I could hear the massive limbs of his ornately etched bow creak as he drew them back. The tension was palpable. As he let loose the arrow a gust of wind burst forth blowing my hair back as I looked on in awe. 'Bullseye…'

"Your turn." He said, slowly rubbing the creases of his fingers as he leaned against his massive bow, his own weight not enough to make it bend in the slightest.

"Right…" 'I feel like a mouse holding a string compared to him… And my bow is also taller than me…' I took a deep breath and looked towards the target… 'His arrow was… Bigger than the bullseye?'

I aimed just to the side of the arrow, managing to get the inner ring for 8 points instead of 10, but it was still disappointing. I didn't even have a chance to match him…

"Good shot." He said getting ready to take the next one.

"Uhm… Airsidh?"

He paused, looking back at me.

"Can I maybe go first… It's just that your arrows are so large that if you hit the bullseye I actually can't even see it anymore so…"

He looked back at the other target. "I guess you're right… Sure, let's change it up."

'It's nice having someone that listens to me…'

I walked up to the next target, hitting a perfect bullseye. Then he did the same. That pattern repeated with little exception. Every arrow he loosed from his bow either split mine or shattered mine into pieces. Each one made a loud thud that echoed through the whole castle as it burrowed its way through the target, splitting the wood that held them together.

A sharp snap resonated through the air as my bowstring stuck against my arm and ripped the skin right off. At first, I didn't even realize it, looking past the shot. 'Only 8 points…' I slowly looked down as my arm started shaking, lowering the base of the bow until it hit the ground with a thud.

"A-air…" I muttered softly, trying to not let my voice come out as a soft whine.

"You locked your arm out… I'll get the med kit."

I slowly swallowed, softly bringing my hand close to my chest, and just as I finished he was already back in front of me, kneeling down and tapping the floor with one hand. "Sit down and try to relax, I'll numb it first."

"Numb, but…"

He paused, looking back up at me as his hands moved on their own, not even needing his eyes.

"N-nothing…" 'Mara doesn't let me use painkillers… I didn't even think we had any…'

"It's just temporary so that you can keep using your hand. It will bruise pretty bad, but the more you use it the faster it will heal. It will also probably help you finish."

"Finish!" I flinched slightly, my eyes pushing together before I calmed down, looking back at the targets.

He tied off the bandage over the numbing agent and salve, wiping his hands on his pants as he stood up. "There's only one left… It's not like you have too… You could use the lighter bow, or… We could just call it here."

His face was expressionless, as if he expected nothing, and had no idea which I would choose… To be honest I didn't know either… "Just one more…" I muttered.

Before I could answer he was on the move again, putting the medkit back, and then firing another arrow, just off center… Leaving me two in the lead.

"Your move…"

His actions only made the choice somehow harder. "You know… If we stop here I win…"

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He smiled softly. "That's true… Of course official matches can't be cut short but… Yeah, you would beat me…"

I let out a long groan as I softly gripped my fingers over the wound. My grip was weak, but it was my left arm, not the one I pulled on the strings with. "I don't want to win like that…" I muttered too soft to hear. Taking in a deep breath I stood up. 'Just one more… Why should I switch bows just for one final stupid shot… Just one more…'

I had hardly noticed the weight of the draw until that moment, almost completely forgetting I had switched bows, but the moment I ran my fingers over the string it suddenly felt like I was pushing a boulder up a mountain… Failing to push a boulder up the mountain… Letting out a loud annoyed growl I slammed the bow into the ground, and bracing it off the floor pulled back on the strings with everything I had, my whole body shaking under the pressure, but… Just in that moment, it was as if everything slowed, blue lines appearing before me that seemed to track my arrow's flight. 'All I have to do is hold it steady…'

I let go and as the string cracked through the air it startled me so much that I dropped the bow entirely, jumping away like it had bit me "Ahhhhhhhh!" I whined, shuddering and slowly covering my face as my whole body reacted to my tightly pulled nerves.

"Did you hit yourself again?"

I slowly crouched down, keeping my face covered as I slowly turned red. "No… It… Was just loud…" 'I'm not afraid of bows now am I?'

He sighed, shaking his head as he pulled his last arrow. I couldn't help but peek, every shot inspiring a certain awe, like a master at work. His arrow pierced the air and effortlessly shattered mine with a final shot that split the target in two and dug into the earth. Over a hundred yards away… Had it been a person… Well, Generally speaking, an arrowhead the size of a human torso slamming into you with that force probably killed more often than not…

'I figured it out… I'm not actually that weak at all… They just aren't human.'

"Thanks for the match." He said, patting me on the head.

His cold and distant persona was suddenly replaced with a warm and soft one as he gently rustled my dirty hair.

"Sure… But why did you want to do this?" 'Also I totally won… Why are you treating me like a kid right now…'

He carefully unstrung his bow, the limbs releasing enough force to snap a boulder in two as he let out the tension. "A bow measures the strength of an archer's spirit, and the arrows its aim…" With those vague words… That didn't answer my question at all by the way… He walked out the door.

"What the heck…" I muttered with a heavy breath, shaking my head and somehow barely managing to unstring my own before pausing to look back over to the door, and him standing just outside.

He suddenly turned around. "I did this to say goodbye, but now I see that you might not be going anywhere after all." He grinned, sliding the door shut

'Somehow I feel like I understand him even less now… It's saying a lot that he's the least scary person in my family…'

I walked over and picked up one of his custom arrows, barely even managing the weight as my small hands gripped it like a spear's shaft. 'This… This isn't normal, right? This isn't even humanly possible, is it? What are the physics behind this?'

Glancing over to his bow, sitting majestically on its pedestal, I couldn't help but continue to think about him. 'I wonder if he's just like me. Trying to hide how he really feels, instead of actually being so cold and distant naturally...'

For fun, I tried to bend a single limb from the bow, but it wouldn't even budge. Letting out a long groan I put it back on its pedestal with a disappointed sigh. 'So unfair… We have the same genes, how does that even make sense?'

After stretching my arms I stepped back out into the brisk air and walked down the path back towards the center courtyard. 'What should I do next? Something easy on my arms. I could go to the stables and pet the horses… I bet Fritz misses me…' I glanced back at the stables before turning to the barracks. 'Maybe warming up inside would be better first…'

I took a step towards the massive multilayer building as tall as the walls, stopping in my tracks as the guards opened the main gate. 'Did father go somewhere?' At first, I was curious, then I was petrified.

A man with long deep red hair as straight as blades was riding in by himself. His horse was black as the darkness of my room at night, and on his back, strapped over his long cloak, was a greatsword heavy enough to decapitate a giant.

'Bhaltair…'

A part of me wanted to run and hide, but that would be the same as admitting that I was afraid of him, and even if I was… I didn't want to show it… I stood my ground at the side of the road, refusing to budge as he rode towards me on his way to the stables.

His perfectly elegant form gracefully moved through the courtyard, his long flowing cloak bouncing up and down on his horse's rump. Due to cultural reasons, and my brother being an idiot, he didn't wear a shirt. All together It made quite the sight.

As he passed me, he kicked out one of his feet, knocking me to the ground where I had made my snow angel and ruined it. I didn't mind so much though, not as much as I minded the muddy boot print on my face.

I didn't feel like spending the effort to bother actually getting up, so I stayed down, but it wasn't like he had hit me that hard. Still, with how frail I was it no doubt left a bruise, and I could feel it start to swell.

'At least it didn't get the dress dirty.' I let out a sigh. 'I guess I saw it coming, probably should have tried to block it… Everyone's acting just a bit different than usual. It's like they're all on edge.'

It made sense to me why he might not like me. 'My existence is threatening to him and his future as lord. So I get why he might hate me… But why does it feel like he doesn't… It's more like… The same way we needed to eat and drink, he kicked me in the face… I feel like that's even worse though… I hope something eats him next time he goes out.'

"Shouldn't we check on your sister? She isn't getting up…"

I could faintly hear him talking to the guard at the stable.

"If a weak kick like that knocked her out she won't live another week anyway."

I almost laughed. The saddest part was that it was true. If anyone knew what kind of hit I could take it was him, he basically hit me for a living to "toughen my body." Which… Well it kind of actually worked somehow… But that didn't make me feel any better about it…

I took in another breath of fresh air, trying not to think about it. 'Oh well. It's not like it matters. He'd never actually kill me or anything. He has far too much respect and loyalty towards Father to go against him.'

As the cold snow began to chill my body for a second time I couldn't help but think of just how different my two brothers were. Oddly enough, Bhaltair seemed to idolize my father like I did, while Airsidh seemed to be more of a free spirit disliking him if anything. 'I wonder what makes them so different.'

The cold felt nice against the burning muscles in my arms and the new bruise I had on my cheek, not to mention my arm, so I just continued to lay there until it all went numb.

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