Chapter One

This is a fanfic of the Ranger's Apprentice series, by John Flanagan, and another fanfic I made up, the Vakter. There is a version told from Jay's perspective called Ranger's Shadow.

Ranger's Dragon

Kisha woke to the fresh morning air streaming in through her open window. Gilan always told her to close it, but she didn’t listen. The air smelled stale and musty otherwise. She heard Gilan stumble out of his room and into the kitchen, starting the coffee noisily. She smiled. Gil was always out of it before having his coffee. She got out of bed and got dressed, then went into the main room. They lived in a small cabin, two bedrooms, and then one room for the living, dining, and cooking rooms.

“Good morning, Gil,” Kisha said to her mentor, getting out food for breakfast. He grunted in response, eyes intent on watching the coffee brew. She smiled to herself and started cooking. A few minutes later, when the coffee was done, Gilan grabbed a cup, poured some for himself, and took a long drought. After he was pretty much done with the cup, he grabbed a cup for Kisha and poured some for her, then more for himself. They sat down to eat a few minutes later when the food was done.

“I swear, the coffee brews slower and slower every time,” Gilan said jokingly.

“You always say that,” Kisha laughed. After breakfast, they went out to the stable next to the cabin to feed their horses. Blaze, a big bay horse, nickered to Gilan. Actually, big for a Ranger horse, Kisha thought. Ranger horses were mostly small and shaggy. She walked over to Cheshire’s stall. She was wondering why Cheshire hadn’t made a noise to greet her.

Kisha wrinkled her brow in confusion. Cheshire was nowhere to be seen. She looked at the floor for clues. The hard packed down earth gave nothing up. She heard Gilan talking quietly with Blaze. She moved inside the stall and looked around the small enclosure for anything that would give her a lead. She was pretty sure this was just Gilan testing her, but she wasn’t sure. What did Gil always say? No one thinks to look up? She inspected the ceiling. Nothing. She balanced on the edge of the stall door to get a closer look and saw something small and cream-colored in the corner. She reached out to grab it, then almost fell. She recovered, and this time more cautiously, tried again, reaching up and grabbing it. It came off easily. Kisha fell onto the floor on her behind, back to the stall door opening. It was a wrapped package, and inside was a letter. As she opened the letter, she felt Gilan’s presence behind her. She stood up and whirled around.

“You!!” she exclaimed. Gil struggled to hide a grin.

“Me, what?” he asked, unsuccessfully trying not to smile.

“What did you do with Cheshire??!” she yelled at him.

“Me, nothing. Will, now that is a different matter,” Gil told her.

“What is Will doing with my horse??”

“I guess he wants us to visit him,” Gilan told her. She looked at the note. From the fold lines, she could tell that Gilan had already opened it. She sighed, dusted off her leggings and walked out of the stable and into the woods.

“Where are you going?” he called after her. She didn't stop, just kept walking.

“Going to Redmont Fief to get back Cheshire and give Will a piece of my mind,” she told him as if it should be obvious.

“Aren’t you forgetting something?”

“My cloak!!” Kisha yelled, then raced back to the cabin. She emerged a few minutes later holding a lot more than her cloak. She had her weapons, the ordinary cloak, and a small sack. Most Rangers had a green-grey cloak. Those in the northern fiefs had a grey-and-white one, to better blend into the snow in the colder months.

“What’s in the sack?” Gil asked.

“Who turned you into Pandora’s box?” she shot back. He smiled and hopped on Blaze, who was already saddled. She shook her head. Gilan must’ve been faking his clumsiness that morning. He patted the saddle in front of him.

“Come on, I’ll give you a ride,” he said.

“Fine, old man,” Kisha said to him, a smile already crossing her features as she hopped up onto the saddle in front of him.

“Old man!! Now that’s a new one,” Gilan laughed. “Better watch out, missy. You might regret that sometime.”

“I doubt I will. Let’s go.”

Author's Note

I do not own Gilan, Will, Blaze, Halt, Abelard, or Tug. I will eventually finish this, but I have writer's block right now, sorry.