Here's Chapter seven! Oh wait, I lied. I'm going to respond to reviewers first.

AkiraTheDarkHuntress: Yup. Pretty much. = P

PinkPaint: Glad you like the idea! Dan as a healer will probably end up being useful to me… hehe…

Dodo.123: Don't worry, I won't have Mikayla do exactly the same thing as Will, because (in my slightly messed-up mind) I consider that (sort of) plagiarism. = )

SoulMistress12: EPIC-NESS! Right up there with Will! Halt: Pardon, did you just say WILL? I believe you mean ME, the one who is much more 'epic', as you say, than that… what's a good word for him?… er… that Will. Me: Uh… **crickets chirping** Sure? = P (Yes, I talk to fictional characters… Keep it a secret.)

xbamsod: Hehe… sorry 'bout the cliffhanger… It's kind of a habit. **grins sheepishly**

Panthergirlrt: Yay! It's awesome! It's good for it to be awesome! = D

Lizard Lover: Once again, IT'S GOOD FOR IT TO BE AWESOME!

Phinneas McCheeser: NO! ANYTHING BUT THAT! But, this chapter is dedicated to you! Just kidding. It's dedicated to… uh… AMERICA! HAPPY THE DAY AFTER 4TH OF JULY!

Lizzet Nighthunter: Oh, yeah, one of your favorites! I. AM. AWESOME. = D

Thanks to you all for reviewing! = D

Almost forgot: Disclaimer: I don't own RA. Seeing as I put that in every chapter, I think that's pretty obvious.


Chapter Seven


Will smiled as he walked out of Baron Arald's study. His plan – or more correctly, Halt's plan that he'd merely copied – was in motion.

This was her test, to make sure she would make a good Ranger.

The plan had worked well when Halt used it.

Will grinned a little. Halt's plan had worked very well.

- o -

"Goodnight, Dan. See you in the morning," Mikayla said to her friend before heading to her own bed, but she didn't even try to fall asleep.

Once she was sure that all of the Wards were sleeping, she quietly walked over to her closet and redressed. She wore her dark brown cloak so she would blend in with the shadows.

Why would she need to blend in with the shadows?

Because she was sneaking out.

Mikayla hurried outside and headed for the castle. She was going to read that note. Not steal it, simply read it and go back to bed.

That short summarization made her task seem easy.

Mikayla tried to believe that it would be easy, but failed to do so.

She ran so swiftly and her surroundings went by so fast that she didn't even notice she was being followed.

- o -

A brown, hooded figure came into his view. There she was.

Will smiled. He was correct.

After waiting a few seconds to make sure she wouldn't notice him, he stepped out from behind his tree and began to run after her. She began to speed up, and the Ranger was forced to sprint to keep her in sight.

She then neared Castle Redmont and Will began to slow down. In the shadows of all of the towers, he could no longer see her; but he knew where she was headed. He leaped onto the castle wall and began to climb.

- o -

Mikayla continued running until she reached the castle gates. She crouched behind and a nearby bush, her eyes kept on the guard.

Reaching down, she felt the ground until she grasped a rather large rock. Slowly, she crawled from the cover of her bush, still holding the rock, to an evergreen a few meters away.

Once there, she stood up to her full height, aimed, and threw the rock as hard as she could, into the bushes on the opposite side of the castle gate. The guard heard this, and rushed over to that side of the gate to see who – or what – had made the noise.

Soon, however, he found nothing but a rock, thrown from . . .

He looked around until his eyes settled on a tall pine. He rushed over to it.

Alas, he was too late.

Mikayla was already inside.

- o -

Heart pounding, Mikayla dashed into the castle. She silently wove through the rooms on the first floor easily, avoiding all of the maids who were still awake and finishing their work.

Suddenly, she came to a halt at the staircase. Mikayla rested for a few seconds, her hands on her knees, although she still breathed silently. After a few moments of this, she took reached out her right leg to get on the stairs.

She then stopped abruptly, remembering when the Wards had climbed the creaky stairs earlier. The creaky stairs.

Mikayla stayed still for a bit, unsure of what to do. Her mind was racing, searching for an idea, some memory . . .

All of the Wards were waiting in the stairwell for the Choosing to begin. Ethan had muttered something, inaudible to her, and then leaned casually on the wooden railing.

That was it. The railing. If it could hold most of Ethan's weight, it could – most likely – hold hers.

Slowly, she brought up her right leg until her foot rested flat on the thick slab of wood to the left side of the steps. Mikayla placed her hand on the wall to steady herself, then, taking a deep breath, pulled herself up with her right leg and put her other foot down on the railing, a bit behind the first. She quickly put her chest against the wall and her hands and arms spread out to either side of her body, and began to ease her way up the railing.

- o -

Will looked up. The Baron's window was in sight, but Mikayla wasn't. He wondered if she'd taken a different path, or given up, or was already amazing at unseen movement…

He chuckled a bit at his own anxiety. She'd be fine.

- o -

Mikayla continued up the railing until she reached the door that all of the Wards had entered earlier that day – or possibly the day before, depending on the time.

Carefully, she managed to open the door silently and leap into the room from the railing that she had been on. There were no candles lit and no sunlight (of course), so she could hardly see.

Mikayla turned around, although she wasn't leaving. She reached for the side of the door until she felt cold stone brush against her fingertips. Slowly, she moved her hand along that wall, around the room. She kept her arm extended and her foot in front of her to be sure she wouldn't trip.

Eventually she felt cloth, and wondered what it was. It was fortunate that she paused, because the cloth was covering a large, open window; and if she continued at the same speed she would have most likely lost her balance and fallen through.

Once Mikayla realized where she was, she brought her hand down to the bottom of the hole and grasped the edge. Her heart was beating louder than usual; she knew that she could have quite easily fallen through and died right then and there.

She continued crawling next to the window, keeping her left hand resting on the windowsill to guide her. Then, the window ended and she stood up to her full height and put both hands on the wall.

Mikayla continued on until she felt wood instead of stone. She smiled, feeling accomplished. She felt around for the door handle, then found it and turned it – or tried to, anyway. The door was locked.

The girl let go and sighed, defeated. How else could she get in? She walked back to the window with her hand on the wall and her eyes on the ground. This time, she knew it was coming and didn't bother crouching down.

She was just past the window when she stopped and grinned. Mikayla turned around and stuck her head out the window, looking for the one in the Baron's office. She smiled even wider when she saw the wind blowing the curtain; clearly showing that it was open.

Mikayla took another deep breath. (She seemed to be doing that a lot.)

She was good at climbing trees . . . how much harder could this be?

A lot, she answered to herself.

She closed her eyes, trying to close out those thoughts, and put her left leg out the window so she straddled the ledge. Then, noticing the flaw in her doing, she quickly opened her eyes again.

She felt around for a foothold until she found a fairly sturdy one. She then put both hands on the ledge and pulled her other leg over in an action that was much like getting off a horse. Holding the majority of her weight with her arms, she searched for a good foothold for her right foot. Mikayla then began moving across the wall, all the time making sure not to look down.

Although she had never climbed a wall before, she somehow knew to keep her limbs spread out and her chest up against the wall itself. So, she continued to climb across the side of the castle, which was actually much easier than she had originally thought.

Soon, she made it to the window and managed to climb in easily. She rushed over to the Baron's desk, not noticing the dark figure in the corner of the room.

Mikayla was a bit surprised to find the note still exactly where it had been earlier. Without bothering to glance around, she picked it up.

She then let out a slight gasp as she read the first word.

It was addressed to her.


And there you have it! I think this was my favorite chapter, because of the (kind of) adventure. It had **drumroll** 1,387 words. Oh joy. Well, then, please review!

xXx