Arrow's Tip

Chapter Two

I was woken up by a shrill, continuous sound. Snapping out of my dream I rolled off my bed and hid beneath it, covering my head.
“Oh wow, I don’t think I’ve ever seen anyone get into flight mode that quick. Come out, that’s just our call to wake up.”

Ash had settled on the floor next to me, already fully dressed and completely calm. When I carefully crawled out of the space he helped me up. In response, I touched my heart with the fingertips of my right hand.
“Is that a thank you?”
“Yes”

The courtyard was astonishingly big. I remembered thinking that the space we crossed yesterday was the biggest human-made space there could possibly be but was corrected in that belief the second we stepped outside into the breaking dusk.

The area was divided into several patches, all of them surrounded by a waist-high fence. Every patch was dug into the ground with ranks surrounding them, the highest being level with the front steps of the house where the dormitory was situated.

Apart from that house were many others, their contours being barely visible if it weren’t for the lit-up windows that surrounded the yard, looking down on it like glowing, judgmental eyes.

I followed Ash around two of the pits, looking down on them from the pathways that connected them. Here and there, people left the group to descend into one of them where they were being awaited by adults and what I assumed to be training utensils.

“Here’s the archers’ pit,” Ash said, turning around. We had stopped at the top of a row of ranks with a good view of what was awaiting us. A young woman, maybe 20 years old, stood in the middle of a semicircle of targets in all shapes, sizes and heights.

“That’s where you will go. Fern is a great trainer, she will understand you, don’t worry too much, okay? I’m two ahead of here, see the top of that flag post? If you need anything, run there, I will help.”
And with a last slight squeeze of my shoulder, he ushered me down the ranks and towards the dusty ground.

“So, you’re the new archer, huh?” The woman on the ground asked. I nodded my head for what seemed like the hundredth time that day already and made an attempt of smiling at her.

She was a tall, slender woman, auburn hair complementing light skin and friendly brown eyes. She kneeled down until our eyes were level and brushed a strand of hair out of my face that had made its way there.

“Ash already told me, don’t worry. There won’t be much talking involved anyways. I assume you know how a bow and arrow works?”
Yes.
“Awesome. Let’s go find one that fits you, what do you think?”

This time my smile was more open. I had missed my bow and it was great to know that I would still be able to shoot. Fern lead me to a gap in the ranks that turned out to be an underground shed, filled to the brim with targets, bows, quivers and arrows. She nodded at me and went to look through one of the baskets to the right side of the entrance.

Five minutes later I had my hand wrapped around a bow I had found in a corner. I had dusted it off enough to see the carvings in it. My mother’s traditional garments had similar patterns on them, flowers, birds and symbols, all arranged in seemingly endless lines like threads of yarn. I let my fingers trace the outline of a lotus flower and felt how the tears started welling in my eyes.

“Isn’t that one a bit big for you?” Fern asked when I came towards her with the weapon in my hands. I shook my head. It was too big but I didn’t care a single bit. This bow was going to be mine, no matter the size.

“It’s definitely too big. Can I convince you to use a smaller one?”
Shaking my head again, I tightened the grip around it. No way I was going to let go of it. Fern sighed and smiled.
“You’re just gonna make life difficult for yourself, aren’t you? Well, we’ll figure it out. Come now, let’s see how well we can work with it.”

“Holy…!”
I pushed a strand of my hair behind my ear after hitting the third bullseye of the round, giving Fern a shy smile. The woman was just standing there with her mouth hanging open.

“How. Just how?! How can a nine-year-old shoot three bulls within a few seconds? And your bow is too big as well?!”
I brushed back my hair to reveal a pair of pointed ears.
“You’re an elf?”
I pointed behind me but her confused attempts of translating were interrupted by a very much soaked-in-sweat Ash who walked past me and ruffled my hair.

“I think she’s trying to tell you there have been elves in her ancestral line. How was the first day of training?” He asked after kissing Fern on the cheek. I pointed both my thumbs up and smiled at them.

“Good to hear. Also great to see you happier.”
I know
“Pointing at temple means ‘knowing’?”
Yes.

I followed my two newfound guardians back inside. The sun was peeking over the roofs and from all the pits people ascended, walking into different directions and towards the buildings they belonged to.

Breakfast was served in the room I had crossed together with Amanda the other day. Now in the light of day, everyone was buzzing about, helping themselves to a serving of the contents of the row of large pots at the head of the room. Ash helped me pick a bit of everything but I noticed him becoming more and more frustrated with my shrugging. I didn’t really mind what he put into my bowl, all that counted was consistency for me.

“Why do you always just shrug whenever I ask?”
“Ash, what is needed to taste food?”
“A tongue… oh, wait. Oh, gods, I’m stupid. Sorry, little one.”
It’s alright, don’t worry.

Fern laughed beside him and lifted me up to take a look into one of the steaming containers. Inside was a stew that had an awful grey colour to it. Even without taste buds nothing I wanted to try. She seemed to feel the same way because her face formed a disgusted grimace and she put me down again within a matter of a second.

“Well that’s gross, we aren’t gonna touch that, are we?” she muttered to herself with a shudder. Ash behind her chuckled. I smiled. I did that a lot, I thought to myself.

As soon as our bowls were filled and everyone in the room had found a place a new woman entered the room. Everything about her made my head scream to run away but I was safely tucked in between Fern and a boy from our dorm. Nowhere to run either, the doors were all closed and the windows shut.

The woman cleared her throat and the room fell silent within a split second.
“Where is our newest member? May I ask you to stand up?”

I climbed off the long bench and stood between the two tables, gaze cast downwards. I didn’t dare to look up, afraid of what the woman might have carried on her face.
“Would you mind introducing yourself?”
Can’t speak.

Now I looked up anyways and was hit with an instant wave of disapproval. Her eyes said it all.
“Cut your little games and open up your mouth. You got that thing for a reason, so use it to speak.”
Someone cut my tongue out when I was a lot younger than this. I cannot speak.

The woman left her elevated spot and stalked towards me. Before anyone was able to react, she struck me right across the face.

Silence.
Something tugged at my head and a throbbing settled in, making my insides burn like fire.
My brain spaced out and I barely recognised how I hit the floor. I felt a pain in my mouth that didn’t make any sense. A pain where nothing should be. Someone was screaming. Voices were packing me in cotton and something was twisting inside my brain until I couldn’t breathe and my body felt numb.

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