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November Bonus Chapter
🕑 Added 2023-11-30 08:39:49 +0000 UTCThe sack of sugar was heavy on my shoulder.
Ilya’s birthday was soon, and Elincia had deemed shopping for cake ingredients a suitable activity for me. I smiled. The sooner she realized Corruption wasn’t a crippling ailment, the better it would be for all of us. I looked at the sky and noticed it was well past lunchtime. Winter had already settled over Farcrest, and finding fresh food at the market was increasingly difficult.
I wanted to know if I could put a ton of ice in a cellar and call it a fridge. My train of thought crashed when I encountered Elincia sitting alone on the front stairs of the orphanage. She looked utterly defeated.
“What’s the matter, sweetie? Ash stole your apple dumpling?” I asked, trying to raise her spirits.
Instead of the expected eye-rolling, Elincia sighed.
“I might be the worst teacher ever,” she said, massaging her temples.
“Archery 101 didn’t go well?” I sat by her side and put my arm around her shoulders.
Elincia snuggled to my side and rested her head on my shoulder.
“It went worse than bad. It was horrible. The kids looked at me as if expecting something more.” Elincia sighed.
I softly nudged her. She wouldn't believe all the times I had to support other teachers emotionally. Having a bad lesson, losing control of a class, or dealing with a dispute with parents, there were dozens of things that could push a teacher over the edge. I had seen many teachers become ‘ruthless’ just to avoid the burnout.
“You just had a bad day, that’s all,” I said.
“We don’t have a day to spare, Robert. The Imperial Academy exam waits for no one. I demand that you share your teaching secrets with me,” she sternly replied.
Thankfully, we were close enough that she couldn’t see my face because I was about to burst out laughing.
“You are right. We don’t have time to lose. Let’s take the ingredients to the kitchen, and we’ll sort this out,” I said.
* * *
“How in the Everloving System will kids learn to use a bow without shooting? It doesn’t make sense!” Elincia complained as she massaged her temples.
“They will shoot. Afterward,” I replied.
Elincia had forbidden the kids from entering the kitchen at odd hours, so we used it as an improvised teacher’s room. I ignored her complaints and spied through the window into the backyard. Virdian and Nokti inspected the potato field, carefully searching for any forgotten potatoes. Shu enthusiastically talked to Ash at the edge of the farm plot, even though the boy seemed to ignore her. Wolf reviewed basic fencing movements with Ilya while Zaon and Firana sat on the great stump, watching over the smaller kids.
Elincia’s practice bows rested by the side of the big stump.
I walked back to Elincia and placed my hands around her waist.
“Not here, the kids…” she complained but put her arms around my neck anyway.
“They totally know,” I replied.
“They know we like each other, not that we are… a thing, together. And they absolutely don’t need to catch us mingling,” Elincia said.
“Well, let’s make sure they don’t catch us with our hands on the dough,” I replied, slowly lowering my hands down her back.
“Hey! Show some respect to the Governess. I’m too strong to be dough. I’m a powerful pastry, like a berry tart with a crunchy crust,” Elincia objected. “And you promised to teach me how to become a good teacher,” she added, grabbing my arms and pulling them away from her hindquarters.
I sighed.
“Alright, tart girl, let’s go outside and I’ll show you how a lesson should be taught,” I reluctantly parted ways with Elincia and led the way outside. “I just want you to acknowledge that you are more touchy than me.”
Elincia gave me a naughty look. “I am, after work.”
As we left the manor behind, the orphans glanced at us suspiciously. I knew perfectly well what their little imp brains were thinking about. Even back on Earth, students always theorized about which teacher liked what teacher. Mental matchmaking was quite easier with only two teachers.
Ilya and Wolf lowered their swords and came to meet us.
“Are we sparring now?” Ilya asked, and I could physically hear Elincia’s heart shattering into a million pieces.
“You’ll have to wait to show me how much you have advanced,” I smiled as we reached the stump. “Today, I’m joining as a student,” I added, grabbing a bow and fidgeting with the string.
“But you are a teacher…” Ilya said.
“A teacher who doesn’t know how to shoot a bow. If you want to see me making a fool of myself, you are all more than welcome to observe.” I replied.
Ilya sighed and sat between Zaon and Firana on the stump. It was good to have such an interested audience. The goal was to help Elincia improve as a teacher and cheer the kids up. And I had a couple of ideas in mind to raise their spirits.
“I hate you, Scholar. You appear out of nowhere, and they are all interested all of a sudden,” Elincia hissed into my ear.
“What can I say? I’m captivating,” I whispered back, eliciting some expected eye-rolling from Elincia.
“Let’s get this over with,” Elincia whispered, grabbing a quiver with blunt practice arrows and helping me tie it to my belt. “Now tell me, oh all-knowing Scholar, how are the kids going to learn to shoot without actually shooting.”
Our small exchange had passed unnoticed by the kids.
“Scaffolding. You break down a complex task into smaller steps, like shooting a bow. They’ll shoot eventually, but first, they must learn to hold the bow.” I explained, but Elincia didn’t seem convinced.
“You just hold it in front of your body, and that’s it. It’s not that hard. You correct the posture as you go,” Elincia said.
Without second thoughts, I raised the bow as I had seen in movies, nocked an arrow, and pulled the string. My arm trembled from the effort I had to put in keeping the string back, but I managed to aim toward the mantle hanging from the branch of a nearby tree. It was a ten-meter shot. Hoping for the best, I let the string go.
The arrow fell beside my feet, and the bowstring snapped against my bare forearm.
“Sugar Honey Iced Coffee!” I cursed as the struck area turned red.
Behind me, I could hear the muffled laughing of the orphans. Watching an adult hurting themself was one of the little pleasures a kid couldn’t ignore. There was a bunch of VHS back in my home featuring me laughing at my dad when he had a minor domestic accident. In hindsight, it was apparent that the accidents were an intentional act to make me laugh.
The string hitting my wrist wasn't as intentional as my father’s shenanigans.
“Not even Wolf managed to score a negative distance.” Ilya jokingly pointed out.
“Pitiful shot,” Firana said.
“A-are you okay, Mister Clarke?” Zaon stammered.
Technically speaking, Ilya was right. The arrow had fallen behind the bow, which made my score negative. I turned around and showed them my tongue.
“Pain is a great teacher, don’t you think? You’ll learn how not to hit yourself very soon.” Elincia said with a smug grin.
“Yeah, no. Let’s start with getting myself some armguards. Kids learn better if they are not exposed to senseless physical pain.” I scolded Elincia.
I heard Ilya mockingly blowing air through her nose behind me.
“Because twenty laps around the esplanade aren’t painful at all,” she said.
“That’s not pain. That’s the weakness leaving your body,” Wolf replied.
I recovered the arrow from the ground and returned it to my quiver. Elincia still wasn’t convinced, so I left the bow on the ground and put my hands on her shoulders. I noticed the kids glancing at us with questioning eyes.
“Look, I know this isn’t how you learned, but you must believe in me. Failure is a good teacher, but kids have to know the correct process before failing,” I said, rubbing her arms.
My puppy-dog eyes seemed to have the expected effect because Elincia sighed and walked to the shed to get some armguards. I watched her go before turning around and facing the orphans.
“What’s the deal with the questioning faces?” I asked, catching them by surprise.
The three of them energetically shook their heads, but I noticed their guilty faces. They were intentionally watching how touchy we were getting, even if it was in the context of an archery lesson. I laughed internally. They would have a field day with us when we weren’t listening.
Elincia returned shortly after with a leather armguard that she promptly helped me to don under the kids’ curious glances. Then, we started working on my posture. Feet shoulder-width apart, straight back, relaxed shoulders. With a bit of help on my part, Elincia’s guidance was precise and effective, and I soon adopted the shooting posture naturally. My first attempt had ended in disaster because I was pulling my arm back and outward.
“Grab the bow with your non-dominant hand and the string with your dominant hand,” Elincia said. I realized last time, I had held it with the wrong hand. “Good, now pull the string back to your chin. Elbow and wrist straight. Pull back with your back, not with your arm. With your back!”
I tried following Elincia’s instructions, but a second later, my arm was trembling.
“You are pulling with your arm. I explicitly said you have to pull it with your back.” Elincia corrected me, arms crossed over her chest.
Behind me, the orphans laughed at the fact I was getting scolded.
“I’m trying my best, Miss Rosebud!” I replied with an appalled tone that only served to intensify the laughter.
“You are clearly not! Also, you are not extending your elbow.” Elincia replied, eliciting another round of laughter. She approached and stood behind me, putting one hand on my back and the other on my elbow.
I raised the bow and pulled the string. Elincia corrected my posture, raising my elbow to make a horizontal line with my other arm and helping me to keep my shoulders relaxed. She was so close to me that I could smell the summery aroma of her hair.
Now was the moment when, back on Earth, kids would have started recording with their phones.
“Don’t let go yet. When you release, your drawing arm should follow through the movement.” Elincia said, stepping back and giving me the green light to let the string go.
I repeated the process while she inspected my form, and a dozen tries later, she gave me the thumbs up.
“You kinda got it. Now try with an actual arrow.” Elincia said with a look of approval.
I nocked an arrow and put into practice what she had taught me: extended arm, extended elbow, string to the chin, straight position, relaxed shoulders. I took a deep breath, overly conscious of the multiple eyes on me, and aimed towards the cloth hanging on the branch ten paces away.
The arrow flew straight, almost hitting the marked center.
“Scholar one, evil blanket zero!” I celebrated.
I looked at Elincia with a broad smile and opened my arms, inviting her for an embrace. She didn’t hesitate to jump into them. She remembered we had spectators only when I grabbed her by the waist and lifted her off the ground.
“What?” I said, looking at the whispering kids. “Nobody else is going to give me a celebratory hug?”
They all shook their heads in unison.
“I’ll do it!” Shu yelled from the other side of the backyard. She ran as fast as her taloned feet allowed her, which wasn’t very fast compared to a human kid her age. I waited for her with my arms open until she finally reached me. The difficult part was stifling my laughter during the run.
“You did well,” Shu congratulated me when I deposited her on the ground again. I wasn’t expecting what came next. “I’m glad you came to the orphanage. Since you arrived, I’ve been happier than before,” she whispered near my ear.
“Thank you, Shu. I’m also happy to be here,” I replied. “Now, be good and go play with your friends.”
I turned around and carefully shot a few arrows. I didn’t want the others to see a speck of dust that had found its way to my eyes. Elincia had also turned her back to the orphans to focus on the target, her face flushed to the point that even her ears were bright red.
“Who’s next?” I said, leaving the bow and armguard by the big stump and stretching my back. “If you have any questions regarding anything, you can ask Miss Elincia,” I added, walking back to the manor.
Elincia gave me a panicked look when the kids nodded and grabbed the bows and quivers. I just smiled and gave her the double thumbs up. Everything was going to be smooth sailing.
Comments
I Dare Korval
Yeah, she's a "tough cookie" at least!
Marian Ch
"I’m too strong to be dough" - cackling, witch-like in this hour of the morning.
