The Ranger's Apprentice - A New Story ON HOLD

Chapter 6-Starting the New Life

Anna stared up at the unfamiliar ceiling, trying to identify where she was. She was tired and emotionally worn, but she could not think why. Then she recalled the previous' days events and she sighed. She better get up, Will must be expecting her. She sat up and observed the room around her. It was a small room, consisting of a little more of one's basic essentials. She slid off the bed and went to the dresser. On the dresser sat a small pile of clothes and a note. The note read:

"These are the garments you are required to wear for your training. Wear these and meet me outside the cabin at sunrise."

Will

Anna glanced over at the already rising sun. Too late, she thought. She quickly put on the clothes and noticed something under them that she did not notice before. She picked it up and held it out in front of her, It was a cloak. A ranger cloak. It was nearly identical to Will's but newer and less worn. Not feeling the need to put it on, she draped it over a chair and ran out to the front of the cabin. There she was met with a mesmerizing view. The cabin stood on the edge of a series of cliffs, jutting out over a vast ocean. The air was fresh and salty, and the breeze whipped around her hair.

"Did you read the note to get up by sunrise? Took you long enough to get out here." Anna turned around to find will sitting on a log, drinking a cup of coffee. His voice and manner had a harshness and a seriousness that was not present yesterday. Anna was caught off guard.

"I...didn't...slept...sorry," she stuttered, struggling to find an explanation. Will merely shrugged it off. He stood and faced her, setting down his coffee.

"Just be up at sunrise from here on out, understood?" Anna nodded. Will studied her a bit longer, until he turned and grabbed his coffee.

"Go inside and get something to eat. There is breakfast on the table. I will meet you there in a bit," Will ordered. Anna obeyed and went inside. She saw the breakfast warm and ready and she eagerly consumed it. 

About halfway through her breakfast, Will came in and sat down. Out of nowhere, he pulled out a paper and starts reading it. Anna continued eating rapidly and quickly finished. Will glanced up from his paper at her. 

"Oh good. There is the first part of your training," Will commented. Anna motioned to the used dishes.

"This?" Will nodded. 

"Training as a Ranger is not only about learning to work as one, but to live as one. A Ranger does not have time for much time at home, so who does the cleaning?" Will pointed to Anna, "That is a part of your job." Anna stuttered. She was thoroughly disappointed. Maybe farming was better.

"Once you learn you chores, then we will move farther in your training. Now get started," he looked back at his paper. Anna went over to the wash bin and started washing.

All day she cleaned and did chores. He told her to clean the pens, the table, the kitchen, the furnace, the pots, the chairs, and the rugs. She did each of the chores meaninglessly. Each of the jobs had to be done twice, due to Will's dissatisfaction with her work. Whatever he was yesterday seemed to be gone, only replaced by a stiff and serious man. She was upset and irritated. She probably had the worse job of all of her ward mates. It was mid afternoon when she was finally close to done. Will nodded as she shook the dirt out of the rag she was using to clean and she looked over at him. She shook out the rag again and as if to say that she was done, she sat down. Will raised an eyebrow.

"Are you done?" Will asked her. 

"I did everything that you told me twice, as far as I can tell, I am done. You tell me though," Anna retorted angrily. Will nodded.

"You are done for today. I will expect that you do chores everyday, unless I tell you otherwise. Now lets move on to some more fun stuff. Go grab your cloak, and meet me outside." Anna perked up a little, but she learned years ago not to keep her hopes up. She went to her room and grabbed the cloak which she saw earlier. She grabbed it, but did not put it on. She still had bad memories from this cloak, and it still haunted her that she would become the same person that tried to kill her. She paused at the door and shivered as she remembered the arrow, the dark look on the man and  Baron Arald. She opened the door. 

"Will?" He was no where to be seen. She started to walk around the cabin.

"Will? I am out here!" she called. She turned around. She became uncomfortable and frightened. She felt so vulnerable and exposed. She hurried around the cabin, calling Will in a louder voice and with more desperation. She made it to the front of the cabin again and debated going inside. She did not know what to do. Years of fear tumbled upon her as she began to back up to the edge of the cliff, that way no one could sneak up behind her. 

"Hello."

Anna screamed and ran away from the voice behind her. She whipped around to face the person who frightened her. She turned to face a smirking Will.

Of course it was Will. She should have known, who else would it be. She still stood at a defensive stance.

"I would say that test went well, don't you think?" Will stated in a clever and sneaky attitude. Test? Anna thought. She held an expression of pure confusion. 

"You still don't trust me," said Will, as if that was supposed to explain everything.

"What do you mean?" asked Anna.

"I needed to know if you trusted me yet. We cannot start weapons training until you can trust me. That answers my question."

"And you expect me after years of prejudice and mistrust dealt to myself, to just let all of my mistrust go? Especially after I was nearly killed? You want me to just release all of that?" Anna's voice started to rise. He would never know what she went through. So he has no right to tell her how to handle herself.

"No, I do not. I want you to try. You must know that he was acting on orders."

"That what frightens me! If the king told me to kill me right now, would you?" She stared at him accusingly, wanting to catch him off guard.

"Only if it was for the right reasons. If you were innocent, and I was asked to murder you, I would not." Will stared Anna down.

"You must begin to trust me. You will go no where if you don't. I am training you to become what you mistrust. You will never learn anything if you try to learn what you are scared of. Why would I kill you? I have had plenty of opportunities to. I could have right now." Anna considered this. He continued.

"Now a Ranger is loyal to the king only. Orders come from the king. A Ranger is a master in stealth. We must find information, and are often in the thick of the mess. That cloak you have there is a key factor. It is designed to blend in with your surroundings when used correctly. Put on the cloak to get a feel for it." Anna, who was caught off guard by his sudden teaching had to have it repeated to her. She hesitated. By puting on this cloak, it says that she is ready to do this. She gives it a thought, and puts it on. Will kept teaching her about stealth. She had some practice before, but this was on a whole new level. She had to keep to the shadows, stay still even if she thinks that she was seen, and no noise. She had the most difficulty at the silent part. She could be invisible, but to be silent was another thing. 

The sky had long been dark, and Anna was now practicing to hide from lights and eyes. She was stumbling though, and after all days work, her body was exausted. She looked to Will for praise, but he shook his head for what seemed the millionth time. Anna slunk down. Will walked to her and motioned her up.

"Come on, stand up. We'll cook dinner, then you will have to sleep," Will ordered. Anna stood and followed. In the kitchen, Will taught her to make a stew, which tasted pretty bland. As she poked at the stew, she decided that she was not sure if she was ready to trust Will all the way, but she was going to try.