Author's Notes~

I'm back with another chapter~! :D It's a decent-sized chapter, so I'm fairly happy with it. Although it felt longer than it is... :) Review replies!

.great: You read the first chapter before I refurbished it. :) It takes place roughtly a year after book 10. ;) Glad you like it so far!

Luvergirlof books: xD Glad you enjoyed! I'll definitely have more angst to come, especially in later chapters!

Falcon31: Well, your wait is over for now! ;) Enjoy!

Raider1472: Thanks! I'm an action fan myself! I'll be sure to check our your own fic! ;D And I'm glad to meet somebody who shares my same feelings!

SoulMistress12: Sadist? -found new BFF- :DD -laughs- Thanks! I'm glad you like my writing! ;) You know, in my early drafts of this story I did consider it being Halt, but I wanted to write him in the story for some father/son mentor/apprentice bonds. 8D

Here's chapter two!

Dance of the Crimson Knives

Chapter Two

Horace managed to avoid anything too grand for his visit. It would be enough in a month with the wedding, and the Baron knew that at least. He was with Rodney, Halt, and Alyss in the dining hall, feasting on Jenny's cooking. She would stop by here and there from the kitchen and share a few words before returning to work.

The roast that Jenny served them was gone within minutes and all eyes on the young knight. Halt hid his grin under his cowl; it was good to have Horace back, he certainly made himself known.

"C'mon, Halt, throw that hood back," Alyss insisted. "You're around friends."

Of course, Alyss grew more like her mentor every day. Halt covered up his grin quickly before shaking his hood back. "Growing a bit demanding, aren't you?" However Alyss could see the humor in his eyes.

Halt flashed Alyss a trace of a smile. He was indeed fond of Alyss, and he knew his wife was proud of her.

It was just then did the Courier approach their table, her face neutral as ever. That was the expression that caused Halt to frown while the others greeted her. He knew Lady Pauline would at least spare a smile to them despite her career, but she was hiding something under her straight face.

She dipped her head to Sir Rodney in greeting and addressed them all. "I apologize for interrupting, but I'll have to steal my husband from you all for a time."

"Of course," Sir Rodney replied with a smile.

Alyss and Horace thought little of it when Halt excused himself to go and speak with Lady Pauline. They mostly figured it was some husband-wife thing of the kind, although Alyss did watch them leave with just the faintest hint of curiosity. She, however, decided to dismiss it and return her attention to her visiting wardmate.

Lady Pauline had lead Halt out of the dining hall, quickly taking him to a secluded area. It was Halt who spoke first.

"What's wrong, Pauline?" He asked. The knowing look on his face said the rest.

"Will's looking for you," she replied calmly. "I ran into him in the courtyard, and he said it was urgent."

"Urgent…? Did he say what it was?" This had Halt concerned. Last he knew of Will was that he was out hunting a runaway thief since noon. Such tasks were mundane for Rangers, especially for Rangers of Will's status and experience, even at his young age.

The Courier shook her head. "He only told me to fetch you, and I didn't question him. I believe this is strictly a Ranger matter…for the time being at least. He's still in the courtyard."

Halt nodded to her, giving his wife a quick kiss to the cheek before heading towards the courtyard at a brisk pace. He knew that if Will said it was urgent, it was very urgent and the senior Ranger wouldn't hesitate to answer.

In the courtyard, as Pauline had said, Will waited standing beside Tug and with Ebony at his heels. Two things struck Halt as odd when he arrived at the scent: One was the rider-less shaggy brown Ranger horse next to Tug, and the other which Halt found far more alarming was the blood that stained Will's knees.

"Will!" He stopped before his former apprentice. "What the blazes happened? Are you hurt?" The sight of blood anywhere near Will stirred up Halt's worries as he looked down at Will's knees. The rest of the boy was unscathed.

"That's what I want to know," answered Will. He seemed oddly pale. "The blood isn't mine, it's Leopold's." Now his voice was grim as he recalled the scene in the woods.

Halt stumbled back in shock at the familiar name. "Leopold's? But…" He looked back at the brown Ranger horse. "What-."

"I…" Will swallowed the lump in his throat. "I found him in the woods…dead."

That was the trigger word.

"Dead…?" Dead…Rangers didn't die, and the look on Will's face told Halt that he had completely believed that fact. "How-?"

"I don't know how, I don't know why, I don't even know why Leopold was there in the first place!" Will said in a suddenly raised voice. "All I know is that he's dead! I…" He paused briefly. "I had to leave him in the forest…I mean, I didn't want to just leave him like that, but…"

Halt gently placed a hand of reassurance on Will's shoulder. "Don't let it bother you," he said softly. "We'll take care of Leopold." He inwardly frowned that his former apprentice had come across such a sight, but there was nothing that could be done about it. "Right now we have a serious issue on our hands…and I must contact Crowley at once."

A messenger pigeon had been sent to Castle Araluen requesting an urgent meeting with Crowley, but nothing more. The death of a Ranger can't be kept secret, but it was unwise to stir people up when they don't even know what they're facing.

Will had taken Halt back to where he had found Leopold in the forest, taking the dead Ranger's mourning horse with them. Seeing Leopold the same way he was before Will left seemed to finally strike the young Ranger that he was indeed dead, killed by an unknown force.

Seeing the sight for the first time, Halt nearly lost his breath in shock. It was one thing when Will told him the news; it was another to see it with your own eyes. Leopold the Ranger laid there in a drying pool of blood. Halt bit his lip as he dismounted Abelard and looked over Leopold's body. Leopold had been a well-respected Ranger in the Corps and well liked, Halt included. It pained him to see the once proud Ranger in a messy heap such as this, but he hid these emotions and remained as grim-faced as ever.

"He needs to be taken back to his fief," Halt finally said. He did a quick inspection of the wounds, confirming them all to be stab wounds, which could lead anywhere. It only meant that Leopold had been murdered.

Will could only nod, feeling his voice lost in his throat. It was only right, he thought, for the Ranger to put to rest back in his own fief he protected. Leopold has remained positioned in his fief for years.

"Yes…" Will said with a small nod. "Let's take him home."

It hadn't been easy. They rode into neighboring fief, Leopold resting against the neck of his horse. The Ranger horse had been completely silent, even for a Ranger's horse, on the way back. He could sense no life in his master, and knew that he was gone forever. And, Will noticed with a pain, the Ranger horse seemed to be almost lifeless itself as he moved along with them, only going through the paces without much care as to where they were going. Will was riding alongside the horse, partly to ensure Leopold didn't fall off and to comfort the horse, whose name he now recalled to be Russet.

Will stroked Russet's neck, barely comprehending the horse's pain. He fully understood the connection between a Ranger and his horse, and he was aware of how awful the separation was when he lost Tug in Arrida.

They had managed to move along the outskirts of the fief, avoiding much attention from the commoners. It wasn't until they reached the castle did they see the reaction to the dead Ranger; shocked silence.

Word had spread quickly through the castle when they entered the courtyard, for the Baron was already waiting for them at the grand doors, pale-faced in disbelief. The Baron slowly approached Russet, looking with wide eyes at his dead Ranger.

"T-This…How…" the Baron was beside himself in shock. Leopold had been a friend and Ranger to the fief for such a long time.

Halt, his cowl covering his face, only shook his head at the Baron. He and Will said nothing. They turned and left, and Russet turned his head sadly to watch them go.

A response from Crowley was waiting for them when they returned to Castle Araluen that night. Inside the letter was this:

Gathering Grounds.

And that was it. It was enough. Halt looked up from the letter and at Will. "We'll leave in the morning. Get some rest, Will, and I'll meet you at the cabin….Will?" He frowned at the distracted face of his former apprentice.

"Who do you think could have done such a thing?" Will asked, looking up at his mentor. "In a place like Araluen…where no Ranger has ever…"

Halt placed a hand on Will's shoulder. "Go get some sleep. You especially need it."

Sleep brought Will only discomfort later that night. All he could see was the bloodied from of a Ranger, coming and stirring in his memory all throughout his dreams. It was an ugly sight, he decided.

"Are you sure that's everything, Will?" Crowley was saying at the Gathering Grounds. It was only the three of them, Crowley, Halt and Will as the youngest of them went over what he had encountered.

Will sighed at the question. "It's what I remember, Crowley," he said. "I know something was there…but I didn't know what. Whoever it was…their skills are uncanny…and dangerous."

Crowley nodded in understanding. He had, perhaps, questioned Will on it over and over again, hoping that he could drag out something new. But from what Will had described him, it only said that that they were dealing with a treacherous enemy. The head of the Ranger Corps scowled in frustration, rising to his feet and pacing about. "What in the world could his motive be? Who has the ability to take out a Ranger single handedly?"

It didn't live up to the saying, 'One Ranger, one riot' if one man had managed to take a Ranger and get away with it. They were all feeling so helpless to avenge their comrade.

"He can still be tracked," Halt spoke up. "It's not impossible. We can get some Rangers together and relentlessly hunt him."

Crowley paused in his tracks, looking thoughtfully at Halt and Will. "Yes…" he agreed. "Although, we can't call away too many Rangers to leave their fiefs, in fact I think Will should take part in trailing this murderer since he already has a brief experience with him."

Halt's eyes suddenly flared. "Do you think I'm about to let Will-."

Crowley raised his hand to cut him off. "Do you think I'd have Will go alone with an enemy like this? Of course not, he will have company."

Halt opened his mouth to speak but Crowley cut him off again. "And no, I'd like you to stay at Redmont, Halt. Gilan will accompany Will."

Great, because one of his apprentices isn't enough, Crowley wants to endanger both of Halt's apprentices.

Author's Notes~

I'll get chapter three to you guys as soon as I can! :) And for you pairing fanatics, don't worry! The fluff will come...it will come.

Reviews and constructive critiques are loved~! And earn cookies~! :)