Fool Me Once, Shame On You. Fool Me Twice, Shame On Me.
Háilí O'Carrick rushed down the stone staircase, her hastily packed bag bouncing against her back. Coal black curls fought to free themselves from tight, intricate braids, dark eyes wide with the panic that rushed through her body. Tears pricked at those eyes, as the young Crown Heir knew she could never return to the drafty castle that had been her home for sixteen years. Damn him, she thought, Damn him and his greed. It is not my fault that I was born first. Why can't he see that I would give anything to have been born second? I would have given him the throne in a heartbeat had he asked. Now, though, now that I know what he's really like, that he would rather kill me than let me live? I could never give him that. She closed her eyes tightly as she held back a sob. I just want my kind and sweet baby brother back. Is that too much to ask for! She raged internally as tears finally escaped, leaving wet trails behind before dropping off her face.
Háilí slipped through the shadows, running from the death that seemed certain to happen if she stayed, her heart breaking with every step as she left behind the shy, nurturing girl she had been. Why is it that I end up loving people that end up trying to kill me? The dark-haired girl had arrived in a village quite a distance from Dun Kilty, where she had sought work with the local healer. She had ended up falling in love with a villager with eyes greener than grass, who, upon learning about her feelings, had seduced her into bed before turning on her. He had convinced the villagers that she was a dearg-due, and had tried to kill him. Now she was running for her life because her kindness and shyness had gotten her into trouble once more.
Shame on me, I should have learned my lesson after Ferris! She cursed herself as she finally deemed it safe to stop. If this is what happens to the shy girl, maybe I shouldn't be a girl anymore. Háilí sighed, and drew the sword she had been trained from birth to use. Gazing at her reflection in the polished metal, she steeled herself and lift the blade. Shhhhhhhhhik! She watched the long lock of curly, coal-black hair fall to the ground with solemn eyes. Slowly that single lock was joined by others, until her hair was as short as a boy's. Háilí looked at her reflection once more in the sword. She gasped, as she no longer looked like herself. Rather, she looked like her brother. Her breath shaky, she let out a sigh and-with a deepened voice-spoke.
"My name is Halt."
She was surprised people bought the disguise. She was even more surprised when the man with the strange mottled cloak bought it after he saved her from the bandits, as he seemed like he had been trained to see through disguises like hers, unaware of how flawless her disguise was. She clutched her bow closer when he didn't say anything after she introduced herself.
"Can you use that?" He asked without preamble, gesturing with his head towards the bow. She raised a brow at the question, which she considered stupid, after all, why would she carry it if she couldn't use it?
"Yes." She replied, turning on her heel and started walking away from the man.
"Hey! Wait!" He called as he started after her. She sighed and stopped, waiting for him to catch up. "May I travel with you?" He asked her, his hooded, bright blue eyes locking with her dark brown ones, causing a shiver of pleasure in her core. She restrained those feelings, remembering all too vividly the last time she had acted on those feelings.
"What is your name?" She asked, annoyed with herself.
"It's Pritchard." She eyed him carefully as he spoke, using what her brother had once jokingly called her 'bullshit detector' to tell if he was lying. Her shoulder twinged at the thought of her brother, causing her to absently rub it as she considered the pros and cons of allowing the man to accompany her. She nodded to herself as she came to a decision. Looking him straight in the eyes, she answered him.
"You may accompany me."
Pritchard watched the boy from the corner of his eye as they traveled, easily learning more about him the more they rode together. He seemed adept at archery and excelled at using the sword on his hip. Halt, as he learned his name was, had the accent of a native, more so of one from Clonmel, rather than the kingdom they were currently in, and had impeccable manners, even if he didn't particularly have the highest opinion of authority. He also was addicted to coffee, which was a pro on Pritchard's growing list of reasons on why he should train the young man in the skills of a ranger and send him on his way to Araluen. He had a strong gut feeling that he would fix the issue that was slowly growing in his homeland. Pritchard was never one to distrust his gut feelings as they had never led him wrong, so that was why when they stopped to camp for that night, he broached the subject.
"You want to what?" Halt looked at Pritchard incredulously, wondering what the man had put in his coffee that morning when she wasn't looking.
"I want to train you in the skills of a ranger." Pritchard repeated, his face the epitome of amusement. "Like the extremely secretive Ranger's Corps in Araluen?" She inquired, now confused as to how some strange old man apparently knew what skills the Ranger's Corps in Araluen trained in. I don't think I thought this through when I let him join me. I'll probably be shot in the next few seconds and my faked death will be for naught because I will be actually dead, and I'll never be able to have the baby boy I would name Will. She stared the old man in the eyes as she readied herself for a fight to the death, only to stop and stare when he pulled out what she knew to be the official Ranger's insignia out of his shirt.
"Seeing as you clearly recognize my leaf, you actually believe me now, and yes, like the extremely secretive Ranger's Corps in Araluen." Pritchard raised a brow when he saw the wary teen ease out of the stance he had entered.
"Are you agreeable?" He continued when Halt didn't respond after a few minutes. This startled the teen slightly, who looked as though he had been lost in thought. He cocked his head, eyes narrowed slightly, and responded,
"I'm agreeable."
Halt had been secretly upset when she had to leave her mentor, under said mentor's stern look, to leave for Araluen. After a bone crushing hug and inhaling the comforting smell of the man she had come to view as a father figure, she boarded the ship Pritchard had bought passage for her. She looked back at the docks one last time as they left the harbor, taking one long, last look at the man she had spent the last four years with before heading below deck to get some sleep so she didn't have to deal with her seasickness, utterly unaware that her mentor had accidentally put together her former identity…
She struggled not to sob as tears dripped down her face while her mentor's casket was lowered into the ground, her red-haired best friend standing next to her just the same with his arm slung around her shoulders while hers was around his waist, both grieving for a man who left the world too soon. Halt squeezed her eyes shut as fresh tears leaked out, a wave of grief crashing over her. Damn him for leaving us, for not telling anyone else his suspicions so he had back up. He would be alive now if he had. Damn him! She shook a little and Crowley held her tighter, almost having to lead her to the grave. It was situated in what had been the man's favorite place, a gorgeous little meadow in the woods, near where he had grown up. They helped filled the hole, a little bit of closure for them.
They were busy with readying the country for the war that seemed inevitable. With a new, wet-behind-the-ears king (Halt probably could have handled the whole situation better than Duncan, but she had been better trained in these matters than he seemed to be, which is probably why she ended up advising him more than she should have had to), a fractured kingdom, and only a few war-tempered knights, she and Crowley had their work cut out for them, having not only to come up with a good strategy, but also having to find out more about Morgarath's army and gathering the exiled rangers. It wasn't a surprise it took her a while to figure out her feelings for her red-haired friend with all that was going on. She had fallen head-over-heels in love with him, and she struggled with keeping her feelings from people who are trained to notice everything, though she had an inkling that Pauline had picked up on it but thought that she had no clue of her feelings. Of course, all of that went out the window the moment she met Daniel when he saved her life. Curly brown hair and matching mischievous eyes steeled by courage in the face of death, he drove off the wargals and saved many lives.
When she woke in the infirmary, the first thing she asked for was Daniel, to know if he had made it. The answer was what she had been expecting and so she set out to fulfil the promise she had made to him before she had passed out. It was painful to learn that she wouldn't be able to set out right away since no one except for a pair of cons she had to con actually knew where he had lived. It resulted in two dead men and a dying mother who was only able to impart the first name of her infant to her. She held the curly haired baby close, gazing down on the child with warmth. "You look so much like your father." She said as she offered a finger to the grasping fingers. "I was going to name my child Will, but I'm in too deep as a male to ever actually have a child." Her heart melted a little (okay, a lot, but she wouldn't admit it until decades later) when Will stuck her finger in his mouth. She sighed a little, wanting to keep him, but knowing her duties wouldn't allow her to raise him properly. "It's a good thing I have a solution. I'll be able to keep an eye on you and make sure you're raised right." She smiled at the babe and left the house, heading for Redmont.
Every time she was around him, her heart ached to tell him the truth. There were times she nearly told him but she caught herself before she could even open her mouth. She told herself she couldn't love him and thus, never noticed when Crowley started to develop the same feelings. Unfortunately for Crowley, the other rangers noticed and made teasing him about his feelings a regular occurrence. It was all in good fun, though, so Crowley never tried to stop it. Instead he tried to subtly let Halt know his feelings, which, to the frustration of the red-haired commandant, never seemed to work.
Crowley staggered into his bed in shock, the revelation of Halt's bloodline swimming around viciously in his skull. Halt is the brother of King Ferris of Clonmel. Only Crowley knew something no one else at the table did. King Ferris has no brothers. Only two sisters and a nephew. Halt is really Háilí O'Carrick. He was utterly stupefied by this. I have never suspected that Halt was female. Of nobility, yes, given his intricate knowledge of politics and his manners, but never of being secretly female. Hell, I've seen him-her-with her shirt off. An image of a shirtless Halt flashed through his mind, causing his cheeks to burn. How exactly does h-she manage to have a beard? Crowley buried his face in his pillow as another blush came on at his next thought. Does her lower half as good as her upper half does? He let out a noise of frustration as he contemplated his next course of action. How the hell do I confront her?
Why the hell are we alone with each other?! Halt thought, mildly alarmed at the expression on her commandant's features. He was staring intensely at her, a little crease between his brows as he slowly backed her against a wall.
"Crowley?" Halt asked, her own eyes narrowed, heat rushing to pool in her core when his body pressed against hers. He cocked his head slightly, meeting her eyes one more time before his lips covered her own. Oh… Her body went lax at the contact, eyes fluttering shut as a warm feeling swept through her.
Crowley smirked mentally before he lost himself in the kiss, her taste like the honeyed coffee she drank and the blueberries she was secretly obsessed with, faintly pink lips softer than they had looked.
Their lips parted and they looked each other in the eyes before allowing their lips to lock in a passionate kiss, tongues battling for dominance as hands roamed over still-clothed bodies. As Halt lost the battle, Crowley slipped into her mouth, exploring and tasting. A feminine sigh escaped from Halt, and she froze, causing her commandant drawing back in confusion.
"Halt?" He inquired, looking at her intently, wondering what had caused her to freeze.
"Crowley, I'm not who you think I am." Halt looked her commandant in the eye, wondering if disgust and hatred would be flashing through them in a moment.
"My name isn't Halt and I'm not really Ferris's brother, I'm his s-""Sister, Háilí O'Carrick, I know." Crowley finished, watching in amusement as Halt went slack-jawed in astonishment. "Now can we get back to the kissing?" Halt got control of her jaw after that, glaring at her red-haired friend.
"You knew and didn't tell me!" She growled, eyes narrowed and flashing with rage as her voice returned to its normal, female tone. Crowley backed away instantly, hands up as he explained rapidly.
"I only figured it out after you said you were the brother of Ferris, which set my brain off since I knew he only had two sisters, one of which matched your age, had she been alive, and I was like 'Hey! She is alive because she is sitting right there masquerading as a guy!' and well, I had no clue how to broach the topic because I was still trying to wrap my head around the fact that the guy I was in love with was really a woman, even though you don't really have breasts, which isn't an issue or a bad thing, and you, Will, and Horace had to leave to go deal with the Outsiders, which I still need a report on, but that can wait 'til tomorrow, and so I didn't have a chance to actually have a conversation with you." He gasped for breath after he finished speaking, Halt watching on, a ball mixed emotions (shock, love, embarrassment, indignation, exasperation) swirling in her.
"You are in love with me?" She asked, feeling faintly inadequate off his love. Crowley nodded, slightly nervous.
"I am in love with you." His dark emerald eyes sought the same from her dark brown ones. She smiled.
"I'm in love with you, too." Crowley grinned, coming towards her once more, embracing her.
"But I have one very important question." He said as he pulled his head back, looking at her seriously. She frowned at him, wondering what he had in mind.
"How do you get your beard to stay on?" She laughed at the question and replied with a sexy smirk,
"How about I show you how to take it off?"
She was puking violently behind the cabin, quietly cursing the world and her lover. And Will when he found her hunched over, dry heaving. The brunet sighed only a little and helped her inside to her bed, where she curled up and refused to move. He was concerned about to vomiting but chalked it up to his mentor's pregnancy. He retrieved a piece of paper and a pencil before writing a letter to Crowley, asking him to come check on Halt, who wasn't feeling well, and really needed him at the moment. He tracked down a courier pigeon, tied the message to it, and sent it on its way.
The redhead burst into the cabin, drenched from the hot summer rain, scaring the people sitting at the table. Will hid a smirk at the look on his commandant's face, while Horace looked on baffled.
"Halt's in her room." Will said, watching with amusement as Crowley practically ran into the closed room. Horace nodded to himself as he realized why Crowley was there.
"So he's the daddy?" The knight asked his fellow task force member. Will nodded.
"They've been pining over each other for as long as I've known them. It's nice to actually see them together." Horace nodded back, both turning to look at Halt's room at the exclamation of 'YOU'RE PREGNANT!' followed by the sound of a body collapsing to the ground in a dead faint.
Halt slumped against the pillows, exhausted. "I will murder you horribly if you ever force me to do this again." She muttered to the red-haired man rubbing his hand. "I'm not sure my hand would survive a third time." He replied, shutting up when the midwife they swore to secrecy came in carrying two whimpering bundles.
"Here." She said, giving one to Crowley and one to Halt. They gazed down at their children, their hearts instantly falling in love with them. Crowley lowered himself onto the bed, allowing Halt a look at their other child.
"What are we going to name them?" Crowley whispered, looking at his lover.
"The black-haired one will be Mason, after your father. The red-haired one will be Merrick, after mine." Halt said firmly, their babies gazing up at them, one with dark emerald eyes and black hair, and the other with dark brown eyes and red hair.
"I love you. I love our babies." Crowley murmured, pressing a kiss to Halt's hair, then one to each child.
"I love you too. And our babies." Halt smiled at her new family, content with her life.
The End
(3157) Oh my fucking gods, IT'S DONE! This ended up waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay longer than I had planned. It was only supposed to be a thousand words, not three thousand one hundred and fifty-seven words. This was a monstrosity. A pain in the shoulder blade (Literally). I am so glad it got done. I cannot resist making Halt pregnant. There's just something about it that calls to me, I guess. Anyways, Will and Horace knew Halt was female because they were horny teenagers that lived with Halt for a long period of time. They picked up on the fact that Halt had the wrong equipment.