"Will I need some help here" Halt called above the din of the fighting.
Will and Halt were on a mission to find some bandits and they decided to camp for the night in a clearing. Halt was on watch when they were attacked by the bandits they were tracking and had supposedly made camp a kilometre away. Halt shot three of them down within the first few seconds.
"I'm working on it Halt" Will called back.
"Well hurry up I'm not getting any younger here"
"Ha so you admit you're getting old"
"Will focus please"
"Right sor ahhhhhhhhh" Will guard was down for a split second but that was enough for a rogue sword thrust to break his defences.
Will went down with a sword in his side just under the ribs.
"WILL" Halt cut down three people then ran to his bow and shot the rest down.
'Will? Will? Oh God"
"Halt" Wills voice was barely a whisper.
"Will I can take you back to Redmont they'll fix you up"
"No Halt I probably won't make it"
"Will don't think like that you'll make it we're not that far away"
"Alright then let's go" Will said with mock humour
"I have to admit Halt it doesn't look good" said the healer.
"Will has been up and down the past four hours and that wound in his side has most likely clipped some internal organs."
'Can you fix it?" Halt asked nervously
"It's possible" he replied
"Then do it please" Halt said the desperation obvious in his voice.
"I'll try I can't promise anything"
The door banged open and Alyss came rushing into the infirmary.
"Halt where is he?" Alyss asked
"The healers in with him" Halt said
"Will he be okay? Will he survive the night?" Alyss asked in a whisper.
"I don't know I really don't know" Halt said softly his head in his hands.
The healer came out of an inside room where Halt knew that Will was being treated.
"It's okay Halt he hasn't got any internal damage and he resting easily although another hour and he wouldn't have made it."
"Thank you really" Halt and Alyss said at the same time.
"You can see him now if you like" the healer said seeing Halt draw breath for a question.
"Thank you" Halt replied
"Hello Halt" Will said weakly
"Will you gave us a right scare you know" Halt said
"Really Halt you scared" Will said
"Again with the humour" Halt said "He was like this before and during the ride back here you know" Halt told Alyss.
"Really Halt can't a guy who thought he was going to die crack a joke" Will said with mock horror in his voice.
"See Alyss again with the humour" Halt said
"Ah Halt how can blame the guy? He's just trying to cheer us up. Aren't you Will?" Alyss said
"Yes Alyss" Will replied
Halt couldn't help but smile here, even the bravest soldier can fight the evilest people but they always answer to their woman.
Three weeks later
Will was outside practicing with his knives when he heard a horse rain in out the front.
"Hey Will how you doing" Gilan asked
"Uh I need to get to the infirmary like now" Will said panicking
"What? Why Will?" Gilan answered confused
"Uh I feel like I'm going …." Will could go no further.
"Will?" Gilan asked uncertainly.
Just then Will collapsed in a dead faint.
"Will" the cry was taken up from three people; Gilan, Halt and Alyss.
"Will? Gilan what happened?" Halt asked
"I don't know Halt. I rained in out the front, and then came out here to find Will standing here. He said that he needed to go to the infirmary because he felt like he was going to, do something he never got to finish his sentence." Gilan said in a hurry.
"Gil"
"What is it Halt?"
"Look at his shirt"
"Dear lord"
Will's shirt was covered in blood. Halt couldn't believe his eyes; Gilan was in an equal state of shock. Alyss couldn't bring herself to speak she knew that if she did then it probably wouldn't even be words.
"Halt how is this possible?" Gilan seemed on edge as he asked the question.
"I don't know Gil but how about we get him to the infirmary" Halt replied shortly
"Sounds like a plan" Gilan said not taking any offence by Halts tone.
'Why did this happen? I thought you said that there was no internal damage" Halt asked the healer.
"I don't know and there wasn't" the healer said.
After a few hours working on Will the healer came back into the room and looked pretty grim" It's not a result from the sword wound it's from an arrow wound a few days ago"
"What? Wills never been shot before. How is that possible?"Halt asked confused
"I don't know but, my examination shows an arrow wound to the stomach" the healer said as confused as Halt.
"How long ago did you say he was shot? A couple of days?" Halt asked
"There abouts. Why?"
"Because we were on a mission two days ago and we got caught in a fight, a couple of arrows were fired from both ends and I heard Will grunt but he didn't say anything" Halt said.
"Wait what? You guys were on a mission and didn't invite me" Gilan interrupted.
"He didn't say anything. It had to be quite painful yet he didn't tell me instead he stitched it up himself" Halt babbled
"That's the problem this time it did hit his internal organs and him stitching it up himself didn't help anything" the healer said interrupting his babbling.
"Will he be okay" Alyss said speaking for the first time since she found out about Will.
"I don't know it's hard to say but he may be able to survive if I can identify what's wrong with him and whether there was poison on the tip of the arrow" the healer said addressing Alyss directly.
"Wait what do you mean poison on the arrow? You never said anything about poison on the arrow" Halt said starting to get annoyed "What else didn't you tell us?"
"There's nothing else that I haven't told you" the healer replied evenly "I should get back to Will"
A few hours later the healer came out of the inner room. "I've done everything in my power but I don't know whether I can save Will. His internal bleeding has gone on for days and he hasn't done himself any favours but jostling it around and making it ten times worse for himself. Although he is stable but in a critical condition he will with luck survive the night."
"Thanks again for saving his life a second time in three weeks" Halt said very relieved.
It seemed that Alyss and Gilan were thinking along the same lines. The three of them trudged into Will's room and positioned themselves ready for a long night. A long night it was Will kept tossing and turning after contracting a fever and had to be revived three times during the night. Halt and Alyss were asleep when Will finally opened his eyes.
"Will? Halt, Alyss wake up Will's awake" Gilan practically screamed.
Even though they had been sleeping it was only light and Alyss and Halt woke straight up.
"Will, how are you feeling?" Alyss said groggily.
"Fine I suppose but how did I get here?' Will whispered.
"Will do you remember passing out in the clearing just outside the house?" Halt asked.
"Umm I remember Gilan turning up then it's all black" Will said again in a whisper.
"Okay do you remember when we went on that mission a few days ago?" Halt asked calmly.
"Yes" Will said slowly.
"Well do you mind telling us why you didn't tell anyone about being shot in the stomach?" Halt asked a little aggravated.
"Oh Halt I was ashamed that I got hurt for the second time in three weeks. I was thought that maybe I didn't have what it takes to be a Ranger" Will Whispered to the ground.
'Will you'll always have what it takes to be a Ranger. Even if you get hurt, you shouldn't go treating yourself until you're sure that you know what you doing"
"I'm sorry Halt. I didn't think anything of it until I tasted blood and then Gilan turned up, so I thought that maybe I could get to the infirmary and back before you got home."Will said back to a whisper
"Why did you wait for Gil to turn up before you decided to go to the infirmary?" Alyss asked quietly.
"Because it wasn't until Gil turned up that I recognised the taste." Will replied.
"Alright then answer me this. Did you recognise the arrow in your stomach? Because maybe if you did then we could tell the king. I mean shooting a King's Ranger is a serious offence." Gilan said hurriedly his voice heavy with relief.
"Umm that's the problem. It was black shafted and came from the edge of the forest where Halt was standing." Will replied.
"But that's not possible I would never shoot you. You must have it mixed up." Halt said.
"Did anyone bring me my bag?" Will asked shortly.
"Yes it's here" Gilan replied disbelief in his voice now.
"I have the arrow here. I kept it in case you didn't believe me." Will whispered to Halt as he pulled a black shafted arrow from his bag, the tip was stained with blood and the goose feather fletching was broken in several places.
Everyone in the room gaped it was indeed one of Halt's arrows.
"I did this to you. I'm sorry Will I didn't think that it was possible but it looks like it is. I'm so sorry Will" Halt said in a tired voice. Then Halt got up and walked out of the room and back to his beloved cabin in the trees.
Will was staring at the door in disbelief. Halt had walked out on him. He was about to comment on this to Gilan when he noticed a feeling in his gut then everything went black. The healer who was on his way to Will's room heard Alyss scream. So he ran to the door to find Will on the bed again covered in blood. "What happened" he asked while he quickly examined Will.
"I don't know. One minute he's talking to us the next he unconscious covered in blood." Alyss replied.
Gilan who had been dozing in the corner was woken up by Alyss's scream. "What's going on" He mumbled to himself. Then his attention fell on Will. "I should get Halt" he said and bounded off to after Halt.
Halt looked up quickly when Gilan came rushing into his kitchen. "Gil what's going on? Is Will alright?"
"I don't think he's going to make it this time Halt"
"What? Why?"
"Because he's covered in blood on the bed, unconscious and the healer said his heart wasn't beating".
"Let's go"
When they got back to the infirmary Alyss was in full hysterics. "Alyss. How's Will?" Gilan asked gently.
'He's dead" she replied through sobs.
That did it for Halt he was just starting to come to terms with the fact that he did this to Will but now he's found out that he's dead. He crumbled on the ground and just sat there. "Can I see him?" he said after a while.
'You can but I should warn you it's not pretty" the healer replied.
Halt got up and made his way over to the room where Will's body was. "Will I'm sorry. I'm so sorry."
"Halt?" a mysterious voice said.
"Who is that?" Halt asked quietly.
"It's Will, Halt I can't stay long. I just wanted to say that this wasn't your fault"
"Of course it is I shot you"
"No Halt it's more my fault than anyone's. I just stitched it up and pretended that it didn't happen. I should've told you and for that I'm sorry. Halt don't let this change you. I know you thought of me as your son and I thought of you as my father. Just keep going you have the potential to stay a Ranger for a very long time and besides I'm happier up here. I get to see my parents. Just remember Halt. You were the greatest thing that ever happened to me, Ranger training was the greatest thing that ever happened to me and the friends that came with it will last me a life time. I don't want to see you turn to drinking. I want you to go out a find another apprentice, maybe one that doesn't ask so many questions. You have to live for me now. So do it" and with that Will left.
Halt felt more at peace knowing that Will was happy wherever he is. So he went down to the cabin in the trees ready to tell the world about the Ranger's apprentice that meant more to him than anything.