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Alcryst closed his eyes as he let go of the bowstring. It was his tenth and last shot. If he made it, he would complete his redemption. If not, who knows if he would ever do it.
The two seconds it took for the arrow to reach the bullseye lasted an eternity for him. But, like clockwork, the sound of arrow hitting wood reached Alcryst’s ears.
“Well done, Alcryst. A perfect ten out of ten!”
Upon hearing his brother’s voice, Alcryst opened his eyes. His arrow had hit in the center of the bullseye. Meanwhile, Diamant’s didn’t even hit the target.
He didn’t have much time to react though; Citrinne and Lapis both grabbed onto him to hug him. After that Amber and Jade came to Alcryst to congratulate him after reassuring their liege, and finally Diamant was with him after he had picked up his arrow.
“I’ve never had a perfect score, Alcryst. To think that the first one I’d see to do it is my own brother…”
“Eight out of ten is better than most archers. But I’m glad that I was the one to beat you.”
Alcryst found himself starting to smirk. But before he could spend too much time basking in his win, Diamant grabbed Alcryst and started ruffling his hair.
“You’re still my baby brother, Alcryst,” Diamant said.
“Hey!”
Alcryst took time to fix his hair; he even had to remove his clip for a moment so he could straighten a few strands. “I’ll never be as good as you, brother, but you’ve always said that you’d love to be around people who are just as strong as you.”
“That’s true!” Diamant said. “I chose Amber and Jade as my retainers because they are both very strong. You must have had the same reasoning for picking Lapis and Citrinne. But above all, I’m proud of how much you’ve grown.”
“Thanks, Diamant. Say, what if we tried swordfighting next?”
The older prince laughed. “Don’t get too cocky, Alcryst. I’m still far more skilled than you.”
“Which is why I want to try it,” Alcryst explained. “You’ll beat me and it’ll make you feel better after losing at archery to me.”
Lapis and Citrinne both giggled behind Alcryst while Amber and Jade traded concerned murmurs behind Diamant.
“You’re on,” Diamant said.
The brothers gave each other an hour to prepare; during that hour, Lapis quickly refreshed Alcryst on the basics of swordfighting while Amber and Diamant warmed up by dueling each other. Jade and Citrinne also coached their respective lieges on the appropriate strategies. When the hour was up, the two dueled each other in the arena, each with a steel sword; a crowd had even gathered with many of those present cheering on Alcryst. His strategy of making himself as small as possible worked for a little bit and he even parried a few of his brother’s attacks, but in the end Diamant had the upper hand and won based on sheer experience.
“Good match,” Diamant said as he pulled Alcryst up from the ground. “Look at all the people who came for you!” He gestured at the crowd that gathered, and in particular at the younger royal siblings.
“Ah…I’m-”
“It’s okay, Alcryst. Thank you so much for being my brother.”
After sharing a hug with his brother, Alcryst bowed to his peers in Céline, Fogado, Veyle, and Hortensia. He joined them and then they along with their retainers all went to the café to eat dessert together, all in celebration of their favorite archer prince.