The Other Side Of The Mirror ✔

Part Five

"No, like this," Korian said, not sounding as impatient as Eli would have expected him to be. For what was probably the tenth time the skinny giant of a man was showing him how to hold his bow. Once again his fingers and posture were adjusted, legs spread apart, body turned to the side.

He nocked an arrow slowly, nearly dropping it more than once. He was embarrassed at his fumbling, but a quick glance at Korian told him that the man didn't seem to mind. He pulled the bowstring back until his hand was sitting next to his jaw, like he had been instructed, aiming for the red and white target painted onto a tree in front of him.

Taking a deep breath, he released the arrow, watching it soar through the air. It struck the bark beneath the target and bounced off, landing on the wooden floor with a loud clatter. Eli sighed and stared at it forlornly, irritated that he just couldn't get it right.

Next, to him, Korian laughed heartily, something that only annoyed Eli more. Korian waved a hand, speaking too fast for him to understand. He narrowed his eyes, staring up at the blond boy until he stopped talking. "Sorry," Korian said, speaking much slower this time. "Good. Again."

Any time someone spoke to Eli, they would always have to speak slowly and use simple words so that he could understand them. He had only been there for two weeks and was learning their language as quickly as he could with the help of Korian and Amos.

However, seeing as Korian wasn't exactly the greatest at teaching languages, he mostly taught Eli how to fight. For the first week and a half, he had been taught how to hold a sword, as well as basic movements, how to swing it, lunge, and parry. In his own opinion, he wasn't terrible. According to Korian, he wasn't the worst out there. It was better than nothing.

Archery, on the other hand, was completely different. He shot another arrow and watched as it fell to the ground without even reaching the target. Angry, he looked to Korian. "Why?" he asked, voice resembling a growling dog.

There was a huff of a laugh and more words that Eli didn't know. A quick shake of his head and Korian stopped talking, obviously trying to think of another way to say what he wanted to say. "Aim up," he finally instructed, guiding Eli's arms up so that he was aiming a little above the target.

He didn't see how it would help, but Korian knew what he was doing, so he couldn't exactly ignore his judgement. With a roll of his eyes and a sigh, Eli let go of the arrow. He blinked rapidly, trying to make sure he was seeing what he thought he was. The arrow was embedded in the tree right at the bottom of the target. He had finally hit it.

He let out a cheer, resisting the urge to attempt a high five with Korian (he had tried it the week before, it had not gone well). Korian laughed at his cheerfulness. "Good," he told him. "Be back. Practice."

Eli wasn't sure how long he stood there, firing arrows again and again and only hitting the target a handful of times. There were other people around him, but he didn't dare look. He knew if he did he would get upset that he was terrible at archery.

He was so lost in his thoughts that he didn't even notice Korian return. He let out a yelp when he felt a hand land on his shoulder, the arrow he had fired going wide. Korian said a word that Eli could only assume was an apology. He lowered the bow, turning to look at the other man.

Eli suddenly found a backpack thrust in his face. He spluttered and took a step back, taking the bag from Korian's hands. "Why?" he asked his most common word so far it seemed.

"We are going to the village," he explained, speaking to Eli as if he were a child, "They have food. You need to learn to speak."

That was that it seemed. Eli put the backpack on his back and followed Korian towards one of the many rope ladders that led up to the tree base. The first platform had been build back when Korian was young but had been expanded after the Mage took control. Now it spanned across a large path of the forest and housed a little over two hundred people. They were the only survivors from Kiral, where the Mage was now based.