The Crown cannot Help You

Chapter 26: The Understanding

"Sneaking out to meet a boy?" Tabitha whispered sleepily.

The morning light hadn't broken through the sky as Audelia attempted to leave the inn for her run.

Audelia glared at Tabitha as she let out a yawn and prepared to fall back to sleep. "Shut up," Audelia uttered as she left the room, leaving Tabitha laughing behind her.

~

Her run wasn't as long as she normally made it, but she followed her usual route of trekking through the fields. This took her towards the hill Tabitha always had her training behind, which is where she met with Flynn.

"You ready, Princess?" He asked as he spotted her slowing her run into a jog.

Audelia nodded whilst starting a small cool down.

Flynn stretched his arm towards her, offering her a wooden bow. Audelia's eyes lit up with excitement, as she immediately ran over and snatched the bow from him.

She stared down at the elegant wooden curvature and gently ran her fingers down its string. "I was born ready." Audelia muttered in one breath

"Okay, I've set up a target that we'll be focusing on," Flynn stated, pointing towards a thick oak tree that had a target painted upon it. "But first, show me how you think you should hold a bow."

Flynn crossed his arms as he waited for Audelia to adjust the bow to her liking. He expected he'd have a lot to correct her on considering her complete lack of experience.

Audelia attempted to remember the one archery lesson she'd had years ago, and started by twisting the bow so the wooden part faced away from her. From there, she placed her hands in a random positions against the wood and the string, not knowing what else to do.

Flynn watched her carefully, finding amusement in the way her freckled slender nose scrunched up as she tried to concentrate. Eventually, she turned to look at him, grinning in a way that asked for more encouragement.

He let his eyes drift away from her face to examine the way the bow fit in her grip. Her placement was wrong but her fingers wrapped around the wood as though it had been carved just for her. Her other hand was interwoven with the string and as she attempted to pull it back the muscles in her arms strained.

"That's a good start." Flynn said politely before be walked over to her, making it so there was no gaps between them as he pressed his front against her back.

He then carefully moved his hand with her, adjusting her hands' positions upon the bow, as well as changing her stance. "Does that feel better?" He asked softly, his words biting at the skin underneath her ear.

Audelia shivered as the sensitive patch of skin prickled from his breath, and tried her best to not melt into his touch. So, she just nodded slowly, attempting to focus only on how the bow felt.

"The arrow would sit right there." Flynn started, moving his fingers away from hers to point at a small notch in the wood.

"Okay, now the string." Flynn directed putting his hand on top of her other hand. "You want to use these fingers and then pull it all the way to your ear." He carefully moved her fingers into the correct position, taking note of how her once soft and unblemished hands had now been hardened and scarred.

Just like an assassin's hands such be.

He then carefully helped Audelia pull the string back, swallowing nervously as she made a small breathy sound at the effort it took to move the string.

Audelia could swear she could hear the string. Flynn had helped her to move it and now it remained strained right next to her ear, and she swore every time the wind blew against it, the string sang.