We took the other part of the Anoli downstream and shot through town. The chaos from one part of town to the other was enough to keep the mobs divided. Which was good in our case. We didn’t need the whole town after us. That would’ve meant trouble. Because we were taking the stream downward, we didn’t have to row as much, giving us some time to talk.
“So what part of town are you from, Elena?” I asked, both curious and wanting to pass the time. If I had to be in the same boat with someone for an extended period of time, I figured I might as well got to know them. Plus, she didn’t seem so bad on the outside, nor was she mean like Valen. And she couldn’t be snobby like Thomas and Caroline if she was servant girl.
“All around, I guess,” she said after a moment. The pause in her voice made it sound like it was a touchy subject. But I was very poor-witted and didn’t pick up on those kinds of signs very well. So I continued with my questions. “I’m not from Crossroads originally.”
“Where then?” I asked. I had been living in Crossroads all of my life, and if she was from there, then I would have seen her at least once, probably would have been able to recognize her. But this was not the case. Still, why the Daunderfell’s need someone from out of town?
“I’m from the Southeast,” she admitted after awhile. She glanced back at me from where she sat in the canoe with Howard and I. “I’m... an orphan, like you.”
Wait, what? How did she know I was an orphan? Maybe it was the fact that Orin had adopted me, but no. That couldn’t be it. I was Hage. Now Hage Daunderfell, but I was still a lowly stablehand. Was, at least.
“Who told I was an orphan?” I asked. I leaned in to lower the volume of the conversation. I didn’t want to see Thomas and Caroline exchanging looks between one another while we talked.
“Oh, sorry,” she said quickly. She seemed like she had hit a touchy subject... for me. But I wasn’t upset or insulted. Not from her. Especially her. I was just confused and or unsure on how she knew I was an orphan. “I didn’t mean to intrude. Its just that... Master Daunderfell talks about you... a lot. He had mentioned he was going to adopt you... ”
“And he did,” I said, glancing over at Thomas and Caroline in the canoe with Valen. As much as I hated it, I was considered their brother, by law. I didn’t want it. I would rather stay an orphan then to be family with them. But I had a bad feeling that fate would prove otherwise. “You’re an orphan, but why didn’t you get employed by one of the lordships in the Andoan region?”
“Its a long story,” Elena said, tucking back part of her blond hair. She reminded me of a painting I had saw when I was younger. It was about a young valkyrie, a warrior-maiden and healer, who was resting by a stream, pulling her blond hair over one of her shoulders. She was a very beautiful maiden, one who, despite being a painting, had captured the hearts of many men. “But I’m from Mentings.”
“The capital?” I asked. And then I remembered the situation we were in. “I mean, the old capital?”
Elena nodded.
But just as Elena and I were learning more about each other, Howard was becoming a bit uneasy with himself.
“We need to go back,” he urged. Howard must have been the subordinate, because it sounded like he answered to Valen, and could only act with his permission. The two looked around the same age, but since they both had facial hair, it was a bit hard to tell. “We can’t just leave Carter behind like that.”
“Carter is as experienced as either one of us,” Valens muttered. It sounded like he was trying to hold back something that he wanted to say, rather than what he was saying. The three of them must have been comrades, brothers in arms, for a very long time. I had hoped I would never have to make that kind of decision if I were to become a ranger. “He knows how to evade capture.”
“But what if he does get captured?” Howard asked, even though they both probably knew. My perspective on the rangers was beginning to falter a bit. “Its only a matter of time... ”
“No, Howard,” Valens said firmly. We had just pushed into the woodlands by canoe now. Crossroads was behind us, and the flow of the river was too strong to fight. Going back on foot would take too long, and it was too late in the day. If waited, then only the worst could happen. The only thing we could do at this point was to go forward. A chill ran up my spine when the idea that Valen and I actually agreed on something. “Our path is set. He knows what he must do in order to survive. A ranger is nothing if not resourceful. Remember that, Howard.”
Howard hadn’t said another word an hour through the woods. I had very seldom been outside Crossroads, so I was sure to take in all the sights. The woodlands were amazing. Instead of tall buildings to shade me, there were tall trees with leaves as green as the Durovian League banner. Life inside the town was nothing compared to what I saw. There were birds flying from each branch. The setting sun only made the scene more beautiful. I thought back on the painting of the valkyrie maiden. One day, after my adventures were over, people would come see paintings of my many exploits. Hopefully, they would make me look taller than I actually was, just to make me look good.
But all jokes aside, today was turning unforgettable, both good and bad, as each moment passed by. I was not sure what to expect when Valen had signaled for us to steer the canoe to the nearest bank. We paddled, rowed, canoed, or whatever it was called to a clearing on a rocky bank. Howard hopped out, and pulled it in. Elena and I tried copying him, but we almost tripped on the way out, so we did our best just to stay on our feet. Funny enough, we almost fell into each other. But we managed to hold each other up when it counted.
“Quickly now,” Valen said as he began running off into the woods. We had little to nothing to carry, so we were able to travel on light feet. But neither Elena, nor the Daunderfell kids, or myself for that matter, could keep up with Valen who took lead. But Howard did his best to keep us in pace with the group’s general speed. We trekked through darkening woods for awhile, up until we had to stop running. We were reduced to walking in a very short amount of time, but at least we were moving, whether Valensliked the pace or not.
It was until the point we started going uphill did we start to complain from all the walking. Sure, it was our lives that we were trying to protect, but did it require so much running? And did it have to hurt so much? I doubted Valen or even Howard for that matter would have given us an answer, rather than a retorted comment about how inferior or weak we were. But he hadn’t said anything about our now-slowed pace, so I was glad for that.
Once we reached the top of the hill, Valen had us stop. He made it clear that he wanted no noise from either of us when he put his finger to his mouth. He began creeping around, staying low. I motioned for Elena to follow him. I had the feeling he wanted to get a better view of the area, as did I. We both crept after Valen, taking care not to bring any noise or attention to ourselves. She was smiling and trying not to giggle the whole time.
“Why are you laughing?” I asked, keeping my voice down to a whisper. “What’s so funny?”
“We’re pretending to be rangers,” she said, almost breaking her willpower to stop herself from laughing. I couldn’t help but begin to giggle a little bit. I then snorted. Elena was silent, then went out in full laughter. It was funny. He we were, traveling in the company of rangers, and we were trying to be like them. Imitation was the best form of flattery, I guess.
But then Elena’s expression froze. Her eyes were glued to what was over the hill, where Valen was doing some scouting. From the way she was frozen, she must have seen it too.
I glanced over and mirrored Elena’s petrified stare.
