Wild Jewel [Enter a world of Faerie Romance]

Wild Jewel - Chapter 21

Sorry it's taken me so long, but I made it long to make it worth someones while :D

Please tell me what you think and vote!

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Chapter 21

I hadn't been the same since Leodáin had left. I somehow feel emptier, like as though a hole had been slowly carved out of the pit of my stomach, and it isn't until it is too late that I realize the dull ache in my gut. Food doesn't seem to hold the same taste as it has before, and I chew involuntarily, feeling the bland lump slide down my throat and into my stomach, though no matter how much I eat, the ache within my belly never seems to go away, and soon I begin to turn away from food almost entirely.

Yet somehow, strangely enough, as I walk though the familiar Taurë around the Glade, I cannot help but feel lost; like as though my mind cannot process what the forest around me is, or even where to go. I watch my friends eye me with concern, but neither of them seem to push for an answer. I know what they see on me - blank, unseeing eyes, sallow and colorless cheeks along with an unfamiliar dull tone of voice. I cannot help it; for some unknown reason for which I cannot explain, the absence of Leodáin seems to have taken its grand toll on me. It seems utterly ridiculous for me to behave like I am after some stranger leaves for good.

Well, at least, I think he's a stranger to me. How would I know? For he might have been someone from my past life that I cannot seem to remember at the present time. Surely, that would be a reasonable explanation for my reaction, wouldn't it?

"Are you sure you're alright?" Delius asks yet again.

"I'm fine," I grumble unnecessarily.

Delius had been having me practice with the bow and arrow much more these days, and I was surprised at how tough it can be, and it also seems unnecessary that the bow itself had to be so strong, almost every time I pull back the string; I feel my muscles ache with exertion. Despite my enhanced strength, the strength the bow required for me to pull back was tough. Hitting the general area of a deer, for instance, was simple enough, but attempting to hit a small mark the size of a pebble, on the side of a tree some few hundred yards away, was beyond impossible. But Delius assures me that it is possible. And so here I am, pulling up my bow and dragging back the arrow for the hundredth time struggling to hit the mark he'd set out. But like the last hundred or so times, my arrow falls short, skittering along the ground, and I droop my arms in exhaustion.

"Are you sure this is possible?" I complain, "I mean, honestly, if it was, I would have hit somewhere relatively close to the mark..."

"You just haven't developed the proper technique, yet," He explains calmly. All our previous awkwardness seems diminished during our present training sessions, and I cannot help but feel as though Leodáin has something to do with it.

"Well," I say impatiently, "how on earth am I supposed to develop when you have not even taught me the technique?"

He smiles wryly, "It's not something that can simply be taught. I guess it's a mixture of relaxation, strength and agility, but essentially, it is something you learn on your own." He lifts up his bow effortlessly, and releases his arrow with such striking speed, hitting the centre of his mark, that I almost miss his demonstration. I gawk ungracefully, and scowl as he runs down to pluck his arrow from the tree.

"Try again," He encourages again as he returns.

I do, and fail. Once again, watching the arrow fall to the ground.

He chuckles from besides me, along with the giggles of the watching pixies and sprites.

I turn on them with a grimace. "It's not funny."