Update! Now, I'm tired so this may be a bit short, but I still hope you appreciate the effort!
Chapter Eleven
Temperance woke up the next morning to two realizations. The first being that she had somehow made it all the way across the tent with her feet poking out the front flap and her body wrapped like a cocoon in her blanket so that her arms were practically tied to her body.
The second being that she was all alone in her tent and the sun was shining down on her through the front flap.
Her eyes popped open at the latter realization and she immediately sat up, and, in a frenzy to get dressed and out on the battlefield, ripped through her blankets (or at least untangled herself from them) and gathered her sword, fixed her hair, and raced out of the tent, hopping to put on her shoes in the process.
She made it to the training grounds in less than a minute, leaning against a tree and huffing to catch her breath, wiping the sweat from her brow and sleep from her eyes. When she finally caught her breath, she looked around and saw everybody else staring at her.
Her blue eyes widened in confusion. "What?" she asked. "I overslept."
"Which is why," a voice said, from behind her, "you will not understand our first mission." Temperance jumped at the voice and spun around, seeing Captain Booth standing there, a bow and arrow in his hands. "Mr. Brennan, nice to see you've finally pulled yourself from the throws of sleep. Do you have your letter?"
Temperance nodded dumbly, at a loss for words at the sight of the muscular Booth, shirtless and glistening with sweat, his training pants hung low on his hips. She pulled the letter from her belt and handed it to him. Booth took it, their hands brushing slightly, sending a shiver up both arms (though neither could pinpoint why) and causing them both to retract their hands almost as if they'd been burned.
Their eyes locked for a millisecond before Booth coughed, awkwardly. "Okay, then." he said, motioning for Clark to join them. "Here." he handed him Temperance's letter. "Put this with the rest." Clark nodded and took the letter, before bowing and running back to the Captain's tent to put the letters with the others. Booth turned back to the men, who were all standing there, staring at him, waiting for him to say something. "The first task, as I have explained, is to retrieve this arrow," he held up the arrow, "from wherever it may land when I shoot it. Does that sound reasonable enough?" Two dozen nods. "Okay, good."
Booth walked towards them and most men moved away to give him space while he looked for somewhere to aim the arrow, looking towards Temperance, he smiled and raised the bow, aiming straight for her. Temperance's eyes opened in feet and she immediately cowered, closing her eyes and ducking away, the sound of the bow releasing causing her heart to jump in her chest. Cracking one eye open, she came face-to-face with the Captain's smirk. He motioned with his eyes to look up and she did so.
What Temperance thought was a tree, was actually a large, wooden pole, with a flat surface at the top. Also, at the top of the pole was the arrow that Booth had shot, perfectly, he might add, in the center. Temperance stared at the arrow in awe, before looking at Booth. "G-good shot, Captain." she stammered.
Booth grinned cockily, causing somewhat of a fluttering sensation in Temperance's stomach. "Thanks, Bones." he said, his eyes twinkling with good humor, before getting serious again, as he turned to the rest of his troop. "Now, whoever is able to get me that arrow will earn two extra hours of one-on-one training and the chance to stand by my side for the first battle, a great honor, I assure you. Now," he threw the bow down next to a quiver of arrows. "Who wants to go first?"
Sorry it's so short but I can't keep my eyes open right now and I have school in the morning. More soon, I promise! REVIEW!