Quietus

Acaila

Acaila released another arrow and cursed under her breath as it passed the target and almost impaled a young servant. He had already had a pretty demanding day seeing as his job was to fetch the arrows that didn't hit the target, which basically meant the entirety of Acaila's.

Although Acaila knew that she wasn't supposed to care too much about the servant's well-being, her heart nearly stopped as the boy flung himself to the ground in a successful attempt to dodge Acaila's arrow. Acaila turned her head away and pretended she couldn't care less, knowing that acting arrogant would earn her points from the officials watching, points she desperately needed to balance out all the ones she lost by never being able to hit the target.

Acaila suddenly heard Reed yell from behind her; "are you okay?"

Acaila whipped around to face him just as he started jogging over to the servant, he bumped Acaila's shoulder on the way past her, throwing her off balance. Acaila managed to keep to her feet, which was lucky for herself, him and the two guards who were supposed to make sure she never got physically hurt. Acaila could imagine what a mess that could have been.

Acaila's eyes followed Reed as he helped the flustered servant up from the ground. He even brushed dirt off the boy's clothes.

Acaila could hear the officials whispering, but she couldn't catch what they were saying. It was normal for them to prey on those with lower status, like servants as the boy, so the fact that they were whispering told her that it wasn't the servant they were trash talking. "My brother is a trainee in the crown division, must I remind you of your own position?" Acaila asked. They shut up and bowed deeper than usual. It was hard to tell if she had pissed them off or earned their respect.

Acaila was shocked over herself, such as they probably were as well, and she felt her cheeks grow warm. Had she really just said that to her father's eyes and ears? The hope of earning extra points had vanished.

Inc chuckled from the sideline, but when Acaila turned towards him his face was in his usual controlled folds, and he bowed silently. Acaila drew a deep breath in an attempt to calm herself, as she reached for a new arrow from her quiver. Reed and the servant were still standing a few feet away from the target. "Fire, Acaila," one of our instructors commanded. Acaila raised her bow, knowing she wouldn't be able to shoot with Reed so close to the target, especially with her unsteady hand.

"I'm honestly honored that you want me to inherit the throne, but I'd prefer winning fair and square. Thank you, sir." Inc said from the sideline and bowed towards the man that had told Acaila to shoot. Acaila let her arms drop to her side as she looked puzzled at Inc. "What?" Acaila asked, and he turned towards her. "If you shoot Reed and he dies then he can't have the throne, and neither can you because you killed him. Who remains then?"

Inc shrugged and as Acaila looked up towards their instructor, all color was fleeing his face. He must've been new, and not used to Inc's sharp tongue, and even sharper mind. When they had first started training, they got to pick what their expertise was going to be in. Reed called dibs on archery, while Inc chose knowledge. Which happened to be Acaila's first and second choices. God knows what mind-tricks Inc must've learned in his classes. Truth be told, Acaila would probably always be slightly envious. Even though she had grown quite fond of her double-bladed dagger, it still slightly scared her to know that among the three of them, she was the only one that specialized in a close-combat weapon.

The instructor dropped down to the ground, with his head pressed against the wet grass. He mumbled apologies and begged for his life as if any of them would ever harm him. Acaila rolled her eyes and sighed as she turned away to ensure that Reed got himself safely out of the range of the other archers using the field.