The New Rangers

Chapter One

"Deva," Will called, then waited a moment before trying again. It seemed routine of late for his daughter to ignore him the first couple of times he tried to get her attention. He rolled his eyes, knowing he'd never been like this when he was her age. Though, if he were to ask Halt the older Ranger would probably disagree. "Deva, stop ignoring me."

She sighed and lifted her head to meet his gaze, her brown eyes so much like his own. "What is it, Dad?"

Now that he had her attention, he pulled out the chair across the table from where she sat and took a seat. "Look, you do know what tomorrow is, correct?"

"Um, yeah ... and?" she replied in a bored tone.

He could have sworn she rolled her eyes before looking back down at the book that stood open on the table before her. "You're fifteen now, Dev. You aren't a ward of Redmont, but still ..." he trailed off, leaving the sentence hanging in the air between them unfinished.

She flipped the book shut, sat back in her chair and stared at him a moment before she finally spoke, "Yes, I'm fifteen. We all know it. You shouldn't have to ask me what I want to do with my life. I want to be a Ranger, you know I always have. Since I could walk I've been slinking through the forest, hiding in trees, and generally attempting to prove I can be a Ranger. I could throw a knife before most kids knew you could use it for more than cutting meat."

He grimaced at the mention of her knife throwing. "Yes, I remember your attempts at knife throwing."

"Hey, wait, I wasn't aiming at you and that was only the first attempt! The throw went a little wide, that's all and it healed perfectly fine!" she said with a wave of her hand in his general direction.

"Are you certain you want to become a Ranger? It isn't an easy life, sweetheart." Despite the fact that he loved every moment of being a King's Ranger, he wasn't certain it was something he wanted for his daughter. Wasn't certain he wanted her facing the same sort of dangers that he had.

She reached across the table, grasped his hand, and held it in both of hers. "Dad, it's all I've ever wanted. You know that. Holly and I made little cloaks as soon as Mom and Pauline taught us to sew. They were a disaster, but we tried." She grinned at him.

He chuckled. "Yes they were, but you wore them anyway." The memory of those badly sewn cloaks was a fond one. The girls were seven at the time. Deva and Holly, Halt's daughter, were the best of friends. As it should be, he thought.

She grinned and nodded.

"I just want you to be certain. It's a big decision."

She stood and rounded the table, leaned down and wrapped him in a hug. "It's what I want. I'm certain."

He sighed, how could he argue with that? "All right, we'll see Crowley in the morning then."

As she headed for her room, she flung her response over her shoulder at him. "I know we will, I already spoke to Mom about it earlier and told her I was going to go talk to him about it."

He scowled after her. Honestly, she should have chosen to be a Courier, the girl was crafty. A small smile turned up the corners of his lips. He couldn't see his daughter in a white Courier's dress. The second you put her in white she'd somehow end up filthy. He chuckled quietly.

He settled back in his chair with a sigh. It was the truth Deva and Holly had wanted to be Rangers for as long as any of them could remember, but he worried for her safety. Ranger's were tasked with not only keeping the kingdom safe, but they also were sent on missions to gather intelligence and solve issues that required a bit more than the simple brute force of a troop of soldiers. Missions could be dangerous.