It was very bright out even though it had to be getting close to midnight. Maddie couldn't tell from her position in the bushes. It had to be close though, which meant they wouldn't be waiting much longer. She couldn't see Will, but she knew he hadn't moved from his spot farther down the path and she assumed he hadn't fallen asleep. She grinned. Will was getting up there in years after all. His hair was now definitely specked with grey, though he refused to acknowledge it. Farther on, Maddie could just make out their horses through the trees. They were standing perfectly still and attentive.

The wind picked up a bit, waving the branches around eerily. Maddie pulled her attention back to the road. They were watching the road into a town that had supposedly become haunted recently. The "ghosts" came every week on no particular day and stole only four items every time. The thieves were never seen or heard. When they first struck, the bodies of four criminals had vanished from the gallows. The villagers were sure it was the ghosts of the criminals punishing them for having hung them. Will and Maddie weren't buying it. They had been watching this road for a few nights already, but had yet to see anything out of the ordinary. Or anything at all.

A branch rustled somewhere behind her. Maddie resisted the urge to look behind her. She was as well concealed as she could be and she had her cloak wrapped around her, but the thieves were supposed to be ghosts and it was midnight, a full moon, and very foggy. So the idea of something unknown behind her was a little unsettling. Still, Will had said more times than she could count; Trust the Cloak. She remained still and listened to the leaves and occasional branch rustling behind her as something heavy and tall moved past behind her.

After a few minutes, Maddie saw movement from the corner of her eye. Without moving her head, she shifted her eyes until she could see the figure. It was a man wearing a grey cloak, but he had the hood off. Behind him came three more cloaked figures.

Maddie narrowed her eyes, "Ghosts, yeah right. They're not even quiet." Now that she could see the threat, she was just waiting for Will's signal. Since the thieves weren't traveling on the road, the plan would require some improvisation, but not much. They had planned to cut them off from both sides on the road, now they would have to do it in the woods. The good news was improvisation was a Ranger's specialty.

Maddie heard Will's sharp two noted whistle and swiftly stepped up behind the burglars. As she did that, she was already reaching back for an arrow and laying on her bow, ready to shoot. Will was doing the same it front of the men. Naturally, they saw Will first and turned to find Maddie behind them. One tried to run to the side, but quickly gave that up as an arrow whistled past his face. The others wisely remained where they were and made no attempt to fight the frightening cloaked figures.

The Rangers delivered the thieves to the town jail without trouble and started to the castle where they were staying. All in all, it had been a relatively uneventful week, but Maddie was still looking forward to her warm bed. Tonight they (or rather she, with Will watching and pointing out her many mistakes) would write the report to Gilan and tomorrow they would head back to the cabin.

They arrived at the castle and put their horses away themselves. Maddie caught herself falling asleep on her feet while she brushed Bumper off. She glanced at Will to see if he had noticed. He appeared to be focused on Tug, but she wasn't sure. Finally, she gave Bumper a last apple and turned to leave his stall and start the report. Will had already finished with Tug and was waiting for her.

"Maddie, you can head to your room and get some rest. I can write up the report myself tonight. You'll have plenty of chores to do once we get back to the cabin, so rest while you can." He told her.

So he had seen her dozing off. "Oh, well." Maddie nodded and headed up to her room before he could change his mind. Once there, she kicked off her boots and fell back on her bed. She'd passed out before she hit it.

Maddie woke up late. The sun was already up. The important thing was whether Will was. She put her knife belt on and fastened her cloak as she walked out the door. No sign of Will. Maddie grinned and started towards the breakfast hall. So she didn't see Will step out from the stables.

"Morning, Maddie. I hope you're ready for a morning run. I think just a couple miles will do. Once you've finished, get Bumper ready. We'll eat on the road."

Maddie sighed. She'd been too tired for dinner last night after getting back and had been looking forward to a warm breakfast and hot coffee. She turned to the road and started jogging.

"Would you like some lemonade while you stroll?" Will called after her. "Come on. Pick up the pace."

She did and finished her laps in fifteen minutes, give or take. She started toward the stables, but Will motioned her to follow him into the castle. She hurried to catch up with him.

As she caught up with him, Will turned toward her slightly and said, "I changed my mind. I'm hungry, we'll eat here quickly." Maddie rolled her eyes, but did it subtly. She didn't want to change his mind about breakfast. They reached the dining hall and ate quickly, then headed out to the stables to get the horses.

They were on the road shortly after. It took a few hours to reach the cabin, but they did so by lunchtime. Maddie took the horses and Will started to the house to make some food. Maddie felt the wind shift as she walked to the stables. Suddenly, Bumper and Tug straightened up fully alert. A moment later, Will called her name sharply.

She rushed over to him. He was kneeling over something on the porch. As she got closer, she realized it was a girl in a cloak patterned similarly to hers and Will's, just in black and grey instead of green and brown. As Will gently pulled the cloak back from her, Maddie saw the girl was covered in blood.