It had been a blur, wake up, eat, meetings, train. I suppose it hadn't really hit me just what a big deal the Games were until here I was, prepping for them. Ideally, I should have months of training underneath my belt. I had a few weeks at the most.

It had gotten me this far, so figures I'm already set up. At least, as much as I could be.

A quick rasp on my door,

"Come in," I called out, sitting on the edge of my bed. The door clicked open and Harmony popped her head through,

"Hey, you ready?" She asked, letting herself in as she locked the door behind her.

I nodded. "As ready as I'll ever be. How long do we have, an hour?"

Harmony moved over and shut the curtains, blocking out the orange-and-pink sky and replacing it with a bright yellow light from the bulb above us. "About that, yeah. You showered and ready?"

In Harmony's had was a long, floor-length package. I already knew it was holding my dress. Carefully, she placed it on the bed as I stood up, undoing the zip along the front as the caught a glimpse of the dress itself. The deep, blood-red colour was the first thing I noticed. Perfectly saturated, not even a hint of pink.

I dropped my dressing gown as Harmony held out the dress, allowing me to step into it as she quickly clasped the back up. The dress was perfect, fitting like a glove as I marvelled at the material. It was like a tuille, the sleeves starting at the side of my neck before the material fell off my arms in one sweep before coming back to my wrist. The skirt was floor length and then some, a long slit running from the top of my thigh to the bottom. Easily the most eye-catching part of the dress was the chest, only two pieces of material down each side before it met the waist, leaving the centre completely bare.

"It's a stunning dress," Harmony admitted, "It looks perfect on you."

I held my breath, "Thank you. Now come on, you go and get changed and I'll fix my hair and jewellery."

Harmony dashed off into our adjoining bathroom, a bag in hand as I sat down in front of the mirror. I let my hair fall out of the knot I had tied it into, running my brush through the tresses as I tried to apply as much volume into it as possible. As my hair continued to frizz, I remembered why I constantly kept it in braids or something similar. After what felt like an eon of tugging and fluffing, I finally had my hair exactly as I envisioned. Falling to its full length in loose, thick curls that came out to at least my shoulders in volume.

Harmony came out of the bathroom, dressed in a sleek, fitting red saying dress that ended right at her knees. She came over and sat right next to me, immediately launching into her hair and makeup.

"I love the dress," I complimented as I placed the hairbrush down on the table.

"Thank you," She returned. "Now come on, no wasting time."

She didn't even bother brushing her curls, placing them in an updo so quickly it had to be through muscle memory. I opened up the small box that laid in the corner of the vanity, filled with jewellery that we had gotten. Carefully, I layered the gold necklaces over each other until I reached something relatively harmonious. The shortest right around my neck and the longest falling all the way to my navel. I placed a few beads in my hair, clipping them around individual strands of hair, the white pearls standing out harshly with the deep brown of my hair.

Finally, my ears. Over the years, I think the piercings have become a staple of who I am. When all else fails, and I just can't remember who I am. I see the flash of gold, and it's like nothing is wrong in the first place. A comfort item. Massive rubies in my lobes, another than that, I focused purely on gold. Hoops in my helix, studs in my seconds and then thick bands for my conch.

Finally, I pulled out my nose stud, replacing it with a slightly larger ring, with small red dots and gold swirls moulded onto the surface.

As a finishing touch, I swiped a dash of red over my lips.

"Any update on the boys?" I asked, standing up and moving away from the vanity, Harmony immediately moving into the empty space.

She snorted, "Please, they would have been finished ages ago. Holed up in Vance and I's room probably regretting not going to the toilet before they got into their suit."

I rolled my eyes at the accuracy. "Let me guess, we're matching?"

An evil grin. "Of course. Their suits are black but their ties match the same shade of red as our dresses."

I slid my shoes on, the heels probably around four inches. I curled the straps around my ankle as I stood up and took a turn about the room.

Suddenly, Harmony stood up. "Ok, I'm done, let's go."

I was suddenly grateful for the light, flowy material of the dress. While the metal in my ears and nose wear heavy, it was only slightly more then what I was used to. Harmony led the way as I trailed slightly behind. Shoulders back, chin high.

I was glad, for one, that we had elevators to take us down to the bottom level. I was also glad that the entire hotel seemed to be completely empty. The elevator door opened and waiting only a few metres away was Xander and Vance, dressed exactly as Harmony had said.

Xander's eyebrows seemed to shoot off his head when he noticed me, barely moving from his spot.

We made our way over to where they were standing, doing so as carefully as possible.

He let out a long breath, "You look like a goddess,"

"I do believe that's the point." I teased. Looking through the hotel's glass door, I noticed two identical black cars waiting patiently in the driveway.

"I'm guessing the second is specifically for you," Vance said, reading my mind. "Chances are you need to go to a different location than us, some sort of back entrance."

Harmony shrugged, "Makes sense," With a quick glance at her watch, her eyes widened in panic. "Time to go?"

At that moment, a man stepped out of the car, waiting patiently by the first door as his eyes slowly slid over to us.

"I would take that as I yes," I joked.

Alexander quickly swept his hand into mine and walked me out of the foyer and into the warm night air.

The driver nodded his head in acknowledgement. "Ms Verano, if I could please point you towards the second car?"

I blinked unsurprisingly. "Of course," I quickly turned to the others, "Try not to miss me, I'll see if I can spot you in the crowd!"

No one was wasting any time, the door of the car is quickly opened as I slid myself into the seat as delicately as I could, careful to not catch the flow of the dress in between the door.

Immediately, I took up half the space in the back of the car, suddenly thankful that I was in here by myself. I watched through the tinted window as Alexander, Harmony and Vance climbed into the car in front. It only took a moment before the engine roared and they took off. The leaving triggered the engine of this car, following them for only a minute before swerving off onto a different road. The echo of my foot tapping against the floor paired with the slow, melodic jazz that seemed to be floating from the radio in the front seat. The driver said nothing, solely focused on the road.

We ended up back at the glass building, this time, colours seemed to pour from every window as it was delicately decorated. Blue, Red and Purple, all in pastels as they shone through the glass. I held my breath, stunned. People were starting to gather, dramatic entrances being made as I saw a few of the representatives that I had beaten walking down the red carpet alongside their Alpha, waving with a completely fake smile on their face.

I couldn't even feel sorry for them.

We kept driving until we reached the other, backside of the building. Standing discreetly at the door was Luna Montgomery, glasses perched on her nose and a clipboard full of loose papers held in her arms.

As she noticed the car, her hand pulled on the doorknob that laid directly behind her. The car pulled to a stop and before I had the chance to think, Luna Montgomery had left her post and rushed towards me, opening the door.

"Quick," She hissed, "We're on an extremely tight schedule."

She grabbed onto my hand and assisted me in moving. As I stood up straight, I watched as her eyes wandered over me.

"If we hadn't picked you for your skills, we certainly would have picked you for your looks." She pursed her lips, though a light shone in her eyes. "You look beautiful, my dear. A perfect representative. Like the Moon Goddess herself."

I knew that it wasn't true. If I were to look like the moon goddess, I would be swept up in layers upon layers of purple and navy silk, a crown on my head and a range of ornamentals that barely even held a candle to what I was wearing now.

I gave her a small smile, "Thank you."

She ushered me through the door, "You're the last to arrive. The other two representatives have already been moved into their by their leaders. You'll be next door to them, but under no circumstances are you to communicate or see them."

I wasn't planning on it. "Of course."

Luna Montgomery continued as we walked down the dimly lit halls, "When the Ceremony has started, you all will be collected one by one and moved into the backstage wing, where you were during your introduction at the beginning of the trials. Individual cubicles have been set up so that you will all be separated and again, cannot see each other."

I raised an eyebrow, "Is it really such a big deal? That we see each other I mean. We'll be battling against each other for the next few days and yet the biggest concern right now is just that we don't see each other?"

Luna Montgomery paused. "No, it's not a big deal. But it is tradition, and that in itself must be respected."

A good enough answer for me.

Eventually, we reached a series of doors, the corridor brightly lit.

"We often use the Glass House as a medium for entertainment and shows. Usually, this is where the lead actors or actresses would stay before and after the show. But for now, it's for the use of the Representatives." She said, her heels clicking as she walked over and grabbed the middle door. She ushered me in, "It won't be too long of a wait, but as I said, sit still and sit quietly. Someone will come to escort you at the time. Be ready."

And just like that, the door was closed, cutting me off and trapping me within this small box of a room.

Indeed, it was suited for an actors needs, one set of large cupboards and mirrors that took up the whole wall space while accompanied by a shiny, varnished wooden floor. In front of a mirror that I could tell would specifically be used for staring at ones face, was an elegantly crafted seat. I wasted no time, flicking my dress up and moving it underneath my legs as I sat down.

Staring in the mirror, I picked at my hair. Thankfully, I looked the exact same as I did when I first left the room at the Hotel.

Occupying myself was easy, trying to conspire as much as possible about these fellow representatives. I had one on each side of me, opening my ears and staying as silent as possible in case one decided to chatter. But alas, everything remained silent.

There was no clock, so I tried not to focus on the time, waiting for the moment in which the ceremony would finally begin.

I heard a knock at the door.

Except it wasn't my door, perhaps the one on my left. I could hear it creak open as someone spoke in hushed voices. Then, footsteps. It was all I could hear until they left the hallway completely.

And then it returned to silence.

Ten, maybe fifteen minutes passed before finally, one single pair of footsteps returned. And when they knocked on the door as the piece of wood swung open, I knew it was finally my turn.

Another complete stranger. "Do not say a word. It's time for you to be escorted to the beginning of the ceremony. Please, stand up and come with me."

I stood up, smoothed and adjusted my dress before stepping out of the room. The lights shut off the moment I did and just as I had heard before, we began to make our way through the hallway. She led me out of the basement and back into the Glass Foyer, moving around through the back hallways so that we were directly behind the stage. It was a different set-up. Last time, we had entered the stage through the side. This time, however, it was obviously going to be through the back. Right in the centre of the back wing were three large X's, presumably where we would stand for when the ceremony properly began.

The woman who had brought me here ushered me into the corner where there was a large box framed by black velvet and then divided into three. One section of the box had already been cut off.

I walked into the middle, and just like that, a sweeping curtain of velvet fell into front of my face, completely hiding me from view.

I heard the echo of the footsteps as she walked away.

Fae, Siren, Wolf. As time went on, chatter from beyond the stage started to creep through, conversation and laughter from the plethora of people who sat beyond the curtains. When I heard footsteps again, the swoosh of velvet to cover the final Representative from view, that's when the noise tripled by a tenfold.

Of course, the workers running the show couldn't be backstage while we were all being transported in fear that they would see one of us. No. But now that we were ready and tucked away in the corner? Production was finally able to begin.

The voices, machinery, everything. It consumed me. I bit my tongue as I slid out of focus, and suddenly, the noise being quieter, more blurred.

What a relief.

Until the production manager started to speak.

"Alpha Montgomery is now on stage, it's time to get the representatives!"