Caged | The Hunger Games AU ✓

iv. embers

four - embers

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whose idea was this? why does every inch of my body have to be hairless? why does it sting so much?

i feel like a plucked chicken ready for roasting. my prep team has just finished waxing my body so it's free of hair. then i am forced to take off my robe and i stand there, completely naked, in front of them. i am a lot less embarrassed because they appear so inhuman.

flavius, a man with orange corkscrew curls and dark navy blue lipstick, notes that i am ready to be lotioned. i feel like a raw turkey being greased down for a meal as they vigorously rub unscented lotion onto me that stings at first but then soothes my skin. they then examine my body carefully, checking for any more stray hairs they have missed. at first i think there is no way there could be any more hair to be seen, but i am proved wrong when venia, a short, plump woman whose entire skin is colored a pale shade of green, rips out a couple of hairs with tweezers. the sting it sends to my toes makes my eyes involuntarily water.

"well," flavius says when they are done, "you almost look presentable, dear!" he seems very proud of his work.

"shall i fetch cinna?" venia asks in her silly capitol accent and does not wait for flavius to reply before she waddles out of the room. apparently it was a rhetorical question.

i just stand there, completely naked and awkward, as flavius checks me over once, twice, three times to see if he's missed anything before cinna comes in. then flavius leaves.

i am completely surprised at how normal cinna looks compared to everyone else. he is young and dark-skinned with black hair that is cut close to his head. the only thing slightly off is that he is wearing gold metallic eyeliner on his eyelids. instead of making him look like a doll ready to be wrapped as a present, it brings out the warmth in his dark eyes.

he smiles kindly at me and i instantly feel myself warm up to him. there's something captivating and genuine about the way he regards me. instead of how my prep team and everyone else had regarded me as if there was something wrong with me, he only seems like he wants to make me shine in spite of my many faults.

his voice is smooth as honey. "hello thalia, i'm cinna. i'll be your stylist for this year's games. now, i'm going to have a look. there is no need to feel uncomfortable; i won't harm you."

despite what he says, i can't help but feel self conscious as he circles me, his eyes scanning every inch of my body. i resist the urge to cover myself and try my best to relax. my muscles disobey my order, though, and i feel them stiffen.

"you're new, aren't you?" i ask in an attempt to make myself more at ease. "you came last year."

cinna nods. "indeed. last year was my first as a hunger games stylist."

"and you got stuck with district twelve?"

cinna shakes his head at that one. "i picked district twelve. now, put on your robe and we'll have lunch. how does that sound?"

i almost sigh in relief but stop myself as i grab my robe from the table behind me and slip it on, following cinna out of the room. he leads me to an area with a plush red couch and beckons me to sit. i do, and he presses a button that causes our food to come out of a second layer and onto the table. i can't help but gape. how wonderful it must be to live a life where food arrives a just the push of a button!

cinna notices my wonder and chuckles in amusement, though something in his eyes tells me he knows my inner thoughts– that the people of the capitol probably don't think twice about this luxury. meanwhile, people in the outer districts are starving, barely able to supply enough for each member of their families to have three meals a day.