They followed a slightly different route from the long one that the page took her one before her lovely bath. Ara was thankful for that. The shoes she was wearing made her doubt they were made for walking. Though they were extremely pretty.
She could hear music as they approached what she gathered was the dining room. The dining room doors were swung open with no apparent thought on Ara's part. She peeked into the room and was astounded by what she saw. These Areluan people know how to decorate a palace.
It was decked out as a piece of candy. Colored glass sparkled from every corner. The large table was already ladened with golden plates and crystal glassware. People were milling about talking in little groups. Some of them turned and smiled as Ara walked into the room. She hesitated a little. She was used to state functions with her father, but they were never more than 20 or so people. There was easily 100 people in the dining room.
"Ranger Apprentice, Ara." A herald announced. Ara nodded at the announcement. It rather made her want to run into a hole and hide, but she didn't think she could get very far in the getup she was wearing. She took step into the room holding her breath.
"It isn't to late to run away you know." Ara turned around to see Crowley smirking behind her.
"I didn't know they were going to announce me." She told him sheepishly. She shuffled her feet.
"They do tend to do that around here. They never understand us rangers wanting to be in the shadows."He clasped his hands behind his back. Ara noticed he was wearing a flowing green cloak and a silver oakleaf on a silver chain. While she was stuck looking like a walking cupcake. Mind you a beautifully decorated cupcake.
Crowley took in her outfit. "Pretty but you can be seen from the tree tops in that." He gave her a wink and melted back into the crowd of people waiting for dinner to start before she could think of a proper retort.
The music was coming from a tiny balcony the overhung the expansive dining room. It was a soft melody with a drowsy sort of beat. Nothing like the pulsing and pounding beats of Arridi music. She didn't think any one could belly dance to this music. She didn't think anyone would belly dance in the palace anyways. They looked too prim and proper for belly dancing.
But Ara was the only paying attention to the music. Everyone else had someone to talk to. Ara knew no one save Crowley and he was otherwise engaged with a rotund man with a bushy mustache. It was a wonder the man could eat anything without it being covered in hair. Ara giggled. It was a entertaining thought to say the least.
The Royal party hadn't made an appearance so dinner wouldn't be starting till they arrived. Ara had nothing to do, and she felt extremely out of place. Ara was easily the youngest person in the room. Well from what she could see. The people were nice enough, no one was out right mean to her, but it was times like these that her homesickness echoed hollow in her belly. She wandered around the party observing everyone. Even in her getup no one really paid her any attention. It was heaven. She felt like a sore thumb in her outfit, but the other girls were dressed as she was. It didn't make her feel any better.
Gilan found her a little while later. She was twisting the sleeve of her dress to tatters when she finally did. He was dressed the same as Crowley. Which didn't make Ara feel any better. She wanted to be dressed as they were. She looked no different than a little court girl. Suddenly she felt foolish and overdressed. She wanted to ask Gilan if she could go and change when a bell tolled.
The guest all turned to the closed double doors at the end of the dining hall. Ara had to step around a few people to see past them. She was not going to duck to look between their legs. That she was not going to do.
The doors opened. A young man dressed the same as Gilan and Crowley led the way. On his arm was a willowy blond girl in a pale blue gown. Ara's heart skipped a beat. She didn't dare whisper his name in fear he would vanish like an illusive dream, but she had no doubt he was the famous Will Treaty. He was no bigger than Ara herself was.
The girl on his arm must be Alyss, Ara thought. They were followed by an older pair dressed identical to Will and Alyss. Though the older woman had more of an elaborate gown with its silk and lace overlays. Ara couldn't stop herself from bouncing with excitement. Here in the flesh her dreams were moving and breathing. No longer were they stories her uncle told over gallons of coffee with the fire flickering in the hearth. They were real. Ranger Halt, Ara was sure of it. She wanted to rush over and pump him for information, but she couldn't very well do that while everyone was looking.
Finally the Royal party entered. Horace was escorting his wife Cassandra, and they were followed by King Duncan. Everyone stood as the parties walked around to their chairs. The King sat first and then everyone else moved to claim their chairs.
Ara found herself sitting next to Alyss with Gilan on the other side. Halt and Lady Pauline were across the table with Crowley sitting next to them. Once everyone was seated the food came. Boy did it come. Ara had never seen so much food. There were roasted pigs, boars and chicken.
The skin on the pigs glistened under the light. Platters of potatoes prepared several different ways. Strange vegetables that tickled Ara's nose, breads that looked softer then her bed floated past her. Her stomach growled and she realized how long it had been since she ate. She accepted something from every plate that passed under her nose. Who know food could smell this good? By the time she had done getting a little something of everything she wanted her plate resembled Horace's.
"Horace you might have to defend the title of bottomless pit." Crowley joked as he pointed his fork at Ara's plate. She had a chicken leg in her mouth, but her cheeks flushed. A few people laughed. Ara swallowed and smiled. Crowley gave her a wink. He wasn't trying to embarrass her. He was only teasing.
Dinner went on without any further incidents. Everyone seemed nervous. Especially the princess. She kept muttering to herself and picking at her food. Horace kept throwing her looks and asking questions with his eyes. Ara would have kept watching, but her stomach needed some serious attention.
Finally the desserts came. There were little cakes with pink icing. Fruit tarts with whipped cream dolloped on the top. Little chocolates in all manner of shapes and colors. Ara sampled them all. She noticed that all the rangers and Horace fell on the pots of coffee as if it were a invading army. Ara never saw the appeal of coffee. Especially not the Arluean coffee. It might as well been brown water for the strength it had. Now the Arridi knew how to brew a good cup of coffee. She ahd even packed a few pounds of it in her luggage. Her uncle told her it would come in handy if she ran into a ranger.
Cassandra stood and called for everyone's attention. Ara shoved her last piece of chocolate into her mouth as quickly as she could. "I want to thank you all for coming. I know I have been rather tight lipped about why I requested your presence." She smiled and everyone smiled back.
To Ara a reason to eat like this didn't seem like a terrible inconvenience to her. "I have an announcement to make and I couldn't think of anyone else to say this to." Everyone was on the edge of their seat. For Ara that meant she could almost touch the floor with her feet. "I'm pregnant." It took a minute for the news to sink in, but once it did the entire hall erupted in cheers and excited voices. The King and Horace looked stunned. Their faces frozen in bewilderment and shock. A cart house could have parked in Horace's open mouth.
It was pure bedlam after that. All the women were out of their seats surrounding Cassandra and peppering her with squeals and questions. All the men were sitting around like someone had announced a death sentence. Ara didn't know what to think. These people weren't her friends she had no right to be happy, but the stories her uncle had told her she felt like she did know them. She was going to get the chance to get to know them better than anyone else. She was going to become a ranger.
She clapped along with all the cheering. The band started playing again and it was nothing but a celebration after that. Ara wasn't sure how long the party went and she was not sure how she got back to her room. She didn't remember walking there that was for sure, but the next morning her head popped up from her bed. The sun was just peeking out from the clouds so it was still early morning. She climbed out of bed wearing a dressing gown. She really hoped it was a girl that changed her. She found herself blushing at the thought. She yawned and padded over to the bathroom fully intending to take advantage of those wonderful soaps again. There was a note tapped to the bathroom.
Meet me at the palace gates a sunrise.
Gilan
Ara glanced outside. She only had a few minutes before the sun rose. She didn't want to be late for her first appointment. Ara flew through her room packing up everything. She didn't know if they were coming back but she didn't want to assume anything. She barely got her hair done up in a ponytail before flying out of her room and racing down the stairs. She scattered a few servants who didn't question or try to slow her down.
Ara was panting with sweat sliding down her brow by the time she made it to the gates. Right on time. Gilan was leaning against a post in the shadows watching her. It made him smile that she had tried so hard to follow his first command. She showed real promise. He moved to go to her, but stopped. Her head was swiveling around looking for him. He stayed where he was to see if she would find him.
She did a casual sweep of the surrounding area first. That's good, Gilan thought. Then she went back over the same area with smaller head movements, but her eyes kept sweeping back and forth. She was doing better than Gilan had done in his first few weeks as a apprentice. He dropped his smile as her eyes finally moved to his position. Her little nose lifted and he frowned. What is she doing, he wondered. She dropped her bag and stalked toward him slowly. He was safe of the folds of his hood he knew.
"You shouldn't eat jasmine rice if you are to try and hide from me." she said smirking as she poked him in the ribs. Gilan stepped out of the shadows.
"How on earth did you know that?" He asked more of awe than anything else. She had walked right up to him as if she knew exactly where he was.
"Jasmine was my mom's favorite scent. I could pick it up out of a crowded room stuffed with rotting fish, sweaty Skandians and palace ladies." Ara said with a shrug. She was trying to play it off, but Gilan knew better. He had been standing down wind from her. It wasn't possible that she had smelled the faint hint of jasmine from the rice he ate more than 10 hours ago.
"Well this is a good start to your training." He reached behind the post and hefted his own pack onto his shoulders. He nodded as she ran over to shoulder her own bag. She had great instincts. He didn't even tell her to pack her things. Not that he would have been upset if she hadn't He didn't tel her too, but he liked that he didn't have to tell that. A stable boy brought Blaze and Ara's little mare Bluebell out into the courtyard.
Gilan climbed up on Blaze as Ara climbed on top of her horse. He wanted to see how good of a rider she was so he clicked for Blaze to start off at a run. A Ranger horse could go from stock still to a flat out run in four strides, but Ara wasn't riding a Ranger horse. That would come later, but he still wanted to see what she could do.
He glanced over his shoulder to see Ara spur her horse on. She didn't use the reins or a slap on the rump. She was a natural in the saddle. Gilan smiled and turned to concentrate on where he was going. It wouldn't do for him to get knocked from his horse. How could he be her master is all she could remember was seeing him sprayed out in the dirt with a silly expression on his face.
Her tiny mare was pulling up to Blaze and Gilan was surprised to see how Ara was riding. She kept her body low over the back of the horse, but she wasn't sitting in the saddle. She was resting on her haunches a few inches above the saddle. Gilan forgot that the Arridi were expert horse riders. And Ara being the daughter of a Wakir would have been in a saddle before she could walk.
Ara and Bluebell matched Gilan and Blaze turn for turn. Ara kept pace with Gilan and her horse didn't seem to tire out like one of those giant battle horses would have. They rode west out of the capital city. Though Crowley as the Ranger Commandant had always lived in the palace there was still a ranger cabin in the woods. Last night Gilan had asked that it be prepared for him and Ara. Will and Alyssa were in the Redmont cabin and Gilan himself was in between appointments.
He almost forgot where the cabin was it had never been used, but he found it before it became apparent he didn't know where he was going. He slowed to a trot as the cabin came into view. Ara finally settled back into her saddle. Gilan marveled that she didn't seem tired from having stood for almost an hour on a running horse. It would make teaching her to shoot from a moving horse all the more easier.
He trotted Blaze over to the lean to toward the back of the cabin. Ara matched his movement. She unsaddled Bluebell and started to rub her down without being told. Gilan wondered how much he actually had to teach her. They worked quietly in the little stable. Once the horse were rubbed down, watered and fed Gilan led Ara over to the little cabin. He pushed open the door and was glad that a fire was crackling away in the fire place. Winter was fast approaching and this deep in the woods the frost was sure to worm its way into their bones if they weren't careful.
It was a stander Ranger cabin. The kitchen and sitting room were one big room. The kitchen was off in the right hand corner of the cabin with the sitting room taking up the rest of the room. A ladder beside the ice box of the kitchen led up to a sleeping loft. For guest of the Commandant. Three closed doors led off from the sitting room.
"That's your room." Gilan said pointing to the one on the right. "You can go and put your things away before the day gets started. Ara nodded and disappeared into her room. When the door closed Gilan went around the cabin checking to see if his instructions had been followed. Ara like Gilan had grown up with everything being done for her and when she asked them to. She was used to servants cleaning up her messes and making sure things were prepared for her. Being a Ranger she was going to have to learn to do everything herself. So though Gilan hated Halt for days for doing it he knew in his heart that it was one of the best lessons for him to learn. And it would for Ara as well.
He checked the firewood supply, the rugs, the kitchen pots and the food stores. He wished Will or Halt were here. Gilan could make food to eat, but those two were masters when it came to stews. He wanted to do his former master and his friend justice when they stopped by for dinner to meet Ara. He was standing in the kitchen thinking when Ara cleared her throat.
He hadn't heard her approaching. Ara was going to be a delight to mentor. He turned and he was standing in a pair of the leather breeches that he had asked to be placed in her room. She was wearing a deep green tunic that dropped almost down her her calves. He would need to get that tailored for her. Her hair was pulled back and pinned up behind her head. He briefly wondered how she would feel if he suggested cutting it. He said none of this to her. He didn't say anything. He walked over to the fireplace and sat down in the big armchair. He propped his legs up on the ottoman and looked at Ara.
She was standing in the same spot having followed his progress around the cabin. "Seems a little chilly in here to me." He said offhandedly.
Ara had given herself the pep talk in her room after Gilan dismissed her. She couldn't think of him as a friend anymore. She was his apprentice and he was the master. "There's not enough firewood." she answered quickly.
He glanced at the small pile of wood stacked beside the crackling fire. "So it would seem. What shall we do about that?" He asked with a lift of his eyebrow.
Ara wasn't sure of what answer he was looking for. "Go buy some more." she answered.
"So you think we have your father's money to just run off and buy the world?" He asked her. He saw the color drain from her face. Ahh she was coming around to it. "No Wakir money here Ara. If we want something done around here we have to do it." He leaned back into his chair and opened the book he had randomly placed on the table. "There is a ax beside the lean to." He opened the book and looked down.
Ara stood there for a minute as she tried to think about what he had just told her to do. She obviously was not accustomed to hard labor. This was going to be a grueling lesson for her. He didn't look up till she had walked outside. She marched over to the ax, but she stood there eyeing it. He knew she had never swung one before, but he wasn't going to help her. He was just going to watch.
Ara couldn't believe that she had traded a life of luxury in a warm climate to become a slave in the grips of winter town. Her father would skin everyone in sight if he saw what she was about to do. She grabbed the ax and walked over to the wood pile. There were pieces already lined up waiting to be split, but she had no idea how to do it. She picked up a piece and laid it flat on the tree stump. She swung the ax above her head. The weight of the head almost took her off her feet. She stumbled a bit as she brought it down at hard as she could. The piece of wood slipped of the stump falling on her foot. "OW!" she yelled dropping the ax and dancing around the area. The sting brought tears to her eyes, but she refused to let them fall down her face. If she dissolved in tears Gilan might send her home and that was a fate worse than death to her.
After a few minutes the pain bubbled down as she was able to try again. This time she stood the piece of wood upright. Swinging the ax made her arms wobble with the effort but she was able to bring it down in a deft swing. She was rewarded with the piece of wood splitting. Panting but excited from the effort she moved on to another piece. It took her nearly two hours to reduce the small pile to wood ready for the flames, but Ara was excited that she had finished. Her arms felt like a giant had been pulling on them, but she wasn't going to give up.
She hauled all of the wood into the cabin and stacked it beside the fire. Her hair was plastered to her head with sweat. She stood back as Gilan looked over her work. "I suppose its as good as we are going to get." Ara's heart sank into her shoes, but she kept her lip from quivering.
He walked back into the kitchen to fix himself a cup of coffee. Ara remained where she was. "We should do something about the dust in this rug I think." He poured a measure of honey into his cup and stirred it without looking up. Ara squared her shoulders and marched over to the rug. Putting all her strength into it she was able to yank, pull and roll the rug out the door. She had seen servants beat the dust out of a rug so that was no surprise for her.
The act of beating the rug however was a new experience and she wished Gilan had asked her to beat the rug first before the wood chopping. She barely had the strength to lift the rug over the rope that had been strung between two trees let alone the strength to lift the broom to properly beat the dust out. The sun was properly risen as Ara worked. It took her longer to clean the rug and by the time she was done her arms were trembling and she was slick with sweat, but she managed to get the rug rolled back into the cabin.
Gilan was back in his chair by the fire and this time he really looked up at Ara. He could see that she was done for the day. Ara was covered from head to toe in sweat and her usually browned arms were flushed red with effort and strain. She had been doing a man's job and she had one it without complaint nor one tear. And here she stood with her head held high. Gilen felt a surge of pride swell in his chest. He had to reward her. "Go get washed up for lunch." He told her. Though she tried not to show it he could see the relief on her face. He was glad of his decision. Though he was training a ranger he had to remember that she was still a girl, and a high born girl at that. He was still going to push her and make her the best, but he wasn't going to cause her harm doing it. Halt never hurt him.
He walked into the kitchen and set about making sandwiches for them. Though he was not the cook his mother was he was great at the easy things. Like slicing meat and bread. He was just setting the table when Ara emerged from the bathroom. She looked exhausted but she had a determined look on her face. "Thank you sir," she said sitting down and eyeing the food. He inclined his head at her thanks.
"So did you really travel here all on your own?" He asked breaking up the silence of their meal.
"Yes sir. My uncle bought me passage with some Skandians that he knew. Skirl Olaf. Olaf said he knew General Horace and that he would take me anywhere I wanted to go." Ara ate with the vigor of twelve men.
Gilan remembered a Olaf from the incident in the north that Will and Horace got into. Seems making friends with the Skandians was coming in handy time and time again. "You didn't tell your father?" he bite into one of the apple slices on his plate.
Ara's brown eyes widen as she tried to think of an answer. Gilan hoped she wouldn't lie about it. If she couldn't tell the truth then she couldn't be trusted to keep the King's secrets or the Ranger's secrets. She dropped her gaze back to her plate. "No sir. If I had told him where I was going he would have sent me to my aunt in the northern province." To be married off to the highest bidder to wanted to add but didn't. Gilan didn't want to show how happy he was that she had told the truth. They continued on in silence after that. It was pleasant enough and neither felt the need to keep talking.
They still had a few hours before Halt and Will would arrive a surprise that he didn't want to spoil so they had enough sunlight to get some other things done.
Ara got up and cleared the table. Gilan went into his room to start the next phase of the training. He pulled out his longbow and a bow for Ara. It was the recurve bow that all the apprentices started out with. "Let's start with some basic target practice." He announced. He saw the fierce joy that danced across Ara's face. If only she knew what she was in for.
Gilan chuckled to himself as she followed him outside. She wouldn't be smiling around the fourth hour of target practice.