Grace was in the castle courtyard, practicing her archery as usual. She shot several arrows into the target, then she retrieved them, and started shooting them again.
Robert had come down to watch. Grace noticed him standing behind her. “You’re late,” she said. “I told you I would be in the courtyard at noon.”
“I know,” he said. “The stairway was filled with goblins again. I had to go out the backway.”
“I hate this stupid castle,” said Grace shooting another arrow. “None of this craziness used to happen in the palace where we grew up. I wish we were still back there.”
“You know you can never go back,” Robert said gently.
“I know. But I wish it just the same. I wish King Richard had never tried to kill us, and that we could have been left alone.”
“But then,” said Robert, his voice slightly hurt, “You would never have met me.”
“That’s true,” said Grace. “I guess it hasn’t been all bad after all. Even if you were a bit late just now.”
“It’s kind of you to forgive me,” said Robert. “Do you want to take a walk outside, and get away from these goblins for a bit.”
“There are all over the forest now as well,” Grace said. “At least the forest near the castle.”
“I’m sure we can find a quiet spot,” said Robert.
Grace retrieved her arrows again, and put them in the quiver over her shoulder. Then, taking the bow in her right hand, and holding Robert’s hand in her right, they walked out the castle courtyard and into the forest.
“Do you have to bring the arrows with you?” asked Robert.
“It’s not very romantic, is it?” said Grace. “But with everything that’s around these woods, I’d feel vulnerable without a weapon of some sort. What about you? Don’t you ever carry a sword anywhere?”
“I know how to use a sword, if I had to,” said Robert. “But I don’t like carrying them around with me. My father never did. It’s not usually done with the forest rangers. A wooden staff is more traditional.”
Grace laughed. “Who knew forest rangers could be so conservative.”
“The forest folk are very conservative,” Robert answered back seriously. “Always. We value the old ways.”
“Okay then, where’s your wooden staff?”
“If there’s a time for fighting, I will find one. But my father and I never carried them around when we were just out walking. My father said it would interfere with his role as the peace-maker of the forest if people saw him carrying a weapon.”
Just then, as they were coming around a bend in the forest path, they met an ogre. He was big and tall and ugly. Both Robert and Grace stepped back in surprise. Ogres had not been in this part of the forest before.
While Robert and Grace were still standing in disbelief, the ogre yelled a terrible yell, and rushed forward. Grace, quick as lightning, reached into her quiver and fitted an arrow to her bow. But the ogre knocked her down before she had a chance to fire it. Once Grace was knocked to the ground, the ogre barred his terrible teeth, and was all set to devour her on the spot. But Robert picked up the heaviest stone he could find and threw it at the ogre’s head.
The stone crashed into the ogre’s head, seeming to disorient him for a minute. But he quickly recovered, and turned to attack Robert. Robert had no time to defend himself before the ogre charged into him. As Robert fell down, the ogre’s teeth sank into his arm. Robert yelled in pain, and the ogre then bared his teeth and would have gone for Robert’s neck, except Grace’s arrow hit the ogre just then. (While the ogre had been attacking Robert, Grace had had time to fit an arrow to her bow and fire.) The arrow buried itself in the ogre’s back.
Now, ogres are great big things with tough skin, so it is notoriously difficult to kill them with a single arrow. You really need to cut off their head with a sword if you want to put them down permanently. But you can still wound them and cause them pain with arrows.
The ogre screamed in pain and then straightened himself and turned to face Grace. Grace had already fitted another arrow to her bow in this time. She moved the bow up so that the arrow was pointing right at the ogre’s face. “Go away,” said Grace. “Leave us alone, and I won’t hurt you.” The ogre screamed and charged at Grace, so she let the arrow go. It pierced the ogre right in his eye. He screamed in pain and anger and covered his face. Grace fitted another arrow to her bow. By the time the Ogre recovered himself, and uncovered his face to look at Grace again, Grace’s arrow was pointing straight at his other eye. “You can still leave,” said Grace. “If you walk away now, I won’t fire.” The ogre put his head down, turned around and slowly walked away. Grace knelt down to tend to Robert, but as soon as she knelt down, and the ogre, looking backwards, saw her bow had been lowered, he charged again. Luckily, Grace was ready. In a flash she picked up her bow again, fitted the arrow, and shot at the ogre once again. She didn’t have time to aim carefully this time (otherwise she would have taken out his second eye) but she did manage to send an arrow through his hand. The ogre stopped briefly and yelled in pain, during which time Grace readied her next arrow. The ogre charged at Grace again, even faster now (the arrow through his hand had only served to make him angrier). But this time, she was ready for him and she shot it at his face. The arrow blinded his second eye, and the ogre fell to the ground crying most piteously.
Grace left the ogre crying on the ground while she took Robert back to the castle.
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