Halt walked silently through the trees, staying away from the path so he was discreet and didn't bring attention to himself. His internal mental battle involving Ella was still raging on but he made sure he kept his features from showing he was having issues.

When he returned to his small cabin, Will wasn't anywhere to be seen. Halt guessed that his apprentice was out in the clearing practicing. Just as he suspected, Will's cloak, bow and quiver, and horse were gone. Good boy, Halt thought to himself. He admired his apprentice's stubbornness and attitude toward everything.

Brewing some coffee, Halt hung his cloak on a hook by the door and flopped down on the couch. He rubbed his tired eyes and waited for the hot brown liquid patiently. He poured himself a cup of coffee and sat back down on the couch. He soon heard Abelard's welcoming whinny to his pal, Tug.

Halt gulped the last bit of coffee left and got up to make another pot. Will came through the door, making a squeaking and grating sound in the process, and closed it again. He hung his cloak up beside Halt's and helped his master with the coffee.

"Took you long enough," said Will after he put the coffee in its respected place. "I was beginning to worry."

"The Choosing took awhile, then I had to escort Ella down to the barn to get her stuff and back up to the Ward," Halt explained, returning to the couch.

"Seems like they have little trust in that girl," Will replied, setting the coffee to boil.

"No, none at all," Halt replied, staring off into the fire. "And when we got the barn, they were beating Ella's poor friend. My guess is that he'll be dead in a few weeks the way Ulf is treating him."

Will could tell his mentor was angry. All Ranger's had a special relationship with their horses. If Will had seen someone beating up Tug, he'd have more than likely killed that person. "She was riding a battle horse?" asked Will, for confirmation.

"Yes, seventeen hands. But he never acted up when Ella was with him," Halt voiced, trying to sort everything out in his own mind. "He reminded me of a huge ranger pony."

Will pictured mentally what that would look like in a big battle horse and thought it was cute. A small girl in the protection of a huge battle horse, each having the other's back in any situation.

"I didn't get any sleep last night so I'm going to bed," Halt said, rising from the sofa and disappearing into his room.

After his mentor had left, Will still sat in one of the arm chairs, sipping his coffee. He'd never met nor had he even seen this Ella girl. Why, Will thought, would Halt be following this girl and watching her?

Will wandered over to Halt's desk. He sifted through the sheets of parchment, looking for an explanation to his question. On the bottom of the pile was a letter from Gilan. The gist of the letter was asking Halt if there were any good candidates to be a Ranger.

That cleared him up for the moment. But, did Ella get an apprenticeship to Gilan? That question lingered in Will's mind for the rest of the day. He knew he couldn't wake Halt to ask his question, so he went about doing chores and what not.

Halt emerged from his room an hour before dusk. Again, Will was no where do be seen. Halt sighed and started to make dinner. It wasn't anything spectacular, just stew and a few veggies. Will came inside again and set the table. They didn't speak, except for a few exchanges of where Will had been and how well Halt had slept.

Sitting down to dinner at the small table, is when Will attacked Halt with his questions. "What does Ella look like? What apprenticeship did she get? Is she good at riding or Ranger stuff or what? Is she going to be Gilan's apprentice?"

Halt wasn't surprised by the boy's curiosity or the amount of questions. Will waited patiently for his mentor to respond to his onslaught of questions.

"She's small, has dark red hair and green eyes," Halt explained, recalling the begging look in Ella's eyes. "She is going to work on a farm, because none of the Craft-masters wanted a 'dangerous' person working with them. She's one of the best riders I've seen and she has such a way with horses. And she excels in everything, not one thing outshines another. And finally, I don't know if she will be Gilan's apprentice."

"Wow," Will replied, taking in Halt's extensive explanation. "I feel bad for her."

"Good, you should. In all the time I've been observing her, I've only seen her smile for real a couple times," Halt said, taking his dishes to the counter. He needed an excuse to hide his face in case any of the sadness or defeat shown through his mask.

"I don't think she'll like the farm life. From what I've heard, Ella seems like a ball of energy just waiting to explode," Will stated, standing and taking his dishes to the counter.

"I wouldn't say energy exactly," Halt said under his breath.

Will was confused by the remark for a moment then understood what Halt meant. "Do you know what time she's leaving tomorrow?"

"Early, the farm she's going to is two hours away on a horse. My guess is that she's walking," Halt said, going over to his desk.

"Bummer," Will mumbled.