Crowley's Apprentice

Man, that last chapter was pretty long, huh :)

Disclaimer: I do not own the Ranger's Apprentice series or any of its characters. I do own any OC's that might be in this story.

This chapter will be about his Mikey after about a week as Crowley's apprentice, as well as his musical side, which I promised. :D

Thanks to Dodo.123 for the advice! I'll try not to switch from past to present so much!

Now before I start, I want to say that I don't know if they even guitars back then. But they had lutes, erm. . I mean Mandolas . So I kind of inferred that they had guitars as well.

Sorry for any spelling or grammatical errors, my spell check is being kind of weird right now

On To The Story!

Chapter Four

Housewarming

Mikey had finished getting situated in his new room. A nice one, he thought. Not too big or too small. The cabin itself had actually looked quite cozy from a distance. His mentor, Crowley, was actually not some crazy, wicked sorcerer at all. Mikey laughed. How did he manage to believe that garbage, He silently asked himself. He's generous for the most part, and holds high regard for Mikey. He also has a strong sense of humor. A little too strong, almost on the verge of annoying, Mikey pondered silently, wondering if anybody else thought the same. He felt a warm, relaxing feeling, now that he realized that this was the place he would now call home.

Mikey sat down at the table, silently the favored Ranger drink, coffee. He glanced down at his chores list; the one Crowley had left him. He had woken up, far before his usual wake time, to this note that was placed neatly on the kitchen table. It read:

I'm running errands over by the castle. Here is your list of chores:

Clean the stable

Fetch some water

Clean the dishes

Tidy up the cabin

Practice shooting at least a hundred times. Focus on Accuracy.

Have Fun :)

-Crowley

Mikey frowned. "Was that supposed to be funny," he asked, not expecting an answer. He quickly went through the list again. This is going to take quite some time, He decided. "better get started," he cheerfully said as walked out the door into the warm summer morning, seeking his bow and an ample amount of arrows as he did so.

MEANWHILE! :D

Crowley had finished his errands much earlier to his surprise. He had been discussing many topics in the castle, the main one being Mogarath and his plans to revolt. Now he was strolling through the market, on his way back to his cabin to check on Mikey, expecting to see the chores he had left him finished, and his shot in good shape. Good kid, he thought. Crowley had watched Mikey in his youth. He was one to carry out tasks and duties, no matter the difficulty. But he very often got lost in thought, something that could easily get him in trouble in the near future. His temper was relatively normal, and had excellent composure. "Reminds me of someone ," he said to himself, knowing exactly who the person was.

He was still passing through the market when an idea struck him. He thought it would be nice to get Mikey a housewarming present. Crowley thought that Mikey was still tense and uncomfortable, like he was the first couple days of his apprenticeship. He was completely oblivious to how quickly settled in and comfortable Mikey had actually gotten. He passed a small shop which at the window held a nice looking acoustic guitar, but at a pretty expensive price of Seventy Royals. (Was that their form of currency?) Crowley knew from watching Mikey that he was extremely fond of music.He could get it cheaper with a little bargaining, he thought as he walked into the store.

"I'll buy this lovely looking guitar from you for thirty Royals," Crowley proposed.

The merchant eyed Crowley closely. He had heard a lot about these cloaked, mysterious figures, and had grown to have a low regard for them.

"Sixty-Five," said the men, sounding a little irritated.

"How about forty-five," Crowley offered, hoping for this to be a final price.

"Forty-seven," the merchant replied, in a pretentious manner.

Now Crowley was getting annoyed. This merchant was really getting on his nerves, he thought. But he had other ways of dealing with people like this, rather than throwing them into moats like someone he knew. Now it was his turn to act smug. He turned his back to the merchant and started to walk.

"I guess I won't be buying it," he said in mock disappointment. "What a shame."

The merchant, knowing this trick all too well, decided to give up and settle with forty five Royals. He sighed.

"Forty-five," he reluctantly said. Crowley smiled as he turned around with currency in hand.

"Deal," he said.

Back at the cabin, Mikey was now relaxing on his bed. It was around sunset now and he had just finished his chores. He even shot another couple hundred arrows, and his arms were paying from the stress. Now he wondered what his friends were up too. Todd, to Mikey's surprise, was chosen for battleschool, despite his lazy personality. Mikey smiled. What time he's having, he thought. He was yet to hear about the others.

From a distance he heard the soft, rhythmic sound of hoofs he knew as Crowley's beloved horse Sonic. It had only been a few days since he himself had received his own horse, Silver. Named after how he sometimes glistens in the bright sun, the mysterious Old Bob saw this as a perfect name for the Ranger horse.

"I'm home Mike," Crowley said a little loudly, making sure that his apprentice heard him.

Mikey had never been called Mike, since that was the name of his former ward mate. But not caring at this particular moment. He entered the living room too see Crowley holding a case shaped in the form of an acoustic guitar. Mikey instantly smiled.

"I got you something," handing the guitar over to his apprentice. "a little housewarming gift."

Mikey retrieved that guitar from his mentor's grip. He loved music. He knew how to play almost everything, and usually spent most of his free time back at the ward writing his own compositions. Mikey beamed.

"Thanks! How'd you know I liked music so much?"

Crowley smiled. "Lucky guess," he lied. "Try not to sound too bad," he jokingly remarked.

Whether that was a joke or a friendly insult Mikey couldn't tell. Whatever it was, Mikey was too elated to even ask.

"Go relax," Crowley began. "Dinner will be ready shortly."

Mikey started back toward his room. He examined his new guitar closely. It was expertly crafted. Any doubts he had about the Rangers and Crowley were merely gone. Now that he had music, he could be himself again. Silently, he said another thanks to his mentor as he reached his bed. He unlocked his case, took out the guitar, and immediately started playing.

Mikey smiled once more. "Some sorcery," he quietly said as he broke out into song.

I always find myself running out of things to say at the end. =)

Did anyone notice the theme in the horses' names?

Anyone? Heh heh. . . *awkward laugh*

Never mind. . . .

Anyway, don't forget to review! Also expect another chapter tomorrow, It's one of the days when I don't have a game :)

-YDG (YahDig?)