The Royal Ranger

Plot

Will Treaty tries to cope with the death of Alyss, who died in a fire set on an inn by a gang leader, Jory Ruhl, when she went back inside the burning building to save a young child. Will's friends begin to notice that his once cheerful personality has grown grim and uninviting. After numerous attempts to "snap him out of it", Gilan calls on Halt, Pauline, Cassandra, and Horace to discuss how to deal with Will. Halt suggests that Will take on an apprentice to take his mind off his quest for revenge.

Meanwhile, Princess Madelyn, the daughter of Horace and Cassandra, is upset with her restrained royal life. Against the will of her parents, Maddie sneaks out at night to use her sling to hunt small animals. One night, Cassandra and Horace confront Maddie and ground her to her room for a period of two weeks. Halt suggests that Maddie be the one taken on by Will, which would make Maddie the first female Ranger's apprentice in Ranger history . At the beginning of her apprenticeship, Maddie discovers in a letter from her parents, which is presented to her by Will, that she has been disinherited as a princess of Araluen. This is a desperate last resort by her parents to get her under control. Will proceeds to train Maddie, and as he focuses on her, his quest for revenge is slowly forgotten. When Gilan suggests Will take Maddie on a mission, Will accepts without reluctance.

Gilan assigns Will and Maddie to investigate the death of Liam, a Ranger in a northwestern fief. Will and Maddie soon discover a plot by an illicit slave ring who kidnap children. The criminals first send a storyteller to villages and frightens the children with a story about the "Stealer in the Night". The storyteller seeks out a child who is likely being abused at home and also takes children who aren't quiet about speaking about the Stealer. Will learns that the Stealer in the Night—the leader of the slave ring—is actually Jory Ruhl, but he manages to set aside his revenge to save the children Ruhl has kidnapped. Will and Maddie go to the slavers' camp, where Will distracts the criminals, while Maddie frees the slaves. Unfortunately, while Maddie is successful in freeing the children, Will is captured, and he is to be burned at the stake. Maddie saves Will, but is injured in the process. Will manages to kill Ruhl and treat Maddie's wounds, albeit with severe cramps from when he was tied to the stake.

Maddie is awarded her Bronze Oakleaf, and Cassandra offers her reinstatement as a princess. However, Maddie declines, saying she wishes to complete her apprenticeship instead. Cassandra is stunned, and the series concludes as Horace explains to her that Rangers have always been different. When Cassandra asks what she should do, Horace replies, "Say yes."

Reception

Kirkus Reviews remarked positively on the novel, calling it "An excellent addition to a favorite series; the short breather did Flanagan good."