Helloooooooooo! So... school has started again today and it erased the writers block I had for this chapter. This is my try at a bit of romance.

Thanks so much to all the people who reviewed! I love all of you!

P.S I decided not to show the entire horse thing, because it would not have made for an interesting chapter the way I had written it. So I put it aside and started somethin' different from what I had planned. Instead, I have intergrated it into this chater a bit, but only a little bit. a tiny little bit. thanks to my friend for letting me use his first name. Don't worry, he's a Brony he will be completely at home.

Enjoy

~Chapter 7~

After the incident with the book everything pretty much went back to normal again, the only exception being that Justin spent a lot of time in the village to pay of his debt.

This was at least, until Justin came to his mentor to ask him for help.

"Edward? " he asked a bit shyly, "Can you help me with something?"

Edward's eyebrows raised a bit when he saw the look on Justin's face. "Sure… what is it?" she said carefully.

"Do you know a lot about women?"

"I guess I know a bit, at least more than you. Shouldn't you ask stuff like that to Emma?"

"No! She would tease me until the end of times if she heard this!"

"That seems quite serious Justin. Now tell me your problem and I will see if I can be of any help."

The boy let out a sigh, "There's this girl, Sarah, a friend of Emma and mine. I tried to talk to her multiple times in the last couple of weeks, but when I approach her, she runs away. I just don't get it, we were getting along well before I was apprenticed to you. I mean, I'm still the same person aren't I?"

Edward sighed on his turn and started to speak: "Justin, she's not scared of you, she's scared of rangers. Old Rock fief mostly still follows the ways of the old religion, which is full of superstitions and people really don't like rangers here. I know Sarah's father, he and her mother have probably told her all kinds of bad stories about rangers."

"I never thought her to be so easily influenced." Justin said quietly.

"I believe she isn't, but when you get told something form birth, it usually sticks with you."

"So I don't really have a chance with her do I?" the ranger's apprentice sounded defeated.

"You do have a chance Justin, you'll just have to convince her that rangers aren't demons from hell or Nymphs or whatever she believes."

"And how do I do that?" Justin asked, now no longer thinking that didn't have a chance with the kind brown-haired girl.

But his hope was bored into the ground by Edward's next answer. "I wish I knew Justin I wish I knew."

He was looking for Sarah. He had seen her round a corner when he came out of the cobblers after a long day's work.

He ran after her but when he had rounded the corner, he was caught in a stream of people heading for the market and gave had to get home quickly anyways, for the sun was already setting and he had promised Edward he would be home before dark.

They had finally gotten their horses two days ago and he had immediately fallen in love with the small black horse and went riding every time he had some free time. The same was true for his sister and her light brown, almost with a glint of orange, coloured stallion.

His' was a mare named Dusk, because of her black, almost dark blue coat, while his sister rode a stallion named Dawn (for obvious reasons), the horse, while born from different parents were like sister and brother. This was why keeper of ranger horses in the south of Araluen, a tall man with shoulder long dark brown, almost black hair named Fabian Scoltin had chosen them for the twins.

But when he turned to go back, he was halted by a sight he didn't quite expect.

Dusk was being petted by Sarah who stood with her back to him and he decided to go and try to talk to her.

He quietly walked up to her and it took a couple of seconds for the mesmerised Sarah to notice him standing next to her, also petting the small horse. She looked like she was going to walk away, but Justin's voice stopped her.

"Wait! Just let me talk to you for a minute. Please!" he pleaded.

She looked reluctant but agreed.

"Sarah, I get that you are afraid of rangers, but Emma and I are still the same persons inside. Whatever people say of rangers, we are not demons or sorcerers or anything like that. We're just as human as anyone else."

She nodded and sighed. "And how do you explain the rumours of bandits disappearing into the forest, never to be seen again? And how you are able to sneak up on people without a single sount, or disappear into thin air!"

The volume of her voice has raised substantially when she started about the disappearing, but that didn't deter Justin.

"Do you realise that the people that disappear are all thugs, bandits and other criminals? How are we able to sneak up to people like that? Well it comes down to practicing until you drop. The disappearing also takes a lot of practice, but in that case, we are aided by our cloaks, they are made to break up a silhouette so that we are near impossible to spot."

Sarah was taken aback by the incredibly logical explanations for everything, but still she didn't feel comfortable around the ranger, however nice and good looking he was. No don't think like that! Shouldn't I though? Maybe he wasn't so bad. Maybe she should give it a chance.

Suddenly Justin spoke and she was ripped away from her thoughts. "If you don't trust me, let me help you." And he took her hands in his. She looked him in the eyes and when brown met blue, all she could feel was a wave of happiness flowing through her as their faces came closer and closer together.

Until an angry shout could be heard from across the street. "SARAH WHAT IN THE NAME OF THE GODS ARE YOU DOING!"

They both broke eye contact and he quickly let go of his hands and took a step back.

"d-d-Dad… hey ehm…we-we were just-"

"I know what you were doing and I do not want you to be anywhere near that sorcerer again!" he cut her off.

"But dad-"

"No!" he cut her off again "And you ,you little ranger rat, stay away from my daughter or else!"

Justin backed off and turned around to mount his horse. He looked at Sarah one last time as she was being dragged away by her father and one more time they locked eyes before they rounded a corner and left sight.

I hope you liked it and thank you for following this story up to this point. Please review and let me know what you thought of the chapter.

Bye! Or as we say in Brabant: Houdoe!