𝑡𝑖𝑙𝑙 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑏𝑟𝑒𝑎𝑘 𝑜𝑓 𝑑𝑎𝑤𝑛 | 𝐆𝐈𝐋𝐀𝐍 𝐃𝐀𝐕𝐈𝐃𝐒𝐎𝐍

3⋆☾⋆Forest of the past

"What can I help you with?" The majordomos' clerk asked politely as he looked up from a piece of parchment he was working on.

Gilan threw back his cloak over his shoulder to show off his silver oak leaf. "The name's Gilan. I'm a Ranger, servant of the King."

I snorted, because he sounded absolutely ridiculous. I knew he was just trying to impress this poor man and maybe intimidate him a bit if he was lucky. We Rangers had a reputation and Gilan loved to abuse it to confuse poor bystanders who we met on our missions.

My mentor threw me a glare, but then a devilish grin danced on his lips as he turned to the clerk again. At that point I already knew what would come next, would really bite me in the arse.

"And this is my fianceé," he continued, "we came to see the majordomos."

He really did love to pull that trick a lot today, I thought to myself as I put on a sweet smile and grabbed his arm.

"Of course,  just a moment please." Looking from me to Gilan, he put down his quill carefully and got up to disappear into door next to him.

As soon as the clerk was out of sight, I let go of the tall Ranger and slapped his arm with the back of my hand.

"What was that all about?!" I asked him irritatedly. After all he was the one who suggested we stay just friends, but now he kept pulling that trick to explain my being there and it was really messing with my mind. Did he still love me?

Gilan looked from me to his arm in awe, then he chuckled and shook his brown curls. "Ahw come on you love it."

I furrowed my eyebrows and crossed my arms. "No I don't!"

"Ah come on, your cheeks got all flushed when I said it." He waved his finger in front of my nose.

A cold fear struck my heart and I frantically tried to remember if I really had. If he'd noticed it, it must've been really bad. A bit more unsure I slapped his finger away.

"I wasn't!" And of course in that moment the clerk had to come back, so I nudged Gilan and whispered to him. "Shut up."

With a raised eyebrow the clerk took us up, but then shrugged and told Gilan the majordomos was ready to see him. I was about to follow my mentor into the office when the chubby man held me back, shaking his head.

"This is official business m'am, I'm going to have to ask you to wait back here." he told me, which made Gilan stop in the doorpost. We made eye contact and he nodded that it was okay.

I let myself fall back on a wooden bench, tapping my foot on the floor repeatedly. The first time the door opened was rather quickly and it made me jump up. I sat back down however when I saw it was just the clerk who apologetically smiled at me. At least he asked me if he could bring me anything, which I was thankful for, because I was really thirsty and cold after the long ride.

The second time it was when he went back in with a coffee, probably for Gilan. Then finally after what felt like hours the door swung open, an older man with long grey hair and a lot of wrinkles in his face appeared in the opening. He ordered the clerk to take me and Gilan to the fourth floor, making the man look up from his book. After that the grey man whispered something to my mentor, before returning to his chamber again.

I raised an eyebrow at the scene, but I didn't have the time to think it over because the smaller plump clerk showed us the way to our apartment. On our way through the halls Gilan suddenly took my arm in his, coincidentally when another couple walked by us in the same way. But then he brought his lips very close to my ear, so close I could feel his breath on my neck. It made my heart beat faster than the time I was in battle.

"They think you're pregnant by the way, it'll give you a good cover to sneak out of the castle in my clothes," he whispered, "now laugh as if I said something sweet."

I chuckled and accidentally made eye contact with a passing maid as I did. I brushed a streak of hair out of my face frantically, trying to calm my nerves. Even though there had been times we'd been even closer, I couldn't explain these feelings right now. Maybe it was just because we were friends and I wasn't used to having any? Or I was afraid I'd mess things up?

When the clerk opened the heavy oak door to our apartment the first thing my eye fell on was the large bed. It had beautiful red sheets and a high headboard that almost reached the ceiling, that had matching curtains flowing down. The clerk left, leaving me and Gilan all alone to explore our new accommodation. In total there were three rooms, which all had an Oceanview, which most rooms will have in a castle like this by the sea. A salty wind breezed through the open windows. There was a small study, a bathroom and a bedroom. But much to my dismay there wasn't another bed. The second my mentor seemed to realize this as well he winked at me.

"Seems like we have to share a bed." He smirked, as he laid down on the bed, folding his hands behind his head.

"Yeah, and whose fault is that?" I answered and grabbed a pillow, flinging it at him at high velocity. But he caught it with ease and started hugging it like a small baby.

"Oh what, are you afraid you won't be able to handle this much Ranger-" he gestured at himself- "next to you?"

I squinted my eyes at him. "I think I'll be suffocated by your gross farts."

"Those are perfectly natural, unlike your deafening snoring."

While crossing my arms I mockingly repeated his last words, much to his amusement. We argued a little longer about who was the most annoying to sleep with, (Gilan eventually winning by brining up the time I alarmed a group of highwaymen with my snores on a mission, almost getting us killed.) and at last a servant came to our apartment to alert my mentor that the Baron had arrived. Telling me that it wasn't over yet, Gilan walked out of the door, because by that time our bickering had moved to whose horse was the best.

By the time he returned it was midday already so he decided to let a servant bring a meal to the door while I was to scout the forest, so I put on my Ranger's outfit that I'd packed in my bags. Gilan changed into a white undershirt and pants, to lie down in bed and get some more sleep. I checked his wound before going and everything looked good thankfully.

"Go out the window and come back when it's a bit darker," he advised watching me climb out, from the bed.

"I'll be fine, don't worry." I laughed and then began my way down the rocky walls of the castle. I moved along the shadows to get down, which didn't take very long. Then I hurried off towards the forest.

I went from tree to tree, keeping my eyes open for any smoldering piles of firewood. The cold was cutting at my face as the wind got stronger. The snow started falling again, making it even harder to walked through the woods. My ankles were drowned in the white blanket that covered the ground. Almost an hour in I hadn't found anything yet, when I heard twigs snapping behind me. I froze behind my tree.

Trust the cloak, I kept repeating in my mind. It's the mantra that every Ranger is taught from their first day of training and most of time it works.

"Hey sis, long time no see." A low voice sounded from behind me, which sent cold sweat all over my body.

I did say most of the time, didn't I?

A/N:

Hi guys! I am very excited about today's chapter, mostly because I just loveeeeee the 'there's only one bed trope'. AND of course the mystery person at the end. Btw Look pretty divider thingies. All right so question for today is: What's your favorite fan fiction trope?

Xoxo. HeelsAreCute