Rangers of Linwood (The Five Kingdoms Book 1)

by LeAnn Anderson

  “No, we’re not related,” Arya said. “I’m just your guardian. I’m Arya, you know that. What made you suddenly start asking if we were related?”

  Tesni bit her lower lip. “Because I can’t remember anything. I only guess that my name is Tesni because that’s what you called me.”

  Arya’s eyes went wide. She remembered nothing? She’d heard that people who hit their head could sometimes forget things, but that didn’t mean that she was prepared to deal with it. “Yes, your name is Tesni, and you have lived with me for over a week, now. You were injured during a run, but you were on your own, so we don’t know all of the details. We just know you hit your head really hard and broke your ankle.”

  “Oh.” Tesni looked down, struggling to form a cohesive thought, to remember anything. “Is this my tent?”

  “Oh, no, dear, this is mine,” Enid said. “You share a tent with Arya. You’ve been staying here for the past few days, though, while I worked to get your fever down. The wound on your head is healing quite nicely, I must say, and if you’re careful, your ankle will be good as new in a few weeks. I’m Enid, the medic.”

  “I can’t move my ankle at all. The bandages won’t move,” Tesni said.

  “Well of course not,” Enid said. “It needs to set so that it can heal properly, and for that you need to avoid moving it. I greased up your foot, ankle, and lower leg a bit, mixed up some flour, water, and egg whites, and soaked the bandages in that before I wrapped your ankle. After a few hours it was stiff as wood.”

  “Oh.” It was all that the girl said, but at least she seemed to understand.

  “Would you like anything?” Arya asked.

  Tesni shrugged. “I’m kind of hungry, I guess, and I guess I could use a quick bath.”

  Though she didn’t let it show on her face, Arya was relieved. It meant that the girl was starting to get a normal appetite, already, and at least remembered that she needed to take care of personal hygiene. She supposed that Tesni felt a bit grimy, having not had any type of bath since before that last run.

  “I’ll go get you something to eat,” she said at last, “and then I’ll help you bathe.”

  “Thank you,” Tesni said.

  “Make sure it’s something simple!” Enid called out as Arya exited the tent. She sighed and shook her head. “Don’t let her fool you, Tesni. She seems to be matter-of-fact in everything she does, but the fact is, she cares about you a good deal. When she wasn’t doing her chores or training, or any of her other duties around camp, she was in here watching over you and causing me to go insane with all of her questions, constantly asking me if you would be alright.”

  Tesni wasn’t sure why, but for some reason this made her smile. Something told her that she could trust Arya and everyone else here in this camp.

  It wasn’t long before Arya returned with some broth and a hunk of bread. Tesni ate it gratefully before Arya took her down to the river and helped her bathe. She even went so far as to trim the rest of Tesni’s hair to match the area that was just now starting to grow back in.

  “Feel better?” she asked as she brought Tesni back to their tent.

  “A bit, yes,” Tesni replied.

  Arya set Tesni carefully down on her cot, making sure not to bump her ankle or head. “I can’t be in here all the time, Tesni, but there are a lot of other Rangers. You can call on me, Ryder, Enid, or anyone else. We’ll help you with anything you need. After all, you’re one of us.”

  “I am?”

  “Aye, you are. You’re too young to train, but you belong here. Your heart belongs to the Rangers. That’s why I brought you here.”

  “Where did you bring me from?”

  Arya bit her lower lip, thinking about how best to explain to Tesni what little she knew about the girl’s past. She finally settled on the simplest explanation possible. “I brought you here from town. You were living on the streets. You had to steal to survive, and I thought you deserved better. I saw how clever you are, and so I brought you here instead of taking you to the orphanage.”

  “Do you really think I belong here?” Tesni asked. “Because right now, I’m feeling useless.”

  “You are definitely not useless,” Arya said. “You are injured. There is a difference. Before your injury, you loved the horses. No matter what else the day brought, I could always count on finding you in the stables every evening. As soon as your ankle is healed, I’m sure you’ll be right back in those stables doing your favorite chores every evening.”

  Chapter 4

  Tesni began to grow restless long before her ankle was healed, so Enid made a pair of crutches for her, allowing her to get around camp on her own. Despite her amnesia, the girl continued to be drawn to the horses, and most of the time, that was where she could be found.

  “Hello, Tesni.”

  Blue eyes turned to meet violet. “Hi, Arya.”

  Arya smiled. “Enid said your ankle should be healed, now.” It had been six weeks since the accident, and nearly a week since Tesni had last complained of any pain from either injury.

  “Really?”

  “Really, and if she doesn’t have to put a new cast on, Ryder and I thought we’d give you your first riding lesson.”

  Tesni’s eyes lit up. “I don’t know how I know it. Maybe being around the horses so much made me remember. But I know I’ve always wanted to learn to ride.”

  Another smile graced Arya’s lips. “Well, it may be a small memory, but it’s a start at least. I thought being around the horses might help. You’ve loved them and being in here since you first came to us.”

  Arya helped Tesni to Enid’s tent, then, and the medic carefully removed the cast, soaking it in water until she could ply layers loose. By the time the process was done, Tesni’s foot looked as shriveled as dried fruit.

  “Alright, Tesni, try to wiggle your foot and ankle. Any pain?”

  Tesni wiggled and flexed her ankle, rotating her foot, making every movement that came naturally to her. “No pain,” she said at last. She stood, testing her weight on it. “It feels good, Enid. Thank you.”

  “You’re quite welcome, dear,” Enid said. “I told you that ankle would be good as new.”

  “Come on, Tesni,” Arya said. “I made you a promise. Go back to the tent and get your other boot on, and then meet me in the stables.” She barely had time to see the grin before she saw what could only be described as a Tesni-sized blur.

  Ryder poked his head into the tent. “Who released the giant blonde whirlwind?”

  Enid laughed. “That was Tesni. I just pulled her cast off for good.”

  “Excellent news,” Ryder said. He turned to Arya. “So she’ll be joining us?”

  “Aye, Ryder, Tesni will be joining us. It’s well past time she learned.”

  The two Rangers walked together to the stables, where they found that Tesni had already dragged out the tack to Arya’s horse and started saddling him. “Hi, Ryder! Did you hear the good news?” she asked.

  “Aye, Tesni, I heard it, and I’m glad you’re finally getting to learn how to ride. I promise it’s as easy as it looks, once you learn the basics. It’s the trick riding you’re not ready for, yet.”

  Tesni simply nodded and finished saddling Arya’s horse before getting started on Ryder’s. Ryder just laughed and selected a gentle chestnut mare for Tesni and returned the favor, putting a saddle on her and adding a bit and harness.

  “Is this the horse I get to ride?” Tesni asked.

  “Yes, it is. She’s older and very gentle. She’s the perfect horse for a beginning rider,” Ryder said.

  Arya smirked at the horse master and climbed up on her mount. “As you can see, as bad as her amnesia is, Tesni clearly hasn’t forgotten everything she learned about horses her first week here.”

  “Aye, I saw that,” Ryder said, mounting up as well.

  Tesni watched the way Arya and Ryder climbed onto their horses and went over to the old mare, petting her gently. “Hello, girl. Arya and Ryder say that I
’m going to learn how to ride you. Will you let me up?”

  The mare just looked at Tesni and snorted. Tesni giggled, hooked her left foot into the stirrup, and struggled to pull herself up. She managed it, though, and just smiled, proud of herself. “Very good, Tesni,” Arya said. “You’re doing well already. Now just squeeze your knees a little to get her to go, and pull on one reign to make her turn, or both to make her stop.”

  “Hey now,” Ryder said, “I thought I was the horse master here. How would you feel if I started giving archery lessons, bow mistress?”

  “If you ever learn to shoot, go ahead,” Arya replied. This brought a giggle from Tesni. Arya just shook her head. “Finally remember how to laugh, have you?”

  “I never forgot that,” Tesni said.

  “And yet this is the first time I’ve heard you laugh since your accident. Come to think of it, this is the first time I’ve heard you laugh, ever,” Arya replied.

  “That’s because you don’t have a sense of humor,” Ryder said. “A sharp wit, yes, but no true sense of humor. She laughed while you were away, because I was the one being funny.”

  “Please don’t fight,” Tesni whispered.

  Arya winced when she realized that Tesni was shutting down again. The girl had been doing that a lot. Arya brought her horse up next to Tesni’s and reached over, placing a hand on her shoulder. “It’s alright, Tesni. Ryder and I aren’t fighting. We are being playful with each other. We do that. Before your accident, you enjoyed watching us. But you’re right. I shouldn’t have a battle of wits with an unarmed opponent.”

  “I heard that!” Ryder called.

  “Wits…” Tesni pulled the reigns of her horse, stopping as she began to think.

  Arya and Ryder looked at Tesni expectantly. “Do you remember something?” Ryder asked.

  “The word ‘wits’ seems important,” Tesni said. “I can hear a man’s voice in my head saying that word to me or when talking about me.”

  “Do you associate anything else with it?” Arya asked, unsure which answer she wanted. Yes, she wanted Tesni to get her memory back completely, but she was also a little scared that the girl would come to resent her all over again. As much as Arya hated to admit it, both Ryder and Enid were right. She had become completely attached to Tesni and very protective.

  Tesni was clearly giving this new flash of memory a lot of thought. “Knives,” she said at last. “For some reason, I think knives and wits go together.”

  Arya and Ryder looked at each other, unsure as to whether or not they should try to press Tesni for more, to see whether or not her memory would continue to reemerge. Finally, they decided it was best to leave it as it was for now and let memories return naturally. “Let us know if you remember anything else,” Arya said at last.

  “For now, let’s get on into town,” Ryder said. “I, for one, am hungry.”

  “You’re always hungry,” Arya said. This drew another giggle from Tesni.

  When the three of them got into town, they headed towards the inn, tied up their horses up front, and went in for a bite to eat. It was there that they noticed a woman suddenly staring at them.

  “I don’t like the way that dark-haired woman is looking at us,” Tesni whispered as she ate the salad that had been placed in front of her. “She makes me nervous.”

  “She’s probably just a local,” Ryder replied in a low voice. “We Rangers sometimes get watched. Sometimes it’s awe. Usually it’s just raw curiosity. It’s not a lifestyle meant for everyone to live, but it is something that gets folks excited and wondering what it must be like.”

  After a while, the woman came over, looking excited and happy. “Tesni? My dear Tesni, could that possibly be you?”

  Tesni shrank back. “Do I know you?”

  The woman knelt down. “You don’t remember me? I shouldn’t be surprised by this. After all, you were only four when you were lost to us. Your father and I were convinced we would never see you again. We thought you were dead.”

  The woman was hugging Tesni, now, and Tesni pulled away, uncomfortable. She gave Arya and Ryder a look that pleaded and begged for help. It was a look filled with fear, and the two Rangers thought fast.

  “Madam, are you saying that you’re Tesni’s mother?” Arya asked.

  “Well, step-mother,” the woman said. “Her birth-mother died in childbirth, and then her father met and married me when she was nearly a year old, desperate to give her a good mother-figure. I immediately loved her as my own, though, and I wept so bitterly when she went missing.”

  Well, there went Arya’s ability to question the fact that the woman looked nothing like Tesni, and unfortunately, the woman knew exactly how long Tesni had been without parents.

  “Forgive us,” Ryder said, “but I’m sure you’ll understand us being wary. We care for Tesni a great deal, and we want to make sure that she’s safe, happy, and healthy.”

  “Oh, of course,” the woman said. “I understand completely. After all, I want the same things for her.”

  “Then you won’t mind returning to camp with us,” Arya said. “We would like to spend time observing you with her. Even if what you say is true, without proof, we won’t allow you to take her.”

  “And what would you consider proof?” the woman asked.

  “Well, obviously, if Tesni manages to form a bond with you or, better yet, manages to remember you, that would certainly weigh in your favor,” Ryder said.

  “I know a way she could prove it,” Tesni said. Her voice was so soft that she wasn’t sure, at first, how well she would be heard, and she was surprised when all three heads turned to her expectantly.

  “What is it?” Arya asked.

  Tesni pulled out her locket. “Arya, you told me that I’ve always had this, since before I was four. If she can tell me what’s in the locket, then that would mean that she knows me well enough that she’d have had a chance to look inside it, right?” Arya nodded, and Tesni continued. “So if she knew me that well as a baby, then it’s very likely she is my mother, and if she is my mother, or even my step-mother, and she knew me as early as she says, then she’ll know. She’ll be able to say what’s in the locket.”

  “Your father and I gave you that locket for your first birthday,” the woman said. “It was too big for you back then, but we still let you wear it all the time. We had made sure it was big enough that you could grow into it and always be able to wear it. We commissioned an artist to create a tiny portrait of your father and birth mother, as well as one of you, and it is those tiny paintings that are in the locket.”

  Tesni opened the locket and showed it to Arya and Ryder. “She’s right.” Her eyes, though, said, ‘she still scares me.’ “I still want to stay with the Rangers, though, and train with them.”

  “Oh, of course,” the woman assured her. “But please come home for at least a little while. You’re not old enough to train until you’re twelve, anyway, and I promise I’ll let you. Your father thinks that the Rangers are amazing, and you can even write to your friends. Your father and I have missed you so.”

  “Can we at least go back to the camp? I have some stuff I want to get,” Tesni said. “Please, it’s very important to me.”

  “Of course dear,” the woman said, “anything you want.”

  Arya and Ryder gave each other another look. The first thought going through their head was that Tesni was a very clever little girl. The second was that Tesni might still be in danger, but they could come up with no explanation for how this woman would know so much other than the one supplied by the woman herself.

  It was agreed, then, that the woman would follow them back to camp. What surprised Arya was when, as soon as they got there, Tesni dragged her into the tent with her. “I don’t think she’s my mother, or even my step-mother,” Tesni whispered as she started packing what few things she owned.

  “I worry, too,” Arya admitted, “but how else would she know so much about you? She didn’t even ask your name. She just knew it, as i
f she recognized you after having not seen you in years, and she knew what was in your locket. I didn’t even know what was in your locket.”

  “I have a memory of her, but I don’t think of the word ‘mother’ when I view it. It’s just a small flash, but I don’t like the feeling it gives me. I have a bigger, brighter flash of me being under those merchant tables in town, for some reason.” Tesni hugged Arya tightly. “Please, give me a few quick tips for leaving a trail? I want you to be able to find me and make sure I’m okay without her knowing that you’re following.”

  Arya knelt down. “Break twigs. Leave things behind that she wouldn’t notice but that Ryder or I would.”

  “Like strands of hair?” Tesni asked.

  “Exactly,” Arya said. “Here, take these.” From her day pack, Arya pulled a set of large beads and ribbons. “These are small but brightly colored. Snag a ribbon on a thorn bush. Drop a bead or two in the grass. They’ll stay long enough for Ryder and me to see them, and we’ll collect them on the way.”

  “Thank you,” Tesni said, stuffing them into the purse on her belt. “Well, wish me luck, I guess. Maybe she really is who she says she is, and then I’ll be back to train when I’m twelve.”

  “Either way, I will always make sure that you’re safe,” Arya said, “and I know that Ryder will, as well.”

  Tesni nodded and left the tent. She went over to where the woman was waiting. “Alright, I’ve got everything,” she said, climbing up onto the horse that Arya and Ryder were letting her have.

  “Wonderful, my dear Tesni,” the woman said. “Your father will be so happy when I finally bring you home.”

  Tesni just nodded and followed as the woman took off on her own horse. They rode for the rest of the day, going north, and along the way, every so often, Tesni would reach out and break a twig on a tree, or distinctively strip one of its leaves. When she saw thorns, she hooked a ribbon in them. In spots with neither thorns nor trees, she dropped the beads.

  Finally, they came to a large castle, and Tesni looked at it in awe. “Um, what did I call you?” she asked, suddenly shy.