The moment the anthem ended, they were taken into custody.
They weren't handcuffed or anything, but a group of Peacekeepers marched them through the front door of the Justice Building.
Maybe tributes had tried to escape in the past.
Livia had never seen that happen though.
Once inside, she was conducted to a room and left alone.
It was the richest place she had ever been in, with thick, deep carpets and a velvet couch and chairs.
When she sat on the couch, she couldn't help running her fingers over the fabric repeatedly.
It helped to calm her as she tried to prepare for the next hour.
The time allotted for the tributes to say goodbye to their loved ones.
It was in that moment of silence she spent alone in that room, that she wondered if she'd ever experience peace.
The door swiftly opened and Livia didn't have time to react before Dominic clung to her legs.
She could feel his glasses dig into the skin but she didn't dare complain. It might be the last time she saw the little squirt.
Livia kneeled to Dom's height as he pulled back.
She could tell he fought back the tears, most likely so the twins wouldn't call him a crybaby.
"Don't go." He begged as he wiped at his eyes as if to stop the tears that pooled.
She sadly smiled and pressed a kiss to his head, before standing and glancing at the twins.
There was a thick silence, that cracked slowly but surely.
"You'll have to tell us all about it." Augustus spoke.
Livia could read between the lines. She knew what went unsaid- 'come back alive'.
So she smiled and her eyes moved to Ambrose.
"Make us proud, Livi."
In no time, Livia had enveloped her three brothers in her arms- for perhaps the last time.
As she pulled away, she looked each boy in the eyes.
"You boys are the strongest people I know- don't back down, don't comply, don't follow." She spoke, pushing the shakiness from her statement.
Ambrose gently grabbed Dominic's hand as the three moved for the door.
"And boys-" Livia pipped up, causing them to pause by the door, "-I love you."
Livia didn't break down until they'd been long gone.
She buried her head into her arms and curled into herself.
No one else visited her.
It was a short ride from the Justice Building to the train station.
Livia had never been in a car before- rarely ever rode in wagons.
The station was swarming with reporters with their insectlike cameras trained directly on Livia's face.
But she had a lot of practice at wiping her face clean of emotions and she did it then.
She caught a glimpse of herself on the television screen on the wall that was airing her arrival live and felt gratified that she appeared almost bored.
They had to stand for a few minutes in the doorway of the train while the cameras gobbled up their images, then they were allowed inside and the doors close mercifully behind them.
The train began to move at once.
The speed initially took Livia's breath away.
Of course, she'd never been on a train, as travel between the districts was forbidden except for officially sanctioned duties.
For them, it was mainly transporting steel.
But this was no ordinary steel train.
It was one of the high-speed Capitol models that averaged 250 miles per hour.
Their journey to the Capitol would take less than a day.
The tribute train was fancier than even the room in the Justice Building.
They were each given their own chambers that had a bedroom, a dressing area, and a private bathroom with hot and cold running water.
There were drawers filled with fine clothes, and Pluto told Livia to do anything she wanted, wear anything she wanted- everything was at her disposal.
Just be ready for supper in an hour.
Livia peeled off her dress and took a hot shower, dressing in a dark green shirt and pants when she was done.
Pluto came to collect her for supper and she followed him through the narrow, rocking corridor into a dining room with polished paneled walls.
There was a table where all the dishes were highly breakable.
Cato sat waiting for them, the chair next to him empty.
"Where's Brutus?" Pluto asked brightly.
"Last time I saw him, he said he was going to take a nap." Cato shrugged.
"Well, it's been an exhausting day." Pluto jeered.
The supper came in courses. A thick carrot soup, green salad, lamb chops and mashed potatoes, cheese and fruit, a chocolate cake.
Throughout the meal, Pluto kept reminding to save space because there was more to come.
But Livia was stuffing herself because she had never had food like that, so good and so much, and because the best thing she could do between now and the Games was put on a few pounds.
"At least, you two have decent manners", Pluto said as they finished the main course, "The pair last year ate everything with their hands like a couple of savages. It completely upset my digestion."
The pair last year were two kids from the quarries who'd never, not one day of their lives, had enough to eat.
And when they did have food, table manners were surely the last thing on their minds.
Cato had never had to worry about food a day in his life. He was trained in every form of elegancy.
Livia's mother taught her to eat properly in the chance they could raise in status, so yes, she could handle a fork and knife.
But she hated Pluto's comment so much she made a point of eating the rest of her meal with her fingers.
Then she wiped her hands on the tablecloth.
Which made him purse his lips tightly together.
Once the meal was over, Livia was fighting to keep the food down.
Cato looked content, but Livia's stomachs was not used to such rich fare.
They headed to another compartment to watch the recap of the reapings across Panem.
They tried to stagger them throughout the day so a person could conceivably watch the whole thing live, but only people in the Capitol could really do that, since none of them have to attend reapings themselves.
One by one, they saw the other reapings, the names called- the volunteers stepping forward or, more often, not.
They examined the faces of the kids who would be their competition.
A few stood out in her mind.
A fox-faced girl with sleek red hair from District 5.
A boy with a crippled foot from District 10.
And most hauntingly, a twelve-year-old girl from District 11.
She had dark brown skin and eyes, but other than that, she was very like Dom in size and demeanor.
When she mounted the stage and they asked for volunteers, all you could hear was the wind whistling through the decrepit buildings around her.
There was no one willing to take her place.
Last of all, they showed District 12.
A little girl being called, another running forward to volunteer.
You couldn't miss the desperation in her voice as she shoved the little girl behind her, as if she was afraid no one would hear and they would take the little one away.
But, of course, they did hear.
Livia watched a young man pull the little girl off- what Livia assumed was- her sister and watched as the girl mounted the stage.
The commentators were not sure what to say about the crowd's refusal to applaud.
The silent salute.
One said that District 12 had always been a bit backward but that local customs could be charming.
As if on cue, Haymitch fell off the stage, and they groaned comically.
A blonde boys name was drawn, and he quietly took his place.
They shook hands.
And then it was cut to the anthem again, and the program ended.