The World of the Ranger

Chapter 2

"Most want to visit?" A look of genuine puzzlement crossed Jilly's face.

Felicity continued to maintain an enigmatic face. "Yes, anywhere in the world. Anywhere you like. Anywhere. Anytime."

"I don't know... France?"

"That doesn't seem right, Jillian. I feel like you have somewhere else in mind."

Jilly looked at her doubtfully. "I do, but I can't go there. It's impossible."

"What is it?"

"Araluen."

"Araluen?"

Now Jilly's expression was somewhat distant, as if in another world. "Yes, it's the place where my design came from, she said, playing with the corner of her cloak. "It was probably up on the edge of Europe, a little island. Ruled by King Duncan, fifty fiefs, the Rangers... Will... Halt..." Her voice was gradually drifting away, until it was no more than a wordless mumble, barely audible.

Then she came out of her small trance. "But I can't," she said, in a somewhat dejected tone. "That place isn't even real."

Felicity looked at her through narrowed eyes. "But what if you could, Jilly? What if you could go to Araluen?"

The girl gave vent to a contemptuous sniff. "What do you mean? You're saying I could just, go home, pack a few clothes, and go to Araluen? Yeah, I think the flight leaves at two-thirty," she said, her voice extremely sarcastic.

"Well not exactly like that, but yes."

The sarcasm drained from Jilly's voice. "Just like that?"

"Just like this."

Suddenly, there was a pop that sounded like firecrackers. Then Felicity and the suite were gone.

~~~~~~~~~~

Jilly looked around, utterly confused. What had been an elegant suite was now a dirt road, about ten feet across, stretching in both directions. Forest-like area covered both sides of the path. Jill couldn't believe it. She hadn't blacked out. No strange hallucinations before her eyes. It was like she blinked and the forest was here. Her clothes were generally the same: brown tights, a white long-sleeve shirt covered by a brown leather vest, and knee-high leather boots. But the outfit seemed slightly more authentic than her design. And her camouflaged cloak had been replaced by a solid deep green one. Her Oakleaf necklace was also gone.

On the ground next to her was a cylindrical shaped leather bag with a single strap stretching the length of the bag. A drawstring was pulled tight at one end of the bag. Assuming the parcel was meant for her, Jilly moved to one side of the road to examine it. Loosening the string, she looked inside. On top was a double-sided dagger, about ten inches long, tapering to a point with a brass crosspiece and pommel and a leatherbound hilt. It was in a sheath on a leather belt. Jilly buckled this on now.

After the dagger was two sets of clothes, virtually identical to what she had on. There was also a pouch containing twenty silver pieces and thirty copper pieces. Next, a flint and steel. Then came a small bag with various vegetables and a few pieces of dried meat. She also found a small bowl with a panhandle, and a fork and knife. Below the food and mess kit was an empty leather water skin. Jilly decided to keep that out and fill it up at the next clean water source she found.

Finally, at the bottom of the bag, was a light blue slip of paper, folded in quarters. She opened it and read the single sentence on the paper:

Welcome to Araluen.

-F.F.

Jilly stood up slowly, and raised her head and voice to the sky. "Oh come on!" she yelled. "Really? REALLY? I don't even know where to go!"

Then she stopped yelling, worried that hostile people or things could be watching. "Crazy," she muttered. "Araluen isn't even real."

Randomly, she made the decision to go right, the direction she'd been facing when she arrived. She put all of the items back in the bag, excluding the water skin and tying its strap to that of the bag. Slinging the pack diagonally on her back, Jilly began walking in the designated direction. "Crazy," she muttered again.

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Second chapter, yay! Leave your opinion in the comments if you want (hopefully it's positive), it'll help me. Just a heads up, school's starting soon, so the updates may come slower than you want them to.