Love Never Has An Easy Target (Updated. Read Chapters Three and Four for new and improved version!)

Mandy inhaled deeply into her lungs. Her back straight, her arms poised and prepared to fire. Her sweaty palms worked hard to keep her bow steady. Everything else around her was a blur. The only thing she saw was the makeshift target in front of her. She waited for a moment, triple-checking every position that every part of her body was in. She finally forced her fingers to release the arrow. Everything around her seemed to be in slow motion until....
"Oooh...." Mandy let out every ounce of oxygen in her lungs, allowing her respiratory system to continue its normal functions.
The arrow had landed on the line directly between the smallest ring and the center.
The wind picked up the scent of the soft grass beneath her feet. A sport that would normally calm her stressed her more than what felt like anything else ever had before.
Setto treaded the grass gently, glad that he had a chance to talk to Mandy alone. "That was good," he reassured Mandy, making sure that his voice sounded smoothe and sweet to a young lady's ears.
Mandy turned around, seeing him. He was the oldest son of one of the most respected scholars of Danal, maybe even of all Eramid.
"Thanks," she said a bit too shortly. Mandy walked briskly towards the target.
Setto followed her, begging mentally for her attention. "I have seen others shoot before, but there is no man that could ever come near to your ability. Or woman."
Mandy pushed away his compliment and pulled out the arrow with significant force.
"I hope that you are happy that I will be leading you and Robert in your travels."
Mandy continued to ignore him and headed back to the "Womawoa-Della", otherwise known as the wooded castle of Della.
"I, I want you to know that-"
"Look," Mandy turned to Setto as sharply and quickly as she said the one syllable word that made him sense her strength and defiance. "I don't know why I'm here, I just met you less than two weeks ago. I don't want some old creep to take me anywhere, even if that is the only way home. So, why don't you go tell your precious immortal king that?"
Mandy had not taken three stomps before Setto's strong hand grabbed her arm and pulled her towards him. His once soft eyes and timid prescence hand changed to a demanding and outspoken demeanor.
"Listen, my job is to protect you. I don't need for you to be my friend, but what I expect from you is respect. And I may have only known you for nearly ten days, but I know that I respect you very much. And I love you."
She stared into his furious, light blue eyes shocked. She could not even think of words to respond to. His grip released her arm quickly, but her arm remained in the same position. She could barely breathe, let alone move.
"I have said too much. Excuse me," Setto rushed his words, though every syllable seemed longer to than the one before to Mandy.
He tried appearing to Mandy that he had a storm in this heart, but failed. The only this that Mandy saw was a desperate, but sweet twenty-eight year old man who took her breath away more than anyone ever had or could do.
~~
Three days later:
Mandy had finished packing her belongings, preparing to leave in a couple hours with Rob and Setto, when a bird had interrupted the peace around her. She walked from her bed to the frameless open window, her bare feet delighting in the cool of the smooth stone beneath. Her hand extended out towards the curious sparrow. With a tilt of its tiny head, and a farewell chirp, the bird flew away from Womawoa-Della. She breathed in the fresh air; its once renewing scent now dull and boring. She sighed, emptying her thoughts.
Setto knocked on the open door, shaking Mandy back to harsh reality. "How are you feeling?" His gentle voice filled the blankness in the room as Mandy put on her best pretend smile.
"I'm fine. My best friend is practically being sent to her death and I'm not even allowed to have a chance to die with her." Mandy begged her soul to swallow tears.
"You should not fear for Carri. The Diamond gives her the strength of the Hidden Immortals who have now left to spend the rest of their eternal lives with their ancestors. Most importantly, it will keep her alive."
Mandy walked towards Setto, still resilient to show her anger and depression. She stared into his eyes the way she had the moment she discovered his love for her. She had hoped to find an answer in them, but saw only herself in this man who had been preparing his whole life for the chance to destroy the enemy, as his ancestors had done. She looked past him, internally admitting emotional defeat. Tears found her once again. "You're right." She touched his eyes with hers once more, a single tear gliding down her cheek. "But I'm afraid."
Setto genlty touched her back and gestured to the bench that rested at the end of her bed. As they sat together, his strong hands held her face, searching her eyes as she had. "Why are you so worried?"
"For ten years, Carri and I have been inseperable. Everything good was give to her and she shared her happiness with me, but she couldn't share the items. She couldn't share her great family, her popularity, her guys. My brother and father are both dead. I don't have a lot of friends. And the only person I ever loved denied me and dated Carri."
"But now you are here, in Eramid," Setto's hands had moved to her upper arms, a movement that Mandy had not noticed due to her emotion. "You no longer need to think about the troubles of your old world. You are a major piece to an adventure that has all ready begun. Be proud."
"I'm still only second best." Mandy's voice could not raise higher than a whisper.
"You are far from that."
Mandy hated feeling this weak, this defenseless. She walked again to the open window, resting her arms on the sill, leaning, hoping to feel the magic of the spring air. "I'm a mistake, Setto. I'm not meant to be here."
Setto joined her, looking out into the wooded, unknown peril ahead of them. "The gods of this world make no mistakes, Mandy. We may make mistakes, but never are we the mistake."
"How are we, Rob and David and Carri and me, supposed to destroy an ancient evil and save the world?"
Setto smiled. "You are stronger than you make yourself believe. But we should leave now, Rob will be expecting us." His hand brushed her arm and led Mandy to what felt like the point of no return.
~~
Are we even getting anywhere? Mandy wondered, the trees looking like the same trees from yesterday, the forests and fields they walked seemed unchanging.
Setto still led them on, sure of his direction. The day Mandy, Setto and Rob left, there were two separate groups traveling as well. All three were heading to the same location, and all three had come from the same location. However, the other traveling parties were distant. Mandy was tired, and the fifth day of their travel seemed as if there would be no end to this mad bore of walking, eating and setting a camp. An adventure that is going to place Carri in the history books of Eramid. Why am I always the sidekick?
"I bet our parents never thought that we'd be going to war in a foreign world, huh, Mandy?" Rob said, interrupting Mandy's anger.
Mandy nodded, noticing that Setto was placing his belongings on the earthy floor and she did the same.
"I'll gather wood, if you set up the tents," Rob proposed to Setto.
Setto nodded and began piercing the dirt with the solid steel stakes. Rob walked into the thicker part of the woods.
Mandy decided to take a walk by herself; starting to get bored of never getting a chance to be by herself. Walking always took the burdens of everyday away, and hopefully it would have the same affect in Eramid as it did in LA. She was satisfied with the distance that she had put in between herself and the woods. She crossed her legs and sat on the clear grass, admiring the glourious, setting ruby in the sky. Mandy may not have felt that she was unburdended, but she did notice some peace that the scenery gave her. Even the birds and grasshoppers had a serenity that Mandy had never noticed back home. A disturbance in the zen-like balance took place followed by Setto's voice. "You shouldn't be alone."
Mandy jumped hearing his voice. Even though she knew Setto's voice, it still gave her chills and butterflies in her stomach. His hand grazed her hair and back gently as he stretched out his legs beside her. He smiled, seeing the calmness in her eyes and followed his to the object of her amazement. "Beautiful, isn't it?"
"I don't know how many sunsets I've seen," Mandy told him. "But in Eramid, they strike me as different. It's like seeing... a red jewel in a sea of diamonds."
Setto chuckled. "When my mother was alive Xer and I would watch sunsets with her. I was only ten when she died. Xer was five."
"I'm sorry."
Setto shook his head. "I was too young to let it hurt me then. And I am too old to worry about it now. Death hardens you, and slowly kills you inside until there is nothing left."
Mandy sympathized with Setto. He was a good man, and to see him so upset disturbed Mandy. He saw this in her downcast face. "Don't listen to me, Mandy. You are young and have a whole life of experiences to live." He rose and offered his hand. "Starting with a good night's sleep."
Mandy took his hand and smiled at him, remembering her own father and brother, who were just like Setto; a hero in ever sense of the word.
~~
Mandy lied awake on the uncomfortable grass floor and recalled the night when Xer and Rob befriended each other. Carri had somehow forgiven him even when Xer's arrow rested in Rob's arm. Rob and Dave had been eavesdropping on their conversation because Rob had believed that Xer was in love with her and Rob did not want someone that she just met to win her heart before Rob made an attempt. Xer expected the worst, shot who he thought was the enemy, and ended up injuring poor Rob.
Mandy almost laughed to herself. Are all guys the same, even in Eramid?
Mandy remembered yelling at Carri that evening as well, thinking that Carri had noticed her "uncomfort" that Rob and Xer had made amends. It was hard for Mandy to believe in such easy forgiveness, and it stressed her out. Rather than arguing with Mandy, Carri had instead told Mandy of her admiration towards Danel, the Prince of the Hidden Immortals in the region of Della.
Neither Carri or Mandy knew that Carri was the Princess of the Hidden Immortals in the region of Lien. Without the knowledge, loving the Prince was absurd.
Mandy had also confessed her hidden love to Carri. It took Carri a hint and a pathetic guess to figure out that it was Setto, but (of course) Perfect Carri did.
With the thought of admitting Mandy's attraction for Setto, Mandy was finally able to go into a happy sleep.
~~
The ceremony in Lien for the Princess was getting too cramped (and a bit too happy) for Mandy. She slipped out into the gardens of Woa-Lien with Setto.
"It was really more of a celebration than a ceremony," Mandy said, looking in through the enormous glass Gothic-looking windows and saw the couples dancing to the flutes and other instruments played by the band that the royal family had hired for the evening.
"That is the way the Immortals treat their mortal guests, I suppose. Think of the Celebration in the Great Hall. It was solemn and lacked in the music and feasting," Setto offered.
Mandy slipped her arms in Setto's as they walked together for a little while longer, saying nothing. She took in the smell of the delicate flowers with pleasure. She enjoyed his company.
"I'm happy that I have been traveling with you."
Setto smiled down to Mandy, though she was only a few inches shorter than he. "I am, too. I would miss you."
"I think that everyone is happy this evening. There is a lot of love and respect in this place."
The shrubs that guided them on their walk were even and perfect. Never before had Mandy seen such greenery. The Immortals probably prayed to the gods frequently to bless them with such beauty.
"Do you think that you could ever love someone?" Mandy asked suddenly.
"Yes. I do love someone. I would do anything to possess the knowledge that she loved me."
"I know someone who loves you."
"You do?"
"Yes. I'll give you three questions and I'll answer them honestly, and you have to find out who she is."
Setto was unsure of this but went along with it. "Is she in Lien?"
"Yes."
Setto's light blue eyes stared hopefully into Mandy's. He stopped walking and stepped towards her, his body closer to hers than it had been with any other woman. He tried to hide his smile. "Could that person be you?"
Mandy laughed. "That's one question that-" she said, but was cut off by Setto's kiss.
Mandy held onto Setto's lips for a while before letting go. Electricity flowed through her, even as he let go. "I'm sorry," he said. "I should not have-"
"No," Mandy interrupted this time. "It's all right. My feelings for you will never change." She held his hand a squeezed it tightly. "They will only get stronger."
Setto nodded, starting to head towards the ceremony, "Good night, Mandy."
"Good night."
Mandy was left alone. She beamed and sighed romantically as she sat on the bench as she watched Setto go.
~~