A/N Hello my lovely readers. Here we are at the fourth story in my fox serie. Here's chapter one for you, and I will upload chapter two in a few minutes. Like I said this is the fourth story, so if there are any new readers, please read the first three before you read this one. things will make a lot more sense.
Disclaimer: I do not own Rangers Apprentice. I wish I did, but yet again I don't.
Wolves always find their way home.
Chapter 1.
The wedding was a happy occasion to many. Everyone seemed to be in high spirits. Everyone seemed to be happy. Even Halt smiled every once in a while. What no one expected is the sad and lonely looks of another ranger. One that usuall was the happiest of everyone. But he hasn't been the same since that day two years ago.
"Gilan did you know that we'd have to dance?" Will asked him. Gilan snappad out of his thoughts and focused on the younger ranger.
"Yes, I did." He answered shortly.
"Oh cheer up, stop sulking. This isn't you Gil." Will commented. "It's been over two years. Would it kill you if you have some fun?"
"I guess not. I just can't forget. It's stupid, you're right. I'm not usually like this, it's just... Yeah, I'll cheer up." Gilan said faking a smile. Will could see through it, but he didn't mention it. Instead he took Alyss to dance. After Halt and Pauline did of course. Not much later, Gilan and Jenny joined them.
"So what's her name?" Jenny asked her dancepartner.
"Excuse me?" Gilan asked back, raising an eyebrow.
"What's her name, of the girl who left you two years ago." Jenny asked sweetly.
"May. Her name was May. She was in Hallasholm with Cassandra and Will. She changed there, and ran away. She said that it was to keep me safe from her." Gilan admitted after a while. "It's my fault she left." He added in a whisper.
"How can you say that? I don't see you could have done that." Jenny said to him with a sweet smile.
"We had a fight, earlier that day. I have no idea why I am telling you all of this, but I don't see why not." He said back. Before he could say anything else, a rather large man entered the room. Will noticed him and signalled Gilan to keep dancing. He nodded and turned his attention back to Jenny.
"Don't worry, Will's got this." He said to her. "I pushed her to tell me what was going on, and she snapped. She left the same night. All she left was a letter."
"That seems kind of rude." Jenny commented. "And a bit dramatic, don't you think?"
"That's the problem. I completely understand why she left. She lived through a lot there in Hallasholm. And before that. She was losing her mind, and she couldn't take it anymore. She barely slept. I would always find her, or training, or in the stables with her horse." Jenny gave him a look when he mentioned the horse, but he just shrugged it off.
"If it's any consolation, I think you're a great guy, and that May is a fool to give up on you." She smiled sweetly, and moments later the music stopped. Crowley, Halt, Cassandra and the king all left after Will, Crowley signalling Gilan to come too.
"I've got to go. Thank you Jenny." Gilan said.
"For what?" She said back.
"A lovely dance and a nice conversation." Gilan smiled at her. An actual genuine smile. Before he turned around and followed the others.
When he got there, he found an empty platter of food, a large man who probably was a skandian, Will, Horace, Cassandra, Halt, King Duncan and Crowley.
"Someone was hungry." Gilan commented.
"Look who's back! Gil, I like that you finally cheered up, but the timing could use some work. Erak has been captured. Svengal here just told us." Will said to the tall ranger.
"What exactly happened?" Duncan asked the skandian, whose name was Svengal appearantly.
Svengal began to explain everything for a second time. How Erak was bored, and how he wanted one last Raid. They went to Arrida, and got ambushed there. Someone had information from the inside, at least that's what Erak thinks. That's why he was send to Auraluen, istead of Skandia. When he finally completed his story he ended with a complain on Horses.
"There's one thing bugging me." Duncan said to the large Skandian. "Why was he betrayed? I thought he was popular there."
"Aye, that's true. But he's popular with the majority of the people, not everyone of them. They're a smal faction. Small but vocal." Svengal explained. "We believe their leader's name is Toshak."
"That might be the reason Erak send you here instead of Hallasholm. They would speak loud, and decide it might be cheaper to just choose a new Oberjarl. It's a lot of money they're asking." Crowley said.
"We can lend Erak the money, can't we dad?" Cassandra asked her father. King Duncan looked doubtful. Eighty thousand reels was a lot.
"I can assure you Erak is worth that." Halt said to his old friend.
"Yes, yes I believe it is. And the actual amount would be less, the Arridi would be offended if we didn't try to lower it." He told himself more than others.
"I owe Erak my life father. He saved me twice to be exact. He got Will away so he could be better, and he searched nearly day and night for May when she was missing." Gilan winced a little at her name, but hid it so no one saw it. Luckily they didn't.
"I will pay the money Cassie, don't worry. It's how we get it there I'm worried about." He told his daughter. "If I pay them in coins, there would be a large amount of money on one ship. It could get lost, or even raided."
"We can use the silasian council your majesty." Will said after a short silence.
"Yes of course! But someone would have to go down there. They didn't sign the Silasian agreements, so they would have to make a cash delivery. We need someone down there to make them agree to our terms, and let the council make the payment." Duncan said.
"I can do that." Halt immediatly spoke up.
"No you can't." Crowley interrupted. "There's a protocol. It's a deal about a country leader, so one of royal rank will have to go. King Duncan should go myself, but he can't right now. If he doesn't organize the peace talks between the six Hibernian kings, it could end badly."
"Thank you Crowley." Duncan replied dryly.
"Then tell them I't your long lost cousin, and give me the seal." Halt said.
"DId you ever tell Halt how the civillized world works Crowley?" Duncan asked him.
"Yes, I have. He's just a very stubborn mind." The ranger said.
"Yeah, no kidding." Cassandra muttered.
"The royal seal can only be used by a member of the royal family, as you know, Halt," said
Duncan. "If you were to use it, any negotiations you carried out, and any agreements
you reached, would be fraudulent and therefore void. If that were exposed, it would take years for Araluen to regain the trust of other countries. We can't risk that." Halt snorted, but didn't push it any further.
"I can go." Cassandra said. The room went silent, you could hear a pin drop.
"Absolutely not." Duncan said after the silence.
"Why, why not. We, the royal family of Auraluen, owe him a debt. This is exactly what we were talking about a few weeks ago. One day I will become queen, and if I don't take on some responsibilities, I won't be prepared to be a queen you can be proud of." Cassandra argued.
"No you cannot go. That's final." Duncan said back.
"No that's not final. Dad, I owe Erak my life. It's my right to do something back for him." SHe said to him.
"The problem, Cassandra, is that you're-"
"A girl." Cassandra filled in for him.
"No that's not what I was going to say. I was saying, that you're inexperienced and young. You've never carried out negostiations like these" Duncan said in a calm voice.
"Then Halt can come with me." Cassandra said. "He can advise me on this, right?"
"Of course I would go." Halt shrugged. Duncan gave him a half hearted glare. Gilan tuned out of the rest of the arguements, until they where ordered to leave. His mind had been elsewhere since the mention of her name. He pulled up his hood as soon as they where outside of the room.
"What do you think happens in there?" Will asked him. Gilan shrugged.
"Don't know. I sort of dozed off in my mind. Who's he talking to?" He asked.
"Lady Pauline. The guests have already left. She joined us an hour ago. You didn't notice?" Will asked him. Again Gilan shrugged.
A few minutes later, they where all let in again. Gilan took his old position. Against the wall, half in the shadows. Nearly invisible.
"I've decided. Cassandra will carry out the negotiations with the Arridi." Duncan began. There was a quick intake of breath from his daughter, then she hurriedly rearranged her features, on the chance that he might change his mind. He glanced at her and nodded. Then he fixed his gaze straight in front of him again.
"Halt, you'll go with her as her chief adviser. Help her in the negotiations and protect her."
"Yes, sir," Halt said impassively.
"Will, you'll go too, of course," the King said. "You've kept her safe before. Do it again."
"Yes, sir," Will said, grinning broadly. He had assumed that he would accompany his mentor
but one never knew. Then it got even better.
"Horace, just in case they can't manage it between them, you're going as Cassandra's personal bodyguard. Understand?"
"Yes, your majesty," Horace said, and he and Will exchanged grins. Will mouthed the words
'like old times' and Horace nodded. Cassandra beamed at the two of them and moved a little closer to them. Off to one side, a frown touched Alyss's face.
"Right. Now, in addition to the three of you, I'll want to send a reasonable force as well. Say,
twenty armed men from the Royal Guard." The King paused as Halt raised a hand to interject. "Yes?"
"Sir, we won't need them," he began but the King interrupted him.
"This is not a matter of your ego, Halt. I'm not happy about sending my daughter on this
mission in the first place and I do insist you need an adequate force to protect her. You three
aren't enough in my estimation."
"I agree, your majesty. But you're forgetting we'll have thirty fully armed Skandians with us as
well. They're the best fighting men in the world." Svengal interupted. Horace couldn't help himself. He grunted in agreement, then hastily made a gesture of apology for interrupting. The King looked from Halt to Horace, then back to Halt again.
"You trust them?" he asked bluntly and Halt nodded.
"With my life, your majesty."Duncan fingered his chin thoughtfully.
"It's not your life I'm worried about."
"I'd trust them with my life too, Dad," Cassandra said firmly. Halt added further reassurance.
"I'll have Svengal swear a helmsman's oath that he and his men will protect her. Once they've done that, you'd have to kill all thirty of them before you even got near Cassandra." Duncan drummed his fingers, considering. Eventually, he gave in.
"All right then. But I want to make sure." He looked keenly around the room. "Gilan, you'll go too." That snapped the young ranger's mind back to the room.
"Sorry, sir? I didn't hear that." He said. Crowley scoffed.
"You and your easily distracted mind." He said.
"Hey! That's not true. I'm only easily distracted when I'm in a room full of ol-" He shur his sentence off very soon.
"Good call, not finishing that sentence." Duncan said with a grin. "You're going to Arrida."
A/N I hope you like it. You know the drill. Please review.