Hitting The Mark

The training area outside of the soldier’s barracks. Rain ran crying to their room. Nir remains alone outside.

Nir walks towards the arrow Rain missed. He picks it up. It’s hard for him to believe she missed a shot. He starts remembering the past as he stares at the arrow.

Around two years ago.

Nir is leaning against a window above a desk in his class, staring at a pretty girl outside, who he sees for the first time. Others walk next to her, seemingly drawn to her presence. He is standing on the tips of his toes, suddenly realizing to what degree he is invested in looking at her, knowing he also left his own seat in order to get closer to the window.

After a few minutes, many students who arrived slowly - take their seats and class starts. The teacher introduces no other than Rain, who he just saw outside being surrounded with attention.

That attention is something Rain never seems to be able to lose. Everyone watches her at all times. Slowly, she became more and more popular, but she wasn’t too social. Sociality itself chased her.

-”Rain, you do archery?” - A classmate asks her, seeing she brought the archery club’s uniform with her.

-”Yea! I’m so glad this school has an archery club as well! That is my favourite thing ever!”

Students keep giving Rain attention.

-”Wow! You are the top scorer!”

-”Yea! You surpassed Nir! What do you think, Nir? You got a rival”.

-”Good job”. - He says, seemingly uninterested.

Rain looks at him, surprised.

Nir’s memories of her are floating.

-”Why are there so few people here?” - Rain asks.

-”It just so happens that not a lot of people wanted to join the archery club… You are just used to being surrounded by people so it feels like a change from the norm I guess”. - An upperclasswoman answers.

Rain seems a bit uncomfortable.

”Oh, I didn’t mean it in a bad way! Some people just naturally draw attention, you know? I didn’t try to imply anything”. - She says, seemingly honest.

Rain smiles to make her feel better.

“Anyway, we are done for today. Nir! You can collect the arrows now!”

Rain is surprised to hear this. She didn’t know Nir was in the archery club. She didn’t notice he was there.

Rain mind goes to Nir not caring about the test scores. As she gets lost in thought, she takes another arrow from the quiver and shoots it at the target, as Nir suddenly appears from behind one - almost getting hit. The arrow hits the target right in the middle. The impact shocks him, as he thought it was safe to collect the arrows.

Rain is also startled. -”I’M SO SORRY!” - She says loudly, covering her mouth with her hands.

-”WHAT IF YOU HIT ME???” - Nir yells at her.

-”I’m truly sorry. For some reason I didn’t realize you were coming”.

-”Well, it’s alright”. - He says, seemingly forgiving her completely.

-”Really?” - She asks in surprise.

-”Yea, I mean, you’ve never seen me here, probably. Did you even know someone is collecting the arrows?” - Nir asks.

-”I heard our upperclasswoman calling you for that, but…”

-”SO YOU TRIED TO KILL ME???” - He interrupts her.

-”No, no! My brain didn’t register that you were coming! I’m sorry!”

-”I’m just kidding. Besides, you were never going to hit me anyway”.

-”What do you mean?” - She asks.

-”I’ve watched you practice a few times by now… You have never missed one arrow”.

Rain is blushing. -”So you just stared at me practicing?” - She tries teasing him.

-”Yes”.

She is bright red now.

“I joined this club just because I had to choose something. I didn’t really want anything specific. They allowed me to join and collect their arrows so I don’t have to participate otherwise. I just watch everyone since there’s nothing else to do”.

-”Oh, so you watch everyone”. - She realizes, slightly disappointed.

-”Well, mostly just you”. - He replies. She blushes again. “Nobody is even close to your level. You see how they all treat you like a celebrity? You probably don’t really care, but this upperclasswoman you mentioned? Her name is Soar. She was the most likely person to become the next leader of the club after our current one graduates, but now that you came, people are not so sure, some think it might be you”. - He explains.

-”Oh, no! I… Don’t want that to happen!” - Rain replies.

-”I know… You like this place, right?”

-”I mean… Yea, but what does that have to do with anything?”

-”You like the quiet, don’t you? You sure do attract attention here as well, but eventually, everyone must focus. Combine it with the fact that the club is pretty small - and you get to rest from all the commotions around you”.

-”You know what… I didn’t even notice that myself…” - She realizes. “How did you figure that out, anyway?”

-”I was the same. Although to be fair, I’ve never attracted as much attention as you. I just couldn’t handle the social interactions. It was too much for me. Watching you made me realize you can enjoy them treating you well, but hate when they give you too much attention”.

-”Wow. Okay, I’ll admit. You read me.” - Says Rain. “When I’m surrounded by compliments I always think: ‘I can get used to this’, yet being examined by everyone all the time is exhausting to me… It feels like I’m not allowed to make mistakes…”

-”Don’t worry, I won’t tell anyone about your murder attempt. I can even give you advice on what to tell them… But, you should decide if you want to keep your appearance, or do the opposite, like me”.

-”That’s really nice of you. For now, I’ll keep my appearance”.

-”You should probably keep doing everything you already do, but maybe try to be vocal about how much you appreciate her”.

-”You mean Soar?” - Rain asks.

-”Yes. Showing them your appreciation for an upperclasswoman overwrites your focus on your own skill. They will imitate you, prioritizing her”.

-”You… Are pretty smart”. - Rain acknowledges.

-”Not smarter than you, top scorer”.

-”How can you get such high scores without really trying?” - She asks him.

-”Were you always good with a bow and arrow?”

-”Yes, honestly. But I did improve over time”. - Rain replies.

-”That’s the same as me. I was just good at studying. Actually, I even gave it my all at the beginning and I did improve. But eventually I stopped trying and instead - I got better at achieving the best with the least”.

-”So that’s your deal…” - She says, making a smug face, being impressed.

-”Yep. I’ll be your ally. You can be real with me. If you ever feel unsure of what to do, just remember there is someone who is already overthinking so much, his exhaustion could be of merit to you”. - Nir tells her.

-”’Ally’. I like that”.

She smiles genuinely. -”Can I truly count on you then?” - She asks.

-”Of course, your highness! The top is all yours!” - He jests.

-”I thank you! Oh brave one!” - She returns the sentiment.

Both of them laugh.

-”Just remember that sometimes I may be wrong…” - Says Nir, trying to warn her.

-”You? Wrong?” - She keeps being playful. “Nonesense… Surely you shall be correct as often as my arrows hit the mark”.

-”But how would we know if I’m ever incorrect about something?” - He asks seriously.

-”When I miss an arrow”.

Nir snaps out of his memory journey, coming back to reality.

He drops the arrow and starts running. He runs into the barracks, turns to the hallway, runs down the hallway and turns again - getting to the main hall. He crosses the main hall, not even noticing if the empress or anyone is in there. He then runs to the residency area’s hallway and enters their room. He runs towards the curtain, suddenly noticing Rain just made it to the bedroom. Nir is unable to stop in time. As Rain just barely manages to turn to his direction hearing he entered - he crashes into her while he’s trying to stop and she gets pushed onto the edge of the bed with him on top of her.

She looks straight into his eyes, still in tears, blushing. He looks straight into her eyes as well.

-”Rain… I think I’m wrong about something. I need your help figuring out about what”.

-”Nir…” - She says, then starts tearing again.

-”Rain, are you still mad at me?”

-”Yes.” - She answers with tears.

-”Why?” - He asks softly.

-”I wanted us to live a normal life in the town. It seemed to me like you didn’t.” - She confesses.

-”Do you think I didn’t want to live with you in the town? Just having a normal life?” - Nir asks.

-”Then why didn’t you tell me?”

-”What do you mean?”

-”Why didn’t you tell me: ‘I wish I could live with you here like this’”.

-”You think I don’t? Rain, why do you think I want to protect you so much?”

-”You said you want us to stay together!”

-”I DO!”

-”Then why did you go ahead and join the guards without me?” - She asks, crying.

-”So you won’t be in danger!”

-”But you said you need me! You said you need my help! And even then, why did you only wait until we were in danger? Why couldn’t you say it to begin with?”

-”I ALREADY LET YOU DOWN ONCE!”

They are suddenly quiet for a moment.

“Rain, why do you insist on getting into danger?” - He asks quietly.

-”Are you saying I won’t be useful to you in combat?”

-”But stunning doesn’t get you hearts! Rain… You can’t kill. That’s why I said what I did about syncing hearts. Do you know how much I respect you? But how else are you supposed to get more of them?”

-”But I was planning on that part to begin with!”

Nir is completely shocked to hear that. He is blushing brightly.

“If I’m going to get hearts with you, it doesn’t make sense for me to not be helping you”. - She claims.

-”But if something were to happen to you… If I got you killed twice… What am I supposed to do then?”

-”But if you died twice protecting me while I could have prevented it… What would I do then? Don’t you see, you idiot! I can only get hearts through you! So if something were to happen to you - I would be cooked even if I didn’t like you!”

He is blushing again, but now with confidence.

-”I expect no less from the top scorer”. - He tells her playfully.

-”Apologize”. - She insists.

-”I’m sorry I made you miss an arrow”.

With his hands on the bed and her head in between - he leans in to kiss her and they both close their eyes. Their lips touch. They kiss softly, increasing the pressure with time. She puts her hands on the sides of his neck and wraps them around, holding him.

As they keep kissing - he lifts her up, sits on the bed and puts her on top of him. He then stops and hugs her tightly. She tightens her hold around him as well.

They cuddle together on the bed, covered with a blanket.

That night, they fell asleep facing each other.