Ignoring History - Ranger's Apprentice Fanfiction

Chapter 22

~🌲Gilan🌲~

Gilan walked slowly through the grassy field with Sir Rodney beside him. His sword brushed gently against his left leg, thumping in rhythm with his step. It was comforting to feel the blade against himself, and Gilan couldn't remember the last time he had gone anywhere without it. It had always been there for him, and really, it was the only thing he could truly rely on.

It was hotter than usual, and beads of sweat dribbled down the side of his head. It wasn't nearly as much as the knights and cadets drilling a little ways off had. Their faces were drenched, and Gilan was almost relieved that he wasn't one of them.

One of the cadets particularly caught his eye, and Gilan had to stop in his tracks to watch. To his surprise, he recognized the boy. Horace. That was his name according to Alyss. He was the boy that had fought Will just earlier that day.

His build was typical for a knight: tall and muscular with broad shoulders and narrow hips. What wasn't typical was the way he moved. As Gilan watched closer, he realized what it was. Horace was adding an extra sword stroke to the sequence he was drilling. It was quick and swift, and an untrained eye would have missed it.

It took Sir Rodney a few steps to realize that Gilan had stopped walking. Turning, he followed his gaze to Horace. Nodding, he made his way back to where Gilan stood. "The boy's a natural," he said, confirming Gilan's thoughts.

"Does he know?" Gilan asked, thinking back to the way he fought Will. It made sense to think that Horace's ego had inflated with the knowledge.

"No," Rodney sighed. "No, he doesn't. To be frank, I'm quite confused by him."

"How so?"

"His work is always late," Rodney explained. "Always sloppy. All the other cadets avoid him, and he always has some bruise. It's like he gets into fights."

Rodney pursed his lips as he watched Horace. He stroked at his chin and shook his head. "But he's a bright boy. Has all the qualities of a good knight."

Gilan frowned thoughtfully. It was strange, he agreed, and he couldn't help but think that they were missing a very important piece of information. Horace's story simply did not make sense.

"I guess we'll find out when we march out," Gilan muttered under his breath.

Rodney nodded in agreement, and the two watched the training cadets a bit longer before turning away.

"How long do you think until we can move out?" Gilan asked. His voice had lowered down to a whisper.

"Dawn at the latest," Rodney said. "The knights and cadets won't take long to set up, but it'll take time to draft the common folk. They'll be making up most of the army, you know."

Gilan frowned but nodded. That had always been the case in Araluen's army. The main force were simple men, usually farmers, that had little to no skill in combat. And they would pay the price for it. Their casualties would be heavy, and Gilan had no question that the majority of them would be the soldiers. The knights, on the other hand, would survive as if nothing had happened. It wasn't fair, and Gilan didn't know if the system would ever change. It was just how things were.

"We'll be able to make it to the Western Woods tomorrow evening," Rodney continued. "It'll take another day to reach the Solidary Plain. We'll meet Morgarath's army on the morn of the third day."

"That's only if horses are provided for everyone," Gilan replied. "We're not going to have enough for all the soldiers, and if we work them twice as hard to get there in time, they'll be too tired to fight. There has to be a different way."