Pierre may have been an expert at chess, but archery turned out to be another matter for him entirely.
Patricia herself had been a skilled archer back in the day and the remains of her little hobby still remained. Fine bows made of from trees that were probably now fighting for survival but were strong. Hundreds of arrows made by the most talented craftsman for kingdoms around. Even so, Bastien did not look all that impressed by examined the bows and arrows with the snobbiest of airs before finally choosing a large bow with a defeated sigh.
"Not to your liking?" I asked. I was sort of hoping he would be expert enough to pick one for me. I truly had no idea how to go about this.
He did not appear apologetic and accepted my comment as another attitude against the equipment. "I prefer my own."
"Did you not bring them?" Pierre asked.
"I thought I was attending a ball," Bastien replied, now rummaging through the arrows with even more disdain. "I thought I would dance around, smile at our Princess, and leave the following day. In what fantasy would I be needing my bow and quiver at a ball?"
"You sure seemed to have brought a lot of clothing," Pierre remarked.
Surprised, I looked at Bastien. He wasn't the type to worry much about something as pitiful as clothing. Now apparently he had brought his entire wardrobe—in my imagination—leaving me to hunt for the tell-tale signs of a blush. And I was not disappointed.
"There was a mistake in packing," Bastien said. "And communication. But it's just as well because now I am here."
I considered demanding why.
Unfortunately, Pierre beat me to it. "What prompted the extended visit?"
The question was just as loaded as it would have been had it come from me. This was either an oft-repeated question or one that had been simmering beneath Pierre's voice for days.
Bastien gave a deep sigh and loaded his arrow despite the fact that we were no where near the target. "I suppose I should make my intentions clear." He fired into a tree, sending a few leaves tumbling to the ground. "Princess Singette, I have every intention of courting you."
No surprise there. Was he not a bit too late?
The surprise was his behavior. My Bastien would have prostrated himself on the ground to declare his undying love (that would last until the next pretty girl). Not nonchalantly speak as it were nothing but Pierre's clothing as he fired arrows.
Still, I remained gracious. "I figured as much.
Pierre made a noise somewhere between a mouse's squeak and a wolf's howl and both Bastien and I turned to stare at him. But by the time our eyes were on him it was too late. He was placid again, his face all smiles as he bowed humbly. To me.
"I suppose there should be some embarrassment, Princess, in speaking second, but I cannot deny what my heart feels. I was enchanted by you the first time I laid eyes upon you. I also intend to court you."
I had figured as much with him, but this time I curtsied. "I am honored. I thank-you. Both."
They both beamed as if I had announced each of them my husband. In its way, it was all a lot more fun that my last proposal.
"I have already spoken my intentions to the Queen," Pierre said.
Oh, but he was well-mannered. And more sincerely than Bastien. I liked that.
"So have I," piped up Bastien.
I laughed as coquettishly as I could—I hoped it would make Patricia proud. "I could not be more delighted. One ball and I already have two suitors. I am so flattered." I attempted to pick up one of the smaller bows and realized I had no idea how to go about it.
Both of my suitors rushed to my aid.
Pierre was first. "Here, Princess, you hold it like…" His voice trailed off as he and I both realized he wasn't positive on the most proper handling of the bow. "Like this."
It did look more of less correct, though I still felt clumsy with it.
Bastien snorted under his breath.
Such derision. He was such a jerk.
So I smiled at Pierre. "Thanks. It looks right." Then I waited for Bastien to come over to me and show me the ideal way to hold it.
He did not.
So we made our way to the targets. When we arrived I realized just how silly the entire concept of archery was. There was no hunting, no goal other than a bale of hay with colored fabric strapped over it. No wonder Queen Flore had spared me from this little nicety of court life.
"That's it?" I asked, gesturing way down the range. "We're going to just stand here on the grass and shook at hay bales?"
Bastien nodded happily. "Yes, that's exactly it. I have trouble believing you had never done this before. Not in your old life, once?"
"It's not so strange," said Pierre. "My family has never been terribly fond of the sport, especially since my sister accidentally shot my father in the—"
"The trick is aiming," Bastien interrupted. "You can hold the bow as prettily as you want to, Princess Singette, but a great marksman puts his effort into shooting."
"Her efforts?" I partially echoed.
Both men laughed and I grinned.
"Yes," Bastien said. "Her efforts. I'm sure you can do an excellent job. Just look at yourself. So lovely, so lithe, so strong. You have the body of an archer."
"Me? Really?" It was a strange thing to hear just after reclaiming my human body.
"And what exactly is the body of an archer?" Pierre asked with loaded curiosity. If he didn't seem so nice, I wouldn't be surprised if he just went off and punched Bastien, now that their mutual interest in me was out in the open.
"Apparently mine." I lifted by bow just as Pierre had shown me and waited for further instructions from Bastien while wondering why I cared. "Pierre, is this right?"
"I think so. Yes, yes, that's is good. Now I'll go first. Just watch." Pierre loaded his own bow, aimed, and fired. The arrow took a respectable curve right into the sky and plummeted down not five feet from us.
Bastien burst out laughing.
Pierre's face was bright red. Poor dear.
"Prince Bastien!" I exclaimed, whirling around to face him. "Please show some decorum!"
He reacted as if I had slapped him. "I'm… I'm sorry, Princess. Lord Pierre, I meant no disrespect."
"Oh, it was just fine. Just a slip of the bowstring. I should have laughed, too. Definitely funny." Pierre forced a laugh. "Perhaps someone else would like to go? Princess Singette?"
And here my awkward human self would attempt to get an arrow to zoom across space and somehow end up where I wanted it to end up. "Any other tips?" I tried to notch the arrow and failed.
Bastien muttered something under his breath and I wondered how attractive I appeared to him now. "You really have never done this before, have you?"
I nodded. "Did you not believe me?"
"Well, I was thinking you were merely stretching the truth. But now I can see you're just terrible at this."
I frowned. "Then at least tell me what I should be doing. If you plan on trying to marry me, you should be a little more helpful."
That got his attention. In seconds he was at my side, practically taking the bow away from me, and in a few minutes I more-or-less understood how to fire an arrow.
My first attempt sailed about fifteen feet before landing gracefully in the grass.
I was ecstatic. "It worked!" I yelled, pointing at the solitary arrow. "I got it to fly!"
Both men applauded me, which was really quite sweet on their parts.
"Next time we will work on getting it to the target," Bastien said, taking his turn.
His arrow landed dead center. He was very good.
Pierre's turn. "I really should have practiced more at archery." He fired. The arrow barely missed the target.
It was his finest work of the game.
My skill, though vastly improving on its own over the course of the hour, still never did amount to much more than Pierre's, but at least I was able to actually hit the target once or twice, screaming in delight every time I did, an action that I did not know if my suitors found adorable or annoying. But archery was exciting, and I liked the way my arms felt as the bow contracted after an arrow left it.
"We should play it again," I said as we walked back to the palace. "It's a wonderful game, so much fun!"
"I think we might want to allow Lord Pierre to rest his arms," Bastien said.
Indeed, Pierre was rubbing his arms and a grimace of pain was on his face. But he still smiled. It was a very nice smile, I had decided. "I will be happy to do whatever you would like, Princess. Anything at all. Climbing, perhaps."
Bastien laughed while I froze in my steps, trying to keep back the look of pure horror that I felt.
"Singette does love climbing," Bastien said. "She climbs trees. Have you ever known a girl to enjoy climbing trees?"
My next glance at Pierre flooded me with relief. What was I worried about? So he had seen me climb a pillar. I liked climbing trees. All was explained and all was well.
"So… our next activity is to be climbing trees?" he asked innocently.
I looked down at my dress. Patricia would strangle me with her own two hands if I ripped it up. "Maybe not just this minute."
Pierre looked relieved, but Bastien looked just the slightest bit disappointed.
I found myself waiting for one of them to make a suggestion but the result was just a long stretch of awkward silence. "I'm so sorry, being a princess and having suitors are both terribly new to me and I'm really not sure what we should be doing."
"I've never been a suitor before myself," said Pierre.
I looked at Bastien. "I understand you are very fond of women. When you court them, what do they like to do?
Though I expected discomfort from him, Bastien took it with merely a laugh. "They like going for walks. Oh, but they love walks. And looking at things. It gets old very fast."
I laughed against my will. "All right, then. No walks."
"Unless you want to take them, of course."
"I'll be sure to let you know."
We had arrived at the palace without a thing to do. We returned to the chess board for more awkward silence.
Two suitors. Two of them. I had no idea what to do with them. I didn't want to marry Bastien and I was still trying to get to know Pierre.
Why had Patricia not given me advice on this?
"I'm tired now," I said. "I think I'll go take a nap."