Delia of Eldorne paced back and forth in her room. How dare that little wench show her face in the court? Andrea of Trebond was a country bumpkin. She had no right to be here. Delia sighed irritably and wondered how she would crush her. After all there was no way that she would allow Andrea the chance to get close to Jonathon. Throwing herself into a chair Delia wondered what weakness Andrea had. If memory served her Andrea had been scared of water ever since 'the incident'.
Delia snorted. Served the girl right. She had gone through great pains to hire those men to do their job. And in the end all the money had been wasted because of that sniveling Shang Warrior…what was his name? Oh right Lennox. Before Delia could continue her maid opened the door and reminded her that it was time for her daily walk. Ah yes today's walk should prove interesting…
"Andrea relax, I'm sure you'll be fine." Alanna glanced anxiously at her sister. Andrea rolled her eyes and said, "I'm going to be fine Alan. By the way, thank you for accompanying me today." Alanna's friend Gary chuckled and said, "Are you kidding? Two beautiful women locked in combat? Ha, I wouldn't miss this for anything." Andrea rolled her eyes. Men were so typical! Dryly Andrea said, "Thank you so much for your support Gary. Hey look there's Eldorne."
Just ahead of them stood Delia with her entourage. She was dressed in a simple red gown that made her hair look auburn. In one slim hand she held a bow and a man nearby held a quiver of arrows. Seeing Andrea, Delia smiled viciously and said, "Well, it's about time you got here. I was beginning to think you had chickened out." Andrea rolled her eyes and snapped, "you're going to wish that I had as soon as this is done and over with. So, what's the target?" Delia sighed and said with exaggerated patience, "did you really think we were going to shoot around here? Please, I chose something a bit more challenging. This way if you please."
Delia walked down the path and stopped when she reached a semi large lake. With a catty grin she pointed to two one-man boats and said, "Each of us will get in a boat and row to the other end of the lake. On the other side are two targets. The first one to shoot three arrows in the center wins. Understood?" Andrea gaped at the other woman before it occurred to her what she was trying to do.
With a glare that would peel bark off of a tree Andrea hissed, "how dare you! Just wait till this is done and over with. You're going to wish you had never messed with me. Let's get this race on." a few moments later Andrea and Delia were seated in their respective boats rowing furiously towards the other side.
Andrea slowed down and glanced at Delia who was already panting. Andrea rolled her eyes and continued at a steady pace trying to ignore the water that fell into the boat with each turn of the oar. As she slowly made her way across the lake a feeling of uneasiness washed over her. Andrea glanced at Delia and wondered what the girl had up her sleeve. Her fears were soon confirmed when large waves began rolling underneath the boat. Glancing around Andrea noted that the waves were beneath only her vessel. Unaffected Delia was moving forward at a steady pace. Sensing Andrea's gaze she looked up and flashed a triumphant smile.
Andrea heard shouts and turning slightly saw the rest of the group waving their arms around. Briefly she wondered if they had lost their minds. At that moment a large wave smashed into the boat and tipped it over. Andrea went sailing through the air and landed with a smack into the cold water. The moment water closed above her head Andrea felt a swirl of panic rise in her throat. As she fought her way to the surface Andrea forced the panic down.
A moment her head broke through the surface and Andrea took in a deep breath. Treading the water she glanced to the shore and felt her spirit sink. The other girl was already on the shore fitting an arrow into her bow. Sighing Andrea began to swim towards her boat that was floating about 50 feet away. She reached it and pulled herself in. collapsing against the bottom Andrea growled under her breath, "That girl is going to wish she had never messed with me!"
Hello peeps. I'm am very sry for the loooong wait. bows apologetically