The Iconic Contest

[seventeensir]

Who: seventeensir, noprevaricating, lists_to_port any/all of Robin's Merry Men, any/all Luceti residents who want to join, whether in the contest or the mingling
What: The archery contest of Robin Hood story fame!
When: September 30th, midday
Where: Luceti's fountain
Summary: Horatio The Sheriff of Nottingham is holding an archery contest to draw out his best friend enemy Archie Robin

Comments

[noprevaricating]

Archie arrived fashionably late, but he did arrive. No choice, was there? But by arriving late, it meant the Sheriff could not snatch him first thing without making an unnecessary spectacle.

He'd requested Jack Aubrey come with him, and was hoping the other Jack had enough sense to stay away. No victory kisses were allowed, not from this Marian.

He was, of course, doing spectacularly. His "bow" was his pistol, and he was a great shot anyway. Even when he didn't quite make the bull's-eye, no one seemed to notice and he passed to the next round anyway.

[seventeensir]

Every shot made Horatio swear. Holding the pistol, cocking it, keeping it steady, pulling the trigger. Little movements he'd done a thousand times before, but every one aggravated his wounded hand just a bit more. Each time he fired, the bullet hit a little further away from the bullseye, yet that seemed irrelevant. The story was set on progressing the way it ought.

The one reassurance-- or damning detail, Horatio couldn't be sure yet-- was that Archie still had his sword proper. The sheriff was content with a stick of equal length, and Horatio could breathe a sigh of relief that no real damage could be done with it. He was only in trouble if Kennedy had an actual sword on him.

[noprevaricating]

Kennedy had left his sword behind, not wanting a repeat of what happened the other day. Every so often, he glanced at Horatio, noticing the man's hand was still being bandaged as if it hadn't been healing properly. Robin Hood took no joy in cruelty, either, and in fact was disappointed that the Sheriff was not at his best. It was a matter of pride, really--Robin Hood wanted to beat the Sheriff at his best.

When the competition came down to just the two of them, Archie stood back to allow his friend to fire first.

[seventeensir]

As the competition wore down, the bandages had been abandoned completely. Tying and retying after nearly every shot took time, and then the cloth got in the way of his grip. Finally, he stopped worrying about it. He'd tend to it properly once he was done. At least being rid of them made shooting easier. More painful, because his hand could flex fully and pull at and push against the wound, but easier to handle.

After this, he told himself. After this, he would be able to just let it heal. That was all it needed. Time to heal.

Horatio looked over at Archie and gave a tired smile. "I think I'm going to hate these stories after this."

[noprevaricating]

"I'll just be glad when they're happening to someone else." Archie smiled as he loaded his pistol, glancing again at the wound. The smile waned. "You need Leonard to look at that."

[seventeensir]

"It will be fine, Archie. Just needs to be wrapped and let mend." Of course, his reluctance had nothing to do with disliking being seen after by a doctor. Naturally not.

He cocked his pistol, giving a quiet hiss as he positioned the gun. Just one shot left, according to the story. Then...

Rather than think about it, he pulled the trigger. Not a bad shot. Not dead on, but better than he'd done at times today.

[noprevaricating]

Archie took aim, and frowned as his hand swerved, not to aim for the bull's eye, but to aim for where Horatio's ball had hit. He stopped, then lowered the pistol, feeling very odd about this.

"I see no wrapping nor letting, Horatio."

[seventeensir]

"It was wrapped."

He looked at Archie, offering a small, uneasy smile. "But it..." damned if this didn't sound foolish "was too much of a hindrance for all this."

[noprevaricating]

"This damned shift." Archie raised his pistol again, aiming for the bull's eye. Two breaths later, he was aiming for where Horatio had fired again. "Damn it." But he wasn't going to care. So he fired anyway

When the smoke cleared, Archie squinted at the target. He couldn't see where his shot had hit, so he jogged up to it.

[seventeensir]

"I wonder how long this is going to last."

He watches Archie, fingers twitching slightly. He knows-- he has to know-- where that bullet hit. Directly over his. Which leads to Robin being declared the winner. Which leads to the reveal.

Which leads to...

[noprevaricating]

Robin Hood was already being declared winner, while Archie stared at the results of his shot.

He had missed the target completely.

Evidently, swerving your hand at the last minute did not make it easy to hit much of anything. But this was still terribly amusing.

[seventeensir]

Horatio listened to the declaration and bit his lip, inwardly swearing. Perhaps they'd be fortunate enough not to have to engage in another fight. At least neither of them were properly armed, so damage could be minimized.

"Quite the 'experiment,' I must say," he muttered under his breath, not daring to look at Archie.

"You should, good sir," the Sheriff compelled him to say, "step forward and claim your prize."

[noprevaricating]

"The silver arrow?" Archie wasn't really sure what to do about that. He knew, of course, that this was a trap, but the story compelled him to do something, and the harder he fought, the harder it was to fight. "Very well."