succession | d. targaryen

vii.

299 A.C.
KING'S LANDING
•••

ELAENA WATCHED AS HER ARROW SAILED THROUGH THE AIR AND LODGED ITSELF IN THE TARGET. AS SHE LOWERED BOW, she noticed that she'd just barely missed the bullseye. She frowned at the sight and walked toward the target, tugging the arrow out and walking back over to grab the bow. She aims again and shoots the arrow and misses just barely once again.

Elaena stares at the target. She didn't miss.

Elaena grabbed another arrow and nocked the bow. She took a deep breath, aimed at the target, and watched as the arrow missed the bullseye.

"Fuck," Elaena muttered under her breath. She walked over to the target grabbed both the arrows out of the straw target and walked back over to the bow, snatching it off the ground. She shoots the first arrow and hits the target, missing the bullseye.

Elaena drops the bow and snaps the arrow over her leg before marching over to the target, taking the arrow out and snapping it in half as well.

"What did that arrow do to you?"

Elaena looks up to see Sansa standing there, Lady at her side. The wolf lets out a bark and Elaena looks at Lady curiously. She didn't think wolves barked. Then again Elaena wasn't commonly around wolves.

She looks at the broken arrow in her hand and then back up at Sansa, "It did not listen to me."

"So, you snapped it?"

"The arrows are faulty," Elaena responds as she walks over to the bow, picking it up.

"And how do you know it is the arrows and perhaps not your own miscalculations?" Sansa asks.

"Because I don't miscalculate," Elaena says. She looks through the arrows and grabs another one. This time she relaxes as she nocks the bow and aims it at the target. This time the arrow sails through the air and lodges itself into the center of the target.

"See? I did the same thing that I did with the other arrows, only this time I hit the bullseye," Elaena explains.

"You were barely missing the bullseye previously," Sansa says with a laugh, "You truly can tell the arrows were faulty because you missed wide slightly."

Elaena smiles as she picks up the broken arrow and walks over to Sansa. She holds out the arrow to Sansa who accepts it. She looks at the arrow and then back at Elaena.

"What am I supposed to be noticing?"

"Here," Elaena says as she traces her finger over the break. She looks up at Sansa to see her eyes following Elaena's finger. She averts her attention back to the arrow and explains, "The dark spots? The wood has begun to rot."

"In both arrows?" Sansa asks as she looks up at Elaena.

"Mhm," Elaena answers, "You see when the wood begins to rot, it softens and then dries out. It changes density which leads to arrows being slightly wide."

Sansa lets out a laugh, "I cannot believe that you believe in your skills that much that you knew the arrow was faulty."

"It's sort of like – walking. We do it every day and we don't really think about it. I've been shooting arrows at targets since I was three. It's like walking. If I miss, I know there's something wrong."

"Hm," Sansa says thoughtfully as she looks at the arrow. She smiles as she looks up at Elaena, "I have a younger sister. Arya. We couldn't be more different. There were nights when I would take Lady for walks, and I would hear her out in the courtyard shooting arrows. She wasn't good, but every night she was out there."