The Unforeseen [EDITING]

Chapter Fourteen

     She was fighting a losing battle, but she had known that from the beginning. Timena's suggestion to be cordial with Silas had only drawn him to her more, she would never win in the end.
She remembered how he had kissed her cheek, and that it had elicited a response deep in her belly—there was now a possibility that hadn't been there before. She began to play with an idea, what would she have done if his lips had touched hers?
I must be in dire need of sex if I'm seriously considering that thought.
Sexual frustration had to be the reason she was even entertaining the idea, she immediately thought.
"Are you ready to lose?" Emandalyn's high-pitched voice pulled her from her daze.
She left the armory, walking past Timena with a bow in one hand and a quiver of arrows over her shoulder. They were accompanied by two guards as they traveled down the hill and into the forest. There were multiple trees at different distances that had been marked with targets as they entered the area.
"Are you ready to give up your sword when I win?"
Timena gasped audibly as she looked over to her in shock. "How dare you even joke about something like that?"
Emandalyn's head fell back as she giggled. "Fine if I win, you do needlework for an entire afternoon." She wagered.
Timena quietly groaned and Emandalyn smirked, knowing just how much she hated sewing.
"If I win, you have to wear my tunic and breeches for an entire day and go into town."
Emandalyn's brows raised as she let out a dry laugh. "I would have let you get away with wearing the clothes for the day, but to make me go out to the public in them, you're an evil individual."
"Why the hell would you choose needlework?" Timena jokingly argued.
"Fine forget that then, if I win you have to wear a dress and keep me company as I socialize with the other princesses, for the entire day."
Timena's eyes must have bulged out of her head as Emandalyn stood with a bright smile on her face.
"Um, I don't think-."
Emandalyn held onto Timena's arm as she saw her slowly retreating. "Don't even think about backing out, draw your bow and arrow, you're going first."
   Timena's shoulders sagged as she thought about how terribly this was going to go, she wasn't sure why she continued to go against her. One might be distracted by her delicate features, bright, red hair and girlish charm, but she was stealthy. Emandalyn had been the best archer Timena had ever competed against, she had never missed a single shot, which was why it had always been foolish to go against her.
She sighed, placing her arrow on the rest before drawing the bowstring back and up near the corner of her mouth. With a deep breath she released, hitting the target right in the center. The first was only about seventy-seven yards away from her, it was the farthest targets she was worrying about.
"It only took you a century." Emandalyn teased.
She got in her usual stance, before drawing back her bowstring and quickly letting go, the arrow landed in the center. A knowing smile came to her lips as their eyes met and Timena waved her off almost instantly.
As the distance increased, Timena continued to hit all of the targets despite her nervousness, she had never felt more pressure to win anything in her life than she had right now.
Emandalyn was at ease as she hit the target that was two hundred yards away, "This is always where things begin to get exciting, Mena." She said, with a gleam in her eye.
Timena snorted at Emandalyn's sudden excitement. This was where things always got difficult, her chances of missing the target were significantly higher.
Through the trees, she could see the next target, but not well. As she drew back her bowstring, she tried to steady her back leg as it trembled slightly. With a shaky breath, she released, and upon further inspection, she had hit her target.
Timena smiled but remained quiet, wanting to remain focused for the last few targets.

Their last target was three hundred yards away and Timena mentally recited every prayer she could remember as she tried to focus on it. She drew the bowstring back as far as the sinew would allow, steadying her arms and leg stance. All she could hear was the pounding of her heart in her ears as she felt the pulses in her fingertips.
The breath she'd been holding didn't leave her lips until the arrow was well out of her view. When she went further into the trees, her footsteps stopped in their tracks before she dramatically fell to her knees.
"Shit." Her head fell in defeat as a warm hand touched her shoulder.
"Tomorrow is going to be fun." Emandalyn smiled triumphantly.