1 AN EXCERPT

The competition had just gotten even more intense. I looked at my opponent, and she seemed familiar, but no matter how hard I thought I just drew a blank about where I had seen her before.

Not as the Queen of Lormeians, but just her.

I decided to leave this aside and concentrate on my target. I was known to be second to none and I planned to keep this record. I had heard that she was new to archery, so that was just the icing on the cake. In contrast to combat duel which I knew she wasn't going to back down. The buzzer went off as we both positioned our bows.

Once we were ready I started shooting the arrows.

This bow had been my steady partner all these years, safe at my side. The arrows it launched flew straight and true, right on the target. I looked at Rosabella and saw her arrow right at the target too. She smirked at me, as if she was telling me, "Get off your high horse, Hale." I chuckled at how childlike I sounded right now.

The buzzer rang once again, indicating the rest time. I walked past her to get to my bench. As our shoulders brushed she whispered, "I know who you are. And your dirty tricks aren't going to land you the upper hand in this. I may be a woman, but I'm going to prove that I'm better than you."

And for the first time in my life, I got cold feet from a weapon that taught me how to walk in life.