The morning of the Games

I was woken up by someone shaking my shoulder.

"Katniss, time to get up, it's another big, big, day!"

I look up, bleary-eyed, to see Effie Trinket standing over me; the first time I've seen her looking sad.

"W-what time is it?" I mumble, rubbing my eyes and squinting in the early morning light.

"You've still got a few hours before you need to leave, but I wanted some girl time with you!"

Effie pulls back the covers, exposing my scantily-clad body to the cool morning air, and supported me as I climbed unsteadily to my bare feet.

"Let's get you showered, because...you might not have-"

I find myself comforting the older woman, who already seemed resigned to my imminent ****. I start to explain that I'd had a shower the previous evening, but Effie was already busying herself with yanking down my shorts and pulling my t-shirt over my head.

I slap my arms across my body and shuffle into the bathroom, ignoring Effie's crude comments about my buttocks.

I relax somewhat when I'm behind the opaque shower screen. I have to confess, Effie was right. I was almost certainly about to spend the final days of my life battling for survival in an arena of ****; if this was the last shower I was ever going to have, I should enjoy it.

Unfortunately, I wasn't even allowed that.

"The Capitol didn't want it going to waste, but I've managed to secure one final breakfast for you."

I cower against the wall, once more wrapped in my arms.

"Err...I'm in the shower!" I call out, pitifully.

"I know, silly, it's for afterwards!" Effie giggles.

"Do you mind waiting outside until I'm done?"

"Don't worry, I won't get wet!" Effie reassures me about something I wasn't remotely concerned with.

Keeping one arm close to my breasts, just in case Effie fancied sneaking a peek, I finished my routine one-handed, the running water thankfully drowning out Effie's words.

I'd love to spend however many hours of life that are left to me in the shower, but I also didn't want to stark naked with only a thin pane between myself and Effie Trinkett, so I reluctantly switch off the shower.

I squeeze excess moisture from my dark hair and blindly reach out for a towel...but there's nothing on the heated rail.

I peer out from behind the screen and see Effie smiling at me, my towel folded in her arms.

"All done?" she asks.

"C-can I h-have my t-towel?" I reply, shivering; the steam from the shower is already starting to dissipate.

In response, Effie holds it open, waiting to wrap me in it. Arms back across my body, I gingerly step out of the shower and pad across to her, taking care that my bare, wet feet don't slip on the smooth tiles.

But rather than covering my torso, as I'd assumed, Effie instead wraps it around my hair.

"Come on, I'll get this sorted while you eat breakfast."

If I had thought my bedroom was cold when I had woken up, that was nothing now that I was stark naked and soaking wet.

"P-p-please c-c-can I-I-I h-h-have a t-t-towel?" I stutter, rubbing my arms and shivering uncontrollably.

"Don't worry, Katniss, you'll soon air dry," Effie says dismissively, seemingly unaware of how cold I was.

A selection of meats, fruits, cereals and pastries has been arranged on a side table. As I took a seat in front of the window, Effie opened it.

"No..." I moan. Not only did a fresh wave of cold air blow over me, but any remaining heat from the shower drifted out. I squeeze my thighs together and hug my boobs, and wonder how Effie seemingly wasn't feeling cold. Even though she was fully dressed and wasn't only seconds out of a shower, she wasn't showing any signs of hardship.

The food did go some way to distracting me. I only realised how hungry I was when I started eating. Most of my stomach was already filled with nerves, but I **** myself to eat, not knowing where my next meal was going to come from.

While I graze on the selection that Effie had laid out for me, she busies herself with my hair; drying it, applying product, and finally braiding it into my now distinctive style. As soon as she's finished, she pulls me to my bare feet, causing me to nearly **** on my mouthful of food.

She wipes away her tears as she examines her handiwork, placing my braid down my back, and then over my shoulder, testing where it looks best. Almost inevitably, she starts crying again.

I'm so cold that I'm grateful for her warm body pressed against me, and I even tolerate her gently squeezing my right breast.

"I'm sorry, Katniss," she sobs. "It's just so sad that you're going to die a virgin!"

I was starting to get pretty annoyed about how she'd already written me off before the Games had even started, but before I can retort, the door opens.

I squeal and cower behind my arms as a Gamemaker enters, carrying a briefcase.

"Relax, Katniss, they're just here to fit your tracker," Effie explains.

The Gamesmaker place the case on the table, and opens it to reveal a comically large surgical needle. Picking it up, he screws a glass vial into the end, and asks for my right arm.

I cross my legs and crouch awkwardly, swap my left arm with my right ling my chest, and extend the latter. I wince as the needle pierces the smooth skin of my forearm.

"See? All done!" Effie smiles as the Gamesmaker packs his equipment away, as though my nervousness had anything to do with a millisecond-long procedure when I was buck naked and shivering in front of a stranger.

With the rest of my prep done, Effie had me stand in the centre of the room to finish drying while she conversed with me about trivial affairs. Boys were the last thing on my mind when I was soon to be pitched into a battle for survival. I say conversed; Effie was doing all the talking, and seemed happy to monologue while I shivered and dripped onto the floor.

xxx

The door burst open again.

"It's time to go, Miss Everdeen."

I was back cowering behind my arms, and look at the soldiers in both fear and longing.

They were obviously here to stop me trying to run away (not that there was anywhere for me to run to), and were covered head to toe in fabric...something I didn't have so much as a thread of.

"Oh, I completely lost track of time!" Effie laughs. She pulls me into one final hug, squeezing so tightly that my breasts are crushed against her torso.

"Good luck, Katniss, I know you'll try your hardest!"

Not exactly the vote of confidence that I was after...but she was also sending me off without any clothes!"

"Wait, I need something to wear!" I protest as she pushes me out into the hallway, a final goodbye as I left the apartment was obviously too much for her to cope with.

"Don't worry, Cinna will have your outfit ready for you."

Effie's attempt at reassurance didn't work, as I still had the issue of being nude before that happened.

But flanked by the two soldiers, I had **** but to shuffle through the apartment and out onto the roof.

A helicopter was waiting for me, the engine breaking the early morning silence. I wince as my bare feet pad across the rough ground, and hug myself even tighter as I begin shivering once more.

"This one not wearing any clothes?" the pilot asks as I climb inside, doing my best to keep my arms in place.

"I'm not complaining! This one's the virgin, right?"

After strapping myself into a cold metal seat, I curl my knees up to my chest as the helicopter ascends.

Fortunately, it turns out that the Capitol are transporting us individually to the arena. Being stared at by four soldiers was somehow preferable to being naked in front of my competitors. Why did they need four guards to supervise one naked girl, anyway?

I hug my knees and I try to focus on what lies before me, but I keep getting distracted by how completely and utterly naked I am.

I REALLY, really hope that Cinna has some clothes waiting for me.

I don't know what I'd do if I had to go into the arena, naked.