Oh my gosh guys, I'm so sorry! I went on a kind of hiatus for reasons, and I forgot to tell my readers in the Ranger's Apprentice fandom! Anyways, I guess this is my "waking up from hibernation" piece. It's a bit short but… Enjoy!

Chapter 3 It's The Thought That Counts

As Jenny carried a cake out of the small kitchen the wards shared, Will gasped. Jenny had really out-done herself this time. A simple vanilla cake, it had white icing and a ring of crystallised fruits on top. Apples, fig, pear and ginger slices sparkled with sugar in the sunlight. Thirteen cream-colored beeswax candles flickered with soft yellow flames.

Speechless, will could only blink. As soon as she set it on the scarred oak table he jumped up and hugged her.

"Thank you Jenny, It's perfect." As Jenny blushed, no one at the little table heard a little huff from Alyss. She regretted it after she saw her friend beam with pride. One of Jenny's smiles could light up a whole room.

As George blew out the lights and shut the blinds, he started to talk."You know, many cultures consider the age fifteen as a coming of age, the beginning of being a man. I however, consider the age thirteen as-"

Horace rolled his eyes, "Oh shut up George." Will shot him a look, no-one would be insulting his friend on his birthday. He pushed back in his chair and got up on his tiptoes. Facing the bigger boy, he poked Horace's chest.

"Don't talk to George that way, he's just being smart. Smarter than you'll ever be." Jenny jumped up and pushed the two boys apart. She wiped her hands on her apron, a worried look on her face.

"Guys, come on, be nice!" Realizing where he was and what he was doing he nervously apologized and stole a look at Alyss. Just like always, her face was a stone mask, a diplomatic look of utter disregard. Will's heart shrunk as he noticed a flicker of disappointment in her cool grey eyes. Sitting down, he flashed an awkward smile to Jenny who looked quite flustered at the boy's outburst. Cutting through the heavy silence like a honed knife, Alyss turned to George.

"What were you saying again George? I must have missed it." Blushing, he polished his glasses on his tunic.

"Well, I was saying that now Will's thirteen, he's officially a man!" Grinning, the skinny bespectacled boy started to belt "Happy Birthday" as screechy as possible. Will winced, George was definitely tone-deaf. Joining in, Jenny and Alyss's sweeter voices balanced out the warbling goat sounds coming from the other end of the table.

It's the thought that counts.

Unsurprisingly, Horace didn't sing. Crossing his arms, the brawny boy ripped a bite out of his roll. The other kids didn't sing so, exuberantly on his birthday. As the song ended he thanked the stars that his ears were not bleeding. George sounded like a little nanny goat in his opinion. Jealous, Horace huffed. It's not like his opinion even mattered to the rest of the wards. That didn' t matter though. Once he was a famous knight and a hero to Araluen everybody would care about him and his thoughts. They would beg for his wise and thoughtful advice. Perhaps the king himself would seek his knowledge in battle tactics and war!

He would do anything to get there.

Will blew out the creamy candles and grinned. Alyss smiled,

"What did you wish for Will?"

Will grinned and blushed (only slightly) and answered with a grin, "Well, I wanted to- wait. You know I'm not supposed to tell you. Then it won't happen!" George sighed.

"Will, you're thirteen. Surely you don't believe that anymore! Magic is just science we haven't solved yet."

"I know, but it's kinda fun, don't you think?"

Alyss cut in. "And you know what would be more fun? Eating Jenny's delicious cake."

Jenny nodded and cut the small cake into four large pieces. Alyss frowned. "Jenny, what about you?"

"Oh, I had the cake scraps, and I'm not very hungry." Will started to split his quarter in half, but Horace beat him to it.

"Here Jenny, have some of mine."

"No, that's really okay, I just-"

Alyss laid a hand on her friend's shoulder. "Jenny. This is a circular, one layer cake. There are no cake scraps. We'll all cut a fourth off ours, and you can have some." The girls looked at each other for a moment and seemed to communicate something in their eyes.

The boys had no idea what was happening.

Jenny laughed, "Fine, I'll eat it. The frosting was a new recipe and I want to know how it goes with the crystallized fruit. It's lemon flavoured you know. "

A little while later, when most were done eating and the general merrimaking was going on, Alyss grabbed Will's wrist and dragged him outside. They sat on the wood porch and listened to the cicadas in silence.

"So what was your wish?"

Will sighed. "I wished to make it into battleschool, and become a great knight like my father. I want to make him proud."

Alyss, in a confident, and quite unexpected move, held Will's hand. "You know he would be proud whatever you may be. You're kind, sensitive, and funny. What else do you need to be?"

Will looked up into the night sky. "I don't know. Let's just cross our fingers and hope George is right. That telling you the wish doesn't stop it from coming true."