Rangers Apprentice

•[16] Gilan

  ➶
Y/n POV

Will and I sat by the fire in the living room. We have just finished our chores; making dinner and cleaning up.
"And then, you were like Ba-joom! Pshew!" Will says, wide eyed as he flails his arms about.

I roll my eyes, blushing slightly from his praise. "But you! Your sword techniques are really coming along! I didn't think you had it in you," I return.

He mocks hurt, slapping his palm over his chest, "Ouch, Y/n. Nice to know you have so much faith in me."
The corner of my lip curls and I shrug.
"Are you two done?" Halt asks, rolling his eyes. "I think dinner is burning."
Will looks at me with fear and leaps up, running towards the stew. He frowns, "It's not burnt, Halt. In fact, it's perfect."
"Would've been burnt if you spent another minute down here, chatting each other up." He grumbles.

I grin at Halt, then turn to set the bowels and cutlery down.
"Overall," Halt says, sitting down at the head of the table. "I think it was quite a productive day."

➶
3rd POV

The next couple of weeks were spent by Y/n and Will working ruthlessly, on practically everything. Their technique, aim, stances, theory...
During those weeks, Alda, Bryn and Jerome were all expelled from Battleschool.

Once they were gone, Horace's lot improved considerably. The daily routine of the Battleschool was still as harsh and challenging as ever. But without the added burden that Alda, Bryn and Jerome had laid upon him, Horace found he could easily cope with the drills, the discipline and the studies. He rapidly began to achieve the potential that Sir Rodney had seen in him. In addition, his roommates, without the fear of incurring the bullies' vengeance, began to be more welcoming and friendly. In short, Horace felt things were definitely looking up. His only regret was that he hadn't been able to thank Halt, Will and Y/n properly for the improvement in his life. After the events in the meadow, Horace had been placed in the infirmary for several days while his bruises and contusions were attended to. By the time he was released, he found that Halt and his apprentices had already left for the Rangers' Gathering.

NOW

'Are we nearly there?' Will asked, for perhaps the tenth time that morning.
Y/n groaned dramatically. "Will you shut up?"
Halt gave vent to a small sigh of exasperation. Other than that, he made no reply.
They had been on the road now for three days and it seemed to Will that they must be close to the Gathering Ground.
Though Y/n had never been, she could sense it too. But she knew better than to complain and talk loudly.
Several times in the past hour, she had noticed an unfamiliar scent on the air. Will did too. He mentioned it to Halt, who said briefly,
"It's salt. We're getting close to the sea," then refused to elaborate any further.

Will glanced sidelong at his teacher, hoping that perhaps Halt might deign to share a little more information with him, but the Ranger's keen eyes were scanning the ground in front of them. Will noticed Y/n do the same. He glanced at her again, noticing the wrinkle between her eyebrows as she furrowed them. He noticed that she chewed on her bottom lip when thinking, or stuck her tongue out in the corner of her mouth.

From time to time, Will noticed, Halt looked up into the trees that flanked the road.
"Are you looking for something?" Will asked and Halt turned in his saddle.
"Finally, a useful question," he said. "Yes, as a matter of fact, I am. The Chief Ranger will have sentries out around the Gathering Ground. I always like to try to fool them as I'm approaching."

"Why?" Asked Y/n. Truth be told, she had no idea what she was looking for. Halt allowed himself a tight little grin.

"It keeps them on their toes," he explained. "They'll try to slip behind us and follow us in, just so they can say they've ambushed me. It's a silly game they like to play." "Why is it silly?"asked Will. It sounded exactly like the sort of skill exercises that he and Halt practised regularly.
The grizzled Ranger turned in his saddle and fixed Will with an unblinking stare.
"Because they never succeed," he said. "And this year they'll be trying even harder because they know I'm bringing two apprentice. Furthermore, one a girl. They'll want to see how good you are. Especially you, Y/n."
"Is this part of the testing?" She asked and Halt nodded.
"It's the start of it. Do you remember what I told you two last night?"
They nodded. For the past two nights, around the camp fire, Halt's soft voice had given them advice and instructions on how to conduct himself at the Gathering. Last night, they'd devised tactics for use in case of an ambush – just the sort of thing that Halt had mentioned now.
"When will we ..." he began, but suddenly Halt was alert. He held up a warning finger for silence and