Chapter Twenty-Four

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[ Royal Moments ]

[ Chapter Twenty-Four: Burning Arrows ]

I STRETCHED MY LEGS FORWARD before standing upright between the space of my grandmother and Jeremiah. I glanced at my instructor and was glad that grandma had prepared my outfit in order to be more comfortable during my training. I was wearing navy blue breeches with a white collard long sleeve shirt while I had my hair up in a bun.

I did as what the instructor told me, taking a deep breath and lifted the bow up to my eye-sight. I held the arrow and pulled it against the drawstring, holding them back. I released it once I was told but the arrow fell shortly onto the grass.

I took another deep breath as Jeremiah started to sit on the grass, watching me practice. I knew he probably wished I was resting, but I had already been cleared by the doctor. I wished I stayed in bed but I needed to complete this training before my upcoming wedding.

I lifted the bow once more and tilted it a bit, hoping that it'd be a better angle. I notched the arrow and released, perhaps too soon due to the high speed it showed as it went over the bullseye. I narrowed my eyes, and we all shared a wince when we saw that it hit a tree.

This time my instructor decided to stand behind me to adjust my position. Her left arm pulled my arm back a couple of inches while with her right arm she gestured how far to pull my arm that held the arrow. I pulled it back and released it once she gave me the signal, and this time the arrow landed much further but it still didn't hit the bullseye.

While I did a couple of more different moves, it all had different outcomes but neither of them hit bullseye. One landed among the flowers that were just planted much to grandma's dismay, so in response, I gave her an innocent smile. Another landed on the grass, creating a small track mark when it skidded to a stop and this time we all looked shocked at that action.

"Sorry, grandma." I apologized to her sheepishly and I realized at that moment, that maybe archery wasn't my thing

**Royal Moments**

This time it was just grandma and me while Jeremiah was out in a trip with Nicholas, exploring Genovia's cities. Instead of the past arrows, grandma decided to actually light the arrows and I wondered if it was for the best or not. It was not, I decided to myself as we saw the arrow landed on the grass but before it could leave a mark, someone used the fire extinguisher on it.

"No more fire for now." I voiced my thought to my grandmother and she nodded her head, eyeing the arrow

I lifted the bow and grabbed the arrow, notching it before I released it as I eyed my target. I shook my head when the arrow seemed to go in the right direction but instead of hitting the bullseye, it flew past in the bottom, landing on the grass.

"Let's try this a few more times, dearie. Take your stance." Grandma said as she took a deep breath and walked to stand behind me to help me

I stood up properly, my back straightening as I lifted the bow at my side. The arrow notched already as I pulled it back but grandma pulled my elbow slightly down to adjust it. She walked around me and moved my hand closer to my mouth before lowering my shoulder an inch. I glanced at her questioningly and she nodded her head, so I released the arrow and we watch as it flew forward.

"Oh!" Both Grandma and I cheered in sync once the arrow landed right in the middle of the target

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