Poisoned Flower (The Hunger Games)

Twelve: The Sponsors

            Despite being raised within the Capitol, very little of its customs were familiar to Diantha. A sheltered life had meant that she hadn't experienced many of the things that the majority of its residents found normal. The only glimpse she had was through the television in her apartment. It was a window into the glamorous lifestyle she was supposed to have taken part in.

She wouldn't say it out loud, god forbid if she did, she felt that she was more like those visiting from the Districts. Though still a world above them. Still, as she entered recent extravagant social events she looked around in awe and in some ways disgust and how some of these people acted. For example, it was far to early in the morning to be drinking but most people already had a glass in hand. A few looked like they already had several.

The first thing Diantha noticed when she entered the large room situated near the top of the tributes building was how busy it was. People were gathered in groups near the entrance talking amongst themselves. Diantha recognised a few of them. These people were considered the Capitol's elite; businessmen, government officials, celebrities and so on. People with money. These were all of those who had taken on the title of 'Sponsor' during the Games. Working alongside Mentors and Escorts, they had the opportunity to send gifts to the tribute's in the arena. These would make their time in the arena that little bit easier. Plus, a lot of them would have placed bets and would do anything to help their favoured tribute win.

It would be fairly easy to distinguish the Sponsors from the Mentors. The former donned the extravagant fashion expected in the Capitol. The Sponsors must have been up before dawn to get ready to the level they were. Diantha thought that they looked absolutely ridiculous, something that also set her further apart her fellow residents. Due to this, the Mentors would stick out tremendously. Not to say that they wouldn't be presentable, but they were a lot more subdued. Most just wore simple outfits brought from back home that they wore almost every year. However, they were nowhere to be found, likely still with their tributes as they travelled to the arena. It would be another hour before the festivities would begin.

That left the Escorts. These were a little more difficult to locate. Usually they would be glued to the Mentor's side. It was their job to work together to convince the Sponsors. Without them, they blended into the crowd. If she cared enough, she would have probably recognised them from the television coverage. Alas, she had more important things to do at the time. She wasn't there to speak to them anyway.

It took only one look to see which group Diantha fell into. She wore a long black dress which hugged her slender frame. The skirt skimmed the floor and had a slit on either side reaching her mid-thigh. On her feet were a pair or black, jewelled stilettos which added several inches to her height. She was tall as it was, but these shoes made her almost six foot tall. The top half of her dress was made from a mesh material with swirls of white sown into it. An undershirt preserved her modesty. The sleeves reached her wrists and wrapped around her thumbs. Diantha adorned minimal makeup as a black mask concealed the upper half of her face. The geometric black wire obscured her features, so much so that her eyes appeared to have changed shades. Although, she did paint her lips a fiery red to bring a little bit of colour into her look. Her hair was tied into a very high bonytail. Woven into it were some black feathers which stood out against her blonde hair. Despite these feathers being similar to those from the bird Katniss represented, but they had in fact been taken from it's original counterpart. She screamed 'Capitol'. She felt like an idiot.

Very few people paid her any attention as she surveyed the room. Long sofa's had been placed in front of television screens. The number of screens, she thought, were a bit excessive. Though she understood the reasoning. Wherever you were in the room, you could clearly see what was happening in the arena. Now, however, they were simply broadcasting recaps to refresh people's memories. The volume was turned down low for now.