Obviously, Camille had decided to give her as many options as she could handle, because next to those was a box that when opened, proved to be more jade inlaid weapons: an axe, crossbow, flail, pretty spiked gauntlets, a hammer, mace, and a whip. Jade also finally noticed that in the nearby corner, there was now a spear and staff. Had she bought out the entire collection of that particular style?
Singing at the top of her lungs, she grabbed the beginner bow and pushed a few knives into her bag. “Look at this stuff; isn’t it sleek? Wouldn’t you say my collection’s complete? Wouldn’t you think I’m the girl…the girl who has everything! I’ve got axes and bows aplenty. Swords and spears galore. You want daggers? I’ve got twenty! Camille cares, no big deal, she’ll buy more…”
Laughing at herself, she settled into her little comfort corner for a bit. She still had twenty minutes, and she needed a bit of a recharge after all that healing, so she started in on the massive collection of food, which had also grown in her absence, that Camille had left for her.
At ten to the hour, she gathered her stuff up and happily skipped her way to one of the courtyards that Stephen had pointed out to her as the beginning archery range. She was early, but still surprised to note that besides her, there was just the instructor and one other student. What was going on?
“Hi! Am I in the right place for beginning archery?” Her cheerful voice held notes of obvious confusion and doubt. The two turned to look at her.
“Ah, Jade! You’re here.” She recognized him as Viscount Carter Abas, one of the professors Stephen had introduced her to that night. She smiled and walked forward more confidently now that she knew she was in the right place, even if it still felt strange. “Come, now that you’re both here, we can start.”
She paused, staring at him in confusion once again. “Wait, you mean…we’re the only ones coming?”
Carter laughed at her shock. “Yes. Most of the other students have been using weapons all their lives, and most only take the beginner classes if they want to pick up something new. Archery is something that almost everyone knows, since it’s the safest way to kill monsters.” Well, okay. At least that made sense—teach everyone ranged fighting so that you have a force who can come away with no casualties.
Seeming to ignore her inner musings, he went on, “Jade, meet Jeremy Fifield. Jeremy, this is Lady Jade Winward.”
Jade stepped forward, offering her hand to the skinnier redhead. His hair was combed over neatly, his hazel eyes shimmering with curiosity. He was lightly tanned, which mostly hid his freckles. His physique wasn’t anywhere near what she’d seen from most of the men around here, but it seemed firm and fit as he took her hand, bending over to brush his lips lightly against it. “It’s a pleasure to meet you, Lady Jade.”
She smiled, then said softly, “The pleasure is mine.” He obviously wasn’t a noble since Carter had omitted any sort of title for him, but he had a conscientious bearing that spoke of confidence in what he knew. He let go and she let her hand fall to her side, ignoring her new little dot.
Carter was smirking. “Well, now that that’s done, let’s see where you’re at.” Jade watched as Jeremy immediately started putting on his arm guards and checking his bow. It looked like it had been well used before, and she started to feel a little nervous. Noticing this, Carter asked, “Is something the matter?”
Jade smiled ruefully and confessed, “I’ve never used a weapon before… I have absolutely no idea what to do.” She held out the beginner’s bow Camille had bought her. “I have a bow? But uhh… I don’t know how to put the protective stuff on. It’s just straps and leather to me.” She had pulled out the stuff Camille had put with her bow, but she had no idea how to use it, despite trying to surreptitiously watch Jeremy.
Carter came over, shaking his head. “I forgot you’re so new to everything. Here, let me help.” She could smell a weird mix of leather, wood, and something else she couldn’t quite place as he helped her into her gear. He explained the process patiently, double checking it to make sure it was on properly. She took the chance to study him properly. Bright blue eyes and sandy blonde hair tugged back into a short ponytail, he reminded her a bit of the Dread Pirate Roberts, the flowing white shirt and black pants only adding to her imagination. They finally got her buckled in, and Carter smiled. “Let’s have Jeremy go first. Watch his posture so you can mimic it.”
Jeremy smiled at her, having been waiting for them to finish. With confidence, he lifted his bow and nocked an arrow, sighting the target that looked to be maybe thirty feet away. Carter corrected him a little bit on his grip, and then he released, an arrow thunking into the outer ring. “Nine more,” Carter instructed patiently, and they both watched as Jeremy sunk arrow after arrow into the target, only missing entirely once. None of them were particularly close to the center bullseye, but he had at least moved closer from the outer ring.
She was nervous when Carter turned to her. “Your turn.” She walked up the range, having settled her quiver over her shoulder. Carter helped her get a feel for the right way to hold the bow and nock the arrow and then stepped back to let her try on her own. Her first arrow flew way wide of her target, and she flushed. “Calm down. It’s not a competition. Just focus on the arrows.”
His voice was soothing, and she forced herself to take a few deep breaths, centering herself. When she nocked another arrow, it was done much more smoothly. Sighting the target, she let out a breath as she released, and gave a little jump and woot of excitement when it hit the outer ring. Triumphantly she turned to Carter and Jeremy, who were both grinning as well. “You’ve got it! Keep going.”
Elated that she’d managed to hit the target, she began to pull and shoot again. It almost felt like there was an auto-correct on her posture and movements because she found herself sliding into them without thought. It just felt right, and she realized that was probably part of the correction of her siphoning experience. It was subtle, but also very helpful. If she hadn’t been starting from nothing, she might not have even noticed that it was like a good habit ingrained into her body.
Her arrows began to creep closer and closer to the center of the target, until on her ninth and tenth arrows, she hit dead center. Laughing in elation, she turned to celebrate with Jeremy and Carter. To her surprise, they were just staring at her in amazement, and Jeremy managed to choke out, “You’ve got to be kidding me… That can’t have been your first time holding a bow.”
Carter was staring at her in some sort of weird fascination, but there was a weirdly fanatical glint to his eyes. A little unnerved, her smile faded from her face as she questioned them, “Is something wrong?”
Carter shook his head, grinning. “Nothing, just that you’re evidently a genius. It usually takes months of practice to be able to shoot like that.” Oh, oops.
Smiling, she shrugged and tried to pass it off. “Oh, my special ability makes it so things come easily to me, so it’s a bit of a cheat.” She blushed a little, staring at the ground. She now felt a little bad that Jeremy, who’d been practicing for who knows how long, had been shown up by her on her first time on the range.