╔═══━━━─── • ───━━━═══╗
focus

╚═══━━━─── • ───━━━═══╝

"If you all expect to survive your first mission, you'll have to try a lot harder." The officer barked at Grian as she renocked her bow.

The entire group of soldiers from the south had been labeled the Fourth Quadrant and were now required to practice their precision and shooting. There were a few officers assigned to check each soldier's form as they shot, but so far the pointers haven't been helpful.

Grian rolled her eyes and refocused on the target, which had been placed a long distance from the shooting line. This entire training measure was by far her least favorite out of all of them, for many reasons.

First, Ronin was far better at it than she was, which frustrated her beyond words. Second, she wasn't experienced in shooting at all, especially at such long distances. And third, it only reminded her of that dark day when Heirsa was taken from their family.

"Come on, keep your eyes on it!" The officer yelled as he passed her again.

"Allow me." Khana suddenly appeared after the officer had moved on to the soldier to Grian's left.

He put a hand to her elbow and pushed it down slightly, then moved around her to reposition her head against the bowstring she'd already pulled back.

"Now focus on the target and release." He instructed.

Grian did as he said, and managed to get the arrow to hit the target, which she hadn't been able to do thus far.

"Thanks for the tips." She said. "But it would be really helpful if I could get a bullseye so I could quite this ridiculous target practice."

"Wish I could help you, but you've got to do that on your own," Khana replied. "You won't always have someone to do your aiming for you."

Grian sighed, but she knew he was right. "I've never been good at archery," she told him.

"Not everyone has the keen eye of an archer." He said. "But then some people who are partially blind who shoot perfectly..." He trailed off with a mischievous glint in his eye.

"What? I don't believe that." Grian scoffed..

Khana held out his hand for the bow. She handed it to him and he nocked it. Keeping both eyes open, he took aim and shot a perfect bullseye.

"I'm supposed to believe that you're partially blind?"

Khana nodded. "Injured in battle last year. I've never seen out of my right eye since then."

"Well you sure have a way of making me feel pathetic," Grian told him. "But I suppose I can keep trying."

Khana gave her a half-hearted salute and walked back to his own shooting line.

It seemed like life around the training fort eventually just became normal. That in itself caused misery to set into nearly every new soldier. The consideration that this war was their new life wasn't an easy thing to accept.

The soldiers were often treated badly, shoved about by the officers and barked at whenever they wouldn't acknowledge their orders at the very moment they were uttered.

The more they all adjusted to the abuse and hardship, the more Ronin wanted to fight for something more. He knew that the Queen was responsible for all of this. She was the cause of their suffering. She didn't deserve to be called their ruler.

Heirsa returned to his chambers after a day of work to find the Lady Ashira reading a book while sitting on the bench.

"Pardon me, but what exactly are you doing in here?" He asked her.

"You've been about all day and I haven't seen you. Besides, can't a woman come to greet her fiancé at least once in a while?"

Heirsa sighed. "Of course, what was I thinking; being about all day and away from my beloved when I have an important position to fill as the Queen's General."

"My beloved. What a perfect term to use." Ashira said.

Heirsa furrowed his brows slightly, completely unsure if she was being sarcastic or not.

"What am I to call you, General?" She asked, repositioning herself so he could take the seat next to her. She motioned for him to sit, which he did with momentary hesitancy.

"What do you wish to call me?" He asked as he folded his hands in front of him.

"Hmm...well come to think of it, Beloved sounds perfect."

"Well then, it's settled," Heirsa said, standing up.

"Just sit a while longer," Ashira caught his arm, meeting his eyes.

Heirsa heard someone enter through the door he'd left open. He looked up to see a handmaid.

"May I help you?" He asked her.

The handmaid blushed at her poorly timed entrance, causing Heirsa's glance to move from her to his sleeve, where the Lady Ashira's hand still rested.

"Um, yes dinner is in preparations." The maid said.

"Yes, thank you," Heirsa replied, not sure if he should feel embarrassed.

As soon as he'd replied, the maid gave a nod and made her exit. Ashira finally moved her hand off of Heirsa's arm, smirking up at him.

"I believe I've embarrassed you." She said with a giggle.

"I'm not embarrassed, it was simply an uncomfortable situation. Were you not uncomfortable?"

"Of course not. We are betrothed after all,"

Heirsa moved toward his desk, hands in his trouser pockets and his lips pressed together.

He struggled to know how to talk to this woman;  his fiancé. The oddity of talking about their betrothal to each other annoyed him. He decided to do something about it.

He approached Ashira again, taking her hand and gazing into her eyes. He leaned forward and pecked her lips softly before pulling away.

She looked startled but not at all displeased. "I'm surprised with you General," She said.

"I'm glad you're pleased," Heirsa said, his hands returning to his pockets as he turned to look out the window.

He could hear Ashira chuckle quietly, then the sound of her dress sweeping over the floor as she left the room.

"I suppose I'll see you at dinner then," She said before closing the door behind her.

Heirsa exhaled as soon as she had gone. The kiss re-entered his mind, but he didn't resent it. If he was to be a fit husband, he'd have to try and make his affection authentic.

Author's Note .

Oof. I couldn't wait until next week so I think I'll just leave an extra chapter here for you all. Next chapter will probably come later in the week or next weekend...we'll see. Let me know how you feel about these new developments!

All my love,
Kori Kalon .