Chapter one:
It was a late summer.
The sun was setting in the west and a faint breeze rustled the leaves of the forest behind Ranger Scott's cottage.
The young Ranger in question was sitting in a comfortable wooden chair on his veranda.
He looked lazily out over the wide open field in front of his humble abode, with the sparse houses in the distance, and in the centre of his view, Twaine village.
And in the centre of it all, Caraway caste rose up in the sky, white and sparkling, made out of chalkstone.
The sun now shone a halo of light around it, from the Ranger's point of view.
He sighed contentedly.
Two weeks ago he had still been an apprentice, under the Ranger of Drayden fief, Bennet.
He had gotten his silver Oak leaf only a week ago, and the memory still put a smile on his lips.
His teacher Bennet had called him out of bed before sunrise, and told him he had to deliver an important document to the Ranger Commandant, Gilan, stationed in Castle Araluen.
Bennet's voice had been so grave, Scott hadn't thought twice and raced out into the chilly summer morning.
When he arrived at the castle, Ranger Commandant Gilan was standing on the drawbridge, waiting for him.
Scott had handed him the 'important' document, and watched as Gilan unrolled and read it.
After a while of complete silence, Scott began to wonder if he should leave.
He didn't want to disturb Gilan, so he began to move back to his horse, Ace, grazing nearby.
"And where do you think you're going?" Gilan had said with a stern look in his eye.
"Oh, ehm…Sir, I thought…"Scott had stuttered.
"Apprentices don't need to think." Gilan had said as he walked forward.
"Lucky for you though," He had added with a slight grin, "you are no longer an apprentice."
Scott still felt the confusion, and then the elation when Gilan had held up the silver Oak leaf.
A sudden noise jarred him from his pleasant reminiscing.
He scanned the area while seemingly slouching further into his wooden chair.
Then he heard it again, closer this time.
His eyes still scanning, he stretched, yawned and stood.
Slowly turning, as to not tip off any possible enemy, he looked around.
Out of the corner of his eye he saw a small figure standing in the forest, deep in shadow.
Keeping his nonchalant air, he strolled to the edge of his veranda and looked again, this time sweeping his gaze over the spot he had seen the figure in.
Then he saw it.
It was a small girl, dressed in a grey, threadbare dress down to her knees, and covered in mud and small sticks.
Letting his guard down, Scott now looked directly at the girl.
"You can come closer," He said in a soft, soothing voice, "I don't bite."
The girl, after some hesitation, came out of the shadow.
Scott could see now how pale and thin she was.
She looked no older than four years, with big, green eyes.
Her sandy-coloured hair grew past her shoulders and was tangled and matted with mud.
Scott stepped down from his veranda, slowly, as to not to spook the little girl.
"Hi, I'm Scott." He said.
After a brief silence in which the girl said nothing, he continued, "What is your name?"
Still, the girl said nothing, eyeing him apprehensively.
"Are you lost?" Scott tried.
No answer.
"Do you live in the village?"
Silence.
At this point Scott was beginning to lose his nerve.
All the little girl did was stand there and stare with those big, green eyes.
Was this a trap?
Was she supposed to distract him while a big, muscular brute crept up behind him and bludgeoned him to death?
Quick as a thought he looked around, expecting to see at least five men behind him.
But there was no one there.
He looked at the little girl again.
His fast turn had obviously spooked her, but she still didn't move or say a thing.
Scott sank to his haunches.
"Can you understand me?" He tried.
The girl said nothing, but after a brief pause, she nodded slowly.
Scott sighed.
"Okay, that's good, at least you know what I'm saying." he said, more to himself than to the little girl.
The little girl looked at him, then looked at the ground as her stomach made a loud grumbling noise.
"You must be hungry." Scott stood, pity in his voice.
The girl nodded, still looking at the ground.
"Come with me, I know a place with the best pastry."
The girl still looked at the ground and didn't move.
"Do you like pastry?" He asked, holding out his hand for her to grab.
She looked up, nodded shyly, and took his hand, following him to the now dark outline of Castle Caraway.
The Chef of Caraway fief, a middle aged woman called Brenda, was busy watching over the cleaning of the kitchen when she heard a grumbling sound behind her.
She looked round to see the young Ranger, Scott, standing there.
"Oh, my," She exclaimed, "you scared me there, Ranger."
"Hello ehm, Lady Brenda." Scott said, not really sure how to address the head chef.
"Oh, you don't need te 'Lady' little ol' me." Brenda said with a slight blush.
"What will you be needin' then?"
Scott smiled, and looked behind him.
The cook looked as well and only then did she notice the scared looking little girl.
"Oh, my!" Brenda exclaimed again.
The girl hid slightly behind Scott, clinging to his hand and his cloak, and looking around the room with big eyes, taking it all in.
"You poor dear!" Brenda moved towards her, but the girl backed away.
Brenda looked a bit hurt at that, but recovered quickly.
"Wait here." She said.
She turned around and saw all the work had been abandoned and everyone was looking at the tall, muscular Ranger and the little, frightened girl.
"What are you all gawkin' at?" She roared, "Back to work, the lotta ya!"
Then she turned to one of the massive cupboards and pulled out a tray of golden brown pastries.
She set them on a table in front of Scott and the girl.
Smiling, she said :"Dig in, dear."
The girl looked questioningly at Scott, who nodded.
She looked at the tray again, seemed to hesitate a while, then let go of Scott's cloak and hand and almost attacked the pastries.
Scott and Brenda looked on, Scott looking a little bemused and Brenda just looked shocked.
The girl, now over the worst of her hunger and seemingly noticing the two adults watching her, looked up at Scott.
She swallowed her mouthful of pastry, licked her lips, took a deep breath and said :"I don't know my name."
Later, in the Baron's study.
Scott had requested an audience with the Baron after he had learned the girl did not know her own name, nor, apparently, where she came from of where she was now.
The guard saw now reason, or way, to refuse the young Ranger.
The girl was sitting in one of the three chairs by the fire, nibbling on a pastry, and looking quite content and drowsy.
Scott and the Baron watched her for a while, from over by the Baron's desk, until the Baron broke the silence.
"Not a clue, you say?" He said, looking at Scott.
"No, si- I mean, my lord." Scott replied.
He was still a bit in awe of being able to just go see the Baron whenever he wished, and he was not quite sure how to address him.
"Hmm." The Baron stroked his beard.
"Did she say anything else?" He asked after a while.
"No, my lord." Scott said again.
He was beginning to feel a little useless, so he added, "She must have been traveling for days, by the looks of her."
"Hmm." The Baron said again.
They looked at the girl again, and Scott notice she had dropped her pastry.
He went over to her and picked it up.
As he stood, he saw that the little girl had fallen asleep.
He smiled, unclasped his cloak and laid it out over the girl.
Her eyes opened at that moment and she smiled back at him, snuggled into the warm woollen cloak, and closed her eyes once Baron came over and looked at her.
"She seems to really like you." He remarked.
Scott couldn't help but smile a little more at that.
"I used to help my mother take care of my baby sisters when I was little." He said softly, stroking the hair out of the now sleeping girls eyes, "I always had a way with little children."
"Then, maybe she could stay with you." The Baron said.
Distracted, Scott didn't catch the meaning of what the Baron had implied immediately.
When he did, however, he looked up, bewildered.
"I can't take her in, "He said, "I have Ranger business to attend to."
"Not to mention, I'll be gone for long stretches of time sometimes, what will become of her then?
"Well, my duties as Baron keep me occupied also." The Baron cut him off.
The two men stood, facing each other, bickering over who had less time to spend on raising a child.
Their voices rose in volume, and it wasn't long before they were yelling at each other.
"Oh my, what's all this then?"
A loud voice cut both men off in mid-sentence.
Brenda was standing in the doorway, the little girl clinging to her skirt.
"Makin' a right ruckus and wakin' up the poor dear, I see." Brenda said, fire in her eyes.
"Well, if none of you fine men will take the poor dear in, I guess it's up to the women to take the job."
She looked at both men in turn, daring them to say anything.
Both Scott and the Baron had the grace to look ashamed.
Scott shuffled his feet a little.
The Baron said a bit put out:" Ehm..well, yes…excellent idea."
"I would think so." Brenda said, dangerously.
She then turned to the little girl.
"You'll be stayin' with me for now, dear." She said and the girl nodded.
Brenda gave the Baron and Scott one last look, then took the girl by the hand and led her away.
Scott could hear her talking to the girl all the way down the winding stairwell.
"You'll like it here, I promise. You'll be needin' a name, though… How about Sandy, Do you like that name? Oh my, wait till mornin', when you'll meet yer new brother…"
Scott sighed.
He looked again at the Baron, who had won back a little of his previous stature.
"Well," Scott said, a little embarrassed, "I'll be off than."
"Hmm, o, yes." The Baron said nodding, "you better had."
They said there good-nights and Scott walked back to his small, cozy cottage.
Once he arrived, he went to check on Ace, finding the horse asleep in the stable.
Scott smiled to himself, went back inside his cottage and got ready for bed.
But, it was still a long time before sleep took him.
He lay, looking into the night and thinking about the little girl.
Where had she come from?
Why was she here?
Why could she not remember her own name?
The last thing he thought before he finally fell asleep, was that, in any case, she had a good home for now.