Daughter of a Hero[]
This scene happens when Nerida is still young, before her apprentice years.
Halt walked into the room with the hood of his cloak draped over her face. He gazed at the young wards in the room. They stopped what they were doing to stare at the strange man in the cloak. They recognized him as a Ranger and inched away from him. They heard many things about the Rangers, all not very nice. They didn't want to get in this Ranger's way. Everyone jumped when they heard an excited cry from the back of the room.
"HALT!" They moved aside and let Nerida through. The young girl ran by giggling, causing others to frown at her in confusion. She ran over and threw her arms around the man, grinning like she just won something. Nerida's ward mate's eyes widened in surprise and horror. Halt looked down at the young girl who looked up with a twinkle in her brown eyes.
"What took you so long?" She asked. Her eyes showed so much joy yet Halt couldn't find himself to feel the same joy that she felt. As happy as he was to see her, she reminded him so much of her mother. The woman who saved his life with her own. He stared at the young girl, the image of her mother still clear in his mind. Then he smiled.
"Sorry, I had a hard time to get here." She laughed.
"That's okay." She then dug her face into his shirt. "I'm just glad you're here." A sharp pang of sadness hit Halt and his smile melted. But he took the girl's hand and led her out of the room, the surrounding children staring in awe. As he walked with Nerida he looked out the windows into the clear sky. He could still see the dying parent's faces in his mind. He silently vowed to keep both of their children safe. He turned back to the girl beside him, holding his hand with a grin on her face. He almost wished she'd stop smiling. She trusted him, yet he didn't trust himself with her. He took a deep breath and turned back to the hallway ahead of him. He would do his best to take care of the young girl. He had to trust that he would protect them better than he did with their parents.
So the Ranger and the young girl walked on together, hand in hand, a warm happiness filling their bodies…
Written by: Nerida Treaty