Into the Wild
Chapter one
Disclaimer: I do not own Ranger's apprentice or any of it's characters and concepts.
Halt and Will sat facing each other over the table. Between them was a board, painted black and white. Carved wooden counters were sitting innocently on the wood, black for Halt, white for Will.
Halt drummed his fingers on the table, waiting for his former apprentice to make his move. Will leaned forward, lips slightly parted, allowing the tip of his tongue to poke through. His eyes showed intense concentration as he tilted his head sideways to see a different angle of the game.
He reached a hand forward, touched a crude resmblance of a horse, and withdrew his fingers, frowning.
Halt watched him, his fingers tapping a beat from a Hibernian tune. He wouldn't admit to tapping a song though, should anyone ask.
Will reached for the horse again, hesitated, and glanced up at his mentor. Halt's face gave nothing away, so he took a deep breath and moved the piece forward.
Halt casually stretched, reaching for his bishop.
"Checkmate in three moves," he said. Will stared at the board in dismay.
Halt stood up, taking his coffee cup over to the pot for a refill.
Will shrugged his loss off, "I can never beat you, Halt," he said.
"You should try thinking outside the box, sometimes," Halt said, sighing contentedly as the steaming liquid filled his cup.
Will frowned, trying to figure out a way to counter his mentor's strategy. He moved a few pieces back and forth experimentally.
He sensed another presence outside the door before he heard footsteps tapping the wooden deck. He left the board game and moved to open the door.
"Will," Alyss said, smiling at him.
A wide grin stretched across the young ranger's face. He stepped forward, pressing his lips to hers.
"You're back," he murmered, hugging her tightly. Alyss hummed, a happy sound.
Halt coughed noisily. Will jerked away from his girlfriend, his cheeks reddening.
Alyss was still smiling, amused at Will's embarrassment. "May I come in?" she prompted.
Will stepped back hurridly, stumbling in his haste. He recovered himself, grinnning sheepishly.
"Of course," he said, taking her cloak and hanging it over a peg by the door.
Halt set out three cups of coffee. Alyss glanced curiously at the board game still on the table.
"Who won?" she asked.
Will tried to ignore Halt's smug expression. He sat down at the table, warming his hands on his coffee cup.
"Chess isn't about winning," he said. "It's about strategy and creativity."
Halt raised an eyebrow. "And if you used both of those things, mabe you could beat me."
"Anyway," Alyss cut in before they could start bickering, "what have you two been up to?"
"Oh, the usual," Will shrugged. "Couple of bandits, few stuck up nobles, that sort of thing. How did your mission go?"
"Fine," Alyss said. "Though I'm glad to be back home. One can get quite sick of diplomatic delegations, particularly in Hibernia. No offence Halt,"
"None taken," Halt said. He finished his coffee and reluctantly set the mug down. "I might go for a scout around, see if anything new has happened recently." he gave Will a meaningful look and the young ranger swallowed nervously.
The two young people sat in comfortable silence for a moment. At least, it was comfotable for Alyss. Will's hands were starting to sweat and he wiped them on his trousers.
"Ah, Alyss...?" Will asked. Her steady grey eyes met his, waiting patiently. He cleared his throat several times.
"Would.. I mean.. you.."
Her expression didn't change, though Will thought he saw a flicker of something in her eyes.
"Would.. would you like some more coffee?" he said, suddenly feeling very hot.
"No, thank you," Alyss said, far too politely, "I haven't finished this cup yet."
"Ah, right," Will shifted uncomfortably. He would ask tommorow. Yes, it could wait one more day.
Alyss cast him a curious look. Will scratched the back of his neck, trying to pretend his face wasn't bright red.
"So, uh, tell me about your mission?" the young ranger said awkwardly.
"It's not that interesting, really," Alyss said and proceeded to tell him briefly about what had happened while she was in Hibernia.
Will idly prompted her with a few questions but his mind was someplace else. He fingered the ring in his pocket. He kept it with him at all times, just in case he someday worked up the courage to ask. Not so far thought, as Halt constantly reminded him. He wondered how many rangers knew he was trying to work up the courage to ask Alyss to marry him. He wouldn't put it past Halt to tell everyone and he had noticed some strange looks he'd been getting at the last gathering.
It was late evening when Alyss finally left. Halt had obviously intended to give them the whole day together and was probably back in his home with Pauline.
As the door closed behind his girlfriend, Will felt very alone. The sudden loss of company made the cabin seem big and empty. He sighed to himself, putting away the boardgame. All there was to do was scrub at the dirty dishes. He could practise playing his mandola, but he didn't really feel like music.
He idly read through a few reports but there was nothing particularly interesting. The kingdom had been at peace for a long time now. He was grateful for that, despite being bored. After all the excitement in his life, nothing seemed to be happening. He tossed the reports aside and retreated to his bedroom.
He knew he should be happy and he was! His friends were all safe, the kingdom was safe, everything was perfect. He just felt restless and more than a little annoyed at his failed attempts to propose.
He sighed and snuggled deeper under his blankets. Why did life have to be so complicated? Nonetheless, he fell asleep almost instantly, as he had been trained to do.
…...
The following day, they got a letter from Corps Commandant Crowley.
Halt was at the cabin for lunch and the two of them were enjoying a savoury stew. There was a light atmosphere of friendship as the two of them exchanged words of banter.
After their meal, Will went outside to get the mail. He dropped the pile of letters on the table, scanning the names.
"This ones from Crowley," he said and tore the envelope open. He read it aloud so Halt could hear.
Dear Halt and Will
I'm sorry I can't tell you this in person, but I really couldn't get a break as there's far too much to do here. So I'm having to tell you this in a letter. That being said, let's get on with it, shall we?
The Royal Council of Oramin has requested a treaty with Araluen. As you know, Oramin has been somewhat corrupted over the years and trapped under a weak leader. However, he has recently died and his nephew took his place. They assure us it is under control.
But if it isn't, they could potentially ask us for all sorts of resources that we simply can't afford to give. Yet if we refused, it could be seen as a breach of the treaty. Should that happen, the other countries that are allied with us might decide we are untrustworthy.
Duncan doesn't want a treaty with a weak country that may offer no threat to us anyway. So we are sending someone to go there and see what the country is like. The Royal Council of Oramin know of the arrangement and they accept happily.
We are sending a young women to investigate. Her name is Lillian Carister and, as you've probably guessed, she is a courier. Your job will simply be to protect her, nothing more, nothing less.
She will meet you in three days time at Marsden River, where a Skandian ship will be ready to take you to Oramin.
Good luck and god bless.
From the talented, handsome and wonderful ranger
Crowley
Will shook his head at the sign off. Well, that was Crowley, he thought.
"Have you ever been to Oramin, Halt?" he asked his former mentor.
"Always with the questions," Halt said. "But yes, in fact, I have. Irrational country is Oramin. I'll be glad if they really have gained control of it."
Will summoned an image of a map to his mind. He remembered spending long and painful hours memorising the positions of countries and was grateful for it. Oramin, he knew, was in the upper east of the main contenant.
"It's got a huge forest in it," Will remembered.
"Yes," Halt said. "The whole country is basically one big forest. But it gets thicker towards the centre and that's where people don't go. It's what they call 'The Wild'."
"Do you speak their language?"
"No," Halt dismissed the question with a wave. "Their traditional language is ancient. It's only tradition. All Oramin can speak it, but they also speak the common tongue. So when we get there, you'll find you can understand them but they'll throw in words from the ancient language."
Will nodded thoughtfully. He was trying to imagine what the mission would be like. It was only an escort mission, so it wasn't going to be as exciting as his times in Skandia or when he was in Norgate. But he was grateful to have something to distract him from his problems with Alyss. Yes, some time away to get his head in order would do him good.
Apparantly, Halt was thinking the same thing. "With any luck," he said. "You'll miss Alyss so much while where away that you'll actually ask her to marry you."
"Oh shut up," Will said. He didn't like the grim, straight faced Halt making fun of his bad attempts. Not Halt, of all people, the man who had taken everyone by surprise by marrying Pauline. Halt, who hadn't had the courage to ask her for ten years.
"I must say," Halt continued, "your failed attempts are the most pathetic thing I've ever seen. And I've seen Crowley trying to dance."
Now, that put interesting images in Will's mind.
He grinned and the grin soon turned wistful as his thoughts returned to Alyss.
He could hardly ask her to marry him and then run off to Oramin a few days later. That would be rude. She would probably prefer to spend a few days with him, then some time planning the wedding. Yes, he would have to wait until after he got back.
In the meantime, they had a mission to prepare for.
