The Trooper's Apprentice and the Aleria-nappers

Chapter 1

"How are you still awake?" John asks sleepily.

I had completely forgotten he was there. I shrugged and continued to study the paper in front of me. "We are trained to be able to go through at least forty-eight hours without one second of sleep."

He shakes his head. "Unbelievable."

I shrug again and continue studying. I reread a sentence. "Well that's very interesting."

"What? What's interesting?"

"This man," I say holding up a picture of his face, "He was a Ranger. He applied for a Trooper position but was denied when we found out that he was involved in criminal activity. We contacted his 'chief', I guess you can call him, and he was arrested and put in prison. But it says here that he died not too long ago."

John looked at me as if I'd lost my marbles. "Okay...And? Why are you so interested in some dead guy?"

I just stared at him for a moment. "You're kidding me, right? You seriously don't have a clue as to who this guy is?"

John shakes his head. "Nope," he said popping the "p" loudly.

I sigh and look out the window at the sun. I still have a lot of time, I thought. Getting up, I head down the aisles. Finding the book I need, I head back to John.

I plop the book down in front of him. "Here read this."

"The Complete Life of Alfonzo Demitry? Who in the world is Alfonzo Demitry?"

"Just read." I sit back in my chair and read the paragraph again.

There's absolutely no way Alfonzo is dead. I need to talk to Lady Pauline about this. Bit what to do with John? I can't just leave him here, I thought.

Of course you can, said the voice inside my head.

No, no. I'll just keep reading and see if my question is answered.

You just don't want to leave him alone.

Oh. Shut up.

*****

Alright, time to go. I finally finished reading the file. I stood up and stretched, putting my sword back on my hip, I steal a look at John. He's hunched over the book and oblivious to the fact that I'm staring at him. "Glad to see somebody is enjoying themselves," I say with a smile.

He jumps. Looking up at me he says, "How come I never knew any of this stuff? How do you know all about this Alfonzo character but I don't have a clue?"

I point my head towards the door. "Walk with me. And bring the book. I want to read it if I ever get the chance," I say.

He gets up, putting a finger in the book to mark his place, and follows me out the door. We walk in silence for a few moments.

"And why is your name in the book as well?" he asks breaking the silence.

I sigh. "Because I am the one who got him arrested and fought him when he tried to escape from prison. I really screwed up his life. He vowed that he would get his revenge on me one day."

"Revenge? For what? Keeping him locked up?"

I keep my eyes focused on the floor. This conversation is heading in a direction I wished I never had to think about again, but now that I am I might as well start from the very beginning. "He escaped during dinner," I began, "The guard opened his door. It all happened so fast. Before we knew it, the guard was dead and Alfonzo Demitry was running down the hall. I was walking past the prison doors on my way to a briefing, when he came bolting out of it. I did what my instincts told me to do, I ran after him. We ran for a good two miles or so. I followed him to his house. As I got there, his wife came rushing out the front door. Alfonzo shouted something at her but she didn't move. I took out my bow, place an arrow and fired. I guess he heard it go through the air because he moved to the side. It hit her. I ended up shooting her instead. I still to this day don't understand why she didn't move. Alfonzo took one look at her and then attacked me. He tackled me, pulled out a knife. We fought for a while. He had managed to stab the knife in my side. He tried to pull it out but it was stuck so he just started beating me. Ended up breaking my nose, a few ribs and my collarbone before reinforcements finally showed up and restrained him. That was the last time I saw him."

I took a few more steps before I realized that John wasn't by me anymore. I stopped and turned around. "John?"

He was leaning against the wall. "So you were the girl they carried into the throne room?" he looked at me with awe.

I shifted from one foot to the other uncomfortably. "Yes. I was."

"They made quiet a fuss about you. When you didn't wake up for several weeks, they all thought you were dead. Even my father thought it. The healer was about to put you out of your misery himself," he continued to babble on until he realized that I was no longer listening.

*****

"Wait a second. You mean to tell me that you were actually serious when you said he and I are partners!" I looked from Lady Pauline to Sir Henry and back again.

"Why would you think that?" Henry asked me.

" Because he's the Prince! Everywhere he goes the entire army has to follow! How do you expect me to do my job if I'm being followed by the entire army!" I shouted back.

Henry nodded. "I see your point, but that doesn't mean you're getting out of this. He needs training in running the Kingdom and that includes knowing how stuff like this works. And by the way, the entire army doesn't follow him everywhere. So quit your whining and get over it."

I glare at him. "What happens if the rest of the kingdom finds out about this? They will be panicked."

"Not if they know that the famous Izzie Potter is taking care of it."

"My Lady you can't be serious?" I try to plead my case.

She nods. "Most definitely. It will not only be good training for the Prince but for you as well. I'll admit your public communication skills are not that great."

I nod knowing she's right.

"Anyway. You and the Prince will need to be on the road by sunrise tomorrow morning. And everything else you need is in the file I just gave you. Good luck to both of you." Lady Pauline salutes the both of us as we turn and walk out the door.