Revenge of the Duchess

Chapter 16

A/N: I own nothing. Enjoy!

Slight explicit warning for violence.

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The young brunette ran through the woods, heart pounding erratically as the fierce yapping of the hounds grew closer. Any moment now and they would be biting at her heels, hungry for flesh.

"Quickly, catch her!"

The woman didn't dare turn around to see where the men chasing her down were. The woods were especially prickly and dense here, which she had deliberately run through in order to lose the men riding on horses. Even still, the men began to chase her on foot.

She was still at a disadvantage, having not slept or eaten well in the past few weeks. Her head was dizzy, and her stomach growled petulantly for any bit of sustenance other than the berries she had scrounged up in the woods.

The young woman felt tears blurring her eyes and then furiously rubbed them out. No. She couldn't afford to cry. Her maids and attendants were all slaughtered the moment they had crossed the borders into Cuora. They had sacrificed their lives so she could live. So her sisters could live.

The woman pushed a little more energy into her running, uncaring that hard rocks and roots were scratching her bare feet. She had to survive, no matter what.

"Arf! Arf!" 

The sound of dogs were getting closer but they were coming from a different direction. Did the assassins after her split into two groups?

Shit, the woman cursed in her mind. She veered off in a new direction, trying to lose both packs.

A searing hot pain suddenly slashed through her shoulder as an arrow flew past her head. Had the arrow flown lower, the arrow would have dug straight into her collar instead of merely grazing her shoulder. The woman muffled her tears of despair and fear, using the adrenaline to run a little faster.

Luck was not on her side, unfortunately. The moment her foot snagged against some hidden string or rope hidden in the long grasses, she felt her foot being yanked up. She was suddenly hanging upside down as a rope lifted her up in the air. A hunting trap, she realized too late. Her tattered dress flew down, and she struggled to cover up in modesty.

"Well, well, well. What do we have here?"

Her heart sunk at the bow and sharp arrow pointed at her.

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Annabeth was bored out of her mind at the last hunting competition of the year. Only the men were participating in this particular one, while the ladies sat in tented pavilions waiting for the men to bring back their catch. While the competition was a battle of physical endurance and equestrian talent in the woods, this was also a verbal battle of wits where the ladies rested.

The men hadn't even left yet and already the ladies were flinging barbed words at each other. Annabeth was content to sip tea, observe the scene, and read some work documents. In particular, she was looking forward to curating a list of eligible ladies in the Cuora nation, take off the nicest and kindhearted ladies, and leave the most manipulative and ambitious ladies she knew. 

Then she would secretly send the list to the Castellan family in hopes they would force Luke into accepting one of those ladies as his main wife. Annabeth had no intention of watching quietly while Kelli attempted to marry Luke. The two would have to deal with other scheming ladies. 

Annabeth's eyes wandered off at where Prince Jason sat astride his horse. Even with his bridal candidates next to him, many noblewomen were eyeing the prince.