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."

[lists_to_port]

Observing an archery competition is generally easier to do if a) you are actually looking at it and b) you are not trying to drink yourself into a stupor.

Jack Sparrow wasn't quite close to stuporhood yet; the fair blushing maiden in him was quarreling with him about the ills of drinking too much alcohol. Therefore he was clutching the same nearly-full bottle of rum he'd arrived with.

Said maiden was also forcing his gaze onto Robin Hood. Jack had a white lace handkerchief tucked into his pocket, and the maiden was urging him to give this token to her hero. Jack would rather eat it whole than hand it over to Archie Kennedy, no matter how Robin Hood he was.

This is the condition we find our pirate in, ladies and gentlemen, on the afternoon of the tournament.

Maybe I'll take an arrow to the throat, he thought hopefully, as for the umpteenth time the fair Inner Maid Marian forced the mouth of the bottle away from his lips.

[noprevaricating]

The trouble with this particular shift was that the harder Archie Kennedy tried to avoid Jack Sparrow, Robin Hood inevitably ended up at Maid Marian's side. So he found himself staring at the daintily-dressed pirate, not five feet away, before the first bout.

"I..." Blink. Blink. "I'm not sure what I'm supposed to be doing here, but perhaps you are supposed to wish me luck or some such thing."

[lists_to_port]

"DEAR ROBIN," Jack began as he once again chased the mouth of that bottle and cursed it. Then he found himself not reaching for the white handkerchief, but for something dearer to him.

"Dearest Robin! Please accept this token what was given me by a beautiful girl of Seville and now I've got to fob it off on you because of this shift and you'd best better give it back after you've finished!"

And with that he untied a bit of lace from around his wrist and held it out for his champion.

[noprevaricating]

Archie gave an uneasy look at the bit of lace. This was getting more unsettling. He didn't like the way Jack was looking at him half the time, but he felt compelled to take not only the gift, but the hand offering it.

He did not. Instead, he clasped both hands behind his back very firmly.

"A drink of the rum first?"