The day went by fast. It ended without Rin noticing it. She had spent half of the day pleading with Heron to teach her archery and half of the day, Heron refused her bluntly. It was like he did not have human feelings , that was what Rin thought. There was only one way she could get Heron to teach her . He would be angry but it was worth it.
During supper , as Rin ,Bokie, Heron and Sybel were halfway through it , Rin spoke up.
"Miss Sybel, this morning I asked your son, Heron to teach me something , he bluntly refused and I am hurt deeply. Very deeply hurt. It feels like I 'll die anytime soon if your son doesn't teach me.He's too cold and arrogant."
Rin's acting was great and there was no doubt. Bokie gave her a thumb's up although he did not have thumbs. If there was an award ceremony for actors, Rin would have gotten best actor of the year. Sybel dropped her spoon in her plate and stared at Heron. Rin was excited at this. It was nice being a guest in someone's house. I mean you literally get want you want. Rin smirked at the thought.
"Heron, don't be rude to our guests. Teach them what ever they want to know and be nice to them" , Sybel's voice was angelic when she was talking to Heron. There was no doubt Heron wouldn't listen to his mother.
Heron whined,"But Ma, she wants to learn archery".
"Teach her,it will be worth it someday. Okay, darling?" I mean who wouldn't fall for this.Heron let out a deep sigh and said to Rin,"We will start learning it next week"
"Next week! No , it is not a good time. I want tomorrow" , Rin folded her arms.
Before Heron could say something , his mother gave him the 'don't refuse her' look.
Heron looked defeated, "Fine"
Rin was excited. She was going to learn to do something for now. She was done reading her father's alchemy books to the extent that she could recite it page by page.Learning archery could be use for defense in times of trouble.Rin was too excited to sleep. She could feel the adrenaline rushing through her veins. She barely slept a wink most of the night. It wasn't just because of her excitement, but Bokie was snoring loudly beside her and it was irritating. Throughout most of the night, she was just staring at the stars. She believed her father was up there watching over her. It was in one of the stories he told her, where legends died and became stars. Rin knew her dad was no legend. But to her, he was her legend. She truly missed her dad and she felt it. Rin brought out the pendant her dad gave her before dying.
Out of nowhere, she broke down completely. Tears slid down her face silently. She cleaned her face after realizing she was crying, placed the pendant back and mysteriously fell asleep.
The sunlight seeped through the window, giving the room a new beginning. Rin knew she had overslept but it was worth it. She was going to learn archery. She had tried hard not to think about her father's death. She knew she could not revenge him because she was useless in cultivation. She rushed out of the room. Her food was on the table. Bokie was nowhere to be seen.
'Maybe he has gone out ' , Rin thought.
She finished her food quickly and went outside to look for Heron.The first place that came to her mind was the field behind the house. She was busily searching for him when she heard a voice behind her.
"Took you long enough to get here". It was Heron's. How long was he standing here waiting for her to come? It was like forever.
Rin startled at his voice. She turned to look at him with a sheepish smile. She knew it was her fault. "I'm sorry , I overslept because I was too excited to archery and..."
Heron cut her off. He was getting pissed at that moment. "Let's get started"
"Okay, Mr. Grumpy", Rin muttered under her breath.
"You said what?" Heron looked at her with his brows up.
"Nothing, I didn't say anything", Rin blabbed. Npw Heron had the advantage, Any least mistake Rin did would lead to the termination of the archery lessons.
About 1.5 meters away, there was a board with the center painted red. That was the bull's eye.
"So far..." Rin mumbled.
Heron clearly heard it and smirked."Watch and learn" , he said. Heron nocked the arrow, drew the anchor and released in one fluid motion. The arrow struck the bull's eye. Rin clapped her hand in awe.
"Impressive, very impressive" , she couldn't believe her eyes. How could one shoot an arrow that far. Rin was determined to learn it and perform better than Heron.
"Now try" , Heron handed her the bow and the arrow.
"You don't expect me to shoot an arrow just at glancing you do it. Unbelievable" Rin snorted.Seeing Heron not budging, she decided to give it a go.
Rin breathed in and out with confidence. She was going to hit the bull's eye and she could feel it. She nocked the arrow on the bow like a seasoned archer- like someone who had done it for years-with her chin high and confidence radiating from her body.The string snapped and the arrow flew backward. Rin could swear that it cut a strand of her red hair. After that, there was silence then laughter followed.Heron pinched the bridge of his nose and laughed like he had never before. Only then did Rin realize the severity of the situation. Heat flooded her face. The boy who was always grumpy and annoyed was here laughing like the world meant nothing to him.Rin realized she had turned basic archery to public execution of her pride.
"Stop laughing. You did not expect me to be perfect on my first day. Do ya", Rin couldn't hide her embarrassment although she was pissed at the way Heron was laughing at her non stop.
Heron finally stopped laughing and taught her how to use the bow and the arrow. At noon, Rin could shoot an arrow although it did not hit the board , she was proud of it. Rin had not seen Bokie since morning and she was wondering where he was. It wa lunch time and definitely Bokie would come.
"That would be all for the day", Heron said as he was placing the arrows in the bag. He had loosened up a bit after that hilarious stunt Rin pulled.
Rin went to the house for lunch patiently waiting for Bokie. Meanwhile...
Bokie was from the forest and was terribly nervous. Nervous? Yes. He had never been nervous in his life before especially not in front of that idiot, Rin. As he was walking to the house he was mumbling,"Should I tell her or not. Maybe not. She will know soon . The earlier the better"
He got to the entrance of the house and there was Rin standing akimbo in front of him.
"What the hell happened to you , Bokie?"