This story is dedicated to: Lauraeffingiero, because I only got this story idea from reading her amazing story: Yeah, My Best Friend Is A Dragon, So What?. I hope she doesn't mind if I post this story. ILY!
Just a simple OneShot about Gunther helping Jane out with her archery. I don't know archery terms, so the story is probably written stupidly, but I don't really care, lol. Enjoy! I do not own JatD or any of its characters (Can't think of a clever way to say it today, lol).
It was a typical afternoon in the practice yard. Dragon was slumped over the castle walls, taking a nap. Smithy was banging on a random piece of metal, while Pig turned the wheel, keeping the forge burning. And I was practicing my archery. Sir Theodore said I had been very "distracted" lately.
So, I continued hitting arrows at the target, trying to prove him wrong, but every arrow that hit was nowhere near the red bulls-eye.
I got another arrow and aimed at the single red dot, putting all my concentration into that one hit, when I heard a rustling beside me. Alarmed, I released the arrow, causing it fly straight into a stack of barrels beside the target. Thankfully, they were all empty.
Where the rustling once was, there came an annoying laugh. "Let me guess, Jane. You had meant to aim for the barrels, right?"
Gunther. I gritted my teeth and tried to ignore him. However, my eyes did not seem to be in on this plan, as they began following him. He was unloading a bunch of crates, for his father, the merchant, I am sure.
I reloaded and shut one eye, looking back at the target. My left eye, still wide open, noticed Gunther standing there, watching me.
"Biscuit weevil," I muttered. I thought of what Sir Theodore had taught me about distractions and how to ignore them. I breathed out slowly, trying to concentrate. If I could hit the target this time, Gunther would have nothing clever to utter; therefore he would leave me alone. At least, that is what I was hoping.
"You are too tense," Gunther said. "And you seem a little distracted."
I brought the arrow down and scoffed, looking right at him. "I wonder why."
He put his hands up defensively. "I am just trying to help."
"I did not ask for your help!"
"Alright, fine." He took a step back to leave.
I breathed again, trying to keep from shooting an arrow after him. I focused back on the target in front of me. Just as I was about to release, something stopped me, again.
Gunther shook his head. "You are still too tense."
My side vision noticed him walking towards me. I freed the arrow from my grasp, hoping it would land exactly on the target and Gunther would just go away.
It did not. Instead it fell at my feet. My cheeks burned with embarrassment, but to my surprise, he did not laugh. Instead, he picked up the arrow and placed it in my hand.
I raised an eyebrow but brought the arrow up anyway, getting ready to try again. That was when Gunther took over, in a sense.
"Steady," He said, lowering my "tense" elbow. I felt his body behind me, just inches away from mine. His hand found its way onto my shoulder and he stood there for a moment, lightly breathing on my neck. I am sure he had not meant to, as that was a distraction in itself.
And in less than a minute, I had gone from stone tense, to as soft as Pepper's delicious pear pudding. I breathed in, trying hard to focus only on the target, and not on Gunther.
Suddenly, his lips were in my ear. "Release," was all he said.
Surprising myself, I obeyed his command and the arrow soared right through the air, hitting the bulls-eye. Direct hit!
I looked at him, smiling. He nodded and dropped his hands from my arm and shoulder. I felt a sudden chill. Then Gunther walked away, heading for his father's cart, as if nothing had just happened.
I shook away the uneasiness of the moment and grabbed for another arrow. Still shaking a bit, I aimed for the target. Miss!
I turned towards the spot Gunther had just exited from. "Strange," I mumbled. I tried again, but even I knew it was no use. I was now even more distracted than before.
Any spelling errors are completely my fault, as I'm feeling a little distracted right now myself, lol. Comments are love. :]