“Pass it to me…..Now”

Bryce looked on as Tyler skilfully stopped the ball with his feet before successfully evading the advancing slide of an opposition player.

His muscular legs flexed as he sprinted towards the goal, such was his speed and his skill none who wished to stop him could come near.

He swung his leg back and the ball left his foot with such power, like an arrow leaving its bow. It soared through the sky, bending in the light breeze of a spring afternoon.

Only one man stood in the way of Tyler and his prize. Yet try as this lumbering giant might his desperate leap to stop the ball was in vain.

As the ball completed its triumphant journey by clattering against the net jubilant cheers erupted and Tyler’s fellow warriors all huddled around him to offer their praise with lots of hugging and high fiving.

When the celebratory crowd dispersed, Tyler turned to Bryce who gave her champion an applause which he welcomed with a mock bow.

Whilst, no doubt, being the star player on his team was a personal achievement he seemed to relish it more with Bryce looking on. He was comfortable with impressing her with displaying his many physical attributes.

Look fair maiden as I hit that target.

Behold fair maiden as I climb that mountain.

Watch fair maiden as I wrestle that bear.

The referee blew his whistle to signal the end of the half and the players all wandered off to the side of the pitch for refreshment.

A respite for the two warring clans. A temporary peace over the somewhat muddy battlefield as they plot and strategise, ready for the recommencement of this test of skill and strength.

Bryce looked on as the players drunk from their water bottles and endlessly spat. Strangely, it appeared the goalkeeper had opted for a bottle of beer.

Whilst she could have continued to look on and watch grown men cover the grass with saliva , she wished to use this time for a brief return to Earthykinda.

Bryce had been eager to get back into the story because the most recent chapters had all been about The Snoflakians.

At the start, Bryce had adopted the younger Snoflakian Princess as the character she would relate to. There were a number of similarities with her real life.

Like the Snoflakian Princess she was the youngest of two sisters and as in this story the eldest sister was a little wild.

Indeed, Bryce had to work through a number of pages of the elder Snoflakian Princess seemingly having sex with anyone.

Whilst it may have seemed unnecessary and did not add much to character development, Bryce did not mind. It was no different to listening to her own sister when she asked what she got up to at the weekend.

The Snoflakians were all about peace and they truly believed the battle for who controls all of Earthykinda could be resolved through diplomacy and compromise.

Despite their peaceful intentions they were prepared to fight if necessary and had a fully functioning army. Although, from what Bryce could work out they were more used as bed mates for the elder Snoflakian Princess.

The big plan of the Snoflakian King was to bring all the families together for a summit in the hope to carve out a peace treaty that will bring an end to this bloody war that had raged for decades.

The King’s advisors were, its fair to say, not totally on board with this idea. One suggested the King had lost his mind. Another, clearly not understanding the concept of peace, suggested it would be a great opportunity to poison everyone and reign supreme.

Nevertheless, an invitation was sent to all corners of Earthykinda by doves. Normally it would be via raven which is the fake olden times version of the postal service.

However, getting a raven is the modern day equivalent of getting a bill. You know it’s a bill, you know it’s bad news so you just throw it in a drawer unopened. If Bryce really lived in fake olden times there would be a drawer full of dead ravens.

She often wondered if in fake olden times ravens had been used for junk mail purposes;

‘Being Harassed? Picked A Fight With The Wrong Guy At The Tavern? Need To Overthrow An Entire Kingdom?

Then you need Mercenaries2You*

*Terms and Conditions apply. Cannot guarantee it still all won’t go horribly wrong for you.’

By sending a dove it makes it seem interesting, exciting and definitely something they should be paying attention to; the families would be sure to open it.

Whether they accepted the invitation would have to wait. Bryce’s foray into Earthykinda had preoccupied her for the majority of the second half of the match.

She watched as the two teams, who had battled hard, walked off the pitch towards the clubhouse. There, no longer defined by their clan, they would drink and laugh together. Their differences aside they would bond together in mutual respect for the battle fought.

Some may still harbour a grievance for what occurred on that field but even they are placated by the sound of warriors as one and knowledge that a return to the battlefield would occur once more.

Bryce made her way to the clubhouse as the complaints of unfair decisions and injustice were soon replaced by a more peaceful tranquility of combined happiness.