Element Sense

Chapter Three- Unwanted Memories

Within about half an hour, they arrived at the archery range. Alyss was startled to discover where they had ended up, and maybe there was a bit of terror mixed in with her surprise. After all, she hadn't yet forgotten what had happened that awful day. She supposed no one would really be able to, but it had haunted her in her nightmares for months. How could he come back here? How could he bring her back here?

She unconsciously took a step backward when she sighted it but stopped once she saw the pained look on Tybalt's face. Strengthening her resolve, she stepped forward once more, in an attempt to wordlessly console him. He seemed to relax some but retained his stiff rigidity. She wanted to comfort him some other way but could not think of any. It was her fault it had happened, not his. He had done the best he could. And almost without meaning to, she allowed her mind to return to the day it had happened.

Alyss and Tybalt were about fourteen years of age, and the world no longer seemed quite so large and frightening. They would go on adventures to most anywhere they could think of, and one day, when it was her turn to decide their destination, Alyss chose the archery range. Tybalt eagerly agreed. He was eager to try, and Alyss wanted to partake in anything the "Princess" wasn't technically allowed to do; so off they went.

Alyss generally brought money with her so Tybalt's family wouldn't be burdened financially by her. So, with Alyss's money, they went to the market, never alerting Tybalt’s parents to their deeds. They bought a sturdy, rather flexible, bow for beginners that looked to be at a good price. They also found some decent arrows and purchased those as well, along with a quiver to hold them in. With that task completed, they headed off.

When they arrived, the place was packed with soldiers that had recently arrived at the castle and wanted to keep their skills up to their expectations. Alyss didn’t want to be recognized by them-for that would spell an end to their adventures-and she made up some excuse about not wanting to be injured by arrows that went astray. Tybalt, respecting her wishes, led her to the forest to enjoy some privacy-and safety, just not in the way Tybalt supposed. There they began practicing shooting. Though they failed miserably at first, within a few hours, with each other's encouragement, and competition, they became mediocre shots.

It happened when Alyss went to go retrieve her arrows. Tybalt stood in a ready position with the bow aimed at the ground so he didn't release the string and let an arrow fly at Alyss. A man with the same idea that they had, of practicing in a quiet, empty, open area, came into the clearing. Preoccupied with his own thoughts, the man failed to notice them or his surroundings. Taking a step forward, he tripped over a tree root, and fell toward Alyss, who had been focusing on pulling out the arrows she had lodged so deeply into the trunk until the moment that he seemed to pose a threat towards her.

She instinctively emitted a scream that caught Tybalt off guard and caused him to let loose an arrow at the man who was, from his perspective, hurting Alyss. The man was struck as he continued in his trajectory toward the cold earth. Tybalt ran toward her and the motionless man. When he hesitatingly asked for an explanation, she was speechless.

She slowly relayed to him what had happened from her aspect. Her eyes could easily pick up that he had fallen because of the obstruction in his path. The way his foot was arrayed told the entire story, it had been an accident. They stood wordlessly for a few minutes, perhaps more.

Them, they gingerly turned his body over. They dared to hope that he was still alive, that he would be fine. His unseeing eyes shattered their prospects instantly. After sitting there for some time, Alyss gathered what strength she had remaining and meticulously removed the arrow from his chest.

Ordinarily, this would not have been a lethal wound, but his fall had somehow driven the arrow crookedly into his heart, piercing it; their only comfort was that he had died almost instantly. Alyss cleaned the arrow and returned it to her quiver, trying to look anywhere but where her eyes seemed to naturally wander to. She broke out into sobs as she took an arrow from the man's reserve and positioned it where hers had been. Tybalt woke from his dead stupor when she began to cry and helped her arrange the man the way he had been beforehand.

She then carefully explained to him that he had to pretend to know nothing about this incident. Let the others who find him think it's an accident, she instructed. Tybalt, still dazed, nodded. Alyss knew he would do what she said. If she was caught here, she wouldn't be able to come back. After all, if she was here one day, it wouldn't take a genius to realize this wasn't her first time, and with an investigation, the King and Queen would know all about her double life. However, she wouldn't be punished for the murder because she was the Crown Princess.

It was Tybalt she was really worried for. He had shot the arrow and could be executed for his actions if the judges of the town deemed him guilty. How could she go on then? Knowing that she had caused not just one, but two, innocent men to be killed. She would probably join them after a few months' agony. No, that couldn't happen; she wouldn't allow it to.

She remembered being ambushed by an onslaught of emotions as she struggled to stay in control of herself and reign in all of her fears; to triumph over the despondency that she was inclined to feel. Even thinking of all she had to endure through had caused her pain.

But they had somehow persevered. She had led Tybalt deeper into the forest and they made a small fire using the bow and quiver of arrows as the primary fuel source, along with the rag Alyss had used to wipe the arrow, which in retrospect was pointless. If they had been seen at that point, they wouldn't have been questioned.

Although they had blood on their hands in a figurative sense, literally, no one had any proof that would link them to the man. They had no blood from him anywhere on them and they had destroyed the only evidence. And they went on with their lives, occasionally encountering something that reminded them of their ordeal and coercing either themselves or the other person to ignore it, to forget about it.

Alyss returned to the present and shuddered. So this was why his voice had sounded so different when he had mentioned it. He wanted to face his fears. Why, she couldn't be sure. But Alyss knew that she had to try her best to assist him in this. She owed at least that much to him. When he made no sign that he was going to move, she took his arm and led him toward the forest before she lost her nerve, her breathing getting more and more irregular with each step she took.

Tybalt allowed himself to be pulled forward, so she released her grip on him and they continued walking side by side to the outer trees of the forest. It didn't really have a name- most people just called it The Forest for lack of a proper title. That was what she was focusing on as they took steps that betrayed their fear. She tried to think of anything but where they were going. They stopped together once they reached the path that traveled throughout the forest.

At that second, she heard a slight sound close behind her. She began to turn around and saw a man a short distance away, running at her with a dagger in hand. Instinctively, she began to run away from Tybalt, in hopes of drawing the man's attention. It worked, but it seemed he was only after her in the first place. She knew she ran well, but the man would definitely be able to overtake her, at the speed he was going, and how close he’d gotten before she began running.

Her prediction proved true after about a minute and a half. Is this where it ends? She thought, despair overcoming her. The dagger raced toward her and time slowed. And then came calm; Alyss accepted it. This was retribution for killing that man. The place he had met his end, would be the place she met hers. How fitting... She braced herself for the end.