Lynn couldn't contain her excitement that she felt as she and MJ stepped off of the ship onto Araluen soil. Castle Araluen towered above them and MJ led his horse, Maple towards it, leaving Lynn to stare in awe until she realized she was being left behind. She ran to catch up with him.

"It's huge!" She said. He smirked at her.

"It's a castle, not a house." He said. She blushed slightly, unnoticed by him.

MJ left Maple with the stable hand, making sure he would care for her carefully. He then led her into the castle, passing by the guards by simply showing them his silver oakleaf that hung around his neck as a symbol of his title.

MJ led her up the stairs and to the top floor, where he knocked on a closed wooden door. A deep voice grumbled for him to enter and he turned the knob, pushing it open. An ageing, but still very handsome ranger sat at a desk with his head in his reports. He glanced up and smiled at MJ.

"MJ!" he said. He stood and gestured for them to enter.

"Hello Uncle Gil." MJ said. Gilan smiled at Lynn.

"You must be Lynn, MJ's new apprentice." He said holding out his hand. She shook it firmly and nodded.

"Yes sir." She said. Gilan gestured for them to sit and Lynn sat quietly as the two men conversed.

"How is aunt Jenny?" MJ asked. Gilan let out a breathy laugh.

"To well. All her plum tarts are getting the better of me." He said holding his belt. MJ simply laughed. "How do you think Skandia will get along without you for two months?" Gilan asked. MJ laughed again.

"The Oberjarl said that Skandia has survived over three centuries without the blasted rangers corps, and that they could survive another two months." He said. "The same thing he said when I was headed to Celtica." Gilan shook his head while smiling.

"That man. He'll be the death of all of us." He teased. MJ nodded in agreement. "Are you two going to be at the gathering?"

"Of course. Lynn can hardly wait. I think she's more excited to receive her horse though." MJ said, nudging her with his elbow. She blushed and bit her lip. Gilan smiled.

"We all were. Treat the horse well, they'll be your best friend for the rest of their lives. I remember when I first got my horse, Blaze, a beautiful gelding." He said.

MJ nodded in agreement.

"Same with Maple and I." He said.

"Well, I'd best let you go then. I'll see you both at the gathering." Gilan said. MJ and Lynn bid farewell and left.

***

      Emmy sat down next to Willy on the log that was next to the fire. She stared into the dancing flame and contemplated the past two weeks she had spent with the Hounds. They were practically the older brothers she had always wanted. She was an only child and her cousins never liked her because she was different. She loved sailing, and always wanted to be in a brotherband, but her mother would never let her. When her uncle Erak had mentioned how an instructor had resigned, she jumped at the oppertunity. Erak had finally convinced her mother that she would come and stay with him in Hallasholm, purposefully forgetting to mention she would be an instructor for a brotherband. As the days progressed, the boys were put up to harder and harder tasks. Emmy could hardly keep up with them, so she asked her uncle if she could just stay with the boys in the tent. Sigurd had hounded the boys the day before she moved in to make sure they didn't try anything on her.

"Have you ever met a women who sailed with a crew?" Emmy asked turning to Willy. A few of the other boys turned to watch their conversations.

"Yes. My mother, and my aunt Lydia. They both sailed with my uncle Hal and my father." He said. She rose her eyebrows.

"Really? And that's allowed?" She asked.

"It's the Skirls choice if he wants a woman on board. I personally don't mind, except they can be a little distraction to the boys. Other then that I don't care if it's a blubbering whale. Some times it's considered unladylike. I know when my mam and aunt served on my uncles ship, most women in Hallasholm refused to even look at them." He said. "Why do you ask?" He turned to her. She blushed a bit, grateful for the dim lighting.

"I've always wanted to sail. To be part of a crew. But my mam said it's shameful." She said looking away from him. Willy smiled a bit.

"But it's your life. If you want to sail, then sail. Your mam can't force you to be who you don't want to be." He said. She bit her lip and turned to him.

"You sound like someone with expericence with that sort of thing." She smirked. He gave her a small grin.

"Yes. Let's just say I wasn't always socially exceptable, and even now I'm still not." He said. She was suddenly curious by his words.

"Oh? How so?" She said. He stood and with an evil glint in his eyes, he smirked.

"Why don't you ask someone else, They might tell you more truthfully then I." He then turned and left, crawling into the tent and he was lost from sight. Emmy turned to the crew surrounding her.

"What does he mean?" She asked, turnings to Boyd, who looked rather uncomfortable.

"Willy's right, he isn't exactly marked as socially exceptable in Hallasholm." He said. She rose an eyebrow.

"Why? What did he do?" She said.

"It's more of who he is. For one, he's considered a halfblood. Half Araluen, Half Skandian." Quint explained sitting down next to her with his axe and a wettstone in his hands.

"Why would that matter? It's happened before and the others have been excepted." she said. Quint smirked.

"And that brings us to the second reason...He's, well, he's a thief." He said. Emmy said nothing, she simply stared at Quint for a moment, trying to comprehend what he had said.

"A what? Willy is not a thief!" She said defensively. Dannie stared at his feet.

"He stole a knife from me when we were six." He mumbled.

"I gave that back!" They all heard Willy call from the tent.

"No you didn't!" Dannie yelled back.

"Oh? Maybe I gave it to MJ." Willy said. He came back out of the tent and gave him a guilty smile. "And he probably gave it to some girl he used to like but completely ignores now." Dannie rolled his eyes.

"Great." He said sarcastically. Emmy glared at Willy.

"That's just wrong. Why would you do something like that?" She demanded. Willy let out a sigh before sitting down next to her once again.

"I was raised that way. Mam was against it, but dad was a thief, and he couldn't help himself. He taught me the tricks of the trade and I enjoyed it very much. Though I may have gone over board." He said. Her furious stare bore into his eyes and he could almost feel her anger radiating off of her.

"Willy!" She growled. He glanced at the others for help.

"The upside is he hasn't stolen in about three years, thanks to

Bente." Grong threw in. Willy gave them a guilty smile and Quint playfully punched him in the shoulder.

"What have you done?" He asked.

"I may or may not have stolen a pair of "lucky stirrups" from our good friend Preston Flinchshire." He said.

"Willy! Why must you be so pigheaded!?!" Emmy said punching him much harder then Quint did. Willy held up his hands and simply laughed.

"Relax! I was just teasing with you Emmy! Gorlogs breath you punch hard!" he teased holding his arm. Emmy blushed.

"Really? I'm sorry! I didn't mean to." She said. Quint laughed.

"I doubt Preston's ever even ridden a horse." He smirked. The others laughed and nodded in agreement.

"Alright boys and Emmy, we must get to bed. It's a holiday tomorrow so we are free to visit friends and family. Now off to bed." Willy said. The others groaned and retired to their bed rolls.

***

Hey! So quick question, If I make another book after this, this one will no longer be considered a sequel, right? So it'll just be the second book? Fun fact: I acctually named both of my horses after RA. The first was Ranger (Yeah I know, real original) And the second is Blaze. Yeah, so I hope you like it. The ending is coming soon. Please comment and vote. Love you all!

~Avis