For the third time that month, Will and Percy found Halt knocking on their door.
"Will, we need your help," Halt said hurriedly, skipping past introductions.
Will regarded his former mentor with concern. "What is it?"
"King Duncan has asked for you, me, and Horace to report to Castle Araluen. Apparently, it's urgent. And if I were you, I'd bring him along." Halt jerked his thumb at Percy, who was sitting on the couch, flicking his eyes back and forth between the two Rangers.
"Me?" Percy's voice rose in pitch. "Why me? Are we just going to walk all the way there?"
Halt smirked. "'Course not. That would be ridiculous. You're going to ride a horse."
Percy pursed his lips. He rode a horse before at camp, he could do it. "Okay…do I need to bring anything?" The moment Percy said it, he realized how stupid that sounded. He didn't have anything to bring. Fortunately, neither of the Rangers noticed.
"So long as you've brought your common sense with you," Will teased, and Percy cracked a smile. He liked hanging out with Will. The Ranger had a sarcastic sense of humour that appealed to the demigod.
Halt clapped his hands in anticipation. "Let's go before daylight runs out. Horace is out on the road, waiting."
The Rangers led Percy to the lean-to stable outside the cabin. Tug brayed a greeting as his master saddled him. "I'll meet you two outside," Halt said briefly, walking back out.
Percy noticed a chocolate brown stallion, similar to Will's horse, in terms of a stocky build and a shaggy coat. The horse stood in one of the stalls, eyeing Percy with what seemed to be an air of suspicion.
"Hey, who's this?" he asked, gesturing to the horse. Will glanced up as he placed the bridle's bit into Tug's mouth.
"It's Alyssa's horse, Sable," he answered as he led Tug out of the stable. "You'll just have to ride with me."
Percy knitted his eyebrows. "Can't I just ride Alyssa's horse?"
Will chuckled. "I wouldn't. Sable's a feisty one, just like his rider." There was a glint in his eyes, as if he knew something Percy didn't. Will leaned into Tug's ear and whispered a few words. As if the horse heard him, he shook his mane and whinnied.
"He...talks to you?" Percy asked in bewilderment. Will rose an eyebrow, something that Percy had noticed him and Alyssa had in common.
"I gave him an order to make sure he doesn't buck you," he replied, swinging up into the saddle swiftly. "Would you mind bringing the stone and the dagger?"
Percy nodded, and quickly ran back inside to grab the two items that lay on the table. He swung up on the saddle behind Will. Will gently flicked the reins, and Tug cantered towards Halt and Horace, who were mounted on the road.
"Is this...uh, going to be a long ride?" Percy asked tentatively.
With a completely straight face, Will answered, "Yup." Percy moaned inwardly. He wasn't used to riding for hours straight, but now was a good time to get used to it.
The next few hours, they rode in silence. Percy had guessed that it had been three hours of riding when Will brought Tug to a halt. The others followed suit.
"Let's have a quick meal break here, and then we'll ride for a few more hours before nightfall," Will suggested, dismounting off of Tug.
Halt looked at his former apprentice approvingly. "Good idea. Let's go there in the trees." Halt pointed to a small group of trees that strayed a bit off the path. They dismounted and led their horses under the shade. They set up camp, and made a fire.
Within half an hour, Will was already jointing and cleaning two rabbits that they had killed. He covered the raw meat in a blend of seasoning he had prepared, and set them on some rocks by the fire.
"You know, Araluen's not that bad," Percy admitted, as he watched the flickering flames.
Will smiled slightly. "Glad you think so." He laid back comfortably with Halt, Horace, and Percy.
"Just curious, but how did Alyssa come to be a Ranger?" Percy asked. "Alyssa had never talked much about how she grew up or anything."
"She keeps to herself about those sort of things," Will replied. "For some reason, she doesn't like talking about her family."
Percy rose an eyebrow. "Why? Does she have bad blood between them?" Will shook his head.
"No, not really. She gets along with her mother fairly well, at least, that's what she's told me. She doesn't have any siblings. Perhaps that's why she's a bit grim. Anyway, I first saw her when she got herself into...a bit of trouble."
Percy furrowed his eyebrows. "Trouble? Is she, like, a criminal?"
Will chuckled softly. "Oh, no. If she was a criminal, she wouldn't be a Ranger. No, she was thirteen at the time. She got into a fist fight with a boy from a village. Although, if I looked back on it now, I wouldn't be surprised. She always had a quick fuse. Anyway, I was riding through the village on my way to the castle, when I saw the fight. Naturally, I broke them apart, and thankfully, the boy - who was the same age - wasn't hurt too bad. I took him to the village healer, and gave Alyssa a good talk. She simply said that the boy bad-mouthed her."
Percy looked at Will in disbelief. "She beat up a kid for insulting her?!"
"As I said, she had a hard time controlling her temper. After that incident, I simply dismissed her from my mind. Until she showed up again. It was a few months after the incident, when I got some reports of roadside thievery. I've dealt with those too many times, so I wasn't expecting anything different. When I got to the road where the bandits were supposedly preying on, I found a certain girl. She was standing on the side of the road, a man's body at her feet."
Percy's mouth gaped open. "You mean to say that she single-handedly killed those bandits?"
Will nodded his head. "That's what I thought. She had a huge rock in her hand, blood-stained. My guess is that she hit 'em across the head. When I checked the man, he was alive, just unconscious. Alyssa pretty much stood there, calmly, as if she tracked down criminals everyday. I questioned her, and she told me that she was at the top of a tree near the road, relaxing-"
"She sits in a tree to relax?"
Will sighed at the interruption. "Supposedly. She said that she was sitting there, when she saw a small group of bandits prowling in the shadows. She overheard some things, so she assumed they were up to no good. She snuck down the tree, grabbed a rock and, well, here they were. According to her, the rest ran off. She said that she wasn't trying to kill the man, and fortunately, I was able to track down the strays after...er, threatening the man for information."
Percy couldn't decide whether Alyssa was foolish at the time, or she really had guts. "So, you picked her to be your apprentice?"
The Ranger nodded. "Essentially. I noticed her uncanny ability to stay hidden in the shadows when she snuck up behind them, and even today, that's one of her main strengths as a Ranger. She accepted my invitation, and joined me in my cabin." Percy nodded thoughtfully. Halt coughed apologetically.
"If you two are done story-time, I would suggest you take the meat off the fire," Halt said dryly, gesturing to the near-charred pieces of rabbit. Will did so, albeit a bit a sheepishly. He took a few small, wooden plates from his pack, and placed chunks of meat and pieces of bread on it, passing them around. Horace frowned at the small portion.
"This is much too small. I'm a growing boy, you know," the warrior said, sniffing in mock-disgust.
Halt snorted. "That excuse might have worked when you were an apprentice, but you're a grown man now. It's better than nothing."
Horace shrugged undecidedly. He wolfed down the meal, and within minutes, the plate was clean. Even Percy was impressed. The others followed likewise, their stomachs soon full, and their plates empty. They washed down their food with metallic-flavoured water from their canteens.
"Alright, let's move on again before we get too comfortable," Halt urged, beginning to kick loose gravel and dirt over the fire. Percy sighed disappointedly, but he packed up their things. He rubbed his back unconsciously. Oh, how his muscles would enjoy the next few hours, sitting stiffly in a saddle.