She had marks from the circles of rope that had bound her wrists and refused to linger by the tree now. I fed her when I could if she was tied to the tree, but she was our best hunter so not only was meat scarce when she was bound, but also she could only eat the scraps of our meals, and naturally she was dropping weight. She trained harder, working out, trying to keep up her muscle mass. This was one of the times she was relaxing. Her head was lolled on my thighs as she dozed contentedly, and I cut her hair with a blade. It was shaggy and imperfect, just like her.

One of her weapon-calloused hands comes up to rub my thigh, and she nuzzles her face into the soft flesh of my legs. I love her. Sure, every boy here would gladly fight for my attention- and I like watching them try- I will forever return to the solace of her arms, no matter how tired, are never too tired to hold me. They couldn't love me like she does, I know. I could get laid more often, sure, but a guy would never understand how to touch me right, no matter how hard he tried. Her eyes open, and she leans up to kiss me.

I hand the blade back and kiss her too, one hand on her face and the other tangled tightly in her short hair. This is hell, by all accounts, but I must admit that I'm glad that I got to know her at all. She gets up with a groan, saying she needs to go hunting again. I protest, but she kisses my knuckled and tells me that she'll come back and I needn't worry. She leaves with a small group and her bow, and each come back with game about three hours later. I run up to her and throw my arms around her, excited by the prospect of venison.

She drops the buck that's on her shoulders to lift me up and spin me around, but I don't see when she makes eye-contact with Bellamy. She would endure the tree again for my sake, but I know it's hell each and every time. I've tried and am still trying my best to stop my brother from doing this, but I'm too light and I always end up getting held back by the people that follow him. Her smile drops when they make eye-contact, and she begins to frown when she puts me down and I bury my face in her chest like a child. She hugs me tightly as she watches him and he watches her, anger in his eyes and a panic in her eyes. I don't notice either staring at one another.