Prologue – Adeline
I hear the alarm clock sound and my hand creeps out of my bed, trying to hit the snoozebutton.
"Where is it…?" I mutter in my sleep. "Please, just turn off, I'm having a good dream here."
Maybe that was a lie, but anything to convince Mother Nature or any other ancient deity that I should get more sleep.
You're late for archery, Adeline,A tiny voice whispers to me.
"Not… yet…" I mutter back, trying to enter sleep again, burrowing my head into my soft pillow.
It's 6:00 AM, Adeline,The nagging voice coaxes me.
"Twenty more minutes… Wait, what?!" I scream. Sure enough, the first thing I see is a taunting digital clock reading 6:07."I've gotta go, I've gotta go."
I did notwant to be late for the archery competition. I slip on skinny jeans, brushing my waist long, caramel hair and cleaning my teeth. Jeez, this is hard. I pick up my sheath and bow racing down the stairs.
"What time is it?" I ask myself quietly. The stupid clock says it is 6:20 and I've got to sprint all the way there!
How is that fair? I silently wonder if Ophelia is going to be there. Ophelia is my best friend, but her strength is kendo and is brilliantly intelligent. She got to skip a grade and in one year younger than me, seventeen.
Chances are, Ophelia was awake by 4:30 AM and is jogging her effin' 5 k run. I grab a piece of whole wheat toast, strawberry jam, and race out the back door. You see, I live in the middle of nowhere. In the woods, where I do my own hunting. Trees smell fresh as I rush past them, my waist long hair getting in the way of my view. This causes me to evidently trip over a tree root.
"Ack-k-k…" I curse. Three seconds until my butt gets bruised. Two… on –
"Whoa!" I feel a hand jerk me upwards. "Adeline, what's up?"
Ophelia. "The sky," I snap, and try to run again.
"Wait, Ada! Addie!" Ophelia calls to me. "You leaving me in the dust?"
I roll my eyes, knowing she could easily beat me in a sprinting race. Soon enough, Ophelia's there. "Finishedkendo?"
Ophelia smiles. "Yup, I won. Again. I think it's time they made me supreme master of kendo. Or at least call me sensei."
"Ego, much?" I question her.
"Oh no, never!" Nodding, staying sarcastic. "Hey, you running to that archery competition?"
"No, I'm just deciding to run and frolic in a pink, frilly dress, carrying roses – of courseI'm going there!" I say.
"Calm down, Ada, Addie, whatever," Ophelia tries to comfort me. "Oh, lookie here! You've got… five minutes!"
My eyes widen as I truly leave Ophelia in the dirt.
"Addie!" Ophelia screams. "I was jo–king! Come back! You've still got twenty minutes!"
"No can do, Lia! Wait… twenty minutes?" I narrow my eyes dangerously.
Ophelia rubs her neck, looking sheepish. "Umm, I got you hear faster?"
I am nodding. "Well, yeah - no! No! Don't do that, Lia!"
"Sorry, Ada," Ophelia sounds sincere. "But look! It's over there! With fifteen minutes to spare."
"I'll thank you this time, Lia," I glare at her. "But never again. Never."
"Clear as crystal, Ada," Ophelia nods.
I take a deep breath, smelling hay, grass, targets and… manure? Eew. Ophelia looks like she can smell it too.
"What the frex is that smell?"
Frex…? I voice my question.
"Oh, sorry, Addie," Ophelia apologizes. "It's a book trilogy I'm reading, called Across the Universe, and it has its own swear words! And, well, I kind of caught up on that."
"I thought you were reading Lord of the Rings?" I ask her.
"Done and done and done," Ophelia lazes. "The books are good, but the movies are kind of… really long."
"I liked the first movie."
"It was decent," Ophelia agrees. "Much better than some other movies we've seen, though."
"How's school?" I ask her, changing the question. "I mean, isn't it hard?"
"No, the only thing I'm slaving over is at the guitar," Ophelia remarks. "Can't get the stupid F major. Can change the chords pretty fast, though. Violin, flute?"
I groan. Flute is my band instrument and I might've… broken it over the weekend. "Err, violin's going good."
"You're avoiding flute," Ophelia notices. "Did you break it?"
Spot on. I have no idea how she does this, but my silence answers her question.
"You did?" Ophelia looks shocked. She knows I treat everything with the up-most respect. That's why I apologize to furniture. "How did thathappen?"
My eyes mist over. I remember trying to reach for my father's old box of love letters to my mother. I did not notice my flute trapped under all the carnage, while I was standing on my tip-toes.
"I, uh, it got stuck," I say with a note of finality and Ophelia drops it. Well, that's what I thought.
"Is this about your parents?" Ophelia softly whispers.
I clutch my bow tighter, seeming if I squeeze it any harder, it will shatter into a million pieces. "What makes you think that, Lia?" I say in a steely voice.
"I'm sorry," Ophelia drops her gaze to her feet, looking almost ashamed. Almost. "But, I think… please tell me about it. I could help, Ada. Addie, I could."
Her voice sounds so convincing I am about to list every one of my problems right out to her, but I bite my tongue in effort to stop that. "Come, Lia. The competition is starting."
The competition was indeed starting, including about twenty competitors. Oh, joy. This will take all day. Ophelia whispers, "Bonne chance, Ada."
I smile, French has always been a way to escape the crowd. We both excelled in learning languages, me learning Spanish and Portuguese and Ophelia knowing Spanish, Portuguese, Italian, German and Mandarin.
Ophelia also knows simple phrases in other languages I would prefer I didn't list.
"Adeline Bronson!" A voice yells.
"Here!" I chirp in response.
A man looks in my direction, giving me the tiniest of nods. The list of names go on, two of the archers not showing up.
"Alright, we're beginning!" The man shouts into his megaphone. "First match up, Adeline Bronson against Jessica Herold!"
Me, first? Shoot. I wasn't expecting that. When I line up with Jessica, I see she is a short girl with stubby red hair. "Good luck."
She smiles at me, her red hair frizzing. "You, too."
I stand in front of my target, about twenty metres away, and the wind is blowing about 1mph in the direction of the right. This should be fairly easy. When I scan the stands I do not see Ophelia. Where did she go? No, matter, I will find her later. I tilt my head so I can see who goes first. Me.
Jessica smiles, and I feel extremely grateful. I take a deep breath, notching an arrow. Three… two… one… shoot.
The arrow flies, landing near the middle of nine. I sigh in relief. That ought to be good. I have four arrows left to shoot. Jessica claps for me.
"Bonne chance, Jessica," I say. She looks at me, confused, but she realizes it means something good.
"Merci," She replies. Her arrow is notched. The wind is not blowing and the air is hot. This is perfect. I see her formation and the way she is shooting is off. I desperately want to tell her, but I don't. I'm not allowed to.
Jessica shoots, it going behind her, about three meters to the right from me and five meters in front of me.
Suddenly, a gust of wind appears, pushing the arrow closer and closer to me.
It will not hit you,I stand there like an idiot. Don't hit me… don't hit me…
The arrow is closer, now. Much, much closer.
Too late my mind realizes it willhit me. I'm too young to die!
I open my eyes, focusing on the arrow.
Dodge it, Ada. You can do it, I encourage myself. No, I cannot.
A scream tears my lips when the arrow punctures my heart, knowing I surely haveto die.
Disclaimer
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