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Aliya shrugged at Feng's question. "Magic," was the only explanation she could come up with. "Eventually the arrows will vanish, leaving no trace but the holes they create. They're not glass, they're not ice ... all I can think is that they're magic made solid."

Ulani made her third shot, and once again it split her second arrow, meaning that she had made three absolutely perfect bulls-eyes. There was a sparkle in River's eyes as she pulled back her bow a third time, and a third magical arrow appeared, and, exactly like Ulani's shot, she made a third perfect bulls-eye, splintering both of her first arrows further.

Aliya smiled as her mother and granddaughter set their bows down and headed towards the back of the line to join them. "They don't go against each other again unless they're the last ones left. Which means you're going to be against one or the other of them on your next turn. In each round, the targets are placed further away, and if things keep going like this round, they use moving targets."

River's eyes were bright when she and Ulani joined Feng and Aliya at the back of the line.

"Did you see? Did you see?" she squealed excitedly. "I did it! I did it!"

River giggled. "Ninako taught me how to shoot!" she beamed proudly. "And when I use my own arrows, it's even easier than she showed me!"

Indeed, sometimes it felt as if she could control the things with her thoughts.

For the second round, the targets were set back an extra fifty paces, which anyone who wasn't a skilled archer would not even be able to hit. They were not the largest targets, and the extra fifty paces - roughly one hundred feet - would make it hard even to make out the bulls-eyes on them.

Once again they went through the ranks, half of them coming to the back of the line and the other half joining the spectators, until finally it reached Feng and River.

"Just concentrate on your own target," Aliya told Feng on her way back to the stands (she had been gotten out by her own son, Adwin). "Don't worry about River, just focus on your own goals."

Jasmine just gave Feng a knowing look, as if she were saying, "See? I told you."

River grabbed Feng's hand and dragged her forward. "Come on, it's our turn!" she bubbled. "Let's go!"

River giggled and gave Feng a hug before taking her own place. She picked up a bow - a different one from last time - and once again it adjusted itself to her size. She lifted it and pulled the string back, and an arrow appeared, fiery blue, just as it had during the first round.

The distance was well over double what it had been on the first round, and she pulled the bow back further and raised it slightly to compensate for the distance. Then she took aim and let it fly.

As if it were a magnet, it struck the target once more dead center and quivered for several seconds before going still.

"Hey, that's a good shot," River beamed at Feng. "Even Nako can't hit something that far away! You must practice a lot, you're doing really well!"

Indeed, if she weren't against River she might even have had a chance at getting close to the finals, or at least the semi-finals.

River took another shot, once more shattering her previous arrow in another perfect bulls-eye.

River just smiled when she saw that Feng had hit the target yet again. She wished Feng could have had an opponent that was more fair for her - to be honest, there were few that could say that they would have a fair chance against River. Very few. And River knew it. She felt bad for some of her opponents, and now she felt bad for Feng. Feng deserved to feel better.

Still, she had been raised never to do anything half way, and she did have her great-grandmother to beat out.

She raised her bow and fired a third bulls-eye.

"River!" Celeborn announced, though it came as no surprise to anyone.

River turned to Feng, her eyes bright.

"You did well," she told her honestly. "I hope that someday, you and I can have another opportunity like this ... and I know that if you continue to work at it as you obviously have, you'll have a fair chance."

Every word was sincere, and she gave Feng another quick hug before heading back to the back of the line.