Tales of Life

The Cowardly Archer

Ahem, Once upon a time, There is a priestess.

An important priestess, who have been known to the entire world as the divine and holy woman who can cure all illness and break all curses.

But such power, any power, will most likely be viewed as dangerous by certain circles in the world.

Such as necromancers, demons, devils, people such as those would abhor such a woman. Which is why this woman must be protected.

The priestess are protected by armies of kingdoms, but the Priestess doesn't take too kindly of the idea. She thinks that it is far too much.

But sje does not denied that she does needs some protection and so she asked kingdoms to release words of her needs for a bodyguard or two.

And so the kingdoms, paying one of their small debt to the Priestess, they set out the word have been set out to the whole world, a job demanding for a guardian for the holy Priestess.

Man and woman, from all over the world, from all kinds of races. But what most of the people that came to seek her, they only do so for gold and fame.

And so the Priestess denies them, calling them unworthy.

Until one day, while the Priestess were travelling via carriages, her carriages were attacked!

All her knights that have been assigned to protect her. Killed in the blink an eye.

The perpetrator was one of the warrior that have been shamed by the Priestess because she have denied their services.

But when all hopes were lost, when all of her knights are dead, she was saved by a piercing arrow that stuck to the man's throat.

The Priestess look ahead and see her saviour, standing so far away from her position that the man looks barely like a dot.

This man approached her, and offered his hand.

"Wuaaa~ scary, scary, that was so scary! Are you okay?!" The man asked.

The Priestess was astounded, she sees a young man, and despite that he have whitening hair that would only appear on old men.

She took his hand, and the man pulled her up.

"Man, look at my hand, they're still shaking out of fear! Whew~! It's a good thing i didn't missed! Haha..." The man joked as he raised his shaking right hand, as his left hand carries a bow.

"Gah! Dead bodies! Don't look, young miss! Gah! I just looked, myself! Why didn't i heed my own advice?! Uooooo! Why do keep looking?!" The man said.

The Priestess sense no lies in the man's words, the man was indeed scared, in fact when the priestess look down she could see the man's legs shakes slightly.

...And then right then and there, she offered this man, this Archer a job....that the man refused.

"Hahaha! No way, no way! I'm a coward you see. That is definitely way to dangerous for me. Sorry, but i have to decline" The Archer refuses.

Taking the Archer's rejection, the Priestess bargains.

"Ah then how's this, seeing as my knights sad demise. Will you at least protect me until i arrived at the kingdom?" She asked.

"Uuuuhhh..." The Archer sweats under the pressure.

"O-okay..." he said.

And for some reason, as if it was the act of Gods and Fate, or just plain old bad luck.

They were attacked one oafter the other, bandits, monsters.

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!" The Archer screams echoed as he ran and ran.

But despite his cowardice, never once did he left the Priestess. Whenever she was in danger, he would always shifted the enemies's attention to him.

Or if he is forced to he would shoot an arrow to take an enemy out. The pressure of the dangerous situation seemingly whitening his hair.

But he never left her, and seemingly does not have any intention to.

Why? How? The Priestess would asked to herself. Then she asked him.

"Hm? Why did i do all this?...Um...To tell you the truth, every single cell of my brain basically told me to run away from you. But....that seems kinda wrong huh?...So...here i am....though let's pick up the pace, yeah? This...is not good for my heart...or my hair...Gah! I just tug at them and my hair falls out! Oh NOOOO!" The Archer said.

That said, the Archer safely escort the Priestess to her destination.

And whenever the Archer tried to leave the Priesstess would stall for his time, such as inviting for lunch as a reward for escorting her.

And then she would asked for the Archer's assisitance for making aire she would arrive at the kingdom's castle safely.

She keeps founding out ways, that eventually...2 years passed.

"Uh...." The Archer said.

"Yes?" The Priestess asked.

"....Why am i still here?" The Archer asked.

"Oh my, did you forget our objective? We have to travel to the kingdom to blessed the king's new heir"

"Yeah, but why do i gotta go?! I'm just a traveller! Why am i doing this?!"

"....Anyway, let's go"

"Don't you ignore me!"

"Hehe come now, will you not accompany me a little while longer, my 'Loyal Cowardly Guardian' ? "

"Who you're calling a guardian?! And what kind of guardian is cowardly?! What kind of fool would employ such a guardian?!"

"What kind of fool indeed? Hehe"

"I'm leaving!" The Archer said.

"You may do as you wish. Please leave, and in doing so leaving a defenseless woman who have no idea how to defend herself. Right here in the road...with possible monsters and bandits scouring around"

"Hrk...M-...Maybe just a little while longer, i'll help you...but once we got there, i'm leaving! I mean it! My heart and hair can't take any more!"

"As always my guardian, you may do as you wish"

"Y-yeah! Good!...Let's go..."

Even after all that, the Priestess somehow managed to keep the Archer around for many times to come.

"Sacred Bow! It is an honor!" Knights and guards would say to the Archer.

"Who the hell is the Sacred Bow?! Stop calling me weird names!" The Archer complains.

"Hehehe" The Priestess laugh.

"I'm leaving! I mean it this time!"

"You are free to do as you wish" The Priestess would always replies.

But despite how many times he leaves, somehow whenever the Priestess are in danger, always, every single time.

An arrow would always pierced through the danger, banishing it all away.

A watcher, guardian, who despite being always being so scared, an Archer who would always run.

But when it always counts, like his arrow, straight and true. He will always, come to the Priestess's rescue.

"Ah we meet again, my Archer" The Priestess said.

"Hrk..."

"Hehe"

A 'bond' have been forged, intertwining these two like threads, a thread that will always leads these two to each other.

And because of that this two lifes will most likely continue like these for a rather long time.