The Female Ranger

Chapter Two

Her head hurt. She groaned and opened her eyes, but quickly closed them as the light was too much. After a moment, she shielded her eyes from the sun and opened them again. Where was she? And where were her parents? What happened?

She remembered the screaming and the tree, but where was the car? Slowly pushing herself up, she shook her head to get rid of the dizziness. It took some time, but eventually she felt stable enough to scoot over and lean against a tree.

Her mouth fell open at the sight in front of her. She sat close to a river. On one side of it a huge castle dominated the landscape. It was built on top of a hill, with three towers at the corners of the outer walls. In the middle stood another tower, even higher than the other three. On the other side of the river, at the foot of the hill was a village, surrounded by farmlands.

This definitely wasn't Whitby anymore, she thought. But where was she? She tried to call for her parents, but her voice did not cooperate. Her mouth was too dry to speak. She pushed herself up and walked towards the river. Carefully scooping up some water, she moistened her mouth and called out for her parents. "Mom? Dad?"

She was met with silence.

She groaned and flopped down onto the ground. What now? Surely she couldn't just walk up to the castle? She decided to get some rest first, before deciding what to do. Her head still hurt, and she needed to think her next steps through.

—

Something wasn't right. Elizabeth slowly woke up, slightly opening her eyes to take in her surroundings. It felt like someone was watching her. She sat up, searching the trees behind her. But there was nothing there. She shrugged and got up, it was probably best to find a place to stay the night.

"I suggest you stay seated," a gruff voice said, "and preferably tell me who you are and why you are here."

Elizabeth let herself fall back down, desperately searching for the source of the voice.

"Well?"

"My name is Elizabeth Chase. I don't know how I got here. I had an accident and woke up here."

"Don't try any jokes with me, girl. Why are you here?"

"I don't know sir. We were on our way to my grandmother when we crashed. I woke up here without my parents."

"Hm. You're coming with me. Keep your hands where I can see them." The man stepped out from between the trees and swung his bow back to his shoulder. "Get up. No tricks, I will shoot you."

Elizabeth quickly scrambled to her feet and awkwardly stood in front of the man. He reminded her of a Ranger from her books, or at least what she imagined them to look like. She took a step back as he let out a piercing whistle, but his clear annoyance stopped her from going any further. He got onto his horse and pointed in the direction of the castle. "Walk."

He rode behind her, carefully observing her. Her clothes were weird, and she wore trousers. She definitely wasn't from around here. But he didn't buy her story. An accident and waking up in a different place. She didn't even look injured. There was no way that could be true. He would take her to the Baron, let him decide what to do with her.

As they entered the castle yard, the man searched for a stablehand. Having found one, he beckoned him over. "Take care of him will you? But don't give him too much food. Might need him again soon." He handed over his horse and grabbed Elizabeth by the arm.

He brought her over to the middle tower. They climbed up to a room with some chairs. He pointed to the chair. "Sit." One of the guards came closer to her as the man knocked on a door and went in.

She heard murmuring from the room, but could not make out what they were saying. So she decided to lean back and close her eyes, there was nothing she could currently do to improve her situation. Might as well get some rest.

The door opened. The man beckoned Elizabeth to come in. As she walked through the door, he grabbed her arm and brought her in front of a desk. Behind the desk sat a big man, with seemingly more fat than muscle. He had a short, neatly trimmed beard with traces of grey. He had dark, piercing eyes, but did not necessarily look unkind. He spoke softly: "Well Halt, what have you brought to me this time?"

Halt? Like the Ranger Halt? He did remind her of a Ranger. But that's not possible. Those stories were fiction. And how could she have ended up there? She'd read in the newspapers that scientists were working on time travel, but they had not been successful yet. And this could not be time travel, those books were fiction, right? Wait, they were both looking at her expectantly. What did they ask?

"I'm sorry. I think I missed the question."

Halt scoffed, but repeated himself: "I said, why don't you tell us who you are."

"I'm Elizabeth Chase. I'm thirteen and live in Whitby, or used to at least. My parents and I were on our way to my grandmother when we crashed. I woke up here."

The two men glanced at each other. "You're in Redmont, in Araluen. Does that mean anything to you?"

"Well, I used to read books about the Rangers and their apprentices. And that takes place in Araluen, but I don't know anything about it in real life. I thought those stories were fiction."

"Books about Rangers?" Halt asked.

"Yes, about Crowley, Halt, Gilan and Will. I loved those stories."

"Will? He's just a child, about your age. Definitely not an apprentice. Do you remember anything from those stories?"

Elizabeth remained silent and thought. What else could she remember? Nothing, apparently. "That's the problem, not much. Or at least not right now, I only remember those names, I don't know what happens. But those stories are fiction, they're not real. They can't be."

"Well I am very much real."

"And very much a Ranger." The man behind the desk added. He sighed, what was he supposed to do with this? She was only thirteen, not much of a threat. But her story didn't make sense. They asked her some more questions, but it did not clear up much.

"Halt? Can you bring her outside?"

Halt tapped her on the back of her head. She quickly bowed and walked towards the door. He sat her on the chair, walked back and closed the door. They desperately needed to discuss this.