Will jogged up the castle steps, taking two stairs at a time. He could only wonder what the Baron thought of the two mud caked boys sitting in his office. He got to the door and stopped and knocked.
"Come in."
Will pushed open the door and nodded to Baron Arald. He saw Halt in the corner behind the Baron's desk, wrapped in his cloak. His posture was relaxed, but his arms crossed underneath the fabric. Will knew he was there only from years of practice; it was obvious that the visitors in the room couldn't see Halt.
"Can you tell me why these two are sitting here in my office?" Baron Arald asked. He was very annoyed at this interruption, his pen scratching on the parchment with an added ferocity.
"This boy, Christopher started a fight in town today." Will began.
"No I didn't." Christopher blurted out, his eyes to the floor.
"Yes, you did." Nial said. "You threw the mud at Lilly."
Baron Arald's pen stopped its scratching. Will heard Halt take a breath.
"What?" Nial asked.
Baron Arald's eyes flicked up to meet Will's and then back down to what he was writing. He absentmindedly blotted the ink stain that had dripped from his pen and onto his paper. "I don't know what to do with you two. I know that I should punish you, but I'm not. Just shake on it and don't cause any more trouble."
Nial looked at Christopher and stuck out his hand. After a minute, Christopher took it and shook it. Baron Arald gestured towards the door and the two boys got up. Christopher left first, silent and angry. Nial reached the door and turned around. He looked back at Will, turned, and left.
"You missed her." Arald said, the moment Nial closed the door.
"I never knew that she was there. I saw a fight between two young boys." Will protested.
"What happened, happened. There's nothing we can do about it, except find her." Halt said, stepping out from the corner.
"She came in Thursday, claiming to be a farm girl." Baron Arald said. "Halt, followed her out."
"She was headed towards the fields when I last saw her." Halt said. "Will, come with me and search the farms. Then we'll get most of them before the end of the day. We'll finish searching the rest of them tomorrow."
Will walked to the door. He grabbed the handle and turned back. "We have to get her alive, but what happens if she makes it impossible?"
"We back off. Crowley want s her alive, so we get her alive." Halt said. "Go get Tug and Abelard ready, I'll meet you in the stables."
Five minutes later, Halt came down to the stables. He nodded to Will as he mounted Abelard, who was standing next to Tug with Will already on him.
"Where will we start?" Will asked.
"I guess with the closer ones, that way we can get back to Redmont before nightfall." Halt said.
Will nodded and looked at the sky. "Let's get started. We only have about four hours until darkness."
Lilly walked out of the farm house and sighed, her breath visible in the cool night air. Joseph had yelled at her for wasting his time the moment she got back. Subsequently, she packed her stuff and left. She had decided that the Rangers had come too close to her and it was time to move on. She had packed her belongings and left. Meredith was the only one who came to say goodbye. She gave Lilly a loaf of bread, a blanket and a couple of coins.
She walked along the dirt road towards Wensley. She needed transportation, and her horse was at least three towns away. She knew that there was a chance that she could hitch a ride from a passerby, but there weren't many.
She walked for ten minutes, staring at the ground, her mind wandering. The sun was sinking below the tree line when the shouting started. She made a beeline to the side of the road, and crept forward slowly. She heard neighs of several horses and the grate of metal on metal.
"What's he got in that cart of his?" someone said. "Check it."
Lilly heard more angry shouts, then a frightening scream that was cut short into a whimper. She moved closer, unable to see anything of importance from her original position.
She got so close to the circle of men that she could smell them. They were obviously the bandits that were plaguing the area, and they had caught a farmer and his family. The farmer's face was marred by blood and bruises and his wife and young son were held at knife point, both crying silently.
"I asked you for all of your valuables, kind sir." One of the bandits said, approaching the farmer with a silver knife blade glinting in the torch light.
The farmer looked at him and spit in his face. The bandit punched him in the gut and kicked him in the face while he was bent over. The farmer fell to the ground and groaned in pain. The wife's hands gripped harder on her son's shoulders.
"If you won't help us, then you're not needed." The bandit said. He grabbed the farmer's hair and pulled him into a kneeling position, exposing his neck. Lilly gasped and looked away as the bandit slashed once. The wife screamed and ran to her dead husband's side.
"Now give us what we want!" the bandit shouted, spitting on the farmer's body.
The wife shook her head, her eyes streaming. The bandit shrugged and slapped her. The wife had given up, her entire body was numb. Again, Lilly had to look away at the brutality of the bandit. He wiped his bloody knife on his shirt and sheathed it at his side. He made a gesture and the group of bandits howled and stormed the cart of the dead farmer. Lilly saw the three year old son, forgotten, abandoned, and now orphaned. She knew that she had to do something about it, or the child would die with his parents.
She snuck up behind the boy. He was sitting on the ground, crying, but too young to understand what was going on. "Psst." She whispered, hoping to attract only the child's attention.
The boy turned his head, his eyes wide. Lilly smiled, "Come here." The child shook his head. "I've got a toy." She whispered. She waved her ring in the air. She hoped that the shine would attract the child. The boy smiled and crawled towards her. When he got within arm's reach, she picked him up and walked away from the torches. The little boy was playing with the ring; quiet and distracted. She saw horses, standing in the road at the outskirts of the ring of light. She grabbed the one farthest away from the commotion and guided the horse towards Wensley.
The child sat on her lap quietly, his hand in his mouth and the ring in the other. He wasn't crying anymore. She rode into town and started shouting, "There's been an attack!"
Gary was the first one out of the buildings. He had a torch in his hand and a knife at his side. More and more villagers came out of their houses, armed and ready to defend anyone against these bandits.
"They're down the road!" Lilly shouted.
The people of Wensley were looking at her to lead them. She wheeled the horse that she stole and rode back towards the attackers.
When she got there, the bandits had disappeared. But they left evidence of their appearance. The cart was a burning inferno and the two bodies of the farmers were still lying in the dust. The mob that had followed her stared at the carnage. Their gazes were full of hatred. Some fanned out to search for the bandits, but most of them went back to Wensley. Lilly followed them, too tired to try to search for the bandits.
At some point on their journey back, Gary came along side of her. "Do you need a place to sleep?" He asked.
"Yeah, but I have to go to Redmont." Lilly said, she gestured to the three year old asleep in her lap. She had forgotten about him in the rush after the bandits.
"He was there?" Gary asked. "The poor thing. He probably doesn't know what is happening."
Lilly nodded and wrapped her cloak tighter around the child. "I think that I'll get a room in the castle for the night. Thank you, for the offer."
Gary nodded and walked to the tavern. Lilly turned and guided the horse to the castle. She looked down at the boy in her arms. His life had been changed forever because of her. If she had gone to King Duncan anyway, none of this would have ever happened.
"I'm sorry." She whispered, wiping a tear from her cheek.
She got to Redmont just as they were closing the gates. They let her through and she immediately dismounted the horse. She left it with the stable hand and ran to the orphanage. She knocked and was admitted into the building.
"This child's parents were just killed in an attack by the bandits." Lilly explained, cradling the boy in her arms.
The woman who had let her in turned and held out her hands. Lilly gave her the child, who was still asleep. Lilly watched as the woman held the child. Her eyes started to tear up and she sniffed.
"Do you know this child's name?" The woman asked.
"No." Lilly said, her voice almost cracking.
"Do you have a preference?" she asked. "He has to have a name."
"Daniel." She said. "Daniel McMatthew
