, which contract against his black hair. 

"Grey, Crystal, what a treat!" Lace said, kissing both of us on the cheek. "I was so glad to be assigned to you two. You're a designer's dream. Grey, your name works with every color in the rainbow. Crystal, your name makes a great pop of shine on any outfit. Plus, with who your parents are, there's a lot of concepts that I could work with. I am so excited!" 

Grey and I glanced at each other. We've met a lot of flamboyant Capitol people. But I think Lace tops all of them. He embodies the stereotype of a person from the Capitol. The way he speaks, the enthusiasm in his eyes... Everything about him screams where he's from. 

Lace gave Grey her dress first. When she came out of the dressing room, she wore a beautiful dress. It's reletively short, and looks like bark. The dress is strapless, and the top of it has a few branches sticking out of it. There's a leaf here and there. The most stunning part about the dress, however, is it's color. The bark is grey. It shimmers when the light hits it perfectly. The leaves are dark blue, contrasting the grey. The dress makes her look very grown up. 

Then it was my turn. Lace put the dress in my hands. I stared at it for a few moments, dejavu nagging at my mind. Low neckline, black at the top and changing to red at the bottom. Gems littered the top. Lace spoke at the same moment I realized where I had seen it before. 

"It was your mother's parade dress," Lace said. "I was very young back then, and I remember being absolutely enticed by it." 

I took a deep breath. "Why am I wearing this?" 

"Because your audience will eat you up if they see you in your mother's dress! Plus, I know you'll look gorgeous in it! The stones still excrete smoke, after all these years." 

I blinked, and a tear escaped the confines of my eyelids. "I don't want to wear this." 

"What? Why not?" Lace asked, frowning.