Emma and I make good time, getting the bare necessities with what little money we have. Emma stops me to look at the animals at the market, calling the rabbits cute and asking for one. I neglect to mention that they'll be used for food in not too long. I take Emma back home and head to the one place that comforts me. A small hill in near the tall brick walls that mark boundary of the realm. I scale my old tree and close my eyes. For a while I forget about the Games.
"Well don't you look lovely today." a sarcastic voice calls to me.
I open my eyes briefly and see him. Jiro is one of the soldiers in realm seven. He isn't like most soldiers though. Not nearly as sullen or hostile. His father forced him to become a guard to serve his kingdom. He's been one of the only people not to run for the hills when ever he sees me. We met a few years ago, when I was 14. I was carrying home the few things I had managed to trade and buy at the market, when I was attacked by a raider. This raider, of course, stood no chance against me. I may have looked small, but I was graced. He just didn't know. I was so fast that I wrestled him to the ground and knocked him clean out before he knew what hit him. Jiro had seen me get attacked, and as a guard, he felt it his duty to help me. This was not like most soldiers. I suppose I could admit Jiro has a good heart. Normal soldiers would have left me to defend myself. By the time Jiro had reached me I had already knocked the attacker out.
"My... Looks like you've got yourself taken care of." he said with wide eyes. "You are quite the fighter. Are you graced?"
I ignored his compliment and his question and felt only distrust towards him, as I did all the soldiers in the realm. It was none of his business what I was graced with, whether he meant well or not.
"I don't need anyone looking after me." I had said bitterly.
"I can see that, little lady fighter." he said sarcastically.
I was in no mood to be humored by his sarcasm. I gave him a glare, and turned to walk away. Only he didn't stop following me. I was tempted to run, for this was my grace, but I knew I couldn't. He would know, and he would tell the people of realm seven about the girl graced with running.
"I'm Jiro." he said confidently.
I give him an annoyed glance. "Why are you following me?"
"I've never seen anything like that from such a little girl." he said jokingly.
He must know by now I'm not one for jokes.
"I am not a little girl." I said angrily.
"Sorry. I didn't mean to offend you." he said. "What's your name?"
"Amor."
"Well, Amor, you just tell me if you run across trouble that's too much for you. I'm sure I could handle it even faster than you had." he laughed.
For the first time in a while, the corners of my lips turned upward ever so slightly.
"I'll make sure to."
He followed me the next day again, insisting upon conversation. We weren't supposed to become friends, but eventually we did. He is one of the only friends I ever had.
"Amor?" his voice snaps me out of my daze.
"I'm in no mood for your mockery of the way I'm dressed." I call to him. His footsteps near, and he looks up at me.
"You know I'm kidding. I just never expected to see you all fancy-like." he snickers.
"Somehow my grandmother got me into this." I say.
Suddenly I feel the branches shift violently and nearly fall out of the tree. I see Jiro struggling to climb up, but I'm about twenty feet in the air. He gets about twelve feet up then I hear him gasp and shout. He plummets down and hits the ground. At first I'm laughing, but when he doesn't laugh, or talk, or move, my heart starts pounding and I hurriedly climb down the tree.
"Jiro!"
When he doesn't respond, I jump the remainder of the tree and hurry to his side.
"Jiro!" I'm in panic, and I shake him hard. "Jiro!"
When I'm about to run for help, he opens his eyes and I see a smile on his face so big that it makes me wonder if he hit his head and lost his mind during the fall.
"Why are you smiling like that?" I nearly shout at him.
He bursts out laughing, and I realize. He faked injury. I nearly punch him in the face.
"What is wrong with you?" I yell, not getting the humor in this situation.
He sits up, face bright with laughter.
"Oh, take a joke. Honestly, Amor. If I really did get hurt I would be scared for my life." he begins, then laughs again. "You don't shake a person when they're injured."
I scowl and shove him. He yelps, and I give myself a satisfied smile at his pain.
"You deserved to fall out of that tree for pulling a stunt like that." I say.
"You're just mad because you were worried about me." he says, nodding his head and giving me a knowing look.
"I wasn't worried about you."
"You're the worst at hiding things, Amor." he says.
I only now realize how very worried I actually was.
"Okay, maybe a little."
He smiles and gets up. "How on earth do you get so high up in that tree?" he looks up questioningly. "I'll never understand. You must have at least thirty graces, I've been neglected to even have one."
"You're lucky. The graced aren't usually welcomed in most places." I say, rejecting the urge to get up and climb the tree again.
"I don't see why. I admire you. If I had but one talent I would be satisfied." he offers his hand and pulls me up off the ground.
His face suddenly grows serious, like he's remembering something.
"The reaping. How many times is your name entered today?"
Astonished by how quickly his mood has shifted, I answer reluctantly. "Twenty."
He swears and slams his fist into the base of the tree so hard that I'm worried he broke it. When he doesn't so much as wince when he takes his fist from the tree, I relax a little. I'm shocked that he cares so much. Yes, we're friends, but it's almost touching.
"Why did you do that?" I ask a bit teasingly, trying to lift the mood.
I guess it doesn't work, because he turns to me so suddenly and looks at me intensely the eyes.
"Good luck today." he says in a hushed voice. Then he walks away quickly and doesn't look back at me.
I shiver a little, left thinking there was more there than just good luck.