We’ve done this a hundred times over. I’ve always lost. Perhaps I’ll do better after a hundred more? Tomorrow I’ll wake early and practice while the first sunlight caresses my cool skin. I know where the bow and arrows are. I’ll fetch them and by breakfast I’ll be back in my bed, pretending to be asleep. That’s how I’ll get better, yes. Tomorrow. Today the last arrow is mine and I’ll hit the target. I can do it. Just you see.
Draw. Knock. Pull. Aim. Hold. Confident. I can do it. I can do it. Breath. Steady hand. Release. Through the Emerald’s heart. It shatters like an explosion of green ice, sending shards in my eyes. Am I going blind? No, this is impossible. My eyes are stinging. It didn’t happen. It never existed.
Blood.
Awake now.
What are you doing behind the glass?
