The fletcher, p.1
The Fletcher, page 1
The Fletcher
Book One in the Arrow of Artemis series
Copyright © 2018 by K. Aten
Acknowledgments
Dedication
The Arrow of Artemis: Cast
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
About the Author
Visit Us On Line
The Fletcher Book One in the Arrow of Artemis series
by
K.Aten
Yellow Rose Books
by Regal Crest
Tennessee
Copyright © 2018 by K. Aten
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopy, recording, or any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publisher. The characters, incidents and dialogue herein are fictional and any resemblance to actual events or persons, living or dead, is purely coincidental.
Print ISBN 978-1-61929-356-4
eBook ISBN 978-1-61929-357-1
First Printing 20176
9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
Cover design by Acorn Graphics
Published by:
Regal Crest Enterprises, LLC
Find us on the World Wide Web at http://www.regalcrest.biz
Published in the United States of America
Acknowledgments
I would like to thank Regal Crest Enterprises for giving me this chance to live out my dream as a published author. Cathy for the opportunity she provided me, Patty’s wisdom, and Micheala for her patience. They are the women who worked with me most on this project and deserve my utmost respect. I’d also like to thank Helen M. for all her words of encouragement in the world of fiction, and for sharing her experience with me as she began her own journey nearly two decades ago. Last, I give thanks to those people who turned me down when I first began my publishing adventure. They were the ones who made me reach harder and higher to achieve my aspirations, and taught me that perseverance does pay off in the end.
Dedication
I started writing because after a lifetime of silence I finally had something to say. It wasn’t easy and there are a few important people in my life who deserve the honor of my first dedication. First and foremost I’d like to thank my partner, Kari, for her patience and emotional support. Next I give thanks to my mother for instilling in me the passion to read and the acceptance to be myself when the time was right. And on the production end of things, I’m grateful that I have such an amazing beta reader. Ted’s soul is gentle like spring rain but his mind is as sharp as the words of a professional wit. Thank you all for loving, listening, and laughing with me. Last, I give special thanks to my gram. She was the strongest woman I’d ever known, and she gave me faith that nothing was out of reach with enough work and will. This first book will be the beginning of a great journey that I hope lasts the rest of my life.
The Arrow of Artemis: Cast
Thrace
Kyri Fletcher — Daughter of Galen
Galen Fletcher — Renowned fletcher and archer of the region, widowed
Mira Fletcher — Deceased mother of Kyri
Soara - Kyri’s mare
Dan - Kyri’s mule
Lord Esteven — Ruler of Kyri & Galen’s steading
King Colmenus — King of their region in Thrace
Lagus — First archer contestant in Kozani
Torrel — Bow maker and fletcher in Kozani
Telequire tribe
Lydella - Previous contentious Telequire Queen, killed by Orianna in a challenge for leadership
Orianna — Telequire Queen and Artemis’ Chosen
Risiki — Orianna’s sister who is married to a centaur Shana - Amazon messenger and later Telequire Ambassador
Gerta — Head councilor for Telequire
Deka — Second Scout leader
Dina — Third Scout Leader (Moon shift)
Thera — Head healer
Coryn — First Scout Leader, immediate leader of all scouts, beneath Margoli
Shela — Member of the First Scouts and Coryn’s friend
Petrice — Member of First Scouts and Coryn’s friend
Deima — Member of Third Scouts and Coryn’s friend
Kylani — Training Master
Basha — Regent to the Queen
Steffi — Economic Advisor (Queen’s Left Hand), in charge of trade and Amazon budget.
Margoli — Military Advisor (Queen’s Right Hand), overall leader of all scouts and army
Gata Anatoli — Leopard cub rescued by Kyri after she killed the cat’s mother
Tanta tribe
Myra — Tanta Queen
Culchee — First Scout
Tisha — Young trainee archer sent to stave lessons
Deata - Training Master
Baeza — Tanta First Scout Leader
Brandel - Makes brandy (strong Tanta spirits)
Chapter One
The End of Innocence
MY MIND HAD always been a muddled mess. My mam used to call me a deep thinker and my da would just laugh and agree with her. We lived on our homestead deep within the forest and rarely went to the nearest village or the towns beyond. Because of that I almost never saw kids my own age and I was forced to entertain myself more often than not. The trees became my friends and playmates. Perhaps that was why my da started training me so young, to keep me out of trouble in the woods. Not having any boys, he took me as an apprentice when I was just ten summers old. I think he and my mam always hoped to have a boy at some point but some things were just not meant to be.
There had never been a time when I was not proud of my da. Galen Fletcher was a name well-known as the finest arrow maker for leagues around, not to mention the best archer. He had regular visits from the servants of the local nobles to buy his arrows. Even the king sent his runner once a moon to make a purchase. My da was the best teacher I could have ever asked for. Yet I grieved as I sat on my favorite log. Feet dangling over the stream below, my head remained a tumultuous roil of fear and anger. I often wished that the water could take the burden of my thoughts away but it was a wish that remained unfulfilled.
I tried to understand my sadness, to understand why the fates worked as they did. My da and I did not have a bad life. On the contrary, it was fairly good. We lived on a little parcel of wooded land, one that abutted Lord Esteven’s forest. The very stream that I sat above was one of my favorite places and I had spent candle marks of time admiring its beauty. Sometimes I brought a pole to do a little fishing, but other times I would just think about my mam.
She was all sweetness and light. My da would say he did not know what he did to deserve such a smart and beautiful lass. Before she died, mam was a talented cloak maker. Some of my fondest memories were of her showing me how to cut cloth and dye it, then stitch it just right to make it appear as though leaves were strewn across one’s shoulders. Her cloaks were truly amazing; some even swore they were created with the gods’ help. She showed me everything she knew but I could never duplicate her level of skill and artistry. Perhaps I was too young. One of my most treasured possessions was the cloak she had made for me when I was a child, not long before she died.
My thoughts turned dark as I once again felt the pain of loss. My mam’s death by lung fever pierced me through the heart. Six years was no small amount to grieve, for me or my da. I was certain that no matter where I ended up in life, not a day would go by without thinking of her or remembering her smile. The loss of my mam was immeasurable and deep. It meant no more beautiful cloaks, no more candle marks spent showing me how to make the best dough or dye wool to look like sunlight dappling through the forest leaves.
My da was never the same after. I think he only kept going because he knew he could not leave me alone. I was only thirteen at the time and I still needed my protector. He was the one who taught me to hunt and fletch arrows identical to his own. Because that was what we were—we were fletchers. I could feel a tear run down my cheek as I worried the word ‘we’ like a sore tooth. The fates were known to be unkind. It was not that the day itself was bad to cause me such sorrow. It was a typical one as I threw stones into the water one by one. My chores were finished and dinner had been started earlier, leaving me with a bit of free time. There were some clouds in the sky and a slight breeze that ruffled the wisps of hair sticking out of my braid. I could feel the heat of the sun across my shoulders and every so often the cooling of a cloud as it raced across the sky. That was what my life felt like. After the cloud of my mam’s passing, we eventually felt the sun again.
But if there was one thing I learned in life, it was that no sky stayed clear forever. My da had become sick and the local healer was not sure what was wrong with him. My protector was dying. He had been tired for at least a season. He frequently became light-headed and his appetite was nearly gone. The worst of it was the coughing. Sometimes I would lay awake at night listening to him struggle and in my heart I knew that our time left together was running out. His sickness was not like the one my mam had. The healer at least knew what was wrong with her, for all the good it did. It was the darkest part of winter when she got sick and neither the healer’s herbs, nor my da’s prayers yielded a miracle in the end.
According to the healer, my da was going to die too. I wondered if he would say a prayer for himself or if he would leave it off as a lost cause. My da was not really one to follow the gods but he was a spiritual man. He truly believed that there was an afterlife where he and mam could be together. There were many things that I wished for as I sat on that log over the stream, but none of them would come true. There were no gods to answer his prayers, there was no magical medicine that would heal him. So many times over the years, I had wished for my mam back. Little did I know that my greatest wish would not be for something I had lost, but rather to keep the small amount that remained.
Perhaps it would have been better if I had been born a boy. He would not have been so worried about leaving me behind if I were the son of a fletcher instead of a daughter living in a man’s world. But I was not a son and after the death of my mam, nothing seemed to matter but the two of us surviving. On more than one occasion I had overheard him freely admit that perhaps he let me run wild a bit. Because of my apprenticeship, my hunting skills, or maybe just my bold attitude, there were no offers of marriage for me. Not that it mattered because I had never found a boy or man that remotely piqued my interest. Perhaps it was strange but I had never wanted to look too far inside myself for the reason why. It had not made a difference anyway. We were fine with just the two of us.
MOONS WENT BY after we saw the healer for my da and his weakness did nothing but worsen. Between the coughing and shaking hands, he was no longer able to perform our craft. We had a decent store of arrows left but I did not know what would happen if we were to get another noble’s order. It was illegal to pass an apprentice’s work off as a master, or even to pass one master off as another. I had already considered it but we would lose everything if found out and we could not afford to lose favor with the king and nobles. Late afternoon found us working quietly together. He was plucking the quarry birds I had brought down earlier, preparing them for roasting. I found it heart-wrenching that the man who held so much skill in setting the delicate feathers to shaft could now barely pull them from a dead carcass. Even though I was turned with my back to him, I could sense his eyes.
“Kyri…”
“Yes, Da?”
“I would like to talk to you once you get these roasting.” He set the second plucked bird onto a tray.
I mentally cringed, knowing that I did not want to have any more serious conversations. “Sure, Da, just let me finish these up.” I took the birds from the tray, stuffed them with wild onions and herbs, and then placed them on the spit over the fire. When I was finished, I cleaned my hands then sat down at the table. “What is on your mind, Da?”
He looked at his hands, probably to collect his thoughts before he met my eyes. It was funny sitting so close to him. I was very aware of our similarities and our differences. I had clearly gotten my height from him and perhaps my blue eyes. But while he had light brown hair, mine was like my mam’s. Dark brown almost black, my hair took a whole day to dry after swimming in the creek. My mam also had blue eyes, which was probably why mine were so vivid and deep. There were not a lot of blue eyes in our region so it was the thing that got noticed first besides my height. With both my parents having them, well…I knew enough about animal husbandry that certain traits were more likely to be passed on if both sire and dam have them. When my da remained silent I decided to give him a nudge. “Da?”
He gave a little shake, seeming to come up out of his own thoughts. “Kyri, I have got something to tell you, and it is not going to be pleasant.”
I mentally sighed. “I do not want to talk more about your sickness. I do not even want to think about it. You should not waste your time worrying, Da. We will get it figured out. I should be ready to take my test for mastery now, and then we can talk to your regular customers—”
“No daughter, it is not that. I mean, yes, you will take your test for mastery. I have already sent word to another master fletcher to come in and evaluate you. He should be here in a seven day. No, this is about something else.”
I could feel a bit of fear creep up the back of my neck. “Well then, what is it, Da?”
“It is about our steading here. You may not remember this, but our steading was given to me by Lord Esteven not long before you were born. I spent nearly ten years in his service and eventually saved his life.”
“You did? How?”
He patted my hand and smiled. “It was about a year after your mam and I were married. I spent nearly a decade as an archer in our lord’s guard and started to develop a reputation as a fletcher as well. When Lord Esteven took notice of my arrows, he began using mine exclusively on his hunts. I was even invited along on the annual boar hunt as a special guest. I think it was mostly to show off his prize fletcher to the other lords.” He took a sip of water from his favorite wood cup then continued. “Well, we were hunting wild boar, which you know is as vicious as it is unpredictable. I was on foot, about twenty feet from our lord, when a boar came in and sliced the legs of his mount with its tusks. Lord Esteven was thrown to the ground and lost grip on his spear. I began running in his direction, drawing back my black oak bow as soon as I saw the boar. Just as the boar was a hand span from my lord, I jumped over his fallen mount and while in mid-air, I put an arrow right through the beast’s eye. The boar was dead before my feet touched the ground.”
Da chuckled to himself. I could not help feeling that familiar glow of hero worship from my childhood. He had done much to be proud of in his life and to take a boar in mid-leap was quite a shot. But then I knew my da was one of the best archers in our kingdom. “Wow! That was a great shot, Da! What happened then?”
“Well, I did not realize at the time, but a handful of guards and at least two other nobles were close enough to see what I had done. After shoving the boar off my lord, I offered my hand and pulled him to his feet. He clapped me on the back and raved about what an amazing shot I had made, then called over the other nobles who were near. He introduced me as his master fletcher and later gifted me this tract of woods as a thank you for saving his life.” He took another swallow of his water and both of us ignored his tremulous hands. “With my lord’s promotion to master fletcher, I started gaining many customers for my arrows. Between the new customers and the money I had been saving from archery tournaments, I had enough to build our house here and the workshop.”
“But that is all good. What has you worried?”
He sighed and looked away. “Kyri, I never thought this would be a problem. I never considered that you may lose me while you were so young.”
“Da, please! We will be fine, I promise. Let us just take things one day at—”
“No, Kyri, it is not okay. In this land, steadings can only be held by men or male heirs.” He looked at me with sad blue eyes. “Even if you make master rank and gain customers of your own, you will lose the steading if I die. As my daughter and unmarried, there are no options for you where our home is concerned.” He closed his eyes and a tear graced his weathered cheek. “I am so sorry, Kyri.”
Immediately, my heart seized and my breath caught in my throat. “Everything, Da? So if you die, I lose my home and my last remaining parent?”
He shook his head slowly at me but did not answer.
“How long? How long before I will have to leave?”
Da’s mouth turned down and he was close to tears. The way his shoulders hunched told me clearly he felt regret and guilt in equal measures. “You will have time to bury me, Kyri, nothing more.”
Suddenly, everything hit home. His illness and the knowledge that I would lose my home when he died, it was all just too much. With a cry of frustration I grabbed my cloak, bow, and quiver, and bolted out the door.
“Kyri, wait!” His voice followed me for about ten footsteps before fading away. I ran through the trees until my breath grew ragged. After crossing the stream, I kept going until I came to my favorite place. Pushing my speed, I ran up the angled trunk of a giant black oak. Scrambling as fast as possible until I got midway up, I settled into a comfortable nook.
