Chapter 246 - The Last Attempt
Damien's revelations brought everybody's attention to the little girl, more specifically on her hands.
True to his words, the tiny arms which were holding the bow in her left hand and her free right hand were trembling under the equestrian uniform she was wearing right now.
The young boy had been paying attention to the girl's every action and thus he found that she had begun to shiver when she reached the third target's position.
He could understand that she must have been fearful of what might happen next so he spoke words of encouragement to soothe her anxiety.
'Why is he staring at me so closely?' Yvonne scoffed and rolled her eyes at his behavior with her back facing them.
He would either be mean to her or ignore her so she was surprised by hearing his contradictory words.
'Who was the one that mocked my face on our first meeting?' She sneered when she recalled the disgusted face he had made when she called him 'big brother' in an attempt to win him over.
He, however, had not fallen for her tricks but instead demanded a higher price in exchange for a single piece of the pie.
'I was gracious enough to accept his wretched offer, no one else would have done so if they were in my place!' She continued to scowl, unaware of the cold eyes he was facing from her father right now.
Rutherford's eyes were narrowed at the boy who was caring a little too much for his child which was not appreciated in his sights.
"She is feeling better. Thank you for your concern." He added after he took a quick glimpse at his child.
'She doesn't need your concern so stop staring at my Vonna.' Is what his inner voice was yelling out but he could never say those words out loud.
His noble decorum would conflict with his inner thoughts every single time as he had an example to set for his children who would become adults soon and had to control their emotions in the same way in the future.
Damien nodded as he had nothing much to say in response to what the Earl had said.
After hearing Rutherford's words, the rest looked over and found that she had stopped shaking within a couple of seconds.
'I really did!' Yvonne was the last person to realize this about herself.
She had no clue that she had been trembling in nervousness until Damien had pointed it out and she also had no inkling that she had stopped shaking until her father had said those words.
The only cause of her nervous anxiety to fade away without a trace was the boy whom she had been mocking in her thoughts.
Ridiculing Damien and their first meeting had wiped away the worries in her mind but she had zero impression of the help he had given to her.
She remained blissfully unaware that the same boy whom she had been mocking was the one who had soothed her anxiety when she did not know that she needed his aid.
"Can you continue?" A familiar voice rose from behind, breaking everyone's thoughts.
Howard's eyes were focused on his little sister whom he had witnessed trembling for the first time in his life.
'She used to pretend to be hurt to get me into trouble before but this was something elseā¦' He surmised and deepened his gaze at her.
He could make out when she was pretending and this time he knew that she was truly uneasy.
Hence, he did not hesitate before questioning her about her desire to continue or they could take another short break for her to calm herself.
Yvonne glanced over her shoulders while making sure that she only looked at her brother without making eye contact with anyone else.
"I can continue, big brother!" She chirped, smiling at him to prove that she was fine.
'Even I do not know why I began tremblingā¦' She scoffed at her weak body as she looked away.
The jittery feeling which she had was gone after this short hiatus that she had taken to converse with the others.
Now that she was feeling better she glanced to her side and found that the third maid was standing beside her, waiting for her to pick out an arrow.
Yvonne's hand reached out to the tray and her fingers encircled the arrow at the top.
Taking a deep breath, she tried her best to not let worry seep into her heart as she took her aim at the target.
Just as Damien had advised, she concentrated on the target while taking deep breaths.
There was a pit in her stomach as she fixed her arrow on the bowstring and then let go after she had aimed it properly.
*Pling*
The sweet sound of the arrow hitting the target was heard in the silence, rejuvenating everyone's drooping spirits when they saw that he had landed the first arrow at the third target.
"1 Point!" Howard announced and nodded at her.
She would only need one more point to win as she now had 14 points in total.
Two arrows and only one pointed needed was not a difficult task if she could shoot another arrow without missing the target.
The atmosphere was tense as they stood on pins and needles while the girl moved her hand towards the tray.
The arrow in her grip was quick to be moved towards the bow where it was aimed at the target ahead and after a few seconds, the pudgy fingers released the arrow.
Howard was waiting to announce the score of this arrow but sadly, he would not have to do so because the arrow flew past the target instead of landing on it.
'Dammit!' The little girl was seen stomping her feet in frustration when she saw that she had failed in striking the target.
'She missed it by an inch.' Topher shook his head that a single inch had taken another point away from her.
"One arrow for one point." Marquess Samed muttered as his eyes shone in excitement.
Today's events had been entertaining right from the start and the present trial was also keeping him on his toes, wondering what might happen next.
Unlike the rest who were worrying about what the fate of her training would be after this last arrow would be released, Sullivan Samed was thinking whether the show would continue or he would have to return home without being satisfied.
His fingers clenched and released repeatedly as he waited to see what the fate of his pupil would be.
'Land it at all costs!' He urged her as his future entertainment was also at risk here.
Yvonne would have rolled her eyes at the man who was worried for the wrong reasons but at this moment, she had bigger problems to face.
'I need to hit the target!' She gritted her teeth as this was a do or die situation for her.
She would succeed even if the arrow hit the outermost circle, so her hope was placed in the arrow landing on the target and nothing else.
Placing the end of the arrow called the fletching, on the bowstring, Yvonne narrowed her eyes to help her aim better.
She had no other option but to place all of her hopes and energy in this last attempt.
'Just do it!' She urged her body to act and aiming at the target to the best of her abilities, she released the arrow.
Thus the last arrow of the second trial shot out of her bow and flew ahead.