EDIT: Hey, guys...I'm going to be abandoning this. I just don't think I'll be writing anymore of this, so I'm really sorry but that's just how it's going to go down. If any of you want to adopt it you can go right ahead...I was planning on killing everyone in the end (depressing, I know), but if you don't like that kind of thing you can change it. Just let me know if you want to adopt it.
Our Solemn Hour
Summary: Halt and Will are on an unusual mission, but what happens when they discover an ancient curse upon Redmont? Will the fief be able to survive, or is this their final hour?
* Rated T for violence, blood, and a few curses, and death.
Chapter One: A Visit to the Baron
"Hurry up, Will. We're going to be late for the meeting we're suppose to go to with Baron Arald." Halt waited impatiently by the door of the cabin, hearing Will sigh from his bedroom and then sighed himself, but with annoyance. "What on earth is taking you so long?"
He entered Will's bedroom, and frowned as he saw Will standing in front of his small mirror, seemingly fussing over his messy, tousled hair. "Hang on, Halt," Will said, trying to flatten the mop of tangled brown stuff he called hair.
"I've been 'hanging on,' as you call it, for at least ten minutes now," Halt said, and then added, "Why are you trying to fix your hair? We're only going to see the Baron."
"Alyss might be there."
Halt raised an eyebrow, and then shook his head, dragging Will out of the room by the elbow, keeping a firm grip. "She'll only think it's strange if you try to be neat and clean just for her. You don't want her to know you like her, do you?"
At that, Will shook his head violently. "No!" he said, somewhat more loudly than was needed.
"You don't need to shout, Will," Halt said in an irritated voice. His good manners had eroded quite noticeably after having been kept waiting for so long. Will really needed to do as he was told when he said that it was time to hurry up and leave, Halt mused to himself. No matter; Will was a good apprentice and well-behaved boy, usually, and he was good company to have around. He would never betray someone, he added silently, as well as somewhat proudly. Yes, he was extremely proud of Will, although he would never let on with that fact.
Especially not to Will, who would never let him live it down.
"Sorry, Halt." He paused. "You're not going to tell her, are you?" Then he exclaimed, after he realized something, "How did you know?"
"Not so many questions at once."
"Sorry. How did you know?"
Halt shrugged. "I have my ways, Will."
Will scowled; he hated it when Halt said that. Unfortunately for him, Halt knew that, and thus said it as much as possible. "Oh, and Will?"
The apprentice Ranger responded immediately. "Yes, Halt?" he asked as they walked out the door, shutting it tightly behind them. His expression changed from one of curiosity to shock and indignation as Halt reached out abruptly and messed up his hair, tangling it even more than before. Halt began to walk more quickly, seeing the murderous expression on Will's face. "Why the hell did you do that?"
"Language," Halt said automatically, and then, with a very faint smile on his face that betrayed him completely, replied to Will with the gruff words of: "You looked like a girl, fixing up your hair like that. It would be embarrassing for others to know."
Will frowned. He didn't understand what Halt was saying, but decided to accuse Halt of not caring about Will's own embarrassment. It was his best bet to some revenge. "Embarrassing? For you, you mean?"
"Well. I'm offended, Will," he said as he swung up into Abelard's saddle. His pony turned its head to try and nuzzle him, and Halt fondly leaned down and wrapped his arms around his mount's neck, resting his head on Abelard's mane, burying his face into it. Will took his chance for revenge. Halt's head shot up as Will extended both hands and messed up Halt's hair, risking death in the action, and then swiftly touched his heels to his pony, Tug, which took off in a steady canter.
Trying to restore some neatness to his scruffy hair, Halt scowled at his apprentice, who didn't have to look behind him to know it; he could feel the irritation radiating off of his mentor, who was quickly catching up to him by now. Tug, enjoying the tormenting of his master, and was slowing down enough to frustrate the small boy. Halt was soon riding alongside Will, glaring at him. Will sighed in defeat, and swore quietly so Halt wouldn't hear. Halt signaled for Will to slow down, and after only a few seconds they were riding at a relaxed walk.
"Well? What do you have to say for yourself?" Halt asked pointedly, gesturing to the mess that used to be his neatly fixed hair.
Will grinned. "You looked like a girl with it all neat and nice, so I fixed it for you. I only returned the favor, Halt. Is that really so bad?"
Halt cursed himself for saying that in the first place, and Will's cleverness. "Are you sure it wasn't just revenge?"
"Of course not, Halt! How could I ask for anything such as revenge? I'm the sweet little boy that lives with you and asks questions, as well as saves your life from all sorts of things. I care about you to no end. How could I do something so cruel and cold?"
"Correction. You are the annoying brat who is lucky not to be thrown out today and gets me in all sorts of situations where death is almost inevitable," Halt replied, and then urged Abelard ahead of his apprentice, grinning to himself. Will was silent, but it was a thoughtful silence, not a sad or depressed one. He knew that Halt was just saying that he cared in his own special way. And that was the one thing he wanted most in the world, was Halt's acceptance and approval.
"So glad you care, Halt," Will said finally, ending the discussion with a grin thrown in his mentor's direction. Halt grunted, and Will began his never ending questions. "Hey, Halt, what do you think Baron Arald wants? Do you think Alyss will be there? Why did you make your hair look nice? Will Pauline be there or something? When will we get our next mission?"
Halt answered as many questions as he could, firmly ignoring the one involving Pauline, and he blinked in surprise as he realized they were already at Redmont's castle. Had it really been that long? He hadn't even noticed, and suddenly they were here. Well, that was a bit shocking.
The two Rangers, one an apprentice, didn't bother to tether their ponies; they wouldn't wander off, that was for sure. And now they were late for the meeting. Hurrying through the courtyard, the two attracted many curious and wary glances, mostly because the Ranger and his apprentice were practically running on their way to the Baron's office.
Halt held out an arm to stop Will as they approached Arald's office, and Will froze as well when he heard the unmistakable sound of footsteps coming from the opposite direction. Halt gave a small jerk of his head that told Will it was time to hide, and Will nodded, the two of them melting into the shadows. Halt had to nearly hold his apprentice down when he tried to stand up; Alyss, following behind Pauline, knocked on the Baron's door and entered a few moments later.
The two Rangers stood up. "Alyss is here!" Will cried out softly but joyfully, and Halt hid a small smile. It was amusing when Will was around Alyss, and he wondered when they would finally admit to...uh...liking each other more than friends. Will was thinking almost the same thing, wondering when Halt would admit to loving Pauline, although it was very hard to realize. But Will had been very privileged as to have heard Halt talking in his sleep once, and murmur Pauline's name in a shockingly adoring fashion. He found it deeply touching to know that, after all this time, Halt still had such strong feelings for his childhood friend. He also found it sorrowful.
"Yes, Alyss is here, with Pauline. Do you want to knock?" Halt inquired; Will always enjoyed knocking, since he did it in an interesting way, following a beat he had most obviously made up, but was quite catchy all the same. Even Halt used it sometimes, always when Will wasn't around or was distracted, though everyone knew he had almost no taste for music. Or so he claimed.
"Of course," Will said, smiling. Raising both knuckles, he knocked out his tune, and then an amused voice called out, "Come in!"
Both Rangers silently filed inside of the room, pushing back their deep cowls, and then shaking the tousled still-messy hair out of their faces. Even though Halt's hair was shorter than Will's, it wasn't that short.
Baron Arald raised one eyebrow, mimicking Halt's usual action. "You're both late, you know."
"We know, my lord," Halt said with a slight bow. "Will held us up by paying far too much attention on his hair this morning," he explained in an irritated voice. Will's jaw dropped with the unfairness of it all.
"Your hair was much more neat than mine!" he retorted. Pauline and Alyss smirked, and then Will beamed at his childhood friend. "Hullo, Alyss!"
Alyss smiled. "Hello, Will. It's nice to see you again." She paused, and gazed at the grinning Will and the scowling Halt. "Your hair...isn't really very neat, actually."
"I agree," Pauline said quietly. "I thought you said that he took a lot of time on his hair, Halt? And Will said that yours was even better than his?"
Halt shot Will a dark look, just as Will shot Halt an identical look. "He made sure he corrected that," they both said in unison, glaring at each other, both accusing. Before an argument could break out, Baron Arald, amused though he was, quickly interrupted.
"Since you're late as it is, we should hurry up and get this over with. First of all, there has been an outbreak of extremely strange activity up to the north, a few miles away from here."
"Strange activity?" said Halt. "Such as what, my lord?"
Baron Arald shook his head slowly. "An unknown beast has been attacking and murdering travelers, merchants, and anybody unfortunately enough to pass that way and get in its path. We have no idea what it is, and one man, a lucky survivor, has sworn to seeing more of them, and says that one even made a noise and showed itself to him," he said, and then added in a somewhat scornful voice, "He was somewhat delirious by the beast's poison, since its claws are utterly and completely toxic, it seems, and his mind and memory may have been affected as well. I don't know what to believe," he sighed.
"That is strange," Halt admitted. He frowned. "So...you're asking Will and I to risk our lives and go out to find out what's happening to dear old Redmont?"
The Baron noticed the slight edge to Halt's voice, and reluctantly said, not knowing what the reaction would be: "Well...yes."
Much to his surprise and relief, Halt shrugged and nodding. "Consider it done, then. Will and I will leave tomorrow morning to see what all the trouble is."
"Thank you, Halt," Arald said, and Halt acknowledged the words with a slight bow, not knowing what on earth he was getting he and Will into.
