“I hope all of you had some time to rest and prepare for tonight’s first trial.  As you can see, this tournament will be closed to the public.  Once a winner is declared, the rest of the kingdoms will be notified.  Until then, all of the suitors will remain here for the duration of the tournament.  And now, let the games begin!”

With that announcement, the king took a seat on his throne with his three daughters by his side.

Yuri glanced up at Tiffany who had a worried look on her face.

She silently mouthed a ‘good luck’ and Yuri nodded in response.

A tournament official announced the first archer, Siwon.

Stepping up to his mark, he drew his arrow back and without hesitation, made his first shot. 

“Seven points!” the announcer shouted.

Next was Joon.

He was also quick to take his first shot which he sent toward the target with ease.

“Six points!” the announcer shouted.

Jaebum stepped forward with a smirk on his face.  In a blink of an eye, he shot his arrow which seemed like a guided missile locked onto a target.

“Eight points!” the announcer shouted.

Taecyeon let out an exaggerated laugh as he prepared to take his shot.

He looked over at Yuri and let the arrow go without even glancing at the target.

“Nine points!” the announcer shouted.

Yuri cringed inwardly, knowing full well that Taecyeon was going to be her biggest competition.  Jessica had already warned her that each suitor her father selected had a specific area of expertise.  It was now clear that Taecyeon excelled in archery.

Unlike the other four suitors, Yuri slowly stepped forward, her hands shaky with nerves.  She could hear the rest of them snicker under their breath, but was too lost in her own thoughts to care. 

She grabbed an arrow and quickly stole one more glance at Tiffany who looked just as nervous.  Her hands were balled and she was biting her lower lip.

Yuri shifted her focus and let out a long exhale before drawing her arrow back.  Mumbling something to herself, she took her shot and remained still until the announcer spoke.

“Eight points!”

After three more rounds, the scores were close.  Yuri was tied with Jaebum for second place, both of them trailing the leader Taecyeon by two points.

“Archers, this is your last shot so make it count,” the announcer said out loud.

Siwon quickly shot his last arrow and surprised everyone by hitting the bullseye, receiving ten points.  He was now in the lead for the first time that night.

“Siwon is now in first place!” the announcer shouted.

Flustered by Siwon’s bullseye, Joon’s nerves got the best of him and his shot went wild.

“Three points!” the announcer shouted as Joon hung his head in defeat, realizing his chance of winning was now beyond reach.

Jaebum smirked and grabbed an arrow, seemingly unfazed.

His shot sailed through the air and hit the target almost perfectly.

“Nine points!” the announcer shouted.  “Jaebum is now the current leader.”

Taecyeon had a smile on his face as he watched Jaebum walk back to his post.

Without any hesitation, Taecyeon made his last shot with ease; however, to his surprise, it ended up missing its mark.

“Six points!” the announcer shouted.  “Taecyeon is now in second place.”

Everyone was in disbelief, even the king himself sat there in shock.

“That can’t be!” Taecyeon shouted in anger.  “I was distracted by an irritant that got caught in my eye!  I demand a do over!”

The announcer could only shake his head in response.

“The last suitor will be Kwon Yuri.  She will need ten points to win.”

All eyes seemed to be on Yuri.  The entire arena fell silent as they watched and waited. 

As Yuri took her position up front, she tried to swallow the large lump that had formed in .

She looked over at the royal family.  First to Jessica who wore a stoic look.  She nodded to Yuri as if silently telling her she knew what had to be done.  Tiffany had her eyes closed, her forehead resting on her hands which were clasped tightly together.

Taking a deep breath, she looked to the target and raised her arrow.  Both of her hands were now shaking furiously.  Struggling to hold the arrow and bow in place, she knew that if she didn’t get her nerves under control, she would lose for sure.  Yuri suddenly closed her eyes as she exhaled and drew her arrow back, silently recalling what Sunny told her earlier. 

“I can’t believe Yuri is going to shoot blindly,” Jessica commented to herself, but still loud enough for Tiffany to hear.

Her eyes flew open as she stood up just in time to see Yuri let go of her arrow with her eyes still closed.

The arena was so quiet, you could hear the sound of the arrow as it connected with the target.  The sound it made caused Yuri to smile.

“Ten points!” the announcer shouted with enthusiasm.  “Yuri wins!”

Applause soon followed.  As Yuri looked up toward the source of her motivation, she noticed Tiffany was nowhere in sight.  Instead, she saw Jessica and Yoona tending to someone lying on the ground. 

To Yuri’s surprise, she realized Tiffany had fainted again for the third time since they met.

---

A/N:  Hope you guys enjoyed the double chapter update!  I seem to be flip flopping with some of my ongoing fics so please forgive me.  This story is turning out to be longer than I expected (which isn't really a bad thing).  Three more trials to go and the rest of SNSD!  Hope you guys stick with me until the end!  As always, thank you for all of your comments and support!  =)