A/N: This is the revised version of the first chapter. To be honest, not much has changed other than a few minor details. I figured out how to work with what I have so that I don't have to start over. I'm sorry for the delay, but here it is. The next chapter shouldn't be too far behind. Thanks for being patient with me and putting up with my shenanigans ;) Now on to the story. Enjoy!

Will looked up at his captors with hatred in his eyes. "I'll never tell you anything." Under any other circumstances Will would be terrified of the man in front of him but after all of his training with Halt over the past years and because Will knew that his captors needed information out of him that they could get from few others in the kingdom, Will was valuable to them and therefore safe for the time being.

Another bruise was added to the array of injuries Will had collected from his time with his captors. The man who struck him spat at Will "Take him away," he said with contempt. He glared angrily at Will as Will was dragged out of the room and back to his cell. Will, knowing that this interrogation was over, finally let unconsciousness claim him and he welcomed the darkness.

Will awoke and was surprised to find that it was still dark outside. Whether this was because he had slept through the day or whether he hadn't slept much at all, Will didn't know. Will did, however, highly doubt his first notion of sleeping through the day because he knew his captors would never be so lenient with him. His captors had never missed an interrogation while Will was in captivity. He knew they wouldn't start now.

Will was still confused by the lighting outside. There was one window in Will's cell that had three vertical bars across it. It was a small window that let only a small amount of light in, but it was still helpful for telling time. Will was small so he couldn't quite see out of the window but Will still found ways to use every tool available to him.

Based on his calculations, Will's interrogations were once around midday, every day since his captors brought him in. It had been a week so far and he knew that his captors would eventually get tired of the same old routine. Will would never talk, he would die with his secret if that was what it came to. Will also knew that Halt would do whatever it took to get Will back even if that meant taking his place, but hopefully it wouldn't come to this.

Will groaned as he turned over to find a more comfortable position. There was no bed or mattress in Will's cell, just the hard stone floor and walls. There was no way for Will to treat his fever that had come with the infection of the cuts and gashes that he had collected over the past week. These men didn't care about Will's health. They only cared about the information he carried, and they would do anything to get that information…anything.

This is where Will's value came into play. They couldn't damage him too much because if he was one of few people who had the knowledge they sought, he was important, but so far the king had not answered the ransom for Will. Will truly believed that somebody would come for him but Halt had always told him to always assume that he'd need to find his own way out.

Will finally found a semi comfortable position and fell asleep again. It was peaceful, at least looking at him you'd think it was, but Will often dreamed in his captivity. Although some wouldn't call them dreams, but nightmares. These nightmares were mostly about Will giving up his secret and endangering all of Araluen. Some were about Will dying with his secret, but those were like unicorns and rainbows compared to the ones about Will giving the secret up. The nightmares plagued him but they were also a blessing. They helped Will keep his resolve. Will knew that if he let his guard down even for a minute, anything could happen. Halt always taught him to keep his resolve and to never let his guard down, and Will wasn't about to start now.

When the door creaked open again for his daily interrogation something felt different. Maybe it was because Will was so exhausted, not necessarily sleep deprived but because he was physically exhausted and his injuries and infections were beginning to take their toll on him. Will thought it was something else though, almost as if his captors had figured something out or had some sort of plan or secret.

They weren't the brightest but their leader wasn't an idiot either. Their one fault was that they usually told Will when they had a new development instead of keeping it to themselves. In this case they usually would have been seen as cunning for telling a prisoner this bit of information but they obviously hadn't met a Ranger before. Rangers were trained to withhold information and withstand torture. This bit of information only strengthened Will's resolve and helped him to stand firm.

When the guards dragged him into the room and strung him up again by his wrists, Will's breathing got shallower and quicker, but he attempted to keep it under control. The leader walked in with a smug look on his face and Will knew that there was a new development on their end. A million thoughts went through Will's head but Will kept a straight face, he didn't let there be any sign of a mental weakness on his part. Will wondered if they had caught Horace or Halt or if King Duncan really had paid his ransom, but Will doubted the last thought. King Duncan would be unwise to pay such a high ransom for someone so lowly as Will, or so Will thought. In fact, because Will held a vital piece of information in his mind that so few others held, he was quite valuable to a lot of people, including the king.

The leader finally stood in front of Will with his arms crossed and that smug grin still pasted on his face. "Your king has sent a reply to our ransom." He paused for a moment. Waiting for Will to show some sign of doubt or trust in his king, but Will showed neither. He was only a bit disappointed that the king would pay the ransom, because as explained earlier, Will didn't think that he was as valuable as he really was. The leader continued "He didn't pay it." For the first time Will looked relieved. It almost made the leader think that Will wasn't really who he said he was, but the oak leaf was a clear symbol of the Rangers, therefore he had to be who he said he was.

Will replied "This doesn't change anything. I'm still not telling you a thing about those documents. You'll never get your hands on a single word of it."

The man punched Will again. He took his dagger out as well and sliced Will's upper arm, tearing Will's shirt and making it wet with blood. Will winced but compared to some other injuries he had at the moment that was like getting a scratch. Will looked up at the man again and Will was not afraid, despite what the man could do to him "No matter how much you bruise me, burn me, cut me, stab me, I will never tell you anything. I will always stay loyal to my kingdom and my king. I will not betray-" A kick to the ribs. Will was pretty sure he had at least some cracked ones, and now maybe those cracked ones broke. Will sputtered and spit out blood. The metallic taste lingered and made him want to puke.

The leader looked at Will again with hatred in his eyes. It made Will wonder what he had done besides withhold the documents to make this man hate him so much. This thought got Will thinking though, what if Will had done something previously to earn this man's hatred or possibly even the group. But what could Will have done? The leader took Will's face in his hand and looked directly into his eyes. "I hope you understand that since your ransom wasn't paid, and you clearly won't tell us anything about those darn documents of yours, we can do whatever we want with you." He paused again, although this time it seemed to be only for dramatic effect. He then leaned in closer to Will's face and said menacingly to Will "So what'll it be?"

A/N: So how was it? Please tell me if you have any suggestions or anything you want to say to me. Please review, they motivate me and to be honest they make me feel good, most of the time ;) Thanks again. I hope you enjoyed!