Chapter 7:
Halt's POV:
I paced up and down the hall outside of Raven's room, deep in thought. Who had caused Seth to injure her? Who hypnotized him? Footsteps broke through my thoughts and I looked up to see Gilan walking toward me from Seth's room.
"How bad did you hurt him?" I asked.
"Not that bad," Gilan said not meeting my gaze.
"'Not that bad'" I repeated, raising an eyebrow.
"Well, I had to knock him out!" Gilan protested. A choking sound came from Will, who was sitting behind me. Gilan glared at him. I noticed Will's shoulders were shaking and he was trying desperately to hide a smile. The doctors head poked out of Seth's room.
"His Majesty is awake. He would like to speak to Ranger Halt and Ranger Gilan," he said.
Raven's POV:
A person shimmered in out of focus. I squinted, and the figure merged into one.
"Arratay!" I cried. Arratay embraced me.
"I'm dreaming, aren't I?" I asked burying my head in his chest.
"That you are. But I can pinch you if you like," Arratay said, his dark eyes alight with mischief. I backed away, shaking my head.
"Don't. You. Dare." I said.
"You've grown so tall, Gale" he said. I smiled sadly.
"I'm not Gale any more. I'm Raven now," I told him. He shook his head.
"You're Gale to me," he said, hugging me again. I pulled away, remembering something that I had wanted to ask him all this time.
"Why did you leave?" I asked. He looked sad.
"I had to, I had no choice," he said, a distant look in his eyes.
"Of course you had a choice," I said softly. He frowned.
"How's your injury?" He asked concerned. I groaned at the memory.
"It'll be fine," I said, noticing that he began shimmer again.
"No! Please don't leave me again!" I cried. He completely vanished, but I could hear his voice on the wind, "Farewell, sweet Gale. I shall see you again!" The dream faded and I slowly regained consciousness. I was in my room, lying on my bed. There was a person in the room with me. He had an unmistakable shock of brown hair.
"Will?" I asked. His head jerked up.
"You're awake!" He exclaimed.
"Yeah, I'm awake," I said, smiling. My side wound was bothering me, but I sat up anyway. I recalled the events of my rescue. I parked my train of thought. The Ranger with the sword, Gilan was his name.
"There was a Ranger there, at my rescue, I mean. Who was he?" I asked.
"Oh, that was Gilan. He was Halt's first apprentice. He was training as a knight before he became a Ranger, hence the sword," Will replied. I nodded. So my pain hadn't made me delusional.
"And Horace?" I asked. Will smiled.
"He's a knight, one of my best friends," he said. I nodded.
"And Seth?"
"He's fine," Will paused, recalling Gilans words. "He's 'not that bad'." I raised an eyebrow.
"I see." Slam! The door banged open, revealing a very upset Seth.
"Raven?! Are you ok?" He asked, shouldering Will aside, who glared at him.
"I'm fine," I assured him, but he refused to be forgiven.
"This is all my fault!" He said upon laying eyes on my injury. He raked his fingers through his mass of blonde hair.
"No, Seth. It isn't. They hypnotized you. They made you do it," I assured him. "How are you feeling?"
"I don't quite have all of my memory back, but other than that, all I have is a broken arm," Seth said. "Oh, and, who exactly are those guys, the ones the hypnotized me?" I sighed. There was a long story ahead.
"First, I need to tell you about me. Hand me that cloth over there," I gestured to the nightstand. He handed me the cloth, which I unfolded. There was a maple leaf embroidered on the brown fabric. It was the symbol of the Exiled. Often it would sport an arrow running through the leaf's main vein. I sighed and began, "I am a descendant of the Exiled, a group of Araleuns skilled in many forms of weaponry, silent movement, and tracking. We fought the Red Soldiers, lost, and were forced to leave Araluen. However, some remained, becoming farmers. Eventually, they lost their legendary skill and reputation. They merged with the people, and they passed out of common knowledge, and were just tales from legend. That brings us to the Red Soldiers. They came from overs seas. When they defeated the Exiled, their numbers were too dilapidated; they couldn't conquer the rest of Araluen. They left, with a promise to come back and conquer Araluen. I fear they have finished regrouping and are planning to invade Araluen," I finished.
"And the scarf?" Seth prompted.
"It's a bandana. The maple leaf was their symbol," I replied.
"The King should hear of this," Seth said. I gulped.
"Th-the King?" I squeaked.
Authors note: Whooh! Another chapter, a day early! The Red Soldiers are explained in this chapter, as well as the Exiled. I hope that cleared up any confusion, if not, please ask in a review.
Willow Treaty: I'm glad you liked it! Let me know if you have any more ideas!
Mac Gustah: Thanks! I probably could break my record, but I might get in trouble for spending to much time on my iPod. You're really close, can you confirm who Arratay is? If you want to know where to find the answer, just ask.
Next chapter should be up tomorrow! See ya then! Please review!