Sparks Flying - A Ranger's Apprentice Story

Chapter Thirteen

Once Alyss returned to the little cabin in the trees, life seemed perfect.

It did take her a day or two to settle back into routine, what with the addition of Maddie, but her presence seemed to fill and complete the void in the little cabin.

Soon, though, it seemed as if the three had lived their together. Their daily actions and routines wove together into a seamless dance, marked by the rising and setting of the sun.

As late fall deepened into winter, Will worked Maddie hard. He had his apprentice practicing archery, knife-throwing, and her own sling skills for hours on end. He took her out into the forest surrounding the cabin to practice tracking and camouflage. He was pleased to find that Maddie had a natural talent for tracking. She was already an experienced hunter (no doubt from her secret hunting trips) and adept at camouflage (she must have had plenty of practice sneaking out of Castle Araluen), but Will noticed she had a certain energy and impatience that made sitting completely still for more than ten minutes nearly impossible for her.

He trusted that the patience needed for extended camouflage would come with practice and with maturity.

In mid-winter, a few weeks before the annual Yuletide celebrations would begin, he took Maddie to visit the Rangers' horse breeder, Young Bob. Maddie had clicked instantly with a little piebald pony named Bumper, and Will and Bob shared the amusement of watching Maddie attempt - and fail - to ride the horse. Of course, due to his extensive training, Bumper threw Maddie within minutes.

But after Maddie learned the code phrase, Will had the pleasure of watching her eyes widen in amazement and pleasure as she took the little pony for their first ride. As he watched her flying over the ground almost weightlessly, reins woven loosely through her fingers and cloak and braid streaming out behind her, he was brought back to his own apprentice days, when he had been the smaller figure of the Ranger/apprentice pair. He remembered the confusion and pain - and annoyance, he had to admit - of Tug bucking him off when he first tried to mount the little pony, and the pure joy of soaring across the field outside Old Bob's paddock.

Blinking back the mistiness in his eyes, Will turned to Tug, rubbing the little horse's forehead in the spot that Tug liked best. Tug had closed his eyes, leaning into his master's touch, before opening them and eyeing Will with a touch of malicious humor.

You're not getting sentimental in your old age, are you? the expressive eyes seemed to say.

Will rolled his eyes and gently shoved his horse away, pretending to be wounded. He decided to ignore his impudent pony for the time being.

In the following weeks, Maddie's time was divided between practicing her Ranger and weapons skills and spending time with her piebald pony, learning all the specialized signals Young Bob had trained Bumper in and deepening her bond with her horse. Will knew how important it was - his own bond with Tug had saved his life countless times.

A few days after Yuletide, Maddie came to him after dinner when he, Alyss, and Maddie were sitting in silent companionship in the sitting area of the little cabin. Maddie left her navigation exercises and came over next to Will, who was reading through his ever-present pile of reports.

"Will?" she asked, leaning closer to him and lowering her voice.

He looked at her, finding the confusion in her eyes. "Yes, Maddie?"

Her cheeks tinged slightly with embarrassment. "Will, can I ask you a question?"

"You just did." The irony that he had been on the receiving line of that exact same statement so many times was not lost on Will.

The confusion in Maddie's eyes deepened momentarily before she brushed it off. "Yes. I suppose I just did. I have another question."

"Go ahead," Will said. He put down his report and gave her his full attention.

Maddie stammered a bit before continuing, her cheeks steadily growing redder. "Well, um, I was wondering if, you know, um, if you've ever, uh, thought that maybe, um, your horse was, I don't know, talking to you?"

Will kept a perfectly straight face. "Maddie," he said seriously, "wherever did you get that idea? I've never heard of that happening before."

Maddie's face was scarlet in mortification. "Well," she said, trying to recover her composure, "I was just wondering. You know. Um, I think I'll take my exercises and finish them in my room."

She grabbed her papers off her chair and fled to her room, closing the door behind her.

Will couldn't keep a straight face any longer. He managed to keep his laughter silent, though, aware that sound did travel easily through the small cabin.

Alyss had overheard the entire exchange, though she had revealed no reaction while Maddie was present. Now, though, she fixed him with a long-suffering gaze.

"You," she intoned, "are awful."

A/N: I know, I know, you all probably hate me. It's been ages since I last updated. However, you will be happy to hear that I am storing up chapters, and that I will be returning to my weekly posting schedule. (That's part of my New Year's resolution.)

However, life happens, though I will try my hardest to upload following this schedule:

Friday: Blood, Sweat, & Schradieck (sequel to Blood, Sweat, & Hanon, which I recently completed)

Saturday: Together Forever

Sunday: Sparks Flying

We'll see if I can keep this up. Starting with Division competition next weekend, I have a major event every weekend through April, between competitions, college auditions, honors orchestra camps, music performances, etc.

One more thing: I write in the present tense for the Blood, Sweat, & Hanon books and for the majority of my Together Forever one-shots. This story is the only one in which I use past tense. Occasionally, when I'm not paying attention or when I'm tired, I'll accidentally switch to present tense. I usually catch it on my editing read-throughs, but if you see a tense mistake (or any other grammatical or plot-consistency errors), PLEASE let me know as these are some of my biggest pet peeves.

Happy 2017! Good luck with your New Year's resolutions, and have a wonderful rest of your winter break!

~Koko