It sank into the bullseye as easily as if that is where it had always belonged.
The crowd erupted into thunderous cheering. Abrial hardly heard them at all. It sounded like some crazy stampede many miles away, and all that rumbling hurt her head. She winced, taking the third ax automatically this time from an overseer.
She lifted it to her eyes, a sudden confusion clouding them.
"Why am I doing this?" she mumbled. "Why am I throwing axes? What the heck?"
"Um…to win the Jiu contest, Miss?" the male overseer offered helpfully. "To…To win ownership of Dal, Futou's fastest horse?"
"Ah!" her eyes lit up again with excitement, two dark, shining lanterns. Her eyes fell on Dal, who was kicking at the dirt at the edge of the courtyard. "The beautiful, godly horse! I want him! We're gonna be best friends! And…"
Finley's pale, heart-shaped face formed in her mind. She was smiling gently, her lips pink like flower petals. Her hazel eyes always turned to faint crescents when she smiled. Abrial's heart jumped up her throat.
"And I want to go get Finley!" she burst. "To make sure she's safe! And see her smile!"
"O…kay?" stammered the overseer, scratching his head.
Abrial turned on him with a serious look. He stumbled back, a little frightened. She dropped the ax and grabbed him by the shoulders in a tight grip.
"What do I need to do to make sure I win? Tell me whatever it is. I need to win."
The overseer cowered, his face pale. "W-well, first, you need to not drop th-the ax like that…It almost chopped my foot off…"
Abrial immediately swooped down and retrieved the ax. She snatched him by the collar again.
"Okay, now what do I need to do?"
"W-welll…" he looked around, trying to catch the announcer's eye for help, but the crowd was still whooping from Abrial's last bullseye, and the announcer was distracted pumping his fist in excitement as well. This girl was the best thing that had ever happened to the annual Jiu contest, for real! She'd be going down in history for shocking everyone like this with her talent! Seeing he wasn't going to get back-up, the male overseer continued timidly: "There are still some people who will c-compete in throwing after you, so to make sure you win, it would b-be good to make a bullseye this one well, and to do so impressively."
"A good bullseye? Bullseye this one well? Impressively" Abrial stepped closer, her brow furrowed deeply. Her face was very serious. "What do you mean by that?"
"I don't know!" the overseer burst out, covering his face with trembling hands. "J-just — impress the crowd again! Or something! Please let me go!"
Abrial released his robe. He scrambled away to quail behind another overseer, who gave him a strange look.
Meanwhile, Abrial had gotten a determined gleam in her eye. It was like dark fire again, searing the crowd as she scanned it.
"EVERYBODY!!" she shouted. She waved her arms and the ax around. "EVERYBODY QUIET!"
The crowd quieted, a hush falling over everyone. A little baby cried out. His excited mother shushed him.
"Watch THIS! I'm gonna bullseye this one with MY EYES CLOSED!!!"
A murmur of complete shock rippled through the crowd.
"Can she really bullseye it without looking?"
"Probably! She seems like a master with blades!"
"Mama, I want to be as cool as that lady! So cool!"
"Hey!" The infuriated, once-smug middle aged man, who was clearly a bad sport, stepped forward. He was pointing a finger accusingly at Abrial yet again, his eyes throwing daggers. "How can we be sure your eyes'll be closed? What if they're just open slightly and you're fooling us into thinking you're all that great? I refuse to believe you can really bullseye that target with your eyes closed when you're as drunk as you are! Pah!" He spat maliciously.
Abrial's lips pulled into a drunken smirk. Her eyes gleamed bright with entertainment — an almost dangerous brightness. It was the sort of look she got in her eye when she thought of doing something risky that would make her veins course with sparking adrenaline. Like climbing around the outside of the house by jumping from windowsill to windowsill. Or climbing a twenty-foot pine tree using just her hands.
"You got it!" she laughed. "I'll make it so there's no room for doubt! I'm really just that skilled, he he."
She reached down and with a flick, pulled away her belt. Her robes flew up around her in the summer wind, flowing like blood and shadow around her pants and shirt. She tucked the ax into a pocket for the moment. Reaching up to her face, she slowly tied the belt around her eyes to form a blindfold. The world went dark as ink.
She smiled crookedly.
Then she felt for the ax and gripped it by the handle.
She breathed in deeply. Once in, once out, feeling the cool air fill her lungs, then rush out warmer. The crowd had gone utterly silent. She inhaled again deeply, catching the scent of grass and sweat for the first time since she'd down the rice wine.
Then she whipped around, flinging the last ax so quickly her arm became a blur of red and black wind, impossible to trace.
Thwunk.