Disclaimer: I do NOT own Ranger's Apprentice or any of its characters. :)

Araluen Autographs

Will was still in shock the day after the wild boar hunt. It had scared him, and although he probably wouldn't admit it to anyone, he was still very shaken up. And as a result, he had become liked, even respected, yet he hadn't done anything.

Right now Will was riding his horse, Tug, up to Castle Redmont; the Baron had asked to talk to him. Will guessed he wanted to congratulate him on his bravery on the wild boar hunt - not that Will had done anything worth being congratulated for.

Will was almost to the castle when a girl Will guessed to be around 13 or 14 years of age ran up to him, calling, "Excuse me! Excuse me, Ranger Will!"

She stopped in front of Tug and Will, panting slightly and waiting to catch her breath.

After a moment, Will said, "Yes?"

She said in a fast and shy voice, "Well, I was just wondering... wondering if I could have your autograph." The girl's face immediately turned a bright red, extremely embarrassed.

Will was thoroughly confused. "Wait, you... what?"

"I was... Umm..." She paused for a moment, looking down. Then she mumbled a few inaudible words.

"What was that?" Will asked, still perplexed.

The girl seemed to pull herself together, finally, and said, "Can I have your autograph?"

"Uhh... Sure."

Why would she ask me for an autograph? I mean, it's not like I'm famous or anything.

Then it dawned on Will. He had become somewhat famous overnight. Word traveled quickly through the fief, and most everybody knew of the wild boar attack.

Then, he realized he was staring blankly at the girl, so he said, "Do you have paper or anything?"

"Uh, yeah, I do, just a second." She opened a bag that was on her shoulder and swiftly pulled out a scrap of paper, a quill, and a small ink bottle.

"Here you go," she said, and reached up to hand Will the items.

Will quickly signed his name, Ranger Will, and wrote below, best wishes for you. He handed everything back, careful not to drop any of it.

The girl read the paper and then said, "Oh, thank you so much!" Then she ran back from the way she came to share the news with an equally excited friend.

Will could still hear the girls shrieks and a loud, "He's so hot!" (He rose his eyebrow at that comment) as he rode the rest of the way to Castle Redmont.

Please Review! :) Thanks for reading!