Beauty and a Beast

When she arrived there, she took her bow off her back, and laced an arrow onto the string. Arryn closed one eye and pulled the hard string back, the end tips of the arrow between her fingers. She released it, the arrow flew at a great speed, and then. Thwack!! It hit the bull’s-eye mark on one of the multiple boards in the archery field. The sound of her arrow hitting the board, echoed throughout the fields, as she laced and shot another arrow.

She smiled. She loved the sound of her arrow hitting the target. As she was about to lace another arrow, she thought back to the elf she had bumped into that morning. She felt herself blush, but she stopped herself. She couldn’t think about other elves, especially that particular one, right now…

Meanwhile, footsteps were sounding throughout the corridors of the castle. The same elf that had smiled and bumped into Arryn, that morning lightly walked through the corridors.

'I need some air. Maybe I should go for a walk, or go out onto the balcony.'
He thought to himself.

As Aaliyah moved quickly, Arryn passed by the target boards one by one. And as she passed by each one, she shot an arrow into the bull’s eye, without ever missing. Her bow continuously bent again and again, as she kept firing, she smiled, for the sound of the arrows hitting the boards echoed through the archery fields.

As the elf kept walking, he thought back to Arryn, her green eyes had found a place in his heart, and her smile. He loved her smile. It was so pretty. When he thought of her smile, he smiled. A palace guard passed by him, and the guard stopped, and asked him.

“Your highness, are you feeling quite alright?”

“Amin tereva. Le hannon.”
*I am fine, thank you*

the guard nodded, and turned around and left him. When the guard had left, he put on of his fingers to his cheek, and he noticed that his cheeks were feeling hot, he then continued to climb the stairs, and not once was he stopped by a palace guard or anyone.

Thwack! Thwack! Arryn shot two more targets in one single launch. Thwack! She had shot an arrow with such force, that it broke through the target board and it hit the bull’s eye mark, on the board behind it. She grinned from ear to ear. No one and nothing could stop her love for archery.

Meanwhile, the elf continued to climb the stairs to the next level.

Finally, after a while, Arryn took a break. She sat in the grass while, as Aaliyah grazed on the grass, as she patted her mane. While Aaliyah grazed, she lay on her back, while gazing at the sky, she started to daydream. Her thoughts went to the elf whom she had bumped into that morning. Just thinking, of his smile made her smile. He had a very nice and warm smile. His smile actually comforted her; it reminded her of her parents, and their smiles.

Aaliyah suddenly whinnied at her, which made her snap out of her thoughts and her dreams. But the thought of his smile still remained fresh in her mind, as she retrieved her equipment and fired at another target.

The elf had reached the top of the staircase, when he passed by a window. Suddenly he heard a familiar sound.
Thwack!
There was the sound again. The elf walked back the way he had come. But halfway along a corridor, he turned right and took a different route, just following the sound. It had gotten louder, and on top of that sound, he could hear hoof beats; thundering along the ground.
He then came to the point, where he couldn’t follow the sound any longer. For he had found the source of it. He saw a line of pillars lining the side of the side of the field, he watched in awe as he saw Arryn fire one arrow after the other. He was amazed at her skill and love for archery.

Arryn; had no idea that anyone was watching her, in awe, so she kept firing, and she hadn’t missed a shot yet.

Just then, the elf found that he was silently out from behind the pillar he was standing behind.

“She has a great skill in archery.” He found himself saying without planning to. Then, he realised why he had the sudden urge to follow the sound. Somehow he sort of knew why, but he wasn’t 100% sure why yet.
'Don’t worry', he said to himself.
'I’m sure I will find out soon enough.'

“You have amazing skill with archery…” Arryn heard a voice say. She turned to see the elf, which she had bumped into that very morning, standing a few feet away from her. She rode up to him, and hopped off Aaliyah, and she was standing a few feet in front of him, with her bow still locked in her hand.

“Thank you.” She said, a smile trying to appear on her face.

“I’m sorry; I should’ve introduced myself properly, from this morning. I’m Legolas…”
He said.

She fought against the urge to blush, but then she realized who he was. She felt so stupid for not realizing it before. He was Legolas. The Prince of Mirkwood. She bowed her head, respectfully. She felt his hand on her shoulder, and she looked up at him.

“That is not needed, Arryn…” he said, kindly. She looked up at him, and his eyes were sparkling. She looked away in embarrassment.

“So, you like archery?” He asked her. She stood up straight, and she nodded.

“I love it; it helps keep me calm…” She responded, with a smile.

“How good are you?”
He asked, with a hint of amusement in his voice. Arryn smiled, and she laced an arrow on her bow. She turned, and she shot an arrow, at one of the targets.

She heard it ‘THWACK!’ against the target board, and she heard it hit the wood beam supporting it. She turned back to face Legolas, and she cocked an eyebrow at him. He smiled, and he pulled his bow from his back, and he also laced it with an arrow, he shot it at the same target as Arryn’s. It split Arryn’s arrow. She smiled, and she heard the young prince laugh.

“Together?”
He asked. She faced the target, and she tightened her grip on the bow, and the arrow. She felt his hand above hers, and they overlapped. His hand was warm compared to her cold ones. She felt her cheeks grow hot, and the same with the Prince.

“Ready…”
He said to her. She nodded.

“Ready.”
They both pulled back on the string, and they shot the arrow. Arryn smiled at the sound of the arrow, smacking the target board. She smiled, and she felt Legolas let go. She dropped her arms down to her side. She smiled, and Aaliyah whinnied. Arryn laughed.

“It seems as if Aaliyah, is getting restless…Mara Mesta…”
She smiled.

“Mara Mesta…”
He replied. Aaliyah cantered over to her, and she stood beside her mistress. She mounted her, and she nodded goodbye, before Aaliyah galloped away. As she rode closer and closer to the castle, she kept thinking about the young prince. When she arrived at the castle, she saw Aragorn wandering about. She hopped off Aaliyah, and she walked over to her brother.

“Where have you disappeared off to, this time around Arryn?”
He asked, with a smile.

“I went to the archery fields…”
She said, with a faint blush appearing on her cheeks. Aragorn raised his eyebrows at his sister.

“Arryn…”
He asked her, with a hint of amusement.

“I…I…”
She stuttered, before she turned and walked away.

She could hear her brother’s light laugh, and she felt herself smile.