A/N: Surprise! During my hiatus between stories 7 and 8, you will get to enjoy oneshots.
No I'm not writing these. Or rather, I'm writing them on my own...
During the Themes I brought in readers to write their own oneshots. These will be primarily written by Raider, whose Theme introduced a character who wormed her way into the main story. Thanks Raider! She has asked for readers to submit ideas for oneshots. If you have any requests leave them in the reviews.
I will be editing/rewriting (to fit Story 8's plot) and posting these. Even though I am not the primary author, I will ensure they all fit into the main story. Hope you all enjoy, and big thanks to Raider for taking this on!
Disclaimer: I'm not John Flanagan. Neither is Raider.
"Hey Gilan!" Robin heard Russ' voice echo loudly through the trees. Gilan responded in a much quieter manner. As Ranger Commandant, there was no need for him to yell.
Robin counted the seconds, remembering what Gilan had told the group. "Wait three minutes after Russ answers the door before you move into position," he'd instructed them. They hid about one hundred meters away, around the bend of the path.
One hundred forty-six, one hundred forty-seven…
Robin bounced eagerly on her toes and clutched the satin pillow in one hand and the silver oak leaf in another. The leaves under her feet rustled, and with a quick, narrow-eyed glance from her father, she stopped instantly.
One hundred seventy-eight, one hundred seventy-nine…
She glanced from her family to the other Rangers, collectively shared a nod before moving forward in a silent mass. The O'Carrick family went next. Kane was careful to lead Gabby only on the soft, silent dirt. Robin glanced around, ready to glare down any apprentice who frowned at Gabby with aggravation. Lucky for them, no one did. Following the O'Carricks was Brianne, Russ's girlfriend, from the local town in the Norgate fief. Brianne stood next to Robin.
"Can I hold something?" She whispered.
"Shhh!" Robin and others around them said sharply.
"But…" she started again.
"Shh!" Robin snapped. "Uncle Gilan asked me to do it,"
Brianne said nothing. She twisted her dress around her finger and rolled her eyes in annoyance.
Kane led Gabby closer to the cabin, winking at Daniel as he passed him. They stood close enough so that, so long as they were painfully quiet, they could hear everything inside.
"Hello Mathew, Russ." Robin imagined Gilan nodding to each of them. "Looking rather spiffy today, aren't we Russ?"
"I tried telling him not to expect much on graduation day, but still the boy wanted to look good. Don't know why, honestly." Matthew shrugged.
"Well I suppose we better get to it, before he tries to shine his shoes—that would rather defeat the purpose wouldn't it?" Gilan joked. "Congratulations for completing your blah, blah…under Ranger Matthew. What else? Oh. Here are your scores from the Gatherings. Archery, unseen moving, throwing… Seems mediocre enough. So if you sign here… and here. That should be it." Robin could only imagine Russ's bewildered expression and grinned.
"That's it?" Russ asked. Robin choked on her laugh.
"What did you expect?" Gilan asked, now speaking louder, pretending affront so everyone could hear.
Robin stuck her arm out to keep Brianne from moving from her concealed spot. Obviously the girl didn't understand the concept of a surprise or Gilan's plan that Robin was supposed to be the only one to be seen, at least at first.
Gilan continued. "We don't have all the funding for pompous occasions. At least we can afford your oak leaf. Where did I put it?" Robin imagined Gilan making a show of trying to find it. "Russ. Go out and see if you can find it. This trip was tiresome. Who decided to have a fief all the way out here? I just want a nice cup of coffee." The chair screeched as Gilan pulled it out from the table. "Must've dropped the thing on the way in. Can't afford to have another one made…"
Robin shook with excitement as a grin broke out on her face. The door opened and Russ stepped out, seeing Robin standing on the path with the pillow in her hands. His eyes flashed to the silver oak leaf on top.
"What…?" he trailed just before the giant roar of congratulations sent birds flying from the trees. He turned and saw the faces of all the Rangers emerge from the scenery. Scanning the area, he saw Gabby and Kane to the left—Gabby, grinning from ear to ear and Kane misty eyed. Russ took a step towards them when Holt practically leapt on top of him from where he was hiding behind the bushes. Aunt Alyss was there next to Julia and Maggie. Julia shifted Maggie to her hip and whistled using two fingers under her tongue. Maggie clapped madly at the excitement she was too young to fully understand.
Russ flushed with embarrassment upon seeing everyone. He found himself encircled by the well-wishers in no time. Brianne attempted to force herself to the front, but she ended up elbowed out of the way by other Rangers. Brianne found herself at the back of the group as Robin was pushed forward. Gilan clapped a hand on Russ' should after emerging from the house.
"Did you find it, Robin?" Gilan asked.
"I've got it, Uncle Gil!" she assured him. The Rangers backed up to give her room. Their gap closed again before Brianne could worm her way to the front behind Robin. Russ stared at Robin with a wide grin of amazement. He had to kneel for her to reach the chain over his head. He wrapped an arm around her, bringing her feet a few inches off the ground as he straightened up. Robin kissed his cheek, as instructed, as her big brother threw his fist up in celebration. Everyone let out a second round of cheers and then started moving off towards a dell in the woods, where the faint smell of cooking venison began to permeate the air. Russ kept his arm looped around his sister.
Brianne made a big show of huffing. She turned on her heel and stomped off towards her home closer to the village. Russ noticed her but didn't follow. Instead, he kept Robin at his side. Kane caught his oldest son's sigh of relief when Brianne marched off. He whispered to Gabby, whose shoulders relaxed as though a huge weight had been taken off them. It wasn't easy for them to be gracious to the pretentious girl who not once supported Russ in his apprenticeship to Ranger Matthew, and freedom from entertaining her on Russ' day was all too sweet. As one of the only Rangers to complete his training in just three years, he earned every bit of celebration before his first assignment as Ranger began.
Robin couldn't help but smile every time she saw Russ glance down surreptitiously at his silver oak leaf. She even counted. He gave the oak leaf some kind of attention forty-three times during dinner, and that was just before Gilan told him it had belonged to Ranger Halt, the grandfather none of them got to know.