"So," said Lea as they walked back to the Ward together, "apprenticed to Will Treaty, the famous Ranger. Congratulations!"
"Thanks, I think. Same to you! You'll be great! Ummm... one question: what did Will Treaty actually do?"
Lea looked surprised.
"You mean you don't know?"
"Our parents are pretty suspicious of Rangers. I guess they wouldn't want to be contrary by telling us stories of famous ones."
"Oh. Well, Will Treaty is one of the reasons we still have a free kingdom under the rule of King Duncan, and a good government, instead of a barren land overrun with bandits and ruled by the rebel Lord Morgorath."
"One of the reasons?"
"Yes. The other main ones were Sir Horace the Oakleaf Knight and Halt-"
"Halt like Lady Pauline's husband Halt? I thought you told me to stay away from him."
"I did. No one really knows much about him, except for his part at Hackham Heath all those years ago. Will Treaty, everyone's heard of- all right, everyone except for you- and he's local, so although people are still nervous around him some of them still remember when he was twelve years old stealing sweet tarts from Master Chubb. No one knew Halt as a child. He freaks pretty much everyone out," she grinned ruefully, "including me. But apparently he and Lady Pauline had been sweet on each other for years before they got married. Anyway, Will Treaty was the one who, as an apprentice, hunted down the Kalkara, which were some sort of giant murdering monsters who went around killing important people, the one who burned down Morgorath's bridge in Celtica, the very bridge that would have been the route of an invasion by Morgorath into Araluen, and when he and Princess Cassandra were kidnapped-"
"Woah! Slow down! What does the princess have to do with all this?"
"Will Treaty, a Ranger called Gilan, and Sir Horace found her in Celtica surviving on her wits after her party was attacked by Morgorath's henchmen. Then, when Will and Cassandra got kidnapped by Skandians and were sold as slaves, he protected her. But I'm sure you'll get a history lesson from Will himself. It would certainly be more accurate than the through-the-grapevine one I've given you," she said wryly.
"Okay, thanks anyway for trying to get me up to speed on what's happening in the real world. Sometimes my parents can be- oh, no, my parents! What am I going to tell them?"
"Oh dear. If they really hate Rangers as much as you say they do, than you are in big trouble. Just... try to put it tactfully."
"Tactfully," Karraiyen repeated glumly, "of course. Ah well, we're at the Ward. Your last night here! See you around. Thanks for everything, Lea."
Her friend smiled.
"You too. Bye."

_

Draryn was waiting for her at the bakery, a worried expression on his face.
"Have you thought of what we're going to tell our parents?" he asked her.
"Yes. I think I'm going to tell them I'm apprenticed to a big orange bird who flies around giving forty-year-olds teddy bears."
"Oh, come now. What's the worst they'll do to you?"
"Disinherit me. After they've beaten me black and blue."
"Karri, look at me. No, look at me! Our parents love us. They will be disappointed, yes, but do you think they'll take it out on you? I don't think so. Actually, they'll probably go straight to Arald asking why he gave you away to a black magician. And that Will Treaty, he seemed pretty good at reading people. I bet you he'll still be there, waiting for our parents. And I think it might be rather funny to be there when our parents confront two of the most powerful men in the fief to ask why their daughter is apprenticed to a sorcerer. Especially when said "sorcerer" is in the room. Now, just calm down and tell them the truth. Okay?"
"Thanks, Draryn. You're right, they love us. I'm overreacting. It's just..."
He gave her a hug.
"I know. I know."

_

"He said WHAT?"
"He said that Karri had the skills necessary to become a Ranger."
"I heard you the first time!"
"So why did you ask me to repeat what I said?"
"Well... Never mind. So what did she do to him?"
"Oh, she started accusing him of being a black magician-"
"Good for her!"
"-but then she realized that he wasn't so she accepted. I'm not sure if she accepted because of the Craft or the dog. She certainly eyed that dog a lot."
"The dog helped calm me down!" protested Karraiyen.
"Yes, yes, I'm sure it did."
Mr. Carsie glared at his children, who sat there, staring up at him innocently. He shook his head.
"I think we're going to have to talk to Baron Arald about this," he said to his wife.
The twins grinned at each other.
"Marda, dear, grab your cloak. We are going to complaint to the Baron."
"Good. It's about time we did something about those Rangers."
Draryn and Karri watched in growing anticipation as their parents bustled around the house, trying to get respectable for their visit to Baron Arald. Finally, they left the house and the two siblings were left facing each other in the hall.
"Oh my gosh, Draryn, they did exactly what you said they would! Do you want to go see what happens?"
He shook his head.
"I don't want to get in trouble right after I've been chosen as a pottery apprentice. Go if you want to, but make sure you don't get caught, all right?'
She just grinned at him.
"I won't," she said, and, after pulling her thick cloak around her body, headed out
into the evening.

Baron Arald opened the door of his study.
"Yes?" he said to Martin, who stood outside with two very grumpy looking people.
"Mr. and Mrs. Carsie would like to have a word with you about today's Choosing."
The Baron shook his head. Just like Will said they would, he thought.
Openly, he just sighed.
"Well, you might as well show them in," he said.
Once the couple had been shown to a sofa and had made themselves comfortable, he turned to them and asked them what it was they would like to discuss.
"We would like to complain about the fact that you recently handed off our daughter to a black magician," the man said.
"Well, I didn't exactly hand her off," he said, already irritated,"she accepted an apprenticeship with him. And he's really not a back magician."
"You say that. But we've seen them! They go around in those dark cloaks and never let anyone see their faces! And I've heard stories, oh yes, stories of bandits who were sucked into the forest, never to be seen again! Robbers who were found in the morning with arrows through their hearts! And now you expect me to believe you when you say she accepted an apprenticeship of her own volition!" shrieked Marda.
The Baron laid back in his chair. I'm already tired of these people, he thought.
"Well," he said aloud, "Yes, I do. You see, although you do not know this, the Ranger Corps is the King's intelligence organization. They are the prime defense against hostile forces. And I'd like to bring one other fact to your attention, madam: in all the stories you have ever heard, have you noticed that the victims of this so-called "sorcery" are always brigands or robbers or murderers, never simple villagers? Always people who wish to harm this kingdom or its people. And also, among the examples you stated, the victims were... dispatched of... by, if not natural, not supernatural means. Oh, come now! Anyone can fire a bow! And someone who knows the forest extremely well could get bandits lost in it! The fact is, Mr. and Mrs. Carsie, that your daughter has been offered a great honor, whether you believe it or not."
"We don't!" shouted the man, "But we do believe that you are making a grave mistake in trusting these Rangers! They need to be gotten rid of! Why, if this Will Treaty were here I'd do it myself!"
"Well, then, it's a good thing he is here, isn't it?" came a voice from the shadows.

_

Karri watched from the window sill, where she was sitting, as her mother and father persistently refused to see the logical truth. Ughhh... she thought, why did her parents have to be so stubborn? And shouldn't they be a tad more respectful to the Baron? She shook her head angrily. She knew all too well that her parents would never be respectful if Rangers were involved.
Turning back to the window, she watched as her father told the Baron that the Rangers needed to be gotten rid of. She wished she could hear better... Easing the window open very slowly, and cursing at the slight squeak, she leaned forward and pressed her ear to the crack.
"Why," she heard her father say, "if this Will Treaty were here I'd do it myself!"
And she stared as the young man in question stepped out of the shadows and said:
"Well, then, it's a good thing he is here, isn't it?"
It was all Karri could do not to shriek. She was sure that Will hadn't been there a moment ago. He seemed to have emerged from the shadows.
Unlike at the Choosing, he was wearing the typical cowled Ranger cloak, with a quiver of arrows slung over his shoulder and a bow in his hand. The traditional double scabbard that only Rangers wore was at his hip, the longer knife on the outside and the small throwing knife on the inside.
Her father clearly did not have his daughter's self-control: he gave a short screech at the sight of the Ranger, and jumped to his feet.
"You witch!" he screamed, "You see, my lord, this is proof of the fact they are sorcerers! He came from the shadows!"
"No, not from the shadows. I've been here the whole time."
"Then how come we didn't see you, you spawn of evil?" Marda made the warding sign against black magic.
"I am simply good at not being seen," replied Will, who had, of course, raised an eyebrow. Karri wondered if he ever let the eyebrow rest for more than a few minutes.
"Clearly," muttered Arald, "you are also good at scaring the parents of your new apprentice. Not a good thing." Will shot him a baleful stare.
"Listen, I'm just saying-" began Arald, but stopped when he realized that continuing would only aggravate the situation even further.
"Anyway," continued Will, "seeing as you clearly have no first-hand experience of the Ranger Corps, I would appreciate it if you would keep your opinions to yourself."
"We don't care what you appreciate!" shouted Mr. Carsie.
"Yes, I realized that, but I assume you appreciate your daughter's right to choose what she wants to do with her life?" asked Will, then plunged on before they could answer, "Good. In that case, I believe we are done here. Thank you, Arald."
"No problem, Will."
"Oh, there certainly is a problem!" yelled Marda Carsie, determined to get the last word, "We still don't believe you that you're not a sorcerer! We didn't see our daughter's eyes when she agreed to be your apprentice! You must have enchanted her!"
"Well, in that case," said Will, his eyes sparking,"I suggest you watch her eyes very closely when I ask her again."
And before Karri could do anything he crossed to the window and pulled her up and into Baron Arald's study.

_

"Karri!" her mother gasped, "What are you doing here?" She didn't respond, just looked at Will and shrugged.
"I believe she decided to see what would happen when you came to Baron Arald asking why he gave your daughter away to a black magician. But whatever the reason, she is here and if you really believe I enchanted her, than watch her eyes closely and tell me if there's anything odd about them. Karraiyen Carsie, did you or did you not accept to giving an apprenticeship as a Ranger a try?"
"I did," Karri replied, glancing up at her parents.
"You see? Now, if the three of you would kindly leave, I have some business to attend to with the Baron. Karraiyen, I'll see you at my cottage at seven o'clock tomorrow morning. Bring anything you might want for the next month. Goodnight everyone."
And with that, he led them politely but quite firmly to the door.
As the three of them walked back to their house, Mrs. Carsie looked down at her daughter and said:
"So, what were you actually doing there spying on us?"
"Pretty much exactly what Will Treaty said. I wanted to see what happened," said Karraiyen.
Her father sighed.
"We're not disappointed in you, Karri, by no means. But we love you and we want to make sure you're all right."
"I know."
"So... look after yourself, okay?"
"Of course, Father."