So, new story, with an actual plotline and everything!
I have to admit I am new to this fandom and would greatly appreciate all reviews and support that I could get. For now, thought, just enjoy the first chapter.
Crowley was at it again.
Will stood stock-still in the trees, smiling slightly under the hood of his cowl as he watched the corpse commandant blunder around the cottage, knocking over the water clock and bumping into the table.
For this performance, however, Gilan had elected to join in. On a challenge from Will, he had been creeping as close as he could to the cottage door while remaining unseen. Of course, Liam had spotted him and instead of blowing the whole performance Gilan had merely rolled through the open window and joined in with Crowley. Now the two wrecked havoc in the cottage while the other forty-eight Rangers watched in the woods, stifling laughter and remaining absolutely still. They were all skilled at both.
"Right!" Crowley declared, looking up from his stack of papers. "You all promise to serve the Kingdom of Araluen for better or for worse, through sickness or pain… de ya de ya de ya. Gosh, if I didn't know better I would swear a Pastor wrote these things…"
"And you solemnly swear to never reveal any information regarding the contents or methods of the corpse, even under threat of endless pain or a long, slow death?" Gilan, who was reading over Crowley's shoulder, asked, and then blundered on. "Well of course you do. Painful death and torture is what you signed up for, no?"
Will took a moment to look at the three Apprentice's bemused faces and had to stifle a laugh. He remembered when he had been in that position, so many years ago: bemused, disappointed and above all scared. He could see lines of letdown creasing the eyes of the three graduates as they learned that graduation day was just like any other day… except you graduated.
"Well then." Crowley smiled. "These three— Stuart, Liam and Carrot Head…"
" Nick," Gilan reminded him cheerful, and Crowley snapped his fingers.
"Right, Nick! As long as they've demonstrated adequate ability with Ranger weapons…." He let the sentence hang, casting a meaningful look over to the mentors. Two nodded. One shook his head. "Ah! Two out of three, that's not bad, right?"
"Seems good to me," Gilan shrugged, and the mentors all nodded. Liam, who's mentor had shook his head, looked slightly insulted and on the verge of panic.
"Great!" Crowley smiled. "That's it, then. Has anyone got some coffee?" he leaned back against the wall and smiled, obviously pleased with himself for another masterful performance. Outside, Will knew what was coming. Even though it had been years since he coached the three boys, he could remember them vividly and had a pretty good assumption of who would ask the inevitable question.
"Um, sir?" Nick asked, raising a tentative hand. "What about our—"
"Of course!" Gilan all but yelled, causing the three to jump slightly. He turned back to Crowley and made a vague gesture with his hand. "They want their doohickey's!"
"Right!" Crowley exclaimed. "The thingamabobs! How did I forget?" the last question was directed at the apprentices as he dug a hand into his cloak. "Well there's one…" he pulled out a golden Oakleaf and was handing it to Liam when he took a good look at it. He pulled his arm back immediately.
"No, sorry," he excused, placing it back in his pocket. "That one's Halts… don't tell anyone, yeah?" A few more seconds of digging and he pulled out the three silver badges and handed them over.
Now was the time, Will realized. He had been so caught up in the proceedings that he failed to notice Halt stepping forwards and pulling down his hood. The movement was mirrored by the other Rangers, and a huge cry went up from fifty-some odd throats.
"CONGRATULATIONS!"
"Congratulations!" Will's cry was a second to late. Halt shot him a funny look, but the rest of the Rangers were too busy cheering and laughing to notice. Upon hearing the roar, Stuart had succeeded in dropping his Oakleaf and was now scrabbling around on the floor to get it. Liam and Nick looked stunned at the fifty grinning faces in front of them as their families, who had been concealed in the bushes, rushed forwards to engulf them.
Will joined the melee of backslapping and reassuring before making his way over to where Crowley, Halt and Gilan were standing.
"Don't know how you do that every year," Gilan was saying, a massive smile plastered onto his face. "It was all I could do not to break down in tears when one you started calling them names."
"I just about laughed at the Oakleaf part," Will chimed in, shooting an amused glance at his former mentor. "Thinking of retirement, Halt?" The grizzled ranger glared at him.
"You'll be retiring from broken legs if you don't wipe that smile off your face," he growled, and Will just grinned easily at him.
"You two never stop, do you?" Crowley asked, shaking his head at the byplay between the two. "Kids these days."
"You're just as young as I am," Halt snapped.
"Old," Will corrected. "Once you turn seventy it's improper to use young as a reference to yourself, Halt."
"I'm not seventy!" Halt snapped indignantly, annoyed at how the three were grinning at him.
"Are you sure?" Crowley asked, one hand dipping into his pocket. "If you're not, you could always…" he trailed off as he held out the gold Oakleaf temptingly in front of Halt.
"Get that away!" he snapped, slapped Crowley's hand. He turned and marched away indignantly, leaving the three doubled over in laughter.
Linebreak
Will was sitting at diner with Alyss in his cottage, recounting the events of the day while she laughed at Crowley's performance. Will had known her long enough to tell the difference between her fake laugh and her real one, and he was happy to see this was real.
"How did Halt react to that?" she asked as he came to the part where Crowley had pulled the wrong badge out.
"Badly," Will smiled. "He seemed quite annoyed at it, actually. It probably didn't help that we wouldn't drop it afterwards."
"Will!" Alyss said, and he smiled.
"What?" he asked innocently. She just shook her head, still smiling slightly at him as he ate. Before she could say anything else, Tug let out a low rumbled from outside.
"Trouble?" She asked him, but she already knew the answer. Will had barely reacted to the rumble from his faithful horse. At the same time, she noticed the Ebony had perked up and her tail was slowly wagging back and forth.
"Probably Halt," Will said, and then he frowned as he heard steps on the porch. "No, wait. That'll be Gilan." Immediately he relaxed more, putting on an air of complete indifference as the Ranger opened the door uninvited.
"Hello, Gilan," Alyss said politely, and Will glanced up from his cup.
"Oh, hi," he greeted, before going back to swirling his coffee around. Flipping down his cowl, the Ranger looked at them both with an exasperated sigh.
"Just once it'd be nice if someone was surprised when I show up," he grumbled. "How'd you know it was me?" This was directed at Will.
"Come on," Will smiled. "I lived here for five years with Halt, and you must have visited a hundred times during my training. Every single time when you climbed up the steps, you stumbled into the door."
"Of course." Gilan rolled his eyes as Will gestured for him to sit down, going to the kitchen to fix the young Ranger a cup of coffee. When he got back, Gilan and Alyss were making small talk.
"What brings you here?" Will asked, taking back his seat and handing Gilan the cup. He took a second to warm his hands and take a sip before answering.
"King Duncan wants to see you," he said. Most people would have been surprised by a summon like this, but Will merely raised his eyebrows in inquiry to the odd request.
"What for?" He asked, and Gilan shrugged.
"I know as little as you do," he told Will, taking another drink. "You and Alyss both are meant to report to Castle Araluen as soon as possible." Will nodded slowly, sharing a look with Alyss.
"So Halt will have the fief all to himself," he said, and was surprised when Gilan shook his head.
"Halt's coming too," he clarified. "Horace has been called to the meeting, and last I heard Erak had picked up Slethen and they were both on their way now."
"What's Duncan up to?" Will asked. Most people wouldn't dare to question the King like that, but Will considered Duncan more a friend than a ruler and elected to speak however he wanted. He was, after all, a Ranger.
"I guess we'll find out," Gilan answered. "He wants the three of us there as soon as possible; Halt's already left."
"He's probably still sulking about the retirement joke," Will muttered, downing his coffee in one gulp. "Might as well get going, then."
"Don't you want to pack or anything?" Alyss asked in surprise, looking up from the diner table. "The plates are still out, and you have nothing ready for a trip."
"My bow's by the door," Will shrugged, standing up and swinging his cloak around his shoulders. "I'll have Baron Arald arrange to get the place cleaned up. Tug's waiting outside to go, and your horse is as well."
"But I'm not dressed," Alyss protested. "For a formal meeting with the King I should at least be dressed in my courier outfit." Currently she was wearing tight pants and a loose linen shirt with a knit sweater over it.
"Why do you have to dress up?" Will asked. "It's only the King, after all." He disappeared out of the door. A second later, his head poked back in. "Well, are you coming or not?"
Linebreak
The ride to castle Araluen took two days. Alyss didn't have time to pack a tent, and as a result she dictated that Will was to give her his. He didn't mind the slightest bit, instead rolling up in his cloak outside and going to sleep faster than she did. He was perfectly used to sleeping on the plain ground with the stars spread out above him. Alyss, used to the more comfortable— if no less demanding— job of a courier, tossed and turned for hours before sleep claimed her.
In the middle of the second day they reined in outside the walls of the mighty, swopping castle. Will glanced up at its soaring arches and curved walls, admiring the beauty of the massive castle. Their beauty hid their deceptive strength, as the young Ranger could make out several guard towers hidden amidst the sculptures and even more archery slots.
The two guards ran out to meet them, weapons and armor jangling, but as soon as they saw the shimmering cloaks of the Rangers they relaxed.
"Hello, Ranger Will," one said formally, giving a short bow. "We didn't expect you so early; we barely saw you."
"That's how we train 'em," Gilan smiled as the drawbridge was dropped to the ground and the three of them road through the entrance into the outside courtyard. More sentries were dotted along the grounds, but standing there to greet them was Horace himself.
"Horace!" Will grinned delightedly, swinging easily out of Tug's saddle and slapping his old friend heartily on the back. "How're you doing?"
"Not too bad," he smiled back, looking the smaller boy up and down. Will looked much the same as he had the last time they saw each other: the unruly brown hair, his Ranger cloak that seemed to shimmer in the light and most of all, the massive longbow he clutched in one hand. Over his right shoulder, Horace could make out the twenty-four arrows that were poking out. "Any idea what Duncan's doing this time?"
"I was hoping his son-in-law would know more," Will shrugged. "I guess not, though."
"I'm sure we'll find out soon enough," Horace amended. "If you'd just leave Tug and Blaze to the stable hands…" As if on cue, two young men stepped forwards and looked admiringly at the cloaked Rangers. Small and unimpressive as they were and despite the fact that they were surrounded by royalty day and night, two of Araluens youngest protégés was always an exciting sight.
"If I must," Gilan said uneasily, handing over the reins. Will did much the same with even more reluctance.
"Just make sure to brush him down well," he reminded the boy who was now in control of his ever-faithful horse. "And don't give him two apples, only one."
Two, Tug said, his nostrils flaring.
"One," Will corrected. He noticed the strange look that the stable hand was giving him. "Sorry. Horse talking. One apple, brush him down and make sure his water buckets full. Oh, and remember to twist the top off the apple before you let it have him, and try not to let him—"
"Will," Alyss said gently, taking his hand. "They know what they're doing."
"Right," he nodded, allowing himself to be led into the castle, up the spiral staircase and into King Duncan's quarters. It was lavishly furnished with several plush couches, a fireplace in one corner and two windows on the back wall. The room was dominated by a large oak desk, in which the King sat behind. Halt was sitting on the other side with the massive Skandian Oberjarl, both who were leaning over a large map of Araluen and the surrounding coast. Slethen stood over to one side, discussing some private matter with Princess Cassandra. It was her who noticed them first.
"Will!" she cried in delight, going to hug him quickly. There was a time, he knew, where such contact would annoy Alyss, but as of now she just smiled and greeted Slethen in the traditional Arridi way .
"It's great to see you," Will smiled, holding Cassandra at an arms length and looking her up and down. She was looking as beautiful as ever— although not quite so much as Alyss.
"Will," Duncan greeted warmly, clasping one of the Rangers hands in both of his. "Glad you could make it. You had no trouble on the trip?"
"None at all, Your Majesty." Will shook his head.
"Oh, none of that," Duncan said, waving a hand dismissively. "Just Duncan is fine. And Gilan, I must say the way you cracked that thief ring was simple astounding…."
Once they were finished their greetings, Will pulled up a spare chair for Alyss, electing himself to stay standing. Slethen watched with an approving eye.
"In my country," he told the boy. "A man who respects his women above all else is the best kind of man. Here, have my chair." He stood up and offered it to Will.
"In my country, a man who notices that kind of respect often mirrors it in his own house," Will smiled in return. "Sit down; I've spent enough time in the saddle recently."
The boy hadn't lost his manners, Slethen thought as he sat down. Duncan cleared his throat and immediately all eyes in the room were on him. He gestured to the map, where several markings were laid out leading all the way to the edge of the map and off of it on additional sheets of paper.
"I'm sure you all want to know why you've been called here today," he smiled, enjoying the way they leaned in closer to listen. "As some of you may have guessed, Araluen is calling together it— and it's neighboring countries— finest men and women, all of you included, for a voyage that could change the fate of this country once and for all."
"And that would be?" Gilan asked. Halt and Erak clearly already knew, and by the smirks they both wore it was going to be something good.
"We're sending a fleet across the Endless Ocean," Duncan smiled, sitting back and enjoying the shocked looks all around. Alyss, he saw, was decidedly better at concealing it that the rest of the group, though Will and Gilan were almost able to keep their stoic ranger masks on. "We're going to map the rest of the world."
What do you guys think? Should I continue with this and let it unfold? If you think yes, drop a review and let me know.
REVIEW