Everyone stood along the sides of the archery range.  They were silent as they watched the shooters prepare.  The most important guests sat on a raised platform directly behind the archers.  The king and the queen sat on elaborate thrones while their attendants stood at their sides.

I stood next to the platform, I was almost hidden in the crowd, but my view of the field was clear.  I looked around for Kyuhyun’s father, wondering if he was still angry.  I saw the intimidating man seated at the king’s side, his jaw set with obvious displeasure.

Yesung and Kyuhyun weren’t the only shooters participating in the tournament, but they were the only contenders anyone cared about.  Rumors of my master’s immense skills had been circulating through the kingdom like a plague.  Few people knew anything about Kyuhyun’s skills, but they assumed he would be good, his father being the head general.

A well-dressed man stood in the center of the range and he introduced each participant.  The crowd clapped politely for the minor archers, but they burst into enthusiastic applause as Yesung and Kyuhyun were introduced as the final competitors.

The crowd buzzed and there was palpable sense if excitement in the air.  All around me people were debating who would win, and some were even making bets.  An elderly odds maker passed by me carrying a leather notebook of the bets he had collected.

“Excuse me sir” I asked, wanting to get his attention.

He glanced at me and flipped his book open,

“You wanna make a bet?”

I shook my head and he raised his eyebrow questioningly.

“I just wanted to know the odds”

The man nodded and looked down at the book.

“Right now Prince Yesung is favored to win by 10 to 1”

I nodded, expecting as much.  While Kyuhyun may have had intrigue on his side, Yesung’s rumors were likely to draw the safer bet.

“Who do you pick?” I asked the man.

He scratched his head, then shot me a toothless grin.

“My money’s on that Kyuhyun kid.  I don’t know much about him, but I’ve heard some crazy stories about that boy”

I looked at him with interest,

“Crazy enough to bet on him?”

The old man shrugged, snapping his book close.

“If the stories are even half true, then I'll win.  From what I’ve heard, that kid is unbelievable, scary good”

With that, the man walked away, a contemplative look on his face.  I watched him go, wishing he had gone into more detail.

I looked back at the range.  Yesung and Kyuhyun had strategically been placed on opposite sides of the bracket.  The idea was that at the end, it would be them competing against each other.

 I studied my master who seemed at ease.  He idly his arrows, smiling at the audience.  Kyuhyun was a different story.  He didn’t look uncomfortable, but at the same time he definitely didn’t seen relaxed.  He was completely still and his eyes never strayed from the target.

The tournament began as the king stood while the archers all bowed in respect.  The queen was handed a small torch and she made her way to a large fire pit visible from every part of the shooting range.  She set the fire and the crowd let out an appreciative roar.

The flame marked the beginning of the contest, and the first competitors went out to shoot.  The target was circular with a small dot in the middle and rings of increasing size surrounding the center.  The dot counted for 10 points and each surrounding ring decreased by one point with the outermost ring counting as one point.  Each archer was given five arrows and the goal was to earn the highest score possible.  Whoever earned the highest score would advance to the next round while the loser was immediately eliminated.  After each round, the targets would be moved farther away, making each round increasingly difficult.

Yesung and another man would shoot first.  After the coin toss it was decided that my master would shoot second.  The crowd went silent as my master’s opponent cocked his arrow, the man raised his bow, looking a bit shaky.  He pulled the string back, carefully taking aim.

From where I was standing, I could see the little tremors that ran through the man’s arm.  I wasn’t sure if he was shaking from effort or from nervousness, but either way it wasn’t a good sign for him.  The crowd let out a groan of disappointment as the man released, his arrow landing in the ring worth seven points.

The man was obviously disappointed with himself, but he tried to brush it off as he took his remaining shots.  The rest of his arrows flew better, all of them landing in either the eight or nine rings.  The crowd applauded, but I could only feel sorry for the man.  I knew my master would blow him out.

As I had predicted, Yesung beat his opponent without any signs of effort.  All five of his arrows hit the center mark, and with that he easily advanced to the next round.  The crowd murmured excitedly and the king even clapped, showing he was impressed.

My master smiled and I noticed when he shot Kyuhyun a smug, challenging glare.  Kyuhyun ignored him, his eyes still hard and completely focused.

The next few sets passed in a blur, no one was really watching anyway, all they wanted to see was Kyuhyun shoot.  I noticed even the king looked a bit bored.  When Kyuhyun’s turn finally came he lost the coin toss and his opponent chose to shoot second.

Kyuhyun shrugged and walked to his position.  He shot of all his arrows in a matter of seconds and the crowd gasped when each arrow landed directly in the center, some of his arrows grazing the arrows that were already imbedded in the target.  Needless to say, Kyuhyun easily advanced.

Each round went the same with both Yesung and Kyuhyun advancing without ever being challenged.  When the final show down was finally confirmed, the crowd hummed with anticipation.  The archers were positioned 300 feet away from the targets, a distance that seemed impossible to conquer, however, neither man looked concerned.

I glanced at Kyuhyun’s father and found the man gripping the hands of his chair with excessive force.  He whispered angrily to one of his attendants who only responded with a helpless head shake.  I knew he was trying to find a way to kill any chances of Kyuhyun winning, but I couldn’t figure out why.

I knew beating Yesung might cause some tension between the two kingdoms, but that didn’t seem like a fitting explanation regarding the extent of his fury.  There had to be something else that was troubling the general. 

I found myself questioning Kyuhyun’s past for what seemed like the millionth time, but this time I didn’t even attempt to push such speculations from my mind.  I had come to realize that despite my best efforts, I wouldn’t ever be able to kill my curiosity.  Normally, I honestly wouldn’t have cared, but there was something about Kyuhyun that just refused to let me brush him off. 

There was a reason he knew about my past, this fact alone made me suspicious.  Sometimes, when he let his guard slip, I would catch sight of something ominous.  In the pit of my stomach I knew that he had a dark past, I could see it in his eyes.  They were the same eyes I saw when I looked in the mirror. 

I chuckled at the irony.  I couldn’t imagine how he intended to “fix” me when he was just as screwed up as I was.  Did two damaged people result in something repaired?  No.  It simply resulted in more pain.  Knowing that, I really didn’t know why I hung around him.  I knew that if I tried to get away, he wouldn’t really care so there was nothing really stopping me.

Maybe I was slightly masochistic, seeking out more pain.  In a sick way it made sense  At this point in my life, the only thing keeping me alive was stubbornness.  I refused to let the people who caused me pain win.  When things boiled down, pain was what triggered my will to live.

It was sad if you really thought about it. Most people lived for happiness, for love.  I was so convoluted that I didn’t even remember what those things felt like.  The memories of my mother were precious to me, and I knew I had been happy.  I knew it, but I couldn’t remember how I had felt.

I shook my head clearing such thoughts away.  What was the point in wallowing over my scars?  I knew I was broken, but I also knew there was nothing that would ever fix me.  I shot a quick look at Kyuhyun and for a second, I felt almost a sense of kinship.

For some reason, I couldn’t help but feel like we were travelling the same path. 

However, it seemed we were both following a path that would only lead us to a dead end.

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Yay, this time the update is a little longer!  Ooh and the archery tournament had started O.O

Lol, thanks for reading and (hopefully!) commenting!

Music: "Let's Not..."- Super Junior-K.R.Y