Hi! This is a story idea I had! Enjoy!

It was all a dream. One that haunted Will day and night. No matter what he did, it always came back. He tried to get away from it, but there was no way to. He thought about telling Halt, but didn't wish to be laughed at. That's what his mentor would do, right? He would have no compassion for a former slave. In fact, he would probably just give him right back to the Skandians. No one cares for someone like him.

So that's what Will came to believe. That no one loved him. No one could care less about him. And he didn't care about any of that. Mainly because of the fact that he had no reason to be loved or cared for. And that's when the torture began.

At first, no one thought anything of it. But slowly, Will got weaker, and weaker. Sicker, and sicker. Halt soon became confused when Will struggled to pull back the small recurve bow. And when even chopping wood became a hard task, he grew very worried for his apprentice. So he kept an eye on Will, but still saw nothing wrong. Until one night...

Will had gone to bed a hour ago, three hours earlier than Halt usually made him. When Will started coughing, Halt was more than worried. But when he knocked, asking to come in, he was greeted with a harsh answer.

"Will, can I come in? Are you alright?" Halt asked, very gently.

Will's answer was harsh, rude, and angry with a hint of fear in it. "Why do you care? You hate me, I'm a disappointment. And no one wants a disappointment for an apprentice." the last part was chocked out, Will trying not to cry.

Halt's eyebrow came up, and he slightly pushed on Will's door. When it was about a fourth of the way open, it was slammed shut.

"No! Please don't!" Will cried out.

Halt put his hand on the opposite side of the door. "Why not?"

"Because you'll be mad."

"How do you know? Maybe I'll be happy." his mentor said, wanting to help the boy.

"Maybe." Will said. "Promise me you won't give me back."

"Give you back? Will what do..." Halt started.

"Just promise me!"

Halt jumped slightly. "I promise."

The door creaked open slowly, a teary eyed apprentice peeking out. He still had his day time clothes on, along with his cloak. Will backed up, and fell onto his bed curling into a ball. His bow and knifes laid on the shelf, along with his arrows and strikers. But on the floor, covered with blood, was one of Halt's kitchen knifes.

Halt gingerly picked it up, cringing at the thought of his apprentice cutting himself over and over again. Will was still on his bed, shivering in fear. Halt gently placed his hand on the boy, wanting to burst out in tears when Will coward at the touch.

"Will, please show me your arms." he requested, very surprised when he did as asked.

His long sleeves on his tunic had hid his arms all day, but now they were unbuttoned, showing the scars of the jagged edge of the knife, where its sharp teeth bit into Will's skin. Halt traced one of the older ones with a finger, barely brave enough to touch them at all. Will's eyes followed his hands, watching every movement. He continued moving his hands, but looked at his apprentice's face.

"Will," he started, having a plan." I understand why, but why use the kitchen knife?"

He said what he said to learn something. And he did. He found the boy's one fear.

"Two reasons. One, I could never use such a powerful weapon for this. It would be plain out wrong. And two, so that whoever replaces me doesn't have to clean my blood off his knifes." he whispered.

"Replace him? Why would I ever replace him?" Halt wondered.

Was he afraid he wasn't good enough? Was he afraid that he would never succeed? No that's not it, Halt thought. Then it struck him. Will was going to kill himself. He already was, doing it as slow as he could to punish himself. This was why he stopped eating.

"You wouldn't get replaced Will," Halt whispered in the exact same tone. "Because I couldn't live without you."

"But you would have to! Araluen needs you. They don't need me." Will spat out after a moment of silence.

Halt stood there and held up the knife. He held out his hand and went to put a cut in his wrist. Right before he did, Will cried out.

"No! Don't!"

Halt was calm. "But Will, I must. Araluen needs me as much as it needs you. Not at all. Why, half the kingdom has already forgotten me. In fact, I bet even the Corps has forgotten my very existence."

Halt knew what he was doing. He was showing Will how he would feel if Will killed himself. And it was working til his next comment.

"But what about Gilan!? He wouldn't forget! You're his mentor."

This stopped the Ranger in his tracks. Gilan. This wasn't expected. Of all the people he knew would remember, Gilan was one of the very few. And the second most important.

"And I wouldn't forget. You're the only person who has ever really mattered to me. If I lost you I don't know what I'd do. I couldn't keep living. I would be scared and lost and lonely. And I would have to work in the fields and be an orphan again. I would lose the only family I ever had. And I'd be hated, because who wants a former slave, one that escaped, for anything? I can't lose you. You can't do this. I need you to much. I'm to weak! I need you!" Will bawled, throwing himself into his mentor's arms.

Halt caught him, as he cried. Will's words had gone to his heart, and he saw that pretending that he was going to kill himself had been to much for the boy. He smoothed his apprentice's hair, and kissed his head softly. His apprentice embraced every touch, fearing it would be the last living touch from his mentor.

Halt started to speak again. "Then I won't leave you, as long as you don't leave me. Because if you left I'd feel the same. I would hate for you to leave me because my life would become rapidly very void of any purpose."

Will pushed his face further into Halt's tunic and nodded. Halt hugged him tighter, feeling relived that his apprentice was safe. A final thought hit him.

"And Will?"

Will mumbled a yes, not looking up. "No more cutting yourself with that knife or any knife for that matter. Start eating again too. Okay?"

The boy nodded, and snuggled even closer to his mentor. Halt leaned his head gently on Will's. He had to smile as his apprentice flew into a deep sleep in his arms. Scooping him up, and laying him on the bed, he frowned upon seeing that some of the scars were infected and how skinny Will was. He cleaned the boys wounds and threw the knife in the creak. He'd be fine if no one ever found that knife. Then he kissed Will's forehead and blew out the three candles.

Standing in the doorway he smiled sadly. Will had long way to come if he wished to recover. But Halt knew h LPe could make it. There was nothing that boy couldn't do.

"Goodnight Will." he whispered, and then closed the door.

Hope you enjoyed. I'm thinking about making this a multi-chapter story. Please review!

Best Regards,

PFT3000