Alex and the Rangers
“Andy! Andy you are expected, you better be ready!” Mom was calling out to me, but she didn’t need to I was already standing ready at the stables with a pack my bow and blades. I was allowed to join on an excursion with Prince Julian and the Rangers. It would take three years, three years from home and mom, but this chance was not easily gained so when mom told me I jumped with joy. She said she had told proudly of my accomplishments and talents with a bow. Maybe I could become a ranger one day. That would be such an honor.
The Brightedge Stable Master calmly walked up and smiled through his crooked teeth. He might have been kicked by a horse one to many times in the face. “Hello dandelion puff, are you ready? You can run back inside still. Three years out there with the big guys. Such a twig like you won’t manage. “ I looked slightly annoyed at him. I know he means it teasingly and he is happy for me but as he says, his duty is to tease me, so I don’t start walking next to my boots. I wish he would stop with that name though; it's spread now among more people. My hair is usually a mess. It is curly and usually when I try to tame it, it just looks like a big ball off puff. Given that my hair is nearly white they call me dandelion puff.
Eh. There are worse names.
The stablemaster gets my horse ready. It was with his help I had trained my horse. She is not a warhorse. But she is loyal and can listen to commands. I was certain this meant I would have a few years on the road with her. Mom finally found me. She gave me a big hug pushed a pack of rations in my arms and sent me off. I looked back a few times and waved until I couldn't see them anymore. I then focused on the road ahead and where I was directed to report. The rangers had gathered on an open spot in the forest. And as I rode towards it, I knew I was being watched. I just didn’t know where they were. Somewhere in the trees I suppose. They gave me instructions where to lead my horse to and where to wait. I felt so out of place. But I felt such pride I was allowed to go along. Duncan, the Ranger second in command and son of Prince Julian found me in the spot. “Ok Rook. Lets start off by making things clear. We aren't the CCC. This isn't finishing school. Commander Julian is doing a favor for Dame Fres by letting you come along. This isn't a pleasure trip.” Pointing to a large grey horse with purple coloring with a ranger woman beside it. “That horse over there is “Scully”. Its a ranger horse. Bigger then the pony you brought. The woman beside it is Dancer. She is of the Green Borough clan, part amberite, part fea. She has the commander's permission to lay you out like cornstalks if you don't learn fast enough. The first thing she will teach you is the commands to control Scully; tone, pitch, volume, and word. You learn or you get left behind. Go talk to her. We start in 30 minutes. If you aren't ready, stay here. If I have to open a Trump and pass you back to the city no ranger will ever give you a moment's thought, including the commander and I.” He rides off. I walked over to Dancer whose first words shocked me. “Strip. There are trousers, shirt, waistcoat, socks, and overcoat on Scully. Get dressed. Put everything you brought on the pony and send it back to the castle. It knows the way. Scully has a ranger saddle and a canteen. We have a 16 hour trip ahead of us. If you run out of water before its done you go dry. We will be traveling in shadow and any water we cross may not be potable. I will ride beside you and correct your riding form. I will speak the words. In 2 hours you will speak them correctly or I'll stripe your riding hands for every mistake for the next 14 hours. When we reach Hidlehole the Commander will inspect you. If he thinks you are too much a city-girl to make it to First Base he will send you home. If you stumble on the words he will send you home. If your hands are too bloody to hold the reigns he will send you home. If he lets you make the next leg of the trip I will teach you new words. I swear by the Stone of Arden and by the gods of Chaos you will learn the words and sit the horse correctly or I shall stripe your hands anytime I see you till the Pattern falls. If the Commander allows you to stay for the third leg, I will give you a hat. Now Strip, dress and send the pony Home. If you go with the pony this will never be mentioned again. We've wasted 10 of your minutes talking.” I didn't know how fast I had to change clothing. Get ready in twenty minutes. Be ready to ride to keep up. The excitement was making place for a hint of anxiety. I know this was a big favor. And I just want to make mom proud. To show I am capable of more then competition archery. Within a few minutes I was dressed and standing near my own horse. I whisper to her. "You are not a pony, but they are right better go home. I haven't trained you for this." With a kiss on the snoot and a pat on the neck I send her home. With her bags packed with all my things. Dancer walked up and grabbed the horse's reigns. She looked at the bag at my feet. Rations, toiletries. Nothing special. My blades and my bow. She picked up the bag, looked in it and dumped the rations on the ground. The bag on top. “The pixies can have that. Too sweet for the road. As for the blade and bow, You might as well keep them. You won't be using either by the time this ride is done. They are the wrong types for real work but you won't learn that the easy way. “ She slaps her rump and she trots toward the home. I stood ready next to Scully ready for instructions. “When you mount you leave it all behind. Home, family, friends. Your bones may rest in shadow. The rangers have a saying; Live in Amber, die in shadow. Now show me you can sit a real horse.”
We left. In the next two hours I really tried to learn the right words and forms. And every time I thought I had it right something was just not quite right. The first hours were painful but I was determined. A couple of hours in my hands got some more rest. Though every time I felt a bit confidence and allowed myself to relax I did something wrong. Dancer was harsh. But fair. She always let me know what I did wrong. The lessons were hard. But never mean I was expected to pick things up quick though. The first times setting up camp, I do not know how many times i've set up a tent. There was a certain way and it had to be done that way. At first it seemed unnecessarily complex, but in time I saw this was just the most efficient and reliable way of doing things. She said they never set up camp the same way, unlike the way Benedict taught his troops to set up the same way every time without change. Rangers needed to blend in. When they left a campsite it looked like they had never been there. When Benedict's army left a site the natives had a framework for starting cities. But I learned. Tent, water source, firepit, horseline. Waste pit. So a sense of pride came over me when after a month or so I was keeping up. At least with the basics. There was no praise if I did finally get something right or even if I got it right the first time. It just meant we went on with the next lesson to learn. Eventually that became the reward. The lessons learned. Evenings were lessons too. Willow, loosewart, mushrooms deadly and delicious, thyme, rosemary, bloodroot, ginsing, ginger, yams, wild carrots. In time we were living off the land. We hunted too. Deer, rabbit, rat. Wild boar.
Boars on Point
In one shadow the men brought out boar spears. I'd heard of boar hunting and knew it was a practice common among the nobility and the royalty. Dancer handed me a short heavy spear with a crossbar behind the tip. A pair of Rangers came to her. “Here's how it works. You and I are on bow and short spear. Ryce and Hyjat are on long spear. We will range out the spears in the center, the bows on the outside. When the beast is sighted, you and I will pin them. Arrows don't do much to them but piss them off. They'll charge. When they get in range the long spears will pin them. They you and I with the short spears will come up and poke them. It will take 10 or so pokes each while the long spears keep them from fleeing. Got it?” I stepped out and followed the boys as they lead the way. An hour into the range we spotted a monster bull pig. Bigger then any I had ever seen on a spit. Ryce said, “Red Algosit Razorback. Old one. Eight or nine years. 300 pounds. Look at the tusks on that bitch.. Its a killer. Pin it. Bring it too us.” Dance began slowly hitting it. I followed suit. Four shots each that barely nicked it but they pissed him off fiercely. It charged fast. It hit two spears and twisted. It threw big Hyajt 15 feet to the side, the spear flailing about. Turning it hit Ryce, knocking him down, and the big man kept his hand on the spear. Dancer moved and thrust the short spear hard spiking the pig, getting its attention enough to flip over and sink a foot of tusk into her thigh. It all happened so fast I almost forgot I had a spear too. I thrust into the pig's head as hard as I could. I felt the spear press into bone and pass through it like butter. The spear tip left the other side of the pigs skull and stuck out a foot. I had hit it with all my might. Fear, surprise, and urgency, I doubt I had ever exerted myself so hard. The pig flopped over dead. Ryce and Hyajt rolled the tusk free of Dancer's leg. The three stood looking at the dead thing. Hyajt said, “She pushed a short spear though both sides of its skull. By the teats of the unicorn, how strong are you?”
I didn't know.
That night 4 big pigs were roasted in the camp. Cleaned, gutted, hung, and cooked. Some locals had come at the smell of fire. They bartered fruits and alcohol for meat and the rangers were happy to trade. They got bright blue rinded fruit that tasted like honey. And mead that tasted like the blue fruit. Late in the evening I saw Prince Jullian and Ryce on the other side of the fire talking. They had the skull of the pig I skewered. Jullian caught my eye fir a moment before walking off. Once on the trail again Several days on the trail latter Duncan rode up beside me and passed a knife over. “Nice kill. I took the tip of one of the horns and had the craftsman out at Fort Wilder make this. Its nothing special. A good skinning knife with the boar tusk handle. Never be without a good knife.” Then he rode one without a word from me. Curious but its a nice knife. I kept my eyes on Duncan for a bit. A slight blush, which i hoped faded soon. For the second in Command he is a really nice guy. Not bad looking. And he gave me a gift. Quickly i turned to attention. Do I have feelings for him? That would make things weird. During the first year I learned a lot. And I mean a lot. I was eager to learn and that helped with the others explaining things to me. Duncan seemed to have taken command of the quarter of the expedition I was in. Patrols went out, sometimes for weeks at a time but he stayed near Dancer and I. I loved the calm times in camp when some rangers told stories. I learned a few songs which were not really meant for young ears, but eh you have to grow up at a point right. Duncan had a lovely singing voice. A strong baritone. He sung songs of the eath worlds the royals seemed to like. Like the one in Corwin's Chronicle. He had served in an Army called the Union. He carried two firearms. These are rare in Amber. The ammunition doesn't work. But once we arrived at First Base they armed themselves from fort stores. Long arms, they called Winchesters. Hand guns they called Colts. Duncan came beside my horse as we were leaving First Base. “Alright Spiker, I was against giving you these but Julian insisted. This is a a Winchester Big Boar Coach Gun. Its got two short barrels with a wide mouth. .6 Gauge. The ammunition is called Scatter shot. They fire about two hundred stainless steel needles, called flechettes. They have a short range of around 30 meters but everything in front of you will get wickedly cut up. This is a scare weapon. Never point it at anything you don't intend to scramble like eggs.” He attached the gun and sheath to Scully's saddle. Wrapped a belt with a pair of holsters, two guns, and pouches for ammunition. He removed one of the guns. “These are the perfect pistols. Others will disagree but those kind of arguments come down to style. You are strong and should be able to handle them., These are Colt, .45 caliber revolvers. Six rounds in the spinning barrel. They will put a whopping good hole in anything up to about 100 meters. An arrow has puncture value. A gun has whats called stopping power. The coach gun creates a cloud of edgy death but this puppy will stop a foe in its tracks if you use it well”
Slipping the gun in the holster, resting a hand on each, he leaned close and whispered. “I'll teach you how to use these and I am confident you will use them well. If you can't handle them, I won't want to know ya.” He smiled that big smile and went off to his big horse. I was trembling slightly but not because of the new weapons given me. Mindlessly i rub my cheeks hoping i am not again blushing. Oh i cannot do this having a crush on the Commander's son, the second in command. But he is so nice, and funny, beautiful singer, handsome.
A whisper escapes me
"Oh come on Alex focus."
The name the stablemaster had given me had blown over to here as well. Maybe because I did not have any hair products with me for years. So, among those brave rangers, Lord Duncan and Prince Julian was a scrawny young woman fumbling along, with freckles a head full of white fuzzy hair. It must have looked comical. But then again, I was committed. Even if I couldn’t always keep up. I was driven to learn to challenge myself and to follow orders. I had thought that my skill with the bow was good. But to see Prince Julian his accuracy and form was amazing.
Distraction
As the first year of riding and posts, villages and lookouts neared the end I was surprised one morning by Prince Julian in the camp I shared with Dancer, Ryce and Hayjt. He walked up and gripped my hair, looking to Dancer. “Shave it or paint it. Its becoming a distraction. “ As he started to leave Dancer chuckled. Julian turned around.
“You disagree?”
Dancer shrugged, “Shave it, Paint it, cut it, or braid it. That won't stop her from being a distraction. Are any of those distracted shirking their duties?”
“No. So what will stop her from being a distraction?”
“She's a piece of sweetmeat and she's under your protection. Remove your protection let her fend for herself. I bet those distracted rangers stop talking about it to you. Don't worry. None of them will force themselves on her. You trained them better then that. They aren't like Benedict's soldiers when it comes to that kind of thing. Let her slap a few faces, kick a few yarbles, and maybe get a few humps in. Things will work out. “
“Fres Mira will be furious.”
Dancer chuckles, “You think so? She sent her daughter out with Rangers didn't she? Not one of Benedict's pet war bands. I think she knew what she was doing well enough.” Julian looked around, pondering it seemed. He looked to me then Dancer. “Brush her hair at least. Birds will start nesting.” He rode off. Dancer laughed and said, “Well a horse brush will have to do. Go get one.” Watching the exchange between Dancer and Julian felt a bit weird. As if I was not there. But I was as Julian had pulled my hair. Bird's-nest or not that hurts. When Dancer tells me to get a horse brush I nod. Walk to the area with our horses and find the brushes. While at the horses I look around. Not seeing how my hair was the distraction. But i guess that was the most notable thing about me. With brush in hand i return to Dancer. See if we can get through that birds nest. In a soft tone i say to Dancer
"You know if it helps my position here and will be less distracting for others i am more then willing to kick some yarbles.
Being distracted by hair.. pff"
Second Year.
During the second year we encountered some small skirmishes but nothing bad. Though at one point I was assigned with a small scout group, we had seen signs of a camp further up a small one maybe a dozen people. The scout group spread out and kept an eye on the group. One of the rangers walked up to the camp to inspect what they were doing there. Just routine question while we kept an eye on his back and each other. If it was not for that crow to make a sound behind me, I would not have looked back in time. I saw one of the people who might have walked off for a piss stumble in the dark back to his camp. It was just dumb luck on the part of the guy coming back that he spotted the ranger. It was a flicker of light on the tip of his blade. My hands almost moved on its own. I shot the man. And with a dull thump he landed on the ground. The rangers looked up at me and then at the guy they saw the weapon in his hand and dragged the man of into the bushes. Had I just killed a guy. Oh no, I had to focus on what was going on. At a point it became clear the people in the camp were smugglers of some sort and were dealt with. They smuggled luxury goods. Alcohol, tobacco, premium foods. We were allowed to keep a part.
Back in camp I was declared a lucky token. Which was odd but I went with it. Though it felt like a step backwards as I didn’t want to be their mascot but a proper ranger in training. They called me Chipper and the name stuck.
A few more events had happened. But nothing bad, nothing big. And I became better and better each month. By the last year Dancer had become a friend. Not a protector, but not yet a boon companion. But I had become part of her camping squad and she showed that knowing how to camp and forage was just as important as knowing how to fight and shoot. She taught me the ranger Cant. She taught me the foods of the forest. She taught me how to clean a deer and when not to take one. She taught me how to do the elven soft walk and leave no trace of my passage in the forest. My hands healed from her stripes faster then they healed on others but I was always a quick healer. The Commander and his son never saw me with more then a few marks on my hands. By now we had a certain routine, Commander Julian actually had spoken to me now and then when sitting around a campfire. He told me he felt more himself with the Rangers then his own blood-relatives. I understand but find it a bit sad for him. To have such pressure from family for ages, because that family is old. Behind that giant of a man the great leader, commander of the Rangers was actually also a fun person. A real person. By now i started to feel more comfortable also around the Commander and his second. At an evening we were with a group sitting around drinking, playing games, singing songs. It was alot of fun. Really feeling like one of them now, i joined in on the fun and the drinking. The evening turned to night. More and more stopped drinking or went to walk, or to their tent.
At a point only Duncan, a young ranger and me were left. The young Ranger left the campfire as well but wasn't walking as stable. Watching him leave i decided to get up and make sure he got to his tent. With a big smile and a blush of the alcohol on my cheeks i say to Duncan. "Unless you are done as well, i will be right back. I believe that bottle isn't empty yet." It might be because of the drinks and that i felt more comfortable around Duncan now that i gave my sentence a challenging smile and sound.
Though i doubt i can drink more then Duncan.
At a tavern in the post world called Brusxtra Duncan came and joined my campmates and I one evening. The expedition was enjoying a few days off the trail in a familiar town and had taken nearly every Inn room in the entire town. They seemed glad to see them since it mean sure coin in their po0ckets at every inn, blacksmith, leatherworker, seamstress, and merchant. The Rangers filled up on foods not good on the trail, had torn cloth repaired, bought goods, repaired horse shoes, and did a dozen other things. Some of the rangers had friends here and they didn't end up staying at the inns.
Duncan sat with us and we all joked about the way the group essentially took over the small town and how willing the town was to please them. After Dancer and the boys left Duncan and I remained a bit. He stood and moved his chair beside mine, leaning in the whisper. “I'm a soldier. You may be one to one day. We rangers rarely marry. We will be here a few more days. Resting the horses. Resting our bones. If you wish to rest a bit too, my room is on the top corner. The door will be unlocked. If you wait to long, you might have to wake me.
He stood and collected a pitcher of the strong mead from the bartender, as well as a loaf of bread and a couple blocks of cheese, then headed up the stairs. I watched him after he had already walked up the stairs. I was baffled. But not confusedi knew perfectly well what he meant. My mind raced for a moment but really why was i in doubt. Mom usually is okey with a lot as long as i am responsible. And nobody needs to know really. Oh screw it waited long enough.
I pushed my chair away ordered another pitcher of mead in case the courage i was feeling now would fade. With sure steps i walked to the room on the top corner. First listening if he had already dozed off then carefully pushing the door open. He was my first and I have no regrets.
The next month was a blur. Taverns, woods, breaks. We were not exactly a couple but we were not secretive either. Yet somehow I knew it wouldn’t last. But it ended so quickly it surprised me. We were in a deep dell of the woods during a three day stop. Horses were being allowed to rest. Repairs done. The third of the force I was in was a days ride from Julian’s main unit. Duncan and I were busy and distracted from the world.
Suddenly he was being pulled away by a huge hand and Julian was standing behind us. “Are you out of your mind?” he yelled.
Duncan said, “The command is in order. Its been centuries since you could tell me who I could..” Julian interrupted him in a language I didn’t know. It sounded hard and cold. After a few moments Duncan looked back at me, sadly. “Of course, “ he said as he hurriedly dressed, “I’ll take Ganith and Hale’s squads, about 200, and head there immediately. I’ll leave Dancer in charge of the brigade. I’ll be on the road in 30 minutes. “ He turned and ran east. Julian jogged west, having not looked at me.
When Duncan returned, he didn’t seek out my bed and made it clear I wasn’t to seek out his. At the start of the last year. After the almost two years I was less of a scrawny girl and more toned muscles and strength. And not only physically had I grown. Also mentally, emotionally had I reached a level of maturity. I noticed this purely to how I approached things now. But also how the others approached me. There were no more romantic advances. Duncan and I had gotten together but that wasn’t a relationship; we just had fun. The way the others talked to me. The way they entrusted things in my care and responsibility. That showed me most how much I had grown. The talks we had in our camp. In these years I had grown up more already then I would have done back in the city. Rubbing my hands a smile, this was worth all the stripes on my hands. And even more. Not only did I want to make mom proud. I also hoped to gain the respect of second Commander Duncan and Commander Julian, and absolutely that of Dancer and the other rangers. A small skirmish happened along a border. It was easy enough the others had not chance to defeat us. They hadn’t nearly seen half of our numbers. I was running arrows between the rangers. I was fast and nimble to move from tree to tree. There was one spot I had to go to the ground before I reached the other tree group. It was a small sprint not even a few minutes. So, I slid down the tree trunk and started to dash for the other tree group. And there I noticed to fault in becoming too confident. I had not properly looked before lowering myself to the ground and a guy charged me with an axe ready to strike down on me. I blocked his first sweep with my bow. Which shattered the bow in pieces. I rolled to the side to dodge another attack but as I looked up the guy attacking me just fell to the ground with a couple of arrows sticking out of his back.
I nodded to Prince Julian as they were clearly his arrows. Jumping back on my feet I left my shattered bow behind and started to fulfill my task again. After the battle was done, I was gathering up arrows inspecting them and bundling them. When reaching the guy that nearly split my skull in two, I saw my shattered bow and picked parts of it up. I had this bow for a while now, it was a light bow. It didn’t do much damage. But it was mine and now. Now I had none.
Footsteps beside me. On a horse he always seems a giant. But standing next to him he is just slightly taller than me. Though a lot more muscled. Julian hands me a bow. A real bow. Better then any I ever held.
“This is a dragon horn recurve bow. One of my spares. You are fucking strong for a dandelion. Your mother comes from a deadly race and her strength is in your blood. Many of the rangers could not draw that. You can. Trust in your back when you shoot. If you take half a breath to aim you will tire unless great endurance is in your blood too.” I nod eagerly and held the bow close “Thank you, Sir.” I don’t know if he heard it my voice might have been merely a whisper. Prince Julian gave me a bow, one not all could use.
“Come by my camp tonight. You have been taught to fletch but you’ll need different material for the arrows this bow will shoot. It will fire regular arrows of course but sometimes the shafts shatter in flight and the target gets arrowhead and wood splinted in the same shot.”
That night I came to his camp, finding it quiet but busy. Julian sat with a couple hundred shafts leaning against a camp table. Without looking up he says, “Ironwood. Especially Eastala Ironwood apple. Its found in Arden but we can only use dead wood. Rasak has an orchard of them as big as a continent. That’s where these came from. Smooth, free of knots. The shafts need a bit of bend but need to take a lot of punishment. “
“That’s one of the reasons we enchant them. I keep 5o arrows in my quiver but I have 12 special ones. Empowered. Nothing pattern-inscribed of course. Just strong enough to flex and not snap under a dragonhorn bow’s string. Smooth, bear tipped. Broadhead with a hook to keep them from being dislodged. The best part is that they return when called. Depending on the need I send a good arrow first to range the target. A magic one second. Then 3 or 4 more while the first magic arrow is returning. “ He hands me a quiver with 12 arrows. With it are two small jars. Each has a marking on the top matching the shape of the broadhead.
“I never coat my arrows for hunting. But for war, I have a bottle of onion juice Dame Margot made for me. I don’t tell her I use her soup starter to poison my enemies and she doesn’t tell me she knows. Onion juice causes a wound to spoil. The other is a slop made in Marke’s world called Orc’s Oil. Foul stuff. The bottle of it is enchanted to keep the smell inside. It makes a wound spoil fast. Minutes. Its not exactly a blade venom but I wouldn’t think the difference matters as your foe is trying to dig an arrow out of his thigh leaving behind a film of orc feces and elf blood smelling of old death. If Gerard notices the bottles blame it on me. He detests them. Considers them unfair to his enemy. To me it’s a tool and if someone chooses to be my enemy then how they rot after they die isn’t going to make me lose a moments rest.” He turns and looks me in the eyes, “You follow?” With the quiver in hand and the bow in the other I slowly nod
“Yes sir. Thank you. “
Maybe it was just me but after Duncan being literally pulled away from me by Julian I felt a certain tension. But he is the Commander and can do as he sees fit. I take in the information Commander Julian offers. With trained fingers I feel the bend of the shaft, the strength, the texture. Then returning it to the quiver.
“Thank you again Sir. For the bow and these.” Holding up the quiver.
“I will do the lessons I learned justice.”
He nodded. I had taken that as a dismissal and started walking to camp. Julian stood, “Alexandra..”
I turned, uncertain what to expect.
“You’ll take the 2 am to 6 am watch for the next month. At 3 am each morning I will find you. Right now if you can probably fire 16 to 20 arrows a minute with that bow. That is acceptable for war. That’s 3 seconds each. One minute firing, 2 minutes resting to start. I’ll give you a target using whats called a laser pointer. It puts a glowing dot on a target. I will move the dot, you will shoot the next arrow at it. You’ll find that the good arrows take about the same time to return as firing 2 other arrows. That’s the mix. Good arrow, two woods, good arrow, two woods. “ He steps closer, “By the end of the month You’ll be shooting 40 arrows a minute with no rest for 10 minutes, or I’ll take the bow back. If you keep the bow, next month the 3 am training will include shooting at someone shooting back at you. 30 arrows a minute for 10 minutes underfire. When you can shoot 40 arrows a minute under fire, you will have accomplished the archery portion of eligibility for the Rangers. Besides that is camp skills, which Dancer has taught you. Hunting skills like dressing, butchering, tanning hides, making rope, leatherwork, you will have an acceptable efficiency in when the tour is done. Herbal Medicine too. Swordsmanship needs work. You’ve already checked off the requirement for proficiency with the boar spear. Serve in the army. Take one of the academies. Reach Elite ranking and we can talk about your joining the Rangers. Dismissed.”
I walked off his words rang through my ears.
I could one day become a Ranger? If I survived this personal training from Commander Julian that is. It was rough. But i was even more determined than before. As someone born in Amber and not of the royal line this would be one of the highest ranks I could reach, one of the highest honors. I do not know what mom had exactly in mind for me. Sometimes it seems like she has this perfectly laid out plan. The next she just lets me do whatever I think of and is as supportive as one could hope from a parent. Even if Duncan did not want to see me anymore I do feel right at home with the Rangers.
It was done, we were back in Arden. I felt a stab of sadness already. In those three years I got really close with some people. And as I watch Duncan go by the stab twists a bit. Even if we were not a couple I did very much enjoy our time together, and we had fun. And that it ended so abruptly felt bad. But, Commander Julian was adamant and Duncan made it very clear not to defy those orders. I brushed Scully she and I had been together for three years as well. Talking to her as I brushed her manes making sure she was in the pristine condition she deserves to be. “Thank you for letting me ride you these years. Thank you for your teaching moments. I’ll miss you, but perhaps we’ll see each other again. “ Turning to see Dancer I incline my head to her out of respect, I could not have wished for a better teacher. “Thank you for letting them saddle you up with a scrawny young girl. I could not have imaged to have been taught so many things. If it’s alright with you I would love to come by now and then. I’ll camp out somewhere in Arden and if you have time I’ll make sure I’ll always have extra drinks in my bags. “ Dancer embraced me with a laugh. “You better come by. Arden gets boring sometimes. You haven't really hunted till you take down a manticore with a boar spear. That will be harder then that big porker your pithed!”
Ryce and Hyjat gave me hugs as well. I think there might have been a tear in Hyjat's eye but I didn't tease him about it then. Maybe in Arden some day.
Don’t know if I should have looked for Duncan but with Julian suddenly leaving I figured he was busy enough. And honestly I didn’t feel like being hurt more. So with my few belongings I hiked back to home. To Bright Edge. While walking I was thinking should I tell mom everything shouldn’t I. Should I tell mom about Duncan. Perhaps better not, I know I can tell everything to mom. And I know that when she sees me there is something more going on but she won’t press the subject. She won’t ask, mom knows I come to her if needed. And that is basically how it went. I came home, hugged mom, hugged my beauty of a horse. Hugged some friends. A lot of hugging going around. When I had my things back in my room mom and I sat down. And I saw in her eyes that she knew something else was going on, she didn’t ask. I told her that there was more but I need to give it a place first myself. But that it was a wonderful and great experience and I loved every moment of being with the Rangers. I wanted to join them. Mom gave me the same advice as Commander, or Prince Julian, first do some more training, different fields. So I will.
Life started to get back to normal but one last thing happened because of my long ride with the Rangers of Arden. A week later one of the guys came and got me for a message at the gate. Standing between the arches of the gate of Bright edge was Scully. He wore my ranger saddle with a short blade on it like the rangers use and a note. The other horses around the yard were standing still, looking at the large beast in something like awe. They were city horses after all. With the note was a playing card of the style the rangers use but with a picture in black and white. Reading the note it said; Rangers and their horses mate for life. Don't feed him too many apples no matter how much he begs. Carrots are better for the eyes anyway.
140th New York Volunteer Infantry Regiment.
Rochester, New York.
