Sparks Flying - A Ranger's Apprentice Story

Chapter Fifteen

As the darkness gathered, Will cursed his earlier impatience. He wished he had thought to bring a lamp. As the shadows lengthened, Will had to resort to calling his apprentice's name.

"Maddie? Maddie! Where are you?"

After several tense minutes, he heard an answering call, and he increased his pace, nearly tripping on a branch. He shook his head, angry with himself, and focused his attention on the path before him.

He rounded one final bend, and saw Maddie sitting on one side of the path. Her cheeks and nose were red from the cold, and her jaw was clenched in pain. Will quickly covered the last few meters and dropped to his knees beside her.

Maddie seemed close to tears, but was doing an admirable job of keeping them back.

"I'm sorry, Will," she said in anguish. "I really was being careful. The ice was covered by the snow, and I slipped, and I can't put any weight on my ankle."

Will hushed her. "It's okay, Maddie," he said. "I'll get you back to the cabin. Can you move your ankle at all?"

Maddie screwed up her eyes, gasping in pain, but nodded.

"Good," Will said. "It's probably not broken then, just a bad sprain, from the sound of it."

Maddie had pulled up the hood of her cloak against the winter wind and wrapped it securely around her body, covering her hands and arms. Will was proud. She showed great presence of mind in her actions. In this way, she would prevent herself from getting frostbite, unless the temperature dropped drastically.

As if on cue, the cold around them deepened, and Maddie shivered as the wind picked up.

"Let's get you home," Will said. He slipped one arm under Maddie's knees, and the other around her shoulders, and carefully lifted her up, trying not to jar her ankle. Despite his care, Maddie hissed in pain.

It was nearly pitch-black now, and Will knew he had to be careful going back. The wind was whistling around them now, and he felt Maddie bury her face against his chest, seeking protection from the wind. His own face smarted, but he ignored it, scarcely even feeling it. All of his attention was focused on the path in front of him, and upon the injured apprentice in his arms.

Will relied mostly on his sense of balance to move slowly down the path, feeling carefully with the toe of his boot before each step. It seemed ages before he rounded the last bend in the path before the bridge, where Gerald the carpenter still waited, lantern in hand.

"Ranger Will! You found her!" The relief in the carpenter's voice was palpable. "Is Ranger Maddie okay?"

Maddie lifted her face from Will's shirt momentarily to smile tiredly at the concerned carpenter.

It seemed to win him over completely. "Poor thing," he said. "Here, let me escort you back to your cabin, Rangers. I have a lantern, and I can light your way."

Will thanked the carpenter profusely, and the two carefully picked their way over the planks forming the bridge. Once across, Tug and Bumper trotted over, their expressive eyes alight with concern. Bumper nudge Maddie's back with his nose, whinnying his fear.

"It's all right, Bumper," Maddie says. "Will has me. It's just my ankle."

Will hesitated. His first instinct was to seat Maddie on Tug or Bumper for the journey back to the cabin, but no matter how gentle the horses could be, it would jostle Maddie's ankle. The journey to the cabin would be a quick, but painful one for Maddie.

Will frowned, but quickly made his decision. "Tug, go back to the cabin. Wait in the stable; I'll come unsaddle you."

"Bumper, follow," Maddie directed. The little horse hesitated, obviously torn between obeying the command and staying to watch over his injured mistress.

Maddie had to smile. "Go on, Bumper," she said. "I'll be fine."

The little horse snorted in distress, but turned, obediently trotting down the pathway after Tug's rapidly disappearing form.

It began to snow, the silent flakes catching the lantern light around them. Will increased his pace as he felt Maddie shivering against him. It seemed forever before they finally reached the clearing, lit by the warm light spilling out of the cabin windows. The clearing smelled of the wood smoke pouring out of the chimney.

"We're home, Maddie," Will murmured. Then he turned to the carpenter.

"I thank you again for your help, Gerald," he said. "If you ever need assistance from a Ranger, don't hesitate to contact me."

Gerald waved the offer away. "It's nothing, Ranger Will. I'm only repaying you for all the times you Rangers have helped us villagers."

The burly man nodded in farewell and turned to recross the clearing. Their footprints were already filling in with newly-fallen snow. Will carefully navigated up the porch steps and up to the front door. His hands were full with Maddie, so he kicked the door awkwardly. "Alyss! It's me!" he called.

Alyss opened the door a moment later, her eyes going from surprised to worried in the space of a few seconds.

"Will! What happened?" she asked, holding the door open as Will carried Maddie inside. He set her carefully down on one of the couches. Alyss shut the door.

Will carefully eased off Maddie's right boot, pulling off her sock and pushing up the leg of her trousers. Her ankle was bright red, swollen to nearly twice its size. 

Alyss gasped at the sight, but ran to the kitchen and brought the well-stocked first-aid kit that lived in every Ranger cabin. Will quickly withdrew a stretchy cotton bandage and wrapped Maddie's ankle snugly, using quick, efficient movements in order to cause Maddie the least amount of pain.

"Alyss, could you fill a towel with snow?" he asked. "We'll need a cold compress to help bring down the swelling."

While Alyss was doing that, Will removed Maddie's cloak and guided her to lay on her back on the couch. He arranged a stack of pillows to raise Maddie's ankle higher than her heart. Alyss was back within minutes, and she arranged the snow-filled towel over the swollen ankle.

Will took off his boots and hung his and Maddie's cloaks on the wall while Alyss fussed over Maddie, covering her with blankets.

Maddie, for her part, bore their ministrations with silence, only showing the pain she felt with sharp gasps. Her face was white with the pain, and she quickly fell asleep.

"Will," Alyss asked again, "what happened?"

"I sent her across the creek on the fallen tree to go to town and get the carpenter," Will explained. "When he came without her, I knew something was wrong. As soon as he had a temporary structure over the creek, I went to find her. She said she fell on a patch of snow-covered ice." 

Alyss sighed. "I'm so glad you were able to get to her," she said.

"Me, too," Will said in heartfelt agreement. "If she'd fallen and hurt her ankle on the way to town, it would have been ages before I figured out she wasn't coming. I might not even have been able to get across the creek."

Alyss half-smiled at him. "Well, it wasn't, and you didn't have to, and she's safe, and you're safe. That's all that matters."

Will smiled back. "That, and our baby," he said, and Alyss broke into a wide grin.

"That, and our baby," she agreed.