Prophecy of Ruin or Salvation (closed for heartofcourage)

Bryn tilted her head backwards as he kissed down her neck. She sighed and let him caress her in such an intimate way. She loved every moment of it, ever caress and secret whisper. He was so close to her breasts and some part of her wished that he would peel the gown from her flesh and expose her hardened nipples to his view.

She laughed softly as he teased her about her Ranger status. “My lord, that is positively scandalous.” She said with a mock gasp as he looked up at her. “I’m sure the other rangers would feel left out if you were to show me more attention than the others.”

She cupped his cheeks in her hands, bringing his lips up to hers. She kissed him with a gentle passion, sighing as their tongues found one another and they leisurely explored one another. This was something that she would never get tired of. Kissing Valius was one of the best things in the world.

“Oh!” She gasped, breaking the kiss and lifting herself from his lap. “I almost forgot to show you!”

She hurried into her bedchamber and came back with a long object that was wrapped in a fine linen cloth. “Papa had this sent for me today.”

She unwrapped the cloth and showed Valius the finely made bow that had been commissioned just for her. It was made of strong, pale wood and carved intricately. The top of the bow had a maiden rising from water, her hair trailing along the body of the bow. The bottom had a collection of leaves and twigs that symbolized Ithilien. Bryn was over the moon when she’d received it and she very much wanted Valius to like it as well.

He grinned lasciviously at his love, "I wouldn't want anyone getting jealous...so you can pick a few you like the look of and we'll include them too." He hadn't been with more than one lover in a long time and probably never would again, actually, but it was fun to tease her with. He was sure she'd never even imagined such a thing!

They kissed for a few sweet minutes then, lips praising one another, tongues entwining the way their bodies wished to but that they must not yet. Valius hugged her to him as they feasted on one another; sustenance for their hearts and spirits, drawing strength from each passionate brush of their lips.

He was surprised by her sudden departure from his lap and sojourn to her bedchamber but her purpose became apparent in moments. The bow was presented to him and he could see her eyes searching him, hoping for his approval.

Valius leaned int to inspect it; the staves were well shaped and joined. The wood looked good and it was beautifully treated and decorated. "It's beautiful, my Bryn, as any arms of yours should be. May I handle it?"

He gently took the bow from her and ran his hands over the limbs, then reached down to pluck the string from the fabric wrapped about it. With a practiced and easy motion he bent the limbs and strung the weapon, tension in the lovely wood. The forest dweller turned away from her and raised the bow, drawing the string back.

He smiled; it was an easy pull for him but there was no quake or looseness in the limbs or the string at even full extension. It was stable and steady; he was impressed. Valius had not thought that Al'Tir would have any bowyers able to make such a high quality weapon.

He relaxed the string slowly and then unstrung the bow before turning back to Bryn, "An impressive piece of work, and I have seen many bows in my time. It will serve you well, I think, and glad I am that you will have a weapon of such quality to guard you."

Bryn was in complete awe as Valius took the bow from her hands and strung it expertly. She smiled as he inspected every inch of the weapon, testing the tautness of the cord before he unwrapped it and handed it back to her. She wrapped it carefully back in its covering and smiled at him as he praised the bow that her father had sent to her.

She took her seat next to him again, looking up into his handsome grey eyes as she placed the bundled package on her knees and carefully held it close. “If only I knew how to use it.” She said with a small laugh as Valius’s arm wrapped around her and pulled her close again.

“Enna has also told me that we are to part at a certain point of our journey back to Ithilien. While I understand the need for security, I am quite sad at not being able to see you everyday.” Her gaze turned shy as she revealed that she had grown fond of him. “However will I survive without a kiss and a touch of your hand, my lord?”

"You'll learn," he answered her with a smile, "Starting tomorrow if I've any say in it. Sooner is better than later." He was interested in how her training would go. She was so gentle and kind; how would she take to the arts of war?

He felt sad for a moment. That she even needed to learn them was a sin. She should not have her innocence so soiled. He hoped she would never have to use her new skills in earnest or take a life. There was no telling what that could do to someone.

Valius' heart swelled and ached at her next words and the shy, abashed expression on her face. "You are too darling and good for our troubled world, my Bryn," he said softly, reaching up a hand to caress her cheek. He did not speak for another minute or so, just looking at her and smiling sadly.

His hand dropped. "You will see me, and I you, love, but likely at a distance unless the battle is joined. Then and only then will we truly separate. I regret it...but I do think it is the best way to draw out our these marauders who have so harmed your family and see their threat ended."

He then grinned, "But we shall find ways. After all, I will need to be guarded by my loyal Rangers at all times. Perhaps even at night in my own tent," he added with a wink.

“Won’t the ladies of Al’Tir be scandalized to hear of what the Ithilien king has in store for his bride.” Bryn said boldly as a blush tinted her cheeks. She giggled softly at the wink that Valius gave her and she soon had her lips pressed sweetly against his, gasping as their kiss deepened and she found herself pressed tightly against him.

She parted from the kiss with a panting breath, her heart racing as she looked into that face that was becoming so dear to her. “You make me forget myself, my lord.” She whispered softly, her hand coming up to stroke his cheek. “And I love you for every moment, Val.”

She placed the bow on the sofa beside her before she climbed into his lap, straddling his firm thighs as she looked down into the face of her beloved king. She smiled at him as she reached to the ties that held her bodice together. She could feel his eyes watching her every moment as she brushed aside his engagement ring that was in her way.

“Such talk of bloodshed and brutality makes my stomach turn.” She said softly as she pulled the fabric of her bodice aside, giving him a view of her dusky pink nipples beneath the gauzy fabric of her underclothes. “So, we shall resolve to drive them from your head with thoughts of a different kind.”

“I shall be your sweetness and your goodness.” She whispered as she looked to his face and smiled to see that he was paying no attention to anything except for the faint glance he was getting of her breasts.

He groaned and ran his tongue over his lower lip as his love surprised him with her boldness yet again. Gods, she was so deviously sexual already! He may have unleashed a monster...and he was not sorry about it in the least.

She pulled the material of her bodice away; her filmy and flimsy under things masking the luscious swell of her breasts and teasing at the dusky rose color of her nipples through it. "You are sweet," he said in a voice that was just a rumble away from being a throaty growl, "and you look so very good. But I'm not sure you and I mean the same things with those words."

It was an effort to wrench his eyes from his attempt to see through her undergarments and up to her face. Her own eyes were bright with amusement and a clear realization. She was starting to, if she hadn't already, see the extent of the power a woman could have over a man. Of the power she already held over him.

"You have swayed me," he murmured and his hands slipped up her skirt covered legs and back to grip her tight little ass through the fabric of her dress. "I will not turn your stomach...though I want to fill it, and other places within you, my fire."

Bryn smiled as his eyes found hers, the look in them making her shiver as his hands glided across her legs. She sighed softly as his strong grip surrounded her bottom and squeezed her most intimately, pulling her closer against the hard ridge of flesh that she had become intimate with the evening before.

She laughed softly at his words, the sound throaty and inviting as her hands left the fabric of her bodice and reached to cup his handsome face. She would never get enough of the brief moments she had with him. She hoped in Ithilien they would be longer and more frequent, but she would be happy with what she had right then.

“And it is my greatest wish that you fill me, my lord.” She whispered as her lips pressed against his, whimpering as his hands squeezed her bottom tightly and she was seated snuggly against his hardness. Her lips caressed his, her tongue searching for entrance as they kissed intimately.

She breathed in the heady scent of Valius, losing herself in the very sensation when a heavy knock sounded at the door and Dax’s voice sounded through. “Porters approach for your things, my lady.” He called, giving them ample warning that they were about to be interrupted as Bryn’s things were collected from her chambers.

She scowled slightly and then sighed, parting from Valius as she started to lace her gown back together. “My first act as Queen shall be to have you to myself for more than five minutes.” She said with a pretty pout on her lips.

Her pout was ridiculously appealing. More so because he was sure she had never really pouted about anything in her life. Valius watched her re-lace her gown with surprising speed given that he doubted she'd ever had to do so to avoid indecency before. "Ah, but as good as you look out of that gown, it's so splendid on you that I don't mind the interruption this time."

This time. It was also fine since they were trying to be...not chaste, exactly, but restrained until they were away from Al'Tir and could indulge in one another with less catastrophic social fallout.

He stood and swept over to her, brushing her cheek with one hand and smiling, "Five uninterrupted minutes you will have, and far more. After all, we will be bound together alone for three days as by the custom of the desert folk, as I recall." It wasn't how they did things in the civilized part of Al'Tir but his people didn't need to know that. "And those three days...we will both learn the true meaning of passion over many hot and tangled hours, and sweet, furious delights."

There was a clear knock at the door and it then swung open for the porters to enter, Dax with them. The forest king inclined his head to the men, who seemed surprised by his acknowledgment, and then turned to Bryn, "Do you wish to supervise, Your Grace, or shall we go to take a walk in your garden? Or perhaps to the barracks so you may get your first lesson with your most excellent bow?"

Bryn smiled softly as Valius’s hand softly stroked over her cheek, his smile down upon her absolutely scandalous when combined with his next words. She laughed softly as he reminded her of the tradition that she had so graciously explained to him. There were some traditions that he would take to wholeheartedly and it seemed that would be one of them.

A sweet blush crossed over her cheeks as the knock at the door sounded and Dax allowed the porters to enter the room. The men were dressed in her father’s colors and they moved towards the crates that she had been packing that day. The would be moved into storage to be transported to Ithilien at another time. Her more valuable possessions would be transported in the caravan with Dax and only he would carry the key that would unlock them.

“How could I turn down a private lesson with my lord?” She asked, extending her hand to him and standing as he took it. Turning to take her bow from the sofa, she carefully tucked it beneath her arm and extended her other towards Valius. “Dax, would you oversee the porters? Cladius and Masha will escort us to the barracks.”

Dax looked at the Forrest king and then at the woman that was as dear to him as a sister, the one that he had protected nearly every day of her life. He raised an eyebrow at her decision and then slowly inclined his head, moving to the side to allow the two of them to leave. She meant nothing by choosing his majesty’s guard over him but still the words were a shock to hear.

Bryn smiled up at Valius as they began to leave the room, her mood lifted considerably simply being with the man that she loved. “I would put on my Rangers uniform, but Enna insists that it must have my new rank sewn on it before I ever put it on. It wouldn’t be proper to be seen with it on without it.”

“I am beginning to think, Val, that I care not for propriety.” She whispered to him as they collected Claudius and Masha before heading towards the barracks. “There are too many rules and regulations.”

The moment between Bryn and Dax was an interesting one; there were words that passed between them unheard by any save themselves. Other than perhaps Charissa, Dax was the one who knew Bryn best, he realized. He also recalled that he still didn't know if Dax would be journeying to Ithilien with them or not. "Sir Dax, we shall be at the archery range at your barracks when you are done here."

The couple stepped out into the hallway, Claudius and Masha falling in, the older man walking ahead and Masha behind. Valius smiled down at his betrothed and chuckled, "Alas, my heart, propriety is one thing we will never be free of. It is the nature of our station and a minor price for the comfort and security we enjoy. It does wear at times."

As they walked to the barracks, he asked her a few question to determine what she knew of bows, their use and care. By the time they arrived, he as well as the listening in guards had a good idea of the young girl's knowledge.

They had a small group of on-lookers by the time they arrived at the archery range. The sight of the foreigners was one thing; but the sight of the Bryn Alerum with an unstrung bow under one arm was another entirely.

Valius undid his cloak and rolled his sleeves up before taking the beautiful bow from his radiant love. "Before you can shoot, you've got to be able to string your weapon. It's a bad idea to have a bow strung at all times; just when you think you might need it. The string could fray and snap if kept tense too long and keeping the staves bent for a long time will make them more accustomed to it and take some of the power out of your weapon. Watch."

He slipped one of the loops into the notch at one end and then set it against the ground, braced with his foot, and then bent the bow with a brief effort to slide the other loop into place. He held it up, "The power of a bow comes from the tension of the staves held in place by the string, increased when it's bent to fire. Improperly strung, your shot will have no force, and you might even sent it flying wild, or cause the string to come about and strike you."

He set the bow down and bent it to unstring it before holding it out to her. "Give string it a try. Do it as I did, it may take some effort the first several times until you're used to it."

The questions that Valius asked were searching and deep but Bryn answered them as best as she could. The fact of the matter was she knew little about any weapon let alone the bow that was beneath her arm at that very moment. She remembered the simple training that had been given to her by Masha and Claudius in the days before and she wondered if Valius would be a kinder and more patient teacher then Claudius.

Stepping into the barracks, she was surprised to see there were quite a few of the Al’Tir soldiers there, sharpening weapons and relaxing after a long day They looked upon their small part with curiosity, looks exchanged between each other as they settled in to watch this foreign king and their Bryn Alerum.

Bryn watched as Valius undid his cloak, placing it to the side before he began rolling up his sleeves. She gasped as she felt someone pulling her hair to the nape of her neck in a bun and turned her hair to see Masha quickly bundling the mass of red fire out of the way.

“Trust me, the first time it gets tangled in your bow string, you’ll thank me.” Masha said with a grin, finishing her task quickly and stepping aside to allow Valius to begin his lesson.

Bryn listened to him as he spoke, watching him closely and tried to take in as much as she could. He made it look so effortless and quick but he had also grown up around the bow in Ithilien. She had a lot to learn and not a lot of time to do it in. As Claudius had reminded her, what would save her if her guard were dead with a knife in the belly?

Then the unstrung bow was back in her hands and he was looking at her expectantly. She looked up at him and then back down at the pieces and started to tremble. What if she couldn’t do it? Would he be disappointed? She didn’t want to disappoint him in anything.

Taking a deep breath, she looped one end into the notch like he had and then braced it with her foot like he hand. Her face contorted with effort as she tried to pull the other end into place, her hand shaking before she was forced to give it up. She bit her lower lip for a moment, frowning before she tried again, unable to slide the other end of the loop into place.

“I…I can’t…” She said as she turned her wide blue eyes up towards Valius, starting to tremble with the thought that she was truly about to disappoint him.

There was such fear in her eyes that it touched his heart and made it ache. What was she afraid of so direly in this? She was shaking. For a moment, he felt a flare of anger at her entire family. Had they raised her so harshly she was this afraid of failing?

"You're wrong, Bryn. You didn't do it; that doesn't mean you can't. It's your first try and a more purely physical task that you've ever had to do, you're not going to get it right away." His voice was gentle but firm and his eyes were patient, "I didn't."

He looked her over and stepped up behind the flustered beauty, "Here." One of his hands closed over the one of hers higher up and guided it even higher on the upper length of the bow. "Now, keep your foot braced down there and then, press with your hip," his other hand pressed on the side opposite, "against it and give the bow another point to apply force. Now, pull hard on the upper spar. It won't break, use all your strength." He helped her, lending some of his own strength to pull the upper end down, causing the bow braced by her hip and foot to bend back into the recurved shape. "I'll hold it, set the string in the notch."

He did not scold her. He did not tell her that she was wrong. He did not even tell her that her mistake would result in the death of others. Bryn bit her bottom lip as Valius met her gaze with a firm but gentle gaze of his own, his eyes patient as he looked her over.

She could see that he was concerned and she so desperately wanted to be a quick study for him. She knew how important it was for her to be able to defend herself as they traveled. He didn’t need a woman out there in the desert that didn’t know how to use a bow or a sword should their delegation be attacked.

He moved behind her, his body pressing against her back as his hand closed over hers to help steady the weapon as he helped her to again try to string the bow. She looked down to the hand that held hers, her fingers gripping the bow slightly higher as he directed. She glanced down at her slipper placed next to his boot, her foot moving to brace against the bottom of the bow as she pressed her hip against the point that was instructed.

Pulling hard on the spar, she felt the bow start to bend and wondered for a brief moment just how much Valius was helping her. She set that though aside as she concentrated on her task, his hand holding the now arched bow while he directed her to set the string. She quickly thread the loop through the notch and sighed gently as the bow settled into its final formation.

Bryn felt the corners of her lips tip upward in a smile of accomplishment as she turned her head slightly to the side to look at Valius. She wanted to kiss him, to show him her thanks, but there in the middle of the barracks was not the place to do that. As her soon to be king and commander she had to show him the respect that her deserved.

“Thank you, my lord.” She said softly. “I only hope that my horrid target shooting does not deter you from your quest to marry me.” She said, trying to make a joke at her own expense as more of the soldiers from Al’Tir gathered in the courtyard to watch what was happening.

"Husbands are usually glad if their wives aim is poor, in case they ever become a target," he answered with a grin. Good, she was being a little less self-conscious. It may just be a cover, of course, but if she covered long enough it would become real and replace her anxieties.

"You'll do no worse than he did his first time out," Claudius said with a chuckle. "Shot clear over the wall and nearly killed the master of the kitchen."

Valius shook his head, "She never forgave me, the poor woman." He was a bit flushed from the shame of the memory but smiled all the same. But he understood the older ranger's purpose; without directly doing so, to tell her they all were in her shoes at one point.

"Now then, my Bryn." He took her bow again and took up a shooting stance, well, one to begin with. Eventually she'd learn to shoot from almost any position, including while riding. "Come to the other side and watch." He then demonstrated drawing the bow back, pulling the hand holding the tense string back and up to his cheek. "Pull steadily, do not jerk or yank, and hold it here. This is best for blending power and accuracy; you may pull back further and get more tension and power, but your shot will be very hard to aim or control at all."

He modeled the motion for her a few more times, Claudius and Masha chiming in with thoughts and advice, before slowly relaxing the string back and then handing her the bow. "Try now just to draw the bow; no arrow yet."

Bryn watched Valius closely as he taught her the fine art of archery. She studied his form closely, noticing the way that his shirt stretched tightly over the muscles in his arms. She blushed slightly when her thoughts turned to how those muscles had felt wrapped around her body.

Soon others were adding their opinion to the lesson and her mind was spinning with all that she was expected to learn in such a short time. She cared deeply for Claudius and Masha, but it was coming quickly apparent that she was not cut out to be a rough and tumble Ranger.

Soon enough the bow was placed back in her hands and she looked at Valius nervously. If she hadn’t the strength to string the weapon, did she have the strength to pull the cord? Moving into the position that he had just vacated, Bryn took in a deep breath and slowly let it out to steady her nerves.

She mimicked Valius motion, pulling on the taunt string as she brought the weapon up to her face. It pulled easier then she imagined, a surprised look upon her face as she lowed it and did it once more. Perhaps this would not be as difficult as she had once thought it to be.

“Straighten your back.” Masha said, pushing her hand against the small of Bryn’s back until the young woman was standing stock straight with the bow held expertly between her fingers. “Loosen your arm. The tenser the muscles, the more likely you are to miss.”

She followed their instructions to the best of her ability until she could draw back on the bow without thought and keep the form that seemed to please all three. It was easier said than done for a group that was as picky as they were but when she flicked her eyes towards Valius, she could have sworn she saw deep pride in his features.

He had been concerned that drawing the bow would be difficult for her as well, since stringing it had been. Her upper body simply may not have the strength just yet; she'd rarely had to use those muscles for anything like this before. However, with nothing more than a soft grunt and little visible effort, the string bent and came back, the staves bowing.

Valius blinked in surprise and saw an expression of shock on the faces of nearly everyone there, Bryn included. Which made him smile broad and bright. His love was full of surprises; what a life they'd have together!

He let Masha take the lead in her instruction now; the differences in the arrangement of men and women's bodies made for differences in how you moved to fight as well and that included shooting with the bow. The lovely redhead repeated the draw motion until it seemed easy for her, almost natural.

She was picking it up with an ease that was both pleasing and surprising; perhaps she had a talent for archery.

Valius then approached as she let the string slowly relax and put a handful of arrows into a stand in front of her. "We'll try nocking and firing now. Not from a quiver yet; we'll use the target stands here." The range was generally set up to mimic firing arrows from a walled position so the arrows were in cases by positions on the wall rather than carried in quiver. "Remember when an arrow is to your string, even if it's not drawn, always keep it pointed away from your allies."

He pulled an arrow from the stand and showed it to her. "The head and the shaft are the parts most think of," he said, touching them as he said their names, "but it is the fletchings," his fingertips barely grazed one of the feathered components, "and the nock," he tapped the cut-in end, "that are truly important for the archer. The fletchings made the arrow fly straight and true, if they are distrubed or damaged, it will stray from its path. The nock, of course, is what gives you control and puts the power into your shot."

He slid the arrow onto her bow, letting it rest on the top of the handgrip and then showed her how to hold the nock between her fore- and middle fingers and use those to pull back the string. He stepped back behind her then, "Nock the arrow and draw back holding it a few times, just to get the feel."

"When you are ready, use the shaft of the arrow as your guide. Imagine a line going out straight from it." He'd introduce her to arced firing another time, if she didn't pick it up herself. If she did have a talent the way she seemed to, she'd figure it out quickly. "Sight down the shaft, then tense your body and release. You tense to keep your arms from moving then the force of the now is let go; otherwise it can move and send your shot off the mark. Try now."

Valius was a fantastic teacher and she could see the ease in his body as he showed her the different parts of the arrow. Her mind was still spinning with all the information, but she did her best to keep everything straight and to be a dutiful student to her husband to be.

She watched him closely as he slid the arrow onto the bow, his hand positioning hers so that she held the arrow between her fore and middle fingers. Then she felt him move behind her, showing her how to pull the string with her fingers. It was feeling more natural, she thought, and she looked behind her at Valius with a smile for a moment before she turned back to her task.

Bryn sucked in another deep breath and slowly let it out, calming her nerves as she took position and readied herself to let the arrow loose. She could feel her blood pumping in her veins, her heart pounding as she wondered where the arrow would end up once she let loose.

The target in front of her seemed so far away but it was only a few feet. She imagined the arrow in the way that Valius suggested and as she released her breath in a loud rush, she let the arrow loose. She almost wanted to close her eyes to keep from seeing where it went. She didn’t though, keeping them open to see the arrow hit the target almost dead center.

She heard a gasp behind her and turning her head she saw Masha standing beside Claudius with a stunned expression on her face. “Was that bad?” Bryn asked, looking at Valius for confirmation.

"Rot and blight," Claudius murmured. It wasn't so much where she'd hit for him; anyone could make a lucky shot. It was that her form, her movements, the way she'd held her tension, it had all been perfect. Her first shot and it was flawless, and looked easy, as though she'd done it every day of her life. She was a natural, more than a natural maybe. A genius.

Masha nodded dumbly. At the back of her mind, old words tickled her thoughts from out of memory. Ithilien had it's prophecies too, they just didn't pay too much attention to them, being a fairly secular people. But there was a line she could remember now, she wasn't sure from where, "And she will know your ways as if born to them," she whispered.

Valius looked as awestruck as the rest of them, but his astonishment was replaced immediately by a laugh and proud, beaming grin. "Bad? My Bryn, that's a tremendous shot for your first time! Well done." As if to validate his statement, the men watching started to applaud, a few cheering.

Claudius spoke up, "Good shot, better form. That was pretty work, all right. Shoot off the rest of those, Your Grace." If she did well, they'd move the targets back. If she did well then, they'd move them further. From there...well, shooting still targets was one thing and moving ones another, but she'd be ready for it sooner than anyone anticipated.

The silence of the yard seemed to stretch on uncomfortably as the Rangers stared at her in shock and the soldiers of Al’Tir whispered amongst themselves at their Goddess that had just made archery look incredibly easy. Bryn wasn’t aware of the weight of what she had just done. She was simply pleased the Valius had a beaming look of pride when he looked upon her.

She blushed as the sounds of applause and cheering reached her ears. She glanced towards their ranks and saw coin passing their hands. They had bet upon her success? It seemed unsavory, but she supposed that it was harmless fun. Her gaze was draw towards the entrance of the yard and she smiled to see Dax leaning there, a smile upon his own face with his arms crossed against his chest.

“I’m glad it pleases you, Sir Claudius.” She said as he spoke, complimenting her on her form and suggesting that she fire the rest. She looked at the rest of the arrows resting in the brace next to her and she nodded.

The first arrow out of the brace was pulled easily and notched even easier. She felt at ease with the bow in her hands as she drew back on the string and let the arrow fly. She was pleased as it hit in a tight grouping with the other. More cheers rang out as she pulled arrow after arrow out, six in total that landed in the dead center of the target.

Bryn lowered the bow when she was finished, glancing to her right at Claudius as he stood beside her. She had a smug smile upon her face as the grizzled man looked at her with appreciation.

“Have I finally proven my worth, Sir?” She asked, harkening back to the lesson that he had taught her about hand to hand combat. “Can I protect myself?”

The cheers continued and there was laughter. Valius watched with an astounded smile as Bryn created as tight a grouping as he'd ever seen on the target. The young king was amazed, aroused, and also a bit...disturbed was too strong a word for it, but it was something akin. Her ability was incredible for someone who, as far as he knew, was holding a weapon like this for the first time in her life.

He spied Dax and called out to him, "You've been wasting her talents, Sir Dax!"

As the tumult over the last arrow faded, Bryn's sassy comment to Claudius made the monarch's lips twitch but he also felt a faint uneasy. The old master would not appreciate such a cavalier attitude.

Claudius looked at Bryn, "Worth? Girl, it's never been about your worth." For the moment, he ignored her title. "Your worth is more than I can count, the whole of my life and the lives of everyone here except the king. Don't mistake chiding in a lesson for my view of your worth. It's not about you or your value or your dignity. It's about keeping someone priceless alive."

He looked down at the target and gestured to a few rangers, "More it another 3o yards, lads, and bring those arrows back to Her Grace!" The grizzled fighter looked back at Bryn, "You're a better shot than I could have hoped to start with, girl, and you've shot those targets prettier than I ever thought you would. But they were a bit close and it's a bright day, with little wind, and they're standing still."

He took a step closer, lowering his voice, "Think of doing it at night, with no light, just sounds and faintly moving shapes out there. You've also shot all your arrows....if I came at you now, how would you stop me? Can you protect yourself? Better than I thought you could. Well enough? Not for my taste. Not yet."

Masha cleared her throat, "But I'm sure you'll get there. You seem to be a natural, Your Grace. Don't be discouraged; this is...amazing."

Her betrothed then spoke, "Once the targets are reset and the men away, fire again, my Bryn. You're so much further along than any of us thought, but there is still more to do."

“Not wasted, my lord. Simply hidden.” Dax called back as the other soldiers called out for him to join them. “Simply hidden.” He muttered softly to himself as he moved to his comrades, taking a seat among a circle that was playing a game of dice.

Bryn visibly shrank back at Claudius’s rebuke before she forced herself to stand before him and his harsh words without emotion. He was telling her this for her own good but it was still painful to hear. She didn’t want to be the priceless object that men fought to protect. She simply wanted to be herself.

Turning her gaze towards Valius as the call was given to move the target back another 30 years, she was searching for the approval that she so sorely wanted. He was the only man in her life that made her feel simply human and not a god. She appreciated him in ways that he would never know and she hoped that he knew that.

She jumped when she heard Claudius’s voice sound next to her ear, his voice low and menacing as he spoke of her no longer having arrows. Her blue eyes were wide, watching the man as he took away all the bravado and swagger that she had gained with her first showing.

Then Masha spoke, her words meant to soothe the situation, but Bryn wasn’t listening. She would take what Claudius said to heart and do her best to not show her hurt to him. He was a soldier and emotions were probably something very foreign to him.

“Of course.” Bryn said as Valius told her to take aim again once the men were clear.

She took an arrow from the brace before her and brought the string of the bow back easily again. She took sight of the target much farther away and took a deep breath to steady herself. Letting loose of the arrow, it fell much further down then her other arrows had and she frowned for a moment before she took another arrow and notched it.

Raising her sights further up, she accounted for the difference in distance without lesson. She wanted to do this on her own and do it well. Perhaps she was being stubborn, but she wanted to earn Claudius’s respect. With the minor adjustments made, she let this arrow fly and again hit the target dead center. The others soon flew after the last and she hit them as near to the center as she possibly could.

The blood was pounding loudly in her ears as she lowed her bow and looked at what she’d done. Again, the cat calls and cheering started and she took a deep breath to ignore it all. Holding this bow, shooting those arrows…it all oddly felt right. Something had come over her that she couldn’t explain.

Turning her gaze towards Claudius, she could see something in his eyes that was unnamed. She was surprised that a hardened soldier like himself could be shocked at anything. It was clear that he was not expecting her to be able to do what she was doing.

“I want a moving target.” She said in a soft voice as Masha looked at her teacher and her king with surprise. “Now.”

Bryn didn’t feel like herself any longer. She was the extension of something greater, something coursing through her veins. She had a purpose in this wide world of theirs. She was no longer the priestess in training nor was she really the soon to be Queen of Ithilien. Something feral was beneath her skin.

“A quiver for her ladyship!” Masha called and a Ranger hopped to attention, scurrying forward to give them his own quiver.

"By the Gods," Valius murmured. Claudius wasn't speaking at all; the hardened military man staring at Bryn with open astonishment and wariness. Her accuracy was uncanny to be sure but there was something more to it. When she'd spoken that last time, it was her voice, yes, but there was something different. A tone, a feeling, in it that Valius had never heard before.

It excited him but he also felt a twinge of wary fear; not of terror, and he wasn't afraid of her, but the same kind of understanding of her inherent lethality that he felt for any of Claudius, Masha, or any of the other expert fighters he knew.

Valius recovered before Claudius, as a Ranger presented his quiver to Bryn. "Ready the course! Targets of all sizes!" This was one of the innovations that had been packed into the wagons and gifted to the Fire Nation by Ithilien. Archery was the greatest military skill of the forest people and they had created archery targets that were strung with ropes to pulleys and could be moved and swing in order to simulate shooting at moving creatures. Or people. "Fitting that Al'Tir newest Duchess and our Queen to be shall be the first to try it in this land!"

The rangers moved into action; not clearing the stationary target but moving it forward again and bringing others onto the range as well, staggered and in different positions to simulate cover and obstacles. Others strung the ropes from one side of the range to the other, stringing them through the affixed pulleys and testing their movement. From those ropes, suspended at different heights and set at three positions along the length of the range, wooden targets were affixed. Some were of small, made to be birds, others were large beasts such as deer or bear, and others still were made in the loose, abstract shape of men.

As they were being set-up, Valius approached his love. "You astonish me more each day," he said. "I've never seen anyone do anything like this the first time they've picked up a bow." His eyes were bright with wonder, respect, and his glowing love above all. "It's as if you were made to shoot."

"I said "By the Gods" and I meant it," Claudius growled but there was not as much of the usual iron in his voice. His voice and his eyes both were full of careful caution; of being confronted with something not known or understood that may be dangerous but must be handled.

It took only a few minutes for the rangers to prepare the moving course for they were well practiced in doing so. Off to the sides and behind cover, they started to turn cranks and pull ropes, sending the targets lurching into motion with a creak of wood and of rope tensing under weight and force. Some moved faster than others but none with great speed; this was a matter of training, and a first training, no matter how remarkable it was becoming.

"Whenever you're ready, my Bryn," Valius said, stepping back, "Aim and loose at will."

Bryn watched closely as the men started to clear away the stationary targets and began to put together the contraption that would provide her with moving targets. A deep breath as sucked in through her nose and slowly released through her mouth as Masha hurried to help her on with the quiver.

Reaching over her shoulder, she made sure that the arrows were within reach, easily pulling one free before she placed it back to test herself. Glancing over at Valius, she was glad to see a look of appreciation on his face. He wasn’t disturbed by her new found talent and it did much to soothe her.

“To tell you the truth, my lord, I am just as astonished as you are.” She said quietly, her eyes lowering as he looked at her with such emotion. “I simply hope that this will not make you look on me any differently. I am still just Bryn.”

She turned towards Claudius as he growled and looked at her with a careful caution that told her she was doing something completely out the ordinary. They were not use to a person, whether they be man or woman, who could handle a bow like she could. Although she might not be able to string the bow herself, she could shoot better than anyone.

“As you wish, my lord.” She said as Valius told her to aim and let loose when she wished.

Turning towards the course, she watched everything move for a moment, learning the patterns until she pulled the first arrow from the quiver and took aim. The first arrow hit a bird, the second a deer. She continued on down the line until everything had been hit squarely with an arrow. When it came to the shapes of men, she hesitated, pulling up short and refusing to shoot.

“I do not believe I can take the life of another human, no matter how bad they might be.” She said softly, leaving the rest of the arrows in the quiver as she turned towards Valius. “I hope that does not disappoint you.”

"Disappointed?" Behind Bryn, the mobile course slowed and halted, targets hanging on the ropes. Valius raised his brows and looked out over them; she'd hit both the smallest and the fastest moving of the targets, as well as many of the large ones. Every shot she'd fired had hit the mark too; not one arrow missed or gone astray. "My Bryn, if you think a performance like this could be disappointing in any way, you have set your standards entirely too high."

Claudius' expression was displeased and Valius knew why. Her skill was amazing and uncanny but while there were possible threats from animals in their land, people were the most likely source of danger. The king caught the senior ranger's eye and gave a slight shake of his head. It wasn't time for that discussion; not yet.

Masha was looking out over the range as more money traded hands behind them and the rangers and Al'Tir soldiers cheered and laughed. "It's amazing. To shoot like that the first time you've held a bow...Your Grace, if I hadn't seen it myself I'd dismiss it as a tall tale or a lie." There was wonder and awe in the woman warrior's eyes as she looked over at Bryn.

Valius called out, "Pull them and reset! Change up the movements a bit this time!" The rangers who'd been operating the course came out from their cover to move things about a bit, pull the arrows from the targets, and reset the mechanisms. "Just once more for today, I think. As good as you are, further practice is never a bad idea. I understand and respect your desire not to harm humans, love. I will honor it...though I hope that if you ever need to, you can at least shoot someone in the knee or the arm. But with preparation and caution, you will never have to try."

Even as he said the words, he felt a surge of doubt. Bryn was too good for him, and too good for the world by far. If she was in that spot, where it would be death for her attacker or death for her...what would she choose?

"But come! Let us see your marvelous aim again! A pity your father is closeted with his counselors, I think he would be as dazzled as the rest of us."

Bryn did not miss the displeased look on Claudius’s face at her refusal to harm a human. She was no use to someone being so upset at anything that she did. Still, she kept the emotion to herself as Valius praised her and Masha gushed over her newfound abilities. It all made her feel a bit…strange. She wasn’t sure just how she liked the new attention.

A faint smile came to her lips as Valius told her that he respected her decision, but he hoped that in time she would find that instinct that would save her life. She didn’t want to think about war and protection, but to ignore it would make her a total ninny.

“As you wish, my lord.” She said softly as he begged her to make aim at the targets again.

Daring to glance at the dower Claudius once more, she tried to think of a way to soothe over his feelings. “Sir Claudius, perhaps it would be beneficial to learn more about the art of archery from a true master. Might I ask that you teach me at least once a day?” She asked with a friendly smile that she hoped broke down the barriers that were building between them.

With another deep breath, she turned back to the targets and watched the new pattern. The loud voices and laughter behind her faded away as she watched the targets moving to and fro. As her breath slowly left her lungs, she pulled the first arrow from the quiver and started firing.

Again, each target was hit in some form or another. Whether she had hit the center of the object or just the object itself, her arrows had flown true. When she was finished, she paused and placed her bow at her side, turning towards Valius with a smile.

“I believe that I shall like living in Ithilien.” She said with a smile that matched the one her betrothed was wearing.