Geltha clutched her apron together into a sack infront of her, putting apples into her skirt. Robert chucked an apple at the back of her head, and she deftly side stepped and continued picking apples. In her side step, the apple went careening into her brother, Brendon. He yelped, and rubbed his shoulder. He glared at Robert, then bent, picked up the apple, and chucked it at his head.
Geltha grinned as Robert fell onto his butt, rubbing his temple. She looked at her collection of apples, and decided it was plenty to make a few apple pastries and cider for the evening, and turned to walk back to the house. The boys threw a few more apples at each other. Geltha reached out to open the door, but it opened without her touching it.
A man stood there in shadow. "Geltha," he said shortly. He looked at the boys. "Robert. Brendon."
"Who are you?" she asked, guarded, taking a sharp step back.
"You best be coming with me," the man said, ignoring her question. Robert shouldered in around his half sister, and Brendon took up her other side.
"You are being..... ah, apprenticed, if you will," the man said. "This is a very important apprenticeship. You cannot refuse it."
"Oh, truly?" Geltha said, daring the man.
"Yes, truly," he answered. "Now, you can come with me on your own, or..." Geltha lashed out a foot at the man's stomach, dropping her apples. Damn. They'd be bruised for sure. He caught her foot easily and spun her in the air, so she was plucked right off her feet. She landed flat on her face, and as the boys advanced, he easily pushed both off their feet and looked down at them. Geltha spit grass, and rolled over to look up at him.
"Just what sort of apprenticeship is this?" she snapped.
"A very important apprenticeship," he repeated. He then pulled her to her feet. "Will you come willingly, or not?" She debated kicking him again, but then realized it would be highly undignified to go wherever the man wanted her to go slung like a bag of flour over a saddle. And she would surely lose if she tried to fight him.
She nodded curtly, fury flashing in her eyes. The man grinned without it reaching his eyes, and led Geltha into the brush, beckoning the boys to follow. They did. There were four horses in the brush, waiting.
They mounted, and rode off through the trees, wherever the man was leading them.
