𝑙𝑖𝑘𝑒 𝑎 𝑡ℎ𝑖𝑒𝑓 𝑖𝑛 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑛𝑖𝑔ℎ𝑡 | 𝐆𝐈𝐋𝐀𝐍 𝐃𝐀𝐕𝐈𝐃𝐒𝐎𝐍

3 ⋆✶⋆ The Apprentice

"Riddle me this," he spoke after a pause, "are you more valuable to them alive or dead?"

"I'm not worth anything."

The small barn was glowing in the early dawn light, but no smoke came from it. I urged Yvaine to go faster, to leave all that had happened this night in Whitby. The Ranger had given me until tonight to make my choice, I had to come to the cabin in the woods to tell him. After that he would return to his fief and the offer was gone forever. But I was more worried about coming back later than normal, because it wouldn't sit right with my mother I was sure.

So when I rode up my father, who was weeding out rotten crops with my two younger brothers, already pointed me towards the barn, where the sound of harshly clattering dishes made me flinch. With my heart beating in my throat quickly and shivering hands I faintly got the splintering door open. And there she stood, with her long black hair loose, in the brown dress that she had worn as long as I could remember.

"You made me worry," she bit, swiveling around with a drenched hand on her hip that she dried off on her clothes, "what took you so long?"

I fished the small leather pouch out of my pocket and threw it to her and she watched it with a warrior's ease. It was with purpose I stayed silent about my encounter with the Ranger.

With glimmering eyes she overlooked it then huffed. "It's less than last month, how are we to survive off this?"

Pain pierced my chest and I lowered my head. "I'm sorry, it was too dangerous to ask for more. But next time I'll-"

"You'll go back tonight and you're asking for more." Her tone left no room for arguing.

With all of my courage that I had left in me, I replied, foolishly: "Not tonight, I've got somewhere to be."

Her brows shot up dangerously fast, and she narrowed her eyes. "Oh? You've got somewhere to be?" She mocked, gripping the wooden counter, her knuckles turning white.

The meeting with the Ranger. If I told her she'd never let me go, but I did it anyways. "I was offered an apprenticeship," I gulped, "with the King's Rangers."

My mother let out a loud cackle that shattered my ears and almost made them bleed. "You? What could they," disgust laced her words when she spoke of them, " want from a young girl?"

She placed her hands on my cheeks carefully and her demeanor changed within mere seconds into someone troubled for her daughter's safety.  "Mind your step, they want you for your beauty, it's not safe there."

I nodded, relishing the warmth of her touch on my cheeks and letting myself be wrapped up in her love for a minute, before it would be gone again. She only was worried about me after all and she's knows better after all, she's my mother. That's what I told myself.

"You won't go, do you promise that?"

"I do, mother." Like a dutiful, good daughter I agreed and she placed a kiss on my forehead.

And so I stayed and watched the sun disappear under the horizon as I watched it longingly. There was no way I could ever go and I would never allow myself to long for it, but a part of me had jumped at the thought of being away from home. But it was time to bury that part of myself, for the good of my family.