Estel slowly pulled back the string. He aimed towards the target and released the string with a twang! The arrow shot across the gorge and bounced off the rock.
"Ke'yesh!" He cursed. He threw his bow on the ground in anger.
"Jeez little brother, you shouldn't hurt your bow," Elladan said, coming up behind Estel. "It is your friend!" He picked up the fallen bow an effortlessly shot an arrow across the gorge and smack bang into the middle of the target. He handed the bow back to Estel and patted him on the shoulder, saying "Don't worry, you'll learn eventually."
Estel scowled. He was sick of people always telling him "You'll learn eventually." Why couldn't they accept that he just couldn't do anything? His father had tried to explain to him that although he wouldn't be able to do everything straight away, and he might never be as good as everyone else, it didn't matter. Estel knew he said simply just to make him feel better. The simple fact was Estel was a failure. Unfortunately, he was a determined failure. He yanked another arrow out of the quiver and aimed it at the target across the gorge.
"Estel! Dinner!" The shout rang clear in the empty night. "Estel!"
Estel ignored the calls and continued practising. His father walked out and came up behind him.
"Estel, come on, it's dinner time."
"I'm not hungry"
Elrond cocked his head slightly to the side.
"Estel turning down food? I never thought I'd see the day!" A worried look passed across his face.
"Are you ok? Do you feel sick?"
Estel smiled at Elrond's concern.
"No, Ada, I'm fine. I just want to practise for a little longer."
"You've been practising all day, haven't you?"
Estel nodded.
"Show me."
Estel reluctantly pulled out another arrow and aimed it at the target. He really didn't want to look like a fool in front of his father. He pulled back the string and released it. The arrow shot across the gorge, and, just as it had all day, bounced off the rock to the right of the target. Elrond picked up another arrow and came up behind Estel.
"Aim more to the left," he said, handing Estel the arrow. Estel looked confused.
"You're eyes are astigmatic." After seeing Estel grow more confused, Elrond quickly added, "It means everything you see is slightly out of shape. If you aim more to the left it will help to compensate for this."
Estel decided to do as Elrond said, since he figured he couldn't shoot any worse then he already had. He pulled back the string and released, making sure he aimed towards where Elrond had said. The arrow shot across the gorge and………..