My dear readers, I am terribly sorry for how long it has been since last I worked on this story. I shall endeavor to make progress more regularly from here on out. But for now, many thanks for your patience. And by all means, feel free to review this; I always enjoy reading your comments, and I often get ideas from them. So, without further ado, here is chapter 10.

Taryn rode toward a raised target, bow in hand, an arrow on the string. As quickly as he could, he brought the bow up and drew back the arrow, letting his mind become attuned to the target, to his bow, and to the movements of his horse, just as Evei, the Gerudo trainer, had just finished explaining to him and his comrades. As he drew alongside the target, which was a large terra cotta jar filled with water, he released the bowstring. The Gerudo-style recurve bow spat out the grey-shafted arrow. The missile struck the looping handle of the jar, halving it and jerking the vessel off its stand. Some of Taryn's fellow trainees applauded as it fell to the grassy earth and shattered.

It was Taryn's first time actually hitting his target that day; he had already tried thrice before, and, as he expected, firing from horseback was proving more challenging than firing on foot. But finally, he'd managed to make a decent shot. He slowed his mount down to a canter and directed him to where the arrow lay in the grass. After dismounting and picking the arrow up, he rode back into the line of mounted recruits awaiting their next turn to fire. On his way, Evei rode up on her own steed and gave him a congratulatory clap on the shoulder. Taryn flinched very slightly at the contact, brief as it was. Even after three weeks of being trained by this young Gerudo, he still felt vaguely uncomfortable in her presence. The incident in the stable had stuck with him, causing his face to turn pink anytime it was mentioned.

As Taryn trotted his horse back into the line, he forced the memory down and turned to watch as another water jar was set and Cambrion prepared to take his turn. The Castle Town native had exhibited more natural skill at horse archery than Taryn, having clipped targets twice already on this first day of mounted target practice. When Evei gave the signal, Cambrion zealously dug his heels into the sides of his mare, taking off at a rather reckless pace. As he neared the target, Taryn realized his friend had forgotten to nock an arrow.

It turned out that Cambrion was just fine, however, as he pulled an arrow out of one of his saddle cases and nocked it rapidly. The older boy brought the bow to full draw and almost instantaneously let the arrow fly. Taryn's eyes widened as the arrow hit the jar squarely in the middle, sending pottery shards flying in all directions. As Cambrion rode to collect his shaft, Taryn wondered if his barrack partner wasn't part Gerudo himself. Then he decided against that possibility: Cambrion didn't look even the slightest bit like one of the desert-dwelling folk. Besides, the Gerudo only ever had daughters, save once every century.

By this time, Cambrion had finally made his way next to Taryn. "Nice shot," the Kakariko native congratulated his friend. The complement was received with a warm smile, and another clap on the shoulder.

This time, Taryn didn't flinch from it.

…

That evening, he sat at a fire, with Eryc seated next to him, and a small circle of friends surrounding the flames. Since he'd arrived at Lon-Lon Ranch, Taryn had gained a rather small, but growing group of close companions. Eryc was, of course, still his closest friend, but he hung out with a number of others in his spare time. Cambrion was notable among these, as was Stennel, the blacksmith from Kakariko; he had joined the horse archer regiment after a week, and helped out in the army's smithy when he wasn't training. Taryn's group of friends this night also included an energetic seven-year-old Gerudo named Myna. Cambrion had essentially adopted the child after learning that her mother had lost her life in her people's flight to Hyrule. Tonight, she was asleep in Cambrion's lap, her small head resting against his neck.

As such, Eryc kept his voice relatively quiet as he said to Taryn, "By the way, you're doing a lot better in sword training."

Taryn grinned at the praise from his brother. Swordsmanship lessons were finally starting to pay off for him; he estimated that he was in the top third of the regiment in sword training. Though Cambrion could, and had earlier that day, shoot circles around him with a bow, Taryn tended to get the better of his friend during sparring sessions, both as part of training and on their own time.

"I've had some good teachers and a lot of practice," he replied to Eryc, still smiling.

Unexpectedly, Eryc grinned in return. "Like that young Gerudo?" he teased, referring, of course, to Evei.

Taken off guard by the teasing, Taryn turned a subtle shade of pink, which, in the firelight, looked rather odd. "Yes, like her," Taryn replied through gritted teeth. "You're heartless, you know that?"

His brother only gave him a warm smile as he draped an arm over his shoulders and answered. "It's my job." Then his eyes went wide and he looked up, behind Taryn. The younger boy turned around to see what had caught Eryc's attention. Taryn found himself looking at a pair of legs, clad in a pair of light, baggy pink trousers. As his gaze travelled upwards, he realized that the newcomer was, ironically, Evei herself. To Taryn's dismay, she promptly sat between him and Cambrion. The older boy noticed this as well, and immediately turned his gaze to Taryn, a mischievous grin on his face as he winked at him.

Taryn's face had just returned to its normal hue, but that wink made it turn as red as Evei's hair.

That was also the exact moment when Myna decided to wake up from her nap. She slid off of Cambrion's lap, walked around the circle. She practically jumped onto Eryc's lap and threw her arms around his neck. Then she did the same with Taryn, who returned the embrace, glad to have a distraction from the teenage Gerudo sitting adjacent to him.

That is, if Evei hadn't asked Myna, "What, I don't get a hug too?" Giggling like little girls are prone to do, Myna took one arm and wrapped it around Evei's neck, drawing her into what turned out to be a rather awkward (and embarrassing, in one were to ask Taryn's opinion) group hug. Evei leaned in to give the small child a soft peck on the forehead; this inadvertently caused a brief instant where Evei's cheek brushed against Taryn's. Naturally, Taryn stiffened at the contact. As the older Gerudo broke her hug with the younger one (who was still in Taryn's lap), he caught a rather sly grin on Evei's face, that was directed either at him or at Myna.

Needless to say, Taryn's face and ears were still quite pink when he and Cambrion went to bed that night.