By Timothy Deal
February 14, 2015
For the next few weeks, we’ll be publishing flash fiction stories that examine small, emotional moments in our characters’ lives that don’t fit in the normal narratives. We hope you enjoy!
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Their Last Night
Read more about Amira in our first collection!
Amira drew herself up and took a deep breath. Her fingers tightened on the nocked arrow, pulling the bow string back just a touch. She shifted her stance, readying herself to move at an instant while keeping her back close to the concrete wall. She kept her breathing low and steady as she waited for the signal.
A whistle pierced the silence of the room next door. Amira whipped around the corner, drawing back her bow. Her eyes swept through a sea of faces, searching with deadly intensity until they locked in on her target. Amira released the arrow. Her firing hand immediately pulled another arrow out of her back quiver as her eyes sought a new target. The sound of the first arrow’s impact echoed off the walls as Amira locked eyes with another woman with a glare of ice. Amira sent her next arrow into the woman’s right eye.
Draw, locate target, fire. Draw, locate, fire. The archer repeated the sequence smoothly and efficiently, barely noticing the results of her shots before moving on to the next. Finally, Amira released her tenth and final arrow and called, “Time!”
An infant’s whine of concern drew Amira’s attention away from the wall of photographs. She turned from her basement shooting range to see her husband Rycorin sitting behind her and cradling their daughter Sari. Rycorin glanced at a stopwatch he held in one hand. “18.2 seconds,” he said. “Not bad! You haven’t lost your touch.”
“Eh, it’s getting there,” Amira replied, walking over. “Still want to make up some time after not shooting for a few months.” Amira bent down to smile into Sari’s face and raised her tone an octave as one does when talking to a baby. “But it was all worth it for my little Sari, wasn’t it, honey? Did you see Mommy shoot the bad guys?”
Sari stared at her mother with awe. Rycorin chuckled. “Don’t think she knows what to make of it,” he said, grinning. He propped Sari up a little and raised his voice to a falsetto. “Your mommy’s a warrior, Sari! She scared all the other boys away so I was the only one brave enough to marry her!”
“Oh, stop it!” Amira protested, poking Rycorin in the side. She laid down her bow and moved in to take up her daughter. “Little Sari is going to be a tough Defiant warrior herself someday, Daddy. Yes she is!”
“Well, I hope she won’t have to be,” Rycorin said wistfully as he carefully passed Sari over. “Maybe we can take out the Kyzers faster than we thought.”
Amira looked up from Sari into Rycorin’s eyes. “Has the world changed somehow over the past 24 hours?”
“No, not especially.”
“Then don’t get your hopes up by fantasizing. You know the leadership’s timeline. It’s going to take a few decades and a lot of victories to build up enough public support to overthrow the Kyzers.”
“Hmm.” Rycorin stood and nodded toward the wall of photographs. “You’re one to talk about fantasizing.”
Amira shrugged and followed her husband across the basement to the target wall. “It’s a way to let out aggression.”
“It’s still dangerous,” Rycorin commented, looking over the mass of photos, most of which had been ripped out of newspapers and magazines. Many depicted average citizens or celebrities, but mixed in randomly were members of the Kyzer royal family or high-ranking Thyrian military. The civilian photos were mostly untouched; the aristocracy were riddled with arrow holes. “We should burn these tonight,” Rycorin said. “I don’t want to have to worry about the Select finding these while I’m gone.”
“That’s unlikely in Yarrim, but if it makes you feel better,” Amira replied.
“It would.” He pointed toward pictures of Emperor Thorynn and his wife, both of whom had arrows sticking out of their faces. “I see you went for the big points first.”
“Of course! Gotta prioritize your targets.”
“Well, your speed and priorities might have cost you a few points. You missed this Kyzer kid over here.”
“Oh, that’s…what’s his name? Jaylnn? Jasynsynn? Some mess of y’s and n’s that I can never remember. Yeah, I was hunting for bigger game.”
Rycorin was jotting down some numbers on a slip of paper. “Your miss didn’t hurt you too much. With your time, hitting Thorynn and the missus and the rest…that comes to….” Rycorin looked up with a grin. “Three less than me.”
“What?” Amira shifted Sari to one arm so she could snatch the paper out of Rycorin’s hand. “I don’t believe it! You beat me by three points?”
“I need to brush up on my bow skills! I almost lost to a recovering pregnant lady.” The paper crumpled into Amira’s fist as she slugged Rycorin in the arm. “Or maybe I just have a hot, talented wife,” Rycorin said, correcting himself.
“Mm-hmm, that’s more like it. You’d better get in some practice while you’re in Falcon Point. Next time, I’m gonna kick your hindparts .”
“Well, that’s something to look forward to.” He sighed and looked down at Sari. “I hate leaving you two alone.”
Amira followed his gaze down to their child. “It’s only for a few weeks. You know we can take care of ourselves.”
“Yeah. And it’s for the good of the people. I only hope someday Sari will be free of this kind of responsibility.” Amira looked into her husband’s face and he nodded. “Probably wishful thinking again. Just…when she was born so innocent and frail…I looked at her and wished that she wouldn’t have to do the types of things…that we might have to do for her.”
The couple was silent for several moments. Eventually, Sari began to squirm and cry, tired out by a long day and her parents’ strange habits. “I’ll take her up to bed,” Amira said quietly, unslinging her quiver.
“I’ll clean up down here,” Rycorin replied, beckoning to the wall.
Amira leaned into him and wrapped her free arm around his back. “Don’t take too long before you come up. After all, you’re leaving in the morning.”
He smiled sadly and returned her embrace. “Sure thing. I love you.”
“I love you too.”
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