The Path Of Destiny by Mike Shelton

hair on Sean’s head.
He distinguished each feather in the arrows already stuck in the target. All at
once his body hit ultimate calmness and balance. He breathed, smiled broadly,
and knew his aim would be true.
    In one fluid motion he stepped to his right two steps and
let the arrow go.
    The crowd breathed in deep unison.
    Sean stood frozen.
    All eyes were on the target.
    The hushed silence broke with wild cheers of amazement.
Darius’s fourth arrow flew an arrow’s width away from Sean’s head and hit in
the exact center of the target, fitting tightly against Darius’s previous ones.
    Sean fell to the ground in exasperation.
    Kelln whooped with joy. “Fantastic!”
    Christine let out a deep sigh.
    Darius looked down the field to Sean and said, “you aren't
worth it,” and walked away.
    Before sitting down he added a shout: “And I don't think you
won, Sean.”
    The crowd laughed and cheered. They were definitely
entertained that day. Sean turned a deep shade of red as anger and
embarrassment filled his face. He walked off the field, turning around once to
mouth a general threat at Darius that no one heard.
    The last finalist took his shots, but the crowd hardly
cared. They had never seen such a competition before.
    Kelln brought Darius some ointment and a cloth to put on his
hand.
    “I almost blew it, didn't I? I just can’t seem to help it
anymore.” Darius looked around to make sure no one else was near. “The power
rages in me and has to get out, Kelln. I barely overcame it this time. What if
I don’t next time? That’s not how I want to live my life. I need to protect the
Realm, not jeopardize it. What am I going to do?” He hung his head down,
visibly shaken.
    Kelln smiled at his friend. “But you won, Darius. Maybe you
need that temper to get things done. Maybe that is how it works. You gave us
quite a show today. People will be talking about this for a long time!”
    “No, Kel,” smiled back Darius. “ We won.” He handed
back the bow to Kelln. “Thanks for trying to cheer me up.”
    “You looked so calm at the end. You were taking a big
chance,” added Kelln.
    “I was not taking any chances, Kel. If you could have seen
like I did. There was no chance to lose. Everything stood out in so much
detail. That’s what calmed me down.”
    “I think I’m jealous.”
    “Don’t be. Most of the time it gets me in more trouble than
it’s worth.”
    “That’s true. Now that I think of it, it has been you
getting us into trouble lately instead of me. I think I like that.”
    They both laughed and Darius began to relax.
    The awards ceremony was held to give out the individual
awards and the overall tournament award, the King’s Cup, a large golden
chalice. When the speaker announced Darius’s name, the crowd went wild
cheering, yelling, and clapping. Darius felt a slight embarrassment over the
incident. It wasn’t that Sean didn’t deserve it, but it was not how Darius
wanted to act. He needed to be better than that. Darius stared down at the
medal that hung on the end of a sculptured piece of brass with a picture of a
bowman shooting a bullseye.
    Afterwards, with the award around his neck and the cup in
his hand, Darius started out towards the competitors’ gate to see Christine and
his friends; his parents would be a little longer as they wound their way out
from the rest of the nobles.
    “Way to go, Darius.” said Jain. “Congratulations. You sure
showed that fool.”
    Darius just smiled.
    “Yes, congratulations, Darius,” echoed Emily.
    Christine didn't say a whole lot. He knew she did not agree
with his fighting behavior. She just gave him a hug, but it was enough to make
him feel better.
    After talking to a few more friends who seemed to ignore
Christine and her siblings, the four of them turned back towards the stands. It
felt good to win. He felt proud inside that all the work and practice had paid
off.
    Christine stopped and gave another surprise hug to Darius.
“Thank you,” she