Boys Are Easier

By: Katerinaki

Published: 10/23/2013

Beta'ed: No

Notes: This chapter was weird, mostly because we're now starting to get into a second sort of arc to Kaye's story. Hopefully the action will pick up after the stage is set. Thank you to all who are sticking with me. I promise, no matter how long it takes, this story will be completed.

-Katerinaki

Chapter 10:

Kaye was uncharacteristically quiet on the ride back to Redmont fief. In fact, she'd hardly said more than a few words in the last few days of the Ranger Gathering. She had performed admirably and as she rode the new, small bronze oak leaf shone against the dappled gray and green of her Ranger's cloak. Kaye had impressed her fellow Rangers and that spoke volumes to how Kaye measured up against her fellow apprentices. She was first among the first-year apprentices, edged out only by the second-year apprentice, Declan, who had failed his first assessment the year before but passed this year on his second try. Halt couldn't be prouder of his apprentice, but he would never tell her that outright. Best not give her a big head.

Yet, something was wrong. Halt still believed that boys were much easier than girls, but he prided himself on being a quick learner and his months with Kaye had taught him much about his third and perhaps most difficult apprentice. He could plainly see something was wrong, but when he asked her about it Kaye would insist that she was merely tired or that she wasn't feeling well and no, there wasn't anything Halt could do about it, it wasn't that sort of not feeling well. Strange, considering Kaye hadn't been feeling well just two weeks before the Gathering. After more than a few failed attempts, Halt decided to simply wait. If there was one thing Halt learned the hard way, it was that Kaye would make herself heard when she was of the mind to.

Upon their return to the Redmont's Ranger cottage, Halt and Kaye saw to Abelard and Alejo and then Kaye set about her daily chores without any fuss. She built up a fire and soon the cottage was warm once more. She made the many trips down to the river and put water on to boil for coffee. She even swept out the floor and wiped down the surfaces with a rag, all without Halt suggesting she do any of it. Halt watched her go about her chores demurely with a frown on his face. He had to get to the bottom of this quickly. Perhaps Pauline would be able to help; she always had a way of understanding. She was head of Redmont's Couriers.

Halt was deep in his thoughts, but his senses were still open to the world around him and so he heard the warning whinny from Abelard just before he heard the heavy thundering of a horse cantering down the path towards the cabin. Halt got to his feet and Kaye paused as she was about to place another log on the fire. It was late and certainly an odd hour for someone to come down to the cabin. Halt had intended to check in with Baron Arald in the morning, rather than interrupting the Baron tonight. As he listened, it became clear that the rider was on one of the great battle-horses from the castle. No other horse could sound so loud. However, as a precaution, Halt grabbed his belt, bow and quiver from the hook by the door and slung them over his waist and shoulder before stepping out onto the porch. Kaye followed after him, doing the same. Even in the dark, Halt could clearly see the large form riding towards them. He placed a hand on his throwing knife as he called out gruffly.

"Declare yourself."

The rider slowed and leapt from the horse just beyond the light of the cabin. With the horse's reins in hand he stepped forward, showing his face.

"Justin?" Kaye said confusedly.

"Now is hardly an appropriate hour for a social visit," Halt growled in annoyance as he dropped his hand from his knife.

"I'm not on a social visit, sir," Justin replied. He hitched the reins of his horse to Abelard and Alejo's paddock before climbing the steps to the porch and holding out a folded missive. "I bring a message from Baron Arald which requires your immediate attention."

Halt took the note from Justin begrudgingly, stepping back into the cabin to read by the firelight. Justin took the lack of growled dismissal to mean he was at least allowed up onto the porch.

"When did you get back?" he asked Kaye.

"Earlier today, a few hours ago."

"Was your trip…good?"

"For the most part."

They awkwardly stood in silence, waiting for Halt to read the missive and make his reply. Kaye could tell Justin wanted to say more, but this want was battling with his strong sense of duty and professionalism. Duty stated the missive was the most important thing, especially if he was sent out in the late evening and ordered to ask for an immediate reply. A few moments later, Halt came back to the door, his cloak over his shoulders once more.

"Get your things," he ordered Kaye. "We are wanted at the castle."

If Kaye had just become Halt's apprentice, she might've asked some obvious, superfluous question like "Now?" even though it was very clear Halt meant immediately. However, she had been Halt's apprentice for a few months short of a year now and knew that such questions would only earn her an annoyed sigh and muttered sarcasm. Kaye took her own cloak from the peg inside the cabin and readjusted her quiver so that it lay comfortably on the outside of her cloak. She and Halt saddled Alejo and Abelard, much to the two horses' exasperation. They had only just finished a long ride and now they were going for another?

"Go back to Battleschool, boy," Halt told Justin gruffly.

"I was ordered to wait for a reply. If you are intending to ride up to the castle, then I will escort you."

Justin's insistence only annoyed an already irritable Halt. As if two Rangers needed a Battleschool apprentice to escort them! He really was in no mood for chivalry or whatever other such nonsense the boy thought he was doing. Still, he said nothing as the boy rode beside his apprentice and behind him, all the way up to Castle Redmont. His great battlehorse sounded like a stampede of horses instead of just one and Halt was positive half of Redmont knew they were passing. When they arrived at the gate, Halt discarded what little patience he'd allowed.

"You've done your duty, now go," Halt grumbled as he dismounted Abelard and led him into the castle courtyard.

"Yes, Ranger Halt," Justin replied respectfully before he turned to Kaye. He seemed to want to say something more, but Halt growled back for his apprentice and all he managed to do as Kaye hurried on was give a brief nod.

Castle Redmont was quiet, which was strange. If something was so urgent as to require Kaye and Halt to come to Baron Arald immediately, then the castle should be bustling with knights and aids, all trying to tend to the matter at hand. But it seemed that everyone else was still abed. To Halt that meant any number of things, but to Kaye it said "secrecy". What matter was so secret?

They climbed the stairs of the keep to Baron Arald's office and weren't even stopped by the guards at the door. They were expected, obviously. Halt knocked on the door out of courtesy, but hardly waited for the "Enter" to go in. Baron Arald stood behind his desk, his hands behind his back as he looked out the thin window, down onto Redmont fief. He turned when they came in and Kaye was struck by how tired he looked. Usually, no matter what the issue was, Baron Arald had a pleasant expression and no shortage of bad jokes which often went over the heads of his subordinates. But tonight he truly looked the part of an important baron forced to deal with a difficult situation.

"Halt, Kaye, thank you for coming at such a late hour," he said solemnly as he sat down in his chair. "Was the Gathering successful?"

"Kaye passed her trials second of her group," Halt informed him. "What's this all about, or could you really not wait until morning?"

Arald sighed heavily. "Unfortunately I think the kind of news I have deserves immediate attention. In your absence, I've received a letter from Meric, for Kaye."

Kaye's head shot up from where she'd been toying with her fingers. Baron Arald had a message for her? But what? His hand fell to a small piece of paper that had been folded but now lay open on his desk and Kaye's eyes tracked the movement like she would a strange movement in the forest. "Sir?"

"I beg your forgiveness for opening it without your permission, but the messenger insisted it was urgent. There has been an accident. Last week there was a fire at your family's inn. It was burned to the ground."

Arald's words echoed hollowly, as if Kaye was hearing them from far away. At first, she didn't even understand. A fire, at an inn? That was the reason they had been called before Baron Arald in the late hours of the night? Fires happened all the time. There were accidents. Embers flew out of grates and landed in the wrong places. Back in Meric fief, every man had been part of a fire rescue brigade. Just a few months before she'd left, her own father had been called to help put out a fire at a nearby blacksmith's. Jaret had been part of the brigade too. Even Kaye's mother had helped, comforting the blacksmith's wife and helping her tend the children. They had saved part of the shop, the family's home, but they had still been forced to rebuild almost the entire shop side and the poor blacksmith had nearly beggared himself. He would have, if it wasn't for others' help. Kaye remembered bringing leftovers sometimes, so that the family didn't starve.

"Kaye." She looked up at a concerned Baron Arald. Even Halt was more attentive than usual, carefully gauging her expression.

"What?"

"Do you understand? Your father's inn. It's gone. Three were caught in the blaze. I'm sorry, Kaye, but your mother was one of those who could not get out."

Not for the first time, Kaye was grateful that as a Ranger horse, Alejo was more than capable of looking after himself and his rider. She didn't think she would've been able to on this trip from Redmont. Her mind was elsewhere, in Meric, desperately trying to reconcile what she'd heard with what she knew. After Baron Arald delivered the horrible news, she had ridden back to the Ranger's cabin with Halt, unsaddled Alejo, and went to bed. She slept through the night too and was even up at her normal time the next morning, cooking breakfast and doing her chores. Halt seemed surprised to see her up, but he made no comment about any of it. The entire day, as she went about her training, he watched her intently, expectantly. It wasn't until that evening at supper that he finally got what he was looking for.

"I'm going home," Kaye said quietly as she picked at her food and sipped her coffee. It was such a timid, soft declaration that at first Halt couldn't make out her words. But then she repeated herself again, louder and with more conviction.

It was what Halt had been waiting for all day, and now he was uncertain how to handle it. "I don't believe that would be wise," he said at last.

"I didn't ask your permission," Kaye retorted with the bite Halt was more familiar with. "I'm going home. Tomorrow morning."

Halt sat back with a short nod. "Very well, then you shall accompany me. I have a need to visit Gilan."

It was a lie. Halt had only seen Gilan four days before, as they had bid farewell to their fellow Rangers. Gilan had been one of the last remaining and he'd winked at Kaye and told her not to give Halt too much grief. If Halt had really needed to speak with Gilan, he would've done it a few days ago.

"I'd prefer to go alone."

"No."

"What do you mean, 'no'?" Kaye demanded angrily.

"I am your master, you are my responsibility. Either I will accompany you on this journey you have decided to make, or you will not be going at all."

And so Kaye and Halt found themselves once more on the road, only this time there was none of the anticipation that there had been on the way to the Ranger Gathering. Both Kaye and Halt were nearly completely silent and for once Halt did not try to make anything a learning experience for Kaye. He seemed to realize that Kaye just really needed to be left alone.

The trip from her home to Redmont had seemed very long when Kaye first left. There had been so much to learn and Halt had challenged her to be perfect at everything. In contrast, the ride from Redmont was short. Kaye spent most of it inside her thoughts and trying to figure out what she would do when she arrived. What would she say? She didn't know what she was going into. The missive received by Baron Arald had been sent by Meric's baron, Ewart, on behalf of Kaye's father. It had said nothing of his state, or of where he was, or even if he was being properly looked after. Kaye only knew that he was alive, though considering the circumstances, she was thankful enough for just that. She was so absorbed in her thoughts and considerations, that some of her Ranger awareness was forgotten and it wasn't until Alejo outright whinnied that Kaye realized she and Halt were not alone.

They were nearing the border of Meric fief when they began to hear the sounds of other horses. Up ahead was an intersection between the road west and the road northeast, towards Araluen fief and the home of the King. As the hoofbeats became louder and it was apparent that there were many more travellers coming their way than just two, Halt reined in Abelard, falling back behind what little cover was offered by the sparse trees. Kaye was just a moment behind, her senses heightened now that she was paying attention. Neither Ranger said anything to the other; they only sat in wait for those approaching until the first of the group came into view. They were not a band of highwaymen or ruffians, as Halt and Kaye had expected. Their clothing and mounts were too good. Travelling noblemen, perhaps? There were four of them, though it had sounded like there should've at least been ten. It was only when Kaye caught sight of a blue surcoat emblazoned with an elk that she realized who these men were. They weren't mere travellers. They were knights. And Kaye saw their leader, dressed in maroon and bearing a ferocious bear on his chest.

"Uncle Gareth!" She spurred Alejo out from their concealment, just as the lead knight swung his mount about in surprise. It had been years since Kaye had last seen her father's younger brother. He had finished his training when Kaye was young and for the first few years, he would visit. Looking back on those brief times, Kaye could remember the tension that always existed between her father and her uncle. They were civil to each other, and Kaye knew that they loved each other as brothers should. But there was always the knowledge between them that Gareth had moved on past Meric to become a Knight of the Realm, and Kaye's father was only a modest innkeeper. Gareth would come back and tell such stories of battles and meeting lords and ladies and the young Kaye would listen in rapture with stars in her eyes, dreaming of things far away while her father and mother dealt with those things that were right here.

"Kaye?" Gareth was surprised, but he quickly climbed down from his horse as Kaye practically leapt from Alejo into his arms. "You've grown!" He held her at arm's length, taking in her tunic and leggings, and the ever present and distinct Ranger cloak. "I have a feeling you have quite a lot to tell me."

Kaye could only nod as she once more buried her face in her uncle's chest. Her eyes burned, but she forced back her tears, instead using just a few seconds to try to compose herself again. When she knew her eyes would remain dry, she stepped back, but still remained within her uncle's arms.

"So much," she agreed. "But...how much do you know?"

Gareth seemed to realize that Kaye wasn't asking about his knowledge of her circumstances. "I know of the fire," he said solemnly. "I received a missive and set out immediately from Castle Araluen. I'm sorry, Kaye. I'm so sorry." He hugged her tight again and the tears almost came back, if it wasn't for Halt stepping in and making is presence known.

"This is my master—"Kaye began.

"Ranger Halt," Gareth finished. "I've heard much about you from the King and Ranger Crowley." He extended a hand around Kaye and Halt shook it politely, but reservedly. Halt was in "Ranger mode", now more than ever. He seemed to be keeping quiet and observant, hanging back and letting Kaye do most of the interacting. If Kaye didn't know better, she would say that Halt was suspicious of the Knights. But that was ridiculous!

They ended up riding onwards with Gareth and his company. It didn't make any sense to remain apart when both groups were travelling the same road to the same destination. Kaye rode beside her uncle, drawing from his confidence and strength. She always remembered Uncle Gareth being big and muscular, able to toss Kaye bodily into the air and catch her. He didn't seem quite so big, now that Kaye was taller, but he was no less strong and to Kaye's lost and confused mind, her familiar uncle was an anchor to cling to.

The sun was just sinking below the horizon for the night when Meric Castle came into view with the two sprawled all around it. Kaye was struck by how different it was from Castle Redmont. Before leaving, she had never particularly noticed Meric Castle. It was there, but so were many other buildings, stables, guard posts, and watch towers. They were all just a part of the scenery. Castle Redmont was different, standing proud and tall upon the top of a hill and overlooking the town that was nestled at the base. Where Castle Redmont was striking with its russet stones that made the castle appear to be on fire in the setting sun, Meric Castle was made from the same wood and stones as the rest of the town around it. As their party entered the town through the western guard post, Kaye felt the gentle reassurance of "home". Redmont fief was a good place to live and train, but it was not as familiar as Meric. Maybe one day it would be, but Kaye found herself hoping that it wouldn't.

Once inside the town, their group began to separate once more. Gareth sent his fellow knights off towards the castle and Meric's Battleschool. There they would be provided with lodging and in return the knights would attend some of the trainees' classes and provide demonstrations of skill. Kaye thought that maybe Uncle Gareth would go with them, but he continued on down the main road towards the inn.

Kaye wasn't sure what she expected to see when she got there. Part of her expected to round Smith's lane to find the inn standing just as she'd left it. But she also tried to brace herself for seeing just a charred, twisted skeleton of her home, or worse yet, just an empty space. She didn't see either. Part of the inn still stood. The stables for horses of those who stayed were still mostly in one piece. The fire looked to have started in the main house, on the far side where the kitchens were. That half of the building was blackened and acrid fumes still lingered in places over the wreckage. There were a surprising amount of people lingering around the inn; more than there had been even on a festival night. At first Kaye thought they were gapers, lingering over the site of a tragedy. But over the shouts of men she could hear the sounds of hammers and saws and every so often a part of the blackened section would fall away.

"They're rebuilding," Uncle Gareth murmured, watching with pride. He immediately dismounted and hitched his horse to a nearby post before wading into the fray. Kaye watched the crowd open and then close in around him as men recognized the newcomer and thumped him on the back, eager to have his help. Kaye lingered back with Halt, her eyes travelling over the crowd and spotting many familiar faces. They were her old neighbours and past patrons of the inn, mixed in with strangers she'd never seen before in her life. It was surreal to see so many of them all in one place.

"Kaye!" Her gaze broke to a tall figure who had shouted her name over the din. Standing with a hammer slung through his belt and his face windswept and red from working outdoors was her old friend Jaret. He grinned, slipping away from the crowd. Alejo shifted slightly at the newcomer, but when Kaye didn't tense, he settled down.

"Look at you!" Jaret exclaimed, coming up alongside Alejo. He stood as tall as the horse and Kaye couldn't help but notice how he'd filled out, working in the stables of Castle Meric. He poked at her boot and pinched her Ranger cloak, whistling in admiration. "You've certainly changed in a year."

"You're one to talk," Kaye retorted, smiling for the first time since Baron Arald gave her the news. She climbed down out of Alejo's saddle, but no sooner had her boots hit the ground was she scooped up into her friend's arms.

"When did you get so tall?" Kaye wheezed through the overly tight grip.

Jaret laughed. "When did you get so short? And a Ranger? Everybody thought Rebecca was just being...well you know, Rebecca. And when your mo—"He clamped his mouth shut, suddenly realizing what he was about to say. "I'm sorry."

The reunion suddenly took a much more sober tone. "Where's my dad?"

"He's staying with the Millers. We should go there now; he'll want to see you."

"Alright, I just need to tell—"

"Go," Halt told her, as he dismounted Abelard. "I'll be at Gilan's."

Kaye nodded, handing Alejo's reins to Halt before following after Jaret.