The Ranger and the Thief (Book two of The Ranger and the Thief series)

Chapter Eighteen

   The crew stayed in Celtica for another three days before the weather cleared up enough to let them pass the Stormwhite. Lord Flinchshire provided them with provisions, and enough to last them even if they had to stop at Skorghjil to wait out another storm.  The night before they were due to leave, MJ, Hal and Willy were just getting ready for bed when there was a knock on the door. MJ answered it and Willy saw that it was Lynn at the door. She glanced at Hal and Willy nervously, and MJ sensed her nervousness, so he took her wrist and pulled her out of the room, shutting the door behind them.

"What is it, Lynn?" He asked. She bit her lip.

"I have decided to come with you. I want to be a ranger, and no one else can sway my opinion." She said. He smiled a bit.

"You must realize the work put into it, it will be non stop." He said. It was now her turn to smirk at him.

"I'm a house maid. Being a ranger will be a break from work." She said. He smiled at her response.

"Alright then, we leave tomorrow." He said. He turned to go back inside his room, but she grabbed his wrist. He turned back to her and she smiled shyly.

"Thank you, MJ. I never thought I'd ever get out of service until you came here." She said. She stood on her tiptoes and kissed his cheek before walking away swiftly.

***

"Thank you for everything, m'lord." Willy said, bowing his head slightly. Lord Flinchshire smiled.

"I'm sad to see you boys go. I will tell Oberjarl Erak of you." He said. Willy smiled a bit and thanked him. The rest of the crew thanked him as well. Lord Flinchshire then took Preston and left them alone with Bente, so they could all say good bye to her. Hal was the first to embrace her.

"Goodbye Uncle Hal." She said. He kissed her forehead and smiled, tears filling his eyes.

"I'll come visit with your father one day, and I expect to see little Bente's and Preston's running around." He said chuckling. Quint made a gagging face behind Bente, causing some of the boys, including Willy to laugh. Bente glared at them. She hugged all the boys, stopping at Willy. They stood in front of each other awkwardly before Willy slowly drew her towards his chest. She looped her arms around his waist and he kissed her on her forehead.

"I wish it wasn't like this, Bente." He whispered so the boys couldn't hear. She blushed and let out a deep sigh.

"I'm sorry, Willy." she said before pulling away from him. She gave the others a smile before joining Lord Flinchshire and Preston in the Library. Willy tore his eyes away from the door and let out a sigh.

"Let's get going." He said. They picked up their packs and began to walk towards the beach where Wolfwill was moored.

   As they were all boarding the ship, Lynn stopped before she boarded and stared at the land behind her, where the Flinchshire Estate could be seen. MJ bit his lip and took her hand.

"We'll come and visit one day." He promised. She gave him a sad smile and nodded. She followed him onto the ship, and Willy gave the orders for them to get going.

***

   After being at sea for two weeks without any more major storms, they finally reached Skandia. Lynn was standing at the bow of the ship, watching Skandia approach in amazement. As soon as they docked, she and MJ jumped down. Willy jumped off the ship and was met face to face with his mother. MJ stood by his side, looking just as frightened as he. Abby was red with anger.

"Where have you been?!? We were about to send out a rescue party! Do you realize that you should have been back a week ago?!?" Willy seemed to shrink two inches as his mother yelled at him. She turned to Jesper. Willy's father was standing a good five metres away from them. He went pale as she turned on him.