I know that it's annoying when people ask you to review, etc; but right now I would really like some encouragement and/or constructive criticism for my fic. It's going super slow; I've noticed that all of the stories I'm following have been super slow as well, perhaps it's because of school starting and whatnot. So if you could please help me out that would be great!

Oh, and sorry about the archery again…lol

Thanks for the wait! :)

I think I forgot to upload this...that's why it's been so long. I mean it was on Doc Manager, but, well, oops.

After properly stabling our faithful steeds, the six of us students walk out to meet the other party.

"Welcome, Vio, Red, Blue, Shadow, Green, Thalia," Headmaster Gaepora says, clearly introducing us.

"Are any of them people you don't recognize?" Shadow whispers to me.

"Yes." I describe them to him.

"Eagus is the guy on the left; he's the Swordsmanship teacher. I don't recognize the other guy."

"I hope you all have met before. This is Master Ninho," the headmaster says, motioning for the strange man to step forward. His apparel reminded me exactly of a ninja. I found it somewhat funny that his name almost spelled ninja.

The man steps forward and bows, greeting us. I wonder if he actually is a ninja.

"Mrs. McClennan has reported that one of you has exceptional skills we do not cover here," Gaepora continues. Of course, he's talking about me. "Master Ninho has graciously allowed his tutoring services in preparation of tomorrow." The ninja-man nods at me.

"Before you can begin, I will give you each training schedules." Out of a giant pocket in the large orange robe he pulls six small slips of paper. When I get mine, I glance it over. I have Magic, Archery, Swordsmanship, and Special Arts. I nudge Shadow and we compare. He has the same, without Special Arts.

"You are dismissed."

The four Links walk off with Eagus to do some Swordsmanship, and Shadow and I part our ways with Mrs. McClennan. As we leave the Quad, I look over my shoulder at Master Ninho. He watches us with careful eyes.

Geez. I can't wait to spend more time with Mrs. McClennan. She's quite annoying; she reminds me of Red, a lot. Maybe they're related. Whatever, at least I have Thalia.

She walks silently as we follow Mrs. McClennan back to the Magic Training Center. Apparently she's being singled out by that weird Special Arts dude.

When we reach the MTC, our instructor starts giving out instructions.

"Now, I need you two to show me everything you've ever learned. This training is important, you know. You never know what you're going to encounter out there in the world!" I roll my eyes.

"Let's start with multiple-enemy encounters." She waves her hand and speaks a magic word. A whole legion of dark warriors and some not-so-friendly monsters appears; ready to rip us to shreds. Not a problem.

I look over at Thalia with a confident smile. With a yell, we plunge into the fray.

I'm so glad when lunch is served. Shadow and I are all sweaty, but after we defeated half of McClennan's dark army, everything seemed easier. I walked out with a few cuts here and there, but overall, I'm okay.

The cooks must've known what we've been doing, because they serve more food than normal, with a little stamina fruit on the side for dessert.

"This is delicious!" Shadow says, more enthusiastic about the menu than normal.

"I agree," Vio chimes in. "Hey, how'd Magic go?"

"We did great, according to Mrs. McClennan."

"I think we'll do okay, at least, in the Magic area," I add. "How was Swordsmanship?"

"Pretty much the same," Vio replies, wiping his mouth.

Lunch ends, and the six of us all share our second class, Archery, so we walk together. Mr. Howard seems rather excited to have more students.

At the very beginning of the class, he nods at me, which means 'Go off by yourself, I know you can handle it'. Shadow, having improved, also gets the nod. The rest of the Links he attends to.

The two of us walk over to the rack and as I grab my usual bow and quiver, Shadow challenges me.

"Bet you can't hit more bull's-eyes than I can on the hardest target."

"Oh, really?" I raise an eyebrow. A competitive fire flashes in his eyes. "Game on."

We walk around until we find the most difficult target. It hides between the uppermost branches of one of the tallest trees. There's probably at least a hundred foot's distance between us and it.

The shadow nods at me, and I take first turn.

Nocking an arrow, I draw the string back, aim for the bull's eye as best I can, and release. I've been practicing lately, and my aim is way better now. The arrow lands only two rings from the center.

Shadow smirks at me. "I guess that was okay. Let me show you how it's really done."

He releases his black-shafted arrow, and it misses the middle by a few inches, closer than mine. Grinning at me, he steps back and allows me to take another turn.

"Cute shot. I bet I'll be the first to hit the middle," I reply as I take another shot. My predictions have not failed.

I smile when I see Shadow's jaw drop open. He shuts it and strives to hit the target. "Last shot. If you can't hit it, I win," I say.

It takes him a little bit longer to focus on the target. He aims, waits until everything is perfect, and lets go.

It hits the bull's eye. When he steps back again, I give him a smile and hold out my hand. "Good game." We shake hands.

Clapping sounds behind us. The four Links, and Mr. Howard, have been watching our little contest.

"That is exactly what I'm looking for. Good job, you two," our instructor says. "You may have a break. Now," he says, turning towards Red, Blue, Green, and Vio. "Now, you four, I want that. Try your best. I'll be here to help."

Shadow and I sit down on a haystack and watch with humor as they attempt to hit the target. Vio is just as skilled as us, hitting the bull's eye 8 times out of 10. Green isn't too shabby either, and Blue is pretty good, having chose the elective at the beginning. But Red is a different story.

We die laughing as we watch. He can't even hit the target, at all. I don't think he's holding the string back far enough, or maybe his aiming is terrible. Whatever it is, it's hilarious.

Finally, Mr. Howard comes over to him and helps him shoot a little straighter. With the instructor's help, the red-clad hero starts to hit the edge of the target, and gets closer and closer to the bull's eye. But he doesn't hit it once.

Eagus comes to collect Shadow for a Swordsmanship lesson. I guess I have forgotten that he has his own dark and twisted reflection of the Four Sword. Pulling my schedule out of my pocket, I see that Special Arts is next. He should be here soon.

Right on cue, as if he appeared from my musings, Master Nin-something comes into the clearing. I stand up and follow him silently until we reach the MTC.