My arms shook with exhaustion. I exhaled in an attempt to control my breathing, and loosed the arrow. It flew about six feet before it flopped onto the ground with a dull thud.

"Damn it!" I hissed, frustrated.

I was already out of breath and I'd hardly done anything! I was so much weaker now. I hadn't even thought that I might be awful at hunting after all that time.

"That was better!" Mary exclaimed happily, smiling at me from her perch in a tree. I hadn't even been able to climb the tree, so I was stuck trying to hunt from the ground.

My hands were raw and covered in blisters from my failed attempts at archery. I glared down at the bow in my hand that seemed to be mocking me. It was beautiful: made out of maple wood with symbols engraved into it. But, at the moment, I just wanted to burn it and give up.

I'd already been awake when Azula had come to my room this morning. She'd come with a bow and sheath of arrows, as well as a set of clothes made specifically for hunting. The sun hadn't even risen yet, but Mary had been waiting for me at the base of the stairs.

I jumped when I felt something hit me on the back of my head before falling to the ground. It hadn't really hurt, but it had startled me. Glancing down, I saw that it had been a pinecone.

"Lyra, stop daydreaming!" Mary hissed.

I glared up at her, where she was still crouched in the tree. She'd throne a pinecone at me. "You could have just called my name or something!"

"That wouldn't have been nearly as effective." She huffed. But then, her eyes lit up as they moved past me. Without any warning at all—and faster than I could have thought possible—she notched and loosed an arrow. I felt it whiz past my cheek, so close that it tickled, and I heard a soft thud, as it hit its mark. It happened so quickly that I didn't even have time to react. I turned and found a deer collapsed on the ground, an arrow through its eye.

I whirled back to Mary and looked up at her. "You could have shot me!" I exclaimed, the realization just reaching me.

She jumped from the branch she'd been on and landed in a crouch on the ground. "I wouldn't hit you! You wound me with how little faith you have in my abilities as a hunter."

I narrowed my eyes. "I think you would scare anyone if you nearly shot them with an arrow." I grumbled.

She rolled her eyes, laughing lightly. "Don't be so dramatic!" She walked past me and to the dear lying on the ground. She knelt down next to it and pulled the arrow out, tossing it onto the ground next to her.

She smiled. "We can take this back to the palace and have it for dinner tonight! Want to help me skin it?" She asked, pulling out a dagger.

I knelt beside her, staring down at the lifeless animal. "Can't you use magic to do that?"

She gave me an odd look. "I don't know what stories you've heard about us but using magic to skin animals isn't really something faeries are capable of." She shook her head, smiling a little. She glanced at me. "Besides, even if I could, I probably wouldn't. I prefer to do things manually."

"Why?"

She shrugged. "Most fey would agree. Magic is nice, and convenient. But why use it if we don't have to? There's a certain sense of satisfaction from doing things the hard way." Mary took her knife and stabbed it into deer.

After we skinned the animal, we began our walk back to the palace. The sun had risen since we'd left that morning and it was nice out. Birds flew through the treetops, singing merrily as they went. Sprites flew past us, chasing each other around, leaving a trail of magic dust behind them. The dust sparkled in the sunlight before disappearing.

I smiled as I watched them. They were so cute and tiny. Sprites usually only grew to be as big as a person's thumb.

"Have you been into Sierre yet?" Amaryllis asked, glancing at me. She carried the deer over her shoulder, since we both decided that I wouldn't be able to do it.

Sierre? I'd never heard of it. Feeling a bit sheepish, I asked, "What's Sierre?"

She gave me a funny look. "You've never even heard of it? It's the capital of Lithanium. It's the town that Rylan's palace is in. You live there."

I flushed. "Oh, we passed through on the journey to the palace, but I haven't been there since." I explained.

"What? Why not?" She sounded completely appalled. Had I said something wrong? "Sierre is amazing! I'm going to take you there tomorrow." She said decidedly, leaving no room for arguing.

"Erm . . . alright . . ." I said slowly.

She smiled. "The market place is so lively in the morning. Sierre is such an amazing town. There are so many things to do and see. I can't believe you haven't been there before! Passing through doesn't count." She added quickly as I opened my mouth to correct her.

I shrugged. "Sorry . . ." I said a little uncertainly.

She shook her head. "It's a shame I'm only spending the week. It would be nice to have more time. But we'll make it work."

She had an intensely focused look on her face as she stared ahead. I didn't want to interrupt her since she seemed to be thinking very hard about something. Soon enough, we arrived back at the palace. From the position of the sun, I could see that it was around noon. Amaryllis pushed open the front door and walked toward the kitchen.

"Thank you for going with me," she said over her shoulder. "I had a lot of fun!"

"Thank you for inviting me," I replied. "I'm sorry I wasn't very much help."

"You'll get better! Just practice!" And then she disappeared around the corner.

I sighed, feeling down after the hunt this morning. I'd only gotten in the way, and hadn't been able to help hardly at all.

"Lyra, why are you sad?" Azula's voice reached me and I jumped, startled. I hated how quiet faeries could be.

"I'm fine." I answered quickly, turning to face her.

Azula looked a little bit troubled but nodded her head. "Well, alright. Would you like lunch?"

I smiled. I was hungry. "Yes, please." I said and Azula smiled and led me to the dining room.

Rylan was sitting at the table, reading a book as he ate.

I sat across from him and Azula set down a plate and silverware for me and filled a glass with sparkling wine.

Rylan glanced at me and smiled before looking back down at his book. "How was hunting?" He asked.

I looked down at the white wine sparkling in the glass. "It was alright," I answered after a moment. "Amaryllis did most of the work, though. I really just watched."

"That is so not true!" Amaryllis interjected upon entering the dining room.

Rylan glanced at her, looking amused. "Did you enjoy your morning?"

"Yes, it was very fun! And, Lyra, you did not do as horribly as you might think. It'll just take time. So stop moping about it." Mary said sternly, taking a seat next to me.

I nodded. "Sorry." I mumbled.

She ladled food onto her plate and smiled. "That's alright." Rylan watched us, looking quite amused.

"What have you been doing today?" Mary asked him as she began to eat.

"Training," was his laconic response.

"Did you win?" Mary smiled at him.

He nodded. "Of course I did." He said arrogantly. "I always win."

"That's a lie!" Tristan shouted from the other room. I had no idea he was even here.

Rylan smiled a little to himself and looked back down at his book.

I ate my lunch in silence as Amaryllis poked at Rylan, trying to have a conversation with him. She seemed to be trying to annoy him on purpose. It was working.

He cast an irritated glance her way and shut his book.

"Is it so wrong that I want to talk with you?" she crossed her arms, narrowing her eyes at him. "I haven't seen you in forever!"

He sighed, seeming to soften a little. "Alright, fine. What, exactly, do you want to talk about?"

She raised her eyes skyward as she thought. "Hmm . . . well, how have you been?"

He gave her a look that clearly said, are you kidding me? "You've been bothering me incessantly to ask me that?"

"Well, excuse me for wanting to know how my best friend is doing!" She huffed.

"I'm fine. Any other questions?" He asked irritably.

"Yes. Why are you such an ass?"

I nearly choked when she asked this.

He gave her an irritated look. "I'm an ass?" He replied pointedly.

They were both so straight forward with each other. I tried not to laugh as they bickered like children. I felt like they were more like siblings rather than just friends.

They continued to squabble back and forth for a while. I couldn't help but laugh as they insulted each other and came up with retorts.

At one point, Rylan was about to respond to something Mary said, when he paused and turned to me. "Just what are you laughing at?" He crossed his arms, looking exasperated.

I stifled my laughter. "Nothing." I said quickly.

Tristan walked into the room just then, shaking his head. "You two need to grow up."

He smiled at me and then sat down and began to eat.

Rylan and Amaryllis resumed their argument and Tristan smiled, shaking his head.

"Where is Althea?" I asked him.

"She's out with the Hunters today. Should be back by dinner." He answered, shoving food into his mouth.

"Aren't you a part of the Hunt, too?" I asked.

He nodded. "But I decided not to go today." He shrugged. "I wanted to sleep instead."

Rylan sighed, shaking his head as he turned to Tristan. "You are the laziest person I've ever met."

Tristan narrowed his eyes and Mary sighed. "You really want to pick a fight today, don't you, Rylan?"

He sighed and pushed back his chair and stood. "I have work to do." He replied curtly before exiting the room.

Mary sighed, shaking her head, but she was smiling. "Sometimes, it's like nothing's changed."

Tristan's eyes darkened a little. "Many things have."

She nodded and looked away. "I know."

An oppressive silence fell over the dining room and I picked at my food, feeling like I was interrupting something, though I was here before Tristan was.

I stood and both of them turned to look at me. I excused myself and went up to my room. I found that I no longer needed the map, though I kept it on me, just in case. I paused as I passed the library. I needed to find another book to read.

I walked into the library and found the fire still burning in the fireplace, as it always seemed to be. I spent a long while searching for just the right book. I was very pleased when I found it and I sat in a chair before the fire and read.

I did not know how much time had passed, when I heard the doors to the library open. "Lyra?" Azula's soft voice floated in. "It is dinner time."

I shut the book, almost unwillingly, and stood. I was at a very climactic point and really wanted to finish it. But I turned and followed Azula out of the library and down to the dining room, where Althea, Tristan, Amaryllis, and Rylan were always seated. Why was I always the last one at the table?

Althea cast me a nasty look as I took my seat. But, to my surprise, she did not make any snide remarks. The food was served and I ate with everyone else. It was all as delicious as it ever was.

I ate my food in silence, listening to the others talk about things that I had no interest in. Tristan and Althea talked about the Hunt, while Rylan and Amaryllis talked about politics in Androvia. I looked around the table to find the others paying no attention to me whatsoever, which I was thankful for. As discreetly as I could manage, I picked up my book and set it in my lap under the table and opened to the bookmarked page. Smiling to myself, I went back to reading, hoping none of them would notice. Though, I did not think it would matter that much if they did notice.

I became so engrossed in the book that I did not realize all of the talking had stopped. Everyone's eyes fell on me and watched silently as I read.

"Is she really reading under the table?" Althea asked no one in particular, contempt clear in her voice.

I paused when I heard her speak and I raised my eyes from the book to find everyone watching me. My face turned a bright shade of red and I shut my book. "S-sorry . . ." I mumbled, averting my eyes.

"Do you even understand how rude that is?" Althea's voice was sharp enough to cut through glass. "You are in the presence of royalty and yet you are reading your book under the table? Were you ever even taught about manners?"

My blush deepened to crimson and spread to my ears.

Tristan sighed, sounding almost bored. "Can you really blame her, Al? I'd probably be doing the same. That is, if I liked to read." He shrugged. "But we were all just talking and she probably got bored. I was bored and I was the one talking with you." He smiled tauntingly at her and she glared at him. I saw her hand twitch toward the fork beside her plate and was surprised she hadn't thrown it at him yet.

Amaryllis, who sat next to me, offered me a reassuring smile. "Althea is just being argumentative. The rest of us just found it amusing. You may continue your reading, if you like."

"I . . . er . . ." I began uncertainly. ". . . Thank you . . ."

Her smile brightened. "Your face is so red! Rylan, doesn't her face look like it's the same color as a tomato?"

Rylan glanced at Amaryllis, an amused expression upon his face. "If you say so."

An awkward silence ensued and I felt incredibly uncomfortable. Everyone was watching me with bemused curiosity, except Althea who did nothing to hide her blatant dislike of me.

I cleared my throat and stood. I gripped my book tightly and excused myself before leaving the dining room. That had been so awkward. I shuddered at the thought as I walked down the empty hallway to my bedroom.

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Hey guys! Hope you liked this chapter! Let me know what you think, I am always open to feedback! That goes for if you see grammatical errors as well. Another thing: the title is temporary. I don't think it fits that well with my story, so if you have any ideas please tell me! You can message me privately, leave a comment, or post on my page!

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