Will whistled a tune as he rode back to Castle Redmont. He was in high spirits, having just solved the problem of a pesky group of bandits. He was lost in thought when an arrow appeared inches from his face, deeply embedded in the tree truck across from him, barring his way. Tug backed up a few steps involuntarily.
"Make me your apprentice," demanded a figure cloaked in a homemade Ranger's cloak. The hood didn't hide the squat, ugly looking bow that shot the arrow swimming in Will's vision.
"Um, I really don't know how to answer that. You are obviously willing, and a good shot," stuttered Will, taken aback by the strange conversation.
"I'm a good unseen mover too, and I'm ok at knife throwing even though I only just started learning," replied the figure, deadly serious.
"Um, ok, I will keep you in mind if I ever get an apprentice. What is your name? I will need it to find you," said a still baffled Will.
"Oh, uh, I'll be here. You don't need my name," the figure said too quickly and started to back away. Will's arrow pierced the cloak, pinning it to the ground. The figure struggled to free it, but it was to no avail.
"What is your name?" asked Will, deadly serious. The figure sighed deeply and gave one last tug on the cloak before answering.
"Ellya." It came out as a sign, so quiet Will thought he must had misheard. He got down off of Tug and walked over.
"Ellya? What kind of name is that?" Will asked cheerfully. He pulled back the hood of the cloak and stared for a few seconds. "A girl's name it would seem." She stared back at him with her forrest green eyes through a thick mop of shiny black hair. A calloused hand, the hand if a worker or warrior, pushed her hair out of her eyes, all while she refused to break eye contact with him.
"Make me your apprentice," she said. "I invented a bow that will let me shoot as far as any man without needing as much strength. I can go undercover as a women. Make me your apprentice," she said, very quiet and very serious.
"I'll, uh, I'll think about it. Check in with the others," Will said, grabbing his arrow and racing back to Tug. She sighed deeply.
"I suppose that will have to do for now."