Ranger's Apprentice: The Tantalizing Tales

The art of divination

If love isn't this, I don't want it.

~~~

'Oh gods be damned, I knew it!'

Will looked up from his own reports and glanced at his wife. Alyss had made herself comfortable on the floor, leaning against the couch as a bunch of papers surrounded her. One particular paper was in her hands and Will assumed something on that paper was the reason behind Alyss's sudden outburst.

'What?' he asked.

Alyss ripped her eyes away from the paper in her hands and met his gaze.

'Six weeks ago, I had a meeting with a member of Trelleth's Diplomatic Service,' she explained. 'He had been assigned the national representative position for the Norgate Negotiations - you know, the ones revolving around a potential ceasefire between Norgate's forces and the Scotti.'

Will nodded. Gilan had mentioned them in one of his letters. As Norgate's former Ranger, the tall Ranger had been asked to take up a minor advisory role, to support Norgate's current Ranger, Harrison. This way, Crowley and some of Duncan's other advisors believed, their information would be as complete as possible, aiding the way to a more beneficial ceasefire.

Having indicated that he knew what she was talking about, Alyss continued.

'After receiving the assignment, the Head of Trelleth's Diplomatic Service suggested to the national representative that he meet with me. In my... conversations with Keren, I learned a lot about the ways of the Scotti regarding negotiations and agreements.'

Will nodded again. So far, he still had no clue as to what had happened. Alyss's next words, however, offered an explanation.

'So I told the national representative to never phrase Araluen's demands in a way that indicates to the Scotti that they have to give something up. Their whole aggression to the Kingdom is based on their idea that they have had to give up their lands. Implying that they will have to give up things now will only aggravate them further.'

'Let me guess,' Will said, 'he told them that they had to give something up?'

'Not only that...' Alyss slammed the paper onto the coffee table in front of her and grabbed another, holding it up to Will.

'He told the Scotti that if they do not give up their claims to our lands, they might lose more. Now, the Scotti have walked away from the negotiations. I told him this would happen and he still did it. Now the whole process has to start all over.'

Will stood up from where he was sitting at the table and walked over to his wife. Pulling the papers from her hands and throwing them to the side, he took her hands in his and squeezed them as he sat down on the floor next to her.

'Although I admire your dedication,' Will said, 'it's not your assignment, not your responsibility. There's a whole team up there - I'm sure someone will be able to clean up the mess.'

Alyss looked at him. Her jaws were clenched, her cheeks were flushed, and there was a fire raging in her eyes that Will didn't often get to see.

'It's not just this, though,' she said, gripping his hands tightly. 'It's the Toscana Negotiations, the Celtica Briefs, the Seacliff Papers, not to mention countless smaller assignments. People come to me for advice, I tell them that if they do something, it will have consequences, and then they turn around and do it after all! They never listen, no matter how often I correctly predict the outcomes of their actions. I'm so sick of it! Why don't they ever listen?'

Will waited until she had finished venting, before squeezing Alyss's hands once again.

'You know why. It's because you're a woman. They don't think you know what you're talking about.'

'What, so I should just dress up as a fortune teller for them to start taking me seriously?'

Will shrugged. There was nothing for him to say. He had no answers to the questions Alyss asked, had no solutions to the problems she raised. He didn't even have any advice to offer. Will would never truly know what it was like for Alyss, to have to make her way in an otherwise still male-dominated field. For the moment being, all he could do was sit next to her and allow her to squeeze his hand in frustration as she began brushing her papers together.

When several tense, silent moments had passed, Will decided that it was time for a distraction.

'A fortune teller?' he asked, referring to his wife's earlier comment.

Alyss gestured vaguely at him. The heat was slowly draining from her face and the tight grip on his hand was slowly growing looser. But when she spoke, her voice was still tense with annoyance.

'You know what I mean.'

But Will decided to push the topic.

'No no no no, you said fortune teller specifically. What makes you think you can tell the future?'

Alyss looked at him, one eyebrow raised.

'You mean apart from all those instances of me correctly predicting the outcomes of specific actions?'

Will kept his face deadpan, raising one eyebrow in return. He was playing with her, teasing her, challenging her. Alyss's smirk told him that she knew. She took the bait and with her one free hand, began to count.

'Well let's see. I told you that Choosing Day would turn out fine - which it did.' One. 'I told you there would be trouble later down the line if we didn't shut Buttle up permanently - and trouble there was.' Two. 'I said Cassandra and I would be fine on our own in Nihon-Ja - which we were.' Three. 'And I correctly predicted the gender of Cassandra and Horace's child.' Four.

'Anything else?' Will provoked. 'Any last examples in support of your supposed fortune-telling abilities?'

Alyss smiled at him.

'I've always said I was going to marry you,' she answered. 'And I did, didn't I?'

Momentarily, Will was taken aback. He had not expected that one.

'You did,' he admitted.

But now Alyss was the one in control. Her smile grew even bigger and her eyes sparkled deviously.

'And I bet I can also correctly predict who will be cooking dinner tonight, while their partner is busy sending out possible solutions among the numerous I told you so's.'

Finally, Will let the smile he had been hiding out.

'That's my girl,' he said softly.

Alyss beamed at him. Her grip around his hand tightened again, but this time it wasn't caused by suppressed anger. Instead, she pulled him into a tight hug.

Will wrapped his arms around her, careful not to squeeze her between himself and the couch, but making sure his wife could feel the stability and comfort she sometimes so desperately craved. He could feel Alyss burying her chin in his shoulder, the skin-to-skin contact ever so electrifying, but the words no less muted.

'Thank you for never holding me back,' she whispered.

'How could I ever?' Will murmured into the crook of her neck. 'After all, I might not believe you're skilled in the art of divination...' He let the silence fall for a few moments as he breathed her in, before finally finishing his sentence.

'But I do know you're divine.'