Squirt arrived in Araluen. She stared amazed at the beautifully carved stonework that was put into making the castle. She stared at it for a few minutes just admiring it in Beauty's saddle. Then a familiar voice caught her attention. she looked for where she heard the voice and saw Anthony the Chamberlain was waving to her. Beside him a young boy around her age trying to keep in step with Anthony's long, quick stride. When Anthony made it to Squirt the boy grabbed Beauty's reins. Beauty insulted that he didn't asked snorted at him leaving horse snot on his arm. They boy stepped back wiping the snot with a cloth he wore at his belt. He was obviously a stable hand, and a very inexperienced one. Squirt jumped down from her saddle in one easy movement and held Beauty's reins in her hand. Anthony shook in disgust at the boy stable hand.
"Robby what are you doing, you don't handle a horse like that. You need to get permission from the horse first." The boy looked up from the wiping off snot task and shook his head
"Didn't you see what that thing of a horse did to me? And how are you supposed to ask a horse for permission to hold damn reins!" Arrogant, Squirt thought, full of arrogance. Then he let out a sigh of realisation, "Oh, I'm sorry" he walked over to the horse "May I take your reins?" he asked sarcastically. Beauty Snorted on his face this time and the boy yelled angrily. Squirt found it incredibly challenging not to smile or laugh. She stood closer to Beauty and whispered in her ear
"Good girl" she said in a barely audible tone. But beauty seemed to hear it loud and clear and whinnied in laughter. Anthony shook his head at the arrogant boy.
"Go wash that off and you can be on washing duty for the rest of the day" the boy huffed and puffed as he walked away in an angry stride. Anthony turned back to Squirt apologetically.
"Sorry, he's our new trainee, who came from a rich family. His parents have gone on a trip for two weeks and have asked us to look after him and make him learn some discipline. I don't understand why they couldn't have done it themselves but anyway" he shook his head one last time getting rid of the anger and smiled, " Let's not worry about that. So how are you?" he asked. Squirt nodded. "Really good, I'm loving my apprenticeship as a ranger!" she said. Anthony had known Squirt for some time and was one of Duncan's closest friends in Araluen. He found out about Squirt being Duncan's daughter some years back, but he barely knew about it, Duncan preferred not to talk too much about it. Ever since then, Anthony and Duncan had become close friends and had met up with Squirt on several occasions. She was probably one of the sweetest girl's he had ever seen. Most girls he knew at Squirt's age were always worrying about their appearance so they could go and flirt with boys. But Squirt was nothing like those girls. She was more like the silent, sweet natured types, he thought.
After Squirt was settled down in her room in the Keep Tower she went back down stairs to the office where Anthony told her to meet him. He then took her to the Castle Hall and told her to wait outside until Duncan was ready for her. After 5 minutes, Anthony reappeared and ushered her in the Throne Room. In there was a long table with chairs surrounding it. At the very end of the Table was a throne where Duncan sat. Duncan gave her a polite smile but from growing up with a ranger she had learned many things. Including knowing what people were thinking. Duncan was sad. Miserable in fact and she hesitated. The facial expression was becoming too familiar. When she was leaving the cabin back in Redmont, Halt gave her very much the same expression, trying to cover up his sadness with a smile. She chose not to ask him about it and gave him a kiss on the cheek and left for her journey to Araluen. Duncan seeing her hesitation gestured for her to sit down in a chair next to him. She smiled and sat down. This conversation wasn't going to end good, Squirt knew.
"Squirt" Duncan said after Anthony left and shut the door. His smile had faded away now and his pained expression was all too obvious. "Squirt there's something I need to tell you, something I should have told you long ago..."
*I'll update tomorrow. It's WAY past my bedtime and decided to leave you guys on a cliff hanger. PLEASE feel free to VOTE and COMMENT hope you guys are liking it!-xx-*
Both Duncan and Squirt sat in silence for several seconds before Duncan spoke again. He took a deep shaky breath,
"Well...Where do I begin?.....I guess it all started when I met the most beautiful woman I had ever met-" Squirt nodded
"Cassie's mum?" she asked. Squirt and Cassandra had met each other when they were young and had some funny memories. Of course, they didn't see alot of each other, but when they did, it was always enjoyable. Over the years Squirt and Cassandra became comefortable calling each other by normal names. Squirt use to have to call Cassandra, Your highness, or, Princess Cassandra, but now it was just Cassie. Duncan shoock his head in answer to Squirt's question. Squirt's eyes shot wide open. Squirt hadn't known that Duncan had ever been in love with anyone else but Cassie's mum.
"Who was it?" she asked excitedly. She loved knowing new information which she use to hate hearing when she was young, but grew to like it as she grew more mature and aware of her surroundings. Duncan took another deep breath
"She was a woman who i loved very, very much." he smiled sadly, remebering her cheeky smile she always gave him, which was one of his favourite feature about her. "She was a good shot with that croos bow of hers aswell" he said then his face darkened and his sad smile turned into an angry frown, "But then, when we were out riding, stray Wargals shot her down a few weeks after the war of Hackham Heath." Squirt shot up from her seat, her eyes wide-eyed
"My mother died by Wargals aswell as well as my father not long after the war too!" Squirt said. Duncan wouldn't meet her steady, serious but curious gaze. Duncan nodded and Squirt noted that his fae was turning slightly pale and noticed his eyes looked really glassy.
"Yes, I know......The woman i went out riding with was my wife.......We had a baby 2 months old..." by this point Squirt started to feel a tightening in her stomach, starting to realise where this was going, "The baby was a beautiful girl and we planned to call her Annabelle...........But that day when we went riding.....I guess......wrong place.....wrong time......." Squirt took several deep breaths
"Duncan..?" Squirt said starting to feel dizzy in the head trying to comprehend what was happening "What was the woman's name?" her voice breaking. Duncan slowly looked up from his gaze on his hands and met her eyes. Tears were rollig down his pale cheeks
"Sianna" he managed to croak out. Squirt's head whirled as she heard the single, the single name. Her vision blurred and she felt salty tears streak down her cheeks now. Her knees almost gave way and she felt a very unsettling feeling in her stomach. She let out a groan of digust. But then shook her head
"You can't be..." she said in a small, innocent voice. She was hoping beyond all odds that this was a horrible nightmare and that she was going to wake any second, but it didn't happen. The horrible nightmare was definetly horrible, but it wasn't a dream. This was really happening. Duncan let out a few sobs.
"I'm you're father..." Squirt shook her head refusing to believe him
"No! You can't be!" she yelled "If you were my father that means that I'm......That I'm a royal..." she said. Duncan nodded
"You're more than that....You're the heir to the throne...." he sobbed some more, tears rolling down one after the other down each cheek. Squirt was wide-eyed, but she still refused to believe him
"NO! My father died with my mother! Halt told me...." realisation dawned in Squirt's eyes. She remebered before she left Halt talked to her in private. saying something like 'Just rememer, I love you and don't ever forget that' when he first said it, it made no sense. She wondered if he had done something wrong like: breaking her bow or, had said something to Will, but he seemed more serious. Now, it made sense, which meant Halt knew and that all of this was true. "Halt.." she said under her breath. Duncan heard it and quickly stood from his seat.
"No please! Don't blame Halt he wanted to tell you but-" Squirt let him go no further. Tears poured out of Squirt's eyes and her eyes were red-rimmed.
"So Halt knew! You knew! You both lied to me for my whole life and none of you guys had the guts to tell me?" she said, she was heart broken.
"No I-" Duncan began but Squirt yelled over the top of him
"No! I don't want to hear your pathetic excuses! who else? Who else knew this cruel secret?" Squirt burst into anger. Duncan opened his mouth to reply, then shut it again. He hesitated. He didn't want to dob innocent people. Squirt seeing the hestation burst into anger again
"Come on you coward! First you didn't have enough guts to tell me, that I had a family and that i was the heir to the throne better yet!... And now you can't even say who knows about the pitiful and cruel lie! come on! Tell me!" Duncan let her yell at him and insult him. He deserved every single thing she said and much more. Then he decided to tell her. He owed her that much and more. Much, much more. He cleared his throat several times nervously, before speaking.
"Well.....There's Anthony......Old Bob......Cassandra........Crowley.......Gilan.......Baron Arald......Halt.....And me...." he said. Squirt stood there speechless. These people were the people she was closest to and she had been betrayed by all of them and had been lied to her face. They were able to laugh and live their lives with this awful secret. Squirt gripped onto the table to keep her balance. The shock was becoming too overwhelming. She had put so much trust in all these people. She hated them all. Duncan stepped forward to comfort her but she pushed Duncan away.
"I'm sor-" Duncan began. He was going to say 'sorry' but Squirt cut him off.
"No! Shut Up! I hate you! You lied to my my whole life! So did Halt! And Gilan! And Cassie! And even Old Bob! And everyone else! I HATE EVERYONE!" she screamed angrily and raced off. She left the room, slamming the door shut. Duncan ran across the room and wasted 7 precious seconds trying to reopen the slammed door that was jarred shut on it hindges from the sheer force of it being slammed. Duncan swore under his breath angry with himself. After he managed to open the door he raced down the stairs, skipping 2 or 3 steps every now and then. Finally he was down the stairs and out of the castle to see Squirt at full bolt on her jet black horse, about the size of an ant now. Duncan groaned loudly in frustration and saw a knight walking with his battle horse who had just come back from one of the boundary checks. Duncan pointed to the horse
"Can I borrow this horse?" he said it in more of a statement, then a question. The knight took a step back from the horse and handed Duncan the reins. Duncan nodded appreciation and swung his legs around the horse's body and slapped his boots on the horse's stomach. It reacted instantly and raced off at top speed after Squirt who was barley visible now. She was heading for Redmont , Duncan thought to himself.
<-------<<<<-
Crowley had gone to Redmont the day before yesterday and came to visit Halt, Will and Squirt. When he got there, Will was doing an obstacle course including; climbing under logs, running through puddles, climbing over 6 metre walls ect;
Crowley stood a metre away from Halt who was unaware of his presence. After Will was doing to the last obstacle Crowley was impressed and nodded in satisfaction,
"He's doing good" Crowley said casually, doing his best to hide his smile. Halt jumped and turned in alarm. His facial expression was priceless and would be a good story to tell in the next few gatherings. Halt sighed in relief, realising it was just Crowley
"Where did you spring from?" Halt said. Usually Halt would wear a hint of a smile when Crowley scared him like that, but today he was very grim-faced. Crowley was soon, briefed that Squirt had gone to Araluen so Duncan could tell her the truth. Will had been told the previous day. He was living with Squirt and Halt after all, so he didn't see why it should hurt, and everyone was going to find out sooner or later.
Now, all three of them were sitting on the veranda, sipping nice, warm coffee. It had been a nice, warm day, but now with the sun setting, there was beginning to be a slight chill in the air. Will, stared gloomily in his cup thinking about Squirt. Over the past week, his feelings for her had become more stronger and she meant plenty to him. Hearing her situation was saddening.
"My guess is he told her some time today" Halt said who had his eyebrows in a furrow thinking hard about what might be going on at Araluen right now. Araluen was a day's ride from Redmont if you rode your horse at a full gallop non-stop. Crowley sat there looking into the distance in a complete stare. He hadn't realised though. He was beginning to doze, when he noticed that there was a small black dot about the size of an ant, slowly becoming more like a fly's size. He instantly widened his eyes to see more detail. He now realised that it was a jet black pony, with a green object on it. After several seconds of wondering what the green thing was he leaped from his chair. Halt and Will looked up from their gazes on their cups. They had not noticed Crowley's interest in the distance until now. Crowley pointed
"Squirt..." Both Will and Halt looked to where Crowley was pointing and simultaneously Halt and Will leaped up from their chair. Squirt was at full bolt coming towards the cabin.
"This doesn't look good" Will said. The Crowley pointed at another figure about ten metres behind Squirt. Instantly, by the battle horse and wavy brown hair, Crowley knew that it was Duncan
"Certainly doesn't..." All three of them looked at each other
"Here we go" Halt said "Brace yourselves"
*100 reads!!!!! YAY!(: I'm sooo Happy! please feel free to vote and comment Thanks Guys!!x)*
Squirt was now 5 metres away from the shack when she started pulling in Beauty. Before Beauty even got to a full dead stop, Squirt jumped off her and landed flat on her feet. She stumbled up the stairs, her vision blurred from more tears. Her face was red with anger and her heart was racing a hundred miles an hour. Squirt was on the last step when Halt step forward to help her. Squirt saw him step forward and quickly stood up straighter and pushed him away. She was up the last step now and, Will noticed, that Beauty was worn out, panting eagerly for breath. Squirt was as well. She was obviously overwhelmed, Will thought. Halt stepped forward again, as she stumbled and staggered trying to rebalance herself after getting up the steps that once seemed so easy to go up, was now like trying to walk through an avalanche. Again Squirt pushed him away. She got her balance back and pushed him again, leaving Halt staggering a few paces from the unexpected push. She burst in to anger.
"You lied to me my whole life, everyone lied to me my whole life and none of you even had the guts to tell me" she pointed at Halt, Crowley and Duncan when she was saying this. Duncan was half way up the stairs when Squirt spoke again.
"And....I hate you most of all Halt, and you'll never be forgiven!" she yelled. She went to go back down the steps but Duncan barred the way. she tried to push him away, but his big, strong body didn't budge.
"Go away! I hate you! Let me go!" she cried out. Duncan hated doing this, but if he let her go, she could seriously hurt herself or go missing and lost forever. Duncan went down on one knee, and held Squirt's shoulders gently. His eyes were now level with hers and he spoke in a gentle, calm voice,
"How about we talk about it, and you can hear the whole story from me," Duncan turned his eyes to Crowley and Halt, 'From us" Duncan corrected himself. Halt's eyes were streaming with tears. Squirt had never said that she hated him before, nor pushed him. He was shocked by, how much Squirt had changed by the news. Crowley stood there motionless unable to think of what he should do. Will stood there, feeling his own tears coming through his eyes. He quickly wiped them away and stepped forward toward Squirt. He touched her shoulder and she turned to look into his eyes. They had a warm, sweet-nature to them as usual with huge sympathy and sadness in them as well. Squirt burst into tears again and fell to her knees, she hadn't felt such pain and suffering ever in her life before. Will went down on his knees and wrapped his arms around her, letting Squirt cry and weep on his shoulder.
"Why?" Squirt sobbed quietly in Will's ear, so only he could hear her. Will fought back his tears, seeing Squirt like this was horrible and made him want to weep with her. But he knew that if he did, Squirt would find it even harder to stop crying herself.
"I honestly don't know" Will replied in the same small voice. Then she cried some more.