A/N: I don't own Ranger's Apprentice. Sorry I have been MIA for a while... I had to get ready for a wedding that occurred in my front yard, the power was out for days, I was on vacation, and I am now a volunteer at Energy Express, working to get my community service hours. So, yeah, things have been hectic.

*Three Days Later*

(Melody)

I hadn't seen Derrick in six days. After what happened three days ago, I figured he was not alive. They put me back with the other children, every person in the room asking me all kinds of questions.

"How long are we going to be in here?"

"Did you meet the Rangers?"

"Did anyone die?"

"Why did they take you?"

"Is there any way to escape?"

The questions overwhelmed me, in fact, I didn't answer any of them. Right now, I was too worried about us, the Rangers, and Derrick... What was we going to do to get out of here? How could we? I sat down against the wall. If the Ranger's were captured, what chance do we have of escaping? I put my head down in my hands, letting the tears of defeat trickle down my face, unnoticed by the children. In my head, Derrick's agonizing screams pierced my ears, the sound of him being tortured. Derrick, the one person I believed to be the strongest out of many. Derrick, the one who has had my back in the toughest situations... My mind slipped back into the past to the first day I met him...

~Flashback~

I was ten years old running, playing with my friend, Diana when they showed up. 'They' being the bullies of Redmont Fief.

"Diana, we should probably go." I said, wanting to get away from the bullies.

She nodded, "Let's go."

The bullies noticed us and began to walk our way. "Where are you two going in such a hurry?" Diana and I started to run back toward the town, afraid of what they may do. They caught up to us quickly and one of them shoved Diana to the ground.

"Diana!" I yelled andwent back to her. By then, the bullies had us surrounded.

One of them grinned, "Look how scared they are!"

"They should be afraid of us!" Another replied.

I looked up at them, "Please, we just want to go home. Diana's hurt." It was true. My friend's leg had a deep gash in it and was bleeding non-stop. I put my hands over the wound and tried to stop the bleeding.

The lead bully laughed, "You hear that? They just want to go home... How sad..." They walked toward us with evil grins on their face, that was when I heard them.

"Hey! Leave them alone!" The voice came from behind us and I turned around to get a better look. Four boys ran our way and, before I knew what was happening, stepped between us and the bullies.

The lead bully laughed, "Ah, so it's your group, huh squirt? That's okay, though You're too weak to do anything."

"Just leave them alone. Look, one of them is hurt and she needs to get the cut on her leg properly cared for. I don't care if you think you're stronger than us, we won't stand by and let you hurt or scare them." The lead boy stated while the others agreed.

A second later, fists were flying through the air. It was four against the six bullies, an unequal match. Two of the bullies and one of the boys were beat after nearly a minute, but it still wasn't an equal match. Finally, the fighting was over and the bullies ran off. The boys remaining breathed hard covered in cuts and bruises. One of them walked over to me and Diana and I shrank down a little.

The boy stopped moving, "It's okay. We're not going to hurt you." He smiled at Diana, "Cut your leg up pretty badly, huh? I can take you to my house so mother can bandage it."

I glared at him, not trusting him, "Why did you protect us? What are you going to do to us now?"

The boy looked a bit crestfallen, "I'm not going to do anything to hurt you. I promise. Believe me, if we wanted to see you hurt, we wouldn't have fought Stan and his friends just now. You can trust us."

I debated for a minute whether or not to trust him, but when I saw Diana's leg again, I knew it was our only option. "Okay."

The boy smiled and the others walked over. Two of them wrapped Diana's arms around their necks to support her as she hopped on her uninjured leg. "Wait." The boy told his friends. They stopped and looked back at him. I watched as the boy tore off the end of his shirt and wrapped it around Diana's leg. "That should hold back the bleeding some." I didn't understand why he and his friends were helping us; after all, I had only seen them once or twice in the town. The others continued on, but I held back a few feet. The boy noticed this and walked back to me. "What's your name?"

I stared at him for a few seconds, "Melody."

He held out his hand and smiled, "I'm Derrick. Sorry for not coming sooner. Stan and his friends are always up to no good."

"I can tell." I said. A few minutes passed by, "Thank you."

Derrick shrugged his shoulders, "Don't worry about it."

"How can I not worry about it? You were hurt protecting me and Diana, I'm sorry you were hurt because of-"

He cut me off, "It's just a few cuts and bruises, nothing major. Don't worry about us, we're a lot tougher than you think. Besides, I'm not the type of guy who sits around on the sidelines while innocent people get hurt, neither are my friends." We walked until we were at his house. His mother, Alyss, made the boys sit Diana in a chair so she could clean and bandage her leg. The other boys left after saying their goodbyes, leaving me, Diana, Derrick, Alyss, and Derrick's father, Will Treaty, in the room.

After hearing what happened the two parents understood. Will went to Diana's home to tell her parents where she was and what had happened. Sitting in the same room with a Ranger and his family was strange, but I stayed for my friend. When her parent's came and got Diana I stood up to walk home.

Derrick stood up too, "I'll walk you home. They might still be out, it's nearly sunset anyway." I wanted to protest, but I knew the boy would walk me home anyway. So, I let him. He walked me home and, just as I was about to go through the door, he said, "If you need anything, just come and find me."

I smiled at him,"Okay, thanks."

He nodded, the left. I didn't see him again until two weeks later. His mom and my mom, Sarah, had became real good friends, so I was often with her and mother. However, Alyss didn't show up for a few days. My mother and I went to their cabin to see what was wrong. As soon as we walked toward the door, Will stopped us. "I wouldn't go in there, Derrick's sick and you may catch what he has."

"How bad is he?" Mother asked.

He shook his head, "Bad. Right now, he's awake, but he won't drink anything. Some healer's say it will pass, other's say is he doens't drink he'll dehydrate and-" Will stopped and sighed helplessly. "I just don't know what's wrong with him. Nobody does." I looked up at mother before running into the cabin.

"Melody, come back!" She yelled, but I was already inside.

I quickly found the room Derrick was in. His eyes were closed, sweat soaked his hair and trickled down his face, neck, and chest; he looked terrible. "Derrick?" I walked over to him and grabbed his hand. "Derrick?"

He opened his eyes, "Melody... You shouldn't..."

"Be here? I know, but you helped me when I needed help, now I'm going to help you." I stated and grabbed the cup of water sitting by the bedside. "You told me if I needed anything to come and find you. Well, I need you to drink this water."

He shook his head weakly, "Can't."

"Yes, you can if you try. I know you're too stubborn to give up already." I replied, half smiling. He smiled too and I put the water to his lips, but he still refused to drink. "Derrick, please. You have to drink."

He shook his head again, "Sorry... Can't... Too tired."

"Please, for me?" I begged.

His eyes met mine like they did the first time. I put the water to his lips and he took a sip of it. I sighed, thankfully. "See, you can do anything if you set your mind to it."

He took another sip of the water, "Thanks." Then, "I took a drink of water... Now leave..."

"Why, because you don't want me to see you like this?" I asked.

He nodded slowly, "That and... I don't want you to get sick." He smiled, "Go."

I smiled, "I'll be back another time. Anytime you need me, just find me."

He nodded, "Okay." Then, he shut his eyes and was fast asleep.

When I turned around, Will, Alyss, and my mother was standing in the doorway. I smiled at them, "He'll be okay." I was right, two weeks later, Derrick returned to being, well, Derrick. Diana and I stayed with Derrick and his friends. His three friends were Robert, Clark, and John, all of them good people once you got to know them. However, most people saw them as troublemakers because of all the fights they were involved in. What most people didn't know was the so-called 'troublemakers' didn't fight for self-benefit; they fought to protect.

By the time Derrick and I was twelve, he said he wanted to be a Ranger. When I asked him why he simply stated, "I just want to follow my father's footsteps. To me, the Rangers are just as noble as the knights, perhaps even more." I never doubted Derrick would follow in his father's footsteps, after all Will and Derrick were too much alike.

~End Flashback~

I stared at the floor, returning from the memory. The others sat around, some glanced at me every once in a while, but I didn't mind. I was used to it by now. I wondered briefly what was going to happen next. With the Ranger's captured, everybody had lost hope. Without Derrick by my side, I had lost everything; I was empty, hollow, just an outer shell of somebody that once existed. I was not the person I used to be; I was defeated and alone.

A/N: Good? Bad? Downright awful? Feedback would be much appreciated!