Ch. 4: The Contest

Warning. There will be scenes of abuse and violence, as well as threats of sexual assault in this chapter. I will mark a warning for those it may trigger to allow them to skip over it.

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Liam carried her limp body back to the village. He had memorized the landmarks to know where to go as he had followed Caliana. On his shoulder was slung his long bow and quiver, and on his hip her quiver was secured to his belt. Her recurve bow was also over his shoulder, making him look quite odd.

He approached the village noticing the tents his men had set up in the clearing near where the feast had been held. There in the middle of the circle of tents, was a campfire, with 9 figures huddled around it. Glancing towards the bonfire pit where the feast had taken place, Liam saw only cinders and embers glowing in the night. The villagers were gone and asleep in their homes.

Walking into the small camp, he drew the eyes of his comrades as he strode towards his tent. Entering it, he placed Caliana on the furs they had placed on the ground for a bed and blankets. Laying her gentle on the furs, he pulled off his own cloak, laying it over her. Hearing his men talking amongst themselves outside, he carried Caliana's bow and quiver of arrows out to the campfire.

"Liam, was that the girl from earlier? The one from the feast?" Turning his head, he nodded, and pulled her bow off his shoulder. "Cal, look at this. Can you tell me how this was made?" An older looking member of the party took the bow, studying it closely and everyone was silent as they watched and waited for his answer.

"It's made of yew wood, which I notice there is a lot of around here. It is sturdy, almost as good as one of our own. But it has a slight.. difference to it. It's more... feminine feeling. As if a woman had made it." Handing the bow back to Liam, Cal then took the arrows he was offered to inspect. His answer was the same as the bow.

Liam stroked his chin, thinking hard. "Julian. I want you to take three others with you, and go about a quarter mile northeast into the forest. You will come across a small clearing with a dead black bear. Bring it back here. Do not touch where the arrows are. If possible avoid breaking them." Nodding four men left the group, and headed in the direction he had just come from.

For a few moments, no one said anything, watching as Liam stared into the fire, stroking his chin while getting lost in thought. Finally he sighed and looked at the remaining group members. "I have an idea, and it may cause some problems with the other Hunters, as well as with practically the whole continent. I need to know now. Will you stand by my decisions and trust it is for the betterment of the Hunters?"

A resounding yes rang through the still night air, spooking an owl that had been resting on a tree branch nearby and causing it to fly away. Smiling, he leaned back. "We will hold a contest tomorrow, just to be sure, but I am already sure I have made the right choice."

The men who had left to go fetch the bear came back just as Liam had finished talking, the huge beast dragging in the ground. The other men gathered around, studying the beast while Liam spoke. "She stood her ground against the beast, knowing she only had one shot. She shot as well as a second year apprentice. The only reason she missed was because the beast moved at the same moment she released."

Studying the carcass, they could indeed see that Liam was right. The arrow was embedded in the bears shoulder, just above its heart. They knew the fletching of Liams arrows was always black, so they could easily tell who had shot what part.

The sound of someone clearing their throat behind them made everyone turn, her face pale as she trembled, holding Liams cloak tightly around her. "M-my Lords." She bowed, her body trembling under their gaze. "Are you going to..." she gulped, glancing at her bow that had been left on the ground.

"Are we going to kill you? No." Liams voice went hard, sending a shiver of fear down Caliana's spine, but nobody else seemed bothered. In fact they were used to it. It meant he was testing her.

Caliana inhaled, slowly calming down. They wouldn't expose her secret. Nodding her head, her eyes fell upon the bear, and she stepped forward, curious. She touched its soft, sleek fur and let out a breath. Turning to Liam, she bowed once again. "Thank you for saving my life from the bear. And for not killing me for my secret."

Cal spoke up. "Who taught you to shoot? And did you make your bow yourself?" Caliana nodded her head. "Yes, I made it myself. I would watch my brothers and father as they made theirs, and learned that way. And no one taught me. No one would be willing to teach a woman anyway."

Caliana went up to the bears shoulder, retrieving her own arrow and cleaning it off on her dress. Placing the arrow in her quiver, she sighed. "I must return home now. Before my brothers and father wake up. Thank you for saving me. I will be forever grateful and indebted to you." Bowing low, Caliana turned and ran home.

Behind her, she didn't realize the 11 pairs of eyes following her, nor the shadow that snuck after her.

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Caliana shut the main door of the house, sneaking in quietly and going to her room. Making sure no one was awake, she let out a breath of relief as she closed her bedroom door. "Long night?"

**Trigger warning. Skip if desired**

Caliana jumped and nearly screamed at the sound of Seth's voice. Spinning around, she was suddenly pinned against her door by her throat, his firm hand squeezing the air out of her. Her hands gripped and scratched at his wrist, gasping softly for air. He leaned in close, his breath smelling of ale. "Your a little whore. Sneaking into the Hunters tents and coming back wearing one of their cloaks. You spread your legs so easily for them, it's pathetic.

I should kill you now, before you shame our family. Don't think I didn't notice how you were talking to them as if they were friends." His grip on her throat tightened for a moment, before he threw her across the room and onto her bed. Gasping for breath, she didn't have time to recover as she was suddenly pinned against the bed, Seth straddling her waist and his hands pinning hers above her.

"How many of them did you let fuck you huh? I didn't even see you at the Feast, and the leader of the party left after a while and never came back. I bet you were with him the whole time huh? Filthy pig!" Pinning her hands under one of his, his other hand came up and struck her, causing her face to turn to the side. Caliana cried out softly, trying to beg.

"I-I didn't-" "Don't you lie! I saw you come out of his tent! I saw how they all looked at you! You disgraced our family!" Seth's hand formed a fist, starting to punch her stomach and chest, her body twisting and squirming under his.

"S-Seth! P-please stop! I-it hurts!" Her cries of pain and her screams only made him angrier, the hits on her abdomen getting harder. Tears poured down her face as his grip on her wrists tightened, beginning to bruise.

Leaning on close, Seth trailed his nose up her cheek, causing her to whimper as she trembled in fear under him. "Maybe I should fuck you too. After all, a whore is only good for spreading her legs." Caliana sobbed as she felt Seth trail his hand down her side, then to her skirts, pulling it up slowly. Tears ran down her cheeks as she kicked and screamed under him, only to be met with a resounding slap to her face.

"Your not even worth the trouble." Seth growled in her ear, his hand gripping her throat again. Squeezing tightly, she could hear her heartbeat in her own head, her eyes slowly getting dizzy and unfocused. In the haze of being choked, she heard his threat clear and loud.

"If you ever dishonor this family again, I will treat you like the whore you are." His hand let go of her throat, leaving her gasping for air. His weight left her body and she could hear as she shut her door, leaving her in silence.

**Trigger Warning over**

Caliana gasped softly in her bed, tears pouring down her face. Her abdomen felt as if it was on fire from the pain, her wrists staring to turn an ugly shade of purple, and her throat felt tender and sore. She knew it was bruised. But all she felt emotionally was relief. He hadn't heard what they were talking about, or that she knew archery. He had only thought she had slept with them.

Closing her eyes, she took a deep breath, as deep as her lungs would allow. With sadly, wasn't much. Slowly, the pain faded and she fell asleep.

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The next morning, Caliana woke to a loud gasp. Her eyes opened slowly and she saw her mother run over to her. Her mother had tears in her eyes as she gently lifted Caliana into her arms. "Cali, who did this? Was it the Hunters? If it was I'll tell your father right away!" Quickly shaking her head, Caliana pulled away from her mother and tried to speak. Her throat was still sore and he voice came out weak and unsteady.

"D-don't. I-it wasn't th-hem. I-I j-just need t-to rest M-Momma.." Caliana's mother nodded, staring at the dark purple and blue bruises on her body. "Will you at least let me see where else you are hurt?"

Nodding slowly, Caliana struggled to get her dress off. With her mother's help, she finally pulled it off her, and her mother gasped at she stared at Caliana's stomach. There were purple and blue bruises all over it. While her mother left to go get some herbs to help with the pain, Caliana slowly walked over to the small glass mirror she had in her room.

Staring at her neck, she could see clearly the handprint shaped bruise along her throat. Her cheek had a blueish purple bruise, and her wrists had hand shaped bruises along them as well. Turning her head away, she grabbed a simple nightgown, putting it over her body just as her mother came in with some tea.

"The contest will be beginning in an hour, but I will have you excused. I'm sure your presence won't be missed." Her mother meant it in a kind way, but it still sent a pang of hurt through her chest.

"Now drink this and lay back down. You will need the rest." Smiling gratefully, she took the tea, drinking it and laying down. Closing her eyes, she fell asleep once more.

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Liam sat on a log, watching the men and boys of all ages line up in the clearing. In only a few hours, the empty clearing had turned into a full on archery field. He had been watching the competition for two hours now, and was on the final group, and so far his decision hadn't changed.

Raising his hand, he signaled for the last group to begin. A horn sounded, and all the men began to draw their arrows. Each person was allowed three shots, and to aim for each target set up. There was three rows of targets. One 20 meters from the archers, another 50 meters from them, and the last 100 meters away.

He watched as some of them clumsily drew, others had their stance too rigid, and some were too relaxed.

He watched as the horn blew twice, and the arrows began to fly. The first row of targets were soon filled with arrows embedding themselves in the hay. Watching carefully, he saw two arrows out of all of them, had hit the dead center. He saw the red and orange ribbons, and quickly located the archer who fired them.

Each archer had a color. Their arrows had a ribbon matching their color. It made it much easier to track who fired than watching each individual archer. As his eyes landed on the two, he was not surprised to see it was Jesu's two sons.

Signaling again, the horn blew once more, and the archers drew back their arrows. He watched as the younger of Jesu's sons struggled to hold his bow steady, and Liam knew he would be short of his target. The eldest brother however, was firm and unwavering.

At the horns signal, they all fired once more, and only the red ribboned arrow buried itself in the center of the target. The archers drew and fired once more, and the results were the same. Only one arrow had made it to the final target.

Seth had won the contest.