Sparks Flying - A Ranger's Apprentice Story

Chapter Twenty

The sound of wood clattering under Bumper's hooves startled Maddie out of her exhausted half-daze. She lifted her head and took in her surroundings as the horses trotted into the courtyard of Castle Redmont, their hooves ringing on the cobblestones.

Halt's feet had barely hit the ground when Pauline arrived, hugging him desperately. The senior Courier looked haggard and exhausted, her eyes red-rimmed and shadowed. She finally let Halt go, but the Ranger kept his arm around her waist, unwilling to let her more than an arm's length away quite yet. She leaned her forehead on his shoulder for a moment, closing her eyes and gathering herself.

Then she straightened, holding her head high and squaring her shoulders, looking Maddie, Will, and Gilan in the eye, each in turn. "Come inside," she said. "Let the stablehands tend to your horses. We have no time to waste."

It was a testament to how worried Halt, Will, and Gilan were that they obeyed without any protest, letting someone else take care of their horses. It went against their very instincts to let their horses go to the stables without them. Maddie bit her lip, but ordered Bumper to follow the other three Ranger ponies. Then she ran to catch up with Pauline and the Rangers as they entered the keep tower.

Pauline and Halt's apartment was on the third floor with the apartments of other castle officials. It was a roomy, spacious apartment, tastefully and simply decorated. A huge window was built into the outside wall, with big shutters that could be thrown open to let in fresh air or bathe the room in sunlight. Now, though, the shutters were closed and barred against the chilly wind and the rain.

Pauline wordlessly gathered the Rangers' wet cloaks, handing them out the door to a passing servant with the instructions to have them dried. She then handed out dry towels. It took Maddie three towels to wring out her sopping wet hair. She shivered and moved closer to the fireplace.

Finally, the other three Rangers were done drying off, and they gathered around the fireplace. Pauline retrieved a small folder from a table against the wall.

"Two days ago, I went down to the cabin to check on Alyss," she said. "I'd been going to visit her every other day. It was pouring out. I got to the cabin and knocked, and there was no answer, but I could hear a strange, weak whining from inside. I was very anxious; I thought there might have been a problem with the baby. So I let myself in."

Pauline paused for a moment, closing her eyes and taking a deep breath, as if to steel herself. Halt watched her face worriedly and scooted closer to her, rubbing her back with one hand. She took his other hand in both of hers before continuing.

"It was Sable. She'd been hurt, badly. There was a huge spear wound in her side. She'd lost a lot of blood, but I managed to stop the bleeding and bind the wound. I'd already called for Alyss, but I hadn't gotten an answer, so I left Sable for a moment to search the cabin."

Will closed his eyes as if he was in pain. Suddenly cold again, Maddie moved couches to sit next to him, leaning against his shoulder. He wrapped both arms around her almost desperately, and Maddie felt that, no matter what else was wrong in the world, at least this was right.

Pauline shook her head, tears welling up in her eyes. "She was gone," she whispered. "I did find a note, on the table." She pulled a folded sheet of paper from the folder next to her. 

Neither Will nor Halt seemed to be able to reach for it, so Gilan took it gently and unfolded it. In a low voice, he read, "Don't bother looking for the Courier. You'll never find her."

Will's grip tightened around Maddie as she swallowed back a few tears, determined not to cry. She glanced up at her mentor. His face was hard and emotionless, but she could feel his hands shaking where he held her.

Maddie spoke up in a quiet, quivering voice. "Is Sable all right?" she asked.

Pauline looked at her kindly. "She'll be fine, the healers said. Jenny is taking care of her."

Will let out a small sigh. "That's something, at least," he murmured. 

Maddie nodded, and leaned her head tiredly back against Will's shoulder. She closed her eyes as the grown-ups talked, discussing strategy and making plans. Soothed by the feeling of Will gently stroking her hair as he talked, she fell asleep.

She was awakened some time later as Will began to move. She sat up and rubbed at her eyes. She felt a little more alert than she had before.

Maddie looked up just in time to accept her now-dry cloak from Gilan. She stood and swung it around her shoulders. "So what's the plan?" she asked Halt.

"We're going to the cabin to look for clues," he said. "Although, you should already have known that. You should have stayed awake and paid attention rather than taking a beauty nap."

Maddie yawned. "I was tired," she said emphatically, and began to braid her damp hair back out of her face.

Halt's eyes glinted strangely. "Yes, I know," he said. "Now let's go, before the tracks wash away completely."

A/N: And it's finally SUNDAY!!!! And here's another update! I know it's been moving kind of slowly over the past few chapters, but I kind of wanted to get each character's reaction in more detail than I normally write. Consequently, there are more POV changes (hope that isn't too confusing) and a little less action, more thinking. But after this chapter, the pace should start picking up again. I already have it all mapped out in my head, so that makes writing a little easier. 

This weekend was insanely crazy. Yesterday were our spring violin recitals. I'm the piano accompanist for my violin teacher's studio, so I accompanied both recitals (she has about thirty students total, including me and my four siblings) and then I accompanied my friend's senior recital. It was a bit of an emotional day because it was my last recital before I graduate, and the last set of recitals I'll accompany for her. Usually for her graduating seniors she gets them a rose or something, but she came up with something completely awesome this year called Senior Grand Finale. Basically she let her seniors (there were only two of us this year so we each got a recital) end the recitals and then she blew something related to our pieces out of a confetti cannon. 

My friend ended her recital with a fiddle piece called Hot Canary, so my teacher exploded yellow feathers all over the place, which was hilarious. I didn't end up ending my recital with my solo piece, but with the two-violin Spanish duet my sister and I played with the orchestra last weekend, and my teacher exploded fabric rose petals out of the confetti cannons. It was epic, and it's something I'll remember forever. Plus I had a really good performance of my solo piece, and I'm notorious for messing up amazingly on my solo pieces on recitals.