"Evelyn Brinley, better known as Lady Red, victor of the 72nd Hunger Games. Won her games at 15."
"Why Lady Red?"
"Because she always wears red. Oh, and she won her games by burning the remaining tributes alive."
✮
"𝑮𝒊𝒓𝒍 𝒐𝒏 𝒇𝒊𝒓𝒆? 𝑯𝒐𝒘 𝒄...
Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
EVAN HADN'T TOLD EVELYN ANYTHING ABOUT THE GAMES, but now she wished that he told her about the prep team and the beautifying process the victors went through before the tribute parade. Evelyn gritted her teeth and bit the side of her cheek as the team plucked, waxed, and ripped every hair off of her body and then scrubbed at least four layers of skin off.
Her team kept shooting her looks of sympathy every time she winced, although the looks weren't very comforting. People in the Capitol acted like the districts weren't human, but Evelyn was starting to think they got it mixed up. There was no way half of these people were human. One of the guys on her team had cat eyes and cheekbones that were sharp enough to slit her neck, and one of the girls had a caterpillar painted on her face and green hair.
It was certainly bizarre, and certainly Capitol fashion.
"Sorry, dear," The girl with the caterpillar smiled, "We can't send you to your stylist when you look like... that, now can we?"
Evelyn bit her tongue so she wouldn't say anything stupid, and because she genuinely didn't want to offend her prep team. They were ignorant but they had probably grown up so sheltered they had no idea what was actually going on. Evelyn couldn't be mad at that.
"Of course," Evelyn muttered and gave them an empty smile in return.
Once they were happy with the results, they led her down the hallway and into a new, and much colder, room. The walls were plain and gray, and they looked like they belonged in a prison instead of the mighty Capitol. It wasn't as cold as the Justice Building, but she wasn't completely naked when she was in the Justice Building either. All the prep team gave her was a thin blanket to cover herself before her stylist walked in.
The tribute wasn't excited to meet her stylist. Most of the stylists had been around for years, and they had very recognizable styles. District 7 was always dressed as trees, while 12 was usually in some skimpy outfit because it was hard to make a person from the Coal District appealing without those outfits. Other stylists preferred nudity, and Evelyn would rather die than dress up in one of those outfits.
"You look worried," An amused male voice rang out through the room as Evelyn heard the door slam closed, "Nervous about your outfit?"
Evelyn turned around to find a man in a velvet suit with a flower print shirt under it (which looked too busy in her opinion but she wasn't going to say that to a stylist) and hair cropped short. He wore a smirk on his face and ran a hand through his hair as he examined her, his eyes lingering on her face and hair.
"No, I'm fine," Evelyn said in a small voice, her arms twitching at her side and begging her to let them cover her body.
"Good, don't worry, you won't be nude. I've always found that trend disgusting and inelegant," The stylist told her, his face showing disgust for a moment, "I'm Xanther by the way."
"Evelyn."
"Trust me, I know your name. So, Cali, that's your partner's stylist, and I have been thinking about your outfit. I've always loved designing for District 8, there are so many options."
