The messenger—that same boy from only this morning—arrives half an hour before dark. I'm sitting on the cabin's front steps drinking a cup of coffee, and he looks far less likely to run from me since I appear unarmed.

"I have a message for the Ranger Aron," he announces, holding out a sheet of parchment.

"The Ranger Aron prefers not to take it directly," I inform him quietly, hoping he won't notice that I'm covering for my absent mentor.

The boy is confused and possibly suspicious. "He took a message directly this morning."

I nod my agreement. "That was this morning, before we visited Baron Varick. Now, though, Aron is working and would really prefer that you don't get in his way."

"My orders were to give it directly to the Ranger…" he says uncertainly.

I remind myself that the Baron can't know Aron isn't here. "If you want to give it to him while he's honing his craft, be my guest, but I feel obligated to warn you that interruptions can be deadly. If he loses his focus, even for a moment—"

"His black magic could escape?" the boy interrupts.

It's easier than saying he's not here. "Exactly. For your safety and the safety of everyone else in Gorlan, it would be better to stay away. Unless, of course, you'd like to follow orders and risk your life?"

The boy shakes his head. "I don't want to die, Ranger."

"Good," I say, smiling. "Hand me the letter and I'll make sure it reaches him when he's done. As his apprentice, I can accept the Baron's letter on his behalf."

The poor boy relaxes almost instantly, but is still wary to come close enough to hand it to me.

"Toss it here," I say, relieving him from the awkward situation. It lands on the step below me, a few inches from my feet. Even though I'm dying to open it, I know I must preserve appearances for the boy who believes I'm going to deliver it to Aron. "Thank you; you can head back home now."

With no further obligations, he turns and runs back down the path. As soon as he's out of sight, I break the seal on the parchment and read the letter.

To the Ranger Aron:

Let it be recorded that on this day the Baron Varick has fallen into his final repose in peace. The Baron Morgarath hereby assumes his position and informs the Ranger, as per orders of the King.

The Ranger and his Apprentice are summoned to attend the funeral and burial of the Baron, and to discuss the future of the Fief Gorlan immediately following, in three days' time.

Signed,
The Baron Morgarath

I wonder—does Aron know that his friend has died? He must have known that it would be soon, and the Baron's talk of travel did seem unlikely to occur.

And most importantly, will Aron be back in time for the funeral? I can only hide his absence for so long, and I expected him to be home long before dark, in time for dinner.

Instead, night is falling and Aron isn't here.

###

The morning dawns early, and Aron is sitting in the kitchen, slumped over a cup of coffee. The circles under his eyes are easily visible and I doubt he even slept. Morgarath's letter is open on the table in front of him.

"I ought to lecture you for opening my mail, Halt."

At a loss for what to say, I simply nod.

He sighs. "But I wasn't here, and you didn't know when I'd be back. In case it was urgent, you had to open it."

Again, I nod.

"I'll be there, ready to strangle Morgarath the entire time we're in his presence," he says vindictively. "But right now, I'm going to bed. There's money in the bag by the door, and the saddlebags are in the barn. And take an extra quiver of arrows. You might as well learn how to make sure we have enough food."

Without another word, he gets up and closes himself in his room. I'm left with no clue how to get our food, but I'll have to figure it out or we really won't have enough left to eat.

Despite his grief, Aron is too responsible to leave Halt completely on his own. And Halt did need a little push to get going...he didn't think he needed to do much without Aron there, but Aron is making sure he knows how to fend for himself if the need ever arises.

(For those of you who asked in reviews, whatever I said about how Halt will deal with it still stands. Aron just isn't being absentee in the way you all expected.)

Thanks for reading! The next chapter is already in the works, but will get done much faster with the help of a few reviews! :)