Disclaimer: I do not own Ranger's Apprentice, nor the characters used in this story.
(A/N): This is what happens when I have too much time on my hands. .-. So! School just started up for me, but we had an extended weekend due to . . . well, labor day, but there were . . . ahh, other . . . problems. SO! That is how this was born,This Isn't Possible,probably a three chapter short, possibly more, but no more than five chapters. Please read and review, I love reviews, I love to know if you love it, I love to know if I made you cry (probably not in this fic tbh), I love hearing what you think. (And it might remind me to write the next chapter.) Enjoy!
"So," Crowley hesitated, glancing warily across his desk at Halt, before continuing, "do . . . do you remember that murder, Halt, that we dealt with?"
Halt raised an eyebrow at Crowley. "Which one?"
From Will's view in the back of the room, Crowley almost seemed like he didn't know what he was talking about. Well, he usually didn't but when giving out missions, he usually did. Or, Will continued to think, maybe he always doesn't know what he's talking about, and just gets lucky when I'm around?
Back at the commandant's desk, Crowley and Halt were arguing on which murder they dealt with that Crowley was trying to reference. Will didn't need to hear that, only the specifics later on. He looked around the room. Even though Crowley was the commandant, and Will wasn't the best at following instructions (or laws), and one would assume that meant he saw the inside of this office more often, the young Ranger had only been inside this office a few times before. As before, though, there were stacks of paper everywhere. On the ground, on the two chairs that were in front of the desk, on the desk, to the sides of the desk, and even on the couch Will was leaning on. Crowley was a good commandant, but he was the most disorganized, clueless, person Will had ever met.
The curtains were drawn over the large window at Crowley's back, making the room darker than what it should have been. Shafts of light got through the break in the curtains, giving the small room some light, but barely enough to see by. Halt had actually tripped over a pile of papers when they had walked in, being unable to see it in the gloom. Halt had not been happy.
Will glanced around the room more, taking in the dust on the shelves that lined the walls, that the knick-knacks placed on those shelves were fairly dusty as well. He lifted his bottom from the couch arm he was leaning on, and noticed that he had made a butt shaped imprint in the layer of dust. Looking back towards the commandant, and seeing the dust drifting in air, seen only because the curtains were letting in somelight, he realized that something was . . . off.
Crowley was disorganized, clueless, sometimes a bit thick, and exasperating at times, but he was not so lazy to not let in one of the maids to dust for him. He took his eyes off the dust in the air, and examined the commandant. The gloom inside the room in addition to the small amount of light that was allowed in made it hard to see the details of Crowley's face. He sounded normal, and he was still poking fun at Halt, as normal, but . . .
Will marched towards the desk. Neither Halt nor Crowley heard or saw him, surprisingly, and they didn't turn towards him when he walked by. Crowley didn't react when Will slipped behind the older commandant, and stood by the window, but Halt glanced curiously at his former apprentice before looking back to Crowley to respond to his latest addition to their argument.
"Okay, but she was like, really tall, -"
"Crowley, I'm married to a tall woman."Halt snapped back.
"Okay, but she was a brunette, I think. Or maybe her hair was black?"
"How about we try finding the original file? I'm sure with your impeccable organization, we'd find it in minutes!" Halt waved his arm around the room, nearly hitting a tall stack at the edge of the table. Will put a hand on the top of the stack, steadying it before it fell, or Halt or Crowley noticed.
"Well, that's just rude, Halt. And, actually, I had the file right here, but I lost it. She was tall, with dark brown hair, or black hair, with brown eyes -"
"That narrows it down." The grizzled Ranger added dryly.
"Shut it," Crowley pointed at Halt's chest, "and let me finish." Halt shrugged in response, obviously not feeling very threatened.
The Commandant started to describe this mystery girl once again, and Will turned back towards the window.
"I think she was wearing a rather fancy, expensive dress -"
"So, she was a noble? A lady?"
"Well, maybe a Lady-in-Waiting, but yeah. The dress was green, I think, with silver threaded into it. Very intricate, very fitting for her. Her face, now, her face was beautiful. I remember us commenting that she had an entire life ahead of her, as she was so beautiful and young, and she sort of reminded me of Duncan's late wife. Her hair -" Will ripped the curtains aside, rather violently, and fairly dramatic. Light from the day outside filled the room. Crowley and Halt flinched, not expecting the sudden, violent movement.
Now, dust could be seen everywhere, and it didn't take specifically looking for it to find it. Crowley was frozen in his spot, a look of terror evident in his eyes. Halt hadn't moved from his spot, but he had an incredulous look directed towards his apprentice.
At the base of the window, sitting on the frame, was a single file.
"This the file you're looking for?" Will picked up the small leather folder, and started to page through the papers. Definitely an older file, the papers were dry, not exactly brittle, but close to it. He stopped at a random page, and smiled.
"What?" Halt asked.
Will's smile broadened, and he held out the file in front of him, and started to read from the page he had randomly stopped on. "'Victim description: young woman, mid to late twenties, with long dark brown hair, with brown eyes. Wearing a green and silver ball gown with green slips on her feet. Very beautiful and elegant face. Possibly a lady, or lady-in-waiting, although not currently identified,'" Will paused for dramatic effect. Crowley started to say something, and reach for the file, but Will pulled the file closer to himself. "Not done yet," Will continued, "'Edit: The young lady/lady-in-waiting has been identified as Amelia Talper, former first Lady-in-Waiting to Adalaine Verline, daughter to Baron Wester Verline, current Baron of Caraway Fief.'" He snapped the file shut, and held it out to Crowley.
"Amelia Talper?" Halt asked, turning to face Will.
He nodded, "That's what it said. Amelia Talper, strangled in the woods south of Erostey, although no one has any clue how she got there. Folder's marked as a cold case."
Crowley nodded, somewhat numbly. "Ye-yeah. Cold case. She was one of the few, and probably the most tragic," he looked down, and start to play with the stack of papers on his chair, suddenly looking breakable.
Halt continued for him, "If I remember correctly, she and her lady, Lady Adalaine Verline, were very close friends. They were supposed to meet for meal, but Amelia never showed up. A few days later, and they found the body of the young lady in the woods south of Erostey, like you said."
The young Ranger crossed his arms. "And the two of you never found who did it?"
They both shook their heads, and Halt replied, "No, there wasn't much to go on. Her dress was still in good condition, with a few rips in the skirt. We assumed the rips were from running in the forest, possibly from her attacker, but she was wearing slippers, which had no damage to them. Normally we'd be able to narrow down the build and height of the person from the bruises on her neck, but she was strangled with the sash around her waist. There wasn't even any footprints from what I remember."
The three of them were quiet for some time, Will now leaning against the sill of the window, Crowley distractingly playing with a stack of papers, and Halt quietly standing on the other side of the desk, looking forlorn. Almost as if they were all silently apologizing to Amelia Talper for never finding her murderer.
Halt eventually broke the silence, "So . . ." He paused, glancing at his old friend to see if he was listening. Crowley didn't look up, and continued to play shuffle the papers, but motioned for Halt to go on. "So, what does the murder of Amelia Talper have to do with why you asked us here?"
Silence. Will was about to tap Crowley on the shoulder to see if he heard, when Crowley started to reply. "There was another murder. South of Castle Erostey, in the same forest that Amelia Talper was murdered in," he said quietly. He stopped, seemed finished, but continued. "A young lady, long brown hair, green dress. Beautiful, except for the strangulation bruises around her neck."
Will frowned. "Sounds like the same person, in my opinion. Serial killer with the m.o. of young, beautiful, brunettes in green dresses." He absentmindedly picked up a broken ball end of a striker. Whoever had gotten hit hard enough with a striker to cause it to break like that probably wasn't still alive. He started to toss the metal ball up in the air, catch it, then toss it up again. Although he didn't say it, he was relieved that the m.o. of the killer was beautiful brunettes - Alyss wore green sometimes, when not in her white courier gown, and was, under no question, beautiful.
Both Halt and Crowley shook their heads. "Unless it's a copy-cat, Will, that's probably not possible," Halt said. "First, this would only be the second victim. Second, why, if he - or she - was a serial killer, would they wait so long to kill their second victim? Either way -"
"There's more." Crowley murmured.
Halt gave Crowley an exasperated look. "So? What is it?"
"The lady's name. Everything." He stopped, and didn't continue.
Apprentice and Master exchanged a look of complete befuddlement. Crowley was confusing, that was obvious, but he usually wasn't this bad. Or this silent.
"Crowley -" Will started, but stopped as Crowley held out a file for him. It wasn't the same file he had picked up earlier and read from, and, in fact, looked brand new. This is why we're here, Will thought. Finally. He looked back up at Crowley, and the sandy-haired Ranger motioned for him to read. Will caught the steel ball, and held it in his hand.
Knowing that Halt would need to know what it said as well, he read aloud, "'Ranger Commandant Crowley, I am writing to you because I need to borrow a Ranger from you. Ranger Gavin who is usually with us in Erostey is currently not available, as he is dealing with bandits in the northern part of Erostey Fief, and is not expected to return for some time, as he thought he'd go around up north and check things out. Just recently, a body of a young lady has been found south of the castle. At first, I thought it was just a plain murder, possibly a crime of passion, and was going to assign a knight to figure things out, but when I heard the details, passed on to me from my steward, I had to have a Ranger. You won't believe me, I know, but there is a sort of legend about the woods south of Erostey Castle, pertaining to the murder of a young lady that was never solved. It's become such a legend that the details of the case are no longer secrets, and everyone knows the basic details. Well, it's almost as if someone was trying to recreate the dreadful scene from the local legend! Everything is exactly as it says it should be in the legend, and, to be honest, it gave me a large surprise. It could be the exact same girl, I swear -"
"That's fine, Will." Crowley interrupted. Will snapped the file shut, and held it out to Halt, who took it curiously. He paged through the few sheets already in there, examining the details for himself. Will started to toss the steel ball again.
"Just sounds like a copy-cat to me, Crowley." Halt stated doubtfully.
Crowley stood up straighter, and walked around his desk. He started to pace, walking around the stacks on the floor so skillfully Will had a feeling he did it often.
"But that's the thing, Halt! You may have read it, but Baron Brianus stated some details later on in the letter. Exactly the same as the original. I compared the stuff he said in that letter to what you and I wrote in the original file. Everything is the same."
Halt and Will were doubtful. "Look," Will started, "couldn't it be possible the killer just made it seem the same? I've heard of people murdering along the lines of fictional works before. A legend, while based off a real event, is the same thing, essentially."
Crowley shook his head, but before he could say anything, Halt cut in. "He does have a point, Crowley. Brianus stated that the details of the original murder has practically become common knowledge. It's easily explained away."
The commandant shook his head even more vigorously. "No, no, it's exactly the same. Exactly."
"How can you be so sure of that, though?" Will asked, somewhat curiously. It was definitely extremely similar to the older case, but it would be impossible for it to be exactly the same. That would mean same victim, same connections, everything. And, although 'exactly', may not mean exactly that, but he could tell - what Crowley was trying to get across to them was that it wasone-hundred percent the same.
Will looked out the window. One-hundred percent the same meant same victim, even though that wasn't possible. And, a Verline hasn't ruled in Caraway for years, so it's not as if they just killed a similar looking lady who just so happened to fit the other standards.
"I don't know!" Crowley threw his hands up into the air. "I have no clue howI know, I just know that I doknow!"
Halt opened his mouth, a dry reply on his tongue, before Crowley snapped "And don't ask me how I know that I know!"
Will, being the closer of the two to Crowley, took a step away from him.
The old, grizzled Ranger held up his hands in defeat. "Okay! Okay, Crowley. What do you want us to do?"
Crowley seemed to calm down, and he crossed his arms over his chest. "Investigate it like you'd normally investigate a murder. Find connections, interview people, the routine stuff. But at the same time, cross-check everything you learn with what we put in the original report."
Halt suddenly looked suspicious. "What's the catch?"
The commandant grinned. "I'm coming with."
The young girl, Will refused to think of her as a lady or woman, couldn't possibly have been older than twenty. She had long dark brown hair, chocolate brown eyes and lips so red it could have been blood. She had a slender face, darkly tanned skin, and high cheekbones. When Will laid eyes on her body, he had to turn away. He saw Halt glance curiously at him, but then the grizzled Ranger took a second glance at the body and immediately understood.
A girl so young, dark brown hair and eyes, tanned skin . . . she reminded Will of his daughter, who was currently away from the country with her mother, doing courier work. Caitlyn, his daughter, took after him with her looks, but otherwise was completely like her mother, elegant. It didn't help that she would be turning seventeen soon.
Crowley didn't see what stalled Will, and didn't notice when Halt whispered, "Will, it's not her. She's too old. It's not Caty."
Will nodded, knowing that Halt was right. But he still refused to come near. "I'll check the surrounding areas, okay? I just need some time." Halt nodded, understanding his want to get away from the body.
Glancing back at the body, Halt took in the same observation Will had. The green dress, green slippers to match, it was all the same. Crowley was bending over the girl's body, unaware of the resemblance to Caitlyn Mainwaring-Treaty. He seemed to take something out her the girl's hand, and examine it.
"What's that?" Halt walked over, and looked over Crowley's shoulder to see what he had. It was a necklace, possibly some type of amulet, that she had been clutching. It was simple, a small circle of flattened metal, with a round green gem placed in the middle of it. The chain that had held it around the girl's neck was broken.
It was strangely familiar to Halt.
"Don't tell me," Halt started grimly.
"It's exactly the same." They finished in unison. They had found the same amulet at the crime scene, years ago. Crowley stared at the amulet, mesmerized by the gem in middle. Halt paused. Crowley normally would have noticed Will's slight panic, and would have noticed that he was gone. In fact, he should have noticed the similarities between Amelia Talper and Will's daughter, as they have meet countless times.
"Crowley . . ." Halt started.
Crowley didn't seem to notice Halt's wariness. "It's the same murder, Halt! Same everything! Same victim, same murderer, right?" He didn't take his eyes off the amulet, even when Will walked up next to Halt, and stared down at his commandant. Halt noticed the barely held back revulsion in his apprentice's face. Normally, Halt would have questioned that face being directed at his old friend, but at the moment, he deserved it. Crowley kept going, "We could catch them this time! We got so close last time, Halt, this time - this time, though. We can catch them. Make sure they don't do anything else, maybe give this woman peace, even after - what, four decades? Five? I don't even remember, but maybe we could finally save this woman -"
"She's not a woman, Crowley, stop saying she's one." Will suddenly snapped. Crowley's trance suddenly seemed broken, and he flinched, and wrenched his eyes away from the gem. He blinked a few times, and stared up at Will, his face displaying nothing but confusion. "She can't be older than twenty, no younger than fifteen. Just because she had a sophisticated job doesn't automatically mean she's old enough for it." He wanted to say more, Will did, but he could see the warning in Halt's eyes. He was alarmed, he knew, from the resemblance to his daughter, and that didn't give him the right to snap at his commandant, no matter how confused or lost they seemed.
He turned away, from his confused boss, and his alarmed mentor. He gestured towards the trees. "Have you noticed the marks in the tree's bark?" He asked quietly.
When he turned back, Will gladly noticed that Crowley had handed over the amulet to Halt, who had immediately placed it inside his saddlebags on Abelard, and was holding the sash that had fallen across the girl's neck after taking her life. Halt turned to Will. "What marks?"
Walking towards the tree line, Will pointed towards a trunk. On it, lines were carved deeply into the wood, lines with no rhyme or reason. They both stared at them, turning to look at other trees as Will noticed them. All of the trees immediately surrounding the small clearing they were all marred by the lines etched in.
"Outside of this clearing, most of the trees for a few meters are marked up as well. The marks thin out after the first five meters, and after the full fifteen meters, they hit every tree once again, like they are inside the clearing. After that, they all but disappear," Will murmured.
Fifteen meters away, just outside the circle of marred trees, watching Will's and Halt's back, something waited. No, it wouldn't go after them until later. It narrowed it's eyes. Yes . . . It'd go after the young one, the one it was unfamiliar with, first. Then the red-head. Then onto the actual threat. The one most likely to succeed.
But, not until later.
Not until the young one was alone.