Reiha knew she saw something about an archery competition in town. The entry fee was five gold. First place winners received 25 gold, second place received 20, and third place received 15. Reiha felt the coin purse full of platinum in her hand. This was enough money to last her for a long while. She didn’t even need any of the prize money, and yet Reiha found herself signing up anyways.

The target stands were already put up at the edge of town. The officiator was standing at a podium not too far away from the targets. It was surprising, to say enough, to see someone so skinny not be blown instantly away by the wind. His attention was locked on whatever he was jotting down with his quill.

Reiha stepped forward, expecting to have to make her presence known.

“Name?”

“What?” Reiha asked, snapping out of her trance.

“Name, please.” the officiator clarified. His eyes were still fixed on whatever he was writing.

“Reiha.”

The man adjusted the glasses he was wearing, which made his pupils look hundreds of times bigger than usual.

“Arrows will be provided for you. All you need is a bow.”

“Last name?”

Reiha stayed silent.

“Where are you from?”

“Medava. Lindoria.”

“Long way from home, aren’t you?”

“What time will the competition st-”

“Five minutes. There will be an announcement when the competition begins.”

“Okay,” Reiha simply responded.

“Do you have the entrance fee?”

Reiha dug into the coin purse, pulling out a piece of platinum. The man reached out one hand, and with the other, he was still scribbling something. She placed the platinum in his hand. This time, his pen stopped as he looked at the coin. He placed it inside some compartment in the podium, and in turn, dug out five gold.

Reiha took the gold. She turned around and quickly walked through the square until she could find somewhere quiet where she could sit down. A small bench was situated nearby. Reiha took a seat before looking at all of the competitors who were already signed up. There weren’t many, but everyone else was clearly skilled. Many of them carried expertly crafted bows and their own quivers of arrows. Most of them seemed like they had been doing this for years.

Reiha rubbed her eyes. Hopefully, the clouds will cover the sun sometime soon. She didn’t know how long she would be able to take the blinding sunlight.

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Three horns blew loudly in rhythm.

“All participants, please gather here!” a voice shouted out into the crowd.

Most of the other contestants began lining themselves up. Reiha moved over closer to where the other participants were. Everyone was standing

“Welcome! Welcome!” shouted the same voice.

Reiha looked to see where it was coming from. Unlike the officiator, this person wasn’t thinner than a dried-up branch. What’s more, he actually seemed happy to be here.

“I would like to thank you all for coming this fine morning!” he continued, addressing both the participants and the crowd of people who were slowly gathering in a semicircle. “Today, our ten contestants will put their archery skills to the test. We all know the rules here: Each contestant will have a total of three minutes to score as many points as possible. Afterward, the five contestants with the highest scores will compete against each other, and then the top three.”

A horn then sounded.

“We all wish the participants the best of luck! You may begin… Now!”

Reiha exhaled deeply, readying her bow. She took out an arrow and pulled back the bowstring. Her fingers relaxed. The arrow whizzed through the air and struck the target. It hit just shy of the bullseye.

The crowd who had just gathered were chatting amongst themselves. Their constant laughing and cheering were hard to drown out.

Reiha drew another arrow, pulled it back, and let it fly. This time, it hit the third ring out.

“Agh,” she muttered to herself.

The other contestants were going at their own pace. Some were shooting arrow after arrow, barely even taking their time to aim properly, while the others were taking their sweet time

She let a few more arrows loose, still hitting close to the bullseye. But no matter what, she couldn’t seem to actually hit it. Reiha sighed in frustration as she reached for another arrow. There were only three left. Had to make them count.

Reiha shot the first one. Just outside of the bullseye. Second one: exact same spot. She took out her last arrow. Reiha inhaled deeply and then exhaled. The arrow flew from the bow. And then, bullseye.

Reiha grinned. She relaxed the arm holding the bow and stepped back. With the looks of it, she did good. Better than most, that’s for sure.