“Can you find your way home?” he asked me.

“That is an excellent question…” I grumbled to myself. The trees looked the same to me and after all the backtracking and circles I’d walked in, just about everything looked the same. I stood, bit my lip, and gave it my best guess. “That way?” I asked as I pointed.

Aust massaged his temples. “That’s what I thought. I’ll walk you to the edge of the forest. Hopefully this will be a lesson enough for you.”

“Is there a possibility for another?”

Aust whipped around, a flat look on his face. “No,” he told me firmly.

“How did you put it exactly?” I tapped my chin as I pretended to think about his words. I wasn’t about to forget them for a long time. “Oh yes… ‘not bad.’”

“I did say that but I think you’re purposely forgetting about some of the other things I said as well.”

“I did really well if I was able to catch up to you.”

Aust raised his eyebrow. “Well I wouldn’t go that far. I happened to be heading home.”

“Oh…” I muttered.

He tilted his head. “As I said though, the fact that you were able to track this far into the woods is admirable. Now if you don’t mind walking a bit faster, I’d like to get out of these woods before the sun sets. I don’t fancy being out here after dark on my first night.”

After dark? Sun setting? On his way home?

My eyes shot up as I connected the meaning of that string of words. Just through the trees I could make out the oranges and reds of sunset. “Oh shite!” I breathed. “Father is going to kill me!”

A small laugh bubbled out of Aust as I buried my head in my hands.

“Don’t laugh!” I groaned. “I left to deliver pigs hours ago.”

Aust kept laughing. He patted my shoulder. “The forest has a way of hiding the passage of time. You must be vigilant. Now come along.”

I followed beside Aust in silence for a few minutes. How I was going to explain this to Father was beyond me.

Our footsteps were muted by fallen leaves and undergrowth. The sounds that had filtered through the trees on my way in had disappeared for the night as the forest’s inhabitants settled in for their rest. Now the sounds came from the grass. Crickets and frogs chirped low harmonies. Quicker than I’d realized, Aust found us a small hunter’s path that carved through the trees. The dirt was packed tightly around the path and I could see the prints of small animals pressed into it. Every so often Dílis would lean off the side of the trail and pull some grass to eat. Aust threaded his fingers into Dílis’s fur absentmindedly, completely unbothered by his surroundings. Like he was at home in the forest with Dílis at his side.

“Do you like being a ranger to the king?” I asked. My voice felt overly loud, more so than usual, in the otherwise silent forest.

“I do,” he replied. “It’s not an easy job by any means but there are many other aspects I enjoy.”

“Such as?”

“I travel. I see much of our country. My home, Entheas, is grand but still very small in comparison to the rest of Miriah.”

“Is it exciting? Going from place to place, hunting creatures you’re asked to get rid of?”

Aust turned to look at me for a moment before nodding slightly. “Exciting is perhaps one word for it. I’ve never had the same day twice.”

What’s that like I wonder.

Aust’s bow was slung on his back beside his quiver. Dílis followed close by. If I closed my eyes, would I be able to see myself in Aust’s boots? A bow on my back, walking beside a massive stag, and confident in a place where few people trod? The idea came easier than when I pictured myself bent over a patch of dirt with a hoe in my hands and baby on my back. No. That image made me cringe.

“What’s Four Lakes like? Have you travelled anywhere really interesting?” I pressed. I’d only ever read about it in school books. Only seen it in pictures.

“The capital is always exciting with all the things that happen there. I much prefer the farther regions. There’s a kind of peace in them that you don’t get in the more widely populated areas.”

My nose wrinkled. “I’ve never been out of Woodhearst.”

“Maybe one day you’ll have the chance to explore Miriah for yourself.”

That caught my attention.

“Really? You think so?”

“I don’t see why not.”

“I think I’d like that a lot. People keep telling me the only thing I’ll ever be is a farmer and a wife.”

Aust laughed quietly. “You are a young woman. I think you’ll come to find there’s definitely much more you can be than a farmer and a wife. Many girls your age pursue paths of knowledge in various areas in many other baronies. Some scholarly. Others martial. The closer you get to Four Lakes the more prevalent it is. Though mind you, there’s nothing wrong with being a farmer.”

“Except for the fact that it’s so incredibly boring.”

I half expected the same tired and exasperated sigh that Father always gave me when I shared similar feelings. However, Aust didn’t sigh. He gave me another small nod. “It wouldn’t be my preferred livelihood.”

“Hence the bow, stag, and King’s Ranger medallion,” I said. I poked at the medallion hanging from the bottom. He took hold of it to keep it from swinging back and forth and shot me a sharp look. Fair enough, I thought as stroked Dílis instead. Dílis actually stopped in the middle of the trail and tossed his head into the air, lip twitching in the air like a horse did when you ran a hand down their belly. That made me laugh.

“Milk it for that it’s worth you spoiled goat,” Aust said to Dílis as he rolled his eyes but rubbed him between his antlers at the same time.

“What’s really your favorite part of being a ranger?” I pressed, looking at him.

He smiled. Very openly in fact. “I’ve come to realize that it’s the people I meet that hold the most interest and value to me.”

Without any elaboration he waved for me to follow after him. Much quicker than I realized, the trees broke and the path dead ended at Erickson’s field. The sun was just starting to sink deep into the horizon beyond the west.

“Any other questions before I leave you? You’re quite the curious one.”

“I… um… not off the top of my head.”

“Good. Now, let’s be clear on one thing. Wandering in the forest right now is incredibly dangerous and stupid.”

“That’s why Mayor Terrin put a hunting ban on it… isn’t it?”

“It’s part of the reason,” he acknowledged.

“What’s the rest?”

For the first time since meeting him, Aust’s face and tone became hard as stone. “Don’t wander into the forest and you won’t need to worry about it. Otherwise it would probably mean certain death for you.”

I drew backwards.

“Now… go home. Like you said, your father is probably waiting for you.”

Aust walked the opposite direction, making his way towards the town. Dílis nuzzled me on the neck and licked my cheek as he passed before catching up to his companion. I didn’t move from my spot. I stayed rooted to the ground at the outskirts of the quiet but ever living forest.

This couldn’t be the end of my path. Watching Aust walk away from me in the darkening twilight and going back home to the farm and the pigs and to Father’s expectations. I spun around, calling after Aust.

“What if you trained me?”

The question came out of my mouth the moment it crossed my mind. “What if you trained me to be a ranger like you?”

Aust froze on the path. Almost in unison, he and Dílis turned to look at me. “Train you?” he repeated, eyes slightly wide and a bit bug eyed.

“Yes! I’m a quick learner. I bet I’d pick things up fast! You even pointed out how well I’d managed to follow that trail even though it was so worn down! Imagine what I could do if you gave me some guidance!”

Aust opened his mouth to say something and then paused, pursing his lips, before finally saying. “Following some tracks does not qualify a person to be a ranger. It takes years of dedication and practice.”

“I’m not asking for you to turn me into an expert. Just give me some pointers while you’re here. I can be really, really helpful!”

“My focus should be on whatever beast is lurking in your woods. Not making sure you don’t waltz into it’s waiting gullet.”

“But…”

“You need to go home little one and put that thought out of your head.”

“Why? What can it hurt?”

A dark look past over Aust’s face. He muttered something in Elvish and shook his head.

“I told you already. I’m not going to be responsible for a child running to their premature death. Now go home. Or do I need to escort you there as well?”

“No,” I mumbled. I crossed my arms over my chest.

Aust gave me a curt nod in the direction of home. “Go. I’m sure our paths will cross while I’m here.”

And just like that, the conversation was over. I trudged home, not even bothering to look over my shoulder to see if Aust was watching me. Just because he’d told me to go home didn’t mean that I had to do it quickly.

By the time I’d made it up the path, the sun had finally set past the horizon. The oranges and reds of sunset faded to the pinks and purples of dusk before stretching into the navy blue of full night.

The dark sky made the lights blazing at home seem all that much brighter. A grimace spread across my face. “This will be fun.”