The Female Ranger

Chapter Six

Halt sat on a chair, his feet propped up on the table. A stack of papers next to them indicated he'd been there a while. He was on his second mug of coffee, after deciding he deserved one for his patience. They were late. He had expected his apprentices to be up by sunrise, but the sun had long risen and his apprentices were yet to be seen. Of course he contemplated waking them up, but they had to learn from their mistakes. And with Halt their master, they were bound to only make the same mistakes once.

Elizabeth stirred in her sleep, turning to her side. Her face ended up in a stream of light, forcing her to wake up. She groggily sat up, looking around, not remembering where she was. Suddenly all confusion was gone. She was a Ranger's apprentice. And she was supposed to wake up at dawn. She jumped out of bed, slightly relieved to see Will still asleep. At least she wasn't the only one. "Will," she whispered, "wake up!"

Will shot up, quickly realising their mistake. They rushed to get dressed and get out of their room. They stood awkwardly in front of Halt. "Sorry sir," Elizabeth started. Halt interrupted her by holding up his hand.

"Run," he barked. They stared at him in confusion. "To the castle and back." Elizabeth slowly turned towards the door. "Now!" Halt shouted. He shook his head as his apprentices ran out the door. He was going to need a third cup of coffee.

—

Elizabeth and Will were breathing heavily as they came back to the cabin. They had not dared to slow down or talk, after all, you never know where the Ranger could be hiding. But as they entered the cabin, it seemed like Halt had not moved at all. Although his stack of paperwork had grown slightly and the smell of coffee penetrated their noses. "Chores," Halt said, waving them away. Will let out a small sigh, he had hoped they would at least get a small breakfast. He opened his mouth, but decided against it when he met Halt's gaze. As he walked out, he felt the eyes burning holes in his back.

—

As they finished the last of their chores, Halt got up to prepare a small lunch. He had considered making them skip lunch too, but decided their bodies needed fuel to get through the rest of their day. He gave them a few minutes to eat, and signalled for them to follow. That afternoon, he taught them the art of unseen movement and remaining unseen in general. Later that day, they got started on map reading and chart drawing. Although they still had a lot to learn to reach the Ranger standard, Halt was pleased with their progress. But he had a reputation to uphold, and therefore he left his apprentices clueless about that.