I sat quietly in the shade of the trees as I watched the hunters  return from their trip, deer hanging from the poles being carried  between each pair as they as they made their way through the camp. There  would be enough food to last for quite some time, to go by what I was  seeing. It really had been a successful hunting trip, something the  others were already beginning to celebrate.

I could only shake my head and sigh as I thought of all the work this  would bring me, replacing or repairing lost and broken arrows as well  as the occasional bow. Successful or not, hunting trips always seemed to  mean more work than usual and less relaxation. Sometimes it didn't pay  to be one of the best bowyers in the tribe, not to mention a fairly  decent fletcher as well. It just makes sense to know both crafts since  they are so closely tied together, although I didn't care for the extra  work it brought me.

Shrugging, I slowly climbed to my feet and began the trek to my  dwelling, sighing again at the site of a couple hunters already heading  that way after having dropped off their deer to be prepared for either  cooking tonight's meal or drying into rations for later use.

Oh well, at least I didn't have to join any of the hunts. Grinning at  the happy thought, I began my slow walk home, not feeling the need to  hurry along.

--------

Shrugging at the female in front of me, I watched as she threw the  broken arrow to the side of my work area, a scowl on her face.

"You think I'll allow you to get away with this substandard  workmanship? The lives of our people are relying on these arrows, yet  you seem to not care enough to put any real effort into crafting them!  Either start making arrows that fly true every time or I swear I will kill you myself!" I sighed as I listened to her yell at me, knowing this meant more work for me.

It's not like I didn't put effort into the arrows. I just didn't have  the level of skills she seemed to think I did. I was a Bowyer first and  a Fletcher secondary after all, not that she seemed to care that they  were not one and the same.  I would do my best to raise my skills to  meet her needs, even if just to not have our queen breathing down my  neck again.

"Kill me if it'll make you happy, my queen. Until then I shall do as  you ask to the best of my abilities." I sighed again as I bent down to  pick up the arrow she'd tossed, knowing that at least the arrowhead  could still be saved for future use.

Giving me a strange look, Ashe shook her head before turning and walking off without another word.

--------

"You want me to do what?" I asked in confusion, not understanding why  she would ask this of me after I had already worked so hard at  increasing the quality of the arrows I made. Wasn't that enough extra  work? Why was she asking more of me like this?

"You dare to question my decision? Either you pack up your gear and  assist the warriors on the battlefront or I'll make sure you won't see  the light of another day!" I sighed as she shook her fist at me, turning  as I headed over to start filling my pack.

"No my Queen, I don't question your decision. I'll do as you command  and if I fail to please you, kill me if that is what you want." I began  packing my belongings, grabbing the tools I knew I would need to do as  she had demanded.

Maybe if I completed this task for her, she would let me have a break  when I got back. Either way, I just hoped she didn't end up asking more  of me after this. Maybe death wouldn't be so bad, if it meant I could  get a break from all this constant trouble.

Turning her back with a thoughtful gaze, Ashe walked away to give  further instructions to the archers she would be sending along with me.

--------

I clutched my side as another arrow hit the ground just a few feet  from me, blood staining the shirt I wore under the leather armor. Bodies  already littered the battlefield, arrows having brought some down while  others smelled of ozone and burnt flesh, magic having taken them down  in explosive blasts. I had done what I could to assist our archers,  bringing them arrows to replenish their stock as it ran low, but the  last trip had ended with an arrow sticking out of my side.

This was why I had always stayed out of sight when I could, working  on bows and arrows rather that going on the hunting trips and wandering  off into the woods to rest when I could get away unseen. Feeling  more  blood spill down my side, I saw a flash of white before loosing  consciousness.

--------

Cold. It was so cold. I couldn't hold back the shiver that ran  through me as I tried to find where my blankets had gone to, feeling a  biting chill numbing my entire side.

"Hold him steady or the stitches won't be even," a tired sounding  voice came from my left, startling me. Everything from before came  crashing back into my mind, making me flinch all the more when I felt a  needle pierce my skin before the odd tugging sensation of thread pulling  the wound closed followed.

"I'm trying, but he's waking up. If you'd been faster, maybe  this could have been finished while he still slept off the potion you  poured down his throat earlier." I froze at the obviously upset voice  coming from my right side, trying to force my eyes open so I could  confirm what I thought I heard. Sadly they refused to cooperate, a heavy  fatigue trying to drag me back down into the sleep I had just left.

It made no sense. Why would Ashe, the queen of our people, be next to  me? She should be back with the tribe, preparing them for the harsh  Winter to come, not on a battlefield helping tend to the wounded.  Besides, what reason would she even have to come to my bedside, rather than the side of one of her warriors?

Confusion filled me before I gave up trying to make sense of  anything, giving myself back to the darkness of slumber as I thought I   felt a gentle hand, calloused from weapon use, brush the side of my face  in a fond manner. How odd, the tricks a battle fatigued mind plays upon  itself.

--------

I awoke to a dull throb in my side, my eyes still heavy with  sleep as I looked around the tent I had found myself in. The few "beds"  that remained in here were little more than sleep mats resting upon the  ground, some stained with the dark marks of dried blood, but it was as  good as most could expect when so close to a battlefield where things  needed to be easy to move if the fight came too close to remain in one  spot.

I winced from the pain as I struggled to sit  upright, wondering where everyone else had gone. I could no longer hear  the sound of battle, something that had become a part of everyday life  in this area, and the lack caused me to feel a chill run down my spine.  Although there had always been lulls in the battle, there should still  have been some kind of sound coming from our enemies.

Where  was the sound of their warriors moving about in the forest? What  happened to the sounds their mounts made even when they were at rest?  Their encampment that was always filled with movement and sound as the  people rushed about? Even at this distance some kind of sound should  have carried across the valley to this tent...

Maybe...  Had I been moved while I slept and just not realized it? Was that the  reason for the silence? After I finally managed to sit myself up on the  mat, I moved to working on getting to my feet, wanting to go outside and  look around me. The continued lack of sound, both from the enemy and  from our own camp, had me worried. I hadn't even taken note of the  silence of the camp until I had gotten somewhat adjusted to the silence  of our enemy.

Where were the sounds of the archers  gathering arrows together? Warriors sharpening swords? Healers tending  to the wounded? Even the sound of someone walking between tents should  have been obvious in this overwhelming silence. Instead, the only sounds  I heard were leaves rustling as a gentle breeze wove through their  branches and the occasional crow calling out to another.

--------

I  stared around me after finally making my way out of the tent, the smell  of blood filling my nose. I would have thought the enemy had  slaughtered everyone if not for the fact that both enemy and ally alike  had arrows of ice sticking from their bodies, rained down upon them in  indiscriminate fury.

The sounds of footsteps slowly  coming up behind me as I stood in shock had me wondering if I would soon  be joining those around me. I felt a moments confusion as to why she  would heal me first, but that vanished as resignation to my fate set it.  I had long ago decided to follow her commands. If that led to my death,  then so be it.

"Are you still willing to die for me,  (y/n)? Would you still give up your life if I asked it of you?" Her  voice whispered softly from just behind me as I felt her place a hand  upon my shoulder lightly. The tip of a dagger pressed lightly against my  back, right where it could slip between my ribs and pierce my heart if  she desired to do so.

"If my death would make you happy,  my Queen, then so be it. My life has always been yours to command and  your to take." Closing my eyes, I smiled softly as I waited for death to  embrace me, shocked when instead I felt the pressure of the knife  vanish before being turned by the hand upon my shoulder.

"Do  you really love your Queen, me, so much you would let me take your  life? And with a smile upon your face?" A wonder filled Ashe's voice as  she questioned me, her eyes lit up as she began circling me, her gaze  traveling over me like she was inspecting a new prize. Her eyes went  dark though as she asked one more question before deciding my fate. "You  do love me, don't you?"

"If it pleases you, I shall  love you for the rest of my life." I looked at Ashe, my Queen, as she  gave me a smile that sent shivers of warning down my spine.

"Then I had best keep you safe, my dear (y/n). I want to have your love for a very long time. Don't worry love,  I won't lead us astray  ."