Summary: Halt, Will, Gilan, and others are traveiing to an endangered fief when the party is attacked by a company of dangerous assassins, leaving most of them injured and one nearly dead. Can Will find the strength and courage to fight off the rest of the killers, or is this the last journey they'll ever take?
All right. This is my first fanfiction ever, so take it easy on me. Disclaimer: I do not own Ranger's Apprentice. Wish I did. XD This fanfic takes place...eh...probably the first winter after Will becomes a fully-fledged Ranger. I edited everything, no worries...lol XD
My comments are in bold, and underlined, like this...
Will's thoughts are like this.
Halt's thoughts are like this, how they are now...in bold.
Gilan's thoughts are underlined, like this.
I love ya, Halt! XD [ He be my favorite character(: ]
The sun rose high over the top of the hill, and a small figure on a shaggy little pony trudged slowly down, bathed in the watery morning sunlight. The rider raised his head slightly as the steady thud of horse-hooves on a chilly dirt path became the loud clatter of hooves on a cobbled pathway, and then smiled, looking around at his old home. The rider and his pony, Tug, left the town behind shortly after arriving, and Will Treaty urged Tug a little faster.
"Almost there," he said to the shaggy little pony. "We'll be seeing Halt and Abelard soon, Tug. Just you wait!"
The pony twitched its ears in reply to the young man's voice, and then, with obvious exasperation, began to trot up to Castle Redmont, so they could go see Baron Arald. It was a dreary, overcast day; a blizzard was most likely coming. I'm just lucky, thought Will, that I wasn't bogged down on the way here. Then what would I do? The truth was, Will was in need of help and advice. An endangered fief was in great trouble, and a weary messenger--one that had slid to the ground in a dead faint upon arriving--had come to seek Will's help. And Halt's, for of course one would want a legendary Ranger to help rid them of their troubles. And Halt, Will's grim old friend and mentor, would be perfect for the job.
Will had reached the stables, and slid down onto the ground. As he was carefully pulling Tug's saddle off, there was a sudden, ringing shout of glee, and Will was knocked to the floor as someone tall crashed into him. "Will!" Gilan exclaimed once more, grinning so widely it must have hurt him. (Sorry, Rowana_Renee! I had to use that. I loved it hahah.)
"Gil!" Will said in return. Gilan stood, helping Will to his feet, and then they both grinned at each other, a tad foolishly. Halt would have been annoyed at this behavior, Will observed to himself. Of course, Halt was easily annoyed, so one more thing to add to Halt's growing list of things to be irritated about would make no difference. (Have you ever noticed that people use the word 'would' a lot? I have lol.)
They began to exchange the usual, "How have you beens?" and "It's wonderful to see you agains," and other formal greetings, inclining their heads in all the correct places. Halt would be proud of us, Gilan thought, if he could see us now. He grinned without even realizing it. (Note: Gilan grins a lot. lol)
"So why have you come?" he asked finally, his curiosity getting the better of him at last. "Wanted to see us? Are you lonely at your new fief? Poor Will; he's so lonely."
Will grinned in spite of himself. "No," he said, "but I suppose that's a reason as well. I actually need your help with something--and Halt's help too, of course. I couldn't do anything important without him, most likely. A fief is in trouble; there's a group of assassins terrorizing the town. They need our help to drive them out or even kill them all. It won't be easy, they warned us. These are trained killers. Will you come along, Gil?"
Gilan didn't reply for a moment, and Will began to worry that he was deny his coming along, but then the tall Ranger grinned. "Of course I will!" he beamed. "And we'll definitely bring grim old Halt along. We can annoy him while we travel, since riding there will obviously be boring. Halt will hate us for eternity, you know, but it'll be worth it. So long as he doesn't bring his switch along," Gil added quickly.
"He might," said Will. "Here; help me with Tug, will you? Then we can go see Baron Arald. We might as well ask him if he wants to come along. It's only polite. And anyway, it's time I visited anyway. I wonder if Halt will be glad to see me?"
"Of course he will," Gilan reassured him. "He'll act like he doesn't, of course, but he will. Just you wait and see. He might even greet you."
Will resisted the urge to roll his eyes, chortling. "If he does, I think I might just might break my longbow in half. He won't, Gil, although you think he will. But he won't even say hello. Just wait. I'll prove you wrong."
Gilan stared at him soberly, but his eyes twinkled with a smile. "It's a bet."
*****
They were immediately admitted into Baron Arald's office, and the Baron greeted Will in welcome, smiling broadly. At least he's glad to see me, Will thought. He and Gilan quickly explained what was happening down at one of the fiefs, told him that the Ranger stationed there had been successfully assassinated, and the Baron began to frown with concern. No ordinary murderer could kill a fully-fledged Ranger easily. It took courage, stealth, and, above all, very good instincts, such as when to jump out the window when the Ranger seized their bow and quiver.
Will kept asking if he could see Halt, and, finally, Baron Arald sent for him, giving Will an amused smile. He, for one, didn't mind Will's endless questions. It was close to five minutes until there was a light knock on the door, and Arald called hastily, "Come in!"
The door opened, and Lady Pauline strode in, with perfect posture and grace--as always. But Halt wasn't with her. "He'll be a moment," she said to Will immediately, seeing the anxious look on the young man's face. "He's in a bad mood at the moment, and was reading a message from Crowley when we were asked to come down."
"Halt?" said Gilan. "In a bad mood?" His mouth formed a perfectly round O. "How could that be possible? Halt is the most cheerful, talkative, joking person I know. I'm amazed that he's being a grouch today. How unlike him."
Will grinned, and Baron Arald hid a smile. It wouldn't do if he laughed about that as well; if Halt was in a sour mood at the moment....
It took another few minutes before Halt finally showed up, scowling and muttering to himself, and glared at them all as he came in. "Well?" he snapped to Will, who blinked, not knowing what he had done wrong already. "It took you that long to visit me?"
Oh. No wonder he was upset.
"You lose the bet," Will said to Gilan, and a flicker of confusion showed on Halt's face. "We had a bet," Will explained quickly. "I said that you wouldn't greet me, and Gilan said you would. Gilan lost the bet."
"I see. Well, Gilan wins the bet. Hello, Will, how nice of you to come and visit us. Finally," Halt muttered under his breath, and Pauline smiled faintly, amused at the exchanges between the Rangers.
"Cheater," Will whined. "You've let him win. You're not that mad at me, are you? It hasn't been long since I became a Ranger. I had to settle down first, you know, and do some things around my fief. I have to live up to my responsibilities, as you told me once. And now you're upset that I'm doing exactly that!"
Gilan beamed. "Wow, Halt, how selfish are you?"
Halt glared at him, and the smile wilted. "I have no idea why I took you in as my apprentice," he said. "I don't even know why I looked twice at Will. All it's caused me is--"
"Two sons," Will murmured, and looked at his boots. Gilan grinned. Halt scowled at them both. This wasn't turning out to be a very good visit.
Sorry it was so short!
R&R???
And sorry if I got some personalities wrong or anything....Or if the fanfiction was bad. And this is only the first chapter; there will be tons more!