𝘤𝘪𝘵𝘺 𝘰𝘧 𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘳𝘴 , shuri udaku - discontinued

THE BROKEN ARCHER

CITY OF STARS.
27. ❛ the broken archer. ❜

AQUARIA'S HEARTBEAT rang through her ears. It was strong and fast. Everything was dark and she started hyperventilating. She couldn't scream.

Different flashes of the war in Wakanda flashed through her mind. Her lungs wouldn't expand. Her breaths kept coming in short gasps. Her chest felt too tight like a whale was sitting on it. Her stomach ached in pain and her leg was already numb. Aquaria could feel her throat closing up and she was trying to shout but she couldn't, everything hurt, she thrashed her arms and tried desperately to breathe but the effort is futile. No one can hear her or see her.

No one knew she was left in the woods dying alone, that there was a hole in her stomach and a cut on her throat filling with blood, pain, and such unbearable agony. There's so much of it, so much blood, hot and pooling around her limp body. The shouts and noise of the battle filled her ears making the pounding headache so much worse.

She couldn't breathe. She could barely keep her eyes open. Her eyes slowly fluttered close unwillingly and she jerked up so quickly she doubled over with a gasp.

Aquaria's dangerous brown eyes shot open. She was heaving in deep, harsh, gasping breaths, so relieved to be able to get oxygen into her lungs. Her whole body was shaking, and her skin was clammy, going from hot to cold too quickly.

Finally getting a sense of where she was, Aquaria's breath slowly evened out. She dragged a hand down her face and closed her eyes for a moment. This is why she didn't sleep. Nightmares and flashbacks would always find a way to infiltrate her mind. She would try to stay awake as long as possible but sometimes she needed sleep but never seemed to get it. Though during some days she would get small panic attacks but it was definitely better than the nights.

Looking around her dark room, Aquaria weakly got out of bed and stood up, every fiber in her body screaming at her to lay down and get more rest. No one knew about her PTSD and every time her father smiled down comfortingly at her, she wanted to just spill out everything but she figured it was better if he didn't know.

Stretching her arms out, Aquaria let out a tired yawn and ran a hand through her new wavy jaw-length midnight blue hair. She had cut it not too long ago after she had a mental breakdown and she was loving it.

She walked around her bed and strapped her quiver full of arrows over her back and grabbed her bow. She walked out of her room and looked left and right before jumping into the pool of water.

PULLING BACK ON THE drawstring of her bow, Aquaria released a rattling breath and closed her eyes. She had gone down to the training area and she had an arrow aimed at the middle of a bullseye.

Everyone knew her bow and arrow skills were legendary. She got trained by the best of the best, never taking a break. Now it was all muscle memory. In the water, her marksmanship was excellent but on land it was unparalleled. When you shoot an arrow underwater there's so much resistance but on land, it was so much easier with hardly any resistance meaning her skills were twice as great. Everyone who knew the princess never wished it upon anyone to be on the other end of her arrow.

The noise of the bowstring tightening flooded her ears for a split moment before she released the arrow. The sound of the vibranium weapon soaring through the air sent Aquaria into a flashback.

"Relax, princesa, relax."

Aria whispered in Shuri's ear. She stood behind the Wakandan princess who held Aria's bow in her hands. The quiet wilderness and warm sun reflected down on the girls, they were in Australia.

"Lower this arm slightly," Aria instructed as she pushed Shuri's right elbow down a little bit, trying to make sure the girl was in a good stance. "Now, pull back gently."

Shuri pulled the arrow back slowly and tried to even her breath out. Being this close to Aria always made her heart go wild. The soft marine scent flooded Shuri's senses making it difficult to concentrate.

Aria ran a hand down Shuri's back to calm the girl, "You need all three fingers to come off the bowstring at the same time. Relax. Focus."

"It's kind of hard to focus when you're this close to me," Shuri mumbled under her breath.

Aria chuckled quietly, "I'm sure, just breathe. Take in the heat of the sun rays shining down on your skin and the quiet rustling of leaves, just breathe..."

Aria removed her hands from Shuri's body and moved back slightly, making sure the aim of the arrow was as close to the bullseye as possible. "And release."

Shuri moved her fingers away from the bowstring and the arrow flew through the air at an alarming rate. It whizzed right past the target board, hitting a tree on the far left which was not her target. "This is a waste of time. It's pointless, Aria!"

Aria smiled and shook her head with a smile, making her way to retrieve the arrow, "It's not a waste of time or pointless. I'm trying to teach you something."

"What, the least effective way to shoot people?" Shuri threw her hands up frustratingly. This was her third try and she still couldn't hit the bullseye.

"No," Aria shook her head, "Control. To use a bow and arrow requires patience and discipline." Aria grabbed an arrow from her quiver and shot it in the air quickly.

Shuri watched as it landed right at her feet. She scoffed with a shake of her head, "Show off."

"Patience." Aria sang playfully with a grin.

Aquaria's eyes snapped open at the sound of her arrow going right through the middle of the bullseye. The accuracy was shocking to Aquaria if she was being honest.

Before she could let her thoughts consume her, the sound of distant sonic-like waves set her on alert. Swimming forward and grabbing her arrow, Aquaria turned around and angrily swam toward the source of the noise. Sonic waves were harmful to most sea animals, Aquaria included, so it was enough to anger her fragile mind.