Jabberwocky by Daniel Coleman Page A

invested more of himself into learning its mastery than any other venture. For the first time, he felt true satisfaction as a result of prolonged effort. The bow was the best thing that had ever happened to him.
    A week into the specialized training, Ollie awoke excited at the prospect of a small break. It was Capital Day, a holiday commemorating the building of Palassiren. This being the fiftieth anniversary, the king was scheduled to spend the day greeting his subjects in the open square in front of the palaces. Captain Darieus made all the arrangements, and assigned people to carry out the logistics of parading thousands of people through the plaza. The fiftieth year being a Jubilation year, a feast was to be provided as well. The Elite recruits and their Fellows were to form part of the Honor Guard for the king.
    Of course Tjaden had been excused from the Honor Guard; neither he nor Captain Darieus was willing to lose even a few hours of training. King Barash approved the captain’s absence, and by way of paying respects to the occasion, Captain Darieus offered to lend the king his Elite cloak to wear as a symbol of Maravilla’s military might.
    “Too bad you don’t get a day off, Jay,” Ollie said the morning of the Jubilation.
    “In another week we’ll both have a few days off to travel. And from what Captain Darieus told me, you can afford to take today off. He said there isn’t much left for you to learn on the range.”
    Ollie was shocked. “He told you that?”
    Tjaden nodded. “He knows you still have room to improve, but he hasn’t seen many recruits that can shoot like you.”
    Ollie deflected the sincere praise. “For the next week I’m going to work on my speed. I’ve seen some of the masters using quick fire techniques. I’m not slow, but they can fire two arrows for every one of mine.”
    Tjaden didn’t let him off that easily. “I’m glad you’re my Fellow, Ollie. You’ve learned more here than any of the other Fellow recruits.”
    “Alright, I get it. You’re proud of me. You’re not going to kiss me now or anything, are you?”
    “No, I’ll save that for Elora.”
    The mood turned somber at the mention of her name and Ollie said, “One week, Jay. We’ll go get her in one week.”
    Ollie wore his accustomed pale blue recruit uniform, but Darieus insisted Tjaden wear a dark blue Elite’s uniform for the Jubilation day. Neither he nor Ollie understood the reason, since Tjaden wouldn’t be participating in the festivities, but he didn’t object. The friends bid farewell, Tjaden off with Darieus, and Ollie to stand as sentinel.
    Ollie had never seen anything like the crowds that assembled before the gates had even opened. He looked forward to the revelry—not to mention a break from his morning classes—but he longed to be at the archery range.
    Thoughts of the small archery range back in Shey’s Orchard made him think of Tjaden. The special attention Tjaden was receiving didn’t make him jealous or bitter at all, and that surprised him. In fact, Ollie felt more comfortable about who he was than ever before.
    Carrying his bow over his shoulder, Ollie walked past the Circle and Sword sculpture and into the plaza, which was filling with citizens and soldiers. The Elites wore swords or axes, but most of the Fellows hadn’t bothered to bring weapons. Only a few Fellows bothered to bring their bows, crossbows, and javelins. The regular soldiers would provide crowd control, so the Honor Guard duty didn’t necessitate being armed.
    Some of the other recruits teased Ollie as he walked out to the courtyard. “It’s an Honor Guard,” said Brin-Dar. “You’re not going to war.”
    Ollie simply said, “My bow goes where I go.” He could tell they were disappointed by his uncharacteristically serious response.
    Though filled with excitement, the day started to drag after standing for an hour. The citizens that filed past the king became a steady stream of repetitive faces. Ollie’s