Is this what is considered "fashion" in the Capitol? I can't imagine letting myself be transformed lie this. These people look as fake as the candy colored buildings of this city. But they must be real, because they ooh and ahh and rush forward to meet me. They take me into their little group, like a flock of twittering birds. I turn to Kirrah with a look of desperation on my face, but she just waves and says, "Have fun!"
The birds--I mean, my prep team, are talking to me. The camo-skinned woman is pumping my hand up and down. "I'm Aylice," she says, guiding me towards a large tub. "This is Quuia," she gestures to the other woman, "and Ican." The man nods his head.
"Uh, nice to meet you," I say.
"Isn't she sweet!" Quuia pipes. "We haven't had a tribute this nice in...well, I can't remember!" She giggles, along with Ican, who has turned on the tap on the bath.
"Now, now," Aylice says sternly. "Down to buisness!" Quuia and Ican sober slightly. All of them turn to look at me. "What?" I say.
"Get in the bath, and then we can get started," Ican says. I look at Quuia and Aylice, but they only nod enthusiastically. I strip. My nakedness doesn't seem to bother my prep team. Instead, they hang my clothes up nicely on a nearby rack and usher me into the hot water.
My transformation takes a long time. My prep team soaps my hair in the tub, then pulls me out and begins to wax every inch of me. My legs, my arms, even my eyebrows are not spared. They clip my nails and shape them, coating them with a thin, sheer color. They talk to each other and me the whole time. Aylice explains that my stylist, whose name is Coyra, wants to take an old time spin on my outfit. I don't know what this means, but I nod and throw in comments like, "That sounds nice," or "I bet that will be a hit here soon."
Finally, I'm done. Well, at least I think I'm done, but I'm proven wrong when the door opens again and my stylist walks in. She's a tall woman, with very pale skin and jet-black hair. Her eyes are just a tad too large, and a bright green-gold color that seem almost to glow. Her limbs are just a bit too thin and long. She marches up to me and nods to Aylice, Quuia, and Ican. They disperse, pulling something from large carts.
Coyra holds my face in her hands. They are very cold and waxy, and I do my best not to shiver. "Ah," Coyra says. "Well, you've got beauty, my dear, and that counts for something." She gives me a little pat on the cheek, which feels more like a slap, and snaps her fingers. My prep team crowds around me, pulling off the tops of what look like paint cans. Coyra pulls out a picture from inside her black coat.
"What I'm planning for you," she says, "is to go a more classic route. You're from District Two. Stone mining."
Among other things, I think, but I respond, "I know."
"And one stone that was very popular before the Dark Ages was called marble." My team as now taken the covers off of the cans and I can see that they are, in fact, filled with white paint. Or something that looks like white paint. "Marble?" I ask.
"It looked like this," Coyra snips, flipping out the picture and holding it a few inches from my nose. As soon as my eyes adjust, I see that the picture is worn and torn. I am shocked to see that the woman in the photograph has no body below her chest. And then I realize that she's a statue. She's completely composed of a white stone, which must be marble. Her hair is pulled back in a bun, and her head is turned to my left.
Coyra continues. "Marble was a stone. Stone comes from your district. So, we're turning you into a marble statue." The white paint becomes clear. Even now Aylice, Quuia, and Ican are pulling brushes of all sizes from their cart. "So I'm going, in front of the whole country, naked and painted white?" I ask sarcastically.
"Actually, you'll be going in a white cotton robe, though if you prefer..."
"I'm good," I say quickly. Coyra smiles. "This paint will soak into your skin and make it appear this color. But don't worry, it can be washed out later with a special soap." Quuia and Aylice start to paint my back. It tickles, but I don't say anything, just stare at Coyra. She goes on. "We'll temporarily dye your hair white, and leave your eyes blue."
"Thanks," I mutter. I'm going to look like a freak.
"Ebb is going to get the same treatment from my partner," Coyra explains. I smile at the thought of Ebb going through what I'm doing now. She turns to Ican, who is holding a bottle of hair dye. "Tick tock!" she says. "I will return shortly." She exits.
Tick tock. Just like my life.
[Name pronounciations:
Coyra--> coy-rah
Quuia--> key-ah
Aylice--> alice
Ican--> ee-cahn
Also, the marble statue picture is up on a new page, "Ayla's Outfits". Her interview dress, Games outfit, and other things will be there as well.]
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