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Mark sat down at the table where his five ward mates/friends were already sitting. Joe and Tom were talking about still being able to meet up sometimes as they were both going to be learning their new craft right next to each other. Becky and Lucy were talking about being in the same craft and still being able to be friends easily and Sarah was sitting with them making sure that they could all stay friends. Mark walked over and sat with Joe and Tom. Mark smiled and they smiled back. They talked for ten minutes and then the food came. Mark looked at the plates of food that came out. There were plates of vegetables and different meats and there were plates of fruits and pies for desert. Will looked in amazement and took the food he wanted. He had chicken and vegetables and then for his desert he had apple pie with cream. "So when did you talk to the ranger?" asked Lucy from the other side of the table.

"Three days ago" replied Mark. Everyone was looking at him wanting to know everything they could. Since they had known Mark none of them had thought that he would become a ranger and they didn't think that Mark had known it either.

"What did he say about it when you talked?" Joe asked wanting to know.

"Oh he just asked me if I knew what craft I was going to choose and when I said no he asked me if I wanted to become his apprentice" Mark said simply. He looked at his friends who were all looking at him. Every eye was on him and it was making him feel uncomfortable. As the time went on they asked more questions about Marks meeting with Will, Mark replied but eventually decided to go to sleep. As he lay in his bed he thought about what tomorrow would bring and if being a rangers apprentice was going to be as good as he expected.

Mark woke in his bed he was the first to wake out of the six ward mates but only by a couple of minutes. He lay in his bed wondering what the day would bring. As Tom started to stir over in his bed Mark decided to get up and get ready for his new life. By the time he was dressed Joe had only just got up. Joe stared around squinting as the suns light hit him in the face through the window. Mark waited for Tom and Joe to get ready and then they went and had their last breakfast together. As they got up from the table to leave the three boys said by to the three girls, they were all good friends and knew that they were not going to see as much of each other anymore. The three boys left and Mark felt sad. He was going to miss Becky when they were doing their different crafts.

The boys got to the castle gate where they said their farewells and went their separate ways. When Mark was down the path he turned round and waved to his two best friends. He carried on walking down the path through the village and then turned off to head to Wills cabin which he knew was on the edge of the woods somewhere. He looked up above the forest and saw a line of black smoke swirling into the sky. He headed in that direction and saw a small cottage surrounded by trees. He walked over to it and saw a figure in brown leather sitting on a chair outside the house. He walked over and the figure spoke to him. "Hello Mark" he said not even opening his eyes .

"How did you know it was me?" asked Mark looking at the ranger.

"Well who else would be here. My family are all in the house so it could only be you." Will said now opening his eyes and standing up. Mark thought about what Will had said. Family, Mark didn't even think about Wills family. He started to think about what they would be like and if he would like them. More importantly would they like him as he would be living in their home. Will stretched his arms and back. He walked towards the door of the cabin and gestured for Mark to follow him. Mark followed Will into the house. He walked into the house and looked around at his new home for the next five years. There was a women standing in the kitchen and she turned round as the door opened. She smiled at Will.

"Hello Will" she said then she looked at Mark. "Hello..." she stopped waiting for Mark to say his name.

"Mark. My name is Mark" he said.

"Hello Mark. Im Alyss Wills wife and im guessing your his new apprentice" she said smiling at Mark. He nodded and looked over at a door on the other side of the room as it squeaked open. A girl with brown eyes and blonde hair walked through the door. Mark thought she looked about ten years old but she was slightly tall for her age. She smiled at Mark and then turned to her dad who was standing next to him.

"Who's this?" she asked looking back at Mark.

"This is my new apprentice" Will said "He's going to be staying with us for a while. Remember I told you a couple of days ago" Arianna squinted her eyes as she remembered back to a couple of days ago.

"I remember" she said as she remembered that she had asked her dad what an apprentice was at the time. "What's your name?" she asked.

"Mark" Mark said "What's yours?" he asked being polite.

"Arianna" Arianna said.

"Well it's nice to meet you Arianna"

"Right your room is over there if you go put your things in there and then you can join us for breakfast" Will said pointing to a door that was next to the one Arianna had come out of. Mark nodded and walked into his room.

There was a bed against the back wall with a window above it, opposite the bed was a cupboard for Mark to put all his belongings in and there was a desk for Mark to sit at and do work on. The room was very neat and tidy and it looked like it had been dusted only yesterday. Mark smiled. This was his room. He came out of his room after unpacking the things he had bought with him and then sat down at the table with Will and his family. They talked about each other's lives and the things they had done. Mark tried coffee for the first time and he liked it which Will wasn't happy about. Less coffee for me now Will thought sadly.

Once they had finished breakfast Will showed Mark how to make coffee and then he took Mark outside to a little firing range outside his house. There were four targets at one end of the range. Two were in front and the other two were five metres further away from the first two. Mark could see a red bull's eye in the centre of the first two targets but could only just make out the small red bull's eyes on the second two. Will dropped a blanket on the floor and opened it. Lying on top of the blanket were some weapons. Will recognised one of them as a bow but it was different from the bows he had seen before and it was definitely different from the one Will had. Will picked up the bow and handed it to Mark. "This is your bow. You are probably wondering why it's different from mine" Will said. Mark nodded and let Will continue. "All apprentices start with a recurve bow. You need a lot of strength to use a long bow so you start off with a recurve bow and as you get stronger you will get more powerful bows. The curve in the bow means your arrow will have more speed and power without as bigger draw weight. You will be able to use it easier at the moment." Will handed the bow to Mark. Mark took the bow. The wood it was made from was smooth as he ran his hand down the side. He pulled the string back experimentally. Will handed him a quiver with twenty-four arrows in and told him to shoot the bow. He also gave him a strip of hard leather. Will showed him how to put the piece of leather on so that the string wouldn't hit his arm. Mark took an arrow from the quiver and knocked it to the string. He pulled back and aimed at a tree a few metres away. He aimed and fired. The arrow missed the tree by ten centimetres. Will told him to do the same again but this time he corrected him whenever he was doing something wrong. "Pull the arrow back with your back muscles and you will find it easier" Will said watching Marks every move. This time Mark hit the tree. It wasn't in the centre of the tree but it had hit what Mark was aiming for. "Well done" Will said.

After Will showed Mark the two knives that a ranger would carry. He showed him how to use a Saxe knife and told him that it could block a sword stroke he also showed him how to throw the throwing knife. Mark was better at using a bow than using the throwing knife but Will assured him that he would get a lot of practice and that he had five years to learn and become better at it. After Mark had had a go using the knives Will bent down and picked up the blanket. When Mark looked closer he realised that it was a cloak. The cloak was just like the one Will was wearing. It had a mottled brown pattern and it seemed to disappear into the bushes of the forest as the wind blew. Mark put the cloak on and then Will took him back into the cabin where he taught him about the ranger corps and its history and about Araluens past.

I hope you all liked this chapter. Please tell me if you liked or not and if you want to review, follow or fav it.