Hey! Back with another update! This is actually the last full chapter of the story - one more and an epilogue, and then this story will be at its end. I'm thinking about re-writing some of the sequel one-shots and putting those together into a story, so if that sounds interesting, I'd probably start on that before this ended entirely, so let me know if you'd like to see some of Maddie and Evelynn's other shenanigans!

Reviews:

Guest - Of course! Since we're near the end, I plan to.

Edit: Sorry for the mess-up! The chapter should be correct now.

21

Maddie stood before Baron Reeves. He did seem the type to pay less attention to the state of his fief in way of attacks, unless they were directly on his own gain. She frowned. She faintly remembered Will telling her something about his predecessor negotiating with a freelance Skandian raiding crew while he was stationed in Seacliff and getting the Baron and Battlemaster to pay more mind to the military state of the fief, but perhaps lack of activity, and a change of command, had allowed the situation to get even further out of hand. How the warmweed raids hadn't set off alarm bells was beyond her, but apparently he had simply entrusted the safety of the fief to Emily.

"Baron Reeves," Maddie started, only to be cut off.

"Yes, yes, did the Ranger - Emily, I believe - get moved? The cabin is-" Baron Reeves started, and Maddie raised an eyebrow.

"Baron Reeves, Ranger Emily is still stationed here."

"Then why are you here?"

His slightly offhand manner annoyed Maddie greatly, but she hid it on her face.

"I'm here," she said, slowly, "to investigate the cause behind the raids on this fief by Skandian wolfships."

"Emily was taking care of that. She's capable of it. Besides, you know the cause! You just said it."

"She is, and I meant the cause here."

"There is no cause here for a bunch of sea wolves to be raiding here over anywhere else."

Maddie doubted that, somehow. She sighed, setting her hands on the desk and holding eye contact with him.

"Baron Reeves, as a Queen's Ranger, I should not have to tell you to respect the oakleaf I wear. You will not speak to me in that manner." Her voice was low, a sense of danger behind the words. Baron Reeves didn't say anything. "Would you happen to know anything about the raids themselves?"

"Why should I? Emily's taking care of all of that."

"She doesn't give you reports on the raids?"

"I mean, she probably does, but if she's taking care of them I don't need to know all the details."

Maddie was astounded by the man's disregard for the fief's safety.

"I would highly suggest you read those reports and learn from them, my lord. As well, I would like to conduct an investigation on the security measures surrounding warmweed storage in this fief."

"Why warmweed? It's a harmless painkiller, I'm sure you know."

Has he never heard of the addictive properties and the drug's use in the slave trade? Maddie wondered.

"Warmweed is a highly addictive drug, commonly used in the slave trade to remove all thoughts of rebellion or escape. Meaning, it's far from 'harmless', and it's only allowed to be used as a painkiller here because those who use it for medicinal means are trained to know how much is safe."

"Then why is it an issue?"

Was he really this dense?

"Because," Maddie said, as though talking to a seven-year-old asking why he couldn't have another piece of candy and couldn't get the idea through his head. "The raids are targeting on this drug, because the Skandians behind it were part of the slave trade."

"I thought-"

"Baron Reeves. I intend to conduct an investigation on the state of warmweed storage in this fief, and while I carry the authority to do so on my own, I will give you a chance to avoid the situation becoming messier than you have already allowed it to become." Maddie said, close to snapping. She was losing her patience. There was a long pause.

"If you must," he finally conceded.

"Thank you, my lord," Maddie said, and swept out of the office soundlessly. I should probably ask Mom or Dad whether they were aware of Baron Reeves's behavior, if this is a common event, Maddie thought. She returned to Evelynn, who had been waiting outside Castle Seacliff for Maddie's return.

"How'd it go?" Evelynn asked.

"It could have gone better."

"What happened?"

"Well, I got permission to investigate."

"That's good, but why didn't it go as well as it could have?"

"Must you ask this many questions?" She felt a pang of sympathy towards Will.

"You said I should ask any questions I could."

"Not repeat questions if I've already answered them."

Evelynn thought about it for a moment, and conceded the point.

"I suppose you're right."

The investigation itself went much smoother. Maddie and Evelynn discovered that the healers who handled warmweed had requested higher security from Baron Reeves, but hadn't gotten it. Maddie saw why. The Baron had believed warmweed to be no more than a harmless painkiller, and hadn't seen the danger behind leaving it unprotected. By the end of the week, Maddie had strongly suggested to Baron Reeves to set higher security around the drug. Baron Reeves had been against the idea at first, but had, understandably, eventually seen that it would be wise to follow the suggestion.

The two returned to Redmont over the next couple of days. Evelynn remembered Will being sent back to Redmont before they left for Seacliff. She glanced up at Maddie, a question in her eyes.

"Maddie?"

"That is my name, yes."

"Why are we here if Will's also here?"

"Special circumstances."

"Special circumstances?"

"I didn't teach you to do that, I know. Yes, special circumstances. Do you remember what Will told you about Crowley's special tasks force?"

"Yeah."

"When Halt retired and once I graduated, Will asked Gilan to add me into it. As a result, I'm stationed in Redmont with Will, even when he's not on a mission."

"Oh."

Tug whinnied a greeting, and Midnight and Bumper returned in kind. Will came outside, leaning on one of the posts on the veranda.

"How'd it go?" He asked.

"Well, we got the warmweed situation figured out, though I think I need to talk to Mom about Baron Reeves's attitude."

"Oh dear. Well, come in, I have coffee going."

Maddie and Evelynn took care of their horses before entering the cabin, where the unmistakable scent of coffee brewing filled the main room. Evelynn fought to not scrunch up her nose - she couldn't place why, but she found it far too strong for her. Maddie and Will's opinion on the bitter drink differed intensely with Evelynn's personal opinion, so she made a conscious effort to keep her dislike less apparent. It didn't slip past the older Rangers, however.

"Not a fan, are you?" Will said, and Evelynn looked shocked. How could he tell so easily? She had managed to act totally normal.

"Not really…"

"What has Maddie been teaching you?"

"Um…"

Evelynn was totally confused. She had no idea what she was supposed to say.

"Ah, well. We'll figure that out later. Right now…" Will glanced around the cabin, and Evelynn realized where Maddie had gotten her chore list from. Evelynn didn't respond, just went about the chores that Maddie had made hers since she had come here. Will nodded.

"So you haven't been forgetting important things," Will told Maddie jokingly. She rolled her eyes. The rest of the day was uneventful, just the three Rangers trying to get their internal schedules to return to normal. At the end of the day, after riding for half of it then going about her Ranger duties in the second - housework then practice - Evelynn collapsed into her bed and fell fast asleep.

The next morning, she was still very tired, and dragged herself into the main room where Maddie and Will were already eating. Will noticed her first.

"There you are. I was about to send Maddie in to get you," he said, and Evelynn just nodded absentmindedly. "How about you get yourself some breakfast, then come on outside?" Once again, Evelynn nodded, getting herself some breakfast and sat down. Will slid a mug of something in front of her, and after a moment, she realized it was coffee. She looked up at him.

"Just try it."

Evelynn did as he instructed, and recoiled for a moment from the heat, having burned her tongue. She set it down and tried to get the burning feeling out of her mouth, frowning. She glared at the mug.

"Too hot."

Will raised an eyebrow.

"Then wait for it to cool down, I'd say. And eat your breakfast before that gets colder than it already is, because that's certainly not too hot."

Evelynn realized the sense in that, and did just that. By the time she finished her food, the coffee wasn't so hot it would burn her mouth, and she tried it again. It was bitter, but she could taste something sweet… honey, maybe? It wasn't altogether unpleasant. And it was warm, which was nice in the hours right before dawn any time of the year. The appeal came to her as she began to feel more alert, no doubt the caffeine in the drink making its way into her bloodstream. Then, before she registered the fact, the cup was empty, and Will was looking at her with amused eyes.

"Wasn't really that bad, huh?" Maddie said, somewhat jokingly. Evelynn glared at her, knowing that she must have had some input on this plan of Will's. Nevertheless, she acknowledged the fact by nodding.

Will grinned internally. No one truly meant to be a Ranger could dislike coffee forever, he decided. Evelynn was on track to getting her bronze oakleaf any day now. Speaking of… the next Gathering was only a couple weeks away.

"Where do you think Evelynn's at in her training?" Will asked suddenly. Evelynn sat up straighter, deciding she wanted to her what Maddie's analysis of her abilities were. Maddie glanced at her.

"Why don't you go practice?" She suggested, and Evelynn deflated. Of course, she wouldn't get to hear… she went to her room and put on her Ranger gear before leaving, pulling on her cloak before she left. When the door was closed and they could hear the sounds of her practice faintly outside, Maddie turned back to Will.

"I'm not going to lie - her unseen movement skills are astounding for a first-year apprentice. As in, if she keeps up at the rate she's going, she runs a high likelihood of taking Gilan's reputation as the best unseen mover in the Corps."

Will whistled. If she was that good, he had no worries about that area.

"What about her other skills?"

"Given our little escapade in Skandia, she's doing quite well with archery, knife skills, and her sling. Though, I've noticed she seems to prefer her bow over her sling."

"Interesting."

"Hand-to-hand is about average, and would definitely need more work before she graduates if she continues at the rate she's going with that. Geography is a little weak, but we did spend a lot of time in Skandia focusing mostly on Skandian maps, rather than Araluen ones."

"So, she should be alright for her first-year evaluation at the Gathering?"

"Probably, yes."

"That's good, seeing as how it's coming up in a couple weeks."

"It is? Time passed quickly, huh?"

"No kidding." They took a moment to think about the events over the past few months. "It'll be nice to catch up there."

"Yeah."

The two sat in quiet with their coffee, the sounds of Evelynn's arrows thudding into the targets outside a constant background.