Ranger's Apprentice - Rescue

Chapter 21

Gilan decided it was time to dismount and walk for a while to give Blaze a break.

Of course, being a Ranger's horse, Blaze could run for days. But with nothing to slow him down, Gilan could afford to press her to maximum speed until he reached to spot where he'd left Halt. Then, he would have to proceed slowly, following the tracks that Halt and Abelard would have left behind.

He was approaching the spot now. As he did, he reined Blaze in. She tossed her head, somewhat annoyed.

I've got more in me, you know, she seemed to be telling him. Let me at 'em.

Gilan patted her neck affectionately before he dismounted.

"I know you do, girl," he said in a gentle tone. "But it's about time for me to start tracking anyways. You did good."

Blaze snorted.

Don't I always?

Gilan opened his mouth to reply to his horse, but something caught his eye.

He was in the open field that he and Halt had entered just before Halt had sent him back to the castle. To his left was a treeline that led into a dense forest. Gilan had caught a glimpse of something out of place, but as he turned his head, he couldn't quite find what it was that he'd seen in his peripheral vision.

He glanced at Blaze, his heart skipping a beat as he noticed that her ears were pricked. Something had caught her attention as well, and that alone was enough to convince Gilan that somebody was in fact in those trees. His suspicions were only confirmed when Blaze let out a low, rumbling warning.

Carefully, he unslung his bow and nocked an arrow. 

"Who's there?" he called. In the silence, his voice carried and echoed easily. He waited, but there was no movement. He clenched his jaws. He hated when people tried to do things the hard way.

"King's Ranger!" he called again. "Show yourself!" This time, there was a more obvious edge in his tone, a warning to whoever was out there. As if the title wasn't enough to convince them to surrender themselves, the authority and confidence in his voice should do the trick.

And do the trick it did. As soon as he saw the flap open, he wondered how he'd missed the familiar tent. It was Halt's own Ranger tent, camouflaged to blend in with the trees and grass around it.

But Gilan realized as soon as the figure emerged from inside that it wasn't Halt. It was Annalise, the girl that had been traveling with him. Instantly, Gilan was intrigued. He replaced his arrow in the quiver behind his back and slung the bow back around his shoulder before trotting off toward the girl. Behind him, Blaze followed instinctively.

"Annalise?" Gilan asked as he approached the girl. Her face broke into a smile.

"Ranger Gilan!" she cried. "I'm so glad to see you! I was beginning to think Halt was wrong about-"

"Slow down there, love," Gilan interrupted gently. "Why are you here? Where is Halt? What happened?"

Annalise nodded as questions flowed from Gilan's mouth. She'd been expecting him to be confused. Halt, however, had given her the exact words she should tell Gilan. She repeated them carefully now.

"Halt said he knew that you would be on your way behind us within the week," she explained. "He left me here with his camping supplies and some rations and told me to wait on you. When I found you, I was to lead you in the direction I saw him ride off in."

Gilan frowned. It was strange, he thought, that Halt would leave Annalise here where she was alone and of no use to him. After all, the reason they'd brought her along was so she could help them when they found the men.

"But... why...?" Gilan's voice trailed off as his mind sought for an answer to his unasked question. Annalise shifted uncomfortably, not knowing what Gilan was thinking. She waited patiently, however, while he worked through the problem at hand.

There was only one reason Gilan could see that would answer why Halt had left Annalise here.

"He's getting close," Gilan said lowly. Annalise's eyes widened at his words.

"How do you know?" she asked in wonder. Gilan shook his head.

"I don't," he said slowly. "Not exactly, that is. It's just the only thing that makes sense. He had a feeling that he was getting close."

"But I was supposed to help him when we arrived!" Annalise cried in horror. "I was supposed to tell him about their camp and their rotations!"

"He probably didn't want to place you in harm's way," Gilan explained patiently. "He could keep you safe, but not while he is distracted with trying to find Will. And believe me, as excellent of a Ranger as Halt is, the only thing on his mind right now is getting Will back. Not to mention the fact that he knew it would take me days to track him. This way, you can at least point me in the general direction. It'll speed up the process and we can get to him in no time."

Annalise hesitated, finally seeming to accept Gilan's reasoning. Then, Gilan continued in a dreadful tone.

"Unfortunately, the sun is going down, and I can't track them in the dark."

There was a slight pause until Annalise finally asked the question she was wondering, though she feared she already knew the answer to that.

"So what does that mean?"

Gilan turned a regretful gaze in her direction.

"It means we'll have to wait until morning," he said slowly. "And pray that Halt doesn't do anything stupid until we arrive."

Since it took me two days to update last time, I thought I would give you all two updates today. ;) Thank you all so much for your lovely comments! They make my day. Love you all!