*Avis' POV*

We heard foot steps as we were digging into the food. Jacklyn quickly stuffed us in a cupboard behind us, and we listened carefully as the door opened. I didn't even breathe as we waited.

"Arald wasn't as harsh on them as I would have liked." Gilan muttered. Gilan, Will, Halt, Pauline, Chubb, Nigel, Ulf, and Rodney all entered the kitchen. I glanced at Jacklyn frantically as the craft masters all sat down at a table. Chubb began to dish out a savoury smelling stew that sat simmering over the fire. How did I miss that? He gave a bowl to each person and they all settled around the table. Oh crap, how long are we going to be trapped in here now? I slowly, slowly crack the cupboard open so we can see them.

"They are sweet, witty girls, they just need some training." Pauline said kindly.

"They need a whip into shape, and if I had it my way, it would be quite literally." Chubb snapped.

"They are not that bad, Chubb." Ulf said, sticking up for us. Suddenly it felt as if the room was divided. Ulf, Rodney, and Pauline seemed to like us. Halt, Gilan, Chubb, and Nigel seemed to hate us. While Will seemed just plain confused.

"I rather like them. They have potential as swordswomen." Rodney said, sounding proud.

"Avis, I think it was, is rather good with a horse." Ulf added in.

"She stole three pastries earlier when they visited." Chubb scolded. I smirked slightly and I brought a pastry Jacklyn had stolen to my mouth. I'd probably give him a heart attack if he found out what else we stole.

"If I recall correctly, Will used to steal pastries as well. You don't seem to want to whip him?" Pauline added in with a touch of a smile. Chubb frowned, and Will mouth dropped in exasperation at his surrogate mother.

"Well...Will...he-" after several false starts, he finally blurted out, "It's very unbecoming of a Lady." He said folding his arms, looking smug. Pauline rose an eyebrow, something she seemed to do a lot, her eyebrow could challenge Halt's.

"Stealing money, is unbecoming of a Lady, Chubb. Stealing pastries simply means she has impeccable taste. You should feel flattered. It shows that your pastries are good enough to steal." Pauline said, completely serious. I had to bite down on my thumb to keep me from laughing. I notice Jacklyn slowly turning red as she held back a laugh as well. Very well said, Lady Pauline.

"That makes absolutely no sense!" Gilan said confused. Will shook his head.

"No no, she has a point. I agree. I don't think they are that bad." Will said. Yes, point to us. Now it was an even match, four against four. On one side, a Knight, a Diplomat, a Horse Master, and a Ranger. On the other side, two Rangers, a Cook, and a Scribe. The opposing side was out matched if I did say so myself. We had Lady Pauline on our side.

"This is ridiculous!" Halt said harshly. His glare was focused mainly on Will and Pauline. "Those girls are outrageous. I suppose Duncan could use a few jesters!"

"You know perfectly well that Cassandra would befriend those girls in a minute." Will said smugly. Halt opened his mouth to speak, hesitated, than shut it once again. "I rest my case." Will smirked, leaning back in the chair and putting his feet up on the table. Chubb smacked his feet off the table and sat down with a huff.

"All this fiddle faddle over two small girls." Rodney scoffed. "Honestly, give the girls a medal and knight them as shield maidens! They can annoy Denise like no one I know, and that is an achievement worth more than any peace treaty, gold, or race horse combined." Why thank you Rodney, we do try.

"They are bizarre. Just today they sprayed me with this bubbly liquid. I thought it was poisoned, but then I saw Avis and Jacklyn drinking it later. Then they trying to murder me with these strange red sticks that they ate. They were covered in powder, and they called them "heat cheaters". I swear I thought I was dying. They forced me to eat it against my will. They should be arrested for assaulting an officer of the King." Gilan said. I rose an eyebrow and I heard Jacklyn snort softly. He took it willingly! The little liar.

"What was the liquid called? It's all over you!" Will asked, raising up Gilans cloak and sniffing one of the stains. "It smells weird, almost good!" Suddenly all the craftmasters were grabbing the young rangers cloak, pulling all directions so they could all smell the stain. At this point I was biting so hard on my thumb to keep from laughing, that I think I tasted a bit of blood. I felt Jacklyn take my wrist, pulling my thumb away from my mouth, and placing a piece of ham in between be teeth. Effective, and this way I'm no longer wounding my thumb!

"What did they call this liquid?" Chubb asked, curiously.

"I believe they called it Physicians Salt." Gilan said in a matter of fact tone. Cue me biting harder on the ham.

"Medicine? They could be misusing strong medication." Halt said. "I'll question the physician in the morning about this 'Physicians Salt.'"

"What ever it is, it doesn't wash out. I only have two cloaks, and I need this one." Gilan groaned.

"Yes you do, the three of you are off to the Gathering in two days." Pauline stated. "Give me the cloak, Gil. I'll have a servant girl scrub it until it comes out." Gilan untied the cloak and passed it off to her. She folded it and set it on the table.

"Once I talk to the physician it'll prove those girls are up to no good." Halt said grimly, looking as if he was plotting our demise.

"Let's give them some time to settle down. It's a lot to move into a ward. They'll get better." Ulf said. "I mean I'm sure Will hated the ward when he first came." Will rose an eyebrow.

"I was a newborn...I'm sure I was perfectly content with whoever had the food." Will stated. Halt smiled slightly at this response.

"We'll give them a until after the gathering. If they are still trouble, I think we should take them to Duncan's courts. They'll work them till they're too tired to pull shenanigans." Nigel said stiffly.

"Well the Royal Wedding is in a two months. If it comes to that, we'll take them along." Gilan said. He seemed happy at the idea of being rid of us.

"Well that's settled." Pauline said, taking the cloak as she stood. "Chubb, thank you for the stew, it was delicious. Halt?" Halt stood and came to her side as they walked out of the kitchen.

"Bed sounds nice. But it's too far away!" Will groaned, lazily letting his head lull. Chubb rolled his eyes.

"Coffee is on the fire. Wash the cup before you leave." He said as he left. Will grinned and made himself some coffee. Soon Nigel, Rodney, and Ulf left. Gilan seemed to be trying to murder us telepathically, obviously not succeeding.

"Baron put my room right next to the ward. I'll check on the girls before I turn in." Gilan said standing. My eyes widened and Jacklyn gripped my wrist tightly. Not good.

"I don't envy you. Night Gil." Will said, continuing to sip his coffee. Gilan shut the door, and I turned to Jacklyn. We would have to chance it. It's either get caught by Will, who seemed to support us, or be found not in our dorm by Gilan, who clearly wanted revenge for the Cheeto/ Dr. Pepper incident. I opened the cupboard, much to Jacklyn's displeasure. We gathered up the food, and stepped into the view of Will. Will jumped slightly as we appeared in the shadows (we've had years of practice from reading the histories).

"Gorlogs Breath! What are you two doing here?!?" Will exclaimed.

"Don't try to act innocent, Will Treaty. We know you used to steal from the kitchens as well." I scolded my childhood hero. Wow, talk about bucket list! Will stood, looking panicky.

"Gil is on his way to check on you!" Will hissed.

"We know! Other wise we wouldn't have revealed ourselves to you! Clearly you don't have the type of death threats over us that he does!" Jacklyn exclaimed.

"Will you help us!?!?" I asked. "We'll do anything!" I begged. Will bit his lip, seeming to weigh his options.

"Fine, but you two owe me big time." He said. I let out a sigh of relief.

"Thank you!" Jacklyn said happily.

"You'll need to climb down the side of the building." Will stated. Jacklyns face fell.

"Not going to work. She has a height problem." I said. I knew I could do it, considering Rock climbing is my sport. However Jacklyn looked so bit green.

"Too bad." Will said. He ran to the back of the kitchen, and pulled out a fairly thin rope.

"I'll climb down so I can untie her when she reaches the bottom." I tell him. He nodded and begins to wrap the rope around Jacklyns waist and arms. I ran to the window, opening the shutters and shimmy over the ledge. It was pretty easy since it was only three stories, about the same height as the routes in my local rock climbing gym. I find the hand and foot hold easily, though some were a bit hard, considering the stone was smooth from the weather. After about thirty seconds, I was more than half way to the bottom. I put pressure on my right foot, and suddenly my foot gave way, and I fell to the grass below. I let out a grunt as I landed on my back.

"Ow..." I moan.

"You alright?" I hear Will hiss. Jacklyn stand beside him in the window, looking even more ill since she saw me fall.

"I'm good. It was only ten feet." I said, out of breath, and bruised. I think I dislocated a rib. If you fall ten feet at my gym, you land on about two feet of padding. Grass did not give me the same comfort.

"What's ten feet?" I hear Will mumble. This managed to crack a small smile on Jacklyn's face.

"A unit of measurement where we are from." She explained.

"Ah. Alrighty, your turn." He said. Her eyes widen and Will helps her over the ledge. I slowly stand, clutching my ribs with a groan.

"Don't look down, Jacklyn. Just put your feet against the wall, and as Will lowers you, make sure you don't let anything but your feet hit the wall." I said, still out of breath. I don't think she heard me, because she decided to simply be a blob and let Will lower her down as she stared at the upcoming grass. She landed gently on her knees, and I quickly untied her, allowing Will to gather the rope back up.

"Thank you!" I called out. He rolled his eyes.

"You still owe me, kid." I smirk at the reply, and help Jacklyn to her feet, straining my ribs more. Ouch. I wave to Will and we hurry off to the court yard where the entrance to the Ward was. I can hear footsteps coming from a nearby corridor, so I quickly pray that it's Gilan and he hadn't reached the ward yet. I open the door, pulling a still dazed Jacklyn through, and shut it quickly. We rush to our dorm and throw our backpacks into the trunks at the end of our beds. I toss Jacklyn her nightgown and we quickly change, jumping into bed and throwing the covers over me right as the door opens.

"I told you Ranger Gilan, I haven't seen them since you brought them in!" I heard a whiny voice call out, Denise.

"They're in bed." Gilan whispered. He slowly shut the door and I hear the foot steps fade.

"Where on earth have you two been?" Arielle whispered. I let out a deep sigh and lay back, rubbing my ribs slightly to relieve the pain.

"Ranger Will invited us to the kitchens, Ranger Gilan had no knowledge of it though." Jacklyn said, clearly back in her right mind. She grabbed her backpack and handed Arielle, and a now awake Lesley, different pastries and such that we risked our butts for. I roll over on my bed and grunt at the pain before falling into a deep sleep.

***

I had a weird dream the other night that someone sent this book to John Flanagan, and he thought Jacklyn and I were strange children and recommended a psychiatrist for the two of us, and I just laughed it off and said my mom was one, even though she's not. It was bizarre, and funny at the same time. Any who! Thanks Jacklyn for letting me write this chapter! It was fun! I love you all!

~Avis