Warning:

Tiny spoilers for Book 5 -6.

Author's Note:

This part is set between Books 5 and 6.

There aren't many spoilers but this chapter covers towards the end when Will is in Norgate/Macindaw.

Chapter 10:

|| Freedom ||

xxx

'Is this a good place to put these?' Gilan inquired, indicating his large stack of recipes and trade secrets in his arms.

Jenny smiled and said, 'Yes, that's perfect. I'll move them around later when I need.'

With a grunt of relief, the young Ranger dumped the pile onto the desk and stood back to inspect his work.

The workroom was small but cosy, and now held any personal items Jenny had kept over the years when she lived at Redmont. It was attached to Jenny's new bedroom where she would now live.

Jenny's dream of having her own restaurant was finally in place, since she bought a share of the Redmont Inn. Tonight was the opening night and she wanted everything to be a success.

She had been disappointed when Alyss had told her she couldn't go, a special Courier mission had risen, and it must have been important since Jenny didn't received a single inch of information about it.

So although most her friends and superiors from the Castle were willing to turn up, she missed her best friend seeing it.

On a faint whim, she had sent a letter inviting Gilan weeks back and he surprised her by coming a day early to help her move in her own things.

As she gazed around her office, which would be used to plan forthcoming meals and ingredient orders, she sighed as she remembered parting from her Craftmaster.

Jenny had tried her hardest not to disappoint her former master when she told Chubb that the final touches on her share of the Redmont Inn had been completed.

In private, he had hugged her sincerely and wished her the best of luck, although he definitely knew she didn't need it. In public she had announced her new career with an indifferent attitude to Chubb to uphold his reputation.

She smiled and then shook herself, throwing off any melodramatic feelings. Tonight was her night, and she was going to show everyone what she was made of.

'Right, now that's taken care of, I think I should go over the kitchen once more.' Jenny murmured and walked out of the room, temporarily forgetting her helper.

Everything was in order; food, cutlery, plates and utensils. Her waiters would not arrive until an hour or two before the opening. She had inherited the people who worked here beforehand, figuring they would know their skills and be easier than teaching a new batch of people. If they weren't up to standard, she could always reteach or hire new waiters.

'I think, it's all done.' She said hesitantly, glancing around.

'Yeah?'

Jenny turned to Gilan and grinned.

'My dream is finally coming true. I'm going to be running my own bistro.'

In a flutter of happiness, she hugged him quickly and then bounced away again, inspecting the tables.

'Thank you so much for coming Gil, you didn't have to. It is a long distance after all.'

The Ranger sighed and followed her, unable to spot the difference between the multiple knives and forks and serviettes. It all looked the same to him, but Jenny fervently moved everything around until it was to her satisfaction.

'It's okay; I mean I haven't had a break from Meric Fief since Will's graduation. And it's nice to see you too.' He grinned cheekily at this, earning a small rap on his arm with Jenny's ladle.

He was regretting her talent with the ladle, much like Chubb's, and made a point in his mind not to annoy her while she had it within reach.

'Well, that's it. I can't do anything else until my staff arrive and we begin service.'

'So, what do you want to do now?' Gilan asked her, leaning casually on one of the chairs.

Jenny held a finger to her chin, frantically glancing around the room once more.

'I think it's healthier if I stay outside for now. I'll just keep finding things to fix if I'm in here.' Her eyes widened and she looked around, expecting a plate or glass to be out of place. 'But if I'm outside and there is something that needs fixing, I won't know!'

Gilan was already picking her up and taking her out of the door.

He felt resistance as he carried her, although he suspected it wasn't due to the fact that she wanted to walk herself.

'It looks wonderful, better than most inns. You'll do fine- no, actually, you'll do great.' He told her as she anxiously watched her restaurant grow smaller in her vision.

'You think so?' She asked idly.

'I know so.'

She sighed and accepted that he was right, although she finally protested at being carried and he reluctantly put her down.

'You aren't going to run back any moment are you?' He asked with a raised eyebrow.

Jenny shook her head with a smile.

It was at that moment that something blew air against her back, and she jumped a mile in the air.

Turning, half expecting a huge beast, she was confronted with a small, shaggy pony.

It looked as amused as was possible on a horse's face.

'You think that's funny?' She asked and then blinked. Talking to a horse as if it were human was not particularly intelligent of her.

Gilan stroked the pony's neck and grinned at her.

'This,' he said, indicating the shaggy creature, 'is my horse, Blaze. I think you met her a few weeks ago.'

'That?' Jenny asked incredulously. She remembered the fright she got on the night of Will's graduation and resisted the urge to snort like the horse. 'I thought it was just Will that had a small horse.'

The Ranger laughed and led Blaze around the Inn to the stables where a barrel of apples lay in wait.

'No, we all have small horses. She's really nice when you get to know her, try feeding her an apple. She'll love you for it.' He told her.

Gilan opened the apple barrel and threw an apple while Jenny struggled to catch it.

Jenny's gaze was sceptical, but she moved forward and offered the apple and smiled, hoping the horse would prefer a friendly face.

Blaze gave her the equivalent of an eyebrow raise, stepping forward delicately to take the apple gingerly in her mouth, still watching Jenny as she gave in and crunched it blissfully.

The chef moved forward to stroke Blaze's neck, enjoying the remarkably soft fur despite the deceiving appearance.

'She's cleaner than she looks.' She admitted.

Blaze snorted softly.

'If you meet more Rangers, you'll find we all have a soft spot when it comes to our horses. We love spoiling them. They don't look too nice on the outside, but they make up for it with their personalities.' Gilan told her, giving Blaze a meaningful look.

'Is she fast?' Jenny asked Gilan, still watching the small pony.

'Very. Although she isn't the fastest of the Ranger horses. I haven't seen anyone beat Tug yet.'

Blaze looked content, her eyes closed as she absorbed the attention.

'Just, don't try to ride her.' Gilan warned as Jenny's hand travelled down the length of the pony's back.

'I don't know how to ride.' Jenny whispered. 'I never had to learn how.'

Gilan blinked and tried to find a response. Riding was a natural part of him; he had learned how to ride a horse years ago before he was apprenticed to Halt. He couldn't imagine anyone not knowing how.

'But it's okay; I've seen what happens when you get on these horses without permission.' She grinned, glancing at the horse's subtle muscles.

At the return of her easy going nature, Gilan gave an inward sigh of relief.

'Oh yeah, how did you see that?'

'Horace tried to ride Tug at the Harvest Day Festival.' Jenny told him, laughing quietly. 'It was before Will and Horace were friends.' She added.

Gilan smiled, wondering why he had never heard of it before. He couldn't imagine Horace and Will not as friends, so perhaps that's why they never mentioned it before.

'Mistress Jenny?' Someone asked from a distance.

Both Ranger and chef glanced up, realising what time it was.

'That looks like one of my new staff.' Jenny said. 'I guess it's time to see how this night goes.'

Gilan nodded and watched as Jenny approached the new person, giving him instructions.

She returned to him, looking pleased.

'Well, most of the staff have arrived and are waiting inside. Service won't begin for a while; perhaps you could go see Halt or something? I doubt you'll enjoy watching us prep food.' Jenny told him, unable to keep a pink flush of excitement creeping to her cheeks.

'That's fine. I hope everything goes well for you.' He told her.

'Thanks!'

Gilan gave her a quick kiss on the cheek before letting her run back to the inn.

He looked forward to the night but thought back to his duties of a Ranger.

Tomorrow he would perhaps be able to stay around, but the day after he had to return to his Fief.

It had surprised him, returning to Meric, of how much he had already missed Jenny. They were lucky lately, to have important events that allowed them to move great distances.

Without any upcoming celebrations that required both of them, it didn't look like they were going to see each other very often.

Gilan sighed.

So much effort was required for their quiet relationship.

He smiled.

It was worth it.

Author's Note:

I'm sorry there weren't Will/Alyss moments here, but that's because Flanagan deals with their relationship in the books.

Also, this was a much shorter chapter, hope it's easier to read! (Since my last chapters have been really long.)

- Love Mae.