A Ranger's Apprentice for Eternity (A Ranger's Apprentice Fan-Fic) Book 2

*Chapter 10* A Little Too Much Bravery

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     It took me a couple minutes to walk down to the creek where Keira was. Halt stayed behind because he wanted to guard our camp, even though I'm pretty sure the horses were capable of that. The small winding creek came into view, and so did Keira. She was sitting in a small tree overhanging the water's edge. "Keira." I called out. Her head glanced my way before she quickly climbed down.

     "There you are. Did you sleep well?" She asked me, taking the medical bag from me. I nodded in reply and winced as she took of the old bandage. "This is going to hurt a bit." She warned as I bit my lip. I flinched as she rubbed the antibiotic cream on my wound and replaced the bandage. A cooling feeling washed over my shoulder, making me sigh in relief.

     "Thanks." I said, grinning at her. "I don't remember much from the fight, what happened?" I asked, sitting down next to her. She gave me a slightly puzzled look.

     "You don't remember?" She asked in a quiet voice. I shook my head.

  "The last thing I remember is watching the bandits run into the forest before I passed out." I recapped while she stared at me. She shrugged when I finished.

   "You didn't miss much then. We just rushed you back to camp then went to get some food." I nodded,  accepting her explanation.

    "Well, how long will it take me to heal?" I asked, eager to return to training.

    "It will be another few weeks by the look of it." She told me, making me scowl. "But, that means that you get a break." She added, hoping to change my expression. It didn't work.

     "It don't want a break. I need to keep training to get me bronze oak leaf." I growled, kicking a rock into the creek. Keira sighed quietly.

     "You'll get your oak leaf soon enough. You aren't ready for it yet." She said, patting my good shoulder. I sighed and stalked back to camp, unhappy with my situation. When I arrived, Halt was sitting by the fire stirring a pot of food. I sat next to him with a loud obnoxious sigh. Halt tuned towards me and with a glare plastered on his face.

     "WHAT?!" He exclaimed, obviously annoyed with me and my loud noises.

    "What crawled in your boot?!" I proclaimed, glaring back at him. "I just wanted to ask you a question, but it seems that somebody is getting a little bit crabby." Halt stood and continued to glare at me. I stood and glared back. It was a showdown of the dangerous sorts, and it would probably end poorly in my favor. I clenched my fists and did the one of the hardest things I've ever done. I punched Halt right in the face. I ran away quickly only to be chased by him. I quickly dodged under a small bush and doubled back to camp. That was the stupidest thing I've ever done. He's goingto kill me, and Keira may help him! I stooped into my tent and sat down on my sleeping roll. I placed my head on my hands as tears silently glided down my face. I was scared at this point, and I didn't know what would happen to me. My body jolted as sobs racked through me. I heard footsteps approaching my tent as I pushed myself to the back of the tent with my good arm. Halt's face appeared in the entrance of me tent. I felt the heat drain from my face as I gulped. "Halt, please." I whispered, my eyes still shedding tears. His face was straight as he stared at me through the flap in my tent. "Listen, Halt-" I began before I was cut off.

     "Keira and I need to talk to you by the fire. Now would be nice." He snapped before ducking out of my tent. I had noticed a small blue spot on his face, it appears I hit him hard enough to cause a bruise. My heart started to beat harder and harder, as if it were a clock ticking down to my untimely demise. As I stood up, my entire body trembled. I began to make my way slowly to the fire, where most of our discussions took place. When I arrived I saw Halt and Keira were quietly muttering to each other, making me even more nervous. I awkwardly sat down next to Halt, who looked at me with hardened eyes of steel. I flinched when he gazed at me. Keira, on the other hand, just gave me a disapproving stare. I rubbed the back of my head stiffly while I waited for them to speak. This was the longest silence; yet it was only a few minutes long. Small tears of fear glided down my face as Keira opened her mouth to speak.

     "Halt has caught me up on what happened while I was gone, and quiet frankly I am extremely surprised. What in the great kingdoms of Araulan has possessed you to do this?" She said, still staring at me. I inched away from Halt a little, his grizzly face no longer comforting.

     "He was being annoying, and rude." I quickly stated before getting up to leave. Keira got up with me.

     "We aren't done discussing this." She commanded, crossing her arms. I wheeled around as I glared at them.

     "Well I am!" I barked before carefully jogging towards the creek. I sat on a cold, hard stone near the water's edge. What the heck have I done? I was angry, not only with Halt, but with myself as well.  I'd now been crying for a several dozen minutes. I didn't know what to do, or even what to say. How could I explain what I did? When is it ever right to punch someone in the face because they annoy you? I sighed heavily and watched the creek water flow over the small rocks with ease. My shoulder was starting to ache again as the pain medicine was wearing off. I looked at my shoulder and light unwrapped the bandage. I wanted to see what it looked like; I wanted to see the scar that would mark me forever. Glancing over while using my knife as a mirror, I was slightly shocked at what I saw. "Oh my gosh..."

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I hope you enjoyed this chapter!! Please make sure to comment, vote, read, and I do say fan! Thank you all so much for your continued support for this book as well as the first one in the series. You all are amazing fans that I would kind of be lost without. XD Thank you so much for you support! :3