Helios help me get dressed in the bulky black ballgown, then puts the crown on top of my head.
"Wait, can I do something with my hair?" I ask him.
"Depends on what it is," he says, smiling.
"I just want to put half of my hair up in a ponytail. Like how it looked it looked at the reaping," I say.
"I can do that," Helios says, grabbing a small hair tie from inside of his jacket, then quickly doing what I asked. He puts the small crown back onto my head, then smiles.
"You look wonderful Margo," he says.
"Thank you," I say, looking at the stranger in the mirror. I look like fake royalty, with the floor-length gown, crown, and the dark makeup.
"Let's get you out to your sister and to the chariot," Helios says, grabbing my hand and helping me off of the small pedestal I'm on.
I almost immediately trip. Did I mention the four-inch heels that I have to wear?
"Never worn heels before," I explain, stabilizing myself.
"Take your time, Margo," Helios says, once again chuckling.
It takes a minute, but I'm able to survive the short walk to elevator, which takes us to the level where the chariots are. Each district has their own stable-like area, so I'm not able to see any of the other tributes. Alexia is already standing on the hovering platform that will take us down to the City Circle and the Training Center. She is wearing an identical outfit to mine, but for some reason she is wearing a tiara while I wear a crown. Her makeup is also a bit lighter then mine, and she wears her long hair back in a high tight bun. Helios and Alexia help me onto the hovering chariot, as Alexia's stylist introduces herself to me. I would have killed myself by now if I was stuck in a room with her for as long as Alexia was.
"She's a nightmare," I whisper to Alexia.
"You think I don't know that?" she whispers back.
"So, remember girls, once the chariot leaves the stable, hit the black button, once you're halfway down, hit the red button. Please remember to do it in that order." Chastity tells us, suddenly nervous that we will mess something up.
"Don't worry, we'll get it right," I say, rather angrily. I hate when people talk down to me.
Helios and Chastity begin to chat about something, quietly enough that we can't hear them, until we hear something come onto the large TV on the wall to our left. It's Augustus Keller, the host of the Hunger Games. Augustus always follows some crazy fashion trend, and this year it seems to be brightly colored off the shoulder tuxedoes. He speaks for a moment before announcing the District 1 tributes chariot leaving its stable.
"Remember to hold onto the railing with one hand so you don't fall, and black, then red!" Chastity shouts at us.
We almost fall as the chariot lurches towards the door. We glance at the TV to see all the district tributes from One through Nine have left their stables. District Ten. Eleven.
"Here we go," Alexia says, glancing at me quickly.
The door opens and we lurch forward.
"Black button, now," I say.
We hit them in unison, and our capes and the gems in my crown and Alexia's tiara go up in flames. We hear the shouts of the Capitol citizens, cheering for the tributes. There are a few roses thrown at us, and I swear I hear people shouting our names. I look around, and see most people staring at and cheering for us. They love our whole faux royal look.
"You ready?" I ask Alexia as we near the halfway mark.
She grabs my hand in hers and lifts it into the air.
"Hit it," she says.
We hit the red buttons, again in unison, and our costumes change. The capes completely burn up, and the edges of our long sheer sleeves catch on fire. I hear people shouting from the stands as the fire spread up our arms and burns off the fabric. It continues on until our entire bodies are engulfed in flames, but we don't feel a thing. Within a few moments, the flames recede, leaving us in completely different dresses.
When we first entered we wore bulky, black ballgowns. Now we wear bright red sleeveless dresses, with the same neckline and still floor length but more of a tighter skirt then the first dress. They are covered in red gems, and still have a bit of flame lit towards the bottom of the skirt. I look at Alexia and see that our headpieces have also changed, still mostly black but with rubies instead of lumps of coal.
Once the change is completed, the crowd of Capitol people goes wild, and all eyes are on us as we smile our fakest smiles and keep our hands raised in the air.
Kolton said to put in a show. And we're going to give one hell of a good one.
YOU ARE READING
The 175th Hunger Games
Fanfic"On the 175th anniversary, for the rebels to remember that the war was fought against their own brothers, the two tributes selected from each district will be siblings, both between the ages of 12 and 18 as per usual." One hundred and one years aft...
