Springtime (open)

or what it was worth, she still couldn't believe it the second time. The arrow hit close to the previous one and she caught Rhona's smile. She smiled back. This wasn't at all as bad as she would've thought. To be honest, she was having quite a good time. She was still certain she could never use this skill to hurt another person. Maybe in the direst of situations, but still. She was not a warrior like Rhona was, and she never would be. She was okay with that. Sewing was something she was good at. It was safe and not too boring, and for now that was fine. Maybe one day she could go overseas, when she'd learnt to defend herself for real. She could see some of the people that the Vikings met. The cultures that they got in touch with. Hopefully, she would also be able to ignore the pillaging, rape and murder happening in the background. Eydís smiled again when Rhona said she had a calling for this. Maybe she could be an actual archer someday. The very thought made her shiver. Her, an archer. Her father would probably laugh at her if she ever worked up the courage to tell him. "My strength? How will we do that?" she asked Rhona. She was tiny and frail. Strength would be the last word that was to be associated with her.

The sun fell and it was clear their little practice session would end now. Eydís wanted to tell Rhona how grateful she was, time and time again, but she was aware of the fact it would get exhausting at one point. Rhona suggested practicing a few weeks a week, to which Eydís shrugged. "You could try, I'm sure the thought of me doing anything like this would just make her burst out into laughter," she spoke. She tugged the hair tie out of her braid and pulled the strands from each other. "Could I maybe- Could I keep this?" she then asked, a bit flustered, holding up the bow. The thing made her feel safer for some reason. And maybe she could practice a little in the meantime.

er question had apparently summoned a smile to Rhona’s face, although Eydís wasn’t sure why. Did she have some kind of boot camp in mind? Because Eydís was completely sure she didn’t have the time nor stamina nor strength to do anything like that. How much she enjoyed the archery lesson, she was pretty sure she’d never be Viking-material. However, she was pretty sure that getting a little bit stronger would help out at the farm as well. She had to carry around heavy things all the time, which was nearly impossible for someone with her tiny frame. Her eyes widened when Rhona literally said she wanted to break down her muscles. Excuse me? “Breaking down my muscles?” she stammered, caught a little off-guard. “That sounds painful… I mean, I still need to be able to do my job, you know?” she started quietly protesting. She could picture herself, sitting at the dressmaker’s with arms like jelly. Signý screaming at her for not working hard enough. What a delight. The smile on her face did come back when Rhona said that she could keep the bow. Then followed a story, comparing an archer’s bow to a seamstress’ needle. And somehow, it all made sense to her. It was a tool, a piece of equipment to be used by a craftswoman. Eydís smiled as Rhona spoke. The little speech made her feel empowered, in more ways than one. She was strong, maybe not in conventional ways, but she was. Her mouth almost fell open when Rhona suggested to buy her time. ”Oh, gods, Rhona, I can’t ask such a thing of you,” she stuttered. She was grateful, immensely so, but she couldn’t just make Rhona spend all her coin to have her train her? If anything, Eydís should be the one paying.