Motheaten Memories [Yandere Prince x Enemy Princess Reader]

37. The Archery Range.

"Y/N, Y/N, Y/N!" Abeloni chanted as he rushed up to the lady-in-waiting the following morning his face lit up with excitement. "Y/NNNN." He drew out the syllables of her name as he tried to get her attention, oblivious to the attention that he was drawing from the other people in the grassy courtyard they were walking through.

Y/N raised her eyes skyward as she had no patience to deal with the nosey crown prince, she was presently carrying a basket of laundry and in no mood to entertain the prince. Please no, I don't want to deal with him right now... Or ever again. She thought.

"Can't you see that I'm busy with work?'' She snapped as she continued walking away, lacking the politeness she normally had when assessing him as enduring the past week of his pestering had worn down at her restraint. "I don't have time to entertain you, Your Highness."

"Ouchie!" Abeloni's face twisted into an expression of hurt so exaggerated that it was comical, doing his best to ignore the fact that her cold dismissal caused a painful sting in his heart. He shook his head, he needed to focus. "That really hurts my feelings you know... So much so that I may want some retributions for your offense." He added, leaning into his title in a way he never thought he would out of the jealousy he felt towards the close relationship that Y/N and the slave obviously had.

"Please forgive me, Your Highness, I spoke out of turn!" Y/N gasped, awkwardly curtsying as low as she could without dropping the laundry basket, she bit her lip as she feared the worst.

He felt a sharper pang in his heart at how clearly terrified she was, he wanted to forgive her at once but his jealousy got the best of him as he remembered her embracing that slave the past night. "I will pardon you if you'll spend the afternoon with me," he said, planning to show her the best time he could. She quickly nodded her head in agreement and before she could say anything else he had grabbed her by the hand and dragged her off, leaving the laundry forgotten. "Come on, let's go!"

. . .

"Archery?" Y/N voiced her surprise as she arrived with the excited prince on the pristinely maintained archery range within the expansive grounds of the palace.

"Yes!" He started unable to contain his passion for the hobby. "I thought that you would enjoy it, I know that I do." He added as he gave her a charming grin.

"Why is that, Your Highness?" She asked, interested in his reasoning even though he was basically forcing her to spend time with him.

"Because you are a very strong and willful woman," he said without the slightest trace of hesitation with the same grin as before stretching his handsome face. "I thought a rigorous sport would suit your nature more than needle-point or whatever it is that noble ladies enjoy." He continued, struggling to think of what it was that most ladies did.

"I'm not sure if I should be flattered or insulted, Your Highness," Y/N commented carefully, feeling like she had to walk on eggshells around him like she did when they first met.

"I meant it as the highest compliment, I assure you," he told her quickly, in an attempt to woo her donning the suave persona that he had first used around her. "You are unlike any woman I have met, and please, just call me Abeloni." He added with a twinkle in his Cerulean eyes as he gazed at her.

"Very well, Abeloni," She agreed, feeling more than a little unsettled by his flamboyant shift in personality. "What would you like me to do?"

"I'd like to teach you archery!" He said, his confident airs deflating as true excitement gripped him. He took his bow and a quiver of arrows from a servant who had delivered them to him. "Here, watch! Not to brag but I am quite accomplished." Pulling three arrows from the quiver strapped around his elaborate tunic he took hold of the three arrows in his bow hand and notched the first arrow while the other two remained grasped in his palm. He let the first arrow fly and it struck the center of the target at the end of the field, the other two followed in the blink of an eye. One of them split the first down the center and the third was a near miss. After performing this impressive stunt he turned to look at her with smug pride on his face.

He's trying to show off, isn't he? Y/N thought as she watched him continue to flaunt his skills. The more time I spent with him the more I think that Cascia may be on to something.

"Now you try," he said as he finally offered his bow to her, the sunlight shining in his dark curls.

Reluctantly she took the bow from him and lifted the arrow to the right side of the bow, like she had observed him do. She struggled to pull the bowstring back very far and when she released the arrow it landed in the ground only halfway to the target. "I don't think Archery is for me," she tried to hand the bow and quiver back but he wouldn't take them.

"You need to pull the string back further," he told her as he placed the bow back in her hand and wrapped his arms around her from where he stood behind her. "Like this beautiful." He instructed in a flirtatious tone as he tried to guide her hand holding the bowstring and the arrow back.

Acting on instinct Y/N pulled her arm back to create some distance between the two of them, her elbow struck the prince directly in the nose and he reeled back, clutching his face. "By Luccia, I think you broke my nose!" He swore the name of the goddess, hunching forward as blood dripped down his face onto his clothes and the grass at his feet.

"Look! I did it!" Y/N pretend to be oblivious to Abeloni's pain as she pointed to the target where the arrow she had loosed by accident when she elbowed him had lodged on the edge of the canvas. "I changed my mind, I think I like Archery!" She said as she looked around at him and gave him a genuine smile.

"That's great Y-Y/N," he stammered, not even looking at the target. The sight of her features lit up with joy was enough to demolish the throbbing pain he felt and a dewy smile creep onto his face. A broken nose was definitely worth it if it means I get to see her smile like that.

"Thanks, I wouldn't have been able to do it without you, and... I'm sorry about your nose," Y/N said feeling bad for him as he forced himself to smile through the pain she imagined he was feeling, for some reason that thought made her heart flutter in her chest. Maybe he isn't such bad company, for someone I'm going to kill anyway.

A/N

Despite what you may think, Abeloni's archery skills haven't been exaggerated beyond the point of realism. His technique and skill were quite common among old archers. ^~^

Until next time I'll see you on the other side

~J. C. Coltt.~