The Rose Games

Chapter 9

Soooooo I think I might just hurry through the traveling, I don't wanna make a whole huge thing about it, I mean my god I've already spent 9 chapters on this story and they haven't even gotten to the Games yet. . . .  Who knows how long this book will take?  Lol that's the fun part right?

Song of the chapter: Taylor Swift ft. The Civil Wars-Safe and Sound

Enjoy :)

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                                                                              Chapter 9

The priest's words drifted in and out of my head, like the wind drifts in and out of a sail.  Funny, all my similes seemed to boat-related lately.

Well maybe it was because I'd  been on a fricking boat for half a month.

I propped my elbows on the railing of the deck and let the wind play softly with my hair.  It blew back away from my face so I could clearly see everything in front of me without tendrils of auburn whipping into my eyes every four seconds.  I watched the sleepy sea towns roll by, white stone houses with red tile roofs sitting demurely on the banks.  Occasionally I would see a small boy and his father sitting on one of the docks that jutted out from the shore, holding a stick with string attached to it into the water.  Whenever it moved the slighest bit, the boy would shriek with happiness and immediately pull it up.  99% of the time there were no fish on the line.

I would laugh softly at these cute little boys, and then feel a sharp ache where my heart was, feeling deprived of a childhood with a real father and a real mother.  Of course, I had Gima and Gipa, a suitable filler-for-the-hole-in-my-heart, but it wasn't the same, it didn't replace having real parents.

"Contemplating?" Ty asked as he slid next to me, mimicking my pose.

"Using big words?" I said with a grin, and he laughed.

"So what are you thinking about?" he asked playfully, lightly bumping his shoulder with mine.

"Lots of stuff," I said vaguely, not meeting his eyes as I stared out at the town we were currently sailing by.

"Care to elaborate?" he asked, and I could almost feel his newly-blue eyes boring into the side of my face.

"No," I said nonchalantly, twirling a lock of my hair.

"I'm serious, Artemis," he said, the joking note in his voice gone.

"What if I don't want to tell you," I said softly, refusing to meet his eyes, instead staring at the water below me.

"I'll make you tell me," he said, and I could hear the smile in his voice.

"You really wanna know?" I asked, my temper flaring for a quick second.

"Yes," he said resolutely, and I saw him nod out of the corner of my eye.

"Okay, Ty," I said angrily, whipping around.  "Since you so desperately want to know, I'm thinking about my apparent lack of parents."

"You have Chasse," he pointed out, standing up pretty well to my anger that most men would have quailed at.

"That doesn't count," I spat.  "She's not around like a real mother.  I mean, she tries, but it's not the same."

"There are lots of orphans beside you, you know," he again pointed out like a smartass.

"I know," I grumbled, turning back to stare at the sea town.