Holly looked up from where she sat on the floor against the wall when Malcolm came out and shut the door. “Is he … Is he all right?”

Malcolm gave her a tender little smile. “I did all that I could, we’re going to need to wait and see. A lot of it is going to depend on him now.”

Halt stepped forward and shook Malcolm’s hand; together they moved off down the corridor, heads bent together as they discussed Logan’s recovery.  Will trailed behind the two of them, listening to them speak. After a few minutes, they passed out of hearing and the hallway was once more quiet.

Crowley pulled the door open and stepped into the hall; he smiled at the four apprentices. “Malcolm has given him something to help him with the pain but if you’d like to go in for a few minutes I’m sure it will be all right.”

Holly jumped to her feet and hurried past him. The others followed a little more slowly.

Holly’s steps slowed as she neared the bed. Logan was propped up on a pile of pillows, his arm rested on yet more pillows and it was swathed in bandages. He gave her a silly little grin as she stopped beside the bed; she shook her head and returned the grin. “You’re the biggest idiot in the world.”

His grin faded slightly. “I think I got that as that wolf was gnawing on me.”

She sucked in a breath. “You found the wolf?”

He blinked twice and his eyes glazed slightly. “Wolf?” He grinned at her and laughed before his eyes drifted shut.

Holly sent a slightly startled look at the others.

Mitchell sighed. “Must be whatever Malcolm gave him for the pain.”

Holly reached out and brushed his hair back off his forehead. “Do you think he’s going to be all right?”

Deva put a hand on Holly’s shoulder. “Malcolm said it’s up to him. We have to hope that he’s going to fight.”

Holly stared down at Logan. She was so lost in thought; she missed it when Mitchell grasped Deva by the arm and quietly pulled her from the room. “You need to fight Logan, you hear me? We need you; we all need you to fight.”

Tears formed in her eyes and she slipped her hand into his, mindful of his injury she held it gently. “I need you. Please Logan, fight. You need to be okay.” She leaned down and pressed a gentle kissed to the center of his forehead. Whether he felt it or not, she didn’t know, but she hoped that he knew she was there for him.

With one final long look at him, she released his hand, turned away and left the room. She found Deva and Mitchell waiting in the corridor. “He’s going to be fine, he has to be.” Holly turned away and marched off down the hallway, leaving them standing there staring after her.

Mitchell looked down at Deva. “She’s going to have to admit to herself soon that she cares for him.”

Deva shrugged. “She will, in her own time.”

Mitchell scowled. “And in the mean time, Logan sits back and suffers in silence.”

“He has to understand her, Holly is … difficult. We’ve known each other our entire lives and sometimes she has trouble letting me in.” Deva gave a little shrug. “She’s Halt’s daughter, Mitchell. He is the epitome of keeping feelings under wraps.”

Mitchell looked down the hall in the direction that Holly had disappeared. “That’s an understatement. I suppose it’s to be expected that she would be a little reluctant to let people in, especially if she wants to be a Ranger.”

Deva took his hand and gave it a squeeze. “Rangers expect to be solitary, they always have been. Halt was until he married Lady Pauline and it’s what my father expected until he married my mother. Things are changing, Mitchell. Holly will realize it, eventually and when she does, she’ll let Logan in.”

He nodded slowly and with a sigh, looked down at her. If she expected some sort of profound revelation or deep thought from him, she was disappointed. “I’m hungry, want to go down to the kitchen and see what there is to eat?”

She rolled her eyes. “Always thinking with your stomach are you?”

“Logan would understand,” he answered with a slight pout.

“Come on you,” Deva answered with a laugh as she took his hand and tugged him down the hall.

***

Morgana stared at the men where they had gathered in a new clearing, further from the castle. When Marrok had summoned her she had been worried that he’d been discovered, never had she expected that these fools had been stupid enough to have been found.

“Did you catch the Ranger and dispose of him?” she snapped, interrupting the man who had been speaking, stammering out a nearly incoherent story.

He looked to the others, but none stepped in to respond to her question. “No, no Lady Morgana, he managed to escape by jumping into the river. The wolf took a good bite out of him though, I don’t think he could have survived both the bite and the cold water, surely he must have died.”

A foot tapped against the ground and one delicate, manicured, blood red lacquered fingernail drummed out a steady beat against her arm where it rested. Her eyes narrowed on each man in turn, as she surveyed them. “You, each one, are all useless to me. A group of six highly trained soldiers can’t handle one lone Ranger’s Apprentice. I’m ashamed even to admit that you are my men! I suggest you remain hidden until I have need of you, because if you show much as a toe to the Rangers or the King’s men, do not expect me to find a way to free you.”

The men watched as she spun about and stalked off through the trees, heading back in the direction of the castle.

The leader of the group turned to his men. “I suggest we remain out of sight and quiet as mice, boys, I do not want to become wolf kibble.”

***

Cassandra slapped at Mitchell’s hand. “I can walk just fine!”

He scowled. “You should still be in bed, resting.”

“I’m not an invalid, Mitchell!”

He disagreed with her. She was still pale in his opinion and both he and his father thought she should still be resting. However, his mother thought she should be visible to the people. If rumors started that both she and Duncan were ill it could be very bad for the kingdom. So she’d decided to attend dinner this evening.

He settled her in her seat beside his father, kissed her on the cheek and took his own chair beside her with a small sigh, glancing over his shoulder at Deva where she stood. She sent him a smile and a little wink. It gave him comfort to know she was there. He wished Holly and Logan were here as well, but Holly was upstairs, sitting with Logan in his room.

Halt and Will, as well as Crowley, were all here in attendance this evening.

Looking out over the room, he watched as it filled up. He saw Lady Monica pause for a fraction of a second when she spotted his mother at the table, but it could have been nothing. Simply surprise that the formally ill princess was out of bed, not anger that her plotting and planning had failed.

Before dinner was served, his father rose and called for quiet. “Before we start, there is a small matter we must get out of the way.” He waited for complete silence.

Mitchell could see some confusion on the faces of the people in the room; the nobles didn’t understand what Sir Horace was going to “get out of the way”. Mitchell looked at his father.

“One of our Ranger’s Apprentices had a run-in in the forest with a group of soldiers and a large wolf day before yesterday. Everyone should avoid the forest until further notice. If anyone has any information about the men in the forest, please come forward and let us know. Thank you.” He took his seat and let the servants know to begin serving dinner.

Silence reigned in the room for several minutes after Horace’s announcement. Mitchell saw his mother lean close and admonish his father quietly. She probably would have waited to give the announcement until after dinner, when people were full of food, drink, and content.

People were whispering, their heads together. He could see the worried expressions, no one looked as if they knew anything, no one looked like they were hiding secrets. No, they looked scared.

Everyone that is, except Lady Monica, who wasn’t speaking to anyone. She wasn’t whispering worriedly, her face wasn’t pinched into a frown. Instead, she was eating as if it were any other night and ignoring the hubbub going on around her.

He looked over his shoulder and he could see that Deva had already taken note of Monica’s behavior.

As soon as dinner ended, they headed for Logan’s room.

Deva knocked and entered when Holly called out to them. She waved a hand at Mitchell. “Tell them.” She slumped into a chair, looking grumpy.

Mitchell quickly told Holly and Logan what had happened during dinner.

Holly frowned. “She just sat there and ate like nothing was happening?”

“As if those around her were discussing nothing more exciting than the weather or the latest fashion trends,” Deva replied with a small snort.

Logan shifted and winced when he moved too quickly and jarred his sore arm. “If that bloody great wolf belongs to her then I’d love to kill the beast and see how calmly she reacts.”

Holly snickered and tucked the blankets around him carefully. He threw her a look. “What? The blanket moved.”

“I’m fine, Holly, stop fussing already.”

“Yes Holly, stop mothering him,” Deva said with a laugh.

“I’m not mothering him! I just want to make certain he’s comfortable!”

“I’m fine!”

“All right, enough, can we get back to the topic of discussion?” Mitchell protested.

Logan rubbed his good hand over his face. “Whatever Monica’s plans are we’re not going to figure them out sitting here in my room or by trying to follow her around the castle. She’s too smart to get caught that way, you need to find those men in the forest and watch them.”

Deva sat up straighter. “You think they’ll give something away?”

“Maybe, I don’t know, they never once said her name so if they work for her, then they’re bright enough not to say they’re her minions.”

Mitchell rose from where he’d been sitting near Deva. “We’ll have to search them out tomorrow, too late tonight and I’m certain after Logan tripped over them they’ve moved their camp. Goodnight Logan, rest up.”

“Night to both of you.”

Deva sent a wave at both Logan and Holly before following Mitchell from the room. Holly turned to Logan once they were gone and began fussing with the covers again.

Logan covered her hand with his and shook his head at her. “I’m fine Holly.”

She stilled and looked up to meet his gaze. “I just … I need you to be okay.”

“I will be, in time. It’s going to take a while though, you need to let me heal and stop worrying.” He gave her hand a squeeze before releasing it.

“It’s hard, seeing your hand all wrapped up like that. What if you can’t use it anymore?”

“We’ll worry about that when the time comes. Right now, I’m worried about healing.”

She nodded and said nothing more about it, but inside she still worried for him, for his future. What would he do if he couldn’t be a Ranger any longer?