“I will arrange for that,” Ian said. “But I also have something else I would like you to get for me from the castle. Onric can help you find it.”
Chapter 19
“Here, try this,” the young prince said.
Robin took the wooden bow he held out to her. They were standing in the practice yard behind the barracks of the castle.
“It’s so short!” she exclaimed.
“It’s exactly as tall as you are,” Ian replied, indicating the height similarity between Robin and the unstrung bow she held in front of her.
“I like it,” Robin said, pausing over her words. “But it won’t be as powerful as a longbow, and I know I’ll be able to draw one soon. I’m getting stronger every day.”
“I know,” Ian said. He did not appear hurt by her blunt words about his gift. “But, this is not just a shorter bow. It’s a special curved design from Etrar. Archers there can use this kind of bow on horseback without losing the extra power from lost length.”
Robin tilted her head to the side, opening her eyes wider in an unspoken invitation for him to continue speaking.
Ian carried on, talking louder and faster. “These curves here at the end are formed into the wood, and they create extra tension on the bowstring, releasing the arrow with more force.The Etrarian soldiers swear by them. They say they are more swift and accurate.”
Robin ran her hand over the curved wood, then looked back at him. “There’s only one way to find out if that is true.”
Moments later, the two of them stood beside each other at the archer’s line in practice range behind the Iseldis castle. He always said she was his favorite archery companion. But, he had been saying that about most activities.
While they were standing next to each other, they were not back-to-back as most archers often were. She loved that they could stand face-to-face on the shooting line. Robin felt most comfortable if she used her right hand to hold the bow because it allowed her to aim with her left eye. Ian had always preferred the combination of his left hand on the bow and his right eye on the target. Because of this, when their bows were drawn toward the target, they stood a pace apart on the line, but could face each other as they practiced.
In front of her, he held his bow, not having strung it yet, as he watched her examine his gift.
Robin flexed her new curved bow, feeling out the weight of it. Her mouth opened in surprise as she drew the string back to her cheek. She gently guided the string back to its original position before glancing up at Ian. “It’s so smooth!”
Ian smiled. “I thought you might like it. Let’s see how much power it has.”
“If it works,” Robin said, “I’ll easily become a better archer than you.”
“I know,” Ian said, his voice sincere. “Which is why I had to get it for you.”
Robin woketo the sound of a loud sneeze.
Rolling over on the crunchy straw, she listened to the donkey beneath her huff and wheeze his way into another loud snort.
After giving her bedroom away, Robin had chosen the privacy and comfort of the small loft in the far stable that housed Humphrey, two other donkeys, and three of the horses that were too old to ride.
While the odor was less than ideal, she far preferred the mostly quiet company of the older animals to joining the others on the floor of the great hall or in a tent around one of the fires.
Fully awake, she stretched her sore muscles and dropped over the ledge of the loft to the packed ground below.
“Good morn,” she called cheerfully to Humphrey.
The donkey was still struggling to expel the moisture from his nose, so she gave him a wide berth as she left the stable.
Willa’s morning porridge would not be ready until the sun fully rose, so she turned away from the manor house and made her way to the small archery field on the side of the clearing instead.
All of her bandits—herself included—spent time daily improving their individual combat skills. She required each of them to perfect their skill with a bow, as they always aimed to keep their combat as long distance as possible for the safety of everyone involved.
So it was no surprise that Lane, Ulli, Jette, and Rigelt were already standing in a small circle, stringing their bows and stretching out their shoulders.
It was a surprise, however, to see Ian standing in that circle.
Ulli, the quietest man she had ever met, was holding out a fistful of arrows to the prince.
