Sparks Flying - A Ranger's Apprentice Story

Chapter Eight

Weeks passed with no news.

For Will, not knowing was supreme torture. It left him on edge at all hours, and he lost sleep as he lay awake at night, his sleeping wife cradled protectively in his arms. He was so protective of her he refused to leave her alone at any time. Alyss lasted maybe three days before she lost her patience and forbid him to be so "suffocatingly protective."

Halt and Pauline spent a great deal of time at the little cabin. They stayed with Alyss on the days when Will had to ride out and patrol Redmont fief. Pauline would bring paperwork with her, and Alyss gradually began to take up some of Pauline's heavy workload. She had been Pauline's full-time assistant before her injuries, and her forced inactivity and increasing strength as she recovered left her eager to regain her duties. Pauline watched over her and fussed like a mother hen, which Alyss found equally comforting and annoying. But Alyss let the older woman fuss as much as she liked, because Alyss knew it was Pauline's way of coping with the stress and the unknown surrounding the Ruhl situation.

Halt didn't hover nearly as much as the others, but he was worried and protective in his own ways. He spent hours combing through the reports sent by Gilan and the other Rangers, searching painstakingly for any clue or mention of Ruhl and his whereabouts.

But the weeks with no news passed, and soon turned into months, and then into an entire year.

Alyss was fully recovered from the incident at the Wyvern Inn by this point, though her arms were still crisscrossed with burns and scars. She had taken up her post in the Redmont Diplomatic Service again, and spent her days in the heavily fortified and guarded ironstone castle. Will was left free to take up his Ranger duties again, though he escorted his wife to the castle every morning, seeing her safely to the gates, and brought her home again at night.

One day in late fall, an unexpected letter came in with the daily batch of Ranger reports. Will frowned as he saw the royal seal stamped into the wax seal. He quickly slipped the tip of his saxe knife under the wax imprint, popping the seal and opening the envelope.

He pulled out the folded piece of paper from inside, quickly opening it and smoothing out the creases. He recognized Cassandra's messy, looping handwriting. He noticed another sheet of paper behind the first, but it was marked to be read second, so he returned his attention to the original letter.

Will, Cassandra had written,

Horace and I are in desperate need of your help. Madelyn has become almost uncontrollable and willful - and, in spite of our best efforts, we are at our wits' end as to what to do about her.

Madelyn, as you know, will inherit the throne one day, and she needs to begin learning the discipline and responsibilities that will go with that role. But she refuses to listen to either Horace or myself. She suits herself, running off into the forest at night, putting herself at risk while she does so. 

In addition, of course, she puts the kingdom at risk. If she were to be captured or kidnapped, Horace and I would be put in an untenable position. If she were taken by enemies of the state, we would have to choose between the welfare of our daughter and our country. We have tried to explain this, but she shrugs off the possibility, laughing at what she sees to be our excessive caution.

I've tried everything to discipline her and bring her under control, but my efforts have been in vain. She insists on defying me and Horace and, living here in Castle Araluen, she's surrounded by people whom she can all too easily bend to her will. Some of these subordinates are in honest awe of her position. Others, we fear, could be sowing the seeds for favorable consideration in the future.

Whichever the reason is the case, we're watching our daughter turn into an undisciplined, self-indulgent rebel. She must learn that her privileged life also brings with it responsibilities and duties.

As we've discussed this problem, we have come to the conclusion that drastic measures are required. Maddie needs to be removed from the privileged atmosphere of life at court and made to understand the realities of this world. At the same time, she must learn the skills and self-discipline that she will need as a future ruler.

Talking about this, Horace and I have agreed that you may well be the best person to help her - and us. You love Maddie, and so do we. Just as important, she loves and respects you. You have a special relationship with her that may well snap her out of this behavior. People tell us it's a phase and most teenagers go through this state of rebellion against their parents. In time, she may come through it herself. But we live in uncertain times. My father is ill, as you know, and I have taken over the responsibility of running the kingdom in his place. If anything were to happen to me, she would have to take over and, frankly, I worry that she wouldn't be up to the challenge.

Teach her, Will. Take her under your wing and teach her how to be strong and responsible and brave. She has the potential to be all these things, but she needs guidance. For the sake of our long friendship, I ask you to provide it.

Give my love and well-wishes to Alyss.

Evanlyn (Cassandra)

Beneath the words penned by Cassandra, Horace had added a brief note of his own.

Will,

Please agree to our request. Cassandra won't admit it, but the strain of ruling the kingdom is too heavy. She can't cope with the extra tension of Maddie's behavior at the same time. I worry for her health and well-being, as well as that of our daughter.

I would do this if I could. But I've tried and failed. Perhaps when Maddie was younger, we made the mistake of overindulging her. It's an easy trap to fall into with an only child. Now she needs an outside hand - from a person she trusts and respects. I can think of no person more suited to that task than you.

If you read the extra document we've included, you will realize how seriously we view this whole affair. Use it if you must. I fear you may well have to.

Over the years, you've stood by me more times than I can count. I beg you to do so one more time.

Horace

Will reached for the second document and unfolded it quickly, scanning it. It was very short and to the point, only a few paragraphs in length, but his eyes widened in shock all the same. It seemed that this situation with Maddie really was quite serious.

Aside from all that, Will himself had recently been considering taking on an apprentice of his own. He'd dropped the idea when Alyss was injured, and after that a good time never came up, what with the whole Ruhl threat.

Will pursed his lips and tapped them with Cassandra and Horace's folded letter, deep in thought. He quickly came to a decision. He'd have to speak with Alyss before he sent his answer to Cassandra and Horace, but he knew what the right thing to do was.

A vague concern entered his mind when he thought of the fact that there had never been a girl trained as a Ranger before, but he quickly banished it. There was no logical reason why a girl couldn't be a Ranger. Yes, some might argue that it had never been done before and that it contravened tradition, but Will didn't consider either of those reasons logical arguments. And Maddie would take to the Ranger life easily. She was fit and active, and she already had experience hunting and tracking, if the letter was any indication. And Will had seen her in action with her sling. She was nearly as adept at the projectile weapon as her own mother was.

Will reached for a blank sheet of paper and a quill pen.

Dear Horace and Cassandra, he wrote.

A/N: From here on out, I'll probably be quoting from the books, especially as my storyline and the storyline of The Royal Ranger converge. There will still be differences (read: Ruhl is still on the run and wants revenge) but parts of the story (like Maddie's training) will be similar to the original story.