The Archer's Legacy

★彡02|14 - "Y/n, I couldn't possibly worry about myself right now."彡★

Standing firmly in place, Y/n drew the string of her bow back, one eye closed in concentration. "You ready?" she asked, not looking at Carlos when he answered.

"Bring it on."

"Three... two... one!" The girl counted, both of them letting their arrows go before running to stand in front of another target. The goal was to see who'd hit three-times-bullseyes first. Y/n was, at first, fairly confident that she'd win because of her years and years of practice along with genetics, but it seemed that circumstances had changed. Months away from the archery range had made Y/n rustier than she would've liked to admit whereas Carlos, who'd apparently been training a few times a week, had made great progress in the girl's absence.

Thus, when the two came to a stop, the results surprised them. Both of them had missed one but the two other shots had been perfect.

"Hey," Y/n laughed, a bit winded. "You're pretty good, Carlos."

The boy felt something churn in his stomach at the girl's light laugh, her eyes smiling in a way that they hadn't in a while. "Thanks," he breathed, looking away in slight embarrassment.

"You know, I..." Y/n trailed off, gazing at the woods just beyond their marks. It seemed too still. The world came to a stop for the briefest moment and as the girl kept looking at the forest, a pair of malicious red-glowing eyes stared back at her. A soundless cackle floated through the air, making goosebumps take over the girl's body.

The next second, the moment was gone, and before Y/n could recognise what she was doing, she grabbed Carlos and pushed him down to the ground. A whistle sounded through the air and an arrows dove into the ground right in front of the two.

Frantically, they gazed at each other, before scrambling up and running back towards the campus of Auradon Prep, keeping their backs hunched so as to be as low to the ground as possible.

Y/n kept glancing back at the forest, hoping to see the one that was to blame for their near-death experience. Yet she saw nobody, the arrow in the ground facing the wrong side of the range and the adrenaline pumping through her veins the only signs that there had ever been an attack.

Carlos, on the other hand, kept glancing at the girl. From what he remembered, Y/n was never one to be easily scared. Sure, she'd become a bit nervous but she'd never run and back out of a fight. The memory of the Y/n he used to know was not at all the girl who ran beside him, her muscles rigid with fear and her eyes frantically darting around as if she expected to be attacked again at any moment, seemed like different people.

Soon, they skidded to a stop. Both of them were panting, leaning onto their knees as they tried to regain the oxygen they'd lost.

Carlos looked at the girl in front of him and his heart clenched. Her eyes were slightly glossed over, as if she was about to cry, and her hands were shaking. Whether it was from adrenaline or because of fear, he couldn't tell.

"I'm sorry," she choked out, not meeting the boy's eyes as she straightened up, putting on the brave face of a princess. Clearing her throat she went on. "I shouldn't have risked putting you in danger like that, Carlos."

"Putting me in danger?" the boy exclaimed. "Y/n, I couldn't possibly worry about myself right now." He dragged a somewhat frustrated hand through his hair as the worry in his eyes only grew. "You could've told me you were being hunted down! Are you being hunted down?" He came to a stop, making eye contact with the girl. "Please tell me so I can help you," he said, almost pleadingly.

Y/n swallowed the lump in her throat. "We should talk to Fairy Godmother."