Hi guys, I don't believe it's been six months since I updated last, I'm really sorry but at least this chapter is a lot longer than my previous one. If you can't remember what happened recently then read this next bit.
Gilan went on a mission to track a group of bandits with Kyle, who was going on his first mission. On the way there, they were followed but Kyle stood in waiting whilst Gilan rode on a bit further so it didn't look like they knew someone was following. When Kyle saw the person he attacked and eventually won the fight when Gilan fired an arrow at the man. They take the man to their camp and whilst Gilan is finding out who the man is, the two are attacked the group of bandits who are accompanied with the man they captured. Kyle escapes but Gilan is captured. In the camp Gilan meets a boy named Ash at the bandit's camp and promises to get him out of there alive.
Disclaimer: I don't own ranger's apprentice.
The slight breeze blew against the figure relaxed out on the veranda cooling him down from the suns heat. The figure brushed the hair back from his face revealing a bruise and slight scratch above their eye, only for it to return to its rather irritating position over his eyes. He leant further back into the chair letting his still aching muscles relax against the patterned wood. He was quite relaxed sitting in this chair watching the leaves on the trees blow back and forth, listening to the birds and hearing the frequent thump as his friend fired arrow after arrow at the targets around the back of the house. Kyle had been listening to the arrows for so long now that they just seemed to mix in with the background noise.
He had woken up to the smell of bacon in the house and had slowly made his way out of the small room into the main living area to find Will sitting down with Arianna at the table and Alyss plating up five plates of food. He had wondered where his friend was until he heard snoring coming from the sofa and then a groan and a thud. He turned towards the sofa and watched as his friend pulled himself back up from the floor. After breakfast Alyss and Will had left for Redmont castle but only after Alyss had helped Kyle to the chair that he was in now, no matter how many times he protested that he didn't need any help getting around.
That had been an hour ago though and for the entire time they had been gone Kyle had been sat in the chair, very relaxed and comfortable. He understood now why Will spent so much time sat in it, well he hadn't seen Will in it but according to Mark the older ranger spent a lot of time on the veranda.
He brushed his hair back out of his face again, this time it staying out of his eyes and allowing him to see completely. Across the clearing Kyle could see Arianna running about after Ebony who had something that looked suspiciously like the young girls toy doll in between her teeth. Whenever Arianna even got close to catching the black and white dog, Ebony would have a sudden spurt of speed giving her more distance from her pursuer. There was a big smile on her face even though it seemed she had lost her toy to a dog.
Kyle let out a small laugh when Arianna dived forwards towards the dog nearly landing on top of her but still not being able to get the stolen position from the dog's teeth. Brushing off her knees the girl carried on with her pursuit, never getting any closer to her goal.
There was a laugh from across the clearing and the small dog stopped and turned around to look up at her master and then let out a bark as if to say 'why are you laughing?'. Quickly Arianna grabbed her toy and ran off in the opposite direction, the small dog hesitating for a moment before chasing after her and the toy. Kyle looked on completely amused by the performance in front of him as the child and dog ran around completely unaware of him watching and being amused by them.
If only Mark was here to watch the show with him that would be funny. It would be even funnier if his friend was running around after them as well. He would never let Mark forget it but hey that was what friends were for, if only Mark was playing with Ebony and Arianna.
Kyle heard another thud of an arrow and then there was the ten second silence as he guessed his friend was collecting the arrows from the target. He waited expecting to hear another arrow connect with the target but heard none. He waited again for the thud but there still was none. He pushed himself up from his slouch in the chair, straining his ears to listen to the sounds around him and was preparing himself to get up when Mark appeared from around the corner of the cabin. The brown haired boy put his bow and quiver on the small table next to Kyle and then sat on the steps of the veranda facing Kyle. He looked up and saw Kyle still half in half out of his chair. "Are you alright?" he quickly asked getting up from the steps. Kyle nodded and let himself relax in the chair, leaning back and getting back to his previous position.
"Yeah, I'm fine" he replied.
Mark looked at back at him disbelievingly. "Are you sure? You looked like you were ready for something bad to happen."
"No, I'm fine" Kyle reassured, "I just thought something bad had happened to you. It was stupid." Mark let out a small laugh but stopped when he saw that his friend was telling the truth.
"I'm fine, why did you think I wasn't?"
Kyle shrugged and looked down at his lap, clenching and unclenching his hands, something which Mark took notice of. "Kyle?" Kyle looked back up but his eyes were still looking at the floor as if he was ashamed. Mark watched, what was wrong with him? He didn't need to be ashamed of anything. "Kyle what's wrong?"
"Nothing, I just" Kyle looked down again. "I just, you were just really silent after you fired your last arrow, I thought something bad had happened" he admitted. Mark was silent for a moment. "I told you it was stupid didn't I."
"It's not stupid, you were just concerned. Besides" Mark said, it was his turn to look down at the ground, "I may have tripped over when I was coming back." He looked up when he heard a small laugh come from Kyle. Good, he had changed the conversation.
"It's not your day then" Kyle said. "You fell from the sofa, you tripped coming over here, and you nearly fell down those stairs when Will and Alyss left earlier on."
"Hey, that's unfair. Ebony got in front of my feet when I was walking down these stairs earlier on" Mark said in a vain hope of defending his dignity. Kyle raised his eyebrows.
"And what about the other two times?"
"The other two times weren't my fault either" Mark said trying to think of an excuse for his clumsiness. "I fell off the sofa because I'm too big for it and I tripped just a minute ago because my boot lace was untied."
"Yep" Kyle said sceptically. He looked back out towards Arianna to find her now chasing Ebony again. Mark followed his line of sight and let out a laugh as Arianna grabbed her doll and ran off, only to be pounced at by Ebony.
"How long has she been doing that?" he asked Kyle.
"She started about an hour after Will and Alyss left."
"Wow" Mark replied as he watched the girl he looked at as a sister fall to the ground with a dog on top of her. The two boys looked at each other, "she doesn't look tired or bored for that matter." The two both started laughing causing Arianna to look up, losing her concentration and in so doing losing her toy to Ebony who ran off towards Mark and Kyle. The dog stopped when she got to Mark, the obstacle that was blocking her pathway up the stairs, dropping the doll and wagging her tail back and forth causing another breeze added to that from the wind.
Quite patiently Ebony sat looking up at Mark, her tail flicking back and forth with her mouth open and her tongue hanging out as she panted, it was almost as if she was smiling up at him. Not that Mark was looking at her; he was defiantly staring in the opposite direction, clearing showing his lack of pleasure at being tripped up down the stairs hours ago. He was fine being the obstacle in the dogs way. Her patience wearing thin, Ebony pushed herself up against Mark forcing her head under his hand.
The corners of Mark's mouth curved into a reluctant smile and he begrudgingly moved over so that there was a big enough gap for the small dog to run through. For a moment she sat and looked up at Mark and then ran through the gap that had been made for her and settled down by the door, curled up and with her chin resting on her front paws. "She's using me" Mark said throwing his arms up in the air.
Kyle raised his eyes again, he really needed to learn how to raise one eyebrow, it would work far better than raising both. For a moment he wondered whether Mark could raise one eyebrow but forgot about it quickly as Mark's arms fell down and made a slapping noise on the wood. "I don't think she uses you" he said as he watched Ebony close her eyes again after the sudden noise.
"She does, she pushes herself against me to stroke her until I move, and then she runs off."
"That's not using you; it's called outwitting someone dumber than you" Kyle said wiping his mouth to hide the smile behind his hand. He brought his hand down as Mark spoke.
"She's not stupid… Ah wait, that's very amusing. If I'm dumber than a dog how stupid does that make you?" Mark asked.
"Smarter than you" Kyle replied, letting out a laugh at Mark's offend expression. Before Mark could say anything back Arianna walked over and picked up her doll. She sat down next to Mark who still had his mouth open to say something but closed it thinking better than to say what he was going to say in front of her.
"Are you feeling better?" Arianna asked looking up at the older boy whilst fiddling with her toy.
"Yes, I'm feeling much better now that I've had some rest and eaten" he said, "It looks like you were having fun with Ebony."
"That's good and I was, it was really fun but I don't know how mother will react when she sees my clothes." Arianna looked down at her clothes and tried to brush the dirt and grass stains off.
"I'm sure you she'll be fine" Mark reassured her, "How did you even start playing that?"
Arianna looked up, "Well I was playing with Stephanie" she said pointing to the chewed up doll, "When Ebony came over so I started to stroke her instead. Then when I wasn't looking Ebony stole Stephanie and I chased after her. I got her back and Ebony started chasing me." Mark looked up at Ebony and gave her a disapproving stare only to be given a blank innocent look in return. Kyle's previous question was answered when Mark raised an eyebrow in return to her.
"At least you rescued Stephanie" Mark said, stumbling over the name. "Why Stephanie?" he asked slightly confused. Arianna shrugged her shoulders.
"Kyle?" she asked.
"Yes?"
"You said you were feeling better."
"I did" he replied. "Why?" he asked cautiously.
"I was wondering if you were well enough to play a game."
"What game?" Mark asked as cautiously as Kyle.
"Hide and seek" Arianna asked giving him her best puppy dog eyes.
"No not that game, definitely not that game" Mark said getting very defensive.
"Why not?" Arianna whined. "It would be fun."
"Maybe for you but it wouldn't for me. The last time I agreed to that I fell out a tree and you nearly did too."
"You fell out of a tree?" Kyle asked looking amused.
"It's hilarious isn't it?" Mark said with a fake grin.
"It is" Kyle said. "What tree?"
"That's not important" Mark said.
"It was that one" Arianna said pointing to a tree across the clearing. "If you look closely you can see where he landed." Kyle burst out laughing followed by Arianna.
"That's right, laugh away. I nearly died and you all find it amusing" Mark said turning away from them with a huff.
"You didn't nearly die" Kyle said through hiccups of laughter. "I'm fine playing." Mark turned and glared at his friend, his blue eyes piercing into Kyle. If only looks could kill. He let out a sigh and a moan and stood up from the stairs.
"You're counting then." Mark and Arianna went off to find somewhere to hide.
"Be careful not to fall from any trees" Kyle warned as he started counting. Mark turned to look at him and gave him another glare. Kyle counted to thirty before he pushed himself up from the chair with a slight groan of pain before he made his way down the stairs. When he climbed the three stairs he looked around the clearing and heading in the direction of the tree Mark had fallen from, just so that he could see the mark Mark had left. As he walked over he looked up and saw that the first branch was about two metres above the ground. That definitely would have hurt if he had fallen from it, but it was still funny. There was only a faint mark where his friend had fallen; it looked like the heel of his boot had cut into the ground.
Kyle looked above him to see if one of them was hiding in the same tree thinking he wouldn't check because Mark had already fallen out of it. They weren't there. He turned around and looked about the clearing. "If I was Arianna where would I hide?" Kyle said to himself finding himself heading towards the stables.
He arrived there expecting to find a small girl hiding behind one of the horses only to find he was wrong and have five horses looking at him with confusion. "What?" he asked, "I'm just looking for Arianna. You don't happen to know where she is" Kyle asked but stopped. "Don't answer that, you're horses. You can't talk so don't answer." There was silence as Kyle looked at the five horses. "Yet Kyle you are still talking to them and yourself as if they could." He quickly walked out of the stables and checked the target area but neither of them were there either.
"Arianna!" he shouted. "Arianna come out come out where ever you are." No answer. "Alright, I'm just gonna have to go into the forest then." He waited to see if anyone would come. "Alright I'm going now."
He walked towards the tree line listening intently to any foreign sound but there was none. He walked further into the forest, looking at the ground to see if he could find any footprints in the mud or any broken sticks. Just as he was beginning to give up and go look back at the cabin he heard a rustle of leaves ahead of him. He looked closer but the bush stopped moving. "Arianna, Mark is that you" he asked tentatively. He heard a laugh come from the bush and saw it shake slightly. Kyle's brow crossed. "Arianna, I know that's you."
He walked closer and stopped under a tree a few metres away from the bush. "Arianna, I've found you" he said and jumped back as she came running at him with mud on her face.
"Actually I found you" she said, "Are you alright?"
Kyle looked up from where he was leaning on his knees. "Yeh I'm fine, just hurt my stomach with the sudden movement."
"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to" she said.
"I know, it doesn't matter" he replied standing up straight with Arianna looking up at him. "Anyway, I don't suppose you know where Mark is do you?" he asked. Mark jumped down from the tree and landed behind Kyle.
"I'm here" he said falling to the ground in fits of laughter as Kyle jumped in the air. Kyle looked at Mark and then towards Arianna who was laughing just as much but managing to stay on her feet, unlike his friend.
"You were in this together" he accused.
"Yes we were my friend, yes we were" Mark said as he calmed himself getting up from the floor and putting a hand on Kyle's shoulder. "I thought you deserved it after laughing at me for my failed attempt of hide and seek last time."
"How friendly" Kyle said. "I have to say, it is nice to know who your friends are at Redmont." This cause Mark to laugh again but he too managed to stay standing this time.
-LINE BREAK-
Halt looked over from Will and then to Alyss. "Gilan's gone?" Halt asked double checking he had heard correctly.
"Yes" Will said looking down at the ground. It felt like he had lost a brother. For Halt it felt like he had lost a son.
"Kyle's alright though?" Halt asked, wanting to make sure the kid was safe first.
"He's battered and bruised but otherwise fine. We left him with Mark and Arianna. He told us what happened and roughly where it happened but that's about all he knows." Will took a sip of the coffee that Halt had made him when they had arrived and then put the mug back on the table. The table was very clean, with only a few table mats for the four to put their drinks on. Will was sat at the side with his back to the fire and had Alyss sitting next to him. Halt was sat opposite him with Pauline next to him.
Like usual Halt had no expression on his face but you could tell he was deep in thought. Pauline on the other hand looked concerned for both Gilan and Halt.
"Talk to Kyle and see if he can pin point on a map where they were and then get ready to leave tomorrow morning" Halt ordered finishing the dregs of his coffee. He got up from the table and put his coffee cup in the sink.
"Tomorrow?" Will questioned. "How will you have asked Crowley in that time?"
"We won't. We both know Crowley will say yes so there is no point wasting time to ask for something we all ready know the answer to."
The other three occupants of the room looked at Halt. "We can't leave without telling Crowley, another ranger needs to come and take our place whilst we're gone" Will said looking towards Pauline for some help.
"He's right. Send a letter to Araluen now and it will arrive there by tomorrow afternoon at the latest" Pauline said walking over to her husband. "Then a ranger can come back and you and Will can be ready to leave for when they return."
"You're right" Halt said as Will held out a piece of paper. Will emptied his and Alyss's cups in the sink and then quickly washed them up. Alyss looked at Will.
"We should go so you and Will can get ready" she said opening the door for Will who walked out of the room with her following behind.
So what did you think? I hope it was worth the wait which I apologise again for. Thank you to AmazingWriter123, Hibernia12, and Guest for reviewing the last chapter, I'm glad you liked it. We will be seeing more of Ash in future chapters. If there's anything you would like to see in future chapters then let me know in the reviews. Bye.