John Flanagan - The Royal Ranger

Dawn began to streak the eastern sky over the sea. He could hear birds moving and calling, fluttering through the low bushes and long grass, rustling the branches and leaves as they hunted unwary insects. The day was a normal day, just like the day before. But it would always be different because he would remember this day as the day he lost Maddie.

“I’m hungry. What’s for breakfast?” she said.

His head jerked up and he looked at her. Her eyes were open and she was smiling at him. It was a weak smile, but a smile nonetheless. He felt his heart lurch wildly inside his chest, with hope and relief and joy.

“What’s for breakfast?” he repeated numbly. “After all that you’ve put me through, that’s all you can say?”

She shrugged, then winced as the movement caused her pain.

“What can I tell you? I’m my father’s daughter.”

He began to laugh. And somewhere, the laughter turned to tears and he was sobbing uncontrollably—immense sobs that racked his entire body and floods of tears that coursed down his cheeks. And he knew the tears were the ones he had never been able to shed for Alyss. They were for her. And they were for Maddie. And they were for him.

Most of all for him.

And as the sun rose behind him, he remained bent over Maddie, sobbing, the tears falling onto her cheeks below him until she patted his hand awkwardly and comforted him.

“It’s all right, Will. It’s all right now.”

It was full daylight when Tim Stoker found them. He had left the cave to come in search of them. He had found the bodies of the two men Maddie had overtaken the night before and equipped himself with the spear that one of them had dropped.

He stood before them, armed with the oversized weapon that was way too large for him.

“Will Treaty,” he said, “is Ranger Maddie all right?” He was doubtful because, if she was, he had no idea why the bearded Ranger would be leaning over her, weeping softly.

Will looked up at the worried young face and smiled. It occurred to him that he hadn’t smiled—really smiled—in a long, long time.

“She’s fine. Who are you?”

“I’m Tim. So can you take us home now?”

Gilan folded the parchment and placed it back in a leather folder. He looked up at the assembled faces, the sea of grey and green cloaks that surrounded him. There was an eagerness about them all, he could see. The Gathering was nearly over for this year and it was almost time for the feasting and tale telling and singing that would mark the end of the assembly.

“That’s just about all the appointments and promotions for this year,” he said, and an expectant buzz ran through the assembled Rangers.

“But before we get to the feasting—” he indicated the long table set out under the trees, laden with food and drink “—there is one more item of business.”

Another buzz ran through the group, this one not quite so expectant. It had more of a sense of what now? about it. He held up his hands apologetically.

“It’s only going to take a few minutes,” he said, “then you can all get busy stuffing yourself with too much food.”

A small ripple of amusement ran through them and they settled back. They knew Gilan wasn’t one of those speakers who would say, “I’ll keep this short,” and then drone on for an hour or more.

“And it has to do with the reason why our two honoured guests are here with us today,” he added, nodding in the direction of Cassandra and Horace, seated at the front of the group.

That caused a stir of interest. The assembled Rangers had wondered why the crown princess and the champion knight of the realm had arrived earlier that morning for the final day of the Gathering. It was highly unusual for outsiders to be included—even royal outsiders. Heads turned to study the couple. Cassandra smiled graciously. Horace flushed and lowered his head. He still wasn’t at home with public appearances.

“As you know,” Gilan went on, “when the Corps takes on an apprentice, that title is given as a courtesy until the satisfactory completion of the first twelve months of training. At that point, the bronze oakleaf is awarded and the title Ranger’s apprentice becomes official.”

They nodded. They all knew that.

“But today, we have among us a first-year apprentice who, after only nine months of training, has already proved worthy of the official title and the award of the bronze oak-leaf. She is also, coincidentally, our first female recruit and has proved that the right girl is more than capable of serving in our Corps and carrying out all the duties expected of a Ranger.”

Now, that got a reaction. Most of them had heard rumours that a girl had been recruited, although they had no idea who had been appointed as her mentor. Gilan and Halt had decided that it might be best not to let out information about Maddie, in case the experiment didn’t work out.

Some of the Rangers seated at the rear of the audience stood and peered around, hoping to get a view of the first female Ranger. But of course Maddie was sitting with her cowl up and was indistinguishable from all the other cowled figures around her.

“In the course of the last nine months, she has passed every test set by her mentor—an extremely hard judge, if I might say—and has introduced a new weapon to the Corps. I suggest you might ask her to demonstrate this when the official side of things is over.”

“Which will be when?” a lugubrious voice called from the middle of the crowd and everyone laughed.

Gilan nodded good-naturedly in the direction of the speaker. “Not long to go. But to continue. Not only has this recruit shown her ability in training, she has proved her worth and her courage in the field as well. Six months ago, she undertook a mission with Will Treaty—whose name you may be familiar with—to break up a slaving ring on the east coast and return ten kidnapped children to their homes.”

Now more and more heads were turning, seeking the whereabouts of the new Ranger.

“And in the process,” Gilan continued, “she saved Will’s life. Something that has been done by very few people in the past.” He nodded towards a silver-haired figure in the third row. “Halt is one of those, of course. And the other two are the girl’s parents…”

He paused dramatically. There was a lot of the ham about Gilan. “And they are… Princess Cassandra and Sir Horace, the Oakleaf Knight, the Sunrise Warrior and champion knight of the realm.”

Now the Rangers were all on their feet, understanding why Cassandra and Horace were present, wanting to see this girl who had done so much in such a short time. Someone in the rear ranks began to clap, then they were all applauding, and shouting out to Gilan.

“Let’s see her!”

“Where is she?”

Gilan smiled and beckoned to Maddie. She rose, throwing back the cowl of her cloak, and made her way to the podium where he stood. She was still limping slightly, he noticed. She would probably have that limp for the rest of her life.

As she turned to face the members of the Corps, the clapping changed to cheering and whistling. She looked around the sea of faces, picking out some she knew. Will, of course, had both fingers in his mouth and was emitting a piercing whistle, and contriving to grin hugely at the same time. Halt was standing, nodding slightly and smiling. For Halt, that was the equivalent of bugles and drums. Lady Pauline was also present, a concession to Halt’s prestige and position as a senior figure in the Corps. She was whistling as well, Maddie saw with surprise.

As for her mother and father, they were beaming with pride. Maddie waved coyly to them and was shocked when her mother suddenly leapt to her feet and pumped her fist in the air, emitting a cry that sounded something like: