The 1st Quarter Quell

Chapter 12 - The Interview

"Althea, how do your eyebrows manage to grow back so fast!" The little pink member of the prep team squeaks, painfully plucking a hair from my brows. I wince in pain as they quickly tear the roots from under my skin.

"Now, now," The Blue one sighs, "What did we tell you about biting your nails darling?" The Blue one hold up my hand, tapping the nail file against the pinky nail I'd chewed off. 

"I'm sorry, I don't even realize I do it most of the time!" I defend before another hair is rapidly plucked from my eyebrows. 

The majority of the afternoon is like this - it belongs to Odile and the prep team, my last chance for me to make a good impression on the audience just in case my attempt to act completely and utterly normal fails - knowing me, it probably will. 

The team take most of the day to "fix me up", making my skin silk soft and embellish it with blue-toned gemstones that glitter with every move I make, and my skin glow with a bluish tone. My hair is done up, plaits weaved into an orderly yet messy bun on the back of my head and they dot it all with little sparkling pins that glisten like diamonds. They cover my face with a layer of the same pale yet glowing stuff they'd used on my skin before adding to my features; light blue overshadow that's perfectly matched with my hair, darkening at the corners of my eyes before they add shimmer and false eyelashes. Patterns are drawn around my eyes in black and white, and my lips are painted a pale shade of pink. 

As I close my eyes for the final shimmer dusting, a material is draped over my head, and at first I panic until I feel chiffon material gently grazing my skin, and I'm immediately weighted down by the heaviness of the dress. Some takes my foot and places them into high-heels, and I gingerly reach out for something that I can grab onto, and I'm met with a gloved hand. Odile. I hold onto her as the dress and shoes are finalized, and I feel and hear the scuttling about as the dress is fully pulled over my head. 

"Go on, take a look at how beautiful you are." Odile's gentle voice beckons me. I open my eyes, and she's standing by the full length mirror covered in a fine velvet drape, and I fight the urge to look down at myself. I walk towards the mirror, surprising myself and the others at me ease in walking in high-heel, the sharp clicking noise and the Blue One's rapid breathing the only sound in the room. 

Odile removes the drape, and my breath is taken away. 

The being in front of me is one I don't recognize, a humanoid from a cold and icy place, glistening like the icicles that must adorn the mountains and glaciers, a snow queen that is as grand and haunting as the land she has dominion over. The white, long-sleeved chiffon dress that is translucent everywhere except my body, is adorned in a myriad of precious gemstone patterns and shimmering silk designs that are sewn onto the dress, accenting the gemstones even more, and the dress fans out at the bottom. The most notable part of the dress is the huge cape that adorns the back of the dress and bundles on the floor; it hangs gracefully over my arms, and as I slowly twist and turn in the mirror, I gently grab onto the thin chiffon cape, adorned with gems even more precious and design even more intricate than the dress, and slowly bring my arms up, stretching them out far and wide. 

I look like an angel.

We spend a good while staring in at the sheer opulence at the dress and how different I look, and I don't hold back in taking a few playful spins in the dress, the shimmering and dazzling jewels flickering with every move I make, shimmering like a sea of diamond dust. 

"Take a turn about the room my darling." Odile sighs as she takes a good look at her work of art. I obey her and walk around the room, and I'm relieved to find that the dress doesn't need to be constantly tugged on for me to walk properly. The sound of the dress moving causes sweet little chiming noises to echo throughout the room, and the prep team leave in a fit of tears of joy.