I noticed I forgot to upload chapter 7 when I first started this story, so I went ahead and rewrote it.


Prologue- The girl from the inn.

It was a warm winter morning, the sun was shining bright in the blue sky and the temperature was rising quickly.

Odd for the beginning of December, certainly in this part of Araluen, but that didn't matter, nobody really noticed and nobody really cared as they went on with their daily business. The baker got up first, then the smith and then the inn came to life too.

In 'The Sleeping Fox' it was business as usual. Mother roused Alexis with a soft touch on her shoulder and the seventeen year old got dressed, ate breakfast and started to do her chores.

Sweeping the floor.
Cleaning the wine glasses.
Feeding the horses (Alexis was afraid of horses but her dad made her do that every morning).
Making breakfast for 20 hungry guests.
Serving breakfast to 20 hungry guests.
Making cold tea and toast for the hungover guests.
Serving cold tea and toast to the hungover guest.
Doing the dishes.

It was a very boring morning routine, but Alexis had no choice. She was going to inherit this place one day whether she liked it or not.

Alexis was busy scrubbing a very ugly stain of one of the plates when she noticed a rather peculiar man sitting at the bar, dressed in simple clothing, apart from his cloak, which was painted in many different shades of green and grey. Alexis was fascinated with it. The man also carried a bow, 24 arrows and two knives.

He could be a hunter, or a Ranger maybe.

Alexis had always been interested in the Rangers, the small men that disappeared in the forest, investigating murders and crimes, solving diplomatic disputes all over the world and making friends around all of Araluen.

"The bar will open in two hours sir!" she yelled from the kitchen.

"And I'm late for breakfast, certainly." He called back, he wasn't yelling but there was something in his voice, it was deep and clear, loud with an undertone of authority and a slight Hibernic accent.

"Yes sir, sorry sir." Alexis said.

The man looked disappointed and very tired. She felt a bit sorry for him. Alexis decided to leave the dishes alone and brew the man a cup of strong coffee. Five minutes later she put it down in front of him.

"Here you go," she said, "On the house."

She had never seen a man happier than this man with his coffee.

"Beautiful," he said, sipping it enthusiastically, then he looked up, and asked: "Is there a possibility that you could rent me a room for today? I have had a long journey and home is a day walking from here."

Alexis nodded: "Not a problem at all sir, a room is ten royals a day and that's including lunch and dinner."

He looked grateful

"What is your name Sir?" Alexis asked, holding up a crayon.

"Halt."

Alexis' jaw dropped: "THE Halt? As in, Ranger Halt, the one who lead the cavalry at the battle on Hackham Heath, and then the second time to defeat the Skandians in the Thorn tree forest? The Halt who trained Ranger Will Treaty?"

The man sighed, clearly annoyed. "Exactly, that Halt."

"I thought you'd be taller," she replied while writing down his name in the guest book.

During the rest of the day, in between all of her chores, the short blonde haired girl formed an idea.

She was going to be Halts next apprentice.

But how, for the Kings sake?

She decided to wait for him outside the door. He was a Ranger and he had already paid for his room, so he was definitely going to run off in the middle of the night.

Alexis came from a simple family but she was clever and this deduction was an easy one.

She settled at the bottom of the big oak next to the inn and kept watch. It was cold in her thin brown cloak, but that would keep her awake.

Or at least that's what she thought…

Halfway through the night she woke up, Alexis didn't know why, but when she looked up at the moon she saw that at least four hours must've passed.

Uh-oh

But then (and maybe that's what woke her up) the door opened. It squealed softly on its hinges and Halt squeezed through it as fast as possible.

He then silently closed the door and scanned the street, from the Baker, to the tailor, passing the big oak.

Alexis froze. He saw her. She was sure. He couldn't have not seen her…

Apparently the Ranger didn't, he stopped looking around, turned to the south and walked down the main street with something on his face that might be called a slight, smug smile.

As long as he stayed on the main road the Ranger was easy to follow, but, at dawn, he went into a small forest and completely disappeared. And then reappeared.

Maybe the others were right, maybe he was a wizard with black magic.

She shook away her concerns and followed the man into the forest. She knew quite a lot about sneaking away too (away from her chores at the inn), but she had never really done something like this before.

She never followed someone in the death of the night. She never spied on someone before and surely not on a King's Ranger.

Was this illegal? She thought, maybe, if Ranger Halt caught her he would fine her, or worse, lock her up in jail for the rest of her life.

She stopped. Most certainly the sun rose somewhere, but not here, the blackness of the night had faded to a light shade of grey and, and Halt had disappeared without a trace this time.

No! She thought, looking around. She had gotten so lost in thought that she forgot what she was actually doing, spying on someone…

Oh, you're going to be one hell of a Ranger…

She ran forward, panicked and suddenly, leapt out of the dense forest in a small clearing, an almost perfect oval spot with a small cabin, three empty stables and a small shed.

She walked up to the cabin and knocked on the door.
No answer.

"Hello?" she called, "Excuse me, my name is Alexis Middleson from the Sleeping Fox inn at the edge of the Redmont fief! I might have gotten lost somehow."

Still, no answer.

She opened the door, it wasn't locked and it squeaked. The cabin was small and through the door you immediately stepped into the small living room with a fireplace and two big chairs.

At the back of the cabin was a small kitchen, and to the right there where two doors both probably leading to a bedroom and a guestroom.

On the small coffee table at the fireplace lay some paperwork, Alexis approached curiously and looked at the first page of the report.

To Ranger Halt,
Concerning, Recruiting soldiers in Fief Redmont and Whitby fief.

Uh-oh.

She had followed the Ranger, accidentally found his home and was now reading his personal documents. She hastily placed them back on the coffee table and tried to run for it, but it was too late.

There he was, Ranger Halt, standing in the door opening, his face covered by his big hood.

Alexis looked around, there were no other means of escape, no open windows, no other doors.

She looked the man in the eyes, they were a deep, dark shade of brown, almost black, and so angry.

"I'm- I'm so sorry Ranger Halt. I didn't mean to…" Alexis tried to escape with a smile.

"Read my documents?" His voice was like thunder.

"I didn't read them Ranger Halt!" Alexis shook her head.

"Then what where you doing here?" he asked. He wasn't yelling but the undertone in his voice was so scary.

Alexis nervously pulled on her brown cloak. "I wanted to ask you if I could be your apprentice, maybe, I- I don't want to live at the inn for the rest of my life and I want to be a Ranger."

Halt raised his thick eyebrow. "A Ranger." His voice was so sarcastic that it made Alexis feel stupid. How could she think she could ever be a Ranger?

I have blown it. It is over. I can go straight back to the inn and finish doing the dishes.