Beauty and the Beast

2

Silently, drawing a bow out of the quiver, the aim was set.

No, it wasn't the tiger cub. It was the poacher trying to steal the tiger cub. The arrow swiftly traveled the distance piercing through the man. Pushing the bow on her shoulder, she walked ahead towards her hunt.

"Take him away." The hunters quickly jumped to capture the man.

The man saw the girl and stood stunned.

Black shiny hair, brown eyes like the soil, a golden complexion, beauty the likes of which he had never seen. It seemed like he had seen some apsara. The form which could enchant any man. A quiver was hung on her shoulder. She held a spear in her hand as the bow hung with the quiver.

"Who are you?" He asked.

"She's our chieftain's daughter." One of the hunters answered.

"We've got seven. We're left with two. Let's go." Chenchita walked ahead leaving the struggling man to the other hunters.

The Chenchu tribe considered themselves the protectors of the forest. Sure they hunt animal but never more than the amount that can fill their stomach. They danced around and celebrated festivals in the part of the forest which normal people wouldn't enter.

Chenchita was no different from the group of hunters. A part of the pack. Sure, she was the child of the Chenchu chieftain. Her father's darling child.

Chenchita and the hunters gathered around their next hunt. The eighth poacher.

Like an expert hunter she shot the arrows. Far more skilled than a royal Archer. She perfected the ambush hunting technique just as well as a front battle.

Once all the nine were caught. Chenchita returned to the tribe. The poachers tied up to a tree.

In a corner, she noted of the men speaking to her friend, Padma. A grin passed her face.

She walked over to them and cleared her throat. Padma almost jumped away from him, almost falling over Chenchita.

"Oh, was I disturbing you two?" She asked, teasingly.

"Don't ask the question to which you know the answer, Chenchita." The boy commented.

"Well, then excuse me for asking why you're cornering my friend? I know all these tricks. Wouldn't work on us."

He rolled his eyes.

"Instead of asking about your hunting skills someone should have asked when you would be off with your husband."

"Awww... You think being rude is helping your case? Should I tell your mother that her son is losing manners?"

"Chenchita..." Her brother showed up. Her cousin brother. Though they are close as siblings but the rivalry didn't disappear. He wanted to be the next chieftain but wouldn't be possible until he defeats Chenchita. The two almost have a fairly equal score and always even out each other. "Let the boy at least have a moment before you barge into other people's love lives."

"Excuse me. She's my friend. I'm not letting some man steal her from me."

"Again. Why isn't she married off yet? Hadn't some prince arrived asking for her hand in marriage?" The boy asked her brother.

"Apparently she didn't like them. You know how Peddha nanna is. He's a little too soft with this one." He answered.

Chenchita rolled her eyes. "It isn't my fault if all of them are cowards and cannot seem to actually make me think that they are 'husband' material. I don't want some spoilt city boy for a husband."