A/N: I'd like to thank AnnieUSA, for her kind reviews and for inspiring me to keep on writing and posting these chapters up quickly for you guys. THE STORY MUST GO ON!

Chapter 3

It was late in the afternoon and everyone was at the archery range getting ready to watch the competitors. Derek, Jacob, and six others were standing in a row across behind on another. At the end of the field was one target. The target was a large wooden circle that had five different colored rings on it, black being on the outside, green, blue, yellow and red in the center. Each contender was preparing their bows for the event. And as they were preparing, Rogers stepped out into the field so everyone could see him. He raised his hands into the air and waited for the crown to quiet down

"Attention competitors!" he shouted. "This contest will be set in stages. Each competitor will fire one at a time at the target. In each round a competitor will be eliminated. The competitor that's arrow is farthest from the center will be eliminated. The remaining others will move on ahead and their target moved farther away each round. The last remaining competitor will be declared the winner and will receive this fabulous gold medal." A servant comes running from the sides with the gold medal placed upon a red pillow.

He stands next to Rogers as he presents the medal. "And not only that," Rogers continues. "The winner will receive a kiss from the lovely Princess Odette." He gestured to the right side of the field where Odette sat in a chair with Bridget next to her on a platform that stood five feet off the ground to over look the whole field. Odette waved to the crowed as they cheered.

"And now, without any further ado!" Rogers shouted. "Let the game begin!" The crowd roared as the first archer stepped up forward into a circle drawn in the ground where the contestants were supposed to stand.

He was a middle aged farmer with short dark red hair and a thick mustache. He wore a sleeveless blue shirt that showed off his big arms and brown pants and black shoes. He waved to the crowd as they cheered and then turned to face the target. He took one of the arrows that were in the ground and placed it in the string of the bow. Each contestant's arrow had different colored tail feathers, to tell each other's apart, his being green. He made sure that the arrow locked into place before he pulled it back. He looked at the target for at least six seconds before releasing. The arrow was sent flying into the air. The crowd watched as the arrow began to descend towards the target. Soon the arrow finally hit the target, right on the yellow ring. The crowd cheered as he began to move aside for the next contestant.

This process continued until Derek was up next. Before he stepped out he turned to Jacob. "Let me show you how a real master does this," he said with a sly grin on his face.

Jacob just laughed. "Okay," he said. "Let me know when you find him." Derek smiled and shook his head at him and made his way towards the starting ring.

He stood in ring and took one of his purple arrows out and placed it on the string of the bow. Like the others, he made sure it locked into place before pulling. But before he pulled, he looked up at his target for at least three seconds. But unlike the others, Derek pulled the bow back with his back muscles instead of his arms. And he pulled the bow back as far as he could, still looking at the target. He held it there for a short while and released the arrow. The arrow flew smoothly across the sky and landed right in the red right, the only one to do so. The crowd cheered loudly as Derek made his way back next to Jacob. He was expecting to see nervousness on his face but was surprised to him only relaxed.

"Nice shot," he said. "Very impressive." His tone not at all stating he was. Derek smiled and scoffed.

"Let's see what you got, old man," he said. Jacob raised an eyebrow.

"'Old man,' huh?" He started walking towards the ring with his bow in hand. "I'll show you what an old man can do." He walked to the starting ring, already keeping his eye on the target. He stood in the ring and took out his red colored arrow and placed it on the string, never taking his eyes of the target. Like Derek, he didn't pull back right away, but instead just kept on looking at his target. He stood there for a good ten seconds, breathing in and out slowly. Derek was about to make a comment when Jacob quickly pulled the bow string back and released just as quickly, all in less than a second. The arrow soared smoothly through the air and began to descend. Derek kept his eyes on the arrow the whole time, half hoping he would miss and half hoping he would hit it, him being a kind man that he way.

The arrow quickly descended towards the target and what happened next surprised everyone, even Derek. The arrow landed right in the center of the target next to Derek's arrow. Everyone cheered loudly as Rogers made his way towards the target to inspect the results. And a he did so, Jacob made his way towards Derek.

"How's that for an old man?" Jacob smirked.

"That actually was quite impressive," Derek admitted. "But this isn't over yet, I'm still getting started," He stated with a smirk.

"Good," Jacob replied with a grin. "I was beginning wonder when this competition would start to get exciting."

Round by round went by and everyone soon realized that they had reached the last round. Both Derek and Jacob had made it to the final round. The target was now over seven hundred yards away now and everyone was anxious to see who will win.

Odette sat in her just as curious. This contest was very interesting as Derek and Jacob were neck and neck. She wasn't sure who to root for so she just sat quietly. She was brought out of her thoughts by the sound of Bridget's voice.

"King, king is shoot very good." Odette nodded in agreement.

"Yes he does, Bridget," she said as she looked at Jacob. She was very impressed on how quickly and accurately he fired his arrow.

"Maybe he might beat Prince, Prince."

"Maybe, but it's not over yet. Anything could happen, Bridget." Bridget nodded as they brought their attention back to the field.

It was Derek's turn to shoot and he turned and faced Jacob. "Don't be too upset in there's no room in the red circle for your arrow to land in." Jacob just smiled at him.

"Don't you worry about that," he said. "I just don't want to try too hard and have you crying to Uberta when she gets here." Derek smiles as he scoffed and walked towards the starting ring. He took out his purple arrow and fired in the same fashion. The arrow soared through the sky and landed dead center of the target. The crowd cheered very loudly as Derek made his way back.

"Your turn," he said as he bowed and gestured for him to go on.

"Why, thank you," Jacob said as he bowed in a gesture of thanks. "How generous of you." With that, he made his way towards the start and did his routine all over again.

He didn't show an ounce of it, but he was pretty nervous. He wasn't sure if he could top that. But then he remembered the story of Robin Hood and how he split his opponent's arrow. Jacob smile and studied his target intensely, playing the draw of the bow and releasing of it in his head over and over again. When he was satisfied, he quickly drew the bow string back. But before he could release it, old age caught up with him. Before he released the arrow, he started coughing. This caused him to release the arrow but not where he wanted it. The arrow didn't soar smoothly like before and landed on the yellow ring above Derek's arrow. Derek smiled and thought he had won and that Jacob was just pretending. That is until he actually looked at Jacob leaning over with one hand on his knee and another over his mouth, he was coughing very violently. Derek rushed over to Jacob as quick as he could and placed a hand on Jacob's back.

"Are you alright?" Derek asked, his tone showing he was concerned.

"I'm fine," Jacob replied trying to smile between coughs. "Just old age, that's all." He was still coughing for a while. Odette saw what happened and stood up from her chair, her face showing great concern. Derek stood by Jacob's side as he looked towards the target and saw Rogers inspecting the results. Satisfied he made his way closer to the crowd so he wouldn't have to shout as loud.

"Ladies and Gentlemen," Rogers shouted. "This concludes the Archery contest. And the winner is—"

"Rogers stop!" Derek shouted. "Give Jacob another shot."

"But Derek," Rogers said. "The rules state that each competitor can only shoot one arrow."

"I am well aware of that Rogers," Derek replied. "But I would rather win knowing my opponent tried his best than win at all." Jacob, after finally calming down, looked up at Derek with a smile on his face. He was very proud with Derek and how he was willing to give his opponent a fair chance.

Odette, watching everything from her chair, smiled at Derek. He truly was a great man. He never took advantage of someone's weakness so he could win in a fair fight. That was one of the qualities that she loved about him.

"Are you sure Derek?" Rogers asked. Derek only nodded. "Very well, King Jacob gets another shot!" he shouted to the crowd as they cheered. They were very happy to see their prince give a fair fight.

Jacob rose to his full height and placed a hand on Derek's shoulder. "Thank you my boy," he said with pride. "You truly are a man who fights fair and worthy of being a prince." Derek smile and placed his own arm on Jacob's shoulder.

"As are you… Uncle Jacob," he said with a big smile on his face. Jacob's own smile grew wider. He really was proud of Derek.

You would be proud too, Dmitri, Jacob thought to himself. Derek really was the spitting image of his father, both inside and out. Derek took his hand off Jacob and stepped out off the ring. Jacob smiled as he took out another arrow and looked at his target again. He visualized the quick draw and release of the arrow in his head again over and over. Satisfied and quite sure he wasn't going to cough up a storm again, drew the arrow back and quickly released. The arrow slid smoothly past the bow and through the air. The crowd watched as the arrow descended towards the target. This was it, the final shot the determined who the winner was. The arrow drew closer and closer to the target and…

Split!

The arrow split right through Derek's, declaring him the winner of the Archery contest. The crowd's roar was almost deafening. Everyone cheered for the King, even Derek. Jacob smiled at himself. He had never done a thing like that before and was quite sure that it wasn't going to work. He was brought out of his thoughts when he felt a hand on his shoulder. He turned to see that it was Derek and he was smiling.

"Congratulations Jacob," he said with full happiness in his voice. "You've earned this." Jacob smiled at him and placed his own hand on Derek's shoulder.

"And I have you to thank for that, my friend," Jacob stated with pride. The two shared a quick hug as the both made their way to Odette's platform. As they reached the platform, Derek waited at the bottom of the stairs as Jacob when to receive his medal. Jacob approached Odette and Bridget and bowed. Bridget stepped closer to the king and presented the golden medal. Odette also stepped forward and took the medal and placed it around Jacob's neck. He rose to his full height as the crowd cheered even louder. He raised his left hand for the crowd to quiet down. Once the crowd calmed down he spoke.

"I gladly accept the medal," He shouted to the crowd. "But I also gladly pass the kiss from the lovely princess over to the runner-up; Prince Derek!" The crowd roared as Jacob gestured for Derek to join him on the Platform. Derek smiled as he climbed the stairs to stand next to them. Jacob stood aside and waved for them to go on.

Derek and Odette smiled at him and looked at one another. They stared into each other's eyes for a short time. Then Derek stepped forward wrapped his arms around Odette's waist. She soon followed by wrapping her arms around his neck. The two smiled at one another as Derek began to lean towards her. Odette met him halfway and their lips met in a soft, passionate kiss. Once their lips met, the crowd cheered, even Jacob was clapping his hand. He planned this all along. Weather he won or not he was going to let Derek receive the kiss from his wife.

Derek and Odette pulled away slightly and stared at each other's eyes. Then Derek looked towards the sun. It was almost sunset and they had to get ready for the ball tonight. He turned towards the crowd.

"I hope you all had a wonderful day," he shouted. "The games won't be taken down until tomorrow, so enjoy the rest of the night." The crowd clapped and soon began to disperse towards the festival grounds. Derek turned to Odette. "And we have a ball to get ready for. The guests will be arriving soon." Odette nodded in agreement. She turned towards Jacob.

"You're coming too, right?" she asked. Jacob began to chuckle.

"Are you kidding?" he replied. "And miss the grand feast. Of course I'm coming. I also don't want to miss the chance to show off this gold medal and tell Uberta that I kicked her son's but in archery." Derek rolled his eyes as he took Odette's hand and they, along with Bridget, headed off towards the castle.

The four of them were about to climb the stairs, when a one of the guards standing outside pointed out in the distance. "My lords, look," he called. "I think there's someone out there." The three turned around towards the direction the guard was pointing. He was right, there was someone out there. There was a large white horse slowly walking along the path coming around the bend with three figures one it, one of them was small. Derek and Jacob looked at one another then back to the figures on the road.

Once they got close enough, they could see that it was a man dressed in armor, women with grey hair that was loose and covered her face as she was laying on the man, and a child who was lying on the women. But something was off. They looked extremely exhausted and worn out, and covered in dirt. And they looked familiar in a way.

"Who do you suppose they are?" Odette asked no one in particular.

"I don't know," Derek answered. "But I think we may find out soon." Bridget steeped forward to get a better look at the strangers. The one that caught her attention was the small child. He was covered in dirt and leaves and his clothes were torn. She looked closely and noticed the small goatee around his mouth. She immediately recognized him.

"Chamberlin!" she shouted and began running towards him. Derek, Odette, and Jacob soon followed after hearing her shout his name. They ran as they could to reach them. Upon reaching the horse, Jacob grabbed the rein and Odette and Derek attended to the riders. Derek grabbed the unconscious Chamberlin and placed him in Bridget's arms. Tears formed in her eyes as she saw the state he was in. Derek grabbed the man in armor and placed one of his arms around his neck to give him sand Odette grabbed the women. Odette noticed how she was dress and began to think.

No, she thought, it couldn't be. She moved some of the women's grey hair and almost screamed.

"Derek!" she said. Derek turned around to see what she wanted when his eyes caught the sight of the women's face; it was Uberta.

A/N: that was a long and interesting chapter huh? The real exciting part is coming very soon. Hope you all enjoyed the archery contest between Derek and Jacob. Tell me what you guys though of this chapter so I know what to put in my future chapter :)