The three weeks were over. Halt's banishment still had a little less than a week to run, but Erak assured the annoyed Will that their voyage to Araluen would take up the remaining days easily. By the time they made landfall on Araluen's nearest shore, Halt would legally be able to cross over.

In some ways, the voyage was the hardest part for Will and Cassandra. Both were now all too aware of what had happened a few days prior, and both knew that they could never have a relationship like that. Their differences in station were too vast. Cassandra was to marry a prince or a nobleman, not a peasant boy like Will. Will...well, Will had honestly never really thought about marriage. He had lived in the present- until Skandia. Now, he felt he lived every moment still tormented by his past.

Four days had passed. Erak told them they'd be at Araluen by sunset of the next day. Will now stood at the ship's side, peering into the vast, deep waves. With every meter the ship took closer to Araluen, Will's stomach contorted tighter. It was an odd mix of nerves, anxiety, and terror, made all the worse from his lingering seasickness- they'd run into some rough waters, and neither Will nor Halt had been too happy about it.

Now, as he watched the waves, Will was running over different scenarios in his mind. He'd started doing that a lot lately, seeing it as an exercise to at least attempt to get his brain functions back to normal. His memories were returning and his speech no longer slurred, but it still wasn't enough for Will. He could still notice the differences.

The problem he was currently turning over in his head was his return to Redmont. Nothing simultaneously delighted and terrified him at the same time as did that. Redmont fief meant having to show his friends, his family, how scarred he was. It meant the uncertainty of his apprenticeship and the vivid, endless fear that Halt would one day find out- that Will would slip up, reveal something he shouldn't, and then...

Will closed his eyes. When he opened them again, his vision was blurred. Every time he thought about it, he wanted to run more- run far, far away to where no one would ever be able to find him. To where he could start his life anew where no one would know him as Will the orphan or Will the apprentice or Will the slave. He'd just be...Will. No one would have any unreal expectations; no one would expect him to be able to shoot ten arrows in the span of five seconds or plan out an entire battle strategy in minutes. He could just...be.

The only things keeping him from that were Alyss, Halt, and Cassandra. Tug didn't count because he knew his faithful horse would follow him to the ends of the earth if Will asked him to. Cassandra...he was starting to think Cassandra didn't count, either. After they returned home, Will would only see her on rare occasions- and he'd never be allowed that depth in relationship he'd had in Skandia.

Strangely, Will didn't really feel much of attachment to any of them anymore. He knew he should- knew he'd once cared for them more than anything- but now...nothing. Will remembered hearing about depression during his years in the ward. His wardmates had made it seem like a huge, scary monster living inside your brain that made you cry incessantly. Now that he was older, however, he had a more realistic view. He'd managed to snag a book on mental illnesses from the Baron's rooms when Will had been thirteen, and a rather large part of it had been devoted to depression.

Based on that, Will had a sudden, horrid feeling that he had depression. It'd make sense- over the past few weeks, Will had stopped caring about most things. The book had said that depression could be with you from childhood or only happen after something traumatizing happened to you. Will could safely say that Skandia had been pretty damn traumatizing. And, although Will didn't want to die, he'd found he wouldn't really care one way or another. And that was terrifying.

But because of his new lack of feeling, Will had stopped caring as much about others around him. It was like he was in an isolated bubble filled with bad memories, panic attacks, and self-loathing. Just like he didn't care if he lived or died, Will didn't particularly care whether or not Halt and Alyss were there. He knew he should care about them, but all he felt was a curious sense of detachment. Like he was living in a separate world from everyone else.

Will didn't try to bridge the gap, but that was okay, because no one else tried, either. Even though one part of his mind told him that he should tell someone about it, the other, larger part didn't want to be called weak. Who knew? Maybe depressed Rangers got kicked out, too.

So that was why Will was considering running away. In the midst of his depression, he felt no connection, no real obligation, to anyone. He felt numb and void. Although logically he knew Alyss and Halt were people he cared for, he couldn't feel it. The only thing Will could feel was fear and loneliness.

"Hey."

Will ignored the voice.

"Hey, you."

He closed his eyes. Something jarred him, shaking him- a person. A very angry Skandian. "Hey! Don't ignore me!"

"I'm listening," Will said, too tired to put up his cheery facade.

All of a sudden, the Skandian's face, originally angry, did a complete 180 into a smug smirk. Will's heart sank. "You're that sarcastic like know-all Ranger's pet, right? His little apprentice?"

Will said nothing, knowing the man would take his silence as a confirmation.

"Well, you see he's been asking about you. Wants to know about slavery and how you were treated." The man sneered. "Didn't tell your master about it yourself? That's not a good boy."

Terror skyrocketed. Halt was asking about him? "Wh-what did you tell him?"

A laugh. "Nothing- yet. Don't get your hopes up. I told the others to keep quiet, figured I could make you buy our silence. What d'you say, boy?"

Will closed his eyes, suddenly nauseous. Then a thought struck him and he opened them again. "You look familiar. Were you in Slagor's crew?"

As the man's eyes darkened, Will knew he'd hit the mark. "You little brat! You were responsible for my captain's execution!"

Old Will would've sighed or rolled his eyes or said something. Present Will just felt tired, lonely, and scared. His head hurt and his brain felt like it was moving through miles of molasses. If Halt finds out...Halt can't find out. He can't. I'd rather die. "What do you want me to do?"

The Skandian- Usnik? laughed again. "Good boy. I want you to tell your master you don't want to be a Ranger. I want you to resign from the apprenticeship."

Will went cold.

I have to...

Have to...

No, I can't.

He'd known from the beginning he wouldn't like what the Skandian would ask him to do, but he hadn't suspected the man would take it that far. It was clear he held a vengeful hatred towards Will and most likely Halt and Cassandra that could almost be formed into a Vallasvow. He wanted Will to suffer.

Will left without saying anything, hearing only the echo of Usnik's laughter as he found a secluded area on the wolfship and paced. For hours, Will paced in the small space he'd come to call his own, thinking. What Usnik wanted was impossible. Will could never look Halt in the eye and tell his own mentor he didn't want to be a Ranger anymore. Halt kicking him out would be painful enough; pretending that Will wanted it? Will was only willing to lie so much. He would not lie about that. He would never lie about that.

As much as it pained him to say this...

Will had to tell Halt. If he only told Halt a little, he could bluff his way through a confrontation with Usnik and get the man to leave him alone. After all, they only had one day left; how much harm could the Skandian really do?

Although, Will was forced to wonder why Halt had only just now started asking. Will hadn't done anything within the last five days that could be considered suspicious- however, in the last few weeks before that, he had. It made him think that Halt had probably been asking for a while and had gotten nothing for his trouble, which meant that either Halt was asking the wrong people, or no one was willing or able to tell him what he wanted to know.

Halt was smart. If one tactic didn't work, he'd switch to another. He wouldn't have just asked about Will; eventually, he most likely would've switched to asking about slaves' treatment in general. And if he hadn't gotten a satisfactory amount of information from that...that must mean Skandians, as a whole, were unwilling to talk about slavery.

So the question was, why was Usnik different? Would he blatantly talk about something the rest of his people wouldn't, just to spite Will?

In all honesty, Will wasn't certain. He couldn't take the chance that the Skandian was bluffing, so he now had two options: he could either tell Halt something simple along the lines of his starvation and the freezing conditions and bluff his way out...or, the more appealing option, knock Usnik out, gag him, and store him in a crate. Although Will hadn't seen any crates around, he knew that there had to be something the Skandians used to store their loot in. Will just had to rely on his speed and stealth to catch Usnik unaware, knock him out, gag him, and drag him off, hopefully when nobody else was awake to see him.

So...tonight. Tonight was when he'd act.

It went without a hitch, surprisingly. Granted, Usnik's body was harder to drag around than Will had thought, his muscles still weak despite his hours of training, but he managed to eventually drag him to a waiting crate.

The moment he'd shut the lid over the unconscious crewman was when it went a bit sideways.

"Will? What in the Vallas did you do that for?"

Oh no. Will turned around, trying to hide the guilty look on his face. "Oh, hello Erak."

The huge Skandian shook his head with a sigh. "How many times do I have to tell you, it's Oberjarl now? And don't deflect the subject! I saw you stowing one of my crew inside a crate. What was that for?"

Will winced, then subtly looked around to see if anyone was listening in. Once he was satisfied they weren't, he tugged Erak's arm closer and murmured, "he tried to blackmail me into telling." He didn't specify what the telling was about or who the telling was for. Thankfully, Erak understood.

"Who was it?"

"He's called Usnik. He was part of Slagor's crew and wanted revenge."

Erak nodded slowly. "Alright. Although I can't punish him outright since his actions didn't harm my people in any way, I'll make sure he stays out of the way until you're safely home in Araluen."

That word, home, felt strange to hear. Will nodded. "Thank you, Erak."

"Oberjarl!"

When they sailed up to Castle Araluen, Will was relieved to hear that Usnik was still tied up in his crate. According to Erak, his crewmember had woken up around noon, mad as a hornet, but Erak had simply knocked him back out again before Usnik had even realized who it was.

The last day of Halt's banishment had been over yesterday. He was officially free to step on shore now without fear of death.

As they rounded the last bend in the river, there before them were the soaring spires and turrets of the grand castle. Awed, everyone who hadn't seen it before stared up at it, and even though who had could hardly take their eyes off it. Will managed to tear his away just in time to hear Halt's low warning to Erak: "you'd never make it past the moat."

A tiny smile flitted across Will's face. Some things never changed.

There was a landing stage jutting out into the river, and upon it, a huge crowd had gathered, waiting for the return of their princess. The Skandians seemed just as stunned at that, if not more.

"That's a first," Erak said mildly.

Halt grinned, looking over at his apprentice who was, for once, grinning back, eyes bright. "And there's another," he told Erak, motioning very slightly to the tall, bearded figure standing a little way back. "That's the King himself, come down to welcome you, Erak."

"More likely he's here for his daughter," the Skandian replied. Will noticed that he still looked rather pleased with himself, despite that.

Cassandra was standing at the prow, waving excitedly towards her father. Will shoved away the ache that was beginning to grow, the knowledge that they'd be separated within days. He could honestly say he'd loved her, while it had lasted. Now...now he wasn't sure. It was a confusing jumble, surrounded by numbness.

"Dad!" Scarcely waiting until the ship had moored, she leaped into her father's arms, burying her face into his shirt. It was a scene too similar to when Will had reunited with Halt, and the thought made him a little uncomfortable. He didn't want to think of Halt as his father. For reasons he didn't want to think of, either.

"Cassie!" The cheering intensified. The whole kingdom had known how much he'd mourned the loss of his daughter, and seeing them back together again was a scene that had even the Skandians smiling.

As people slowly disembarked one by one, Will stood back with Halt. He wasn't entirely sure what was going to happen to his mentor- if he'd be welcomed back with cheers or with silence. In spite of his newfound hatred for being in the center of attention- yet another lovely mark from Skandia- he couldn't bring himself to abandon his master. In the excitement, the adrenaline rush had almost returned Will to his old self- he felt a grin on his face and realized, for once, it wasn't fake. When he turned to Halt, smiling, he saw dark eyes widen in surprise before the Ranger gave him the tiniest of smiles back.

The crowd suddenly silenced. Will turned- it was Erak Starfollower, Oberjarl of the Skandians, who had stepped ashore. Instinctively, Araluens around him drew back, and if Will hadn't been next to Halt, he would've run forward himself towards Erak. Then King Duncan stepped forward, and he was smiling.

"Welcome to Araluen, Oberjarl," he said. "And thank you for bringing my daughter safely home." Extending his hand towards the Oberjarl, the two men shook hands. The cheering began again, but Duncan didn't let it go on for long, signalling for silence as he scanned the crowd for the face he wanted to see. Will instinctively knew it was Halt. The King shifted his gaze to the wolfship and found, to his surprise, not one but two Rangers there: Halt, his face unreadable, and next to him, grinning as bright as the sun, his apprentice.

"Halt," Duncan said softly. "Your banishment is over. You're home now."

Halt bowed his head. "Thank you, your majesty."

Side by side, master and apprentice disembarked. The cheering resumed once more, but Will didn't care. He only felt that old sense of curiosity when Crowley stepped up to them and pressed something into Halt's hand.

"You might be needing this again," Crowley said softly. He looked over at Will, gave a nod, and turned away.

Will looked at Halt's hand to see what Crowley had given him. It was a silver oakleaf, a little tarnished, but still beautiful. Halt's oakleaf.

"We're home, Halt," Will said, and when Halt turned to him, his eyes were glassy and damp.

"Yes, Will. We're home."

"Well," said King Duncan from his chair, "I've been dying to hear this ever since you set foot in Araluen yesterday. What happened in Skandia?"

Cassandra and Will stiffened just the slightest bit. Halt's eyes narrowed but he kept silent.

Finally, Will cleared his throat. "Would you like me to go first, your majesty?"

Halt's eyebrows shot up. First he'd caught Will widely, genuinely smiling; now he was volunteering information? Was Will to do a complete 180 now that he was back in Araluen? If so, that made Halt's job a whole lot easier.

At an approving nod from the King, Will began. "We were captured by the Skandians, as you know, my King. The head of the group that caught us was a jarl, or leader, named Erak." Around him, figures stiffened. "Yes, he's Oberjarl now." He paused, trying to decide if he should add that Halt was there or not. Deciding on no, he continued. "We ran into a horrible storm partway to Skandia. It was...awful. I won't go into much detail for the sake of brevity, but after it was over, Erak decided we couldn't go to Skandia when the seas were like this- we'd die before we ever got halfway there. So they charted course for an island called Skorghijl."

Cassandra interrupted him. "We spent several weeks, maybe a month or two, there. A few weeks in, a new ship came in, whose captain was named Slagor. The two crews got into a lot of fights, and at one point," she grinned, "Will ended up throwing his saxe knife at a wooden keg to prove he could've killed Slagor at any time."

Duncan raised his eyebrows. "That's...unique."

Unsure if he was allowed to interrupt a princess, Will continued timidly, "after a few more weeks there, we boarded the ship again and set sail for Hallasholm. Once there, we knew we were to be sold as slaves. Erak, however, hoping to do us a good turn, gave us over to work in Ragnak's, the Oberjarl at the time, great hall. Cassandra- or Evanlyn, as she was known as then- was put to work in the kitchens, and I..." he took a deep breath. "I was put to work in the yard."

Halt became so still he almost wondered if people could even see him anymore. Was Will finally going to reveal what had happened?

Will lifted one shoulder. "It wasn't pleasant, but again, I won't go into detail."

Apparently not. Halt withheld a sigh.

"After a few months of this, life as a slave in the yard became extremely taxing for me. Erak saw this and arranged for a way out for Evan- Cassandra and I. She- we- managed to escape and made it to a hunting lodge." He gave a grin. "I'll remind you that by this time, it was dead winter in Hallasholm, which meant even more snow than usual. We had to sit there, immobile, until the thaw hit and we could safely travel around again. By that time, Halt and Horace had made it to Skandia." He looked over at his master.

"Yes. Horace and I traveled through Gallica. Horace..." Halt hesitated. Horace shook his head vehemently. "Horace traveled under the banner of the Oakleaf Knight, or Chevalier de la Feuille de Chêne." He remained silent for a moment, waiting for a reaction, which he got.

Rodney, sitting a few chairs from Horace, gave a surprised sound and looked over at Horace, who turned very pale. "We thought it was necessary to get through Gallica quickly enough to save the Princess and Will," Horace said in a very small voice.

"Never mind that," Duncan said impatiently. "What happened next?"

"We got waylaid several times," Halt continued, "but after a few months, we finally reached Skandia. Once we got there, however, I noticed some rather strange marks and decided to follow them. Just in time, too, because it turned out I was tracking a half-dozen Temujai who'd kidnapped Princess Cassandra and were about to kill her."

Gasps of horror.

Will put in, "they didn't actually know she was the Princess. I'm not really sure why they kidnapped her if they were going to kill her, but two of them seemed to be arguing the night before. I would've killed them as soon as possible, but I didn't have a weapon; the Skandians confiscated everything except my saxe knife, and that wasn't going to kill six Temujai. Anyway, they tried to kill her, and would've, if Halt and Horace hadn't arrived in the nick of time to save us both." He very carefully left out the part about him sobbing into Halt's chest.

"We ran into Erak again," Cassandra said, "and joined forces. Halt and Erak went to scout the Temujai forces-" Halt glared at the table, muttering something about bumbling Skandians, "-and realized there were somewhere between five to six thousand men marching towards Hallasholm."

Now that they were into the war, Will sat back, eyes fixed on the table. He'd been a little concerned that maybe Cassandra would say something- not sure why, because he'd always trusted her before- and had had to take control of the situation himself. Now that they were in safe territory, however, Will didn't care. He knew that the only thing Halt could bring up were his suspicions about Will's strange behavior, and the newly reinstated Ranger wouldn't breathe a word of that in the council room.

Will sighed. Now that the initial adrenaline had worn off, Will was back to his old, weary, numb self. He'd felt alive for the space of a day or so, and now that he was back to this, it felt even worse than before. He couldn't imagine what another week, month, year, decade of this was going to be like. He zoned back in briefly to make sure they were still talking about the war. When he confirmed they were (and talking about Will's leadership skills with the archers, too!), he resumed his pensive thoughts.

More than anything, he didn't want to face what he'd become. It hurt almost too much to think about- and his disgust at himself only grew with each passing day. Even though the logical part of his brain knew that running away from his problems wasn't possible, the other side kept whispering what if, what if, what if. What if he ran to Gallica and never came back? What if he never saw Halt again? Maybe he could start his life over again. Maybe he could find a new family.

Then, small but powerful, a niggling thought in the back of his head. If you want to get away from all your problems, it said, all you have to do is climb to the highest tower in the castle and jump.

"Such heroic actions," King Duncan said, interrupting Will's thoughts, "from all of you. You shall all be rewarded for your actions...Halt, Horace, Will."

Halt bowed his head. Horace was stammering.

"Thank you for your generosity, your majesty," Will stammered out, cursing his tongue, "but I...cannot accept a reward." He knew by now that 'reward' meant 'public acknowledgement' and couldn't think of anything he wanted less.

"Now, Will, it does credit to the Ranger Corps that they have such a humble apprentice, but you've done a great thing! You deserve a reward!"

I didn't do anything, he thought bitterly. Cassandra was the one who saved my life. "I'm sorry, my King, but I cannot. It's..." he desperately searched for a way out and found one. "It's not the Ranger way."

Crowley coughed, the kind of cough that would be a laugh if you weren't trying to hide it. Gilan, who'd arrived a few hours before, choked. Horace gave Will a frantic don't backtalk the King! look.

And Halt? Halt just gave Will a deadly glare that said something along the lines of you're going to regret this later. Will reminded himself that there were many high-ranking officials present and it would not be becoming for him to sink underneath the table.

"Halt, Crowley, is...that an actual rule?" Duncan asked slowly.

"No," the two Rangers replied, Halt adding, "he just really hates public speaking and tries to get out of it at every opportunity. It's a bad habit for a Ranger to have, to be sure."

Although that was one of Will's reasons for refusing the King, it was not the primary one. Will sensed Halt knew that, too. Why is he covering for me?

Will bowed his head. "My apologies, my King. You're very generous and I'm grateful, but I don't wish for any gift to be bestowed on me. I've only done my duty." If you can call getting addicted your duty.

"Nonsense," the King said. "I'm sorry to go against your wishes, Will, but you've done a great thing and you should receive something for it." Will could feel Halt's glare burning into his skull. It was unnerving, to say the least, and Will was starting to wish he hadn't said anything. It didn't seem like it had made a difference, in any case.

"If that is your will, your majesty," Will said, knowing he'd lost the fight.

"Excellent. Now that that's taken care of, I think that's all that was necessary. You may go."

The three Rangers stood up and bowed, Will hastily doing the same, and tailed along after them. When he saw Halt still looked annoyed, he very carefully edged to the other side of Gilan, who was still attempting to stifle his laughter.

"What?" Will muttered irritably at his friend.

Gilan shook his head, still laughing. "Halt hates it when his apprentices refuse what he thinks are their dues. Gets all overprotective and mother-henny."

Gilan hit the ground with a pained thud. Halt stopped walking, turning his glare to his former apprentice. Laughter only renewed, the young Ranger slowly got up, not at all intimidated by his former master. "Should've known that was coming," he said ruefully, rubbing his ankle. "I think you bruised my shin, Halt."

Halt muttered something under his breath.

Despite himself, Will started laughing, too.