Chapter One: Love?

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Chapter One: Love?

I am Valkirie Cain. I am sixteen years old, and I have been picked to represent district five in the eighty ninth annual hunger games. The last you have heard of Panem was the Seven Years Of peace. I was born in the rebel war. it lasted two years and eventually, president coins great grandson, Titus, won the war and became president. He decided to follow President Snow's example and create a new hunger games.

Life in the districts was even harder than before the war until a certain skeleton made a groundbreaking discovery. Magic exists. It is a natural power that appears sometimes in humans and can be controlled if you know how. Skulduggery Pleasant, a man who according to legend is five hundred years old and became a skeleton after some experimental magic went wrong, discovered magic after years of research.

Some people in Panem are born with magic and some are not. I was one of the lucky ones. But not lucky in every way. I am on the train to the capitol. I had no friends or family to say goodbye to. My only friend is on this train with me.

"Val?" Skulduggery says, sadly.

"What is it Skul?" I relply.

"I wont let you die in the arena"

"Nice to know.. and just how do you plan on doing that skulduggery?"

"I dunno.. what do you want me to do?"

"Eat cake?"

"That could work.. or I could just throw myself in front of a spear or something.."

"SKUL NO!! I'm not going to come out of this one, you are!"

"And how do you work that out?"

"You are Panems magic expert, you discovered the thing goddamnit!"

"The Capitol are sending me in there to die so die I will."

"That reminds me", I mutter, "What did you do to be sent in anyway?"

"They asked me to be a gamekeeper, I said no."

"Why?"

"I knew you were being sent in and I just couldn't lend a hand in killing you"

Skulduggery was sitting beside me on the couch and now he puts his (literally) skeletal hand around my shoulders.

"Thats..... touching," I say, touched.
We sit like that for a while, the rocking motion of the train lulling me into a sense of security. The train goes over a particulaly large bump and my head falls onto skulduggery's chest. I leave it there, feeling comfortable in that position. I feel an unexpected emotion rise in my chest, Love.
'Stop it!' I scold myself in my mind, 'He's a skeleton for gods sake!'
'And you love him', my other voice replies,'Its not like you have a long life to make choices, you are going to die in the arena and you'd better not let him die as well!'
'I wont, you know i wont!! I Love him!!'

"Wont what?" asked skulduggery jerking his arm back, "Who do you love??"

I gasp realising I said the last sentance aloud, "Oh!...."

"Is it that fletcher?" asks skulduggery in a hurt tone.

I hear a crash behind me, Fletcher had apperated into a plant pot again.

"Did someone say my name?" he askes with a smirk.

"Go away weirdo!", I say harshly.

The smirk dissapears, "Sorry, I was worried you needed help."

"With what, loser?"

his next sentence unbalences me, "I dont know, I kind of hoped you'd lost your mind or something.."

Skulduggery intervines, "She has, now scram, loser!" Fletcher telaports away frowning.

"OK", mutters Skulduggery, "I can see why you dont love Fletcher, but who?"

"I.. Well.." I fumble for the right words, "Skulduggery I know you are five hundred years old, i know you are a skeleton. I know you are my best friend and i don't want to ruin that but the truth is, I love you."

The words come out in a rush and i start crying immediately after. I cant look in his face so i bury my face in his suit instead. It smells of dry bones. I love that smell.

"Val..." Murmers skulduggery, I turn my face up to his, "Val, I love you too" And then his skull is millimeters away from my face and i close the gap, my lips on the cold, hard bone of his skull. I love him.

A/N: I know this chapter is a little cheesy and stuff, but I promise it gets better. There will be plenty of action in the future! Please vote and comment!

:)

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