Disclaimer: I do not own Ranger's Apprentice, nor any of the characters used in this story.

(A/N): I guess I'm actually doing this then. Ships will be marked by the prompt!. Please tell me what you think!


029: HAPPINESS - Implied Jenny/Alyss

For some reason, Alyss hadn't expected to be going out on a date with a woman in her life. She hadn't considered it as an option, actually. She always thought it would be man and woman, and that was that. She never thought otherwise, even when she felt a physical pain in her chest when she saw the way Jenny looked at Gilan at Halt and Pauline's wedding.

Man and woman, always. Otherwise—no child.

Maybe that was why she thought what she felt for Will was a romantic love, and what she saw in the apprentice cook to be a platonic friendship. Maybe that was why she kissed Will, even if she wasn't sure if it felt right.

So when her former mentor Pauline sat her down one morning, alone after Will and Halt had left for a patrol, she wasn't exactly expecting questions that she got.

"Alyss, darling, who do you love?" Pauline asked, making a small flourish with her arms. There was a mischievous glint in her eyes, something that looked oddly like something her husband would do. She had her grey-streaked blond hair pulled into a bun behind her head, but nothing tight to make her look severe. Just something to control her locks for the day. Recently, she had to get reading glasses for her work, and currently she had them tipped up on top of her head.

"Love? I love my family," Alyss replied, staying neutral. Narrowing her eyes, she smiled lightly at Pauline, making it known that she knew something was going on.

"But who? Are you in any relationships? Vying after anyone new?" Normally, her former mentor wasn't pushy about things like this, so it surprised Alyss for her to suddenly be asking these kinds of questions. What was odder was that she already knew the answer.

"You know that Will and I have been seeing each other, Pauline. What is this about?" Alyss leaned back, picking up a mug of coffee heavily dosed with milk. It tasted as if she should have held back on the milk.

Pauline did the same, although her's just had honey in it. "Yes, but do you love him? In a romantic way?" she said, keeping her eyes on the younger courier.

"Why are you suddenly interested in my love life?" If she answers my questions with more questions, I'll just do the same. Alyss tilted her head, and narrowed her eyes once more, knowing that she would eventually worm her mentor out.

Instead, the lady smiled. "Because you haven't seemed happy lately," she said simply.

It was a sad smile, the young girl realized.

Flustered, Alyss shakily sat down the mug, and crossed her legs and straightened out her dress as if nothing happened. "I don't know what you mean?" she murmured. Clenching her hands together on her lap, Alyss strained for her hands to stop shaking. Why were they even shaking? It wasn't as if she should be worried that Pauline would accuse her of cheating on Will, or something so outlandish.

"What I mean," Pauline said gently, setting down her mug. She stood, and moved her chair slightly to the side. Sitting back down, Pauline leaned forward, and took Alyss' hands in her own. "What I mean," she said again, "is that while I know you love Will, I do not believe that you love him in that way."

"W-what?" Alyss started to pull her hands away from her mentor's, but found the contact too comforting. "What do you mean that way?"

Pauline pulled away instead, standing up. "I think you'll realize eventually darling. But," the older courier paused, looking down to Alyss in the motherly way. "Don't force yourself into a relationship. Will would understand, he's a nice boy." At that, she turned away, and started to move towards the door of the room.

Alyss forced herself to her feet. "Will would understand what? I don't want to break up with him, Pauline—"

"I sense a 'but' coming after that," her mother said, turning back around at the door.

The young woman paused, suddenly not sure what the conversation was about.

But she didn't love Will in that way.

But whenever she kissed him, she thought of someone else.

But who she wanted wasn't something that would be considered a normal relationship.

Pauline had been trying to tell her something, but hadn't wanted to come out straight with it. And Alyss felt that maybe she knew what her mentor was trying to say.

"Well, what else is there?" Alyss murmured, holding her hands in front of her. She looked down to the ground, wondering if Pauline could really see through her that easily. So much for all of my training.

"What I'm trying to say, darling," Pauline moved back towards her, her voice softening, "is that don't force yourself into relationships that don't fit you. And don't feel forced into certain relationships because they seem normal or abnormal. Love who you want, and not who seems socially acceptable." Alyss felt Pauline stop in front of her. A second later, and she was wrapped in a comforting hug from her mentor, one that she hadn't realized that she needed.

After a long moment, Alyss pulled away, wiping her eyes. She hadn't realized that she had started to cry. "Do you know where Jenny is?"