I know I should update Sudden Shock or Abhorsen but to be honest, my NEW laptop keeps BSoD'ing so everything is being handwritten. For this sort of thing that isn't unusual, for assignments its killing me.

However, it is allowing me to practice with my fancy new pen.

Two warnings:

1. I don't know where this will be going.

2. This will most likely be historically inaccurate. It just depends on how you perceive things. Eg. I see RA as about 4th Century and Shakespeare is 16th Century (If I have remembered that correctly). Les Miserables is set 1832 ish, written in 1862 (that's what google states but I swear it took him 10 years to write… or was that Harry Potter?). The words I pinched are vaguely from the 1980 musical. I am however listening to the 2012 movie adaption and they may be from that version and not in the original… Although I am fairly certain they are in both as they are in the main line of the song. I will stop ranting now.

I own none of it. None at all.

Will was walking along the top of a castle wall just looking for the sake of looking. There had been nothing new happening lately and apparently Alyss got vicious when pregnant. He had asked the Baron if he minded and he hadn't, something about promoting comradeship.

The next thing he knew there was an idiot calling his name.

"Will! Will!"

He peered over the wall only to find out, with no great surprise to be noted, that the idiot just so happened to be Horace. He raised an eyebrow, not at all certain that it would have the same desired effect over such a distance, having never tried before.

"O Romeo, Romeo, wherefore art thou Romeo? Deny thy father and refuse thy name; or if thou wilt not be but sworn my love and I'll no longer be a Capulet." (1)

Will stared for a moment. "What?' he asked stunned.

It was Horace's turn to frown and he did thus.

"Have you never heard of Romeo and Juliet?

"Continue your wooing of a Ranger at a closer distance to him if you please, your highness. Such things make me ill," the captain of the guard from the tower closest to Will, yelled.

Will spluttered incredulously as he ran down the stairs to Horace's laughter.

"Come," Horace said, reached out, grabbed Will's arm when he was close enough and dragged him to his temporary rooms.

It was up quite a few stairs, meaning Horace unknowingly ran Will into every corner piece there was, too occupied within his own world to notice Will's increasingly vocal protests.

Finally, he threw Will in and locked the door behind himself. The Ranger stopped protesting and was beginning to accept the strange circumstances like a man.

"I am going to introduce you to a man named Shakespeare," Horace said holding up a book he had gotten from a shoulder height shelf.

"Hello Shakespeare," Will began sarcastically, "It is truly a pleasure to meet your acquaintance. How has the weather been in this room and prior to that a saddle bag which I'm sure needs a good wash. Outside it has been positively spiffing. Of course what else can you expect at this time of year here."

"Ha. Ha. Ha," Horace interrupted before Will was able to continue. "Not the book although…no. This is a book of one of his works."

Will opened his arms, straight out, palms up so Horace was able to place the book on them.

"It's heavy," Will commented. "I almost feel sorry for kicker."

Horace snorted and motioned for Will to start reading.

An hour later Will sighed and placed the book beside him. He had only chosen to read the one play – Romeo and Juliet – and was disheartened to see that there were at least three with in the book he was reading. Silently he peered over at Horace, who had also found a book to entertain himself with and was again discouraged to find out that it was of the same author but sonnets, as Horace held up the spine for him to read.

"I'm going to go back to Alyss then. Perhaps she had calmed down slightly," Will commented. Horace waved bye without looking up from the book.

Will sighed again.

A week later exactly Will and Alyss were enjoying a night out in town. She had been talking to Pauline who had recommended a play for them to see. Will refrained from asking what the title was, or even what it was about as they slowly walked with the line to get inside; he knew just how different their tastes were and Alyss looked happy as it was.

They found decent seats where they were able to see everything but thing was ruined by begin able to see behind the scenes. They blended in due to wearing normal clothes, with only a few people recognising and greeting them quickly before moving on.

Alyss shifted slightly before she was comfortable and Will patiently moved as well to accommodate her. He quickly raised a questioning eyebrow and she smiled a reassurance in return.

Silence fell as a man walked onto the stage.

"We welcome you to this production of the famous William Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet!" he cried before walking off again.

Will attempted to refrain from passing any comment at this new knowledge but just wasn't able to resist.

"Did you know that you share the same tastes in this as Horace" he commented.

Alyss nodded. "We send letters to each other frequently discussing the play on words and the meanings behind certain phrases in our favourite books."

Will had known about the letters but not their contents.

"I never would have guessed that Horace would have liked this –" Will continued but was quickly hushed by Alyss as more people walked onstage to begin the play.

It was tolerable, he supposed. He could accept going again if Alyss desired it, and perhaps next time he would be able to get Pauline to being Halt with her. That would be funny.

"Did you see the symmetry between the two?" Alyss was questioning him as they walked over to Jenny's inn where they had managed to arrange for their horses to be stabled; with the inclusion of an after show dinner, of course.

"Not really," Will admitted. "I'm sure that most of it actually goes right past me."

"That's ok. You're a Ranger," Alyss theorised. There were moments such as this one where Alyss wasn't really as diplomatic as normal. Will just blamed it on the child and constantly refrained from commenting about it.

Dinner was also passable. That statement practically having been taken for granted for Jenny had insisted upon cooking it herself to make sure the dishes held all she knew Alyss to be fond of. Will grinned seeing his dish full of his favourites as well.

"I couldn't allow everyone's favourite Ranger to starve himself on food he doesn't particularly like," Jenny had commented at Will's grin. Alyss had also noticed and at once leapt over and pinched some of his carrots.

Normally she couldn't care less for honeyed carrots, however, seeing them on Will's late constantly when they came for dinner meant that she was willing to try them. Will watched her face pull slightly in distaste from the taste.

"Nope. They still don't do anything for me."

"Good. I would have had to charge you extra for a plate of it otherwise," Jenny said with her normal bouncy persona.

"You refuse to charge us anything every time we come," Will commented thorough a mouthful of food.

"Didn't Halt teach you anything?" Alyss asked. Will grinned again.

"Leave him alone. He's still growing… maybe…" Jenny retorted before skipping off to go torture someone else for incorrect use of some implement or another.

Two hours later and they were finally on their way home. Both were sleepy from the decent meal filling them, but Will refused to give into the sensation until Alyss was home safe and comfortable.

Again a few days later Will was roaming the castle walls.

"Whilst nothing has much has changed from the last time I looked – but three weeks earlier – this time I am hoping that I won't get distracted by an over-romanticised representation of a knight."

Baron Arald had laughed and once more given permission for Will to go up there. "Alyss throwing things again?"

"Knives this time, your Grace," Will replied, falsely solemn, as he walked through the doors without turning around.

He reached the same position as last time with the same shift of guards, accepted their ribbing and mock peered over the wall as if to look for Horace.

The bumbling idiot was there.

Will was unable to believe his luck and mentally cursed it. He turned to walk away from the ledge and say that there was no sign of his old ward mate when his plan was foiled.

"O Romeo, Romeo, wherefore art thou Romeo? Deny they father and refuse they name; or if though wilt not be but sworn my love and I'll no longer be a Capulet," Horace called with a large grin.

"Shall I hear more, or shall I speak at this?" Will cried back, shocking everyone. (1)

Horace paused. This was all fun and games until Will realised how to play. This was now dangerous waters and if he wanted to be able to walk away with Will still being the one teased he needed to leave now.

… Right after he heard what Will had just opened his mouth to say.

"Is this a dagger which I see before me,
The handle toward my hand? Come let me clutch thee.
I have thee not, and yet I see thee still.
Art thou not, fatal vision, sensible
To feeling as to sight
Or art thou but
A dagger of the mind, a false creation
Proceeding from the heat-oppressed brain?
I see thee yet in form as palpable
As this which now I draw." (2)

There was a pause as everyone considered this.

"A ghost you say, a ghost maybe. I was just like a ghost to thee. One minute there then I was gone!" Horace cried out then high-tailed it out of there. (3)

(1) Shakespeare, Romeo and Juliet 2.2.

(2) Shakespeare, Macbeth 2.1

(3) Les Miserables (Musical [Original book author – Victor Hugo]), Red and Black (sung by the students)

There you go. Complete with footnotes and everything.

Alyss Mainwaring