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Post by Aurora Beckinsfield on Dec 3, 2007 21:23:51 GMT -5
Aurora awoke early. Then again, she always awoke early, just as the sun was rising. This time, though, it was different. She had awoken early because she hadn't recognised the place she was in. She didn't know where she was until she had cleared all sleep from her mind and had remembered the previous day's events. Queen Susan the Gentle had summoned her to Cair Paravel and offered her a teaching job as an archer. She hadn't given her any reason as to why she desired her for teaching, but Aurora wasn't one to ask questions when it benefitted her. She had accepted and had been given a room in the castle to stay in while she was teaching. It was a large room, with dark wood and a cream colour scheme. The bed was a canopy with dark red velvet curtains and cream coloured bedspread. The fireplace was large and nearly always had a fire going except for on exceptionally warm days like today. It was ordained rather magnificently with little engravings of dancing fauns and such. Aurora looked around for a bit before she had pushed her blankets off her and stepped out of the bed, her feet hitting against the unusually warm hardwood floor. She raised her arms above her head and stretched as she yawned and then made her way to the wardrobe, opening it enough to look through the dresses Queen Susan had let her borrow before she could go out and buy her own. She picked out a rather green velvet one with a brown leather belt, and a pair of black slipper shoes. As she was dressing, she hummed and thought about where she would go for breakfast.
She didn't have much time to debate which direction she would go because there was a knock on her door and Queen Susan entered after Aurora bid her welcome. She smiled at her and then spoke in a soft tone, "I know you must be hungry, but I would like you to start immediately today." Susan held out an apple for Aurora and she took it gratefully, biting into it and savouring it. She finished it within seconds and then tossed it in a wastebasket before turning to the Queen again as she continued speaking, "My brother, Edmund, is… quite the swordsman… and he's rather clever, but his archery is rather… mediocre. He knows this, and he knows I've been trying to get him to do something about his archery, but he refuses to have me teach him." Aurora smiled a small smile. King Edmund was known for his stubborn streak. She looked down at her feet and tucked a strand of her brown hair behind her ear as Susan continued, "I wish for you to teach him, perhaps he'll be a bit more willing if he knows someone other than me is teaching him." Aurora looked back up and nodded, "I'd be honoured." Queen Susan smiled brightly and pulled Aurora into a hug that she wasn't expecting, "Oh, marvellous! Then I'll let him know to meet you in the archery fields in twenty minutes or so… thank you, Aurora!" She hurried out of the room, leaving Aurora to feel like a tornado had just swept through.
Twenty minutes later, Aurora was in the archery fields, her quiver resting against her back easily and her bow strung. She pulled the string back easily, eyed the target, and let go. The arrow soared marvellously above the sky in a fantastic arch. It struck the target, nearly a bull's eye, and Aurora restrung her bow just as someone joined her. She lowered her bow, still strung, and looked to her left; "You are a beginner aren't you, my King? Know you not to sneak up on an archer with a strung bow?"
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Post by King Edmund the Just on Dec 3, 2007 21:55:50 GMT -5
Edmund sighed relieved as she took a seat on his bed. His feet were aching, every nerve in his foot screaming out in pain. The one thing that Edmund hated about being king was having late night meetings with The Lion. Everything else was fine, expect that. Since the justice of Narnia rested in Edmund’s hands, he was the one who attended those meetings most of the time. Peter did show up from time, but he normally dealt with the other problems that lay out in the streets of Cair Paravel. Tonight, however, both the kings were at the meeting, discussing about certain issues all night. Glancing over his shoulder at the window, Edmund squinted through the bright sunshine pouring into the room. Weren’t the curtains closed before he left? Edmund could have sworn he had closed the blinds before following Peter to the meeting hall. Shaking his head, Edmund slowly began to undress, pilling off every piece of clothe that hung on his body. He threw his tunic on the floor beside his pant, dropping his breeches next to them. Gently tugging his feet out of the boots, Edmund dressed in his sleeping attire. All his mind could think about was getting some sleep. Making his way toward the window, Edmund buttoned the last button of his shirt before shutting the blinds closed. The room fell dark; the perfect environment or sleeping. Smiling to himself, Edmund snuggled under the covers of his bed, his eyes resting shut. He could at least get some sleep before lunch.
Just as he was about to drift off, there was a loud knock on the door, followed by a familiar voice. Groaning, Edmund pulled the covers of his head, trying to drown out Susan’s voice. “Edmund!” she called through the hard wood and after a few moments of silence, the door flew open. “Edmund, please get up!” Ignoring her pleas, Edmund tugged the sheets further over his head as the curtains reopened. “Can I at least have a couple hours of sleep, Susan? I haven’t been to bed at all.” Edmund knew his older sister was hovering next to his bed, her hands rested upon her hips. “Well, that's quite your fault! You shouldn't be up at all hours of the night! Now, get up!" Rolling his eyes, Edmund sat up from his laying position, stifling a yawn. “I had a meeting last night, remember? What do I have to get up for anyway?” he protested, his brown eyes meeting Susan’s blue ones. She just shook her head, “You have an archery lesson today with Lady Aurora. You need to be out there within thirty minutes or I’ll get Lucy to wake up!” Edmund glared at his older sister, holding her gaze until her advert his eyes to the floor. He wasn’t in any kind of a mood for Lucy’s methods of waking her brothers up. “Alright! Fine! You win, but I still don’t understand why I have to take archery lessons. Peter isn’t all that great himself.”
“Peter’s next on my list, but your far worse than Peter.” Edmund rolled his eyes as he stiffly got up from his mattress. “Fine, I’ll go.” Watching the smile curl onto his sister’s lips, she gleamed triumphantly. Susan always won the arguments. “Remember. Thirty minutes!” she called over her shoulder as Edmund began to redress. He mocked her voice as the door closed, pulling hard on the shoe laces of his boots. Within minutes, Edmund was walking down to the archery fields, noticing that Aurora was already out there. Quietly making his way up next to her, he watched the arrow soar into the air toward the target. “I am familiar with a bow and arrow, Lady Aurora,” he responded toward her comment of him being a beginner. “You aren’t going to lecture me with rules now about how to approach an archer? Or maybe even the steps to shoot an arrow?”
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Post by Aurora Beckinsfield on Dec 3, 2007 22:31:28 GMT -5
Aurora shot the arrow straight into the ground beside her foot before she turned to face Edmund with a determined glint in her eyes, "My King, I will teach you as I properly see fit. If you have a problem with any of my teaching techniques, you shall bring them up with your sister, Queen Susan the Gentle, otherwise please pay close attention." Aurora raised an eyebrow at him and then turned to face the targets again, eyeing them closely for a moment. After a moment of staring at the targets, Aurora shoved the bow toward Edmund and reached over her shoulder to pull an arrow from her quiver and hand that to him as well, "Let me see what you've got, my King." She bowed her head slightly and took a swift step back as she stood with her arms by her side and watched him. Before he could even launch the arrow, however, Aurora stepped toward him and shook her head, "No." She stood beside him and moved her hands to fix his stature, "Your right leg must go perpendicular behind your left and your hands must be strong around this area so the bow does not bend too far." She curled her hands over his to make them grip the bow harder before stepping back again, "Now, you may shoot." She watched him again, her arms by her sides again, and her brown eyes attuned to the arch of the arrow as it moved through the air toward the target. It hit the target, but in one of the outer rings. Aurora nodded her head in acknowledgement and then took the bow from him.
She didn't speak for awhile and when she did it was in a cool tone, "Your sister was right, my King, you are rather mediocre." She smirked softly and tucked her hair behind her before stringing the bow once more, "I mean that in the nicest way possible, good sir, but it is quite what you are. Only someone with mediocre archery skills would make the rookie mistake you just made. Don't get me wrong, it was quite a nice shot, you shoot better than most I've seen – but let me give you a few hints." She shot the arrow and watched it soar and stick before turning to look at Edmund, "Pull the string back to your chin so your fingers are parallel to it, always. It will never fail to be right on course if you do that. Not only that, though, you must always look through one eye at a time and then close your left eye, since you are right handed, before you shoot. This will increase your ability to shoot closer to your specific target." Aurora watched him a moment, noting the bags under his eyes and the attitude and stature with which he stood. He did not look thrilled to be out here. Well, neither was she, but she was at least putting an effort in. Then again, this was sort of her job and he was a King so she supposed he could afford to be stubborn and cranky.
"May I speak freely, my King?" she spoke in a small tone of voice, but her gaze held his and she stood with her head held high – showing determination. She knew her place, but she also knew she deserved respect and she knew that she could gain just that by showing her determination to get the permission she desired.
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Post by King Edmund the Just on Dec 4, 2007 18:20:45 GMT -5
Edmund gazed at the distance targets, not even flinching as he heard the sickening thud of the arrow piercing the ground next to him. It sounded like Aurora was appalled by his sulkiness that morning. It was rude of Edmund to be such a way, but he was known for his temper. Tearing his gaze away from the boards, Edmund listened to the woman next to him. It wasn’t that he had a problem with her teaching methods; actually, Edmund didn’t even have the slightest clue. Though, what he had heard from the others, she was rather talented. Why else would Susan call upon her? Stepping back as the bow was pushed into his chest Edmund took it into his hands. An arrow was soon passed to him with only a few words. Edmund stared at the mahogany hard wood, his brown eyes tracing the parallel patterns. His finger pulled the string back letting go as he felt Aurora’s gaze upon him. Looking up at her he sighed holding the base of the bow with his left hand. Edmund remembered a few basic facts about archery that he picked up from Susan and the centaur archers. He knew that he was right dominant, and how to hold the bow in such a way. The only reason why Edmund didn’t like archery was before his aim was never too join. It also never really peek much interest than sword fighting had. Maybe he could give this try. Placing the arrow properly in the hook, Edmund held the bow up, pulling the string back.
Before he could even let go, Aurora’s voice broke through his concentration. Dropping the bow, Edmund loosened his grip feeling her hands move his legs in their position, he looked over his shoulder. “I thought you weren’t allowed to disturb an archer before they shot, Lady,” Edmund inquired before looking back forward. Once it was silent, Edmund tugged back on the string, letting go as the arrow pierced the air. He watched it hit the outer rings of the targets, his arms dropping to his sides. Aurora hadn’t made any comment, maybe the shot wasn’t as bad as she had expected? Upon hearing her voice, Edmund sighed as he handed the bow toward the woman. She had taken it, explaining his so called, ‘rookie’ mistake. Watching her reload and shoot, Edmund’s gaze followed the arrow as it hit the target perfectly center. Restraining himself from rolling his eyes, Edmund listened to the pointers that Aurora was giving. He kicked the ground with the tip of his boot, glancing up as she finished. “I thought you weren’t supposed to close any eye as you shot?” Edmund added, his sarcastic tone dripping upon every word. Maybe he was taking this attitude too far? Kings weren’t like this, but not everybody could be Mr. Peppy like Peter was.
When Aurora asked permission to speak freely, Edmund nodded his head as he took the bow into his arms. "You may." His gaze met her briefly, before stepping forward to take one of the arrows from the patch on her back. Resetting the bow so that the arrow was attached securely to the string, Edmund pulled his arms up. Pulling the string back toward his cheek, he tried to keep in mind about the parallel fingers as he released the arrow into the air. It sped forward missing the target to until puncture the ground.
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