For twenty years the queen kept one unusual rule. Anyone who hit the tiny center of the royal target three times in a row would earn one wish, anything the crown could lawfully grant.
When the custom began, people saw it as a charming royal tradition. Very soon, though, the challenge became almost a legend.
The finest archers from every corner of the kingdom came to try. There were hunters who could bring down a bird from an enormous distance, soldiers who had used a bow for decades and even champions of royal tournaments. Some hit the center once. The luckiest hit it twice. The third arrow always went wide.
Some whispered that the servants quietly changed the distance to the target, or hung a special cloth that pushed the arrows off course. Others said it was simply nerves. After two perfect shots, a person realized how close their dream was, and their hands began to shake.
Whatever the reason, more people wanted to try every year. You could ask for almost anything: gold, land, a house, freedom from debt or a post at court. So on the day of the next challenge, the huge arena was packed once again.
When the herald called the next contestant, a very big young woman walked slowly through the gates carrying a heavy bow. Her name was Rose.
For a few seconds the crowd just stared. Then laughter rolled down from the stands.
“Did she come to shoot, or to cover the target with her body?” someone shouted.
“Look at those fingers! How is she going to hold a bowstring that thin?”
“She’ll be worn out before she reaches the line!”
Rose truly was much larger than most people around her. She wore a plain brown dress, her hair was tied up carelessly, and worn leather straps were wrapped around her hands.
Even the queen on her golden throne smiled. “The best archers in my army have failed this test,” she told her adviser, loud enough for the nearby courtiers to hear. “I wonder why this girl decided to embarrass herself.”
Rose heard every word and said nothing. She calmly took her place, checked the bowstring and looked at the distant target. Slowly the arena fell quiet.
She raised the bow. The first arrow whistled through the air and struck the tiny center perfectly. Surprised shouts came from the stands, though some decided it was pure luck.
Rose took a second arrow, drew and fired almost without a pause. It landed right next to the first one, dead in the center. The smile disappeared from the queen’s face.
Now the arena was so silent that you could hear the wind snapping the banners above the fortress walls.
Rose slowly pulled out the third arrow. This time even the people who had mocked her a moment ago held their breath. She drew the string, stopped breathing and let go.
The third arrow hit exactly between the first two.
For a few seconds nobody moved. Then the whole arena exploded in cheers.
The queen rose from her throne. “In twenty years, no one has ever done this,” she said. “You have earned your wish. Tell me what you want. Gold? Land? A house? A royal title?”
Rose lowered her bow. “I don’t need any of that.” She walked slowly toward the throne. “I want you to reopen my husband’s case.”
The queen could not hide her surprise.
Five years earlier, Rose’s husband had been accused of murdering a royal tax collector. Several witnesses spoke against him, and he was sent to prison, even though he swore to the very end that he was innocent.
Rose had fought for a new investigation. She wrote petitions, knocked on officials’ doors and even sold her belongings to pay lawyers. But nobody wanted to reopen a case that had been closed for years.
Then she remembered the royal challenge.
For five years Rose trained every single day. At first her arrows barely reached the target. Then she learned to hit the circle, and later the center. She practiced in the rain, in the cold and even when the bowstring made her fingers bleed.
She had not come to the arena for glory.
A few weeks later the case was reopened. It turned out that one of the main witnesses had been paid to lie, and the real killer had spent all those years living in a nearby town under a different name.
Rose’s husband walked out of prison a free man.
