Angst/Tragedy Fic! This short story is a little...well, you'll see xD I've been procrastinating off of writing the next chapter for "Ranger of Olympus". Hopefully the next chapter will be in a week or two. :) WARNING: There is character death.
Story set a few months or so after the eleventh book!
Read on:D
Disclaimer: I don't own Ranger's Apprentice. All rights go to John Flanagan.
3rd Person POV
The eyes. They were calculating, cunning, and pitiless. The eyes of a cold-blooded murderer.
A shadow slinked across the edge of the forest, eyes on the young man that sat on the porch step a couple hundred feet away, playing his mandola, with his back to the Genovesan. He wanted revenge. The youth had killed Bacari, his leader. He wanted to show this swine what happened when you messed with Genovesans. The purple-clad figure slipped closer and closer to his victim, raising a razor-sharp knife.
Fifty feet. Twenty feet. Ten feet…Will turned around. But he was a moment too late. Engrossed in playing his mandola, he didn't hear nor see the assassin approaching. He gasped in pain as the poisoned knife slid between his ribs. The Genovesan smiled cruelly as he watched Will drop his mandola and double over. Will's vision slowly started to blur. His heart rate dropped. Will feebly tried to unsheath his own saxe knife, but the Genovesan kicked him hard in the chest, driving the air out of Will's lungs. The Genovesan knelt down, becoming eye-level with Will.
"That'll teach you a lesson. You can't ever mess with a Genovesan and get away with it," he jeered. His voice was cold and pitiless.
Will looked up, his eyes full of hatred. "Killing me won't make you any less of a coward than you already are," he spoke weakly. He closed his eyes, as if the mere action of talking had used up his last reserves of strength.
The other man laughed, but the laugh was devoid of any humour. "Perhaps not, but killing you has made my career that much easier."
Will snorted in derision. "Career? You can hardly call killing helpless folk in cold blood a career."
The Genovesan smiled in amusement. "I admire your spirit, I'll give you that. Especially considering you're the one half dead."
Will's breathing became shallower as he leaned back, favoring his left side. "You won't get away with this. Someone will find me eventually. And when they see the poison, they'll know who did it. The Rangers will track you and your friends down."
"Your friends would stay away if they know what's good for them. And I know they aren't fools," the assassin replied darkly.
Will simply glared at the murderer, and shook his head in disgust. He knew he had lost. But he didn't want to back down without a few insults. He leaned his head backward, into the dewy morning grass and closed his eyes, giving up. He couldn't do anything now, the wound was major, and he had already lost too much blood. He could slowly feel the poison taking over his body. Will slowly let the darkness engulf him. What a pity to die this way, he thought to himself. His own ignorance cost him his life. He wondered ruefully if Halt would have been disappointed. He could bear death. But he didn't want to go without knowing that Halt was proud.
It was one mistake. Just one mistake of being too engrossed in his music, that had cost him his life. And forever he would regret it.
Yes, death by mandolas xD Hope you liked this chappie :D Will be posting a little bonus chapter soon! While I was writing this, I thought how the Genovesan would have known where Will's cabin was. For those interested in technicalities, I guess the Genovesan did a lot of researching and bribing/threatening to find Will's location. But these assassins are sneaky folk. I just noticed that they're kinda like the evil versions of Rangers o.O
Thanks for reading :D
