The Places We Go

Chapter V; Anastasia

     Anastasia was finally feeling better. The tonic she had received from the doctor had not only returned her to normal, but instead she felt better than ever. Her mind went from its usual hundred miles a minute to a thousand. She found herself more physically agile too. She went from not being athletic in the slightest to now being able to run for a mile before feeling tired at all. She used to sleep only a few hours and be fine, but now it seemed a cat nap here and there sufficed. When she wasn't running or taking a catnap, she was working on the weapons. With this newfound energy, she made up for all the work she delayed and then some. In only two months and ten days total, she, Arlie and Scheven had finally made everything that they felt was necessary for the battle.
     Anastasia began to design the training programs, since the villagers did not need to learn these ways in times of peace, only the royal families did, as Arlie began to rally the soldiers.
For the first time in so long Anastasia found herself in her own home. It was exactly as it had been when the meeting ended that fateful day, the pappers still scattered on the table, her bow and quiver still leaning against her chair. She sat down in the chair and began to rock. This chair had been owned by her family for generations, since they had been dubbed one of the three royal families. She soon got back to work on the training programs. She herself was to teach stealth, battle terms and the other intellectual aspects of warfare, as well as archery. Arlie was to teach them the combat side of war, as she had more experience fighting and Anastasia had more experience in strategy.
     Deciding to take a break from the planning, Anastasia walked the perimeter of her home. No, you can't do that. She thought, remembering how her descent into madness while in Mrirejar started. She cooked for herself, a feat that she had longed to do for so long. While in Scheven's forge he and Arlie urged her not to cook, for she didn't have the mental capacity to do so then. They feared that she could accidentally cut or burn herself, but now that she was alone she was able to make her own food and feel some sort of independence. After she ate she decided to read, then went to sleep for yet another cat nap.
     When she awoke she headed to the ranges to try and get her archery skills back before she taught a few of the villagers. No one else was there, so Anastasia felt easy when she dropped an arrow when retrieving it, which happened too often than it should for someone who otherwise was a master archer. She heard footstepsas she went to retrieve an arrow off the target, and knew immediately who's footsteps they were. The steps were far apart, signifying the person had long legs. It was Beau, her best friend since childhood. He was also a skilled archer, since he was close to Anastasia he had asked her to teach him the craft. Thus he was the only other person who came here, and was the only villager that wouldn't need training. He was exceptionally tall, which made him a good archer due to this height advantage. Anastasia was rather short, and this major height difference was comical to the other villagers, though the two didn't care.
     "There you are! How are you feeling?" He had obviously heard about her experience. Everyone had at this point. "I'm doing alot better now, thank you for asking." Anastasia said, setting her bow down. The two ran to hug each other, since they had been apart for so long. "I came here everyday, figuring you'd show up at some point." He said after they had stepped apart. "You know me well." Anastasia said, picking her bow back up. "I also heard that Queen Soleil is still there." Beau said, handing Anastasia an arrow, knowing how she was embarrassed to drop them and retrieved them for her instead. "She is. Arlie and I spent a while in Scheven's forge making weapons for a siege." Anastasia said as she shot. Bullseye, as always. Beau handed her another arrow as they walked down to the next target. "How's that going to work? I'm the only villager who knows how to use a weapon." He said, looking at his own bow and quiver that were laying by the last target. "We're going to start training camps in a few days. Hey, would you mind helping me out with the archery stuff? I could use the help." His face lit up at this. "Of course, anything you need!" He said before she shot yet another bullseye.
"When was the last time you didn't hit the bullseye?" He asked as they walked down the row of targets. "The fifth time I shot. And even then I was pretty close." Anastasia said as she took an arrow from Beau. "You were born to do this. Me on the other hand!" They laughed about those memories, their childhood together, then longed for those lengthy summer days of no responsibility and shooting arrows into the sunset. Now Anastasia had to worry about war and the approaching winter, while Beau had to worry about taking over his father's farm, for his father had recently retired, so that Zellarid would not starve.
     These ranges had been where they spent most of their childhoods, so it was always a calming place for the both of them. After going down all the targets and retrieving the arrows, Beau claimed to be a much better archer than he had before Anastasia's disappearance. He still needed some practice, but by the end of the day he hit his first bullseye in a while. They decided to celebrate this occasion with some drinks back at Anastasia's home, reminiscing as they went down the path.
     When they arrived at Anastasia's home, Arlie was sitting on the step. Seeing her, the two quickened their paces. When she saw them, she shot up and ran to them. "I heeded Scheven's advice and sent a scout a month ago. They've returned now." Beau stood confused, Anastasia worried. She unlocked her door, and they all poured in the living room. Arlie sat on the sofa, Beau went to get the drinks, figuring they'd need them. Anastasia sat in her chair as she asked Arlie Well, what did they say? Did they see Soleil?" Arlie turned to her even more, grasping the armrest with both hands. "No. Nor did they see Luna. The castle was empty, they were sure of it." Arlie said, with fear in her voice.
     The two thought it over for a long time in which Beau returned with the drinks. Worried, Anastasia took the bottle and a glass from Beau and quickly poured the beverage. Arlie filled Beau in on what had happened, and he poured his and Arlie's glasses faster than he had at first.
     "We need to speed up the training programs." Arlie said once she had finished her glass. "Certainly. And I think we need to teach them simultaneously. We can't do different things on different days. We need to teach three programs at the same time. Beau, we'll need you to teach the archery program." Anastasia replied after finishing her glass, looking over to Beau. "Are you sure you want me to teach it? I've only hit a bullseye two or three times, you haven't only five times." He said once he had finished his glass. He began to pour another round for the three of them. "Still, you are a very good archer. It's not like you haven't come close to hitting the bullseye before!" Anstasia said before taking another sip. "Yeah, I've seen you shoot. You're pretty good!" Arlie said, both trying to convince him. "I mean, of course I'll do it, I'm just saying that they would come out better archers if Anastasia taught them." He said, looking over to her. "I trained you, so by extension I am teaching them." They continued to plan and decided that the programs would take place in two days, with them announcing the programs tomorrow.
It was getting late, so Anastasia bid Arlie and Beau farwell.
     When Anastaisa went to bed that night, her newfound hyper-active brain seemed, for the first time, unfortunate. She thought of poor Soleil, the training announcements tomorrow, the actual training, and of Beau. He seemed so nervous to talk to her, and was worried that everyone in the village other than Arlie and Scheven would be scared of her. She had not returned to normal, nor would she ever. She could just hide it better now. She was at an extreme low at first and now was at an extreme high when it came to her mental and physical health and activity. She could come to peace with the rest of the village thinking this, for she knew she could prove to them that she was better than ever before. But Beau? He was her oldest friend other than Arlie and Soleil, as they had spent their first days together. Beau was her first real friend. She loved Arlie and Soleil, they were her best friends, but they had been forced to be due to the fact that they would have to rule Zellarid together. Beau was the first person that she chose to be in her life. The fact that he thought these things was what made Anastasia worry about her persuasion skills of convincing the others that she was doing alright.
     She rolled over and looked out her glass door to her balcony. The moonlight shone down on her face. Realizing she wouldn't be able to sleep, she got up and went outside onto the balcony. The balcony looked out to the river bend in which Cordelia made her residence and the archery ranges, as her family, the Archier's, had always been known for their archery skills, so the range was built by their home.
     Anastasia breathed in the crisp midnight air as she thought of her stay in Mirirejar. She hadn't allowed herself to think of it since it had happened, but decided she needed to do so. She thought of Luna, and the other rulers in Mirirejar. There were three leaders there as well, however Luna reigned supreme. Miriejar was separated into two main kingdoms; Faormen and Rielweth. Each functioned as its own kingdom, but both families were subordinate to Luna. They had started like Zellarid, but by the end of the war their grandparents fought in, Luna's family rose supreme on that side of the bridge, her castle sitting in the center of the two sub-kingdoms. Even though this was the case, no one ever mentioned Faormen, Rielweth, or the royal families of either. No one in Zellarid truly knew which kingdom was which or what family resided where. They were all lumped together, Faormen and Rielweth into Mirirejar and only Luna's name was ever mentioned. Only Anastasia and the other Queens had to know all of this. Each of their parents had taught them all of this in their spare time, and had made sure that each of the three girls knew their history well before their coronation. Anastasia thought of that glorious and horrible day. Anastasia's, Arlie's, and Soleil's parents had died in a tragic event that had taken place only a few days prior. There had still been strife between Zellarid and Mirirejar after the war, so all of their parents had gotten together to sort out their issues. However, a fight broke out and only three of the leaders survived. After that, the kingdoms wished to keep to themselves. Only the King and Queen of Faormen still lived, as Luna's father disappeared after her coronation in the same day.
     In Zellarid, there had been high Queens before, but never all three. It was on that day that Anastaisa had truly felt close to Arlie and Soleil. They had been friends before of course, but on that day something changed for them. Not only their responsibilities and status had changed, but their relationships with everyone had changed, with the added bond of going through similar loss at the same time. Even her relationship with Beau had to change. She spent less time with him when her studies had started, and even less after taking the crown. She had missed him and today was just the thing she had needed before the challenges that she would face tomorrow.