Lily's Ranger uniform on the banner.

🏹🎯🏹🎯🏹🎯🏹🎯🏹🎯🏹🎯🏹🎯🏹

RECAP: I shuddered but still yelled clearly to him, "The wolf. The blood. Dead bodies," then I murmured quietly but I knew they still had heard it, "the arrow."

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"The arrow?!" Halt yelled.

"Yes! THE ARROW!!" I screamed ferociously back.

"Can you please come down Lily?" Will asked politely. I scoffed to myself and thought, 'trying to find a diplomatic solution to this is definitely the way to go Will.'

"I'll come down if you don't pester me with questions. Is that a deal?" I said.

"Yes!" Will quickly agreed. I started climbing down the tree after I looked at the bluebird who had been watching me in the eye and said, "this is not over yet."

As I landed with a soft thud on the ground, Will ran up to me and swiftly wrapped his arms around my small body. I stiffened at first. I most definitely wasn't used to hugging- it was something that rarely ever happened to me and I wasn't used to it yet. "You know... You can umm.. Let go?" I said uncomfortably.

"Oh, right. Ummmm..." Will started, "I'm glad your safe and not hurt, ya know." I laughed at his embarrassment.

"I get it. But, I've climbed trees before, I'm not going to get hurt."

"Right- I knew that," Will said waving his hand in a gesture in the air.

I raised my right eyebrow and replied, "Sure you did," as bluntly as I could.

"Can you at least explain what happened?" Will asked.

"I don't know, I've never told anyone about this before. Only my parents ever knew but they didn't know the whole thing."

"Then I could be the first one to know the whole thing right?"

I gave him a long, hard stare, "you can keep saying that to yourself, but I'm not sure anythings going to happen."

Will groaned and rolled his head back so his eyes faced the sky, "seriously?"

"Well what do you think I'm going to do."

"Tell me your story," Will said confidently, nodding his head while doing so.

I gave him another long, hard stare and said, "no."

"Why do you have to be stubborn?"

"I was born stubborn. Why do you feel the need to ask questions and always expect an answer?"

"Because since I'm so annoying, they give up and answer me."

"I'll tell you right now, no matter how annoying you get, I won't answer this question for you until I feel like it, or trust you enough."

"That's not very promising."

"It wasn't supposed to be, Will."

"Can't you at least tell us why you freaked out from having to ride Dancer?"

I thought for a moment before answering, "it's just that when I was very little, I went riding on my horse, and something happened... My horse bolted in fear from a wolf a few feet away from us. I screamed so much for help, and none came," I felt the tears crawling down my face from reliving the horrific memory but continued.

"My horse tumbled and the wolf jumped atop of me. I knew I was going to die but I didn't. Someone shot the wolf with a purple shafted arrow directly into its heart and the wolf fell limp on my body. My horse was dead and I was alone in the woods, shaken from what had happened. I will never forget it, Will."

"Why didn't you tell someone this?" Halt asked.

"I was scared. Do you think I would just go up to somebody and say, 'I can't ride horses because I almost got killed once when I was five years old, how are you doing?'" Sarcasm flew from my mouth.

"Why don't we just try again, Lily. Dancer isn't going to hurt you, and I won't let anyone kill own of my apprentices that easily," Halt voiced.

"OK," my hoarse voice spoke while I sat up and started to walk back to Old Bobs place, the others following me.

Dancer stood stock-still, waiting patiently. She turned her head and trotted up to the fence. My hands clung tightly to the top of the wood and I pulled myself over and dropped with a small thud on the ground. "Hey there," I spoke softly. Slowly, I climbed back atop of her, my breathes coming in quick exhales and inhales.

After a moment, the feeling of being in the saddle, of knowing I could ride like the wind again, I smiled. I needed, no wanted, to feel the thrill of riding again! Whatever happens in the future, I just know that I want to be able to have a horse there to ride; and I would appreciate having one I love and connect to. I hope I can have those connections and great memories with Dancer.