Sorry I almost forgot to upload.
T-T
It was early in the morning, and Percy had finished his assigned chores.
He didn't expect his mistress to be standing in front of his tent.
"Mistress. My apologies, did you wait long?"
"There is no need to apologize. Follow me boy."
The word "boy" made him feel briefly uncomfortable, hearing that from someone who looked the same age as him, but he followed her anyways.
"Is it in your culture to say sorry so frequently? You seem to do so quite often."
He remained silent, unsure how to respond.
"It will be difficult for this "relationship" to progress if you remain so tense," Artemis said, "I have a feeling that we will be together for some time."
"I understand, mistress."
"First things first, do you know how to use a bow?"
His mistress stopped at a small archery field. There were already a few girls practicing.
"No, I am not trained in archery."
Percy said that, but he couldn't help himself from critiquing the girls were doing. Compared to his mother, there was a significant difference. Their postures were horrendously bad, but yet their shots were landing accurately. Judging the position of the bow, the trajectory of the arrow should not have landed there, but it did. It was like there was a force guiding it.
His brows unconsciously furrowed while he was trying to make sense of it, and Artemis, being observant as she was, noticed this.
"It seems like you have something to say."
Percy felt embarrassed that he was caught in the act.
He didn't want to be disrespectful and say outright that they were shooting wrong, but he had to say something.
"I could do better."
As soon as he said that, Percy felt instant regret.
The girls, who were originally ignoring him, all turned to look at him.
Their condescending eyes mocking him and asking him to try and do it.
He wished he could take back his words and say something else, but it was already too late. The damage had already been done.
His mistress did not say anything to mediate the situation, instead she watched impassively.
Percy quickly berated himself for creating this situation for no reason. Of all the things he could said, he probably chose the worst thing to say.
No use crying over it now, he had to prove it.
The only issue was that he had never touched a bow in his life.
The only thing he knew about bows was from watching his mother practice.
But seeing something and putting it to practice were two completely different things. But, Percy had to try.
He envisioned his mother's stance. How perfect it was every time she shot. It was like a work of art.
Percy got into a position and shifted his body ever so slightly until he felt satisfied about it.
The onlooking girls were silent, waiting for him to fail miserably, Percy could tell without even to look. His sixth sense detecting their glares, pricking his skin.
His palms were sweaty holding the bow. Perhaps the nerves were getting to him or he was overthinking, but he briefly remembered what his mother's told him one time.
Archery is one part skill, two parts mind. Let your arrow guide you to where it wants to go, and it will fly.
Percy closed his eyes and slightly adjusted his aim.
As he drew the bow, his chest slowly rose, his lungs expanding. There was no rush. There was no need to pay attention to his surroundings.
Just breathe.
And release.
The arrow pierced the ground with a small thud. Instinctually, he knew that the first arrow would not land, which was why he did not feel bad missing. He never intended to stop at just one.
The bow was drawn once again with a motion uncannily similar to the previous one. Except this time, it felt different when he released this arrow.
A force guided him, similar to the trance-like state he was in just a few days ago. The arrow itself was carried with the wind, and they were harmonious as if it were destiny.
He performed the same motion two more times like a machine. Each motion was the exact same from start to finish.
Only when he heard the impact of the final arrow did he open his eyes.
One arrow was in the dirt.
The other three all landed in the middle, each arrow split the one that landed before it on the exact same spot.
The giggles that he tuned out were replaced with complete silence.
Their astonished faces spoke immeasurable words. They also felt funny to look at. Percy wouldn't be surprised if they accidentally swallowed a fly.
His mistress was still emotionless, a common occurrence he found. She did not seem very fond of displaying emotions, which he mused was just her personality. Even when she was about to be impaled by a spear, his mistress appeared calm. Perhaps, she had a way to stop it. Percy could never tell what his mistress was thinking.
His nails unconsciously dug into his palm recalling the event.
A single clap pulled his attention to his mistress.
"Well then. Girls, that was excellent shooting, was it not?"
They all nodded absentmindedly, still trying to process what had happened.
"Then you wouldn't mind if he watches you practice, right?" Artemis turned to him. "You wouldn't mind looking over them for me, would you?"
"I'll try my best, mistress."
"Good." She soon disappeared.
Not long after, he was surrounded by looks of enthusiasm and curiosity.
"How did you do that?What did you do?Can you show us what you did?I want to know how you did that!"
Multiple voices overlapped with each other, all asking how he'd done it. Percy had never been in a situation with this many people before, so he didn't know who to answer first. He found it hard to focus on someone, anyone at all. There were just too many voices looking for answers.
The questions were frequent, and the jumbled noise began to intensify. With all of the voices around, he couldn't even hear himself think. It began to make his head hurt.
The chatter was going to make him go crazy.
"STOP!"
His voice filled the range, silencing the surroundings.
"Just practice like you've been doing before I got here. For now, I will just watch as the mistress asked me to."
Percy massaged his forehead as the girls began their practice.
"AHEM. First things first-"