This story chapter is dedicated to my Aunt Beth, who died of a stroke on March 9, 2005. May her soul forever rest in peace.
Me: (In middle of cluster of llamas. Dressed in military regalia, camouflage shirt, pants, boots, and helmet. Sword is at hip and gun in holster. Shield on back. Other random weapons all about body, including a rifle, chainsaw, and bazooka. After about ten minutes notices the people standing there, watching her) What are you doing here? I TOLD YOU TO RUN AWAY! Oh well. It's not my fault if you all die…
Disclaimer: (Pops out of nowhere) What're you doing?
Me: DAMN IT! DON'T DO THAT!
Disclaimer: Why?
Me: Because, you idiot, there are…(Pauses to think for a moment) Suffice to say that there are bad things out right now. Now go away. (Makes shooing motions with hands) Shoo shoo.
Disclaimer: What bad things?
Me: Go away.
Disclaimer: But-
Me: Now.
Disclaimer: I-
Me: Move it.
Disclaimer: Then-
Me: You want to know?
Disclaimer: Yeah.
Me: Really?
Disclaimer: Yes.
Me: Will you go away if I tell you?
Disclaimer: If you give me a cookie…(Sees look on her face and pouts) Yes.
Me: All right… Do you remember the rabid monkeys and evil opossums?
Disclaimer: (Blank look on face)
Me: Oh, right, sorry… Do you remember the OOO-OOOs and the Tchik-ilik-konamis?
Disclaimer: (Eyes go wide)
Me: Yep. They're back.
Disclaimer: AHHHHHHHH! (Runs off screaming)
Me: That probably wasn't the smartest thing to do. (Screaming suddenly becomes much louder and panicked. Then it goes silent) I knew it. Anyway, the characters and stuff aren't mine, they're Tamora Pierce's. I'm not going to bother with the warning I told you guys last time. All right. Go read the story. It's probably safer…THERE! (Pulls pistol out and jumps on Cookie and gallops off, group of llamas following close behind. Suddenly the screaming of monkeys and opossums is heard. Giant swarm runs by, shrieking like…well, rabid monkeys and evil opossums)
Challenge by Eveiveneg
"TRAINEE FALCONER, YOU'RE OFF TARGET!"
Gayle winced at the sound. It seemed Sarge had noticed her bad shooting. 'Finally.' She thought. They'd been practicing shooting arrows for at least an hour. She'd missed using bows and arrows, but knew she couldn't use them properly for a while. If she wanted to seem like a normal trainee, she had to cast the illusion of having trouble with some things.
She picked up another arrow and pretended to struggle with setting it up, holding the bow awkwardly. She heard sniggers, but when she cast them an amused glance, they went quiet. It seemed that they respected her now, for being able to handle Anya.
It had been three weeks since the trainees had picked their mounts, and word had spread of her mare being rather strange around everyone, including the Wildmage herself. The only person who she didn't ignore was Gayle. In fact, she acted rather motherly to her, as her own mother had been if she'd been alive when this situation occurred.
She drew the string back with her ring finger shakily in the exact way that had always exasperated her father. As a child, she'd had a tendency to draw the bow with the wrong fingers when she was flustered. Now, of course, she knew better than to do that. But she had to act as if she wasn't comfortable with shooting right now.
"Trainee Falconer," She looked around to see Sarge standing there, an exasperated expression on his face. "You're holding the bow incorrectly." She blinked, trying to look surprised. "How am I supposed to hold it, then?" She asked in a stupefied manner.
"Like this." He corrected her grip on the bow and arrow. "Try now." She pulled back the string in the correct but still shaky way. She took a few moments to lock her eyes on her target, not the red and white painted bull's eye, but somewhere above it. She loosed the arrow and it flew straight over the top of the target by at least six inches.
She heard a sigh come from Sarge. "Oops." She whispered in a guilty way. "I'll go get it…" She ran off to get it, escaping the sharp eye of the officers for a moment. 'I wish I could just play around on my own.' She thought. Actually, that was a good idea. Maybe it was something she could add to her morning routine.
OOOOOOOOOOO
Buriram Tourakom, better known as Buri, strolled along the palace grounds. She'd come from Golden Lake to visit her friend Thayet. She'd also come to see how the new trainees were doing. Though she wasn't the Commander any longer, she still liked to stop in and see how everyone was doing.
She'd brought her twins, Alex and Kira, with her. The two three year olds seemed to enjoy the company of the Salmalins, so she'd left them there for the time being. Buri smiled wryly. Kim was very like her father, though she'd inherited her mother's looks. Alex, on the other hand, seemed more like Buri, in both her seriousness and humor.
So absorbed in her thoughts, Buri almost didn't hear the door close. She stopped, startled, and looked around the corner. A tall young woman with scarlet hair had come out, holding an unstrung recurved bow, bowstring, arrows, and a target. She looked around, as if making sure no one was there, then started setting up. Buri kept quiet, wanting to see the girl shoot.
About thirty paces away from the bull's eye, she uncoiled the string and hooked it onto the bow. She stuck the arrows in the ground in a line so she could grab them easily. The last one she kept, setting it onto the bow. She pulled the string back to her ear in a smooth, practiced motion. She let go without pausing to aim and picked up the next arrow. She shot all the arrows in quick succession, not once stopping for a moment to pick out her target. When she was done all of the arrows were clustered at the center.
Buri's eyebrows shot up. This girl was good. Really good. Almost as good at shooting as Daine.
Her lips twisted to the side in thought. She went and tried to pull the arrows out, and after a few long minutes, succeeded. She continued doing this for about fifteen minutes or so.
When she went to pull the arrows out again, instead of putting the arrows in the ground as she set up, she plunked them into a quiver Buri hadn't noticed and set it on her back. She pulled out a black scarf and tied it over her eyes. Buri raised her eyebrows again. How well would she do with a blindfold blocking her vision?
The redhead took out an arrow, set it up, and drew the string back to her ear. A moment later she'd let go. It landed in the exact center of the small bull's eye. A second arrow followed the second one and landed in the center of the bull's eye, splitting the first arrow in half, wood and all.
Buri's mouth opened slightly. Hearing the cracking of wood, the girl peeked out from behind the scarf. Seeing the split arrow, she grimaced and swore softly. "Not again." She muttered.
'Again?' Buri wondered in amazement.
She left quietly, leaving the young woman pulling out the two arrows. This was something she had to talk to Evin and Sarge about. You didn't see a girl with that kind of talent everyday.
OOOOOOOOOOOOOOO
Gayle was rubbing Jester down after the morning's ride when she heard it.
"She'll be mine. I don't doubt it in the least. She's a woman, after all. What can they do?"
She paused, listening.
"You probably shouldn't judge her like that. What about the Lioness? What about The Protector of the Small?"
"Please," She clearly heard the scorn in the speaker's voice. "Don't make me laugh. Anyone with eyes can see that they bewitched the King and his Court into doing what they wanted. As I said, they're women."
Gayle mentally sighed. Why did men keep doing that? How could they not get it? It was a mystery for the ages.
" I'm telling you, you shouldn't do that. You know better than anyone else that women can fight well. Didn't Gret's Shadows help protect your family's fief?"
She heard the other one growl.
"Shut up. I'm going to get that redhead if it's the last thing I do. She won't be able to resist me. Besides, it's not as if she's very good at being a warrior. She's a perfect example of why women can't fight."
She groaned inside her head. She was the only one they could be talking about. As the only redheaded girl here, it was blatantly obvious. 'Why, oh why can't they leave me be?' She wondered. 'I'm not exactly pretty. Far, far from it. So why don't they just leave me alone?' She finished grooming Jester and left, after making sure all of his tack was clean and neat, of course. Sarge nodded at her as she left, acknowledging she'd done well and could leave.
She perched herself on a fence post and stared off into space. She remembered a conversation she'd heard a few weeks ago. Sarge and Evin had been talking to a small, slim, golden-skinned woman. She'd said something about one of the trainees, who was an extremely good archer. She'd told them she'd seen the girl shooting, and it was by far the best she'd ever seen. When she described the girl, which Gayle hadn't been quite able to hear, the two officers had looked at each other and burst out laughing. They'd explained to her that she must have been dreaming, because that girl was one of the worst archers that had ever come to train. They'd continued to argue while Gayle had slipped away.
The conversation had left her baffled. Who had the woman been talking about? Not her, surely? She thought she'd seen someone when she'd snuck out to practice. She'd have to avoid her; no one could know her talents.
She shook her head and looked around, bored and searching for something to keep her mind off of her thoughts. There was the possibility of visiting Percy. She smiled. Percy. Of course. She'd missed him lately. She'd grown close to him while staying at his house. He was slowly becoming like a father to her. No one could replace her parents, but that didn't make Percy any less likable.
After thinking for a moment about where he might be, she jumped off and started heading for the palace. She entered and started wandering around, glancing down halls and into partially open doors for a sign of him.
She was leaning against a wall, eyes closed, when she heard someone come up behind her. She pretended not to hear their footsteps.
"Hi." She jumped, and turned around with a surprised glance. A tall man stood there, gray eyes looking her up and down. She kept a frown from coming onto her face. "Oh, hi." She said uneasily. He had white blonde hair and a fair complexion, with little spots of color on his cheeks, reminding her of a doll she'd seen at shop when she was younger.
She felt the same thing she'd felt when she'd seen the doll: disgust.
"Can I help you?" She asked him, as if she didn't realize who he was. She recognized him. He was the man who'd been speaking in the stables. She saw he was wearing the color the uniform of a squire and a badge on his tunic displayed the insignia of the house of the knight he served.
"Oh, I'm content just watching you. You don't see beauty everyday." He responded easily, glancing at her to see if she reacted. He probably thought she was going to blush or something. She suppressed the urge to roll her eyes. She'd seen this before. A guy would flatter a girl and then ask her out. Though that probably wasn't going to be what happened now. This seemed more like a medieval time period than a modern day place. He would probably want to court her. Ew. Just thinking about it made her want to throw up. He was just a slimy, sneaky piece of slime. It was easy to see that.
"Ye-ah. That's great. I'll be going then." She sidestepped him and started off down the hall. "I shall accompany the fair lady then." He announced, catching up with her. She rolled her eyes. Gods. This was going to be a long walk.
"No, I'm quite all right. You go and take care of your business." Translated, this meant, 'Get away from me, you stupid ass and leave me alone for the rest of eternity. Put your nose in someone else's business.'
He didn't seem to take the hint. "I'm Gustav of Snow's Cliff." He paused, waiting for her to respond. She didn't.
"I saw you training last week." He commented. "Great." She answered flatly. "You were very good." She glanced at him. He seemed to think she was falling for him, if the smug look on his face was anything to go by. She fought off the urge to grind her teeth. That would only ruin them. Why do that when he was involved?
"Yeah. Sure." She replied with a roll of the eyes. She wanted him away from her and made no attempt to hide it. Of course, that didn't mean he took any notice of it.
"Would you mind if I called on you later this evening?" He asked slyly. She stopped and looked at him. Was he for real? Did he think that five minutes after she met him she'd accept his offer? Yes, she thought angrily. He would.
What a cocky bastard.
"Excuse me? I swore I just heard you say that you wanted to come call on me. I must be dreaming. No, wait, silly me. That was a different dream. That specific one was a nightmare."
He tried to look wounded and only half succeeded. "You hurt me. Please, say yes."
"What will it take for you to leave me alone?" She wanted to know.
He considered it a moment. "Nothing."
She stared at him. "Tell you what," She said after a minute of thought. "An archery match. You and me. If you win, feel free to call on me any time. But if I win," She drew closer to him and hissed, "You keep your fat ass out of my life for the remainder of time."
He smiled coyly. "Fine. Be prepared to lose, Trainee." She rolled her eyes. "Fine, Squire. I'll see you down at the practice courts in an hour." She turned around and walked off.
Ten minutes later she was grooming her horse again. "Can you believe that jackass?" She was relating the tale to Anya. The mare rubbed her head against her in sympathy. She shook her head. "Gods know that I'd rather be impaled with a pitchfork than have him court me."
Mya burst through the doors. "What's the rush Mya? Did you forget to bring your horse in?" She teased. It was ongoing joke between them. Mya had forgotten to bring in the horses in one day, and had been known since then as "the Forgetful One".
For once, Mya ignored this. "You're shooting against Gustav of Snow's Cliff." She said it as more of a statement than a question.
Gayle blanched. How did she know that?
"What about it?" She didn't bother denying it. That would be lying, and that was something she wasn't comfortable with.
"How can you do that! He's one of the best archers in the Palace!"
Gayle raised an eyebrow. "So?"
"So? SO? Not to offend you or anything, Gayle, but you're one of the worst shooters of all the trainees."
"The worst. And no offense taken." Gayle replied and returned to brushing Anya.
Mya came and took the brush from Gayle's hand. "Why are you doing this? You're going to be creamed."
Gayle shrugged. "Maybe."
Her friend looked at her with annoyed black eyes. "Answer me, Gayle."
She looked at the black-haired girl as she answered. "Personal matters." She said it with such force and authority that Mya stopped asking about it and turned to helping her with grooming the mare.
OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO
When Gayle walked out into the practice courts an hour later, she was startled to see a crowd there. Not just a crowd, but a giant, massive crowd.
Her eyes went a bit wider and became filled with realization. A servant must have heard the conversation. Of course, they'd told everyone about it. So everyone had come to see the girl with a death wish get mauled by the well-known squire.
'Damn it. Damn it, damn it, damn it.' This mantra repeated itself in her head until she thought she'd go insane.
This was a tight spot. She had two choices. She could go ahead with the match, and everyone would know she'd been lying about her talent. They'd want to know why, and that was going to take a lot of explaining. Or she could lose the match, and she'd have to be courted by Gustav. She looked at him. He was currently conversing with some friends, obviously boasting about how she'd fallen in love with him already. She didn't even want to think about that. It made her feel like throwing-up.
There was only one thing she could do.
She walked up, ignoring the swarm of on-lookers. She stopped in front of Gustav and stood there, waiting for him to notice her. After a few minutes she got bored and rapped him sharply on the head. "Oy. Anyone there?" She questioned. She thought she heard people laugh, but paid no attention.
He looked at her in an annoyed way, then quickly put on a mask of delight. "Ah. I was wondering when you'd arrived." She drummed her fingers on her arm. She suddenly realized that she was being an impatient brat. She made herself calm down, thinking of a rainy day. She instantly relaxed.
"Sorry. I was picking jewelry out for my next ball when I realized the time." She spoke in an arrogant and high-classed voice as she said this. She definitely heard people laugh this time.
She grinned impishly at them. "I see we have attracted an audience." She drawled. Gustav looked at her in disgust. Obviously he had no sense of humor. That or he preferred to make extremely dumb and perverted jokes. She wasn't quite sure which was worse.
"Come on, now." She announced, ignoring his expression. "Are we going to have a match or not?"
OOOOOOOOOOOOOOO
Yah, yah, yah. Sorry, cliffhanger and all. I'M THE JOLLY RANCHER LEPRECHAUN! Sorry. That was my weird thing. Ok, so I got the reviews, and took suggestions. It was made quite clear to me that I'm not to start a new story yet. I'll be a good girl and follow your orders. But I'm still not so sure about where it should take place. You guys have the next three chapters in which to submit your reviews and tell me your opinions. No, this isn't one of the chapters.
Oh, you know what's pretty weird? I got into the Scripps National Spelling Bee. Weird, I know. The county spelling bee is on March fifteenth. Great, huh? I'm kinda wishing I hadn't done the spelling bee at our school...
Sorry. Boring you with pointless things about my life. You know what? I'm gonna go hunting for badgers with one of my friends. Or frogs. We're not really sure if badgers live in California. Anyone know? Cuz I'd really appreciate it. But don't ask why we're looking for badgers. It's a long, boring, pointless trail that is connected to extremely random things. Cheerio!
Eveiveneg