Octavia takes another freezing shower and brushes her teeth in preparation for, as Shard calls it, her "fieldtrip" with him to the “photoshoot” in the Courtyard. Before allowing her to go to the Courtyard, Shard insists on Octavia wearing her hair to show it was shaved and wants to pat her down to check her for any weapons or possible ways to conspicuously convey information between other hostages. But with the way Shard has been speaking to her, she knows the pat down would be more than a pat down. There is no way she was going to let him touch her.

"All the other handlers will be checking their hostages. I am entitled to check you too before you are able to go to the Courtyard," Shard had said. "If you don't let me, you won't be seeing Winters."

Octavia wants to see Mindy. She has to see how well she is holding out. Between the two of them, Octavia knows Mindy would be the better equipped one to survive this because of the training Mindy's father forced her to go through in case of a situation like this. But Octavia also knows Mindy would worry herself sick over her, especially since she is Shard's prisoner. She has to see Mindy to show her she was okay and to make sure Mindy was still in one piece and sound in mind. Though Mindy had been dubbed as well-behaved, there is no telling what her handler or other Chromies have done to her in order to keep her well-behaved.

"Have a female Chromy check me instead," Octavia says.

"No can do. You're my responsibility."

"Have a female Chromy check me, and I'll wear my hair the way you 'styled' it."

Shard raises an eyebrow as he contemplates it. "A much tempting offer but I'd like to keep my responsibilities. Especially when they're hands-on." Shard wiggles his fingers with his hands held up to his face.

"So you don't want others to see your handiwork? See the impression you made on me? See the control you had to have on me in order to get this done.” Octavia points to her hair. “The hostages would see it, making an impression on them. They would not be the only ones to see it, either. It would be in the pictures you send to the Committee and to my parents. Didn't you say they would love my hair? What a shame they couldn't see it the way you intended. But, I won't take care to keep it intact if you as much as lay a finger anywhere other than my head to restyle my hair," Octavia says.

Shard holds his chin in thought. "You actually pose a convincing argument, Sweetheart. But what's stopping me from restyling your hair anyway?"

"As long as I have hair to mess up, I'll mess it up unless you shave it all off, but then all the hard work you put into it yesterday, work that takes longer than a clean shave to do, would be gone."

Octavia's heart jumps. That was a stupid thing to say. She fears Shard will shave her hair completely. Being bald would be more humiliating for her than the styled hair. Her parents' admonitions over her speech resound in her head. She hardly ever speaks well. She wishes her parents were there to give her a script.

Shard tilts his head side to side as he intensely looks at her hair.

"Tam," he finally says to the female guard that has been on duty since the first day, "I can trust you to check her well?"

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"Yes, Sir," Tam says.

"Then let's get to it!" Shard says as he gestures for Octavia to go in the bathroom. As Shard restyles her hair, using a comb and blade from his jacket, Octavia wonders if it would have been better for him to shave all her hair so it would be less time spent with him. At least his hands aren’t all over her.

After being thoroughly triple checked by Tam, Octavia resists fixing her hair as Shard leads her to the Courtyard. They walk many halls and stairs. Octavia swears Shard has walked in some circles but can't be sure since all the halls are monotonously grey and musty white. Whenever she tries to focus on keeping track of where they have walked, Shard disrupts her concentration with conversation.

"Why do you keep staring strangely at Tam?" he says this time. "Tam told me you do. Is it because I inspired your hair after the way I did hers?"

Octavia had noticed the resemblance but didn't think it was on purpose, mostly because Tam's hair is electric blue and completely shaved on the side of her head. No parting of hair could hide the shaved area on Tam’s head.

"No," Octavia says.

"Then why do you stare at her? Is it because of her scar? That's not polite, ya know. 'Specially since it was some of your parents' people who caused it."

"No."

"'No' what? Ya better answer me otherwise we're gonna miss the photoshoot."

There were several reasons she stared at Tam, including the death threat, but Octavia knows better than to mention that. So she huffs and responds with a safer answer. "I didn't know female Chromies existed."

Shard laughs. "Then where do you think the male ones come from then? We spawn them from our foreheads?"

Octavia rolls her eyes.

"Women play very important roles here. They're the mama bears of this here den. Heavily armed, scarier-than-actual-bears mama bears. They keep the home front safe while the men are away. And while they're here, too..."

"So it’s a sexist system..." Octavia says under her breath.

"Call it what you like but that's how things work around here. As long as I'm in charge, I won't let them out in the field because..."

A dark, distant look glazes over Shard's eyes. Their periwinkle seem to turn dark chocolate. His white hair appears to slightly darken, too. But walking into this hallway's dark lighting, it's hard to tell. Regardless, Shard's darker, more-human look and hard gaze focused on something unseen causes the hair to stand straight on Octavia’s body. She stops walking.

Shard keeps walking but does not address her, nor anyone, and is distracted. As he talks to no one, his voice is deeper and heavier than she had ever heard it.

"I will never allow them another one. Not another of mine. Never. Never... I don't want them gone or to face either, but half better than all. They could. They're so alike but not. Strong. Maybe stronger... But no. And yes. But no. No... I can't. Too many opportunities... Too preciou-"

Shard cuts off his own babbling when he walks into a lobby-like area at the end of the hall that has better lighting. Shard's eyes and hair return to their normal appearance. His eyes lose their distant gaze and crinkle.

"What are you doin' hidin’ in the dark hall? We're here!" he says.

Octavia is stunned silent by Shard's sudden change but is quickly shocked into a reaction when Shard runs back down the hall, grabs her wrist, drags her down the hall, and shoves her through double doors in the lobby area leading to an outdoor area fenced with barbed wire. The fenced in area is completely paved over, but outside the fence, bright green grass grows.

"Bur-bur-bur-burrr!" Shard says in his best trumpet impersonation as soon as the doors slam with a loud boom behind them. "I present Octavia Sweet-hart!"

Over a hundred eyes look in their direction.