NOTE: I don't own any of the characters from Ranger's Apprentice! I just own Will's family and Quarize.

"I will be there" by Monte Cristo (musical).

This is a chapter celebrating the love of Ilene and Tyler. I was listening to random music while writing the original chapter 9 when I ran across this song. Sounded so perfect for this couple. So this chapter tells a little more about them. I'll try to get the next chapter up soon. Will has returned but has kept his information on Carmichael to himself. The Rebellion as made camp out of the mountains for the first time. Soon the battles will begin.

Just so you all know, this story was never supposed to be long. My plans never had a chapter 15. So the ending is drawing near. Just a heads up.

Review and Enjoy!


Dripping Blood Chapter 9

Tyler walked through the field where the army was camped. Will had returned earlier that day. Ilene was safe in an old cabin. No one should be able to find her there. Only the two brothers knew of her hiding place. She had plenty of food and firewood. Will had set many traps to keep away predators that might try to kill her. The weapons that Tyler had sent with them were with her. Nothing should happen to her. If Tyler desired it, Will would go to check on her every few days. However, Tyler knew that could risk people learning of her hiding place and going after her. He would not disturb her until after the war was over.

A smile touched his face as his eyes saw a daisy growing in the grass. Daisies were her favorite flowers. Gently he plucked and brought it to his face. The scent was sweet and gentle. It reminded him so much of Ilene. His mind slowly, happily, drifted back in time to when he had first met her.

He was spying on his distant family for Carmichael. There was nothing going on here that he had not seen before. The Lord and Lady were as stuck up as ever. Their three boys were running around without supervision. Their voices were high-pitched and loud. It grated against his ears. They still had a lot of growing up to do before they could be deemed as potential heirs. Tyler sighed weakly as he remembered mother, pregnant with his little sibling. Hopefully that child could have better life. Tyler's eyes narrowed as his hands clenched into fists. He would make sure that Bruce never found them. His sibling would never suffer like he had. Tyler would die before that ever happened.

That's when he heard it. A soft, sweet humming sound. Quietly he began to follow it. It was coming from over a wall. He knew that this wall guarded the family's garden. This family had never been attacked so surveillance was lax. Trees had been allowed to grow without any thought to the dangers they posed. Quickly Tyler scrambled up one and hopped onto the wall. There, kneeling in the grass, was Ilene. Tyler had not known of her existence. Her family had brushed aside her birth, even though she was the firstborn. Her black hair was shining like ebony in the sunlight. Those green eyes were half-closed as she worked. The soft humming was coming from her throat. It was in that moment that Tyler fell in love for the first time. He stayed there the entire time she was working in the garden. Her songs kept him spellbound. The only time she stopped singing was when she found that her daisies had died.

His feet took him into a small grove of trees. The daisy was held in his flat hand, the stem sticking through two fingers. Those brown eyes barely registered anything around him but that flower. He had bought daisy seeds and planted them in her garden that night. He remembered how startled and happy she was when they started to sprout. She knew none of her family cared enough to do that for her. So she had left a note in the dirt, asking for the planter to show himself. Tyler had done so several days later. It was almost love at first sight. Ilene knew who he was the moment he pushed back his hood. He had to explain what had happened and why he had chosen to turn against his father. Ilene had understood the feeling. However, she had always held hope that things could get better without a war.

Ilene met him in the forest outside her home. Her eyes were shining like emeralds in the moonlight. A large bruise was on her left cheek. Her father had gotten drunk and took out his anger on her and her mother. Tyler felt his anger rise when he saw it. Gently he kissed her on her forehead. Then he started for her home. He was going teach her father to never touch her like that. A few broken bones would be as far as he would go. His heart, however, was telling him to use his blade.

Her hand seized ahold of his arm, stopping him, "Tyler, please don't. You'll only make things worse. He was drunk. Father would never strike me unless he was drunk."

"I don't care. He should never hurt you! I'll make him pay for it," Tyler had snapped.

Ilene put herself between him and her home, "This anger will never fix anything."

"My anger has fixed a lot of things. It can fix this one more thing," he growled.

Slowly she shook her head, "No it won't. It has only caused more trouble than it has solved. Your family is shattered because of it. You need to think about your actions. Let go of your anger, my love."

"Your desire for peace without force is the reason you're hurt right now!" Tyler said, his hand touching her cheek. "Force and pain will teach your father his lesson."

A sigh escaped her throat, "Or he will use me to draw you out. Then your secret will be out. I won't let you risk it."

"Ilene, my love, I can't stand it when they hurt you. It hurts me too," he said softly.

Ilene smiled, "I know but they can never know the truth. Plus, you have a promise to keep."

"What do you mean?" Tyler asked, worry shooting through him at her tone.

The woman looked away, "Bruce has a lead on your mother. He's heading there now. You have to protect your family over me."

"Ilene, you are my family," he whispered, pulling her into a hug.

Her sweet voice floated into his ear as she spoke, "I know. You are mine. But I will be right here waiting for you. Always."

She did indeed wait for him. Once the problems with Will had been solved, he had returned to find her still waiting for him. Even when he confessed his actions to her, she did not turn away. She only pressed closer. Ilene whispered that she had missed him while he was dealing with his family. A few days later, they were married and together. Tyler had never been happier. Tears trickled down his face as he remembered the words of his promise to her:

"No matter happens, I will always find you. I will never lose you. I will always be with you."

Her response was to promise him to never leave his side. They had been so happy together, hiding in the mountains. Tyler had continued to help the rebellion to build strength. Then he heard rumor that Bruce had found a traitorous family member. He had rushed home only to find Ilene gone, taken from him. In his desperation, he had summoned his brother to his aid. As they battled through the castle, he had prayed that she would be safe. He had been terrified that she would be hurt or even dead. Joy had filled him when he found her chained in the dungeon, alive and unharmed. Her green eyes had shown her love and hope. She had believed in him, that he would find her and rescue her.

But now she was gone again. Hidden away where no one could find her. She was safe. Tyler knew that she would be waiting for him to come and get her. She would be so happy when he came home. He could not wait for this war to be over. When it was, he could go home. He could be happy with his own family. It was a day that he had been waiting for since the day they married. They wanted nothing more than to be safe with each other. If only Bruce and her father would leave them alone. If only they could live in peace without fearing that something would come and tear them apart.

"I missed you so much," he whispered to her in the castle dungeon.

Ilene sighed in his arms, "I missed you too. I always knew you would come and rescue me. And here you are."

"Nothing will separate us again," Tyler promised.

His wife pressed her forehead into his chest, "You can't promise that. Not until this war is over. I'm just happy that we are together now."

"This war will be over soon. Help has come. With my brother at your side, there will be nothing that I will fear. Everything will be over soon. Then we can live in peace," he had growled determinately.

"Brother?" Will whispered.

Tyler turned to face him, tears of worry in his eyes. Will stepped forward and wrapped an arm around his shoulders. A smile of understanding appeared on his lips. He never had to say a word to his brother. Tyler knew that Will was being at his side. His brother was supporting him. That was all Will could do but it made Tyler smile inwardly. He was glad that his brother cared enough to be there. Will was doing his best to take care of everyone. But Tyler felt that there was something Will was hiding. Will sensed his brother's curiosity and sighed.

"Carmichael is planning something. What, I have yet to find out. He sent a man after me to spy. I managed to kill him but I don't know how much he had already to Carmichael. I found his fishing hawk emblem in one of the man's pockets. Don't worry about it, brother. I'll find out what he is planning," Will explained.

Heart beating hard, Tyler gripped his brother's arm, "Do you think he will target Ilene?"

"I don't know. The only thing the man told me was that trouble would come if you betrayed his ally. That's all I know," his brother replied.

Tyler felt anger burning in his veins. Carmichael would pay if he targeted Ilene. Those brown eyes glared back at the camp. He trusted Carmichael and the twins. Now they were planning something behind his back. His hand curled protectively around the daisy. No matter what, Tyler would protect Ilene. The hard look in Will's eyes told him that his brother would be there, at his side, no matter what the cost. But they had to find out what Carmichael was planning first. Will, trained to sneak around, was better suited for the job. So Tyler would wait and trust in his brother.

"Be careful, my love. Nothing is ever as it seems," Ilene had whispered to him before she left.

His brown eyes looked at his brother's back as they walked back into camp. Was Will right? Was there a better side of Bruce? Could Ilene's hope to bring peace through talking rather than fighting be the better way? Could his family be fixed?

"Maybe", he thought.


Hope you liked it! See you soon!