"Dahlia Blossom. Don't let the name fool you. She's better known as the Black Dahlia. And she didn't earn that nickname by smiling and looking pretty."
"She sure knows how to perform for the camera."
"Because she knows how to play the game. She alwa...
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"Right, the parade was the easy part." Alaric explains to Dahlia over the dinner table. Wyatt had shut himself in his room and refused any help offered, so the whole team now had their hopes pinned on Dahlia. "Look pretty, smile, wave, get them all to love you."
"My dress certainly helped." Juno brags, patting Dahlia's arm comfortingly with a beaming grin.
"Sure." Alaric dismisses the woman with a wave of his hand. "The Capitol now knows you as the Black Dahlia, so we need to sell that character. A temptress, an enigma... Most importantly, a cold-hearted killer."
Dahlia drinks in every word that leaves her mentor's mouth, knowing it could be the difference between life and death. "I don't know how to kill. I barely know how to fight."
Alaric smiles at the girl with a gleam in his eye. "What are mentors for?"
Dahlia didn't get much sleep that night again. This time, it wasn't because of the bed. Alaric spent the evening teaching Dahlia the basics of sword fighting. They used the closest things they could find in the apartment, which just so happened to be very expensive looking candlesticks. A lovely addition to the dining table, but an even lovelier substitute for a sword. Alaric was a strict teacher but Dahlia was a determined pupil. Together they made an unstoppable team who practiced early into the next morning. Magenta complained angrily about the noise, but Dahlia had learned how to defend herself from attacks in just a few hours.
After a few hours of sleep and a rushed breakfast, Dahlia found herself standing among her fellow tributes in the training area. The atmosphere is tense among them as they listen carefully to the words of the Head Trainer.
"In two weeks, 23 of you will be dead. One of you will be alive." Dahlia's eyes never stray from the woman, even when she feels the eyes of the other tributes darting to her figure. "Who that is depends on how well you pay attention over the next four days, particularly to what I'm about to say. First, no fighting with the other Tributes. You'll have plenty of time for that in the Arena. There are four compulsory exercises. The rest will be individual training. My advice is don't ignore the survival skills. Everybody wants to grab a sword. But most of you will die from natural causes. 10 percent from infection, 20 percent from dehydration. Exposure can kill as easily as a knife."
As expected, the Careers immediately make their presence known with the various kinds of weapons. Many of the outlying districts settle down at survival stations, knowing that if the Careers don't kill them, the environment most definitely will. Wyatt is among that group and Dahlia finds herself caught in the middle. Judging by their intense glares, she can tell the Careers see her as a threat for sponsors. It is highly unlikely that she'll be welcomed into their pack. And the other tributes can't meet her stare for more than a few seconds before they glance away. Too popular for one side and too scary for another. She tries to remember Alaric's intructions.
"Do not practice with a sword until I have taught you how to attack." He told her over breakfast that morning. "If they see any sign of weakness in your weaponry, they will expose it. Instead focus on survival skills. Climbing, hunting, foraging. These will all help you survive in the games and, more importantly, stay off the Career's radar for now."
