The Ruins of Gorlan (Book One of The Rangers Apprentice Series)

Stories

    Gilan entered the cottage and found Sierra sitting at the table, her back to him. He knew from earlier that it wasn't going to work trying to sneak up on her. Instead, he walked over and sat next to her. She looked up at him and smiled gently.

"I think I can let you fix my shoulder now," she said.

Gilan nodded and retrieved the medical kit that all Rangers carried with them. He set it on the table and opened it. Sierra slipped her arm out of her sleeve and let Gilan tend to her shoulder. He was gentle with his actions, making sure that he didn't hurt her more. Sierra smiled at his gentleness. It showed that he cared about her.

"If you're worried about causing me any pain, don't worry. I can deal with it, Gilan," she assured him.

"I just don't want to hurt you anymore than you already are," he told her softly.

Sierra shrugged and let him do his thing. She let herself drift off into sleep, but not too much.

Gilan worked quickly and carefully. He wanted to get this done as fast as possible while be sure to heal her properly. He noticed that Sierra was once again humming her song, just on the edge of his hearing. He found that it helped him relax a bit, not in such a rush.

"If you go too fast, you're bound to make a mistake," he heard Sierra whisper to him.

He looked up and was meet with the girl's blue-green eyes sparkling with wisdom and talent. He quickly looked away and finished her shoulder.

"Thanks," Sierra said, pulling her sleeve back on.

"You sure you're okay?" Gilan asked her, still worried.

"I'm fine, Gilan. Don't worry so much."

"As your master, it's my job to worry about you."

"Oh, I get it. Your concern is merely your job. You don't actually care. Got it. I'll remember that for when you're hurt. It'll be my job to worry about you."

Sierra spoke with a slightly sarcastic voice. Gilan heard it and sighed, shaking his head.

"Why did I take you as my apprentice again?" Gilan asked.

"Cause I was the best suited to it," Sierra replied easily.

Gilan realized that she was correct. She was the best suited out of everyone. She stood up, not doubt to make lunch, but Gilan pushed her back into the chair.

"I'll get lunch. Consider it a weak payback for cutting your shoulder," he said.

Sierra glared at him and stood up. She shoved him into a chair and strode into the kitchen.

"How else am I to learn if I don't do it myself?" she asked. "The only way to learn is to do it. Of course, I used to do most of the housework in the ward, so this is nothing new to me. That's how I was able to get all the housework done so quickly. Usually, I have to do the whole ward, which takes about six and a half hours each day. I get the rest of the day free. I usually find some other job to do around the castle, or go into the forest for the remainder of the day. I'm an adventurous girl, not one to sit back and let others do the work. Which is why you're sitting down, and I'm making lunch."

Gilan had listened intently to her words, her speed and accuracy with the housework making sense now. He chuckled and shook his head.

"What's so funny?" Sierra asked, not turning to look at him.

"I just figured out how you got so much stuff done in such a small amount of time. That's all," Gilan assured her.

Sierra nodded briefly and went back to humming her song.

"If I may ask, what song are you humming?" Gilan asked.

He instantly regretted it.

Sierra froze, her body tensing up. She tried to force back the tears that threatened to fall, but she couldn't. After the first one fell, the others came easily. She forced her shoulders and body to relax, not giving away any sign of distress. But the quiet sobs were enough to catch Gilan's attention.

He sprang from his chair and hurried over to her, wrapping his arms around her. This made her tears worse. She gave up all pretense of casualty and cried into Gilan's shoulder as he held her tightly.

"I'm sorry. I shouldn't've asked," he whispered, stroking her hair softly.

"It's not your fault. I should be over it by now," Sierra mumbled.

"If you ever want to talk about it, I'll be here. Now, you sit. I'll finish lunch."

Sierra shook her head and pushed away from Gilan. She continued to make lunch, ignoring Gilan's protests. Finally, Gilan picked her up and set her on her chair. It was when she made no move to get up that he knew something was terribly wrong.

Gilan went back to finishing lunch, his mind racing. What could have made her have such a reaction to such a simple question? There were only two things he could think of. Someone betrayed her in some way. Or someone hurt her in some way. The song she kept humming must've been something related to one of those two things. And he found that he absolutely despised the idea of someone betraying or harming her in any way at all. He felt anger rise to the surface but pushed it down before he exploded and scared her.

"It was a young man, about eighteen years old," Sierra's voice cut across his angry thoughts. "He was so nice to me at first, saying he'd protect me. That he'd never leave me. Then, one night, he came in and attacked me. I nearly died that night from blood loss. I woke up in the infirmary a week after it happened, barely remembering anything. He came in, apologizing and saying that that would never happen again. I didn't believe him. I sent him away and told him that if I ever saw him again, I would not hesitate to put a knife in his heart, like he nearly did to me. That was five years ago."

Gilan turned to face the girl in the chair, seeing the tears, hearing the breaking of her voice.

"Where is he now?" Gilan asked gently.

"Gone. He left the fief. He's still out there, maybe looking for a way to get me back. But I know one thing. I will never let him near me again."

"Neither will I. He comes near you, he'll have to go through me first. No one will harm my apprentice. No one."

Sierra sent him a watery smile and shivered at the thought of the young man coming back to hurt her again. Gilan moved over and removed his Ranger's cloak, wrapping the girl in it.

"Thank you, Gilan," she whispered.

"Think nothing of it, Sierra. Now, lunch is ready so eat."

Sierra rolled her eyes playfully and ate her lunch silently. Gilan sat next to her and managed to cheer her up to get that smile back in place. Soon, she was laughing and smiling again, the young man forgotten. But, Gilan knew, something like that could never go away.