Will stood under the central pavilion watching as the rest of the senior Rangers dispursed from the final meeting of the Gathering. The Gathering was coming to a close; soon the apprentices would be taken away for one last lecture while the graduates were sent trough the rushed paperwork façade with Gilan. It had been a good Gathering, for the most part. The only downside had been explaining what had happened to Angie to everyone, as they had arrived.
Will had made sure to arrive first with Angie and Maddie. They had taken their customary place for their tents and waited for the rest of the Rangers to arrive. It had been two weeks since their return from Skandia and Angie could support her weight on her broken leg for a little more than ten minutes before collapsing. He had a horrible feeling she would not pass her assessments. There were no exemptions from the testing.
But after explaining what had happened in Skandia, and Gilan saw Angie with her recently healed ribs, and still injured arm and leg; Gilan had allowed her testing in unseen movement, tracking, and other such skills to be postponed until she was fully healed. Angie had protested about how many of her assessments had been pushed back.
"I don't see why archery and the sling were pushed back," she had complained at their campfire that night. "I don't have to run around for that, and my arm doesn't hurt that much anymore." She held up her arm, which the healer at Redmont had said was mending well, but still advised against too much exertion.
In Will's opinion, archery and the sling were too much exertion and told Gilan that those tasks would be pushed back as well. Angie had glared mutinously at him while he talked to Gilan but kept her mouth shut. But that had been with the Ranger Commandant, alone at the campfire with Maddie was a different matter.
"My left arm is fine. And I can stand up now," she had pointed out. "The healer said I had to exercise them or they would never get better. And I do everything with my left, I don't even need the right one."
Will had not given in to her complaints. He stood by his word and as more of the Rangers arrived, they agreed with his decision. Then they flooded Will with questions about Angie and what had happened on her first official mission. Will had skipped over the unflattering aspects of the trip; the day long search for Angie when she ran away, the fighting between Angie and Johnny, when he told Angie about what had happened to her parents and his dismissal from her room that night.
They had beamed like proud parents hearing of her courage and bravery in the face of the Genovesan threat. Claiming it was in her blood to be brave like that, acting as if they had given Angie the courage; that they had trained her to stand true in the face of danger and they had taught her to dive into danger to save a comrade. She was their child after all.
During the Gathering Angie had passed all of the assessments Will and Gilan had allowed her to take. Will had feared the outcome of several of those tests. Angie had never been focused and she could just as easily decide not to complete the test as put everything in to taking it. He also feared that the Rangers would go easy on her because of who she was, but he had looked over her work after the lecturers and the proctors. Angie had done amazing on her tests.
So with the final day of the Gathering coming to a close he prepared himself for what he knew he had to do. Gilan had said that it was not necessary yet, Angie was still healing and she still had four more years of training ahead of her. But Will knew he had already opened the door, now he needed to close it.
"I don't know Will," Gilan sighed at the table in the pavilion. "You said she didn't take the news well."
"But its unfinished Gil," Will turned to his long time friend. "She sent me away before I could finish explaining everything." He still had something to say to her. There was a lot left to say to Angie, but there was one more Will felt Angie needed to know after telling her about her parents.
"It sounds to me like you said everything that needed to be said," Gilan replied sympathetically. "Why not let it sit for a while?"
"I can't Gil," Will crossed his arms stroking his beard. "I feel bad about it."
"We've been over this Will. I agreed, Horace agreed, all the senior Rangers agreed with you. You can't keep blaming yourself."
"And Angie deserves the truth," Will responded turning to look out over the Gathering Ground, to where Angie was surrounded by the other apprentices. She seemed so happy, so at home with them. This should have been her life. She should have grown up with the Rangers.
"You gave it to her," Gilan came to stand beside Will, giving the man a smile.
"Not all of it," Will looked from Angie and the apprentices to Gilan.
Gilan shook his head, "Its bad business Will. This whole affair is bad business."
"I know Gil," Will smiled at Gilan and left the pavilion.
After dinner Will sat at the fire beside Angie, Maddie was on the girl's other side. Gilan had decided not to come to Will's little talk with Angie. Maddie had said she would be there to speak up for Horace who was not allowed at the Gathering. Angie could sense that something was happening, there was no coffee and Will looked nervous.
She had noticed that Will seemed nervous around her since the night he had told her about her parents. She had been hurt that night, Will had know who her parents were and kept the information from her. It had felt like a total betrayal of her trust, and whatever the plant was that Will had given her that night had made her mind fuzzy.
Since their return to the cabin in Redmont they had not talked about it. Angie was afraid to talk about it, all that talk about her parents. And that stuff about Johnny, Angie was not sure how to take that information. It was hard to accept that the person who had made her life a living nightmare was her family.
Will had also said everyone at the Gathering was her family. They all treated her special and Angie hoped the other apprentices did not notice. And if they did, she really prayed they thought it was because she was injured. She also prayed that the overseers of her testing did not just let her pass because of who she was.
So when they sat at the fire without coffee, Angie felt more of the uncomfortable talk was coming. And she could not even get up and walk away, Will had taken her crutches away. She sat, leaning back against the log by their fire staring at the flames, her twin oakleaf necklace pinched between her thumb and forefinger.
"It was a nice Gathering," Maddie commented. "Four first year apprentices."
"Yes," Will seemed distant. Something else Angie had noticed about her mentor since their return. "Angie, there's something we need to talk about."
"We don't have too," she said nervously. She did not like the conversation topic since she had a horrible feeling of where it was going to lead. "I think we've done enough talking this week to last the whole year."
Maddie laughed on Angie's left. Will gave a sad, depressed kind of smile to Angie's comment. She knew this was serious, Will had always smiled at her commentary like that. Her face wrinkled looking between the two Rangers.
"I really don't need to talk about it," she looked straight at Will. He was the one who wanted to talk. He was the one she needed to convince what he wanted to talk about was unnecessary.
"You do," he gave his fading smile one more forced attempt.
"We just want to make sure you're okay," Maddie offered, drawing Angie's attention from Will. "It was a lot of information and we haven't talked about it since we were in Hallasholm."
"It really wasn't," they were making a big deal out of a small thing. She knew who her parents were, she had a legacy now. What else could there be that would require all this attention and depressed looks? And they would know that if they just listened to her. "I know who they were. I have a name now."
Will and Maddie looked over Angie's head to one another. Was she purposely ignoring part of the conversation in Skandia? Or had she forgotten, she had been taking warmweed, the plant addled the mind. The expression of worry began to overtake Will's face. He looked down at Angie and met her crystalline eyes.
"Can we just pretend like none of happened?" she begged, taking a firm hold on Will's hand with her healing right. Will was amazed and gladdened by how strong her grip already was. "I don't need to know."
"I think you do," Will squeezed her hand, allowing the first genuine smile he had given since Angie was hurt to show. "I told you that I supported your parents leaving on that mission."
"I don't want to talk about it," Angie turned away, freeing her hand from Will's to cover her ears. "I don't want to hear anymore, I don't want to know!"
"Angie," Will sighed pulling her hands away from her head. "Please, stop this."
"No," she tried to pull her hands free of Will's strong grip. "I really don't want to hear anymore. Whatever it is, I don't want to know. I don't want this to continue," she felt tears pool in her eyes. She was breaking down at the Gathering with all the Rangers around to see it. It was the most embarrassing moment of her life. But she could not help it. She did not want to listen to Will degrade himself about the past. "Please, leave it behind."
"Angie," Maddie wrapped her arm around the girl's shoulders. Angie pushed her away too, she did not want this. "Please, Will needs to say this. Just listen to him."
"It'll hurt him," she shook her head stubbornly. "I don't want it if it hurts him."
"Angie," Maddie pulled the girl closer, brushing Will's hands away as she did so. "It hurts him that you do not know. He wants to tell you," she cooed softly, stroking the girl's hair. "Please, this is the last time."
"It'll hurt," Angie looked over at Will, expecting to see the Rangers gathering to learn what was happening. She could not see them, but she now knew that did not mean they were not there. Will's face was still torn in pain looking down at her. "I just want to forget it. All of it." She pushed herself away from Maddie.
It took a lot more energy than Angie could have believed possible, but she made it to her feet and hobbled away from Will and Maddie. Whatever it was, it would be painful. She knew that look in Will's eyes, he had worn it for far too long already. If it hurt him, it would hurt her, Angie could feel it. She wanted nothing to do with it.
She made it to center of the Gathering Ground before the throbbing in her leg became too much. She lowered herself to the ground, waiting for Will or Maddie to come with her crutches so she could return to the tent when she was ready. She waited for one of the other Rangers to come out and check on her. No one came, she sat in the dark waiting.
It felt like hours before someone finally approached her. She had expected Will and had a retort ready to give him for making her wait so long for her crutches. But it was a boy and three young girls. The boy had Angie's crutches thrown over his shoulder and glared at Angie beneath the cowl of his mottled Ranger cloak, his companions wore mottled cloaks as well.
"Who are you?" Angie had thought she had met all of the apprentices already. But these four were younger than her, they could not be apprentices. Not unless the Rangers trained small children.
"Evan," the boy answered.
"Evan?" Angie scoffed, her brow rising.
"Think my name's funny?" he challenged taking a step toward Angie.
"No," Angie recovered quickly.
"These three are Olivia, Peyton, and Rachel," he held his hand out motioning to the girls.
Olivia was taller than the other two with a mass of curled red hair sticking out of the edge of her cowl. Peyton was standing in the middle, her pale hair hung in two braids over her shoulders. Rachel was the shortest by a few centimeters and had a knot of auburn hair gathered on her right shoulder. They each bobbed their head in a short bow when Evan introduced them.
"Who are you?" Angie asked again. "You can't be apprentices yet. You're too young."
The girls giggled behind Evan. The boy rolled his eyes with a shake of his head, pulling a necklace from his tunic. He held the necklace out for Angie to see, the twin oakleaf charm spinning between them.
"We're the Rangers children."

A/N This concludes the first adventure of the Ranger's Daughter. I want to say thank you to all of my faithful readers and reviewers, in particular a guest to who uses the name MPS and signs his name Michael on the reviews. Thank you Michael for you reviews. And thank you to all of the other guests who left reviews, I wish I could have thanked you sooner.
Thank you to my Beta and amigo Ranger Nikhi. You're awesome man, don't let anyone tell you otherwise.
And finally to answer the questions I know you're all asking: What that's the end? Where's the rest of it? There is another adventure with the Ranger's Daughter. It is called The Ranger's Daughter and the Arridi Slave, go check it out and stop by and take a look at another story I have in the world of the Ranger's Apprentice. The story is titled Ranger's Apprentices, a collaborative effort between myself and Ranger Nihki, set four years after the end of this adventure and will include the OCs I have received. It's still not to late to submit an OC, just message me for more information.
Again, thank you for reading and reviewing this story. Thank you, all my faithful readers, and I hope to see you in the future in reviews and as followers of my future works.