Niles looked down at his brown shoes while his heart beat quickly.
Another Reaping Day was here.
He hated knowing that two people he probably knew would be taken and that later he would have to watch them die. It was rare that tributes from his district, District 8, ever won the games.
As of now, Ananias Peterman, District 8's representative, stood on the stage giving a small speech, but Niles paid no attention and doubted that anyone was.
When time came for the drawings, Niles didn't know where to look, so he closed his eyes.
At the age of seventeen, he was so remarkably close to never again being eligible to be a tribute in the Hunger Games, which he would so obviously lose. He knew that he would be targeted because of his lack of strength, and perhaps even for his irregular way of running.
Girls were drawn first. Girls always were drawn first.
This bothered Niles so very much, because it meant that he was forced to wait even longer to find out whether or not he was to be the next tribute.
Ananias opened the large, glass ball with hundreds if not thousands of small pieces of paper inside. He took his time reaching his hand into and hunting through the crisp slips until he had finally found one that seemed right.
He picked it up, closed the ball and read it.
"Our female tribute is Miss Daphne Moon."
Niles felt the floor drop out from under him as the words were uttered.
Not Daphne.
It couldn't be Daphne.
He had gone to school with the girl, the sweet, beautiful goddess. They had a few classes together, classes that Niles could never seem to pay attention in. She was the most beautiful, pleasant, alluring girl he had ever seen.
Thinking about her being killed like so many other tributes made him sick and filled with rage.
He watched her as she gently walked on to the stage, her face pale and downcast. She was wearing a white, gentle dress and her dark brown hair lied long down her back and shoulders.
When she was standing on the stage looking positively terrified, Niles felt as if he were about to burst.
Ananias went to the second glass ball and propped open the lid.
"I volunteer!" Niles heard himself shout out of nowhere. All eyes suddenly turned to him, and he started to slowly walk towards the stage.
"Alright then!" said Ananias. "We have a volunteer. What's your name, young man?"
Once he had reached the microphone, Niles said shyly, "Uh…Niles Crane."
"Ladies and gentlemen, District 8's tributes, Daphne Moon and Niles Crane!"
The crowd was unenthusiastic as usual. As everyone left, Daphne whispered, "Niles, why did you volunteer?"
Niles had no idea what to tell her. She knew nothing about his feelings for her, and this was no place to tell her anything.
"You're my friend, Daphne, and an honorable man has an obligation to protect a woman he cares about."
"That's wonderful, but you really didn't have to do that."
The words meant absolutely nothing to Niles. She obviously had no idea what sort of person she was.
As Daphne waited in a room in the courthouse, she shook with fear and wondered how long it would be before she broke down in tears.
She couldn't believe that Niles Crane had volunteered. She knew him well and he was very sweet, but the fact that he would volunteer just to protect her was simply amazing. He was truly a selfless, respectful gentleman.
At that moment, her brother Simon came through the door, followed by the rest of her family.
"Stilts!" he cried when he saw her. All of her brothers shouted encouragement at her and told her to make them proud, but that was not what Daphne wanted. Her heart ached with fear and depression, and all she wanted was someone to tell her that everything would be okay.
Daphne's mother walked over to her and hugged her. She had tears in her eyes. "I never thought that it would be you, Daphne. I thought maybe one of your brothers, but not you. I'm sorry."
"I love you, Mum," Daphne said.
"I love you, too."
As her father walked up to her, she practically fell into his arms. "You can make it, Daphne, I know you can. I love you."
"And I love you, Dad."
In a whirlwind, they all were gone.
Daphne ran her fingers through her hair and tried not to cry. Just as tears began to drown her eyes, her friend Roz burst through the door. "Hey Daphne," she said. They immediately hugged. "Don't worry about anything. Stay close to Niles, and try to find out what your strength is. Don't show them you're weak. It's a lot like getting a guy, actually."
"Thank you, Roz. I appreciate it."
And then she was gone, too.
Alone, Daphne leaned against the wall and cried.
Niles in no way doubted that he had done the right thing. He had absolutely no regrets about anything. He knew that if he needed to, he would die for her.
The door opened quickly and in rushed his brother Frasier. "Niles, what are you doing?"
"I…"
"Frasier," his dad scolded as he walked through the door. "We support you, son. I don't think that this was the wisest choice you could have made, but we support you."
"Thanks Dad," said Niles as he hugged his father.
Frasier stood and looked at Niles. "I'm sorry Niles. I don't know why you've done this…well, I think I do know…but I didn't think you'd go to such great depths is all. Good luck." He embraced Niles. "If Mom was here, I think she'd be proud of you."
"Thank you, Frasier."
And they were gone.