Disclaimer: This is a work of fiction, made possible by the Ranger's Apprentice by John Flanagan. I have only borrowed his creation and I make no money. For this story I have used several other Rangers from the books, though I've also added my own. I do this only in the hope to entertain…

Author's Note: No harm shall come to the characters that can't be fixed with enough coffee…

Chapter 39

Will had gone back to the cabin to take care of a few things, and close it up while Jen was getting ready. Baron Arald was nothing if not efficient, and early the next morning they were ready to be on their way. Will rode Tug, and Jen had been given the use of a small palfrey, a gentle chestnut mare with a pleasant temperament and sunny disposition who seemed to enjoy getting out. They also had a packhorse, which Will had frowned about at first, he did not wish to be slowed down. Even so, he had to admit it made sense. The mare was not used to carrying gear, and neither was Jen. As she was a capable but far from experienced rider, they would be slowed down at any account.

No matter how hard she tried, she would not be able to keep up with the pace the Ranger's would normally hold, neither would her horse. It wouldn't be fair to expect it either, so Will pondered the route they would take and tried to plan accordingly.

"We can stay at an inn most nights," he told her. "But we will have to camp out as well, unless we want to go slower than we need to."

"I've never really camped out before, but I'm sure I can handle it," she stated firmly. "If you help me with the tent…"

"Of course I will," he smiled. He was fond of her, and she would be good company. He had been surprised by how much food that was loaded onto the packhorse, and even more so by the fact that it was Master Chubb that handed it to him. "How come Master Chubb came with all that food?" he asked. "I thought you would bring some for us."

Jen blushed lightly, "I was going to, but Sandra said she'd have Chubb see to it. She said there was no reason why we should waste time cooking when we did not have to, and that I should save my cooking for Gilan."

"He'll love that," Will beamed. "When it's your food, he eats as much as the rest of us."

"Not as much as Horace," she shrugged. "But hardly anyone eats as much as Horace. But I like cooking for Gilan more."

"I suppose that's only natural," he nodded, smiling as she blushed.

"It's not just that, Horace eats everything and tells me it was great. I love that, it makes me happy that he likes it. But Gilan tells me why he likes it. What it is about it he thinks is good. He even tells me what it is he doesn't like as much, so I can make it better."

"I hadn't thought of that," most of the time, he just did what Horace did, and told her he loved it all and that it was as good as always. He had never thought to tell her what it was that he liked about her food.

"I know, and I love you to," she smiled warmly at him. "And I don't mind, not really, Horace is sweet in his own way, but I just really like sometimes that I hear if something is too sweet or not. Gilan doesn't want it too sweet, Horace never seems to really take enough time to notice."

Nodding Will thought about her food. "I like your pies, because they are…" he broke off, not sure how to describe it. They just seemed perfect, the crust was flaky and slightly crumbly without falling apart too soon. The filling always seemed to be the right balance between turkey and vegetables, or berries and tart sauce. "…very pie-y…" he finished lamely. "Sorry, I don't know how to describe it. They just seem like the most perfect a pie could ever be."

"That's good, I'd hate if you described them as gruel," she giggled. "I don't mind Will, I'm not complaining. Anyway, I should be able to make something. I didn't know if I would, but Lady Sandra said that King Duncan would be glad to make certain his chef won't mind me intruding in his kitchen. Chef's generally don't like it, you know, but it can be fun sometimes and you can learn something. But I was a bit worried. She really is so kind, don't you think? She not only promised to make sure I'd be able to cook Gilan something, but she also gave me these two riding dresses, and another one. She said they were old, but they do look new. We had to take them up a great deal," she added with a giggle. "Gosh, I never thought about how tall she is, but when I tried them on it was terrible, but it's faster to take them up some than to have new dresses, and she's right. I will be glad for it, I don't suppose it would be too terrible if I didn't have a new dress, but King Duncan is the King…"

"He is," Will agreed, Jen really was a bubbly personality, talkative and cheerful. Only she could sound cheerful when she talked about being worried for meeting the King. "He is very fair, and a good king. He wouldn't lock down on you for a worn dress."

"Lady Sandra said so, but she said there are always courtiers that might, and she didn't want me to have to worry about that," she bobbed her head. "And it was so kind of Sir David to send me that message, but I've never met him before. I do rather want to look my best."

"I think he'd like you no matter what you wore," Will shrugged. "And I know King Duncan keeps talking about how good Master Chubb's food is, when he finds out he trained you, you won't have to worry about how to get to use the kitchen. When we tell him that you're as good as Master Chubb, he might just run his own chef out of the kitchen."

"Don't be silly," she giggled. "A wise man never angers the cook."

"That's probably smart," he mused. "But anyway, even if King Duncan wouldn't be that eager, Halt and Pauline are there. They know how good you are, and they know how much you care for Gilan. Halt seems so gruff most of the time, but he turns into the worst mother hen when it comes to Gilan. He fusses about him like you wouldn't believe."

"Of course he does," Jen didn't seem surprised at all by the news. "He loves Gilan."

"He does," Will agreed. Sometimes, that had bothered him a bit, not knowing if Halt really loved himself as much as he did Gilan. Sometimes, it still did, and now, when it was he who had nearly cost Gilan his life, he wondered if Halt would still want him at all.

Jen glanced at him, frowning as he became more quiet, but he could not help it. He needed to see his friend, needed to see he was alive, but he was sure they would blame him. He had wrapped Gilan's sword carefully to bring it back to him. He hoped that would show he was earnest, but he remembered how heartbroken Gilan's father had been, and he could not see how the man would forgive him when Gilan had been left behind.

Even if he had not known about it at the time, and had only trusted Harcourt's word, because he really could not fathom that the Ranger would lie about such a thing. He knew this, knew that he would not have acted differently if it had happened again and he had had the same facts. Harcourt had lied to him, why, he did not know. If the man had carried some grudge towards Gilan, or if it was because it was the easiest way out.

He might have lied because he saw no other option, or, he had some more nefarious reason. Will had no idea, but he had trusted him because he just couldn't think that a Ranger would leave one of their own behind.

Apparently there were some who could.

TBC Please review, the caffeine addicted Cricket is hungry…