The two on the right instantly gravitated towards me. One woman was extremely gorgeous with short goldish blonde hair, pale-ish skin and white eye liner - she she seemed exceptionally young. The women next to her had this intense aura about her. Blonde hair like mine, except it sat in an elaborately huge braid along the top of her head. She simply stared at me with this semi-smirk, semi-bitch face. But it worked for her. 

"Come, Lily, we have much to do, Lily." said the one with the gold hair. She had a light voice, her accent not entirely sounding of the Capitol. It had a foreign twist to it, yet I've never heard anything foreign except the Capitol.. The intense looking one continued to stare. I stared back. We stared at each other. She smirked a little more. I accepted that I had earned her respect. 

Caradoc's prep artists had gravitated around him too. They seemed to be annoyed by his dreads. I waved him goodbye and followed the two ladies to a metallic table. "Hatter will be joining us shortly, Lily." the gold haired one said. "He's busy preparing to dress you. Lily, he said it's our job to clean you up." I noticed instantly she had a habit a saying my name at least once every sentence. "What's your name?" I asked her. 

"Pippa, Lily." She answered with a smile. "My name is Pippa." In a room closed off by room dividers, Pippa had me undress and lay flat on a table. On the ceiling hung a body sized mirror. I could see myself and everything thing they were doing to me. "Lily, that women who has yet to speak to you is Enid. She works wonders with hair and make up. So, Lily, while I clean up your body, she will take care of your hair." 

I nodded, feeling a little sad that I'd have a silent one in my face for who knows how many hours. Pippa mentioned something along the lines of avoiding 'beauty base one'. She grabbed a few bottles and some tools I've never seen before, smiled, and started washing my legs. I felt slightly uncomfortable, but I was certain she wasn't going to hurt me. Until she started waxing forty five minutes later. 

"Holy crap, do you have to pull that hard?" I asked. Enid, who was washing my hair, simply chuckled under her breath, the first sound I'd ever heard from her. Pippa smiled, shrugged her shoulders and pulled another waxy cloth from my skin. 'Sorry, Lily. It'll be worth it in the end, Lily."

In the two hours that past Pippa managed to turn my rough and slightly calloused skin into a soft and silky surface. Every particle of dirt was removed from virtually every crevice she could find. I felt clean. It was nice. Enid, likewise, had added a touch of color to my hair and curled it into waves. Instead of the drained out blonde I had before, it was brighter, a little bit more yellow. Almost like the golden blonde of Pippa's hair but lighter. 

Enid spruced up my smile with a metallic yet crystal clear like lipstick, bluish in color. I don't even know - Capitol make up is hard to describe, but it was pretty so I guess that's all that mattered. Black eyeliner and a bit of mascara brought out my eyes. The best however was the piercings she gave me. Three deep blue diamonds below each eye, Two rods in the dimples of my back, and a belly piercing. By the look of them I could tell it was worth a lot. Enid opened her mouth for the first time and warned me, "You're a feisty one. Don't get in a fight with these." 

"Lily, you are ready to go see Hatter now." Pippa helped me off the table and gave me a robe. Enid went back to corner, crossing her arms and smirking that signature smirk. I wondered what was going on in her head. "Just go through that room, Lily, and wait. He'll be there soon."

I did what I was told. The room was plushy, way more comfortable than the metal prison room I had just left. There was a little circular stage in the center, about a foot off the ground. I had been wandering around, peering through a ridiculously high window when a man came in. I jerked slightly, startled from his quiet arrival. My robe almost slipped but I quickly secured it around my waist. The man just simply waited until I lowered myself from the window. 

He was tall, a good seven inches above Caradoc perhaps, wearing black pants and a striking blue button-down shirt detailed with feathers or fuzz. I couldn't tell. His black coat was dazzled with small blue diamonds. The bangs of his hair was colored yellow, blue and some streaks of pink. I could tell the rest of it was blonde because his feathery top hat sat ajar on his head. He looked at me up and down and I smiled. 

"Lily." He said. I was taken aback by the sound of his voice. It was deep and resonating. Nothing like the high, squeaky voice I was imagining. "Have you fallen down the rabbit hole?" 

I thought I was a loony bin. "What?" I asked, crossing my arms.

"The rabbit hole, Lily. You've fallen through." He walked, swinging his diamond cane with a flick of his wrist. He picked up a book and tossed it to me. I caught it and looked over its tattering cover. 'It's obvious. I saw you out there on top of your train. You fell down the rabbit hole and you are completely floored." 

Speaking in code was one of the coolest things the Coalition taught its children. I highly doubted this guy had been... speaking in code. But whatever he was referencing was probably in the book he tossed me. But I didn't feel like reading. "Sure," I answered, shrugging my shoulders. "I did fall down the rabbit hole." 

The man raised his eyebrows and sized me up. I stood there, holding my ground. "I knew it." He said, setting down his crystalline cane. He clapped his hands together and grinned. "We have much to do Lily. I suggest you read that book while I prepare you. It'll take a while to get you dressed."

I was half amused and half annoyed. What was he going to put me in? Not something stupid like a miner's outfit, right? Not something like the getup he was wearing.. don't get me wrong, the flashy Victorian era clothing suited him, but it wouldn't suit me.  And what was with the crap of reading the book? At least I'd have something to do for the next million hours. 

He had me remove my robe and I did, though reluctantly. The rest of my stylists came in with boxes and instantly begin dressing me. I opened up the book and began reading. 

The story of Alice goes like this: On a warm summer day, Alice is interrupted from her sleepy reading session by a white rabbit. A talking white rabbit. She follows to rabbit down a rabbit hole. And everything goes insane. Through her adventures in wonderland she meets a series of human and sometimes not human characters. They were all.. weird, but lovable. The Mad Hatter was my favorite. Suddenly, everything the man said made sense. I fell down the rabbithole into Wonderland. I was Alice. At least, in his eyes I was. I wondered if my story would end like hers. 

I was nearly finished with the book when Pippa finally announced I was ready to go. She brought me to a mirror and asked me what I thought. I looked pretty freaking badass. Soon after, everyone besides Hatter left to prepare the chariot. 

"So Alice. Does everything make sense now?" He asked. I looked at myself in the mirror and shrugged. "Can I keep the book?" I said suddenly. He nodded his head and gestured for the door.