"You can't expect me to marry a man I just met!" Bente argued with her aunt. Lyla rolled her eyes and the two of them turned to Edvin, who was watching the exchange.

"Edvin, This must be done." Lyla said. Bente let out a frustrated growl.

"You cannot do this to me. I love Willy!" She said. Lyla glared at her.

"It is quite unfair, Lyla." Edvin stated warily. He was terrified of his sister-in-law.

"Edvin, when Yvonne died, she put your girls in my care, because she knew they would be to much for you to handle. Now I know you deserve an opinion on your daughters future, but this is for the best. She will be a Countess and rule Flinchshire Estate along side Preston. She will be cared for, and we all know it will be very difficult to promise the same outcome if she marries that Araluen boy." Lyla said to Edvin. Bente's eyes pleaded with her father.

"Please, Dad? Don't do this to me. I know Willy can care for me." she said. "And if you allow me to stay here with Willy, you'll be able to watch your grandchildren grow." She batted her eyelashes in his direction.

"Let me think about it." He said. Lyla glared at him.

"Edvin, she's trying to talk you into letting her marry a thief!" She exclaimed. Bente shook her head in disbelief.

"Willy hasn't stolen anything in three years!" She said. Lyla placed her hand on her shoulder.

"My dearest, once a thief, always a thief."

***

    "MJ!" Abby exclaimed as MJ climbed off Wolfwind.

"Hello, Mam." He said. They shared an embrace and MJ quickly embraced his father.

"How are you all?" MJ asked.

"We're doing alright. Better now that you're here." Abby said smiling.

"It's been awfully lonely without Willy at home." Jesper said. MJ nodded.

"When is his next visit?" He asked.

"Hal told us this Saturday. Hal is Willy's instructor, so he had been keeping us in touch with what goes on with Willy. He is the Skirl of his band and they are doing quite well so far." Jesper said.

"Well that's good." MJ said.

  They walked through the streets of Hallasholm as they headed back to their house next to the restaurant. Many people gave MJ sour looks as they saw his weapons and his strange mottled green and grey cloak. Since no one in Hallasholm had seen MJ in four years, nobody recognized him.

"So how does it feel to be a full fledged Ranger?" Abby asked. MJ shrugged.

"The same, really, feels strange without Will by me." he said. Abby smiled a bit.

"You'll get the hang of it. The Oberjarl is thrilled to have you back. He has your cabin organized." She said. MJ nodded his thanks. At first he had been uneasy about the thought of being Skandias first official Ranger, but Queen Cassandra and Oberjarl Erak had talked it through and had both agreed to let MJ be Skandias ranger. He still would follow Araluen morals and go to the gatherings, but he belonged to Skandia, and followed it's Oberjarl, not Araluens royals. He was just happy he would still be with his family, he just hoped his brother would feel the same.

***

  Later that evening, there was a knock on the door and Jesper opened it to reveal Edvin, looking fatigued.

"Ed? What is it?" Abby asked. They invited him in and sat him down at the table. Abby made coffee for them all and Jesper, Abby and MJ waited for Edvin to explain.

"It's about Bente..." He started. Abby went pale.

"Is she alright? Is she sick? What has happened? Willy would be horrified if anything happened to her." Abby said. Edvin's face once again dropped.

"That's the thing, Ab." He said. "Bente is betrothed, and there is nothing I can do about it." The whole room was silent.

"What?" MJ asked, being the first to break the silence.

"When my wife died, she put Lyla, her sister, in charge of the girls, because poor Yvonne knew I was a sucker and would spoil them rotten. She knew that they needed a firm hand, so Lyla was made their care taker while I just stood by and watched them grow up. The thing is, not a month after Yvonne died, Lyla and Sir Flinchshire of the Flinchshire Estate, betrothed Bente to his son, Preston. It's unfair, but there is nothing I can do. I can't possibly tell Lord Flinchshire that she cannot be married to his son, not after they've been betrothed since Bente was nine!" Edvin let out a frustrated sigh and Abby, Jesper and MJ stared at him in horror.

"And Lyla has kept this from you for seven years?" Jesper asked. Edvin nodded.

"Yes. And Bente is refusing to go since she loves Willy." He said. Abby shook her head in disbelief.

"Willy will be heartbroken." Abby said quietly. The others nodded in agreement.

"How do we tell him?" Edvin asked.

"We don't. We let Bente tell him." MJ said.

***

Hey!!! Thanks for reading! I know this chapter is kinds boring, it's more of a filler. We'll get back to Willy in the next chapter. Love ya all!

~Avis