Heya, Sunday upload because I was out basically all day yesterday, sooo... yeah. Reviews!

hopeweaver19: So I wasn't the only one! Huh! Well, glad you enjoyed it anyhow!

Bob Story Builder: Maddie more mature yay! Also... well...

AreiaCananaid: Thanks! Glad you're enjoying it!

Disclaimer: I don't own Ranger's Apprentice... I can't think of any witty remark to add to this. Ah, well.

On with the story!

6

The months between the start of Evelynn's Ranger training and the point where Maddie was getting excessively nervous about riding out and warning Will about the map incident had sped by. During that time, Evelynn's connection with Midnight and her Ranger training were quite well underway. Now, Evelynn watched as Maddie saddled and unsaddled Bumper, as if deciding whether to go warn Will today or some other time.

The choice was made for her. The horses gave a friendly greeting to an approaching horse, and then the quick, noiseless figure of another Ranger seemed to pop from the ground - literally - to Evelynn, startling her immensely. It seemed to faze Maddie less so, however.

"Hello, Gilan. What brings you here?" Maddie asked. Gilan, who lowered his cowl, looked mock-hurt.

"Maddie, can't I come and say hi every now and again?"

"Not with all that paperwork I hear you complaining about endlessly, no."

Gilan frowned.

"Fine, fine. You got me." Gilan took notice of Evelynn just then.

"Newest in the line of apprentices, huh?" Gilan commented. Maddie raised an eyebrow.

"You realize that apprentices are a natural part of life in Araluen, yes?"

"Ah, but there's the difference. In a way, all of us were apprenticed to Halt."

Maddie sighed.

"No. I'm sorry, Gilan, but I'm pretty sure that's not how that kind of thing works."

"But isn't it? Think about it. I was apprenticed to Halt, and then Will was. You were apprenticed to Will, and now Evelynn is apprenticed to you. It all goes back to Halt."

"I feel like you're trying to find a way to share the suffering you faced during your own apprenticeship."

"No! Of course not!" Gilan looked mock-hurt again, before it morphed into a smile. "But, Maddie, you're not going to tell me that Will's habits didn't go down to you."

"I wouldn't go so far as to say we have the same habits. Some of my current techniques are the same, yes, if that's what you're getting at."

"Ah! Will got all those habits from Halt."

Maddie frowned. She had someone to blame for her housework suffering, now, other than Will. Of course, he had still made her do it, so she could blame both of them.

"Gilan, can you just explain why you came here?"

"Alright, Maddie, impatient young one." Maddie raised an eyebrow to this, but kept her mouth closed. "Your dad is having another onset of stress, and none of us - I mean, not me, not your mom, not Halt, not Lady Pauline, not even Will - can get him to calm down."

"This involves me...how? I'm a Ranger, not a diplomat."

"No, no no no no. I was thinking you could go with them to Skandia, too-"

"No."

"What?"

Maddie sighed. "I still need to go to Castle Araluen, but I'm not going to Skandia with them."

"Did something happen?" Gilan's easygoing nature turned serious suddenly.

"Yuman got a map."

Evelynn, for her part, watched this exchange with utter oblivion, having less than no idea what they were talking about.

Maddie and Evelynn found themselves on the road an hour later. Gilan had gone ahead, seeing as how he was already set to go. Evelynn finally decided to try to get an answer about their overall stress level about the map once more.

"Maddie?"

Maddie inclined her head to show she was listening.

"What's so problematic about Fenn having a map…?"

Maddie sighed. "I guess, if you're coming along, you might as well know now. Fenn Yuman is the leader of an influential Skandian rebel group that has been trying to break the alliance between Araluen and Skandia for years. Erak, the Oberjarl and a close friend of the royal family, was worried about the murmurings he had been hearing. That's why Will's going. I think the Queen's just being stubborn." Maddie said it with a mixture of annoyance and amusement that gave Evelynn the distinct impression that Maddie was familiar with these antics.

"Why was the map so important? He seemed to know an awful lot about the trip when I first talked to him."

"Yuman has a web of spies, apparently. That's another part of Erak's call - he caught one. That's how he knew so much. The map was supposed to be secret, so that possible assassins - such as Yuman - never got the opportunity to ambush them. At least, without it being a total accident, and they'll still be on guard for such an event. Still… from behind, keeping the same course, could be problematic."

"So, if the map was such an issue months ago…"

"Why didn't I try to get it back? Frankly, it was because of you."

"Me?"

"Yes, you. Did I say someone else? I highly doubt it," Maddie said, the words faintly reminding her of both Will and Halt. Maybe Gilan had a point, she thought.

"Right. Um… why?"

"Because, if you haven't noticed by this point, Ranger training is very, very time-consuming - for mentor and apprentice both. I couldn't leave you be for weeks to hunt down a guy who likely is already back in Skandia to reclaim a map."

"Already in Skandia!?"

"He got the map, he must have moved out of Wensley, Redmont, and probably Araluen rather quickly."

"How are you going to keep Will and the Queen safe?"

Maddie sighed. "Probably, by taking Gilan's advice. Going on that damned ship with them."

Maddie wouldn't have known that she was seasick if she hadn't decided that she wanted to go with her dad to Nihon-Ja the last time he went. It had seemed like such a brilliant idea at the time, and Nihon-Ja and Araluen were allies, especially after they had helped stop the rebel uprising against Shigeru years prior. Will and her parents had all decided that there would be no drastic danger, especially if she stayed close to Horace or some trusted Nihon-Jan such as Emperor Shigeru, so they had let her go.

The biggest danger she faced on the entire trip was the ocean. It was calm to most, especially if they traveled by sea often, as Horace did. As a plus, Horace was not seasick, so Maddie had no idea why she was. That aside, she realized well and truly why Halt never, ever went on boats, unless it was a matter of national security and it was absolutely necessary. Maddie made a mental note to not tease Halt about his seasickness again, she thought, as the ship rocked, setting off another wave of nausea. This was nothing but pain and suffering, and she never wanted to experience it again.

Horace came belowdeck to check on Maddie. He hadn't seen her in a few hours, and was beginning to get worried. When he opened the door, however, he backed up and closed it again. He knew from experience that it was never a good idea to interact with someone dealing with seasickness. Halt had drummed that lesson into his head plenty of times during their adventures together, before Maddie was born. He made his own mental note, this one being to tell Will about Maddie's seasickness. That would be a good thing to know, in case he unknowingly brought her on a boat over the ocean before Horace managed to warn him. That would not be pleasant in the slightest.

The boat continued to rock, setting off waves of nausea for Maddie, the whole trip to Nihon-Ja. Once they returned to Araluen soil, Maddie swore to never get on another boat, ever again.

Maddie's face was creased into a never-ending frown for the rest of the trip, making Evelynn wonder what the problem was. Surely, boats couldn't be that bad, right?

Maddie being seasick is my personal headcanon. She was never on a boat overseas in the Royal Ranger... so... yeah...

Hope you enjoyed! Things are about to start heating up... this and probably the next chapter are going to be the last chapters where things are pretty calm, so... prepare yourselves for that.