Isabel's POV
It was Choosing Day and Isabel was very nervous. She had no idea what she wanted to be. She wasn't very good at cooking and her diplomatic skills were next to none. She couldn't lie for the life of her and doing things that were unethical made her really uncomfortable.
Right at that moment, Martin was introducing each of the wards before the Craft masters. There was Master Chubb ,who was the head cook; Nigel, who was the Scribe Master; Ulf, the Horse Master; Sir Rodney, the Battlemaster; and Lady Pauline, who was the head of diplomatic studies in Redmont. Horace chose battle school and was accepted, no surprise. George was accepted into Scribe school, again, as suspected. Alias went into Diplomatics, sort of surprising but not very. Jenny went to be a cooking apprentice. And then it was down to her and Will. She and Will had been dropped off at the ward building at Redmont Fief fifteen years ago. They both had no indication as to who they were except that there had been a note sitting next to Will when they were found. The note had said: "His name is Will. His father died in the war. Her name is Isabel. Her father is currently serving the king but didn't want the trouble of a baby. Please take care of them both." The whole thing about them being family-less made them more sympathetic to each other. They had become extremely close and never went anywhere without each other. Their relationship was that of a sister and a brother, and they had both vowed that it would never become anything else.
Now, Will was right before her since he was just a bit taller and she gave him a comforting smile.
"Will, sir. My name is Will," he said hesitantly.
"Will? Will what? What's your family name, boy?" Martin asked.
"Will, along with Isabel, is a special case," Baron Arald stated. Martin nodded and motioned for Will to continue.
"Battle school, please, my lord,," Will said firmly.
"Battleschool, Will? You don't think you're … a little on the small side?" the Baron asked. Isabel cringed and moved to stand next to Will. She grabbed his hand and he squeezed hers firmly.
"I haven't had my growing spurt yet, sir. Everybody says that," Will tried.
"Rodney?" the Baron asked. The tall knight studied Will for a moment before slowly shaking his head.
"I'm afraid he's too small, sir," the knight stated.
"I'm stronger than I look, sir," Will tried to start, but it did nothing.
"Any second choice, Will?" the Baron asked gently.
"Horse school, sir?" Will said, it came out as a question and Isabel had to keep herself from cringing. Ulf was already shaking his head.
"I need apprentices, my lord. But this one's too small. He'd never control one of my battle horses. They'd stomp him to the ground as soon as look at him," Ulf said firmly. Isabel could feel Wills hand grow warm in hers and she knew he was close to crying.
"What skills do you have?" the Baron asked.
"I'm a good climber, sir," Will said softly. Chubb, the cook, glared at him angrily.
"He can climb, all right. I remember when him and his shadow climbed up a drainpipe into my kitchen and stole a tray of sweetcakes that were cooling on the windowsill," Chubb told them. Isabel felt her cheeks burning and she knew that he was embarrassed too for being called out about a childish prank from two years ago.
"And just last spring he climbed up to our third floor study and turned two rabbits loose during one of our legal debates. Most disruptive. Absolutely!" Nigel, the Scribe master, added.
"Rabbits, you say, Scribe master?" the Baron asked.
"A male and a female rabbit, my lord, if you take my meaning?" he replied.
"Most disruptive indeed! And that young girl beside him followed him up and tried to help him but she got caught as well," the Scribe master said with a furrowed brow. Isabel had to stop herself from arguing that she had actually been trying to stop Will from pulling the immature prank.
"Well, yes. We all know how rabbits are," said the Baron.
"And, as I said, my lord, it was spring," Nigel went on. Lady Pauline gave an undignified snort and the Baron looked at her for a second before looking back at Will.
"Is there any of you who could use this boy?" the Baron asked. Surprisingly, it was the Ranger who broke the horrid silence.
"There is something you should know about the boy and the girl, my lord," he said. Isabel had never heard Halt speak before and she was slightly surprised at the deep voice. It was soft-spoken and Isabel could sense a slight hint of a Hibernian accent. The Ranger stepped forward and handed the Baron a sheet of folded paper. Baron Arald unfolded it an studied the words written upon it.
"You're sure of this, Halt?" he asked, a bit incredulously.
"Indeed, my lord," the Ranger replied.
"I'll have to think on this overnight," the Baron stated. Halt nodded and stepped back, seeming to fade into the shadows. Isabel could see the silhouette of him against the wall and she looked at him curiously.
"Well, Isabel, what craft would you like to apprentice?" Martin asked.
"I'd prefer to stay with Will if possible, my lord," Isabel said quietly. The Baron nodded and shooed them all off to dinner.
Later that night, Isabel was following Will through the courtyard. It was very quiet and the stars looked beautiful as they lit up the dark sky.
"Please Will, think about this. We don't need to know what was on the paper right now. Baron Arald will probably tell us in the morning. It's amazing outside, let's just enjoy the fresh night air," Isabel tried to stop her best friend.
"Izzie, aren't you curious. It will plague me forever if I don't do this," Will asked her.
"I am so consumed with curiosity that I might burst. But things take time. It will be so much better if we find out in the morning or if we ask the Baron what the note said. Please, you remember what happened with the rabbit incident. I tried to stop you, but you didn't listen and I got punished as well. Don't be a fool, let's enjoy the night. We can go try to ride the battle horses or something else dangerous if you want. Please, Will," Isabel tried to reason with him.
"Shh, and no. Go back to the dorms if you want to, but I'm going to do it. You in?" Will asked.
"Yeah, I'd never leave you to do this by yourself. But I get to say I told you so when this goes south," Isabel conceded. Will gave her a smile and they watched the guards rotate along the walls of the castle. Eventually, they found the pattern and started across the open courtyard. Most people would have taken the obvious routes that were concealed by trees or other things but Will and Isabel knew how to match the movement of the trees and stay unnoticed. The sentry on duty wasn't looking at the open courtyard and he didn't see them at all. Isabel went up the wall first and then she waited for Will. He came up next to her and they both stared at the not for a second. Isabel felt eyes upon her and she looked up to see the Ranger Halt watching Will. The Ranger took no notice of her and she opened her mouth to warn Will when he reached out to grab the note. Halt suddenly grabbed Will's hand and Will gave a startled sound as he looked at the Ranger. Isabel closed her mouth and sighed. Both Will and Halt turned to look at her as if they had forgotten she was there.
"Thought you might try something like this," the Ranger said in a low voice. Will's face morphed into one of shame and despair.
"Do you have anything to say for yourself?" Halt asked. Will and Isabel slowly shook their heads.
"Well, let's see what the Baron thinks about this," the ranger stated calmly.
"Please, Halt! Not …" Will trailed off and Isabel knew he was resolving to face his punishment like a man.
"What?" Halt asked curtly.
"Nothing," Will replied. Halt gave a short nod before dragging Will out of the room and up the winding stairs to the Baron's living quarters. The sentries at the head of the stairs looked up in surprise at the sight of the grim faced Ranger and the two children beside him. At a brief signal from Halt, they stood aside and opened the doors into the Baron's apartment.
The room was brightly lit and both Isabel and Will looked around the room. Isabel had seen the lights dim from the outside and she had been sure they were never this bright. She saw the heavy drapes across the windows and understood. In contrast to the Baron's sparsely furnished working quarters below, this room was a comfortable clutter of settees, footstools, carpets, tapestries and armchairs. In one of these, Baron Arald sat reading through a pile of reports. He looked up from the paper he was holding as Halt entered with his captive and Isabel trailing along behind.
"So you were right," the Baron said in a tone that showed he wasn't surprised with the Ranger's prediction. Halt nodded.
"Just as I said, my lord. Came across the castle yard like a shadow. Dodged the sentry as if he wasn't there and then came up the castle wall like a spider," Halt replied. The Baron set the paper down and leaned forward.
"He climbed the ladder, you say?" The Baron asked.
"No rope. No ladder, my lord. Climbed it as easily as you get on your horse in the morning. Easier, in fact," Halt said, with just the ghost of a smile. The Baron frowned and Isabel did too. She knew the Baron was a bit self conscious about himself being a tad overweight and now was hardly the time to mention that.
"What of the girl?" the Baron asked.
"She formed just as well as the boy, a tad bit better, in fact. I had a tough time even keeping track of her," Halt answered.
"Well now," the Baron started, looking sternly at Will and Isabel. "This is a serious matter."
Neither Will nor Isabel said anything. Isabel wished that Halt had not put the Baron in a bad mood by referring to his weight. That would not make the Baron go any easier on them. The Baron fingered his beard as he spoke.
"So what shall we do with you two, Will and Isabel?" The Baron questioned, but it looked more as if he were talking to Halt rather than them.
"Tell me, young Will. What would you do with a boy and a girl who broke into your office in the middle of the night and tried to steal an important document?" Baron Arald asked.
"I wasn't stealing, my lord," Will said quickly. Isabel cringed as the Baron looked at him with one eyebrow raised in apparent disbelief.
"I just … wanted to see it, that's all," Will finished weakly.
"Perhaps so," said the Baron, eyebrow still raised. "But you still haven't answered my question. What would you do in my place?"
Will hung his head and Isabel grabbed his hand. She tossed him a meaningful glance and he sighed.
"My lord …" Will began hesitantly. The baron regarded him, still half turned from the window.
"Yes?" the Baron prompted.
"My lord, I don't know what I would do in your place. I do know there is no excuse for my actions and I will accept whatever punishment you decide," Will said softly. Isabel saw a quick gleam of approval in the Ranger Halt's eyes but it soon vanished.
"And you? Young Isabel?" the Baron inquired.
"What I did was wrong and neither of us should have gone about this the way we did. I will accept whatever punishment you give us," Isabel stated evenly. That same flash of approval went through Halt's eyes but it was strangely accompanied by pride. It was gone too quickly for Isabel to analyze.
"Any suggestions, Halt?" Baron Arald asked in a neutral tone.
"Perhaps we should show them the paper they were so keen to see, my lord," Halt said, producing the folded paper from his sleeve. The Baron gave a small secret smile.
"Not a bad idea. I suppose, in a way, it does spell out their punishment. Doesn't it?" the Baron asked. Isabel looked between the two men in confusion. The Baron was amused by something but Halt was wearing the same blank expression as always.
"If you say so, my lord," Halt replied evenly. The Baron waved a hand at him impatiently.
"Take a joke, Halt! Take a joke! Well go on, show him the paper," Baron Arald said with a bigger smile. Halt crossed the room and handed Will the paper that he had risked so much to see. Isabel nudged him and he slowly unfolded the note.
The boy, Will, has the potential to be trained as a Ranger. I will accept him as my apprentice. The girl also has potential, I would consider taking her as well.