An Unstable Relationship

Chapter Two

Will slammed his hands on the table, startling Alyss and Gilan alike.

"That's impossible." He roared. Alyss covered her mouth delicately with her hand. She could not believe it either.

"A ranger never goes rogue, never rebels." Will continued. "It's impossible." Alyss gently put her hand on her husband's arm. He turned to look at her.

"Calm down, Will, please. Let Gilan tell us more before you get mad." Will stared at Alyss with dark eyes. He was acting like Halt, she realized. Then, he nodded, seeing that she was right. Alyss enfolded his hand in her own.

"Will has the right to be alarmed." Gilan reminded them gravely. "I did not even believe it when they first told me."
"Who is it?" Alyss asked them both. "Which ranger is assigned to Trelleth?"

Will answered first.

"Jacob." He said. "A new ranger, I was at the ceremony last year when he received his silver oakleaf." Gilan gave confirmation of this fact.

"That's right, Will. Jacob was from a coastal fief himself, perhaps Seacliff? I don't remember precisely. Then, he trained under an older ranger there as well. At his ceremony, I recall, he was assigned to Trelleth, a fief where there always seems to be trouble. We all were excited, of course, we love seeing the younger rangers grow and earn responsibility of the fiefs. And, we all had thought that Jacob was a perfect choice for Trelleth. He had incredible energy and skill." Gilan looked remorseful and Will shared his expression.

Alyss looked between the two.

"And, what exactly happened to Jacob?" She asked hesitantly, well aware that this was a sensitive subject.

"Well, he left, went off to his fief, and we didn't hear anything from there for a number of months. Then, several weeks ago, maybe even a month or so, the reports started coming in again. Reports of raiding going on in the towns, people being killed randomly, bandits running rampant." Gilan told them.

Alyss gasped, she felt Will squeeze her hand softly.

"That's awful," she said softly. "A ranger has done this?"

Gilan nodded grimly.
"That's why this is such a problem. If it were only caused by bandits, well, we'd be able to put this riot down easily, but when it has been initiated by a ranger of our own skill level..."

Will seemed extremely agitated by their conversation, and Alyss understood why. All of his life, Will had seen the rangers as the ultimate doers of good. Then, when he had been chosen by Halt to join the corps, that idea had progressed. It hurt Alyss to see Will so troubled.

"When do I leave?" He asked suddenly. Gilan stared at him for a moment before falling into laughter.

"Really?" The Commandant asked Will in return. "You don't want to hear any more details?"

The younger ranger rolled his eyes, frustrated.
"Fine, let's hear it. I want to know where, why, when, how, and with whom."

"Gotcha. Jacob has struck throughout multiple towns in Trelleth, I haven't looked to see if there is a pattern yet. We're not entirely sure what has prompted Jacob to do such things, my best guess is that he has fallen into the wrong sort of company. The last time he struck was two days ago in a small village called Boyleton, there consistently seems to be about a week or so in between sightings of him. Jacob has attacked people and towns in many different manners; on horseback, using his bow, working with groups of bandits, to name a few. The corps has gotten rumors that this ranger might have bribed the fief's baron into turning a blind eye to this activity, but the rumors have no solid evidence to them. The company Jacob keeps often varies also, we only have a couple of people who are regularly seen with him, I'll leave you the file on them, Will."

Will nodded in response, he had not moved. Alyss knew that he was memorizing everything he had just been told, absorbing it for later use.

"I'll ask again, when do I leave?"

"Either tonight or tomorrow morning." Gilan replied smoothly. "You'll be going alone."

Will looked taken aback.
"Really?" He said incredulously. "What about Halt, or you, or Horace?"

"Horace is off with Cassandra, you know that they've just had a daughter, right?"

Will begrudgingly acknowledged that he did.

"Halt is at the castle with Lady Pauline, and wished to tell you that he will not be disturbed, he is retired."

Alyss bit her lip and covered up a smile. It sounded like just the sort of thing that the old, grumpy ranger would say.

"And I," Gilan concluded. "Will be stuck in my office with my paperwork because I am the high and mighty Ranger Commandant."

"But-" Will tried.

"No buts, Will." The other ranger told him with a grin. "Did you miss the part where I just said that I am the high and mighty Commandant? I thought that the rest of you commoner rangers were supposed to listen to my rulings."

Even Will smirked at this statement.

"I was trained by Halt." He said cheekily. "I was taught to ignore authority."

"That's the truth" Gilan jokingly said in a low voice. Then, in a kinder one. "And, anyway, Will, if I didn't think you could handle this, I wouldn't have given you this assignment. Besides, you know what we say; 'one riot, one ranger.'"

Will agreed, still looking slightly crestfallen that he was to be alone on the important mission. Alyss saw an opportunity.

"I'll go." She volunteered. Both men glanced toward her in surprise.

"Are you sure?" Gilan asked the girl cautiously.

"Why not?" She asked them. "C'mon, you never know when you might need a peace worker on your side." Alyss offered them a small smile.

"Alright then, Will, looks like you're not going by yourself after all." Gilan commented cheerfully.

Will turned to face Alyss.

"Alright, I guess I'm not." He remarked, his features already returning to their usual happy appearance.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Thanks for reading people! I love to hear your feedback and such, so comment, vote, and keep reading! That's about all I've got to say today, so yeah...

See ya

-theMinxgirl