To my beautiful readers.

I never thought I would have to write out this message, but I guess the day has come. As of now I will not be finishing The Daughter of Iberion. It devastates me, but I honestly don't have the time anymore. When i started this story in 2012, I was 16 years old. It has been 5 years and I'm almost 21 years old now. I am super busy with university and work and volunteering that I barely have time to sit down and write anything at all. I still read quite a bit, but haven't read Ranger's Apprentice in years. This has made it really hard to write because you need an in depth knowledge of the world to write fanfiction and to portray the characters as accurately as possible.

I'm not making this decision lightly. For about a year now i've been toying with this idea, but whenever its come down to it, I couldn't bear the thought of leaving Mon and Ed hanging, without their story being completed. But at the same time I knew their story would take hundreds of thousands more words to write, and I just don't have it in me.

So i have decided on a compromise.

I have a few half written chapters that i can post in their incomplete form. I also know exactly how Mon and Ed's story progresses. This coming week (or so) I will sit down and explain what happens to them. It will be in some detail because a number of scenes have been vividly written in my imagination already, it's just all the lead up and plotting that takes all the time that I do not have.

So i did originally say that i would delete the Daughter of Iberion and instead integrate it into the Thief of Caraway, but i changed my mind hahah because i realised i would lose all your lovely reviews, which mean a lot to me!

I am SOOO SORRY about this. I feel horrible, but i feel it's better for me to finish this with an actual ending, rather than leaving it hanging for years.

This is not goodbye (yet). This is just me informing you of what is to come.

I can only hope that you can forgive me.

xx

Mon

Chapter 15

It took half a second for my instincts to kick in, but when they did I let loose the demon inside. Wandering around Araluen alone for three years with only my constant hunger as a compass had taught me how to get out of situations like this, especially in my younger years when I was desperate and stupid and had gotten caught more times than I could count.

I brought my boot straight down on the arch of his heal. Hearing a muffled cry, I reached into my scabbard for my weapons but before I could, a thick muscled arm wrapped around my middle, effectively pinning my arms to my sides. He thought he had trapped me, but there were other ways of causing pain.

I kicked, trying to get him in the shins while I wrenched my head from side to side. When that didn't work, I opened my mouth to try and take a bite of his hand in a move that Wolf would have wholeheartedly approved of and even given me pointers on. Somehow I managed to get a piece of flesh between my teeth and bit down, hard.

My captor pulled his hand away quickly, as if he had been burnt by a pot handle, and groaned in pain. I was just about to cut my losses and yell out for Wolf, when my captor finally spoke.

"It's me, Gilan," he said, his beard itching against my cheek. "There's no need to yell and alert the entire fief to our presence."

Immediately I stood still and Gilan let go of me. I turned to see him nursing his finger.

"Gorlog's teeth – pun intended – what on earth did the Iberian's do to you?" he asked, inspecting his wound carefully to see if I had drawn blood. "Turned you into a vicious animal."

"Why did you sneak up behind me like that?"

"It seemed like the quietest way to get your attention but evidently I was wrong. Why did you have to bite me?"

"You had your hand over my mouth and I was defending myself!" I said, justifying my actions. Now I just felt like an idiot. I should have known it was a Ranger. I should have been smarter.

"I guess that wasn't one of my smartest ideas," Gilan replied, giving me an easy smile when satisfied that he wasn't going to die. I hadn't even broken through skin, he was such a baby.

"What are you doing here?" I asked.

"Well when Edmund got it in his head that he was going to rescue you, Cassandra sent the three of us with him."

"Will and Halt are here too?"

"Halt is here in Caraway. Will went back to Araluen to tell Cassandra about the invasion. We didn't realise that it had already happened. We've always been two steps behind it seems. What have you been doing the past week?"

"Where's Halt. I should probably explain to both of you at the same time. But I have to be quick and I can't be seen. I'll have to be back at Caraway in an hour," I said. Gilan raised an eyebrow but didn't comment as he led the way to Halt.

As he moved through the forest I tried to copy his actions. If only I had a mottled green-grey cloak it would be much easier. No wonder Gilan had been able to sneak up on me. He was the best unseen mover in the Ranger Corps and I had never even been apprenticed. To add insult to injury, my black cloak did barely anything in the morning light. We reached a small creak and Gilan easily ran across a fallen log that served as a makeshift bridge. I followed him, making the crossing without falling into the freezing water.

Finally, we reached the Ranger's camp. It was deep enough in the woods that I doubted any patrols would come this far. Even if they did, the Rangers could easily disappear without a trace.

Halt was making a pot of coffee on a small smokeless fire. Wolf was already lounging on the other side of the fire – the lazy mutt. He had just assumed that I would be fine with Gilan and couldn't be bothered leaving the warmth.

"I found her," Gilan declared, stepping out of the shadows so that Halt could clearly see him.

I stepped out from behind him and peered at Halt. His dark eyes were boring into mine. I wanted to look away but I didn't dare to. He was assessing me and seeing what had happened to me since I had last seen him. I didn't want to show even the slightest ounce of weakness. It had been my choice to leave and I wanted to show him that it had made me stronger somehow.

Finally, Gilan broke the silence.

"I don't know about you two but I would like a mug of that coffee. It's freezing out," Gilan said.

Halt took out three mugs without a word. Taking out a small glass jar he added three heaped spoons of honey straight into the pot, knowing that the two of us wouldn't complain. I was surprised at his generosity. Halt usually was stingy when it came to his precious honey. He swirled the pot around and when satisfied poured it into the mugs. I took the proffered coffee and felt the heat lace around my fingers like a pair of woollen gloves. I took a seat beside Halt and took a sip, scalding my tongue but relishing the sweet taste.

Halt didn't say anything, waiting for me to explain. It was obvious that something was up. I was here but Edmund wasn't and he had come to retrieve me.

"El jefe is my father," I said. "I didn't know until I was captured and Riley took me to Castle Caraway."

I didn't know what to expect. My father had done so much damage. He had hurt so many and killed many more. They had taken care of me while my father had terrorised their country. The country they had risked their lives on countless occasions for. The country they had sworn their lives to. Halt and Gilan had every right to be angry with me, just as Edmund did.

My declaration was met with silence. Halt just continued to sip his coffee. He didn't ask if I was a traitor. He didn't ask if this was some sort of ambush. I guess he could read it in my face. He had always been able to see right through me. The first time we had met he had already guessed my deepest secrets.

Gilan, on the other hand, looked like his mouth was going to burst from the need to ask questions, but he was trying to keep quiet as he glanced as his former mentor.

"Riley?" Halt finally asked.

"He and his father have been the inside men the entire time, undermining Baron Quinn and finding ways to get the Iberian army in. You won't be able to defeat them without the full force of the Araluen army. There's so many of them and even more are probably coming in the spring."

"Yes we saw the fleet last night," Halt said. "And where's Edmund? Captured I assume?"

"They're not going to kill him," I said quickly. "If they were I would have helped him escape. They'll probably ransom him eventually."

"Well that's a relief at least," Gilan put in. "If not Cassandra would have had us beheaded for losing him."

"Is there any way we could get him out?" Halt asked.

"I could probably get him out. El jefe trusts me now I think. I fought for him and then refused to escape with Edmund. But if I get Edmund out then I won't be able to help anymore."

"And what did you have in mind?"

"I could be a spy for you and send you information about their numbers and plans. As it is, even if we lay siege to Caraway we're in trouble. The army won't be able to travel through the snow and by the time they arrive the King will send reinforcements by sea. The more Cassandra knows, the better it will be."

"There's going to be a war, isn't there," Gilan said quietly.

I nodded grimly. "I don't know exactly what King Fernando wants but they are prepared for a war. This isn't some spur of the moment decision. My father has been preparing for this for more than ten years and before that my grandfather tried to invade Araluen but failed."

"Your family seems intent on disturbing the peace," Gilan noted.

I shrugged. "And here I thought I was some street urchin."

Halt stroked his beard, lost in thought. Both Gilan and I looked at him expecting him to impart some sort of wisdom to the situation. He was a veteran of decades of battles. Halt had been part of the reason Araluen had won the first war against Morgarath and since then had saved numerous other countries from invasion. If there was anyone who would know what to do, it was him.

Finally, Halt looked up. "Land. That's what he's after. On the continent there is always the risk of invasion from military powers but Araluen has always been isolated by sea."

"But he could always invade Gallica or Teutlandt? Wouldn't that be easier?" Gilan asked.

"Perhaps but the Kings of Iberion have always been stubborn like that. You said that your grandfather had tried to invade Araluen before?" Halt asked and I nodded. "His father must have failed so King Fernando won't let his father's plan be pushed aside. Also Iberion has always wanted to expand into an empire, to flex their military strength."

"An empire?" I asked.

Halt looked at me grimly. "The only title better than King is Emperor. The prospect of unrivalled power can turn a man insane." He picked up a stick and drew a crude map of Araluen and the Continent in the dirt.

"If he controls Araluen then he controls the waters from the Narrow Sea to the Narrows of Ikbar. His fleet would be unstoppable and he would control the trade routes. Gallica has always been weak without a leader to unite the warring Dukes so they couldn't stop him. The King of Iberion would be a very rich man."

"And what would happen to Araluen then?"

"We'd be an occupied state. He would install one of his own lackey's as Lord of Araluen and send in his troops."

"Surely our army would eliminate them?" Gilan said.

Halt shook his head. "Not necessarily. If he has an invading fleet – that is, an armada – then we would struggle because they would just arrive all along our coast. And this would be a bigger army than Morgarath's armed with weapons and armour and catapults."

My mind was elsewhere. "So my father would be Lord of Araluen?"

"Since he's been here for so many years it would make sense," Halt affirmed.

"And if he becomes Lord, then what would happen to Cassandra and Madelyn and Horace?"

Halt's dark eyes met mine. "The Royal family would be the first to go."

I immediately felt sick. The entire prospect was overwhelming. I could just imagine my father, a cruel overlord. Yes, most of Araluen would be undisturbed, but the leadership structure would be decimated. I could see the army marching upon the soaring white spires of Castle Araluen as a crimson river of blood flowed from the moat. Halt, Gilan and Will and all the rest of the Rangers. Horace would fight till his last breath trying to protect his wife and daughter and unborn child. Edmund would rot in the damp dungeon or be cut down with his cousin.

Wolf lifted his head and placed it on my lap reassuringly. "You won't let that happen."

He was right. I could really make a difference here. I wasn't going to let some maniac with visions of unparalleled power ruin so many lives.

"What can I do?"

sorry that was shorter than usual, but i really got stuck on this chapter so thought i would just post it. The continuation should be coming soon! I am dot pointing a lot, but some parts i am fleshing out in quite a bit of detail

xx