History Always Repeats

Chapter One: Daydreams and Nightmares

By Nanaki RedXIII

It was a hot day in Redmont Fief. The world seemed lethargic, one giant blah that refused to get work done. The burning ball of fire that hung overhead like a disease, and that had been for some reason unknown named the Sun, did not help with the general productivity. Farmers, as hard working as they tend to be, were resting in the shade of their crops. Bakers and Cooks found it too sweltering to even bother with their food. Even the notorious Master Chubb was too hot to discipline his students. It was a most terrible day.

One certain young man in particular seemed to take the day off. His small form lay in an equally small clearing, resting his head against a rather mossy log. Not far away a shaggy pony cropped the at the grass, his saddles lying next to the young man. The young man seemed to be nodding off in the heat, eyes closed, muscles relaxed. His foot thumped a steady tattoo into the ground and he hummed along with it. It was the perfect day to be lazy and to rest. At the moment he was succeeding at doing just that.

The pony let out a little whinny, and one of the man's chocolate eyes opened slowly to peer at the horse. He didn't seem distressed, however, and that confused the young man. The horse didn't often make unnecessary noise. "There something wrong, Tug?" He asked, not expecting an answer but getting one anyway. His horse- Tug- had the oddest way of communicating through his eyes... or maybe that was just his lonely self creating a companion.

We should get going.

Tug was right. They really should set off to Castle Redmont. But... was just to hot. And they weren't expected for another two days. It wasn't as if they were going to be late. So why not enjoy the rest? After tracking down those idiotic bandits and making sure they would be in jail for a good amount of their life, he deserved a day of rest. Shrugging, Will Treaty closed his eyes, and let his thoughts wonder. Tug would warn him of any approaching threats.

He began to think. At first, he thought of his forever mentor, Halt. That scraggly old man was like a father to him. Will hoped he was okay. It was stupid, he knew, to be worrying about the Halt. But he worried all the same. As Lady Pauline had said: He isn't getting any younger. Will flashed a grin. The stubborn man most certainly was not. However Lady Pauline had convinced Halt to get a haircut... Will still doubted it ever happened.

Next he thought of Alyss. Of her angelic, gray-eyed face framed by her golden locks, her slender body... His grin turned to a the small smile of awe one might read about in a sappy romance novel. Behind his closed eyelids, Will's eyes were sparkling with affection. Oh how he had missed her! With a little embarrassment, he realized he had missed her more this past week than he had missed anyone before. She was wonderful, Alyss was. Simply amazing...

There must be magic in this world, because these Couriers seem to enchant Rangers quite easily.

Sighing, Will let his mind wonder on subjects of the past. Mainly on his training with Halt. Reviewing what he had learned could never hurt. It would actually be helpful. Maybe.

Before he knew it, Will Treaty was slipping off to sleep.

The darkness of the cave protected it. Saved it from the harsh rays of the burning ball of fire- the Sun. Shade was it's friend, its only friend. It had no mother. No father. They had both been killed. It didn't know how it knew it, it just did. It knew that humans had killed them, too. Though it really didn't care. Humans were just prey. If its parents had been killed by humans, then they didn't deserve their name. They were a disgrace. It would take up their positions as the nightmares of the human race. As long as it didn't have to go out under that fireball Sun.

Not that it was thinking these things. It wasn't that intelligent, of course.

All it wanted was the silver. All it cared about was the silver. And it's next meal, definitely. It had found a nice little cave, had found small little nuggets of silver. That's when the addiction began. It had to have more, had to figure out what the shiny was. It was so pretty... Best of all, humans had it! It got a meal, and the silver, at the same time! Oh how it loved its meals...

Its parents were supposed to be the last. But they weren't. They might have been killed, they might have been burnt. But they weren't the last. Those stupid little humans had no idea... It was lurking. Waiting. Keeping itself hidden, for now. Soon enough it would come out into the open. Soon enough it would devour those who killed its parents. It wasn't after revenge, it wasn't smart enough for that. But it did have a primal urge to kill anyone wearing a mottled cloak...

But for now, it was after the shiny. And as it felt the Sun disappear for the night and the moon begin to rise in the darkening sky, it raised it's hideous head along with it. Its dark, empowering eyes brightened a bit at the prospect of it's silver, and of its meal. The daytime was over, and now it could hunt. There was no giant ball of fire ready to set it aflame any second. Slowly, the ape-bear beast stalked out of its cave lair, bones crunching underneath it.

The Kalkara was on the hunt.

Authors Note: This is my first committed story. I'm trying to get Will's personality down... I feel like I screwed up somwhere. Maybe it was with Tug. Anyway, reviews would be awesome. The more reviews I get, the quicker I shall post the next chapter? I know you're dying to read the next part! Probably! Maybe! Hopefully! Ah, face it, you don't really care. But you shall! Soon!

Oh! And I don't own Ranger's Apprentice, though if I did that would be awesome. The only part of this I own is the IDEA and the WRITING. The characters belong to the Author. Hee. Anyway! Remember! Review! Now! Do it, I say! DO EEET!

Until next we meet
-Nanaki RedXIII