Into The World Of Ranger's Apprentice

Hide-And-Seek Goes Terribly Wrong

A/N Hello, people. This is my first fanfiction, I hope you like it! Constructive criticism welcome.

Disclaimer: I don't own anything from RA

Jillian ran hard, her brother's shouts fading behind her with each step she took. She had never lost a game to him, and she didn't plan to start now. Jill was playing hide-and-seek with her brother, Tristian, and his friends. The extensive forest behind their house, especially at this time of day, was the perfect place to play. It never got old. Jill was 14, with long red hair and a mischievous twinkle in her eyes. She was tomboyish and never minded being outside with Tristian, who was 12, climbing trees and getting covered in mud in the river that marked the edge of their property. She knew her brother would look extra hard for her today, to impress his friends. But she was sure he wouldn't find her. Nobody ever did. Not since reading a certain book series. Jill smiled as she thought of Ranger's Apprentice. The books had certainly taught her a lot. Caught up in her thoughts, she almost ran into a tree. She cursed herself for getting distracted and looked back to make sure nobody had heard her. What would Halt say about her being this careless? Sighing, Jill latched onto a towering pine and scrambled up it. Nobody ever thinks to look up. The words rang through her head, as she settled on a branch, a good 10 meters off the ground. Knowing it'd be a long time before someone came her way, she leaned her head back against the rough trunk of the tree and closed her eyes. 

The dizziness came without any warning. It hit her like a swarm of bees, and for a moment Jill tettered on the edge of the branch about to fall. Then everything seemed to shift. The branch below became a little less sturdy, the trees around her became greener, smaller. It was almost as if the world was unaging itself. Squeezing her eyes shut, Jill clutched the trunk of the tree tighter, like it was her lifeline. When the dizzy spell passed, she shook herself. She must've been hallucinating from the heat and the stress of hanging onto the tree for so long. Shifting slightly, Jill settled down to wait once more.

It seemed like hours had passed when Jill heard soft footsteps below her. Finally. Tristian usually gave up and called for her to come out sooner. Staying stock-still, she waited for the footsteps to pass. In her brown tights and dark green sweatshirt, she was practically invisible, and was sure no one would be able to see her. Which was why she almost had a heart attack when the footsteps paused for a moment and then came closer to the tree. 

"I think here is a good place to stop, Will," a deep voice said, surprisingly softly. Jill almost gave a sigh of relief, knowing that she hadn't been spotted. Then she froze. What were two men doing on her property? Surely she hadn't crossed the river marking the edge of their land. So that meant that there were at least two potentially dangerous trespassers just ten meters below her. I have to get out of here, she thought desperately, beginning to panic. Forgetting her self-taught unseen movement skills that had made her the champion of hide-and-seek all those years, Jill peeked down at the interlopers. And gasped in surprise as she saw who it was. 

They couldn't be here. This was impossible. Perhaps they were just big fans? Jill was so caught up in her confused mess of thoughts that she missed seeing one of the men pointing a bow at her. With a big, nasty, sharp arrow to finish off the look. 

"Kings Rangers!" The man called, getting her attention, "get down from there." No. Nononono. Did he say, 'kings rangers?' This cannot be happening. But...what if it's real? Jill grinned to herself. If it was real, this was going to be the best day of her life. "Come down now!" The same deep voice interrupted my thoughts. Oh, yeah. That. She hopped down from the tree, bending her knees as she hit the ground to absorb some of the impact. It didn't do much good, and she still fell face first  into the dirt. Of course she would.

Jill rolled onto her back and looked up into the hooded faces of the men. They both wore mottled gray-green cloaks with the cowls pulled up. In addition, they each had a longbow in hand, two knives in a double scabbard, and a quiver brisling with arrows slung over their backs. And one of those arrows was pointed straight at her. Even with the potential death threat, Jill couldn't help the huge smile spreading across her face. Right in front of her were her heroes. Right in front of her were rangers Will Treaty and Halt O'Carrick. 

"OmigoshWillandHaltyourrealandiknowsomuchaboutyouandthisisthebestdayofmylife," Jill blurted out in one breath. She sat up, regardless of the sharp pointy thing aimed at her heart and grinned at them. It was every fangirl's dream to meet their favorite book character, and here she was, sitting in front of the most famous rangers in all of Araluen. The one holding the bow was obviously Halt. The grizzled ranger had graying hair which looked like it had been cut with a knife. Well, Jill thought, that's cause it was. He glared at her suspiciously.

"Repeat everything you said. Slowly." Halt said gruffly. She ignored him and turned her attention to the other ranger. He had messy brown hair and warm brown eyes that were currently clouded with suspicion. Undoubtedly Will. "Repeat it!" Halt shouted at Jill, who jumped in surprise. She decided it would be best to just humor him.

"I said, 'Oh my gosh, Will and Halt, you are real and I..."Jill trailed off. She didn't think it would be wise to let them know she knew everything about them. They'd want to know why, and that was something she couldn't do if she really were stuck in Araluen. Speaking of which, how did she get here? And when? 

"Why wouldn't we be real?" Will asked curiously. Jill breathed a sigh of relief as she realized Will had just saved her from telling the rangers all she knew. Relief that instantly turned to panic as she had no idea what to say.

"Oh, um, I just..." She trailed off. What could she say that the two rangers would believe? Probably nothing but the truth. Panicked, she decided to bluff her way through this situation. "I'm from, er, Celtia, and, uh, didn't know about you until recently," Jill blurted out quickly, immediately cursing herself for her idiocity. Celtia? She didn't know the slightest thing about them except for the few details from Burning Bridge. And who in this world hadn't heard of Will and Halt? They were famous! 

Looking up at the rangers, Jill could see that they didn't believe one word of it. Who would? She was a terrible liar, and even if she had a good lie, these were rangers. They'd see right through it. Jill shifted around on the dirt, trying to make herself more comfortable. It didn't work. Will and Halt exchanged a glance, seeming to come to a silent agreement. 

"Listen up," Will said sharply, causing Jill to, once again, jerk her head up. "You're going to come with us to Redmont where the Baron can decide what to do with you. In the meantime, Halt is going to have a nice little conversation with you." Jill swallowed nervously, her throat suddenly dry. She wasn't so worried about the Baron, she could deal with him. But Halt...what about that? It was clear from Will's tone that her "nice little conversation" was going to be anything but. Interrogation would be a better word for it. And anyone worth their arrows knows that nobody can keep information from Halt. 

Please review and tell me what you think! Also, can anyone tell me how I can put a picture at the top? Thanks!

-QA