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The Baron seemed nice enough, Will decided. Will paced around the study, looking out the windows as the Baron chatted aimlessly with him, pouring some coffee.

"You know," Baron Gerald said in a conversational tone. "We've never had a famous Ranger working with our fief before." Will smiled wryly, accepting the cup of coffee.

Some yelling outside drew his attention back to the window. The Baron frowned and stood, coming over to stand by the Ranger and see what the commotion was. In the courtyard down below, guards were pushing a very small figure forwards, as a large burly man stormed towards them, voice raised.

"YOU DID IT AGAIN? DO YOU HAVE A DEATH WISH?" The man yelled, fury in his voice. He was obviously the battle master, Will mused. He focused in on the figure, and was mildly surprised to see it was a girl. She was small enough, he decided, perhaps even small for a girl, although what on earth a girl could have done to get a voice lashing from a man like that he had no idea. The girl replied, but her voice was too soft and controlled for it to carry up to the tower window.

"Alisandra," the Baron sighed, walking away from the window.

"What did she do?" Will asked, turning curiously to the Baron.

"She probably snuck off into the woods again," the Baron replied. As if in response, the voice boomed below.

"THERE ARE WOLVES IN THOSE WOODS, AND BEARS. YOU ARE GOING TO GET KILLED ONE OF THESE DAYS!"

The Baron chuckled. "Seems so," he said with a grin. Will felt his own mouth quirk into a smile.

"What on earth does she do in the woods?"

"Draws, mostly. She wants to apprentice to the artist we have here," the Baron said, staring out the window past Will. "Between you and I, she's more than good enough. But he won't take her when it's time."

Will turned back to look out the window, and noted the girl had black hair. He remembered the girl in the woods he had seen, and put two and two together. "Why won't he take her?"

The Baron shrugged. "He says she's much too small, her hands could hardly sculpt or work with clay, which is part of the craft. I think quite contrarily to him, but I'm no artist. And he is quite right about her hands; they hardly cover my palm. Neither of us have the heart to tell the girl yet."

"A shame," Will murmured.

"It's quite depressing that she'll go to farm work," Gerald said. He shook his head lightly. Will looked up in mild surprise.

"She's a ward?" he asked, turning back from the window once more and sitting down in the chair, mug of coffee in his hands. The Baron nodded.

"Her father died fighting Morgarath," he said. "Her mother was taken by wolves in the same forest she runs off to each day."

"Courageous little girl," Will said, leaning back in the chair. The Baron smiled.

"True enough," he said. He pointed to an oil painting of a sunset hanging on the wall. "She did that when she was twelve. She always asks me to take it down, saying it's no good and she could do me a better one. I like it plenty though." Will examined the painting. It was good, although it did have some minor tremblings that would be expected of a twelve year old. It was still better than he could do, he thought wryly.

"Anyway," Will said. "Speaking of Wards, when are they getting their apprenticeships?"

"It was to be this week, but with the change of Rangers we decided we could postpone it a week to allow you to get more settled in," the Baron said. Will shook his head.

"This week it is," he said. "I don't have much to do in such things anyway." The Baron grinned at him.

"Alright," the Baron said, then seemed to think of something. "I do believe the Ranger meeting is in September?"

Will snorted. "Nice to know it's such a brilliantly kept secret," he said sarcasticly. Gerald's mouth twitched up in that grin again. "Your point?"

"Just wondering when you would be leaving is all," Gerald replied.

"Next month," Will said. "Unfortunate timing. I'd like to have more time on the fief but it's not to be so." The Baron nodded, and they sat in silence a few moments, sipping from the cups of coffee.

"We're having a banquet tonight. I trust you'll be joining us?"

"I don't see why not," Will said.

"Alis asked if she could play at the banquet," the Baron mused, looking at the painting on the wall. Will looked up.

"She plays?"

"Guitar," the Baron said. "She's a very artistic girl, including music." Will nodded to himself. It made since he decided. Six strings would be more handleable than his mandola, especially for small put down his empty coffee mug, and stood. He flicked the cowl of his cloak up over his head and nodded a farewell to the Baron, then faded out the door.

The Baron shook his head in disbelief, watching him vanish into thin air. Ranger's were quite good at that. Alisandra was still on his mind, and thinking of her, he decided she might make a good Ranger. She was good at not being noticed, so the animals didn't run when she drew them.

But of course, there were no girls in the Corps. He dismissed the girl from his mind, turning his mind to the banquet that was coming up that night.