The Rightful Queen

Eight

No matter how kind he seemed to be, he was an enemy. Somebody I had to get rid of in order to restore what was rightfully mine. Anybody could be fooled by how well-mannered he was, but I wasn't a fool. I knew what type of blood ran through his veins. His blood carried betrayal and maliciousness. He was his parents' son after all.

I noticed him standing with a few noblemen, so I made my way towards them, but once I was close enough, a guard stood before me, preventing me from moving forward.

"The King requested my presence," I calmly told him. I could easily take him down, but all the skills I had ever learned had to be kept away for now.

"The king and the noblemen are enjoying their game of archery now, which is a sport for men." I wanted to snap his neck as I wasn't fond of the tone he was using with me.

"I know what archery is, but are you preventing me from meeting the king's demands?" I challenged him with a cold tone.

"My lady, ladies are not allowed to join men in this game," he reasoned.

"Is that a Vinadrian law I am not familiar with?" I decided to use my wits. There was no law that stipulated that.

"Lady Nuriya." I looked towards the direction of the voice and saw the king making his way towards me. Once he was near enough, I curtsied and looked down for a moment before meeting his gaze.

"I'm delighted to see you were not busy and accepted my request," he expressed with a genuine smile on his face.

"Thank you, your Majesty. I will sit with the ladies and wait until you are done with archery. Your guard here told me women aren't allowed to join men in this sport."

"Women can certainly join men," the King said in a stern voice, looking at his guard.

"Apologies, your Majesty," the guard said.

"Lady Nuriya, would you like to join me for a match?" The king suggested.

"I would love to, but I have to let you know that as much as I am fascinated with archery, I don't know how to play it," I lied to him.

"I can show you if you'd like," the king offered. That was what I wanted. Any chance to get close to him.

"Your Majesty, are you sure such a fine lady like Lady Nuriya would be able to handle a bow and an arrow?" one of the men commented. His tone revealed the misogyny he was already drowning in. "Perhaps the Lady would prefer joining the other ladies for tea."

"Thank you for your consideration, Lord Taj, but I have already had my tea and as for archery, I'm sure it wouldn't hurt to try," I replied with a straight smile on my lips.

"Let me show you how it is done," The king told me, guiding me to where the rest of the men stood. He handed me a bow and an arrow, then he brought another kit for himself. "You need to stand straight, keep your feet and shoulders width apart," he started instructing me. I nodded, imitating his movements.

"Your grip on the bow needs to be relaxed. Holding it tightly won't make your hands steadier. It may actually make it shaky," he said and again, I silently nodded. My mind took me to the time Laith taught me how to shoot an arrow. It wasn't like that. It was brutal. A lesson that contained shoves and harsh grips and even a few slaps that did not land on just my face.

"Now, point your bow down and attach the arrow to the string like that," he said. My eyes were fixed on his movements. Not only was I trying to get close to Zain, but I was also evaluating my target. I needed to know his points of strength and weakness. I eyed his hands as he placed the shaft of the arrow on the arrow rest. Zain attached the back of the arrow to the bowstring using the nock.

"Am I doing it right?" I asked, showing him what I was doing and he nodded when he examined my hold on the bow and how the arrow was placed.

"Now, you're going to place your index finger above the arrow and your middle finger below. With the finger on the drawstring, raise your bow and hold it out towards the target. Your inner elbow should be parallel to the ground and the bow should always remain vertical. If you're holding it properly, you should be able to look straight down the spine of the arrow," the king continued teaching me.

"Lady Nuriya, you're bothering yourself with matters that should not concern you," one of the men commented. I could break his neck in a moment, but I learned how to conceal my anger a long time ago for such moments.

"I can assure you I'm enjoying myself," I politely said.

"Now I want you to pull the bow's drawstring back to your face. Use your back and muscles for strength and let your arm stay relaxed as much as you can. You should keep pulling until the bow feels tight," Zain said.

"It hurt my arms a little," I mumbled with a little laugh. Another lie. I had strong muscles and my arms weren't aching at all.

"That's because you're not used to it, but the ache will lessen with practice. Use your ear, chin, or any other part of your body as a reference point. By doing that, you can draw the string back to the same point each time. Do your best and draw the string as far back as possible, and when you do that, lift your elbow up like that." I looked at him, studying his movements for a few moments before doing the same.

"I can't wait until I release the arrow," I commented.

"We will get to it." The King offered me a soft smile. "Now, aim at your target and you can release the arrow by relaxing the fingers on your string hand. I know how easy this sounds, but the way in which you release the fingers from the bowstring has an impact on the arrow's flight and if you flinched, you can miss the target."

Anger bubbled inside of me more as I realized how patient the king was. I liked the way he was teaching me. I hated how nice he was. I didn't want to like anything about him.

This was how I was supposed to be taught the first time. I was only eleven years old when I first held an arrow and a bow.

"After releasing the arrow, wait until it hits the target to lower the bow. Like that." I watched him as he released the arrow and he hit the target perfectly.

"I don't think I will be that good," I commended his perfect aim. After adjusting my posture, I released the arrow but intended to commit a mistake, so I wouldn't attract any attention. The muffled chuckles of the group of men standing around me were the reaction I expected.

"That's okay. This is your first try. You made a mistake, but it's a simple one." I wasn't sure if the king was that patient with me because he was naturally that patient or because he liked me and I didn't know which one I wished for more.

"What was my mistake?" I wondered.

"You moved your hand forward and I guess you did that to boost the arrow while shooting. Don't do that. You need to stand still," he corrected me and I slowly nodded.

This time when I aimed, I made sure not to hit the middle of the target, so I aimed for a point a bit further. When I hit the target, a wide smile appeared on my face.

"You did it! With a bit of more practice, you'll be better," Zain encouraged me. "You're not an ordinary lady after all." The small smile that appeared on his lips as he said that was an indicator that what he said was a compliment and I was indeed getting closer to my goal. 

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Published on July 8th, 2022

Sara