"I just can't do this," Emma insisted to her parents, while she put the bow on the ground in frustration. The Charmings wanted to do a family activity, so they decided to teach Henry and Emma how to shoot a bow n' arrow for the afternoon. Henry, who had been practicing for weeks, continued to hit close to the bulls eye. Emma kept missing the target entirely, which only frustrated her further.
"Emma, it's going to take time." Snow leaned against a nearby tree and sighed clearly getting frustrated with Emma. Charming picked up the bow that Emma dropped and handed it back to Emma.
Emma gave him a look, "Seriously? Did you not see what just happened?" Charming looked over at the pile of broken arrows on the ground, then back at his daughter.
"Just try it again, please?" Emma sighed, running her fingers through her hair. "This time I'll help you! Unless you are uncomfortable with that?"
Henry whispered to Snow, "Maybe this time it'll finally hit the tree." Snow was about to respond when Emma shot them both a glare. She looked back at her father with a helpless look.
"Yeah, whatever will help." Emma was still not happy with her skill in archery, but was so desperate to hit the target that she allowed Charming to have his moment. He handed her the bow and stood closely beside her holding both her and the bow in the correct stance.
"I want you to gently pull the string back and breath in," Charming instructed softly. Emma did as she was told feeling a sense of comfort in him that she never noticed before. "Now when you feel like you are ready…slowly breathe out and release the arrow." Emma was still uncertain about all this, so when she was about to release she closed her eyes and listened to the arrow whistle through the air and hit something. Charming smiled, proud of his daughter. "You did it!" Emma opened one eye then the other looking at the target on the tree ahead of her.
"I hit the target," She said in disbelief and finally in happiness, "I hit the target!" Without even thinking about what she was doing, she hugged Charming. Everybody around her was shocked, but Charming took it. Once she realized what she did, she felt kind of awkward and got out of the embrace.
Snow recognized this and smiled, "I knew you could do it!" Emma smiled in response and then looked back at the target.
Henry hugged Emma, "Nice! I didn't think you would ever hit the target." Emma gave him a look.
"I've got skill, Henry." It was his chance to give her a look. "Okay, some skill." Snow and Charming exchanged a look and a smile before looking over at Emma.
"I think the sword fighting and archery skills skipped a generation," Henry grinned as he pointed this out to his mother. Emma, like a child, looked over at her mom for help. Snow smiled, while Charming and Henry shared a chuckle.
"She did fight off that dragon, Henry," Snow noted and Emma smiled back at her boy. Charming wrapped his arm around Snow's waist adding his own comment into the conversation.
"With a sword," Charming beamed proudly at his daughter. Henry playfully rolled his eyes.
Emma ruffled Henry's hair as she hugged him, "I did get one of the famous Charming family skills just not in archery." Henry giggled and backed away from his mom to pick up the bow and start practicing again. Every hit inched closer and closer to the middle of the target. Snow walked up to Emma putting her arm around her with Charming still attached to her hip.
"You'll get the hang of it some day." Emma was watching Henry, but glanced over at her mother.
"I miss my gun," Emma smiled as Snow frowned a bit, "It never missed." Charming noticed Snow's expression and decided to comment on it himself.
"Like the gun, the bow keeps you a safe distance away from your target and they still don't know what's hit them until it's too late." Emma's face scrunched a bit at the thought of the bow being like her gun. Luckily, while she was thinking of a good response to her father, Henry hit the bulls-eye.
He began jumping up and down, "Did you guys see that? I hit the bulls-eye!" Everybody smiled at his enthusiasm and Emma silently thanked him.
"That's great, kid!" She got out of Snow's embrace and walked over to the target with Henry to check it out themselves. Sure enough, the arrow was right on the bulls-eye. "The arrow is dead center on the target!" Emma spoke loudly enough for her parents to hear.
"Nice! Maybe now Henry and I can go hunting." Henry's eyes lit up at Charming's words. Snow giggled at her daughter's scared expression because like any parent she didn't want her baby to get hurt.
Henry looked up at his mom, "Can I?" He gave her those puppy dog eyes, "Please…" Emma looked over at her parents for help, but they both just chuckled at the scene that was unfolding before them.
"I'll think about it," She looked back at Henry with a smile as she pulled the arrow out of the center and handed it to Henry. "Keep practicing and maybe I'll consider." Henry decided that what Emma said would be good enough for now and walked back to where his bow was. Emma walked over to her parents. "Come on, you seriously want to let him hunt?" Charming shrugged.
"Why not? I feel every young boy should experience their first kill," He saw his daughter's horrored expression come and go on her face, "He'll only be killing rabbits and maybe some squirrels." He reassured his daughter. Emma shook her head not wanting to believe what she was hearing.
"He's only 10! That's-" She got interrupted.
"The same age I was when I went out on my first hunt." Emma began to realize she was not going to win this fight and crossed her arms looking between both her parents before walking to the other side of Henry where she would be alone. Charming leaned into his wife, "Do you think she would have been this difficult if we would have raised her?" Snow watched her daughter act like a child in front of her and couldn't help but to smile.
"I wouldn't doubt it." Charming and Snow shared a look and a smile before looking back at their daughter and grandson.