I pulled on the leather gloves Aladdin had given me, as he positioned the targets in a row of three.

He turned to me, and I immediately noticed that the brightness in his face had vanished. He had a dark look in his eye, and an expression which reminded me of Robin.

"Now listen up. Starting from now, I am your teacher. As long as you are my student, you will not completely rest until you have mastered archery".

My eyes widened. "What do you mean not completely rest? And what's with the sudden change in personality"?

"There's no change in personality, Jessika. Robin should've warned you about how I am when it comes to teaching". he took the bow from my hand and grabbed an arrow.

"Now watch carefully what I am about to do". he said. He held the arrow against the bow and stretched the bowstring. I watched as his eyes looked straight ahead at the target.

Then the arrow flew into the air and hit the target right in the centre. 

"Woah. Can I try, now"? I held out my hands. He glared at me, his deep azure eyes boring into mine, making me shiver. 

Was this where Robin got it from?

"Don't be ridiculous. You're not shooting anything with a weak physique like that". He looked me up and down.

"W...what"?! I wrapped my arms around my body and felt myself heat up. "Why would you say that"?

"Because it't the truth. Watch again". He aimed another arrow at the second target. "This time, don't watch the arrow, watch my body".

"Um, OK". I said.

It was only now that I noticed that Aladdin was in some sort of stance, as he pulled on the bowstring.

He stood with his body facing me, his feet pointing in my direction. However, his body from his shoulders upward were facing the direction of the arrow.

"When aiming, your whole body becomes the bow and arrow". he explained. "Make sure your arms are both in the same straight line". He let the arrow go, and again hit the target.

"Wow". I said. 

"It's a lot harder than it looks". Aladdin stated, taking the third arrow. "There's more to archery than just shooting an arrow. Aim, stance, and then lastly..." He aims the arrow again. 

My eyes widen, as I notice a light blue glow from his hand which spreads onto the arrow. He shoots the arrow and it doesn't only hit the centre, but sets the whole thing in blue flames, and it crumples into a pile of ashes.

My jaw drops open.

"Lastly is magic". He looks at me. "Remember this is not ordinary archery we are learning".

-------------------------------------------------

Robin POV

I looked around the town, to see if I noticed anything out of the ordinary. So far there was nothing. I began to grow suspicious.

I noticed some children running around trying to chase some chickens. The birds flapped and squawked frantically. One stood still and pecked at something on the ground.

one of the children, a boy who looked like he was around seven, slowly crept up behind the fowl, and suddenly jumped for it.

The chicken flapped out of his reach just in time.

The boy burst into tears. 

I chuckled to myself. "Hey, crybaby". I said to him. He looked up, tears in his eyes. "If you lay on the ground crying, the chicken won't just walk up to you and surrender itself".

"H...Huh"? The boy sniffed, and sat up on the ground. The two other kids he was playing with came up to him and helped him up.

"If you all just run around aimlessly, it can easily escape. One person should feed it corn or something, and the two should come from two opposite sides behind it. Once you corner it, one of you will be able to catch it". 

The boy nodded. "Erna, get some of the grain". The girl who appeared to be the youngest of them nodded and obeyed.

One chicken came over and started pecking at the food on the ground. The two boys went behind it.

The bird had no idea what was happening, and didn't get the chance to move when the boys pounced. One of them grabbed at it, successfully.

They all cheered. I smiled. 

"Thank you so much, mister! We've been trying to get this one for ages"! The boy said, grinning, revealing two gaps where his top teeth were missing.

I shrugged. "Whatever. It was nothing". I continued walking, as the memories circled around in my head. 

I noticed Red sat on the floor crying in front of the chicken pen outside of Grandma's house.

"What's wrong with you"? I asked her. She looked up at me. "Th....That one hates m...me". She complained, pointing at a small chicken scraping the ground. "it k...keeps running away. I j...just wanted to play with it".

I looked at the bird, before fishing around in my pocket and taking out a small cracker. That must've been in there for ages.

A few moments later, Red held the chicken in her arms, gently, and surprisingly it seemed relaxed after awhile. 

"How did you do it, Robin"? She said. "How did you get it to like you"? 

"I don't know. I think it just came for the food". I said. "But it looks like it doesn't hate you after all. See how comfy it is in your arms".

Red smiled. "I think I'll call it... Little Robin". 

"WHAT. No! Don't name it after me. Besides, what's the point of naming something you're gonna eat"? 

Red gasped. "We're not gonna eat it you imbecile! I'm keeping it as a pet".

"You're seven years old, you can't go around calling people an imbecile! And also, don't be surprised if you don't see that bird in its cage in a few days time. I love roast chicken". I laughed wickedly, before walking away.

"But you're seven years old, and you told that bully at school to go and stick his bow up his..." 

I stopped her before she could continue. "Don't repeat that. And I'm an exception anyway, I was born twelve minutes before you". 

I sighed. I laughed at the memory of myself acting so grown up at seven years old. I was always teasing my sister about her gentleness. But Red was always the nice one of the two of us. She tried to make every creature her friend. 

I missed her. I missed her so much.