CHAPTER TWO  . . .  THE CAPITOL
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QUINN GIDDINGS STARED out the window of the train as it came to a halt. District 5 was right beside the Capitol so it was a short ride. She didn't get a ton of time to talk to Rowan or Damien after the initial conversation. They talked a bit about their games and the things they did to survive but a lot of it seemed like pure luck. Rowan was smart and sneaky, she was easily able to sneak away from other tributes or sneak up on them. Damien was strong and used that to his advantage. Quinn wasn't strong in the way that Damien was and she was nearly as smart as Rowan. This did seem to help Apollo, he was somewhat similar to Damien. Quinn was hopelessly lost.

The Capitol was beautiful, she had never seen it in person, only pictures and some vague descriptions from people in his districts. There were several tall buildings made of various types of metals and stones. People were gathering around their train, waving at them and cheering. The majority of the people were dressed in extravagant, bright, and colorful clothing with bright hair similar to Lucinda.

Lucinda, Rowan, Damien, Apollo, and Quinn exited the train, several peacemakers on both sides of them. Quinn assumed it was to prevent her and Apollo from possibly running away from their fate.

They were led inside a large building where they would be staying for a few days until their games. Damien stopped them and it gave Quinn a chance to scope around a bit.

She presumed the majority of the other people in the room were the tributes and their mentors. "Okay, so the first thing they'll have you do is they will dress you up to show you off to the Capitol," Damien explained. He had a certain distaste to his voice about it. "The Capitol will provide you both with a stylist who will create you an outfit. Usually, it has something to do with your district."

With that, a man and a woman approached them. By the looks of it, they were definitely Capitol citizens. "District 5?" The man asked, getting a nod from Damien. "I'm Gailileo and this is Camilla. We're your stylists."

"It's very nice to meet you," Rowan said and put her hand out to shake both of them. Quinn spotted some peacemakers taking a few tributes from the poorer districts like 10, 11, and 12 somewhere else. A few feet away were District 4's tributes and she only knew this because she spotted last year's victor, Finnick Odair. His face was plastered everywhere after his games, especially because he was the youngest victor ever, winning at 14.

"I can take Quinn right now and Camilla will take Apollo," Gailileo said. Quinn gave Damien a reluctant look but he nodded, mouthing 'Go'.

Quinn followed Gailileo into a room, there was a royal blue dress hung up with yellow lines through it, it looked like electricity. "You can put this on and then I'll help you with your hair and makeup."

Quinn nodded as he stepped out of the room so she could change in private. She lifted the dress up and took it off its' hangar. She took her present light blue dress off and slipped the darker, more fancy one on. There were gold heels that she replaced her boots with.

The room she was in was surrounded with mirrors, she looked at herself. She had never had a piece of clothing this nice. "I'm done," she called out and Gailileo stepped into the room.

He smiled warmly at her. "You look beautiful,"

"Thank you," she whispered. He approached her and opened a large bag that had hair and makeup supplies inside of it. She gulped, she had never worn makeup before.

—

Gailileo curled her hair and pinned it behind her head. He then put a few bird feathers on the clip in her hair. She didn't know why he did the bird feathers but she feared to ask.

He then did her makeup with blue and bright neon yellow hues to match the dress. It didn't take as long as she suspected it.

He led her back to where Apollo was waiting by a chariot and some horses. His suit matched her dress and he gave her a weak smile. He hopped up into the carriage and offered her his hand. She took a hold of it and he assisted her in getting into the carriage beside him. The other tributes were also gathering in their new outfits into their own chariots. They lined up in district order. Quinn stood there uncomfortably, she was scared of accidentally ruining the dress even though Gailileo said it was hers.

Apollo looked down at her. "When we get in the arena— we should stick together," he suggested.

Quinn didn't want to think about being in the arena, but she knew she should if she wanted to survive. "Yeah, I'd like that," she said. It was better than having nobody. The chariot began to move and she took a deep breath. She plastered a fake smile on her face as the capitol citizens started to cheer. "I don't know if I'll be able to kill anyone."

She glanced up at Apollo and he gave her a slight nod, he as well was smiling for the capitol. "You'd be surprised what some adrenaline and motivation can do," He said. "You think anybody else thought they could kill anyone? Exception of the careers obviously because they train their whole life."

She didn't like that. She didn't want to kill anybody. "I had a bad feeling I was getting reaped," she admitted, still trying to keep the smile on her face but slowly it was falling.

"What do you mean?"

She shrugged. "Pretty sure my brother and I are District 5's biggest Tesserae users," She answered. District 5 as a whole used significantly less tesserae compared to some other districts. "I'm surprised Reese didn't get reaped either."

He looked down, pitying her silently. "If you want to win this you have to make people like you, Rowan and Damien both said that," he said. "People will send you food, water, medicine, whatever you need to survive if they like you."

"How do I even do that?"

He smiled at her. "You already got yourself a Capitol nickname, I think that's a start," he pointed out.

"I did?" She questioned.

He nodded. "Little bird, because of the bird that landed on you at the reaping. Such an insignificant thing made the people remember you and you're on the younger half of the tributes, an underdog I suppose,"

She nodded slowly, which made sense for the bird feathers in her hair that Gailileo insisted on putting there. The carriage came to a stop once they were at the end of their showing to the Capitol. Apollo helped Quinn off their chariot and they were greeted by their mentors.

Damien had the same usual 'I hate being here' demeanor. Quinn couldn't blame him, it definitely got repetitive watching District 1 and 2 win almost every year. She was sure that District 1 and 2's mentors loved doing it.

Once again she spotted Finnick Odair with his tributes alongside an older woman she didn't know the name of. He was younger than at least one of the people he was mentoring, she could just tell. He was her age, but he won his games younger than her now. That gave her some hope that she had a possibility of winning. But then again, he looked strong and he had to have been good with a weapon.

Quinn had never even held a weapon. Damien cleared his throat. "Once you stop drooling over Finnick Odair I would love to give you some more advice on how to win," he commented.

Quinn's cheeks went red as she was knocked back into a reality she didn't want to be in. She nodded slightly. "Okay..." she whispered nervously.

Rowan smirked before they started walking to a nearby elevator. They were on the fifth floor, that's where they would be sleeping and eating for the next few days. "Does the Capitol think spoiling us before we die makes it more humane to put us in that arena?" Apollo asked sarcastically.

Nobody answered his question as the elevator stopped on the fifth floor. As the elevator opened, Quinn was greeted with the most beautiful living space she had ever seen.

Damien and Rowan led them to the living room and signaled for them to sit down. Quinn did so, she was shocked by how soft the fabric on the couch was and how comfortable it was.

"We've already talked about sponsors but you can't depend on them," Damien explained. "You have to know how to survive on your own."

"You can't trust anyone," Rowan added, "Not even each other."

Not even each other.

She glanced at Apollo and frowned slightly. Damien nodded to what Rowan said. "Don't eat any berries you find in the woods, they're most likely poisonous, like Nightlock. It's not worth the risk," he explained. "And when you go into your training find the weapon you are best at. For Rowan it was a bow and arrow, for me it was spears but it could be different for you. Barely anybody has come out of these games without killing someone."

Rowan and Damien exchanged another glance. "Do not trust Districts 1 and 2. They will kill you when it comes down to it, even if you are their ally," she explained. "I recommend not going to the cornucopia when the games start. It's called the bloodbath for the reason, that usually a little less than half the tributes die then, so don't be one of them. You're better off running into the woods?"

"Then how will we get the weapons?" Apollo asked.

"That's the tricky part," Damien said. "You might be able to more easily access the cornucopia later, although usually the careers will camp there so it's still risky and you also get the pick of the litter. We aren't going to tell you not to go, but just warning you of what the risks are."

Quinn took a deep breath and kept reminding herself:

For Reese. Do it for Reese.

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