Board Thread:Clubs/@comment-38091275-20190513174141/@comment-38480398-20190621235531

Prologue

Bad experience had made Tara absolutely hate rain. Tonight, it was as rainy as it got and it was making her feel on edge. Normally she would have stayed inside, but she didn’t really have much choice. Unless she wanted three years of work to go to waste, she would have to put up with it. She should be fine. She just needed to be careful. Huddling deeper into her raincoat, she crossed over a street. When she finally made it into the park, no one was there. Her heart skipped a beat as she checked her watch. They were late. Her grip tightened on her dagger.

“Ten minutes,” she whispered. Ten minutes she would wait. Otherwise… well she didn’t really know. She just knew she wasn’t going to stand around as an easy target for longer than that. She moved under a tree whose leaves offered some shelter from the downpour and stood there, waiting. Nine minutes and fifty-nine seconds later, she was about to leave when the sound of a very soft, but slightly misplaced step made her stiffen. By now it was raining so hard she could barely see. She raised her dagger again, ready to throw- or strike, if whoever was out there got too close for her to throw before she could see enough make sure she would hit them. She relaxed again as the rain parted suddenly, like a beaded curtain being pushed aside. Completely dry despite the torrent, Freya silently joined Tara under the tree, letting the rain fall normally the moment she stood under cover.

“And?” she asked.

“You’re the first,” Tara replied.

“That’s bad. How long have you been waiting?”

“Ten minutes.”

“How much longer were you going to wait?”

“I was leaving when you came. But now that you’re here, should we maybe wait another ten?”

“I think so. This weather makes it hard.”

Tara nodded. “I don’t like it. Not at all.”

“Me neither. It’s getting worse too.”

“The fear or the rain?”

“Both,” Freya said softly. Tara found she had to agree with that. The rain was gradually becoming a waterfall, worsening the visibility and drowning out other sounds, increasing her nerves. It would be far too easy to sneak up on someone in this weather. You simply wouldn’t notice anyone until they were right next to you.

“Sorry I’m late.”

Tara started, nearly throwing her dagger at Kaitlyn as she suddenly joined them under the tree. Case in point, she thought grimly.

“Charlie isn’t here?” Kaitlyn asked. “I thought I would be last.”

“Nearly.” Charlene appeared out of the rain. For a moment, they all just stood there, then Tara took a deep breath. “Ready?” One by one, her sisters nodded hesitantly.

“We should hurry. I don’t think it’s safe to stay here too long,” Freya warned. She reached inside her raincoat, rummaging around before taking out a dark blue stone dangling on a pale chain. Even with the light barely detectable, Tara could see it gleaming faintly. Charlene moved next, drawing out a clear stone set in gold. They placed their stones on the damp ground. Kaitlyn bent down, laying a deep red jewel alongside the other two. Now only Tara was left. She took out the emerald first. Once it was on the ground next to the other stones, she got out the moonstone. The white jewel seemed to almost glow. She held it aloft. Just for a second. She placed in the center of the circle that had been made by the first four jewels. After a moment’s delay, in which a strange shimmer went through them, they flashed blindingly, white light sweeping outward.

The first thing Tara noticed as she cautiously blinked her eyes open again was that the familiar, comforting weight of her necklace was gone. She would never wear it again. It filled her with a strange sort of loss. The necklace was something she had become used to. It was always there and uncomfortable as it had been at first, she’d grown it attached to it. Next, she saw that the stones they had laid on the ground were gone too. Success. At least for now. It was a temporary solution. But hopefully, the delay would suffice. Hopefully. With whispered good-nights, the sisters departed.

Please let this work, Tara thought. ''Please. It has to.''

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 ​​​                                                        Chapter One

 

Catalina Rogers briefly weighed a spear in her hand. Heavy. She’d need to throw this one quite a bit higher than the mark. She’d also need a lot of force if she wanted to hit her target, since it was quite far away. It meant she’d have to be careful, because if she went too high, the spear would never make it there.

“… three,” Tara counted. Catalina only ever had to the count of three to pick up the spear and find her trajectory. Tara wanted her to be able to throw perfectly instinctively, without stopping to think or taking the time to align. She flung the spear almost the instant she heard Tara’s voice; this type of target training had improved her reaction as well. She watched it sail through the air.

“Perfect hit!” Tara shouted from where she was standing next to the target. Catalina exhaled, relieved she hadn’t overcompensated after all.

“Go again! Two seconds this time.”

Cataline sighed, slumping in on herself. She was exhausted, couldn’t be bothered anymore and the effort of throwing so many rather heavy spears from standing was making her shoulder feel like it was going to dislocate soon. She perked up a bit again when she heard Tara say, “Just one more, then we can do archery. Ready?” She paused a moment. “One, two.” Catalina snatched up the next spear and threw it. Right on target.

“Ok, I’ll meet you at the archery range!” Tara called, slipping past the spear-throwing target to go around the back way. Catalina walked over to the wall on her left, picking out a bow from the many ones that hung there. So brown it was almost black, with a wood-like look, it had a simple, elegant effect. Catalina liked that. Not just for her bows, for everything. And so, after she and Tara had discovered that the bow had just the right size and feel for her, it had become her bow. It was the one she always used for competitions and events, and the one she practiced with the most. Going further along the wall, she selected a matching black-brown quiver filled with arrows. Slinging it across her back, she went to the archery range, where Tara was already waiting. The archery range stretched longer than the spear-throwing one, with multiple standing and hanging targets at different height and distances.

“Start with this one!” Tara hollered, indicating a hanging target at the very top left of the range’s back wall and stepping out of the way, ducking behind a large standing target. Nocking an arrow, Catalina drew her bowstring taught and raised the bow. Thwack!

 

“It might interest you,” Tara observed at the end of training, “to hear that there’s going be a big, global-tour archery competition starting next week.”

“Interest?!” Catalina echoed in disbelief. “I’d love to enter it!”

“I thought you’d say that. I’ve already filled in most of the enrolment forms, so you would just need to fill out the rest- with your parents’ permission of course.”

“Wait, you said global-tour; how long is it?”

“Depending on how far you make it, anything from a month to six.”

Catalina deflated. “Forget it. My parents will never be able find the time to take me.”

Thoughts?