Page 80 of Mermaid on Heels
“And now,” he said softly, his voice a mere whisper against her ear. “Focus on the target. Keep your eye on it, and when you’re ready, release the string smoothly.”
Liriya took a deep breath, her heart pounding in her chest. She concentrated on the distant target, willing her body to cooperate. As she released the string, the arrow soared through the air, hitting the target with a satisfying thud. Far from the bull’s eyes, but still, she managed to hit the target.
Cheers erupted around her from her sisters and Cedric. The others clapped. Luke stepped back with a pleased smile on his face, the silent praise in his eyes making Liriya’s cheeks grow warmer.
“Look at you, firing an arrow.” His grin turned crooked.
“Would not have done it without my tutor though. Thank you, Luke.” Liriya grinned back, shyly. “Now, can I see you firing one?”
“Anything for you,” he murmured and accepted her bow, and turned to Cedric. “Hey Ced, how about we compete?”
Cedric smirked at his cousin and grabbed his bow skillfully. “Be ready to lose, brother. Your ladies are watching.”
A chorus of laughter followed from the girls as the two men positioned themselves at the shooting line, facing the targets that had been cleared. Liriya stood aside with her sisters, putting her arms around them as they watched the match between the cousins.
Each time Luke hit the target, he turned to Liriya with his victorious grin and she smiled back at him, clapping her hands. When her eyes slid to the rest of the elites, who stood on the other side, they were eyeing her coldly.
This time, instead of feeling intimidated, Liriya smiled and turned away to continue cheering for the royal cousins.
Chapter 17
Dear Bia, I do not know where to start. I miss you terribly. Truly, I wish you and Kitty were here! A lot has happened and it is making me feel more than just two days have passed since the last time we saw each other. Mad, is not it? There is a lot to write, but I am afraid it will have to wait until we meet again. Writing with ink and quill feels weird, to be honest. But I am glad I had a little practice with them at your house when you made me write down our shopping list. How come those times feel like they were so long ago?
How are you and Kitty? How is your Gezer? Have the triplets ever come to bother you again? Do write to me and I shall make them pay when I get the chance. Since you are an expert writing with a quill on dry paper (do not laugh!), I am expecting a long reply explaining everything. Therefore, please do not let me down. Ella and Sessa are eager to hear from the both of you, as well. They miss you terribly.
The Bridal Selection Period is indeed a competition. No one is interested in getting acquainted with each other. Our ladies-in-waiting are the only friendly faces we have met here so far. That is, of course, apart from Luke, Cedric, and Cedric’s parents. Princess Aeira seemed nice in the beginning (yes, I know you are shocked, but she actually was nice to me when we met in the morning I arrived here) but after this evening, everyone is looking at me as if I am their competition.
What happened? Well, thank you for asking. We had archery earlier and Luke helped Sessa and me (Cedric helped Ella, and it was cute with their banter) to fire the arrows since we do not know how to do it. We hit the targets, Bia! Can you believe that? Luke was giving too much attention to me (we had two secret dates already, and it is not even my assigned day yet. Wait, you know how the Bridal Selection Period works, right? If not, I will disclose it to you in our next letter) and the elites are not so pleased with it.
Oh goodness, look at that! I have written a long letter already and have not gotten to disclose half of the things yet. Better save it for our meeting. My fingers are aching already, and therefore I am stopping here, unwillingly. I apologize!
I love you so much and I cannot wait to see you and Kitty again. Write back soon and make it a long letter. We will be waiting.
Yours, Liriya.
Liriya set the quill aside and stretched her back and limbs. Ella rose from her seat at the windowsill and marched towards Liriya’s table, as though she had been waiting for Liriya to finish. She reached for the letter.
“The ink needs to dry Ella, or it will smear, remember?” Liriya blocked her sister’s reach. “Just wait for a minute and then you can read it.”
But Ella seemed to have no patience to wait. She peered over Liriya’s shoulder and began reading aloud. Sessa joined her on the other side.
They were in Liriya’s room. After the archery, where Luke and Cedric were in a tie, they retreated inside while Luke and Princess Aeira departed for the remainder of their date. Despite being the center of Luke’s attention the whole time, Liriya was once again hit with the strange pang seeing the Garbian princess smiling at him with her heart in her eyes and hugging his arm as they walked away, complimenting him.
She could not wait for nightfall so that she could have Luke all for herself again.
When they returned to her room, Liriya had told her sisters about her time with Luke as promised. Then, she rung for Susie and requested the writing tools. However, now that the letter was ready, Liriya realized she didn’t knowhowto send it to her best friend.
Cedric’s face popped into her mind immediately and she decided to go see him once the ink dried off.
“Cedric helped Ella and it was cute with their banter?” Ella’s eyes snapped to Liriya from the letter incredulously. “That man is infuriating!”
“And you secretly enjoy it,” Liriya replied casually and rose from her chair.
“What? You are insane! Who enjoys being infuriated?”
“Obviously my middle sister.”
Ella shook her head in frustration. “And mybigsister is definitely insane,” she said and continued reading the letter. Once she was done, Liriya grabbed it and folded into two.