Dragon Rider Trilogy Flames

Chapter Seven

7

PEASANT FARMER

MY ARROW pierced the wind and made a beautiful noise as it flew to a far off tree in the distance from the area where I stood.  I had managed to get enough directions to find myself outside the forest I had seen through so many windows; this rather elegant small forest was known as the Little Woods, for it had no formal name, no name that would appear on a map.  I looked back at the palace; all the windows were hazy from the beautiful orangey pink light that hit them so perfectly, making the whole place glow.

“What have you been doing?” It was Peter as usual, why was it always him they sent to find me?  I hadn’t noticed him coming I was that zoned out, that exhausted for I hadn’t slept at all last night, but that didn’t matter, my sleep was less important than my ability to protect Kivera and the others on this odd unknown mission.

“What does it look like?” I pulled back the tough bowstring past my face toward my right ear.  I starred off into the distance into the trees and kept my eye on one of the biggest trees.  The string shot past my face and the arrow notched in my bow flew off into the distance.

“Yes I can tell what you’re doing, but you’ve been up all night, is this really all you have been doing?”

“How do you know that?” I turned to him my bowstring pulled back.  I let it go looking at him.  Maybe I was purposely showing off, but I loved his expression when I was so happy that the arrow had hit the right spot on the nearest tree.

“Uh,” he was distracted, “His highness told me.”

“How does he know?” another arrow shot away into the distance to hit another one of the forest trees.

“His majesty has been watching you.” He looked up at the large window that looked almost like a mirror reflecting the sun.  The window was near the top of the castle; it seemed so odd for a castle to have a long window that took up space making it look like a glass wall.

“Well, I guess you two should share notes as stalkers then.  Is that what you’ve been doing?”  I grinned; I enjoyed teasing him for a change because he was so annoying on a daily basis.

“You’re nice to me as usual.  I guess you don’t appreciate me looking after you,” he smiled; I know I wasn’t nice to him, but it’s not like I had to be, I didn’t trust him and I barely even knew him.

“I can take care of myself, I don’t need you to look after me.”  I lowered my bow.  I needed to make myself more arrows before we left.

“But you don’t.  You’re still a vulnerable girl too and you don’t seem to care at all, you don’t even sleep properly,” he was kindly expressing his concern, or that’s what some royal courtier would say.  He was being an annoying stranger, a stalker, why should he care?

“I can’t afford to sleep properly, if I don’t have time, I don’t have time, it’s as simple as that.  I can’t sleep and I can’t be tired,” it was none of his business.

“You’re overworking yourself,” he sighed.  “I should tell you the king’s request then.”

“What would the Lord King like this time?” I sneered at Peter.

“The king would like you to show off as well as test your archery skills.  He wants you to have an archery tournament against his finest archer before you go.”  Peter starred at his feet when I tried to look him in the eye.