I'm back!
This chapter is long because it has a lot of explaining to do.
I don't own RA.
Enjoy!
"Dad!"
Will could hear the shout of anger from out in the forest. Apparently, the deer he had tracked did, too. It darted away so
fast, even Will couldn't hit him.
Aggravated, he headed back to the cabin empty-handed.
"Evan! Get out here now!"
A lot had changed since Will and Alyss's marriage. Evanlyn Pauline had been born on a cool summer night, much like the one the couple had been wed in. Three years later, with Halt and Crowley both retiring, Gilan had been elected the new commander. Now that the Special Task Force needed another experienced Ranger holding it safe, Will had been relocated to Castle Araluen where he, Horace, and Gilan were all active members of the force. Halt and Crowley had sleeping quarters in the castle, so they would step in and guard the castle in case of a mission. At that point, Evanlyn, or Evan for short, had just turned four and Daniel Halt was due to Will and Alyss in a couple of months.
Now, Evanlyn was fourteen and Daniel, ten. Evan was the image of her father, although in girl form. She had brown hair with the occasional small streak of blonde, her eyes were brown, and she had his short, lanky figure. She did have, however, her mother's winning smile and manners, but she had a sense of 'Will Charm' in her. She despised the thought of being a Courier, but her father had Alyss begin Evan's training in diplomat from an early age. Alyss could tell she hated it and waited patiently for Will to notice. Daniel, however, was the opposite. Everything about him was Alyss, blonde hair, gray eyes. The only difference is that he had inherited Will's cheeky grin. He wanted to be a Courier, but Will had already been talking to him and training him to be a Ranger.
Horace and Cassandra, as Will had finally become accustomed to calling her, had a son that was Evan's age named Andrew Orman, a daughter Daniel's age named Joy Alex, and another five-year old some named Parker Shigeru. Andrew was particularly feisty and rebellious, much like his mother had been at his age. He enjoyed adventure. Andrew took on his mother's physical side, short and thin. He was a little too small to hold a sword, but his father never seemed to notice. Joy was more like a diplomat, like the perfect princess, but since Andrew was born first, the throne did not belong to her. Parker was big for his age and took after his father. He was strong and had big dreams of being a warrior.
Gilan and Jenny had an eight year old daughter named Cosette Sydney. She was the perfect mix of her mother and father. She had Gilan's hair and eyes and Jenny's size and attitude. She worked with her mother in the kitchen, making up crazy names for dishes Jenny cooked and spreading smiles through their restaurant. Gilan lived with his wife and daughter in the living quarters of their restaurant while the Treatys got the cabin.
Evan came out of the cabin, red-faced with fury.
"Daniel was in my room, again!" She tattle tailed.
"And that is so important that you scared away our dinner for tonight?"
Evanlyn rolled her eyes. "Did you not hear me? Daniel was in my room."
"You guys share a room!" Will replied in exasperation.
"Yeah, but he was on my side of the room!" Evan argued, "can't he have any manners?"
"Go to your room. We'll talk later." Will pushed past Evan into the cabin.
"No."
Will whipped around to face his daughter, struggling to contain his fury.
"Evanlyn Pauline Treaty, you will go to your room. Now."
Evan rolled her eyes and groaned at her father.
"I did nothing wrong!" She shouted, "I hate you!"
MEANWHILE
Andrew was practicing with his sword, not that he was very hot at it, but his father apparently knew he was going to be a knight. He
had already been berated today for trying to escape into the forest. Andrew loved watching Will and Gilan practice, especially on
those rare occasions that Evan got to come. Watching them pull back the strings on those massive longbows of theirs with such
ease. He longed to be a Ranger. Andrew's lithe firm and short figure,much like his mother's,made him not as great at the sword
as he could be,but perfect to be a Ranger. This was the first time he had been caught. Gilan dragged him back to the castle
before he could get another word in.
Andrew took another sloppy setting with his sword. The wood rebounded and slapped him in his calf. Stifling a gasp of pain, Andrew put down his practice sword in the weapons shed. In there, something caught his eye.
A bow and arrow.
He carefully and sneakily removed the bow from its peg and the quiver from its hook. Using the same technique he had seen the
Rangers use, Andrew strung the bow and knocked an arrow.
The target was about twenty-five meters away from him. Looking down the shaft of the arrow, Andrew aimed. He pulled back
the heavy draw weight with all of his might, released, and the arrow soared, hitting the target right outside the bullseye.
A stinging pain wracked the young prince's arm as the bow-string slapped his exposed flesh.
"Owwwwwww!" He growled at himself. He rubbed his arm angrily as he retrieved his arrow.
Unstringing the bow and replacing it, along with the quiver, on its hook, Andrew snuck inside.
What he failed to notice was Gilan watching him from the shadows.
"But he's the Prince!" Horace argued. Gilan had asked to speak with him about his son, with the king in presence.
"Sir, Andrew has come to watch Will and I practice often. We notice him, because we are trained, but Evan never has. He is
wonderful at unseen movement,a natural, really. I saw him shoot. He nearly made a bullseye! Plus, he doesn't seem to be
enjoying sword practice."
"One day he will be king. Andrew can't be a Ranger and the king!"
"Gilan looked up. "Oh, really? Has he had his crown inauguration, yet?"
Horace frowned. The crown inauguration is a ceremony where the teenage prince or princess accepts the role as future king and Crown Prince. "No, but he will soon!"
Andrew entered the room. He had listened from the outside of the king's chambers, but he did not have the courage to
enter until now.
"Father," he said, fuming, "what if I don't want to be the king?"
Will sat on the porch with his wife. The kids had gone to sleep, well, Daniel had. Evan was sitting on the couch inside reading a
book her mother had gotten her. She was not the biggest fan of reading, but did at night sometimes to pass the time.
"Evan got me so mad today," Will began.
Alyss held up her forefinger in a type of warning to be quiet.
"What she said was not necessary," she began.
Will opened his mouth to agree, but Alyss continued.
"But what you said wasn't, either."
Will was taken aback."I have told her too many times she can't be loud when I'm working."
"All you were doing is hunting, and we had enough for supper tonight anyways," Alyss paused, letting the sense sink in, "she's
fourteen. It's about time she gets some privacy."
"It's about time she learns to respect to father!"
Alyss nodded. "I agree, especially if you are going to be her
mentor."
Will stepped back. "Whoa whoa whoa, who said she's going to be a Ranger?"
"Me, Gilan, Halt, Evan, and face it Will, somewhere deep down inside, you know she could never be a Courier."
Horace appeared on the Treaty door step the next morning. He looked disheveled and confused, an odd makeup for someone of his
status.
"What's wrong?" Will asked in a type of voice much like the looks of Horace.
"I could say the same about you," Horace replied.
"Let's just say what's wrong at the same time to get it over with."
Will nodded. "One, two, three..."
"Evanlyn wants to be a Ranger."
"Andrew wants to be a Ranger."
They said in unison.
The two fathers looked at each other, and their eyes widened with worry.
R&R!
~NerdyAndIKnowIt