Ranger's Apprentice – Shadows
A/N: This fic is based off an old RP from Fanficunderground. I never took part in it, but I enjoyed reading through it, and with permission, was allowed to turn it into this here fanfic – an AU taking place after the Siege of Macindawl but before the Kings of Clonmel. So, disclaimers:
Disclaimer: I do not own Ranger's Apprentice. Tanya Wren is the creation of PitFTW. Alek Wrex is the creation of FutureCam. Ascarn Rivermist is the creation of Naskara_Dragoon. Gen Kaguri is the creation of KimotoDragoon. The idea for this story is based on an RP created by PitFTW and played by PitFTW, FutureCam, Naskara_Dragoon, KimotoDragoon and multiple others.
That's out of the way, onwards to the prologue!
Prologue: Courier
It was dark, it was stormy, it was just plain miserable. No ray of light could escape those clouds – but to the pursuers, their targets remained as clear as day.
Their horses were exhausted, their dresses were ripped and dirty, and the younger looked like she was going to fall off of exhaustion, but they couldn't stop moving. The two of them wore feathered caps and simple white gowns, long daggers hanging in sheathes at their sides. They looked very much alike, save for the two necklaces they wore. While the taller one wore a necklace with a silver laurel charm, the other had a bronze one.
The two women spurred their horses on as the chanting behind them grew closer. They could hear the footsteps of their pursuers drawing closer, almost smelling their rancid breath. They looked behind them and already they could see the fast approaching torchlight.
Absurdly, the thought running through the girl wearing the bronze laurel's head was that this was NOT what she signed up for.
"HYAH!"
Their horses picked up the pace. For a moment, it seemed that luck was on their side.
Of course, Murphy chose this point to be a bastard.
The women of the silver necklace gasped in surprise as her horse gave way to exhaustion, causing her to go tumbling off it. The girl with the bronze leaf reared her steed and reached her hand out to the older woman. Though she could've easily grabbed it, the silver woman did not. The chanting of the pursuers was close now, so close that they could easily see their hideous outlines in the faint light of the hidden moon.
"GO!" the fallen woman shouted. "GO! You must warn Castle Blancgnat immediately!"
"But my lady-"
"GO!"
Holding back tears, the bronze girl yanked on her horse's reigns and took off, never looking back. Against her expectations, she never heard any screams, nor what should have been delighted cries of the Wargals as they finally fell upon their prey. Castle Blancgnat was only a few hundred yards away in the distance, its lights twinkling cheerfully in the night. She could even see someone out and about on the grounds.
Her horse gave way to its exhaustion. She fell right off of it and skidded on the ground, landing right in front of the figure she saw. They locked eyes for a moment, brown meeting violet before words were finally summoned from her dried throat.
"P-P-Please... h-help..."
She finally gave into the darkness, just as the boy above her sighed and shook his head.
As far as first meetings go, there's been better.