The Female Ranger

Chapter Three

"Try to eat something, Will. Tomorrow's a big day, after all."

Jenny, blonde, pretty and cheerful gestured towards Will's barely touched plate and smiled encouragingly at him. Will made an attempt to return the smile but it was a failure. He picked at the plate before him, piled high with his favourite foods. Tonight, his stomach knotted tight with tension and anticipation, he could hardly bring himself to swallow a bite.

Elizabeth shared his feelings. She knew tomorrow would be a big day. A day she'd been dreading since joining the ward. Tomorrow would be the biggest day in her life, because tomorrow was the Choosing Day and it would determine how she spent the rest of her life. Unless of course she would somehow manage to get back to her old life, but that seemed highly unlikely.

Two years ago, Baron Arald and Halt decided that she would live in de ward and get the opportunity to choose a career with the other children of her age. They had not been able to determine what had happened to her, but trusted her enough to let her stay. Although they had kept a close eye on her, making sure only a select few people knew her real story. This way, people trusted her to accept them in their lives.

She had grown especially close with Alyss and Will. Alyss was a tall, graceful girl who had already been promised a place as an apprentice to Lady Pauline, head of Castle Redmont's Diplomatic Service. Will dreamed of becoming a knight, but as Horace often pointed out, he wasn't exactly built like one. He was small and wiry, though surprisingly strong. But it would probably not be enough to be allowed to attend Battleschool.

"Still planning on applying for Battleschool, Will?" Horace asked, through a mouthful of turkey and potatoes. "Better eat something then. You'll need to build yourself up a little."

He snorted with laughter and Will glared at him.

"You need muscles to get into Battleschool, Will. Real muscles." He said.

"Particularly between the ears." Will replied and, unfortunately, Jenny and Elizabeth could not refrain from giggling. Horace's face flushed and he started to rise from his seat, but Will was quicker and was already at the door.

Horace decided to insult his wardmate instead. "That's right! Run away, Will No-Name! You're a no-name and nobody will want you as an apprentice!"

"Horace," Elizabeth exclaimed, "be nice!" She stood up to follow Will.

He exited the building into the dark castle yard. He climbed up the huge fig tree growing close by the central tower. It was the place where he had often escaped from Horace. He found a convenient fork and wedged himself in it.

He heard the door of the Ward building open and saw Elizabeth walk out. She looked around the yard and then walked up to the fig tree. "Will?"

He didn't reply. Elizabeth knew he was up there. They had often been up there together when Will was hiding from Horace. She decides against joining him, if he did not answer he probably wanted to be alone. She shrugged and went back inside. After all, she had her own problems to take care of. She simply had no clue what she was supposed to choose tomorrow.

Will sighed softly. Horace's insult had hurt him more than he liked to admit. It was true, no one knew what his surname was or who his parents were. Even Elizabeth, who had some weird history at least knew who she was. That's why he came up with the story of his dad being an important knight, and why he was desperate to follow in his footsteps.

As he sat there in the tree, the lights in the windows went out, one by one. Eventually, there was only one light left burning, and that was in the Baron's study, where the Baron was probably still dealing with loads of paperwork. Finally, even the light went out in the study. Miserable, Will climbed down the tree and made his way to his bed.

As he went inside, he spotted Elizabeth. She looked up at him and gave him a sad smile. "You alright?" She asked. Will nodded. He realised she must be worried as well, they were the only two who had reason to worry about tomorrow. But she got up before he could say anything. "Good, goodnight then Will."

"Night Liz."