The Ranger's Apprentice's Daughter

By: Aleta Raymond

Chapter 1: Heading Out

" Alyss, Aidan, are you ready to go yet?" Will called into the house. It had been ten years since Will had told Alyss he loved her, two years after that they had gotten married, and another year after that they had a child, who they were waiting for now. Alyss came out of the house and glided toward him. She put a hand on his arm.

"She'll be out in a moment, dear," she told him calmly. He looked at her, smiling.

"I know," he said with a laugh. "She's probably hopping up and down with excitement so badly she's scattering her things everywhere, causing her to take longer."

"I am not!"

They turned towards the house to see a young girl rushing towards them with her hands full. She had short, curly, golden brown hair, silver eyes that shown brightly, and and she was dressed in traveling clothes. She was also hopping slightly.

"Really?" Will asked, raising one eyebrow. He watched as she dropped a small bag. As she leaned down to pick it up, the rest of her things fell from her arms, winning an angry 'Hmph!'

"Stupid bags!" she muttered to herself as she crouched down to pick up her things, a scowl etched onto her face all the while glaring at them. She muttered under her breath as she finished picking them up and continued on her way, this time stomping. As she got to Will and Alyss, she looked up to see her father with a hint of a grin on his face. Her scowl deepened. "What?" she asked unhappily. He looked at her for a few seconds before calmly replying.

"Nothing." He reached down taking her things and proceeded to put them in Tug's saddle bags. Her scowl instantly disappeared when she looked at the small, shaggy steed.

"Looking forward to the trip, Tug?" she thought to him. He looked at her and seemed to nod before replying.

"Of course you silly girl." he thought back to her. She smiled brightly. Before recently, she hadn't known that most people couldn't communicate with animals the way she could. Unlike most people, she could send thoughts to them and recieve thoughts back. Not only that, but she could sense them as well, she could even sense them up to several tens of kilometers away. Though the farther away, the weaker the feel. (Sort of like a radio trying to pick up a station and it comes in all fuzzy sounding.) The same went for humans as well.

"Alright, are we forgetting anything?" her father asked. She turned toward him as a thought came into her mind. She glanced towards the house, opened her mouth to speak then hesitated. Then coming to a decision, she asked.

"Can Forrest come?" He looked at her and considered her question for a moment before anwsering.

"Why not." She grinned. Forrest was her dog. She had found him as a puppy in the deepest part of the forest. (Hence the name.) He had been badly injured, starving, and was slowly dying, having been taken from his mother to soon. He had a broken front paw that had gotten infected and his vocal cord had been partially severed, making it impossible for him to call for help.

This was the reason Aidan had been the one to find him.

In his mind he had been begging frantically for someone to find and help him. She had been playing in the woods with her father, following animal tracks on the paths that ran through the forest. They had come across human footprints running across the path intead of along it. Her father had halted to study the tracks when Forrest's thoughts found her. She caught her father's attention and hurried towards the dog. When they finally found him, Will bandaged up his wounds and then they carried Forrest carefully back to their home, where Will had an animal healer come and have a look at him. The healer had done his best to save him. When he was through, Forrest was missing his right front leg and was mute, but he was alive. The healer explained to Will how the broken leg had been infected so badly that he had had to amputate it. As for the vocal cord, he said that it would never completely heal, leaving the puppy unable to speak for the rest of it's life.

She knew he would need someone to take care of him. She also knew that most people wouldn't like having a disabled dog, and would consider him a burdon. They tended to look for a dog that they considered perfect, but, for Aidan, the fact that he was unperfect is what she liked best about him. She had begged her father to let her keep him. Alyss had encouraged her by stating that, logically, he would need a particular care that only Aidan could provide for him. Will surprised his daughter when he had readily agreed to let her care for the injured dog.

Now, Aidan called Forrest to come. He was surprisingly fast despite having only three legs. He was a mix between a husky and a shepherd, with pointed ears, short hair, and a semi-large tail. He had chocolate brown eyes and white and gray fur. (think wolf) He came up to them and sat at Aidan's feet, looking up at the six-year-old expectantly while wagging his tail. She smiled widely at him and scratched him behind the left ear, earning a few extra wags from his tail.

Will looked from his daughter to his wife.

"Anything else we might be forgetting?" he asked. Alyss shook her head and Aidan replied with an energetic 'nope.' "Then lets head out, shall we?"

They were finally heading out. Aidan was riding with Will on Tug while Alyss rode along side them on her glossy black horse, Midnight. After leaving Redmount Fief, they had headed towards Castle Araluen, their destination. Most of the day had gone by and the sun was begining to set so they decided to make camp. Will found a small clearing in the forest that was far enough from the road not to be seen, but close enough to hear if someone was coming. While Aidan and Forrest searched for some firewood around the clearing, Will set up their small tent and Alyss started to prepare dinner.

"Papa?" They had finished setting up camp and were siting around the fire eating their dinner. Will looked over at his daughter. Seeing she had his attention she continued, "Why are we going all the way to Castle Araluen and not just to Granda's home like last time?" Will studied her face for a moment before anwsering.

"That's because we're visiting Horace and Evanlyn as well," he explained. Her head shot up slightly at that.

"Uncle Horace and Aunty Cassandra?" she asked, calling Evanlyn by her real name. Horace and Cassandra were married now and had a son the same age as Aidan, though, she hadn't seen them since she was three. So, she didn't remember their son that well. Duncan was still the king so Cassandra was still the princess, her husband still being referred to as 'Sir Horace' while everyone called their son 'Prince Matthew.' Aidan tried to remember what Matthew was like but nothing came to mind. She sat for a moment looking at the ground, thinking. Will, seeing Aidan's mind was elsewhere, smiled and went back to eating. Forrest looked up at his master, sending a thought to her.

"Aidan, why are we leaving home?" Aidan, recieving the message, looked at the confused puppy. His head tilted to one side as he looked back at her.

"Papa's taking me to see our friends so that they can celebrate my birthday with me," she thought back to him, answering his question, "Though, I thought that we were only going to see Halt, Gilan, and David like last time." David was Gilan and Jenny's son. He was a year older than Aidan and Matthew, and Aidan's best friend. She was excited that she would be seeing them again. She wondered if he had learned any new fighting moves from his father. As she sat remembering all the fun fights that she and David had had, all of which she had won, Forrest rested his head on her lap and closed his eyes. Will and Alyss, having already finished their dinner, looked at their smiling daughter and couldn't help smiling as well. Then, Alyss, noticing her daughter's half-eaten food, spoke up.

"Aidan, finish your dinner before it gets too cold." Aidan came out of her train of thoughts and looked up.

"Huh...oh...sorry." she replied with a sheepish grin. She finished up her dinner and they settled in for the night. Will took first watch, though he didn't have to. If there was someone within a one kilometer radius, Aidan would sense them instantly, especially if they came closer to their camp, not to mention that she would be able to sense their intentions as well. The night passed without incident, as did the rest of their trip. For, after several days traveling, they had finally reached their destination, Castle Araluen.

END OF CHAPTER 1