"You finally made it," Elia said as Andor approached the stand where they kept their archery equipment.

"I'm sorry, I overslept," he said, rubbing a hand over his neck, but Elia only cocked an eyebrow at him, turning her attention back to the arrows she was collecting from the wooden rack in front of her. "Why am I not surprised?"

"It was a really long day yesterday, but I am here now." Andor opened his hands in an apologetic gesture. "Thank you for filling in. I really appreciate it."

"That's what friends do, isn't it?" she said with a grin that melted away her frown. "So, when are you going to tell me everything you've told Bergil and Caladon?"

"What makes you think that I have told them anything?"

Elia dropped her hand with the arrow and narrowed her eyes. "Really Andor? You are going to make me believe that you have walked all the way with them from your house without telling them anything about your task? That Caladon hasn't used all tricks available to him to get you to spill your dark secrets?"

Andor took the arrow from Elia, placing it on top of the pile she had already made on the table that stood between them.

"I don't have any dark secrets!" His protest only earned him a telling glance from Elia. "Fine, you are right," he admitted grudgingly, running his fingers over the goose fletching to smooth it out, "I did tell them, but just a rough overview, no details."

"Well, aren't you going to fill me in then?" Elia demanded, reaching for the next arrow on the rack.

"Not now and not here." He lowered his voice to a whisper, even though the noise around them made it quite impossible to be overheard.

"After the tournament then, but I don't want to hear any more excuses from you." She drummed her fingers on the table in an impatient rhythm.

"No more excuses," he said as solemnly as possible. "I promise."

He took off his own bow and quiver and stowed both on the top rack when a rotund boy with flaming red hair walked up to them, his fingers fumbling with the straps of his belt. He nibbled at his lower lip while he stared intently at the pile of arrows on the table.

"Is there anything you need, Talan?" Andor prompted the boy to speak with an encouraging nod.

"Can I distribute the spare arrows? Please, b—before Zayn comes over to ask." He threw a nervous glance over his shoulder, where a lanky boy with long silvery hair was busy stringing his bow. Talan was reserved and rather shy, which made his straight out request all the more remarkable.

Seeing the expectant look on Talan's face Andor nodded his agreement. "Yes, you can," he said, handing him the collection of arrows piled up on the table. "Five in each floor quiver, that should be enough."

A wide grin lit up Talan's freckled face. With a quick "thank you" he eagerly grabbed the arrows  and jogged back towards his peers.

"Mind the fletching though! Only balanced arrows are useful arrows," Andor called after the boy, who pressed the bundle of arrows against his chest in order not to drop them.

"I'm sure you've reminded him plenty of times already about that, haven't you?" Elia remarked dryly.

"But it's never enough," Andor said with a sigh. "He is going to crush them and then Zayn will be the first to blame the arrows for his abysmal aim."

"You know that Zayn will always find something else to blame for his lack of precision." Elia snorted  and bent down to close the leather flaps around the empty rack, tying the cords into neat knots at the bottom.

Andor only gave her a wordless grin as he surveyed the group of children that cackled like an excited flock of geese, the midday sun casting them all in a golden glow. It promised to be a fine autumn day, the cloudless indigo sky spanning above them like an endless blanket. Rubbing his hands together he turned towards Elia. "Let's get this started."

Elia nodded her agreement and then both headed towards the centre of the training grounds, where the children were already waiting for them.

With the help of Nolar, Bragol and Findir the targets were quickly set up, while Andor gave some final instructions to his pupils, once all of them had taken up their positions facing the targets. First in line were Talan and Zayn, with the latter eyeing the former with a kind of casual arrogance that did not sit well with Andor. More than once the boy had to be reminded that being Eldoran's grandson did not entitle him to any privileges and that there were not going to be any exceptions for him.

"Your rear elbow is sticking out too much," Andor said to Talan, correcting the angle with the tip of his finger.

Talan shifted around nervously and then a sudden wave of pungent smell hit Andor's nose as he leaned closer.

"Did you just—?" he broke off when he saw the embarrassed look on the boy's face. Giving it another thought, he didn't really want to know what exactly Talan had eaten for breakfast that might be turning him into a rather dangerous weapon.

"Never mind," he said, trying to keep a straight face as he carefully avoided drawing a too deep breath and moved on to Zayn.

"Make sure your knots are tight enough," he said, running a finger along the string of Zayn's bow, "you do not want to lose this tournament on the account of a badly strung bow."

Zayn pushed his pointed chin forward, his eyes stubbornly fixed on his bow. "They are tight enough," he answered without looking at Andor.

"I am telling you they are not," Andor said flatly, moving on to the next pair.

The twin girls Lenya and Asha beside them were Andor's youngest pupils, almost a head shorter than Tin, but their fierce determination made them the most promising ones. They could string their bows as fast as the older children and their arrows rarely missed their mark, and although he was their teacher, Elia was the one they fervently adored. Andor was quite certain that, if they kept up with their vigorous training, they would easily turn into fearless warriors just like Elia.

The girls stood side by side, wearing matching dark green tunics and leggings, their chestnut curls bound into tight braids that fell down to the middle of their backs. Both their faces were scrunched up in concentration as they secured their knots. He observed them quietly for a while and then moved on. They would do fine without his help. Something that could not be said about the pair next to them, Tin and Nella, who appeared to be caught up in another one of their arguments.

"Remember what I have told you about your stance," Andor pointed at Tin's feet with his chin.

He gently pushed Tin's feet apart with his own until the angle and distance were to his satisfaction.

"And your elbow and shoulder aren't properly aligned," the slender girl with a shock of raven black hair piped up beside Tin, her deep blue eyes giving the boy a stern look.

Tin only murmured a grumbled answer, but Andor leaned closer until his head was at shoulder level with the two children.

"Nella is right. Better listen to her." Before Tin could utter another word of protest, Andor walked away, a grin tugging at the corners of his mouth.

Beside them stood the brothers Daris and Galeon, who were relatively self-sufficient with Galeon making sure that his younger brother Daris would stay focussed on his task at hand. They were cousins of Roiben and Kando, but lucky for Andor they did not share their rather annoying sense of humour. He gave them both a silent nod and moved on to the last pair of children.

Rineth was a stocky girl with long blonde curls that were only barely tamed by a leather band tied at the nape of her neck. She was stronger than most boys of her age and gripped her bow as if her life depended on it. Andor placed his hands on her shoulders, pushing them back with gentle determination. "Don't pull your shoulders up and remember you are holding a bow and not a sword."

"I'm trying," she muttered, her shoulders following the motion of his hands.

"Good," Andor said with what he hoped to be an encouraging smile, "then you'll be fine."

Beside her, a gangly boy with olive skin and inky black hair kept throwing glances at the crowd towards where a small girl stood and waved her tiny arms at him.

"Yoren! Yoren!" the girl giggled excitedly, jumping up and down and clapping her hands.

Andor stepped in front of him, cutting off his view towards the audience. "Keep your eyes on the target, not your little sister."

"Yes, of course, sorry," Yoren mumbled, reaching for his arrow and suddenly very interested in its fletching.

Andor rubbed a hand over his forehead and let out a sigh. It would be a miracle if the children would be able to hold their concentration until the end. He stepped into the middle, his eyes roaming the grounds that were packed and buzzing with voices like a beehive, leaving them with considerably less space for their tournament. A stray arrow making its way into the audience was the last thing he wanted, so they would have to be extra careful. The arrows were not equipped with metal arrowheads, but they could inflict a painful injury nonetheless.

To his relief he saw neither Drakon, nor Roiben and Kando, who were most likely on duty in the palace. He did spot Eldoran together with his wife, their daughter and her husband and a lady who stood with her back to Andor and appeared in deep conversation with Eldoran. Her golden hair and midnight blue dress left no doubt that this was Kendra, Drakon's wife. Her son Gilren though was nowhere to be seen. For a moment Andor wondered why he would pass up this chance to play one of his dirty tricks on Andor, but then he decided that he would rather not waste another thought on Gilren. Having to put up with his mother was enough to deal with.

Elia had recruited Bergil and Caladon to pick up the stray arrows along the sidelines, while she kept track of the score. Despite their initial protest she had successfully made them abandon the food stalls they had been eagerly exploring. Bragol, Findir and Nolar were busy keeping the audience from invading the shooting range and found themselves issuing more or less friendly reminders that it was in everyone's own interest not to get too close.

Andor clapped his hands twice and slowly an expectant silence began to descend on the training grounds, uncountable pairs of eyes now on him. Usually he did not make a big fuss out of these small competitions, but facing such a large crowd, he felt compelled to issue some sort of official greeting to the audience.

"Welcome to today's tournament. I am glad to see so many of you here, the familiar faces as well as all those who have come for the first time. While I'm honoured by this unexpected turnout, I have no intention to bore you with lengthy speeches and wordy narrations." A murmur went through the crowd and Andor waved a hand towards his pupils. "This is the moment for your children to shine. Let us not keep them waiting, as they are more than eager to show what they have learned. To keep things short there will be two rounds with three shots each. May the best one win."

A wave of applause and jeering erupted as Andor bowed to the audience and then stepped back, giving the signal for the tournament to begin. With a feeling of apprehension and pride he watched as all of them took up their positions, nocked their arrows and drew their bows, the tension palpable in the air. Silence blanketed the grounds. Even the wind had stopped its lazy dancing through the leaves of the trees around them.

The first arrows were shot in quick succession one after the other, the swooshing sound followed by the distinct thud of them hitting the targets filling the air. The applause that followed conjured smiles onto the happy faces of the children and Andor found himself letting out a sigh of relief. Just when he began hoping for a smooth flow, his eyes darted to Talan, who struggled to nock his next arrow, while Zayn watched him gleefully instead of reloading his bow.

"Zayn, pay attention to your own bow!" Andor called from behind.

Zayn reluctantly turned his attention back to his bow, and Talan finally managed to nock his next arrow and get into position.

The second set of arrows was shot and after every single of them embedded itself successfully in the targets the audience erupted into a frantic jeer, the clapping and chanting rolling like a tidal wave over the training grounds.

Andor shot a sideways glance at Tin, who fumbled with his bowstring, Nella beside him leaning closer and whispering something into his ear that made his face flush bright red. He could only hope that his little brother would not lose the last remnants of his already brittle concentration.

For a moment Andor's attention was drawn to the majestic oak that stood right behind the food stalls along the left side of the grounds. He narrowed his eyes when he thought that he saw movement in the branches, but the rustling of the leaves made it impossible to discern anything. He decided not to pay any more attention to it. With so many families present, it wasn't uncommon that their children entertained themselves by climbing the trees. After all they made for excellent vantage points to overlook the tournament.

"Eyes on the targets!" he called out to his pupils when finally all of them had their third arrows nocked.

Bows were drawn, the level of tension rising as everyone aimed. One after the other they released their arrows, the twang of their bowstrings a sharp staccato in the air.

Suddenly a flash of bright light broke through the dome of leaves, like a sun ray bouncing off the surface of a lake on a summer's day. Andor's gaze shot to the tree and then everything happened in the blink of an eye. Blinded by the light, Nella released her arrow, which flew in a wide arc above the targets, hitting the tree behind it. The unexpected recoil sent her elbow crashing into Tin's bow beside her. He nearly lost his stance, his bow wobbling in his hand as he fought to keep his aim steady.

"Stop!" Andor shouted, sensing an upcoming disaster. "Don't shoot!"

But it was too late. Tin clutched at his bow as if he were glued to it and before Andor could do anything to stop it, he had released the arrow. It zipped with remarkable speed and dangerously low towards the crowd on his right.

"Watch out!" Andor yelled, waving his hands to signal for the audience to get out of the way.

An outcry went through the rows of people as they jumped to the side. With a dull thud the arrow hit a wooden pole that marked the edge of the shooting range, missing the person standing beside it by a mere hair's breadth. With dread pooling in his stomach Andor realised that it was none other than Kendra. The initial shock on her face quickly turned to anger that would soon hit him like a vengeful tide. She yanked the arrow from the pole and strode towards Andor.

"I'm sorry! I'm sorry!" Tin dropped his bow and ran up to Andor, his high pitched voice on the verge of cracking. "I— I tried to keep it steady." Tin's lower lip trembled dangerously.

"It's all right. No one got hurt," Andor placed a reassuring hand on Tin's shoulder to calm his little brother.

Nella stood for a moment rooted to the spot, but then she dropped her bow as well, hurrying after Tin.

"I don't know what happened," she cried, her eyes wide in shock, "but something was blinding me and then I couldn't see anything. I didn't mean to hit Tin's bow." Her eyes were beginning to swim with tears. "I— I didn't do this on purpose, you have to believe me!"

"It was an accident!" Tin piped up, his voice wavering.

"Calm down, both of you. No one is accusing you of anything," Andor said, looking down at the two of them. "Not yet at least," he added in a low voice, when Kendra approached them like a fuming dragon, the arrow clutched in her hand.

One after the other, all the children had abandoned their positions to run towards Andor, shouting  on top of their lungs, as each of them tried to drown out the others.

"There was something in the tree!" Daris waved his arm in the general direction of the oak.

"I didn't see anything!" his brother Galeon countered.

"That's because you were busy picking your nose!" Daris said, nudging his brother with his elbow.

"But there was a light!" Talan and Rineth shouted unanimously.

"That was the sun!"

"No, it wasn't!"

"Yes, it was!"

"There was nothing in that tree!"

"You're just blind. There was someone moving—,"

"Quiet!" Andor shouted, and their chatter died down to an exchange of hushed whispers as Kendra planted herself in front of Andor, a haughty glare on her face.

"I believe that this," she held out the arrow with two fingers, dangling it in front of Andor, "belongs to one of your pupils."

He reached out for the arrow, but Kendra retreated her hand, her voice dangerously calm. "Oh, I don't think so. Let the culprit step forward and claim it."

The children fell silent while Kendra surveyed them with icy demeanour.

"I am their tutor, so I am responsible for this and I apologise for the arrow going astray."

"Oh, I see what you are trying to do," Kendra said, smiling sweetly, a silent fury simmering beneath her still composed surface. "Taking the blame to protect your little brother, but I am afraid that is not how it works. He is old enough to stand up for his own mistakes."

Before Andor could answer her, Tin had stepped forward, his head held high and his hands fiddling with the fabric of his tunic.

"I'm sorry. I— I didn't mean to shoot that way," he said with a slight tremble in his voice and holding out one hand to Kendra. "Can I please have my arrow back?"

The other children shuffled around, Asha and Lenya standing on tiptoes and craning their necks to be able to see better, while Elia, Caladon and Bergil had joined the growing crowd around Andor.

For a moment there was only silence while Kendra sized up Tin, her face an unyielding mask.

"Give him his arrow back," Elia demanded, her arms folded in front of her chest, the challenge clear in her voice. "He has apologised to you already. What else do you want?"

Kendra drew her eyes away from Tin purposefully slow. "I do not remember having addressed you."

"Let us just settle this already." Andor now stepped forward, sensing that this might soon spiral out of control. "So we can continue with the tournament."

A muscle feathered in Kendra's jaw and for a moment Andor feared that she might strike Tin, but then she simply dropped the arrow in the boy's hand without even looking at him. Tin returned to Andor's side, his face flushed pink and his hands clutching the arrow.

"I came here to see my grandnephew perform," she said, her gaze of steel boring into Andor, "but I am truly appalled by the utter chaos you have allowed this so called tournament to turn into. Clearly your abilities have been overestimated. How else could one explain such a poor performance, if it is not your own lack of ability to instil a sense of discipline in your pupils?"

"Something distracted the children. They are not usually prone to such mistakes." The anger inside  Andor was boiling like a turbulent sea. Keeping his voice calm was becoming increasingly difficult. "I am sure that under different circumstances the outcome would have been—,"

"You can search all you want for excuses," she cut him off, waving her hand dismissively. "If you are not able to teach your pupils to aim more precise, I will make sure that you will not be teaching any of them ever again. Just because you are now a hero, doesn't make you untouchable." The way the word hero rolled off her tongue made it sound like something utterly distasteful.

Eldoran had stepped up beside her, a sliver of concern overlaying his usual mask of polite indifference.

"Kendra, my dear," he said to his sister-in-law, laying his hand on her arm to pull her away. "Let it go. They are just children. It was an accident, nothing more."

"You are growing soft at your old age," she hissed through gritted teeth. It did not escape Andor's notice that she tried to wriggle herself free from his grip, but Eldoran's hand remained firmly wrapped around her arm.

"Zayn, you are coming with us. Your parents are waiting." Eldoran snapped his finger impatiently until the boy stepped forward.

Zayn made a long face, looking from Andor to his grandfather. "But we are not finished. It's only the first round."

"This tournament is over," Eldoran said, placing a hand on the boy's shoulder. There was nothing that Andor could say against a command from a council member. Turning to Andor he added, "And you better make sure to put some order, if you value keeping your position as tutor."

"I will," was all Andor said, slightly tilting his head and then Eldoran turned away with Zayn on one side and Kendra on the other, her midnight blue dress rippling behind her.