Fallen Angel

Ok, so this is my first story so don't be harsh please.

1. Fallen Angel

Will raise his face to the sky and thought about how things had been a few weeks ago. He thought about the Choosing and remembered how he had been so curious about that piece of paper Halt had given to the Baron, later he had found out that that piece of paper had his future on it. At that time he had been so unsure of his future, now he knew it, or at least part of it. He remembered reading what was on the paper, how he had been shocked and excited about becoming a Ranger's Apprentice and scared of Halt the mysterious Ranger. Will lowered his head and sighed, "Things are a lot different now, aren't they Tug" he said to his horse Tug. Tug snorted and his eyes seemed to say Yep! Now you have a life worth living and Halt and me to watch your back. I can watch yours instead of mine because I don't need to watch my back 'cause your sitting on it, so nothing can get to it!"Ha ha" Will said sarcastically "I suppose you would have to watch your back when I'm not on it". Tug snorted again but his eyes didn't say anything.

When Will had finished caring for Tug he went inside Halt's cabin and found him cooking dinner." Hey Will" Halt called in greeting; Will returned the greeting and set the table. When they sat down and started eating Halt looked out the window and said thoughtfully "Looks like there'll be a clear sky tomorrow, no snow storm on the way by the looks of it, that's good for what we're going to be doing tomorrow".

"What are we doing tomorrow?" Will asked excitedly.

"We're going into the woods and I'm going to teach you the tracks of animals" Halt answered " It'll be excellent conditions if the snow stays this deep and doesn't melt. It would be bad if we had a blizzard because the snow would cover all the tracks and you wouldn't be able to learn how to know how old the tracks are". They finished dinner and washed up. Then they said their good nights and went to bed.

When Will woke up the next morning he heard Halt getting up in the next room and let out a sigh of relief. Will knew the rules of living with Halt:

-Getting up late annoys Halt

-Getting up early annoys Halt

-Getting up at dawn is the right time to get up if you don't it annoys Halt

- Being picky with your food annoys Halt

-Being a vegetarian annoys Halt

-Not being vegetarian enough annoys Halt

-Asking too many questions annoys Halt

-If you annoy Halt you die

-If you anger Halt you die

-The way Halt punishes (kills) you: You are first beaten to death and then burned alive, after that you are kept on bread and water for six weeks

Will got up to help Halt make coffee and breakfast. After they had eaten they saddled Tug and Alberd, then rode off into the woods. It didn't take long to find some tracks, first they found a snow hare's they tracked it to a burrow and then went off in search of some other tracks. They were following a wolf's when Will saw the tracks of a man's boots beside the wolf tracks. "Halt! Come over here! I found something!" Will called while dismounting to get a better look.

"What!" Halt called back "What did you find?"

"The tracks of a man's boots" Will yelled "They look quite fresh" He added as he watched Halt ride over. When Halt got to the tracks he dismounted and knelt to examine them. "Yes. You're right. They are fresh." Halt said thoughtfully stroking his beard. "Looks like a man in his late thirties or early forties".

"I wonder what his doing. Can we catch up to him and see?" Will asked Halt pleadingly. Will didn't know it, and Halt would never admit it, but he had started to like Will in a fatherly fashion and was hard for him to resist when he looked at him in that pleading way. You're going soft old man He thought to himself you're going to have to work on hardening up again. "Oh alright then!" he answered gruffly "But then we have to go on with the lesson!"

"Yay! Thanks Halt!" Will yelled excitedly. And then, without thinking about it, he went up to Halt and gave him a hug. Halt stiffened and Will let go straight away, realizing his mistake. He thought about the list of things not to do in Halt's house. I could add DO NOT HUG HALT onto that list he thought. The horses seemed to say Uh oh. He closed his eyes tight Oh no. Oops. I'm going to die! Uh oh. I'm going to die. I'm going to die. I'm going to- Why am I not dead yet? Confused he opened his eyes slowly. Halt was just standing there stunned, staring at him. Look on the bright side. At least you're not dead yet. You get to say goodbye first.Tug seemed to say.Is Halt alright? I wonder what's wrong with him. Will thought. "Er…. Halt? Halt. Halt!" Will asked nervously "HALT!" Will yelled. Halt finally blinked and relaxed then paid attention. Should I run for it? Will thought. What did he just do? Halt thought dazed Oh yeah. He hugged me. What the hell did he do that for? Why don't I feel the need to kill him? Oh great. Just great. I'm going soft in my old age. Well that's just fantastic! He thought sarcastically. He mounted and looked down at Will and said "Come on. Or don't you want to go after the man? That's ok. You can still change your mind if you want". Will's jaw dropped. Halt could have sworn he saw the horses' jaws drop as well. Will and the horses were aghast thinking He's not angry!?! Phew! WOW! And Alberd thought He's going soft. Alberd looked at Halt while Will was mounting and seemed to say you're going soft old manwith a knowing look that annoyed Halt even more. "I know! You don't have to remind me! So don't push it!" Halt whispered furiously to Alberd.

They started after the man and they hadn't been riding long when they heard a whimper not too far off. It sounded like and animal in pain. "Come on" Halt called back to Will "We might get some fresh meat for dinner tonight". Will followed him and a very short ride later they came to a clearing where they found that the man's tracks went in circles and doubled back on themselves before continuing to the opposite side of the clearing and disappearing into the trees. There was also blood and arrows on the ground which meant he probably had been hunting and had found some game which he killed and took home for dinner. Will and Halt heard the whimpering noise again and Halt cursed. "Whoever he is, he obviously hurt the animal badly and didn't bother to put it out of its misery and left it where it lay. I don't like him. Come on Will. Let's find this animal, put it out of pain and maybe even get some fresh meat for our trouble" Halt said savagely. " You don't even know him." Will said "So how do you know you don't like him?" "Humph. But I still don't like him" Halt mumbled.

For the next half hour they searched the clearing and the surrounding trees and found nothing. "Maybe we should stop now Halt?" Will asked Halt in a despairing tone, "It's not here". "No. We haven't been looking long enough. In another half hour we'll leave if we don't find it" Halt answered gruffly.

25 minutes later Will heard the whimpering sound again and followed it to a rotting, old tree that fallen over a well hidden hollow in the ground. The whimpering seemed to be coming from underneath the tree, so Will pushed the tree and it rolled over so he could see into the hollow. He gasped as he saw what was whimpering in the hollow. It was a unconscious girl, 12 or 13 at the most, she had arrows sticking into her body, no less than a dozen maybe more, deep gashes and scapes, cuts and bruises, there where black lines all over her body and they seemed to move. Will shook his head trying to clear it I must be seeing things He thought confused they can't be moving. My eyes are just play tricks on me because I'm so shocked. When he looked again the black lines seemed to be still yet moving at the same time. He picked her up and was surprised at how light she was. He thought he felt feathers against his arms, but let the feeling go as quickly as it came to him. "HALT!" He called "HALT! Look! I found what was making the whimpering noise! It's a girl and she's hurt really badly!" Halt ran over and gently took her from Will's arms. He rushed to Alberd and carefully put the girl on the horse. "Quick! We must get back to the cabin so we can tend to her. She won't make it to a healer!" Halt said while he and Will mounted. As they turned and galloped away Will saw something black on the girl's back, he looked again and saw a pair of wings, glossy black wings. Is she an angel? Will thought A Fallen Angel?

So did you like it? Did you not like it? Any comments? Any changes? Any ideas for later chapters? Please tell me and review.