Ch. 11 – A few months later
"Teach me archery," she said, approaching Legolas, who was cleaning his gear, lost in thoughts.
"What?" he asked Elwena, who stood before him holding a bow and a quiver of arrows.
"Archery," she said. "I want to know how to defend myself."
"Uhh," he stuttered, before she finally grabbed his hand and pulled him to the archery range. "Okay, okay," he said, chuckling a little.
"Plant your feet shoulder-width apart," Legolas instructed. They had found her a smaller bow, one she could actually pull back. He stood behind her, instructing. "Good, now nock an arrow."
She did so.
"Raise it up. Put your right arm by your mouth and draw it back. Aim with your other hand. Take your time. … Take a half breath in, and release."
Thwack. She hit the target nearly dead center.
"That's great. Are you sure you don't have a natural talent for archery?"
She pulled back again and released another arrow that went flying over the target.
"Nope, not a single drop of talent," she said.
"It takes practice, not just talent. It took me years to get my skill honed. Just like it did you with your sewing, I'm sure."
"I once sewed my own dress into a blanket because I didn't watch what fabric I was working with," Elwena admitted. Legolas laughed with her.
A few more hours of practice, a few missed targets, a few ducking out of the way elves and Elwena finally hit dead center continuously.
Days passed and turned into months.
"I want to do more with archery," Elwena told Legolas.
"What more do you want to do? Kill an orc?" he teased.
"I'm not sure I want that experience, mellon-nin," she said. "I have an idea."
She led Legolas to the stables and saddled up Sly Fox, who was not entirely sure of the idea of seeing her owner with a bow. If horses had human expressions, Sly Fox was definitely questioning what she was doing with the bow nearby. "Don't give me that look."
"What? I'm not giving you a look," Legolas said.
"Not you, him," she said, motioning to Sly Fox. Legolas laughed.
"I supposed horses are going to be part of our life?"
"You bet your bottom dollar they are," she said. "Couldn't imagine life without them. Right buddy?"
Sly Fox nickered in response. Legolas nodded his head and said, "Okay."
Elwena mounted and then retrieved her bow from Legolas. She positioned Sly Fox in front of the target where she stood previously. Pulling out an arrow and nocking it, Elwena turned the bow toward the target and aimed.
Thwack.
Legolas applauded her. "Mounted archery, very clever."
She shot more arrows with Sly Fox standing still, at varying distances and different angles.
"Okay, one more step," she urged Sly Fox into a simple walk and aimed as she passed by the target. Thwack. By then, a small crowd had gathered to watch. Mounted archery was not foreign to them, but still, it wasn't used very often in battle.
She kept Sly Fox walking until she mastered shooting the targets from that pace. Elwena knew she should stop on a good note, but she wanted to try it a little faster. She asked for a trot and circled around to the target. Aimed, poised and ready, everything seemed to connect in that last moment as she released the arrow. Thwack.
The crowd cheered for her, as did Legolas. Even Sly Fox gave a little prance and whinnied. She dismounted and then was quickly swept into Legolas' arms, who spun her around.
"That was wonderful! Who knew you had a hidden talent for mounted archery?" he said, putting her down.
"I had no idea," she said.
A pair of clapping hands approached them. It was Nolien. "Wow, teach me to do that."
"Up you get," she said.
He held up his hands, "Noooo, remember what happened last time I touched a bow?"
"Oh, the apple pile incident," she remembered. Legolas gave her a look. "He overshot the arrow to where the apple pickers were picking and knocked down a large stack of apples."
Nolien laughed, "They were everywhere after that."
Legolas joined in, "Is that why the apple crop was a little less that year?"
Nolien nodded, "Guilty as charged."