A (wo)man on the inside

"Help with the whole prohibition of men from the sacred pools. Now that you're at my cousins service I could use someone on the inside to help with that front." He responds.

"That's it? No catches" I ask thinking to how the nights events had not turned out at all like I expected.

"No tricks with this request, I'd never hear the end of it from my first wife if I took advantage of someone in your position" His smile is momentarily radiant, then his face shifts and is all business.

"Not going to lie, getting the huntress or her father to change their minds is quite the challenge. I'm not expecting results anytime soon, going to need to train you so you don't wash out of the Huntress's service."

Do we have a deal? He asks.

I hesitate for a long moment, weariness and exhaustion war within me as I mull over his proposal. Ultimately, something genuine in his nature steers me towards trusting him. “Okay” I grumble.

"Excellent, let’s start by working on your form, draw a bow for me" he instructs.

I draw my bow and start to nock an arrow. I am still getting used to my changes and my prominent chest makes drawing an arrow difficult. I have to shift my body awkwardly, so the shaft of the arrow isn’t pressing against my boobs.

“Can I touch you to correct your form?” he asks.

I nod with some trepidation, but remain focused on the my stance.

I feel his warm hand move my arms and guide the posture of my back and legs. He doesn’t touch anywhere improper but the warmth of his hands on my cold body feels surprisingly nice. Slowly my stance changes and its no longer a struggle to keep the shaft of my drawn arrow of my chest.

“This stance should work, commit how your standing now to memory.” He waits several moments then continues. “Next is breath work, managing your breathing when you have a query is important. I need you to practice slow breaths. Pause breathing briefly every 3 breaths at the end of your exhale.”

I practice breathing, the simplicity of the exercise helps to center my mind with everything that’s happened. I feel myself relax as I practice for a while. A rabbit runs across my field of vision.

I hear a whisper in my ear, and feel a shiver run down my back. “Now when you’re ready, take your shot while your breathing is paused.”

I pause my breath and the world around me slows as I release the arrow, striking the rabbit. The excitement of the moment wars with a small pang of sadness that I introduced a little **** into the moment.