10 | Artemis

"Keep your back straight," said Arbor to Elyse as he taught her Archery after lunch. Another day, and another new morning for Elyse at the Academy.

And as usual, people's stares are the same. Except for the members of the Archery Club especially Arrow and Arbor.

Since they are twins, they have both the same face but they don't have the same attitude. Arrow is comfortable to be around while Arbor is cold and distant. It's pretty awkward to be around him.

"Like this?" Elyse said and she straighten her back, Arbor nodded his head.

"Yes, that's right. Then keep your eyes on the target. Pull the strings together, tightly —" He continues. Elyse doesn't understand a thing.

On the other side, Arbor feels irritated to see Elyse getting so stiff. She almost looked like a tree because of her stiffness.

"Elyse, stop stiffing." He said and it made her freeze.

"I can't. I really can't." She said admitting defeat. She really can't.

"Man, it's only been just a day after you joined the club, Elyse. You need to focus." Arbor said while his eyebrows twitched.

"Wow, my brother became strict. This should be celebrated!" Arrow arrived with sweat running through her face.

"Where did you go?" Arbor said, curious.

"Haha! Interested?"

"Nope." He took back his word and goes back to look at Elyse again. They watched her as she tries to practice her posture many times trying to aim at the target. It's been an hour but she still hasn't hit the target.

"Well, she's really bad at this huh," Arrow commented feeling pity towards Elyse watching her suffer.

"Well, hunting is essential for us. Even if she can't be a skilled archer, she needs to know the basics of archery." Arbor commented.

"But I heard her father taught her so?" Arrow said he sighs. "That's been ages ago, Arrow. You heard her." Suddenly, Arrow smiled when she turned around to stare at him.

"What?" He said while his eyebrows twitched.

"You're interested in her?" His eyebrows twitched again.

"Shut up or I'll cook you alive." Arrow couldn't help but laugh.

"I never imagined a Descendant of Aniya getting troubled by learning an archery," Arrow spoke, breaking the silence between them after Arbor playfully threatened her.

"As far as I can remember from the memories, every Descendant of hers is a genius. Does this mean, Elyse is not a genius one?" She said and Arbor didn't react but stared at her. Still watching Elyse suffer.

"I couldn't understand why did our Ancestors did that to Aniya," Arbor spoke. It made Arrow's face turn serious and looked at him.

[Flashback]

Arrow and Arbor were born twins in the beginning. Arrow was the oldest while Arbor is the youngest. Their family likes to hunt and can talk to special animals. For example, Wolves. Their Ancestor is also close to the moon, so we can say that they are also close to Lucia.

Although born with everything, wealth, status, and power both felt that there was still something missing. The twins have been searching for it for years until the day they awakened their powers as their memories.

In the past, both Aniya and Artemis — Arrow and Arbor's Ancestor were friends. They couldn't remember such strange details, as if someone is controlling the memories from Artemis. But there is one memory that they still remember, Aniya and Artemis's Deal in the past.

"Are you sure you will do this?" Said Artemis to Aniya as the memory both shows Aniya kneeling in front of Artemis while Aniya gazes below.

"Yes," Aniya whispered and the memory stopped.

As the years also went past, they search for an answer. On why their memories were cut off as if someone was controlling them. As if someone doesn't want both Arbor and Arrow to know. But there was no answer.

Until they met him. The so-called Student Council President when both entered the Academy.

"Be part of the Council, Artemis's Descendants." Said the man with ocean blue eyes offering them a position every student in the Academy wants.

"We refuse," Arbor said. He couldn't explain why but he felt agitated just by looking at the man in front of him. He feels more pissed to see that ocean blue eyes of his staring back at him as if he is degrading them.

Arbor and Arrow walked in the door, ready to walk away from the room when he suddenly spoke, "I know what deal they have."  He insisted.

"How sure are you?" Arrow asked.

"Arrow!" Arbor exclaimed.

The student President only smiled, "I will tell you if you will join us." He spoke. And that's how Arrow and Arbor joined the Student Council as a member.

[End of Flashback]

"Until now, The President hasn't told us," Arrow spoke and Arbor didn't say or react anything. He was in a daze staring at the wall far away from him. Arrow respected his space.

'It must've been rough for him too...' Arrow thought.

She still remembers the day when they both remembered their memories with their tears continuously streaming down their face as if someone or something lost them.

Something they couldn't explain. As if it's something that they lost and couldn't found it. They both want to know what deal Aniya and Artemis had because they believed that if they knew, they will also know why it felt so painful looking at Elyse with her beautiful smile.

Just like any other students, Arrow and Arbor should hate Elyse since she was her descendant but they can't. It felt so wrong to mistreat her just because of a mistake in the past.

After many tries, Elyse gasps as she finally hit the target.

"I did it!" Elyse exclaimed with her excited expression and bright smile, giggling while approaching Arrow.

"Arrow, I did it! I hit the target!" Arrow smiles.

"That's great!" She spoke.

"Finally." Arbor suddenly stood up and went to get his archery equipment and came back.

"Now that you know how to handle an arrow, we should do a competition." He said and it made Elyse's face turn pale.

'Why this psycho! I just learned how to master a bow!' Elyse thought ready to fry Arbor up.

Arrow couldn't help but laugh from Elyse's silly thought.

"Everyone hates her descendants. So why I can't hate her?" Arrow whispered.

Something painful pinched her chest. She feels that there is still something more than meets the eye. In the past decades, every Aniya's descendants were hated by everyone like a curse spreading in their blood since the ages. Thinking about Elyse hating her seems to be hard for Arrow. She believed it was necessary but looking at her now, Elyse was just a victim of the past mistakes every ancestor did.