Ohmigods, thanks so much for pointing out I had posted the wrong chapter 2. Luckily, it was before I started writing this chapter, so Chapter 2 hadn't been deleted from my drive and replaced with 3... haha. Anyway, enjoy!


Will sat at his seat beside the Baron, on the other side there was the battle master. The Battle Master was still flustered from earlier in the day, and kept throwing glares at Alis (AN: incase you didn't know, Alis is pronounced Alice...) as she played. She was quite good, although Will did notice she didn't play several chords played by master guitarists he'd seen; she played them differently and they didn't sound quite the same. He decided he liked her version better. About three songs of instrumentals went by before someone yelled out.

"Come on, Alis! Sing!" it was a boy's voice, and it came from a table where the battle apprentices sat. She laughed, and strummed out the last few notes of the song she was playing. Then, she began a very different song. Instead of picking out the melody, she strummed the chords at the same time. It sounded almost as if two guitars were being played, and then she began to sing.

"The river she is flowing
flowing and glowing
The river she is flowing
back to the sea
Oh Mother carry me,
Your child I will always be.
Oh Mother carry me,
back to the sea.

The fire she is glowing
Flowing and Glowing
The fire she is glowing
light upon me
Fire and Water work as one
sing until our song is done
Fire and river enchant you dear
I come to drown your deepest fears."

The lullaby- that's what he decided it was- was enchanting. She was good at singing too, he decided. He remembered back to when he had been posing as a jongleur. He smiled at the thought; what would Orman think of her? His mind wandered back through the woods, and wondered how Shadow was doing. He reached down and ruffled his dog's ears. He had kept good on his word; Shadow had had pups. Three of them were solid white, one was black, and one had been tiny and black and white. He had taken the black and white runt.

He righted himself in his seat, sipping his wine. As he looked back to the girl, he jumped seeing she was staring at him while she sang and played. Her eyes were an odd; They were so dark blue they were nearly black, and then there was a ring of blue so light it was like ice around her pupil. She tilted her head to the side, watching him. He could see it in her face; she was fascinated with him. He shifted some under her gaze. She then turned her eyes from him, ending the song. The apprentices applauded, and a blonde boy with dark brown eyes stood and clapped her on the back lightly. She laughed, her fingers idly picking out a tune as she talked with the apprentice knight.

The dog stood and bounded over to the Alis, and with a grin she patted her head without breaking the rhythm of her strumming. Keely- the dog (Trobar named her)- trotted back to Will happily.

The banquet passed quickly after that. The baron mentioned to him in passing the Wards would be having their ceremony tomorrow if he could make it. He agreed easily, and then said he would be retiring to his cottage.

The next day, he woke with the light of dawn. He rolled out of bed, and made himself breakfast. He then grabbed his cloak and quiver and threw it around him, strung his bow where it lay by the door, and strode out the door. Keely's ears perked up, and she stood to follow him, but he gestured for her to stay. Outside, Tug whinned as he walked by, but Will didn't want either with him just now. He wanted to explore the woods. He set off down a trail, wrapping his cloak around him, when he heard a voice.

"I don't know what I'm going to do, Max," said a girl's voice. "Today is going to be the worst day of my life... I probably won't be able to come here ever again... don't worry I'll still find a way to see you..." Will frowned. He was SURE there was no other voice talking. It took him a moment to place the girl's voice, then realized it was Alis. He walked forwards on silent feet, and found the girl sitting a bit back from the track, with a wolf in her lap. The wolf was near full grown, and kept poking it's nose in her face.

"I'm going to be sent to a farm, Max, and they don't even have the guts to tell me," the girl said. Her voice was sad, and she wrapped the wolf in a hug. "I don't know what I'm going to do," she said again.

The wolf's ears pricked as Will took another step forwards, and his head swivelled, trying to pick Will out. Will froze in his cloak. The wolf sniffed, and bounded off the girl's lap, growling at Will. The girl didn't see him yet, but the wolf did.

"Max, calm down," she said, standing. She took a few steps forward even with the wolf and was two meters away before she saw him. She jumped, eyes wide, when she saw him. "Ranger!" she squeaked, taking an involuntary step backwards. Will flicked the cowl of his cloak back from his head, unable to keep a faint grin from his face at her reaction.

Standing by the girl, he was somewhat surprised to see she was several centimetres shorter than he was. Not many people were.

"Calm down, Alis," Will said with an easy grin. Then he regarded the wolf. "Curious, but how did you come to have a pet wolf?"

"He's not my pet," she responded hotly. Will arched an eyebrow. "He was an orphaned pup," she said. Her eyes turned soft, and Will understood immediately, although she continued. "I couldn't just leave him on his own." Will nodded slowly.

"I suppose that would explain some things," he said. Alis nodded, stroking the wolf's ears. The wolf wasn't full grown an came to just below Will's waist.

"I should get back to the castle, the sun's been up nearly a half hour. I'm not supposed to be here," she said, and then turned and started down the path. She paused, then turned back to look over her shoulder with those odd eyes. "Ranger?" Will nodded for her to continue. "Don't tell?" A smile broke out on his face.

"Don't set your wolf on me?" he replied. She tilted back her head and laughed openly. Her eyes twinkled at him, and then she turned and ran down the path, the wolf on her heels. Will shook his head. He remembered being 15.

It was hell.

He laughed at himself. A decade later, and he was still cursing that year. He shook his head, and walked back to his cabin.