Flashback Sweet Revenge

[Azira]

   

25th of Spring 503AV

It had been two days since the incident with the soup in the kitchen and Azira had been brooding on it and planning. She wasn't going to let that youth, Cedrin get away with dumping soup on her. The skin on her stomach had begun to peel the previous day in spite of the salve that the healer had given her and it had become unbearably itchy and tight as well. The other Yasi had thought that the marks of their little prank was very funny but Azira hadn't found it very funny at all and so she'd been trying to find a way to get her own back for that.

The girl had been considering different scenarios to humiliate the boy as that seemed like the best course of action to her. She had had no idea how to go about it though. She thought that Cedrin might like one of the older girls but she couldn't be sure. However, he was always pulling "impressive" stunts when this particular girl was around so it seemed more than a coincidence to the youth. How to turn that fact to her advantage though was something that had taken a lot of thought before she finally came up with a solution.

The boy had gotten annoyed because Azira had done better than him during a practice shooting session so how would he react if he got beaten in a competition with lots of witnesses? She knew that he'd try to get her back for it but she was never going to let her guard down, not even ever so slightly, around them ever again so there was no fear of her falling foul of a retributory prank.

The youth waited until after breakfast when Cedrin was talking and showing off in front of the older girl, Lasida. The boy had no idea that he didn't stand a chance but he clearly hoped. There'd be no hope for him by the time Azira was finished with him. The girl made a beeline for him.

"Hello, Cedrin," she greeted him brightly. He looked surprised then a little alarmed. He glanced at his friend at his side but his mate looked just as uncertain of the situation.

"Azira," he replied, his expression disdainful. The girl smiled sweetly at him then moved past him towards the older girl. He was beginning to look a little worried now, his eyes darting towards Lasida as Azira approached her. The girl looked a little surprised but she smiled faintly as the younger girl came near her.

"Hi," she greeted her as she fell into step beside her. Lasida greeted her in return, not knowing how weird the Yasi in front of her was considered by her peers. The girl was just nice really. The two girls made small talk as they made their way into the Inner Warrens but then the younger girl began to put her plan into action.

"Do you know that Cedrin's very good at archery? He's a real challenge to beat, you know." The boy walking ahead of her stiffened but he didn't turn around. The Yasi pressed on. "Do you know that he's too scared to have a shooting competition with me?" Finally, she got the reaction she was hoping for. He was his own worst enemy really.

"That isn't true!" he exclaimed, turning around. "I don't want to shoot with you because you're a sore loser and you spread rumours to make me out to be bad."

Azira smiled sweetly. "Prove it then. If you have lots of people there then I can't say anything, can I? You aren't afraid, are you? Think that a girl younger than you is going to beat you?"

"I'm not a coward and I'm not scared that you'll beat me! I'll shoot with you whenever you want!"

"Alright then. With witnesses so nobody can lie about anything. Shake on it?" The girl held out her hand for him to take it. A crowd of Yasi had gathered around them and Lasida watched them both. He wouldn't refuse now.

He shook on it.

x

[Azira]

They arranged their competition for that evening after dinner. Azira wanted to make sure there were as many people there as possible for Cedrin’s maximum humiliation. It also meant that there was a lot of pressure on her, however. She had to win or her plan of revenge would backfire on her and then she’d be the one to lose face. Again. She was hoping though that the other Yasi would grow nervous as well and make mistakes then all she had to do was keep a calm head and shoot. It didn’t help though that she needed him to lose badly while everyone looked on. She just wouldn’t think about it. Her audience would just have to be put out of her mind altogether when the time came.

The day seemed to fly by, the bells ticking away as her chance of revenge grew nearer and nearer. Before she knew it her bendi was over and it was time for dinner. Cedrin shot her dirty looks all through the meal but she took no notice of them, or at least she tried not to. Really, the way he was looking at her told the girl exactly how badly this could go for her even if she managed to beat the boy, which she would. He was the type liable to hold a grudge.

Once the meal was over, the youths streamed out of the Kitchens, all heading for the range. When Azira got there she was stunned by the sheer number of Yasi that had turned up for the competition. Some came just for a bit of entertainment, some wanted to see Cedrin taken down a peg or two and others wanted to see the younger Yasi beaten by her older “better”.

The girl suddenly found herself feeling extremely nervous. Perhaps this had been a bad idea. She couldn’t stand being the centre of attention at the best of the time but this was madness. She hadn’t thought it through very much. She’d thought about everything in terms of Cedrin but never in terms of herself. The youth had never thought about how this would affect her but it was too late to back out now. She was the challenger so to step down would be humiliating, it’d be like saying that she saw the older boy as better than herself and that certainly wasn’t true.

Azira walked in with her head held high and didn’t make eye contact with anyone as she walked to collect a short bow. She strung the bow, taking her time as she allowed herself to be caught up in the familiar action, hoping that it would calm her. It helped a bit but she still had that queasy feeling in her stomach. It was an unpleasant feeling and she was almost worried that she was going to get sick. She certainly felt like vomiting everywhere but that wasn’t going to happen. She would be strong and she would beat that boy so badly that he’d never want to show his face again.

Collecting her arrows and holding the bow tightly in her hands, the Yasi made her way over to the targets and to her opponents. Her heart bounced wildly in her chest as the crowd looked on but she was as ready as she’d ever be.

It was time to kick ass.

x

[Azira]

   

The boy looked terrified, standing frozen in place in front of the targets. He probably wished that he'd backed out earlier now or hadn't risen to her challenge in the first place. There was no way that he could back down now without losing face. It was something that he would never be able to live down but by at least trying against her, he had a chance. Azira hoped that it wasn't a very large chance.

A Yasi had stepped forward to referee the match but it was one of Cedrin's friends and so the youth was sure that the match would be fixed, despite all the witnesses. The girl shook her head vehemently and pointed at this friend.

"If he's in charge of judging the match, he might lean in your favour. We need someone neutral. Someone who won't be unfair about deciding the winner," she called loud enough for the others to hear, causing debating and whispering to erupt in the audience. There were some sounds of loud agreement and then Lasida volunteered to judge the competition. Cedrin went noticeably pale.

The pair took their places a few paces apart from each other, ready to shoot at adjacent targets. Azira wondered what way they'd decide the winner, wondered what shots they would take to prove who was the better. Lasida seemed to be thinking along the same lines. Her usually smooth, pale skin of her forehead was creased in thought as she seemed to consider what to do.

"All right. I have an idea. Whoever can hit five bull's eyes first, wins. How does that sound?" Lasida suggested, glancing around at the other Yasi for approval. They agreed raucously, their shouts filling the range, a sound that made Azira want to block her ears. They were clearly enthusiastic about the whole thing. That was good she supposed.

Each Yasi moved into a shooting stance, the contrast between the two almost comical and it certainly earned a few sniggers from the audience. Cedrin was at least a head taller than the younger girl, his frame broader than her own and thin muscles beginning to form under his arms. He was just beginning to enter manhood. Beside him, Azira stood holding the bow in her small, thin arms. She looked like a pretty child which is what she was but yet she could hold the bow as well as the boy could and had a cooler head than he.

Both of them nocked an arrow and held it ready, each of them waiting for a sign so that they could begin. Lasida raised a hand in the air and the Yasi watched her closely. When her hand dropped the competition would begin, her plan of revenge would finally would be put into action and she would have to perform to her very best. She must not fail.

Her arm dropped.

x

[Azira]

   

As soon as Lasida's hand dropped, the Yasi had raised her bow. Her index finger was above the arrow and her middle and ring fingers below as she'd been thought. Her fingers drew back the arrow and the string, holding the bow level so that she could aim.

Thunk!

Cedrin had already let off a shot and it had at least hit the target but the girl wouldn't look over, wouldn't let him ruin her concentration. The groans from the crowd told her all that she needed to know anyway. She tried to just block out the voices and focus on her shooting.

She let the first arrow fly and it thumped into the target hard. She immediately focused on the next arrow, not even  glancing up to see where the first arrow had hit until after she'd lifted the bow for a second time, Cedrin letting off another shot in the meantime.

Her arrow had missed the target but it wasn't too far off only a few inches lower than the centre. She aimed higher this time, allowing herself a moment's concentration before releasing. There was a gasp this time and a quick glance told her that she'd hit the bull's eye. She could only spend a tick on triumphant thoughts before reaching for another arrow. One to her, none to Cedrin. 

A thunk and cheer and the scores were even.

Slipping the next arrow into position, she raised the how and pulled back on the string. The gut slipped in her fingers, releasing the arrow prematurely so that it ended up missing the bull's eye. It didn't help that the twang of the bow string beside her led to a thud and a cheer. 

She was losing.

Trying not to let it phase her, the youth reached for another arrow and nocked it, taking her time to line up the shot. The twang of the bow from beside her came too soon and she knew that the boy must be getting cocky. So cocky that the arrow didn't even hit anywhere on the mark.  That relaxed Azira a little, allowing her to aim and shoot with more confidence and also with considerably less tension in her arms. It hit its mark.

The score was two to two.

The next arrow fell far from the centre, hitting the edge of it instead and Cedrin didn't seem to be doing much better now. The pressure and the stress of competition was getting to them both now. It was going to be close, something that Azira hadn't wanted but now she'd settle for just scraping a win. When she shot casually she could best the boy but not under all this strain. 

Another arrow shot fell just short of its destination and the girl could feel her confidence waning. She wasn't sure if she could do this anymore. There didn't seem to be any way that she could manage this. She wouldn't go down without a fight though and surely something would happen that would give her a chance. He needed to make a mistake. One mistake that's all she needed, one mistake and she could beat him, she was sure of it.

x

[Azira]

When the mistake came she knew by the groaning of the audience. It was a sound of pain, a sound that signalled the fact that they thought he had lost. She had no idea what but Azira took advantage of it to slam another arrow into the bull's eye and another one into another place on the target. It must have been a very serious mistake because in that time, Cedrin shot nothing. Azira was tempted to see what he'd done, probably dropped his bow or something daft judging by the string of curses that had come from him immediately after but she refrained, quashing her natural curiosity to focus on winning.

More arrows went astray on both sides as well as hitting the bull's eye itself but Azira had stopped counting at that stage, her mind entirely focused on the task at hand. So when Lasida announced that they stop, the youth was shocked to discover that one of them had won. Lowering her bow, the Yasi stared at her anxiously chewing on her lip. She was worried that he had won. He seemed to be the better archer after all but she was surprised when Lasida have out the result.

"Five to Azira and three to Cedrin so as per the rules, Azira wind," the older girl told them. Azira immediately looked at Cedrin. The youth looked annoyed, rubbing something on his right hand as he glared at her. It was an angry red welt, presumably made by a bow string snapping back. He glared at her for a moment.

"I didn't string my bowstring properly, all right? Happy with yourself?" he snarled before storming out. Most of the crowd had already dispersed, not caring to hang around, something that disappointed the Yasi. She would have thought someone would have stayed to congratulate her. Lasida turned to her briefly to congratulate her but then she left as well leaving Azira alone.

Victory wasn't quite what she would have expected. She was nowhere near as pleased as she ought to be. She'd achieved nothing today except to increase the enmity between herself and Cedrin and gained the displeasure if his friends. She'd only made things worse for herself, hadn't she?

x