Sky, Sun, and Fall all gathered around him as he read. They told him they could not teach him to read better because they were not very good at it themselves, but they did ask him to read aloud to them. Justin agreed easily, liking his maids a lot and wanting to make them happy; not unlike how he likes his mother a lot and always wanted to make her happy. He sat down in the lounge chair underneath the window and they all followed, sitting on the floor, surrounding him. He started to read out loud, softly at first and unsure of himself because he was so slow, but then gradually getting louder as he looked to them for encouragement.
~~~
Ezra followed Justin to his room and whistled to himself as he noticed the maids in his room. So the rumors were true, the pansy boy got himself maids instead of a butler! Ezra chuckled darkly before giving up on the lost cause and going back downstairs to the gym, he needed to get in better shape before the next competition.
~~~
Ava, her arm wrapped around Damien's, entered the library. Every time she comes here, she is constantly struck by just how large it really is. She glanced at the men and smiled at their looks of astonishment. "Take a look around," Ava said, detaching herself, "If you would like to take a book back to your room, please talk to a guard!" With that, she sauntered off to the training section of the library, which held a large collection of instructional books. She looked around before pulling a couple of archery books off of the shelf and tucking a piece of paper under the cover of one of them, which read "For you," in her stylish script. She handed these off to a guard, instructing him to take them to Justin's room. She found another one for herself, tucking it under a muscled arm, before finding a track book. She smiled and labeled another note to tuck under the cover of the track book, "Maybe we can see some improvements?" And told the guard to bring this one to Ezra's room.
~~~
Justin was in the middle of reading when he heard a knock on the door. Looking up, he wondered what it could be. Just as he stood up to get the door, Fall pushed him back down and Sky ran to get it. "We answer the door for you, Sir Justin, you do not have to do that," Sun explained. Justin pursed his lips in thought, wondering why he could not just answer his own door himself, but dared not to contradict them.
Sky came running back to him with a new book and childish glee written all over her countenance, plain as day. "You got a specially picked book from the queen herself!" She squealed and shoved the book towards him. Justin read the title of the book, "Archery". As he opened the cover page, a note fell out. Sky jumped forward to pluck it off the ground and read it, herself. "For. You." She squealed and shoved the small piece of stationery paper towards him. His eyebrows raised in surprise. Was the queen trying to help him? He smiled softly to himself and put his fencing book aside, completely forgotten. Opening the Archery book, he began to read to his maids again, this time about the rudimentary Archery skills and concepts.
~~~
Ezra went to the gym, got on the treadmill, and started running. He set an even pace, now that he was not competing against anyone, he did not feel the need to go hell for leather. He thought back to the past couple of days and wondered if he will last long in this competition. Ezra shook his head ruefully at the thought and chuckled to himself. Of course, he will, he was Ezra of Landon, he can excel at anything he puts his mind to. Clearing his mind, he really got into his rhythm.
~~~
Ava took her book and went to her room before poring over it. Although she was already well versed in archery, she wanted to review before teaching the others, most of whom have not even used a bow before. It was already dark outside, so Ava could not go to practice, but she drank up all of the information the book had to offer. Hour after hour; however, her lids started drifting shut, and she was still in her red dress from dinner.
~~~
Justin stayed up late that night, reading to his maids. They were just as interested in listening to him read as he was in learning what Archery was about and how to go through the basics. He learned so much from this book, from holding a bow and notching the arrow into the little dip in the bow to how much pressure to apply and the correct stance. What could not be taught though, was the aim. He would have to be pretty darn good at it to stand a chance against the others who already knew and practiced Archery. Late into the night though, his maids went to their own private quarters to sleep. Justin was almost finished with his book, so he stayed up, still in his suit from dinner. Just reading out loud for hours helped his reading speed and comprehension, and now he could read faster than before. Though he could not read as fast as the average adult his age, it was faster still than before. And any progress is progress.
~~~
Ezra continued running on the treadmill, slowly gaining speed as time went by, conditioning his legs. When he could no longer feel his legs, he went back to his room to shower again and get ready for bed. As he entered the room though, his butler came up to him with a letter and book in his hand. Ezra raised an eyebrow but did not say anything, instead, he picked up the letter and read it to himself, chuckling and reaching for the book. He read the title and rolled his eyes, throwing it on his side table. He did not need to read to get better, he needed to train to get better. "Hugh, you can leave now, I am perfectly capable of dressing myself, thank you very much." Ezra dismissed his butler before heading to the shower, he did not need some grown man hovering over him as he went about his nightly routine to get ready for bed.
After his shower, Ezra looked into the full-length mirror while he brushed his teeth, with just his boxer shorts on. His arms were toned, but not bulging, and there was also not an ounce of fat to be seen. His legs were defined, not too muscular, and have definitely been stated to be attractive by more than one of his previous paramours. His stomach boasted a six-pack, and not unattractively so. He smirked at the cocky SOB in the mirror before walking back to his bedroom and sliding on a loose t-shirt to get ready for bed.
~~~
Ava woke up bright and early Wednesday morning when Mak rolled in a tray of eggs and bacon to her room. She scarfed the breakfast down before hopping into the bath. It was 8 am, and she was expected in the Training room in half an hour; she did not have time to spare. She put her signature workout attire: a pair of dark leggings and a tight tank top, before grabbing her bow from the wall. Like her sword, it was tinged blue, and the feathers on her arrows were the same hue. On her way to the room, she fell into line with Damien, who also had his own bow, a black compound, and a deadly one at that.
~~~
Justin finally finished the book and decided it was time to get some much-needed sleep before he was to get woken up early for the training session in Archery by the queen herself. He quickly stripped and pulled on a pair of clean boxers before getting into bed, not caring that he was practically naked. His eyes shut as soon as his head hit the pillow, with one thought fleeting across his mind just before he succumbed to sleep. How is mother doing...
The smell of bacon and eggs invaded his dreams of reading to his mother and he awoke with a start, surprised that he did not wake up on his own. He looked at the clock next to his bed and jumped up, it was already 8 o'clock! He has never slept that late, he thought to himself, completely bewildered. As soon as he stepped out of the bathroom, his maids greeted him like usual, all hands and bright smiles. He allowed them to help him get ready by picking out his clothes for the day; however, he made sure to put them on himself. Then he sat down to eat, asking them to join him as he did not like to eat alone. They readily comply as there was an abundance of eggs and bacon and Justin vehemently hated wasted food, the sight of it made his stomach churn as he thought of how much his mother would have loved to eat any crumb of it.
Justin took his time relishing in his meal, not able to just scarf it down because he never knew what meal would be his last. When he finished eating two eggs and two pieces of bacon, he got up and went to the training room to learn more about Archery.