The Fighters

A fighter with a mate

Friedrick avoids me like the plague for the rest of the practice. I hold my chipped bow and try my best to focus on the target, but every arrow I shoot, veers off far away from where it should have landed.

My head wasn't clear at all, my hands were still shaking and all I felt like doing was breaking my bow over Friedrick's stupid head. I didn't dare even comprehend how I had just pulled out a glued bow from the ground. I know that I couldn't do it again but own strength unbelievably surprised me. So, i did the next best thing: played ignore and act like it didn't happen.

So, instead of paying any heed to my fleeting thoughts on the best way to wring Friedrick's neck, I tried my best to just imagine the target was his face, and land a bow up his nostril.

Unfortunately, my utterly brilliant plan failed and practice came to a close without a single bow hitting the target. Friedrick instructed us to leave our bows and quivers exactly how we'd found them and I restrain the urge to ask him for some superglue to paste the bow back on the ground.
We were advised to rest well tonight, before the trial tomorrow at 5:00.

I walk around in circles collecting all my dropped arrows to return them to my quiver while the rest of the contestants slowly file out of the room. I don't want to be left alone with my almost murderer so I quicken my pace and return the bow to its place. Out of the corner of my eye, I notice Asia standing by the door waiting for me and her act of reassurance makes me more confident.

But Friedrick who was filling out some papers in the opposite corner of the room notices and looks up. His gaze sweeps over me and then Asia.

"Ms. Asia, I presume?" He asks glancing back at the papers in his hand.

"Uh...yeah" Asia stammers out

"Run along, I want to have a word with Paige"

I want to violently shake my head no and desperately beg Asia to stay but I didn't want her to get into trouble as well. So, I give her a small nod and a grimacing smile.

Friedrick looks back at me with a small smile.

"You are so much like her" he murmers before throwing three objects at me and turning to leave the room, without explanation to his cryptic message.
"Practice and close up when you leave" he tells me giving a meaningful glance at the targets

He closes the door quietly behind him as he exits the room leaving me alone with the items lying at my feet and their contrast strikes me as odd enough to laugh.

A golden locket, A tube of superglue and a ring of keys.

Sitting on the ground, I turn the superglue around in my hands and easily enough conclude it as Friedrick's way of explaining. There's nothing special about it. Just a tube of gum with "superstrong" and "non-removable" written on it. I let out a bitter laugh as I let it drop to the ground. I'm sure it was non-removable.

Next,I pick up the keys and quickly realize that I've been left with the dining room keys. That's what he meant when he told me to practice. My head turns from the door to the keys and back to the door while my bitter laugh turns to one of glee as I realise that I might just manage to get better at archery by tomorrow.

Finally, I hold the locket in my hands and deftly click open the latch. The photo inside gives me a weird urge to cry and scream in fear at the same time. Two identical girls lay in the photo and they both look like me except for their eyes. From the bright blue, I quickly peg one of them to be my mum. But the other girl in the opposite pane of the locket had bright scarlett eyes sparkling at whoever was taking the photo.

My fingers graze the younger version of my mother and I remember the true intention of my trip. Although I had believed myself to be wasting my time here, I might be getting closer to solve it than I thought. But who the other girl is and what Friedrick has to do with my mother drives my head into a craze.