Chapter 3
"I still can't believe that you're actually the Crown Princess." Tim said for perhaps the millionth time. Once Maddie had gotten over the initial surprise that Tim Stoker, the tall, young boy that was one of the children captured by Jory Ruhl that had been rescued by her was now her assigned bodyguard, she had gotten acquainted with Baron Damien and Sir Chuck- the Gorlan Battlemaster. Then she had excused herself to leave the castle and settle down in the Gorlan Ranger cabin. Baron Damien told her that the cabin was in the woods to the west of the town. Tim had volunteered to accompany her there and show her the way, but now Maddie wondered if he did that just so he could annoy her the whole way. Before she went, Baron Damien sent her an invitation for dinner tomorrow night, which she declined.
"If I had known it five years ago, I would've been more polite to you when we were running away." Tim continued.
"I wasn't the Princess then." Maddie said, much to Tim's confusion. "I was recently disinherited when I met you, and I just got reinstated a few days ago."
"Why would you be disinherited?"
"My parents were teaching me a lesson since I used to be a brat," Maddie explained, remembering how spoiled, uncaring and frustrating she was to others back then. "They planned to reinstate me after a year, but I declined and decided to finish my entire apprenticeship, which took another four years."
"You declined?" Tim asked, even more confused. He couldn't understand why Maddie would decline the authority and luxury that comes with simply being royalty.
"Living in a stuck-up castle all day and having to attend to needlepoint and dance classes isn't really my style. I enjoy the freedom that comes with being a Ranger." Maddie explained. Tim nodded slowly, understanding dawning on his face.
"And the last time I checked, it was a knight's job to whack and bash people while the Ranger does the talking and asking, not the other way around." Maddie said, implying that she was annoyed with his unrelenting questioning.
"You're not whacking anyone right now." Tim said, confused yet again.
"I'm going to whack you if you ask more questions." Tim bit his lip to prevent himself from asking anything.
As they rode into the woods, following a thin trail. Maddie said. "You know, I think it's time for me to ask you questions now. How did you become a knight? The last time I met you, you were a boy in a village with oppressive parents, not to mention in an entirely different fief."
"It's a long story." Came a short reply.
"And we have quite a long time, Baron Damien told me the cabin should be another kilometres ahead, followed by another to the left." In truth, Maddie was very curiously about how what happened to the tall warrior since the last time she'd seen him.
"Well, shortly after I was returned to my family, my father died in a fight at the inn and my mom died a month after that due to a fever. With no parents and no other relatives, I ran away. Ran all the way to Gorlan fief. The only mean of survival I had was begging for food and money, I did it for maybe half a year until I met Battlemaster Chuck. When Battlemaster Chuck found me, it was when I saw a man being robbed by an armed thief. He had aknife while I had no weapon so I picked up a branch on the side of the road and used to attack him. Somehow I managed to parry his strikes and knock the thief unconscious. Battlemaster Chuck spectated the whole thing, said I had potential and sponsored me for Battleschool. He's a kind man, Battlemaster Chuck, convinced Baron Damien's father to let me into the Battleschool, he also cared for me like a son he never had. And the rest is history." During the story, Maddie couldn't help but felt sympathetic for Tim. He was only a boy when both of his parents passed away. He was very lucky to have met someone like Battlemaster Chuck. Unknowingly, they had also arrived at a clearing and in the middle of the clearing was a small wooden cabin with a small stable nearby. They halted their horses.
"It seems we've arrived." Tim commented. "Well, I must be off now."
"By the way, do you drink coffee?" Maddie asked. Tim nodded, not knowing why the question was asked. "Well then, would you mind staying for some?" She was starting to enjoy the young knight's company and didn't want him to go yet.
"Well, the only thing on my schedule today was meeting you, and that's done now, so I guess I don't need to go back yet."
"You have a schedule?" Maddie asked, surprised.
"All knights do. Famous knights have fuller schedules than others. Take the example of your father, the Oakleaf Knight, his schedule is probably full all month." Tim, for the first time, knew something that Maddie didn't. "Don't they tell princesses that?"
Maddie shrugged. "Never payed attention."
They dismounted and led the horses into the small stable. Both of their horses were fresh and needed no caring for now. Maddie found two full buckets of water and brought it to the horses and brought some hay that she'd stowed in her saddle bags. When Maddie entered the cabin with Tim, she noticed that it had signs of having been thoroughly clean and when she went to check the water tank, it was full. The firewood had been chopped as well and all the dishes were shining.
Upon seeing this, Tim said. "The Baron didn't want you having to clean your cabin, you being royalty and all, so he had maids clean this place daily."
"Tell him thanks but I don't need it. I do my own chores." Maddie commented as she inspected the bear hide rug that covered most of the living room, then added. "Well, at least I don't have to get water to make coffee." Maddie noted that the hidden strongbox that every cabin has was untouched.
Maddie then went to Bumper in the stable, rummage through her saddle bag and took out a container of coffee beans and an utensil that she uses to grind the beans. She also took a container of honey with her and a sealed jar of milk. When she went to the small kitchen, she boiled the water, grinded the coffee beans into fine powder and added it into the water, making sure that all of it dissolve and poured the coffee into two separate cups that she found in one of the cupboards. She glanced at Tim and saw that he was already sitted at the table looking expectantly at the coffee, she swear she could see him drooling at it. She brought the two cups over the table and handed one to Tim. Then she took the containers of honey and milk as well as a tablespoon. She added a few spoonful of honey into her cup as well as milk and gestured for Tim to help himself. Tim added nothing.
"Drinking it dark?" She rose an eyebrow while sipping the coffee slowly, enjoying the hot, sweet drink as it courses through her.
"I can't stand anything sweat, that's all."
"Do you drink coffee often?" Maddie continued asking.
"Coffee supplies in castle Gorlan often runs short due to the seneschal often forgetting to order coffee. Then again, any amount of coffee would be gone in matter of days at the rate that me and Battlemaster Chuck drinks it. He introduced me to coffee you know." Tim inhaled the heavenly smell of coffee.
Tim stayed at the cabin and they talked the entire length of that afternoon. Maddie found out that Tim was nearly as addicted to coffee as she was, if not more. She also found out that Baron Damien was also seeking permission to promote Tim to a Royal Guard from the Queen, a Royal Guard would be tasked with the responsibility of protecting members of the royal family. It would make his job of protecting Maddie official so he could work full-time without interruptions from his schedule. It would also technically make him my champion. Maddie realised what Tim's possible promotion meant. She would have to discuss with Baron Damien about this matter. During their talking, Tim learnt that Maddie knew how to play a mandola and asked if she could perform for him.
Maddie retrieved the mandola from her saddle bag, Will had taught her how to tune and play the mandola during the apprenticeship, when she had asked why Rangers need know how to play a mandola, he only said it was for disguising as travelling jongleurs. Maddie started tuning the strings of the mandola, it had become out of tune during the ride to Gorlan fief. She'd started playing, starting with the traditional Ranger song- Cabin in the Trees and continuing to popular folk songs. Tim sat there, silently, watching the attractive female Ranger played and sang, until she reached her final song, which was her mentor's favourite- Greybeard Halt.
"Would Ranger Halt like the fact that you're mocking him with this song?" Tim asked, concerned.
"I didn't create this song, Will Treaty- my mentor did. He's a former apprentice of Halt. So if anyone is going to get punished, it's my mentor. Which he already did, mind you, I remember Halt telling me how he forced Will to stay on a tree all night."
"The famous Will Treaty got punished for writing a song mocking his mentor?" Tim said in amazement, he'd heard tales of the legendary Ranger, even met Will Treaty himself five years ago, and he couldn't imagine such a figure had ever been punished for mocking his mentor as a boy.
"Yep. And from what I've heard from Halt, it was hilarious." Maddie smiled.
"And you know Ranger Halt too?" Tim was even more amazed, the tales of Ranger Halt was basically every kid's bedtime story.
"Yeah. The thing is about Halt, after decades of facing fearsome warriors, assassins and beasts, the only things that he's ever afraid of areā¦" Maddie dragged out the sentence to see if Tim could guess.
"Wargals and Kalkaras? Baron Morgarath coming back alive?" Tim guessed.
"Wrong. The only things he's ever afraid of are sea travelling and his wife." Maddie said. Tim was absolutely dumbfounded, the idea of such a heroic figure cowering in front of his wife or afraid of travelling on waters was mind boggling.
They would kept talking, reaching topics about the other's life. When Tim had to leave before dusk (the drawbridge at castle Gorlan was often lifted at dusk), Maddie couldn't help but feel a bit lonely as she watched Tim leaving the clearing on his battlehorse, Sprinter.
Maddie went to her saddle bag, got some food and made a humble dinner for herself, as well as another cup of coffee. As she sat there, sipping the coffee, she thought she knew what it must felt like for Will just before she'd arrived to be his apprentice, alone. Except he would be dealing with grief as well, loneliness combined with grief was just an unbearable concept to Maddie. One at a time? Sure. But both? No way.
As the night wore on, Maddie couldn't help but felt even lonelier. Is this what a Ranger life is like? She asked herself. After she'd done the dishes, she had nothing to do so she went to sleep early. Taking off her cloak, which she didn't realised she had worn all day without taking it off once, and donning a nightly attire, Maddie laid on her bed and had a restless sleep. She would probably be busy for the entire week.
