She was certain there was more to the trip to Skandia than a new Oberjarl. The fact that Maddie just completely ignored the topic made Angie even more positive that there was something else going on. And like Maddie, the other people who would know were decidedly not hearing her questions on the subject. Will would just continue with what he had been saying, Horace on the other hand panicked and started rambling before changing the subject entirely.
Which was how Angie ended up listening to him describe the Battle for Hallasholm in great detail, starting from the training of the slaves in rudimentary archery, three times. Angie felt like she had actually been in the battle by the time Horace finished his third rendition; in which he had single handedly commanded the archers and fought alongside the Oberjarl at the time and would have saved the Skandian leader's life if Will had not needed his help. The story became more farfetched with every retelling, and sadly any Skandians nearby added more extravagantly outlandish details wherever possible.
All she wanted was to know why they had really come to Skandia. And it seemed like that was the one question Will did not like. Generally speaking Will was enthusiastic when Angie dared to ask a question, but he was becoming agitated about the one question that was really plaguing her. In retrospect that was probably why he sent her away instead of watching her practice her sling or archery.
Not that Angie minded. If Will gave her time off, that was just less time she had to spend with Johnny. He had been acting a little nicer, but Angie knew it was only a ruse. Bullies never just suddenly stopped being a bully. He was just acting nice so he could stay on the Task Force thing and torment her for the rest of her life. In short, Angie was not buying the nice guy bit he was trying.
She was sitting on the edge of the green after the sudden dismissal from Will, she had asked a few too many of what he called, "pointless questions". Angie had believed they were good questions but Will had sent her away, saying he needed to talk to Maddie and Horace about something. Of course at the time she had not realized that that would mean Johnny would be running around Hallasholm freely as well.
She was rather enjoying the summer day on the green, watching the locals go about their day when the shadow fell across her lap. She recognized it instantly.
"Shouldn't you be doing something Ranger-like," Johnny curled his lip looking down at her, she could hear the facial expression in his voice.
"Shouldn't go be practicing whacking and bashing," she retorted, refusing to look back at him. "Or have you already mastered the finer aspects of poking things with a stick," her eyes flicked to the shadow of the practice sword he held at his side. Horace had taken Johnny's actual sword away after the fool-hearty apprentice taunted drunken seawolves and challenged them to shows of strength, in which he was almost killed.
Johnny's hand tightened around the hilt of the practice weapon, "you're just jealous because your master pawned you off as soon as we got here. Even he's grown tired of you."
Old words, yet they still stung. Will had been sending her off with Maddie, Horace and a select few of the jarls, he had barely spent any time watching her since their arrival, and he had sent her away that day. Was Johnny right? Was Will tired of her, done trying to teach someone who could not focus?
No, she nearly shouted at herself. Will would not do that to her, he had been patient with her. He was putting so much time and energy into her training; he would not just give up because she had finally started asking questions. Johnny was just trying to hurt her again, but she knew better.
"Will would never do that," she said quietly, her hand unconsciously reaching for the saxe knife on at her waist. "He said he chose me as his apprentice because I have potential and he's going to train me to be a Ranger."
"That daft old knight said he was going to train me," Johnny's knuckles were white he held the hilt of the practice sword so tightly. "And as soon as you got scared they decided to pick someone else."
"Obviously not since you're here," Angie snapped leaping to her feet. There was a half a meter difference between their heights, but Angie stared him down anyway. "How'd you convince them anyway?"
"You're the only one who ever seems to have a problem," Johnny seethed glaring at the apprentice Ranger. "Everyone else loves me. They think I walk on water."
"Except for Horace," Angie could see she had struck something there. Horace had not doted over him, which was something that the instructors as the Battle School had done. Horace had treated him like any other apprentice, or worse since he also set Will on him. "And the Ranger's, they've seen you for what you really are."
"And what's that," Johnny bent down so he was nose to nose with the Ranger apprentice. He was not use to Angie talking back, much less defending herself. He was not sure how much longer he would be able to continue the banter, which he had not intended to start. But now that it was underway, there was no way Johnny was going to lose.
Bully was just not a good enough answer for Angie. There was so much more to Johnny that the run of the mill bully. Or maybe not, but Angie was simply not content with a simple answer. "A sad, pathetic little boy who got pleasure from causing a little orphan girl pain; an egotistical want-to-be knight who isn't even allowed to carry his weapon because he never learned to use it properly; you are the lowest form of person, picking on the weak. And they all know it, Will, Maddie, Horace, even the jarls!"
She had not realized it, but at some point in her tirade Angie had started shouting. Not only that, but her saxe and miraculously found its way into her left hand and was dangerously close to cutting into Johnny's wooden practice weapon. Johnny was still glaring, but he had backed off several paces. Angie had no doubts that she had been waving the blade while she shouted, but that was not on the list of things she was concerned about.
One thing she was worried about was the fact that she had just caused a scene in the middle of Hallasholm. Some small voice in the back of her head was screaming that Will was going to be furious when he learned about it. And even though it had felt amazing to be able to just yell at Johnny like that, she knew she had just messed up.
Around her, Angie could sense the people stopping to watch the fight. It was seconds away from becoming physical and Angie could not back down. A little voice similar to the one screaming about punishment from Will was goading her to continue. She was already in trouble, she might as well finish strong.
What would Johnny say to her accusations, what malice filled barb would he throw back at her?
"At least I'm not a freak," he said in a hoarse whisper. "I don't use the wrong hand, I'm liked. My parents wanted me, they gave me a name, and they made sure I would always know who I am. You don't have anything, and only the mysterious Rangers want anything to do with you!" His eyes burned with rage, his arm shook from the strain of trying to shatter the practice sword with his hand. "I have a name," he shouted before turning a storming away, "I have a future!"
Angie had thought she had heard it all. She had thought Johnny and his pack had run out of taunts and hurtful expressions. She had believed she had heard it all and knew how to let it go. But that last statement, it hurt a lot more than she had expected or believed possible.
Her heart jumped into her throat and stopped, her hands went numb, her saxe fell, sticking in the ground, and Angie collapsed on the ground. She stared up at the sky, trying to breath, but the air was just not coming, she was not getting enough; she could not breathe. And she could not stop the tears that rolled down her face. Angie rolled into the fetal position, and gasping for calming breath, cried silently.
He was right. Johnny was always right. She had no family, she had no past. And what hope did she really have as a Ranger? She would never learn all the things Will was trying to teach her. She would never be able to do all that amazing stuff like Will. She was just Angie, the easily distracted, left handed freak of an orphan who did not have a family name.
It hurt, those words; the blatant delivery, the obvious meaning. Angie had really thought that she had put all of that behind her. Will had told her that he had come from the Ward, that he grew up without a family name. But there was something different about him and her. He was Will Treaty, the hero of Araluen. She was just Angie, the orphan from Redmont.
She had no idea how long she lay in the green, at some point the tears had stopped. But the hurt just throbbed continuously, like her heart was trying to break out of her chest. She did not move, she just lay there, eyes wide open looking at the world around her and seeing nothing. They left her alone, and she wished they had not. The longer she lay there the more she thought and the more she realized how right Johnny had been.
When Will found her she was still curled up on the green. Her saxe was still stuck in the ground, her cloak was curled around her and her hand was tightly clasped around her twin oakleaf necklace. He stood at the edge of the green watching her for several minutes, waiting on her to make a move. He had not known how long she had been there, he still had not heard about what happened between the two apprentices. All Will knew was that Angie had missed both lunch and the evening meal.
As he watched her he noticed that her breathing was irregular, like she was short of breath after a long run. Her eyes stared off in the distance, looking right past him. He rushed to her side, something was obviously wrong.
"Angie," he knelt beside her, his hand reaching out for her as he looked for some sort of injury. What had happened to her to cause this? Had she been attacked? Was this internal?
No, he forced himself to take a deep breath. No one would attack her in the middle of Hallasholm, they were there peacefully, invited by the senior jarls. There was no bruising on her body, she had not been hit by anything. But could she be bleeding internally, would that cause bruising anywhere?
He forced himself to take another deep breath. Panicking was not going to help Angie.
He touched her shoulder gently. Angie flinched, her eyes widened further and she jerked her head up to look at his face. Her eyes were dilated, all he could see of her irises was a thin ring, the rest was black. Angie's grip on her necklace tightened, her knuckles whitening as she propped herself up and buried her face in Will's chest.
At first Will was too shocked to do anything. He looked down at the girl holding him tightly with one arm trying to figure out what had happened. Then he realized that was not important at the moment. Whatever had happened to Angie had broken her, she needed comfort.
He wrapped his arms around the girl, gathering her closer to him and rocked her gently. Angie's breathing was ragged as she lay her head on his shoulder, her eyes staring blankly ahead of her. Will stroked her hair as he spoke to her softly, trying to calm her enough to learn what had happened. But she would not answer, she just shook her head and rocked a little more urgently in his arms.
Will was still holding her when Horace and Maddie came to find them. They stood at the edge of the green looking in, wondering what had happened. Will had nothing to offer them, he was still confused about what had happened.
Maddie approached them first, smiled and talked gently to Angie. With some coaxing Will and Maddie managed to get Angie on her feet. Her breathing had finally settled, which had greatly reduced Will's own stress level, but she still stared vacantly and would not speak. As they guided her back to her room in the Oberjarl's Palace Horace walked back to retrieve her saxe.
There was something on the ground near where Angie had been. Horace walked over to see what had been left on the green. His brow furrowed as he bent down to pick up the item, a practice wooden sword. In particular the one the Johnny had received from one of the senior jarls after Will had sliced his original one to pieces.
Horace looked back at Will and Maddie leading the distraught apprentice through the empty street. He had a sinking suspicion about what had happened. He hoped he was wrong, he had really like Johnny. But Gilan would never allow someone like the boy on the Task Force, and the Ranger Corps would not appreciate the bully of their child being part of their ranks.
"I hope I'm wrong," Horace muttered following after the Rangers. "I really hope I'm wrong."