Misting rain fell in sheets, as the small party left Redmont the next morning and while at first it ran off their cloaks, it soon soaked through and they were left huddling into their saddles. Kathryn was busy studying the trees with interest; even after eight years she still found the country fascinating. Gilan however, turned in his saddle. "Enjoying the adventure Horace?"
The boy wiped his eyes free from rain and grimaced, "Anything's better than inspections and drill sir."
"Yes, I can imagine. You know Horace, we Rangers don't particularly stand on ceremony. Come and join us."
The warrior-in-training had been riding several paces behind them, obviously in awe of the two older Rangers, and now urged his horse forward eagerly. "Thank you sir."

"Polite, aren't you?" Gilan considered Horace, before frowning, "Actually, it's not a bad idea to have a little respect shown, it'll remind you who's in charge. Perhaps Will, you should call me sir as well."
Will's mouth gaped, "You want me to call you sir Gilan? I mean," he hurriedly amended, "you want me to call you sir… sir?
Gilan frowned, "No, just sir suits. Not Sir Gilan or sir-sir, just sir." He turned to face Kath so the boys couldn't see the massive grin breaking across his face, Kath raised an eyebrow.

"Will you make Kathryn call you Sir?" Asked Will, trying to take the attention off himself. Gilan frowned thoughtfully but before he could speak, a voice cut in. "Not if he knows what's good for him," Kath threatened darkly. Gilan's eyes widened, and he quickly pushed Blaze in between Horace and Will much to the amusement of the apprentices. There was silence for a few minutes, before Gilan spoke again. "You know I've decided, we really ought not to bother with the whole sir thing. I only said it as a joke."
The two boys just grinned at him, "Whatever you say Gil," laughed Will. Kath shook her head, and resumed her study of the trees but as Gilan moved to reclaim his former position she swung a suspicious glare at him. He bit his lip and made the authoritative decision that it was probably safer to stay where he was.

Travelling south all day, they finally set up camp amongst the foothills and after gathering a supply of wood, managed to set a small campfire going in order to dry themselves. They ate their meal in companionable silence but Will noticed that Horace was still in awe of Kath and Gilan. It suddenly dawned on him that their joking around and earlier comments were distracting the young warrior, helping to feel at ease. It was a good lesson in managing people he thought, feeling a burst of warmth for the older Rangers. Across the campfire, Gilan was regarding Will with the same careful thought but now jumped to his feet and gestured to Horace. "Come'on lessons! Let's see how good you are with that little stick of yours then."

"But.."

Gilan raised an eyebrow, "But?"
"What are you wanting me to do?"
They were standing in a small clearing set back from the camp, and Gilan was urging the apprentice to fight him.
"Aim for me, try to lop my head off."

Kath grinned, only Gilan could say that in a cheerful tone.
Horace still looked unsure, and she knew the reason of his discomfort. It was a widely known fact that Ranger's didn't carry swords.
"Come'on," goaded the man. "Trust me. I do have a vague idea on what it's all about."

Horace sighed and rose his sword in a murderous arc, only to feel his arm jarred as Gilan parried him. The clashing of steel rang through the area, as strike after strike Horace's blows were stopped. Gilan let the fight continue like this for a while, before turning to the attack and forcing Horace's sword to the ground. "Good."

They were again settled around the campfire, nursing hot coffee. Horace and Will sharing one log; Gilan on another whilst Kath took her usual place on the floor, leaning against his legs. Horace broke the silence, "So why did you continue to train with MacNeil after starting your apprenticeship?"
Gilan shrugged, "Many people thought that it was a shame to waste early training and my father is Sir David of Caraway fief so I guess I was given some leeway in the matter."

Horace sat up straighter, and almost in a whisper, continued. "You mean David? Battlemaster David? The King's new supreme commander."
Gilan grinned crookedly, "The same."
Horace nodded, suitably impressed then. "Why did you become a Ranger then? Weren't you accepted as a knight?"

Gilan raised an eyebrow and Horace, realising his gaffe, tried to recover. "Well. I mean most people I know want to be knights. Will did." He turned to the apprentice Ranger, "You always went on and on about how you were going to go to battleschool and become a famous warrior."
It was Will's turn to look embarrassed as Horace reminded him of the small fact."You always said I was too small to become one." He shot back viciously.
"Well you are," Horace argued with heat

"Boys." Kath's voice broke through their argument, firmly but not unkindly and Gilan nodded his thanks, "That's enough of childhood squabbles."
Both boys, looked away awkwardly and shuffled, before turning back to their original conversation. "You were right." Admitted Will, "I did use to want to be a knight, but now I wouldn't change it for the world."
Gilan smiled, "Well I was the opposite. Growing up in battleschool, I had started basic training at nine. By the time I was twelve I was sick to death of drills and parades. Now Rangers, they were interesting. They lived a life of adventure and mystery, they could blend into shadows and move silently and to me that sounded much more exciting than becoming a knight. My father and Halt became good friends after Hackham Heath, and so one day after he visited us, I followed him home."

"You followed a Ranger home?" Asked Horace incredulously
Will sprung to his friend's defence. "Gil's the best unseen mover in the corps,"
Gilan smiled, "I wasn't then, but mind you, I thought I knew a bit about unseen movement and tried to surprise Halt during his noon meal."
"What did he do?" Asked Will, totally engrossed in the story. Gilan smiled at the memory, "He threw me in a river. I thought that was it, and just when I expected him to send me home in disgrace, he told me that I might have some talent at being an unseen mover. By the end of the week I was his apprentice."

"So how did you become a Ranger m'lady?" Horace asked, Will and Gilan both sniggered at the title. Although he had stopped calling Gilan sir, he still insisted on calling Kath 'lady'.
"What?" Asked Horace indignantly, "She's a lady, so I call her milady."
Will rolled his eyes, "Kath's not 'm'lady' though. She may be a woman, but she's not a lady, Horace."

"Actually... I am."

Dun.. dun.. dunnn... :)
How'd you like it? Please rate and review if you did, I love hearing your comments - they make my day.
Also, just a note as I realised something. I was rereading what I already had, and it struck me that it some of the lines are quite similar to John Flanagan's books themselves. Sometimes I like to add in his words, to make it seem similar, but often I'm trying to remember what happened off the top of my head. So if you read something that seems familiar.. but yet slightly different it's probably cause I've tried to remember it but not managed to get it word for word. So yeah :)

Also, I probably won't update over the next few weeks. I've got the national Shakespeare competition this week - a five day festival with my team so I won't have internet. Then, when I get back I have mid-year exams :(
But hopefully I'll add another chapter before I go, and I'll see you in a couple of weeks.