All told, the day had been... exhausting. First, there was their triumphant return to Araluen and the return of the crown Princess Cassandra to her father, King Duncan. Next, was the discovery that Halt had been banished from the kingdom and expelled from the ranger core, shortly followed by his pardon from the king and reinstatement to the rangers once more. Then there was the Skandian Oberjarl in Araluen and the ratification of the treaty between the two countries, followed by the feast celebrating it. And of course, the many reunions with friends and well wishers. The celebrating went on though most of the afternoon and into the evening before the party started to break up.
It was hard for Will to say good by to Erak. He had grown quite fond of the big Skandian. The sea wolves were a boisterous lot, but Will thought they had done pretty well trying to fit into the scene of an Araluen banquet. The hall was filled with the nobles, knights and fine ladies of the court, all dressed in their best silks and feathers. Will had smiled and even laughed to himself to see the pirates on their best behavior. They had declined the invitation to stay over night however, and returned to their ship after the feast. Will, along with many others, had gone to farewell them. Before their departure he received a rib-crushing bear-hug from the oberjarl. "Take care of yourself boy," the man said gruffly, after returning the youth to his feet. "If you are ever over our way, you will always be welcome."
"Thanks Erak," replied the youth, a little breathlessly. He stood on the dock watching as the ship got smaller and smaller until it was just a dot on the horizon and was lost in the failing light.
Will was tired. It was a happy sort of tired, for it felt good to be back in his own country. Only a few short months ago, it seemed almost an impossibility. But when it came to Halt, it seemed nothing was impossible. Will had believed that Halt would come for him, a belief he had clung to despite the grim reality of his situation. Will was stunned when he learned of Halt's banishment. He almost couldn't believe his ears. Halt, banished? And over a drunken slandering rant? It was a difficult concept to wrap his mind around. The apprentice knew what the ranger core meant to the man, how loyal he was to his country and devoted to his king. The situation confused Will, it wasn't at all in keeping with the man's character. Instinctively, he knew there had to be more to the story. The whole thing was so foreign to who Halt was that Will was sure it was not an accident or mishap. But in the day's busy schedule there had not been any opportunity for Will to question his mentor about it. He wondered if the older man would explain it to him.
Halt had been given a large apartment suite in the royal wing of the castle. It was normally used for visiting royal families from other countries. The king had insisted, and while the ranger would almost have preferred sleeping outside to the overly adorned accommodations, he accepted the king's hospitality with good grace. It had three separate bedrooms all connected to a large common room with many comfortable couches and ottomans. It had tall windows covered with thick drapes of velvet and a set of double doors that led out onto a small balcony facing the ocean. Halt had kept these open allowing in the cool night air. There was a great oak table for a work area and an enormous fireplace. Will had, of course, been invited to stay with Halt in the apartment.
As they retired to their accommodations that night, Will seemed to be unusually quiet. Halt knew the day had been long for everyone, but the face of his young apprentice had grown more serious as the evening came to a close. Halt thought he knew what was was on the young man's mind and knew that he, himself, was the cause of it.
It was wrong of him not to have told Will about his banishment. He had meant to. He had fully intended to tell his young apprentice about his disgraced departure from Araluen, but he had just never found the right moment. In his defense, they had all been pretty busy just trying to stay alive, first from a hostile country of Skanidans and then from an invading army of Tamerji soldiers. But still, he knew the situation should have been explained to his young apprentice.
On the ship journey home, he knew he was running out of time and that it needed to be done, but he just didn't know how to start the conversation. Still, that was no excuse. Will should not have found out the manner that he did. Not in such a public way, or without any explanation from him. Halt knew he had handled that poorly. The problem was he didn't know how to explain it; how to justify the fact that he had turned his back on his country, his king, the core, everything he held dear. What was his justification for such an action? The answer was obvious, as it was the only way he would have found the boy. Halt knew the longer the delay in going to search for Will and the princess the less likely they would ever be found. Not that the odds had ever been very good. In the end he had simply done what he felt he had to do to keep the promise he had made to Will, but would the young man understand that? The boy had sacrificed himself for the good of his country. Would he understand Halt's actions? Would he be disappointed?
Seeing that he could not put it off any longer, he decided it was best to just get on with it. As they entered the apartment, the older ranger turned to the young man and said, "Will, we need to talk. I feel I owe you an explanation."
The apprentice looked at the older man, a mixture of emotions on his face. "Halt, I..." he started, then stopped, seemingly unsure of what he was going to say.
Seeing Will at a loss for words was not something Halt was accustomed to. He waited a moment to see if his apprentice was going to finish his statement. When the young man didn't, he began, "I was denied leave to come after you. So, I did what I had to in order gain a release from service. I'm sorry," he said. "I should have told you about my situation before we returned home. You should have heard it from me first."
At that, Will found his voice again. "Don't apologize. Please Halt, I... you... you shouldn't have had to... I can't..." Will stopped, trying to get his thoughts together as he absorbed Halt's words. He had been shocked, astonished- dumbfounded even at the news of Halt's banishment. Now, for the first time, he fully understood what it had truly cost his mentor to come after them, what he had given up. Never would he have imagined or wanted Halt to go through something like that. The fact that Will knew nothing about it was an insignificant detail compared to the sacrifice Halt had made for him. Taking a deep breath and squaring his shoulders, he started again. "Halt there are not words- there is no way for me to thank you for what you did. Please don't apologize for anything."
The grizzled ranger studied the young man before him, noting again how much he had grown up over the last year. "I made you a promise," he said simply. "I did what was necessary to keep that promise."
Will looked at the man he loved and respected more than any one else and nodded once. It was a very Halt-like thing to do and suddenly Will seemed to understand. That simple movement could say what words could not.
The corner of Halt's mouth twitched up in what was almost a smile. He clapped the younger man on the shoulder. "What would I do with out you getting under my feet all the time?" he asked, and Will grinned at him. "It was pretty quiet at the cabin with you gone. I'd almost forgotten what silence was like."
At the mention of the cabin, they both looked around the finely furnished room. It was nice to be sure, the finest the kingdom had to offer, but it all felt a little stiff to Will. Very different from their comfortable little cabin in the woods. "This is nothing like home," he said with a smile, "but it's good to be back."
"That it is," replied Halt, in a quiet voice, "And it looks like we will be here for several weeks," he added. "There is some business that we need to attend to before we head back to Redmont."
Will looked questioningly at his mentor, but the bearded man didn't say any more. He simply headed over to the large table and pulled out several sheets of paper, a pen and an ink well. Will knew it was no good asking him further questions tonight but he couldn't help himself. "Halt, what are you doing? What are you working on?"
The older ranger rolled his eyes towards the ceiling. "See what I mean," he stated in an exasperated tone. "Questions, questions, questions..." He shook his head and started writing.
Will was beginning to think that his mentor did that to him on purpose, just to pique his interest with a tidbit of information, then refuse to elaborate. Some things never changed.
