CHAPTER 2: IN WHICH GILAN LEARNS TO LOVE COFFEE

Gilan woke up to the sun streaming through the window and into his eyes. He crawled down under his covers, pulling them up over his head to protect his eyes from the light (and so he could try to get to sleep again). It didn't work. The light shone through his bedsheets and, with a sigh, he decided it was no use just lying there and eventually emerged from under the sheets. A few minutes later he got up from the bed and pulled on a shirt and breeches. He then picked up the small mirror from off the table and looked at his reflection, his eyes widening at what he saw. He had a serious case of bed head. And that is not something he wanted. Gilan ran his fingers through his hair trying to brush out the tangles and straighten it out. Instead his fingers got stuck halfway through. Sighing, Gilan dropped the mirror carelessly onto the bed and fell to the floor, burying his face in his hands defeated. He sat there for a few minutes, calming himself; this was not the end of the world, he would fix it later. He stood and begun humming a tune to put himself into a cheerful mood. He couldn't let this get him down, not tody. Today was hopefully the day that he would start his training as a Ranger (for real this time).

When he entered the kitchen/dining/living room Halt was in the process of making coffee.

"Good morning Gilan, it's god to see you up so bright and early." Halt said without turning around, obviously having heard Gilan slam his door shut when he had emerged from the bedroom.

"Morning Halt." Gilan said supressing the urge to yawn. He sat down, resting his head on the table. He shut his eyes for a minute, recovering from the strenuous effort it had taken for him to get from the bed to the table.

"Are you alright, you're acting as if you just climbed a mountain." Halt said, raising an eyebrow at his young apprentice.

"Yes Halt, I'm fine. Just give me a second." Gilan said without raising his head. After a few seconds he raised his head to look at Halt. "Good to see you. What have you got planned for today?"

Halt poured two cups of coffee and made his way to the table. He sat across from Gilan, placing one cup in front of him and the other in front of Gilan. Gilan stared at the coffee with distaste. "Today you will be developing a taste for coffee. I think it will be better to start on this earlier rather than later. You may not like coffee now, but I guarantee that by the end of your apprenticeship you will not be able to go a day without it."

Gilan shuddered and looked into the depths of the steaming brown liquid in the mug. "A long day then?"

"For you yes."

"Let's get it over with then." Gilan put his held the mug with his left hand and brought it up to his mouth. "Cheers" he said to Halt before he took a long sip of the coffee. The bitter taste filled his mouth and made him want to retch. He resisted the urge, settling for a grimace. When he finally swallowed the first mouthful he pushed the coffee mug away from him, coughing at the foul taste. "How can you even stand to drink that, Halt? Why do I even need to drink it, it's not like it's an important Ranger skill or anything."

Halt raised an eyebrow at his apprentice and clasped his hands before him on the table. "I thought I had already explained it to you. It is Ranger tradition for all members of the Corps to drink coffee. It has benefits for our work too such as keeping us focused, on task and giving us strength. You obviously cannot keep on task or focus so that is what coffee is for. Now, drink."

Gilan glared at Halt and yet again raised the cup to his lips. He took a smaller sip this time and swallowed quickly. There was still a bitter aftertaste but it was not as bad in smaller quantities. He made a face. "It's too bitter. I don't think I can drink it all."

"Mix honey in with it. It will make it sweeter."

Gilan stood up and moved to the cupboard. Inside there were assorted jars and pots. He looked inside a few and brought out the honey. He moved back to the table, grabbing a spoon on the way past. He spooned a fair portion of honey into the coffee and stirred it in with the spoon. He raised the cup to his lips and took yet another sip. He could feel Halt's eyes on him. He swallowed and was surprised at the pleasant aftertaste. It still had a bitterness too it, but a pleasant sort of bitterness. He looked at the mug, shrugged and finished it off. He looked back up to Halt after he was done. "Honey. Great idea." He said smiling.

Halt scowled at him "Fix that hair of yours, it looks as if we have a lot of housework to do."

Gilan got out of his seat and sighed, sensing a long day of doing everything while Halt sat back, relaxed and enjoyed watching Gilan suffer. He headed into his room to fix his appearance.

Author note: I would like to apologise for taking so long to get this chapter up as well as for the length of the chapter. Thank you all for waiting patiently. I had meant to write more but didn't know how to link it in. A big thank you to Wolfkin1, Nightshade2412, Grandmaster of the Swordsworn, Hibernia12, Silent song of shadows for reviewing, Apprentice of Fire, Grandmaster of the Sowrdsworn, Melanie Werewolf, Wolfkin1 for following and Wolfkin1 for favouriting. Please review. Follow and favourite if you enjoyed. I'm happy to take ideas for chapters if there is something you wish me to write about. Please give me any advice you think will be of benefit. Until next time.