A P H I A
We are in the castle yard for our training today. "Don't tell me you're going to fight using bow and arrow?" He asked before looking at me from head to toe. I suddenly remember how he looked at me the day they summoned me. Gosh! I hate him. "Do you even know how to use it?"
I sigh, and then I look at him with a straight face. "Let me prove it to you," I stated.
Last night, I used the power of the Trinity Celtic knot, the magical symbol on my forehead, to know how my predecessors used their holy magic. They used bows and arrows to fight alongside the other knights, and I think I can do it too.
Prince Kalmin instructed his attendant to bring a bow and arrow, and it came in just a few minutes. "I can use this?!" I exclaimed in amusement. I slowly caress the bow and arrow while my eyes twinkle in excitement.
It's a golden bow, arrow, and quiver! Is this for real?! I wonder how much I can sell it! Maybe I can make a fortune!
"It's one of the rarest and most beautiful bows and arrows in the kingdom. You can have it." Prince Kalmin said, and it made me smile at him from ear to ear.
"Thank you! I love it!" I shouted. "How about you? What do you use in a battle?" I asked while wearing the quiver on my body. Wait, how to wear this again?
He sighs. "How can you use the bow and arrow if you can't even wear the quiver?" He complained, and I rolled my eyes at him. I was startled when he suddenly grabbed the straps from me. "You can wear it on your back or the side of your hips. Where do you prefer to wear it?" He asked while fixing the straps.
"On my back," I answered, and he nodded before helping me to wear it. He teaches me how to fix and wear the straps on my shoulder and around my waist. "Thank you," I said after wearing it. The straps were made of leather.
"I use swords whenever I need to go to battle." He answered, and I nodded. "Why did you choose to use bow and arrow?"
"It's for my prowess holy magic infusion," I answered. "Erskine told me that I can use this prowess to transfer holy magic to any non-living things. I will infuse my magic into the arrow and use it to a long-range battle." I explained while smiling at him.
"I'm surprised. Did you just use your brain? Are you alright?" He said while smirking.
I shake my head before letting out a deep sigh. "You are the most annoying prince I have ever known. Are you sure you are not adopted?" Eeshaan, his brother, is better than him in so many ways.
"Have you seen the king? I am the spitting image of his handsome face and irresistible charm." I look at him in disgust, and he laughs at my reaction. I haven't seen the king, and I doubt what he said. I want to meet the queen as well. I wonder if she's as beautiful as Esmeray.
Prince Kalmin instructed his attendant again to bring the target board, and he set it up fifty meters away from my spot. I prepare and position myself based on what I saw from my predecessor's memories. I need a proper posture to make this work.
"Do you need my help?" I heard Prince Kalmin ask.
"No, I can do this," I said, and I could feel him watching me intently. I sigh. He's distracting me.
I straighten up my torso with my collar bone parallel to the arrow. I steadied my hips since it should not bend forward, backward, or away from the arrow. To sum it up, my upper body should be straight with my chest and shoulders in a neutral position.
I place both of my feet on either side of the shooting spot, equidistant from each other and slightly wider than shoulder-width apart.
"Well, at least you know that stance and posture is the foundation of archery." He commented, and I nodded. "The correct stance will let you shoot with correct posture and will help your technique hugely." He added.
"A strong, stable stance and posture is essential. This will give me a solid base to work from and enables the most efficient shot, isn't it?" I asked while smiling.
"Wow. I am very proud of you. You are using your brain very efficiently." I breathed out before aiming the arrow at him, and he startled. "What on earth!?" He exclaimed, and I laughed. "What is funny?! You almost gave me a heart attack!" He yelled.
"Oh, don't worry. I will heal you." I said while laughing.
"Can you just start your training this instance?!" He scolded me in annoyance, and I chuckled at his short temper.
I extend my arm out in front of me again, pointing the arrow on the target board. With both of my eyes open, I raise my thumb, aligning my index finger on the target board. I breathed out before closing my left eye and observing the location of the target board.
I release the arrow, and it hit the side of the target board. I shake my head in disappointment. "Not bad."
"What?!" I hissed in annoyance.
"I actually thought you would fail to hit the target, but you did. Improve your stance and posture more." He suggested, and I sighed. I thought he would insult me. "Can you infuse your elemental magic on the arrow?" He asked and I looked at him in confusion. It did not cross my mind.
"Try infusing ice into the arrow and then hit the target again. Let's see what will happen." He suggested, and I nodded.
I transfer my elemental magic ice into the arrow before placing it on the bow. I stable my feet on the ground, improving my stance and fixing my upper body. I released the arrow, and it hit the target board near the center.
Then suddenly, the arrow releases the elemental magic. The ice slowly enwraps the whole target board, and I look at it with surprise. "Amazing! It works!" I shouted in amusement.
"Try infusing all your elemental magic one at a time and improve your archery accuracy." Prince Kalmin ordered before instructing his attendant to move the target board seventy meters away from my spot.
"Can I practice at fifty meters?! Why did you instruct him to do that?!" I complained.
"In a real battle, you cannot ask your enemy to move fifty meters away from you, smart priestess." He said in a very sarcastic way.
"I hate you!" I shouted out of frustration.
"And I hate you more." He said while smiling at me, and I hate it more!
I infuse the arrow with wind elemental magic. The arrow spins at high speed, and it destroys the target board. It created a hole in the center, and I shouted in amusement.
Prince Kalmin's attendant placed a new target board, and this time I used water elemental magic. The arrow hit the center of the target board, and the water soaked it. I look at it in disappointment.
"Releasing the water elemental magic from the arrow did not discharge enough pressure to make an impact. You cannot use it in combat." Prince Kalmin said, and I agreed. "Next, use earth."
I infuse the arrow with earth magic, and I get surprised when the arrow passes through the target board, creating a hole. I wonder what happened.
The attendant brought the arrow to us, and I was amazed to see the arrow turned into a sharp arrow stone. I can use it in combat.
I infuse the last elemental magic I possess, and that's the fire. I think I already know what will happen. The arrow hit the target board, and it burnt down.
Prince Kalmin looks satisfied with the outcome of my training. "What holy magic prowess are you going to infuse into the arrow?" He asked.
"I can use the arrow infused with a consecration to infuse the ground with holy magic if my target ground is several meters away from me. I can also infuse the prowess dispel magic into the arrow to eliminate magic on non-living things." I explained, and he nodded.
His attendant serves a delicious brioche and orange juice while Prince Kalmin and I are resting. We will resume our training in an hour, and our next training will be one-on-one combat using my bow and arrow, and he will be using his sword.
We started our combat training with a simple hide-and-seek kind of battle. After a few minutes, Prince Kalmin stops holding back and fights me head to head. His attacks are very strong and gives a big impact. I always ended up building a mud wall as a defense or running away from him.
I used my bow and arrow to attack with different elemental magic, and I was able to hit him multiple times. I smirk at him every time I hit him, and he growls in annoyance.
We are currently fighting mid-air when we suddenly hear several voices calling our name. I look down, and I find the five commanders waving their hands at us except Gunther and Clovis. "Why are you two destroying the castle yard?!" Howard shouted. Prince Kalmin and I survey the whole area.
"I think you will meet the king this time since we destroyed the yard again." Prince Kalmin said, and I looked at him in a straight face.