And here is the next chapter! Sorry it took so long. There really is no excuse. I was just being lazy. *Looks shamed* But now it's ready! Thanks to all my reviewers, Eclesia, Dodo.123, Rydd Rider, RunningCrazy4EVER, SirWalsingham, am8095, horseislove, RoMythe, linguisticsrock, Azlorak Tolkien, Seditious Dragon, Nikki Ride, pixie blue, Writer's Apprentice, The Eleventh Marauder, and Fawnfire. Sorry if I missed anybody! If I missed you, be sure to tell me in your REVIEW! And another thanks to pixie blue, RunningCrazy4EVER, and Eclesia, who constantly corrected my grammar and spelling. Oh, and a special note to linguisticsrock, if she's still reading this. A while ago you suggested in one of your reviews that I put in a line when I change POV's. I did this, but for some reason it didn't work. So now I'm putting in something else, and hopefully this will work. So, here we go! Halt shall now save the world…maybe.
The world seemed dark and vague, even after Halt had opened his eyes. He blinked a few times, and the surrounding view came into focus. The sudden movement of his eyes caused the old Ranger's head to pound, as if his mind was trying to make its way out of his head. With a groan, Halt reached up and put his hand to his forehead. Sticky blood ran between his fingers. The man groaned again. Where am I? He thought to himself. Where's Will? Will!The last thought caused an adrenaline that somehow gave the Ranger the strength to sit up. Stifling another cry, he kept his fingers against his head, and found something to lean against. He didn't look to see what it was, but from the feel it was probably a dead horse. Halt forced himself to stay stationary. If he was going to get out of there and back to Araluen to find Will, he needed all the strength he had left, which was probably not much.
Mentally, the Ranger checked himself over for other injuries. His right arm slumped against his chest at an unnatural angle. It was definitely dislocated, but thankfully not broken. There was a deep gash across his ribs, and a long cut across his left leg. He had been close enough so that most of the Rangers used their knives to attack him, but he did find an arrow buried rather deeply in his other side. Halt reached up to his right arm. Gritting his teeth, he snapped the joint back in place. It hurt like h-. It would probably take some time to heal, and he would have to move it as little as possible. That could be hard. Now his worst injuries were the gash in his side, and his head injury. The cut in his leg was shallow, and would be possible to deal with. All the injuries (except the dislocation) would scar, badly. D-.
Halt found a dead imposter Ranger, and ripped his cloak into strips. He tied them tightly around his injuries. On an impulse, he turned the Ranger over. A sigh of disappointment escaped Halt's lips. Braedon had taken the man's weapons with him. How very like him. Halt limped over, checking all the other dead men. They had all been disarmed. Except one. A small boy, most likely an apprentice judging by his size and the size of his weapons, had been left a re-curve bow and a small throwing knife. Halt took the weapons. The boy's quiver had only three arrows. Halt searched the battlefield. Most of the arrows were made for much heavier bows. They were too long for the boy's re-curve. The old Ranger only managed to find two of the boy's arrows that were still usable.
His quiver containing only five arrows, Halt made his way out of the midst of the battle. He stumbled a few times over dead men and horses. Their bodies were twisted grotesquely in the early morning light. Halt was no stranger to death, but even so he tried not to look at the cold bodies of the men, once alive and breathing. And trying to kill me. Halt added to himself. He glanced briefly in the direction of Castle Celtica. It had occurred to him that Will could possibly be there at the exact moment. He probably thought that his mentor was dead, killed holding off a force of men. Braedon probably thinks that too. The Ranger realized. He thought he killed me. Halt allowed himself a grim smile. He anticipated Braedon's face when he saw him. It was going to be a sight worth seeing. And if all went well, he would have a whole force of men with him.
Halt turned away from Castle Celtica. He had no time to try to find Will. What little strength he had would be needed for the journey ahead of him. It was going to be long, and he knew that he was weak. Limping on his wounded leg, the Ranger made his way toward the coastline. Will could wait. Araluen could not.
/\ . /\. /\. /\. /\. /\.
It was an hour later when Will and Aileen reached the battlefield. Will's eyes widened when he saw how many forms lay still on the ground. He had known that Halt would not go down without a fight, but he had not even begun to guess how much damage the Ranger could cause.
The two slid down from the horses. The two animals had been borrowed from Castle Celtica. Tug and Tiger needed a long rest after the frantic journey from Araluen. Both horses were exhausted. Now, however, they were resting in the castle's stables. The stable boy had promised to take the best possible care of the two Ranger horses. If the horses treatment was anything less than very, very good, he would have made enemies of two Rangers, both with the power to turn him into a pincushion before he could apologize. Will especially would see to that. For him, Tug was the most important thing, right after Araluen and Halt…and maybe Alyss.
Leading the horses they made their way to the bodies. Pausing to replace the horses' bridles with halters, and tying them to sturdy tree branches, the two began the grizzly search among the bodies. Each body they examined raised Will's heart a little. Halt was nowhere to be seen.
Will turned as Aileen yelled something to him. Picking his way, among the bodies, he made his way to her. She held up a bow, broken in the middle. Will stared at it, his heart plummeting again.
"Is it Halt's?" Aileen asked softly.
Will nodded speechlessly and took the broken bow. He held it tightly, his eyes blurring with tears as he stared at the familiar object. It was obvious how Aileen had recognized it. The craftsmanship was better that the other bows. Of course it was, Halt had made it. It was clear in Will's mind that no one could make a bow as well as Halt. He was the best Ranger in the Corps. The best ever.
For some reason it was that thought that broke Will's thin hold on his emotions. He doubled over the bow and cried, gripping it in his hands like a lifeline. Aileen turned away awkwardly and continued to search the bodies. She had killed more men that she could count, training for years with a re-curve bow, which she found she handled better than a longbow. She had mastered the throwing knife and the saxe knife, and several types of unarmed combat that allowed her an advantage over people bigger and stronger than her (which most men were). But when confronted with a person mourning for a lost friend, she had no idea what to do. Nothing she could ever say would comfort him.
By the time Will ran out of tears, Aileen had checked the rest of the bodies. Now she stood behind Will, and placed one hand awkwardly on her shoulder and cleared her throat. The young Ranger turned, startled by the sudden noise.
"Did you find him?" Will asked, his voice hoarse from tears.
Aileen shook her head.
"He's not here. Maybe he survived, and is already on his way back to Araluen." Or maybe Braedon captured him again, and dragged him along like a dog, injured beyond repair. She didn't say that part. Will said it for her.
"How could he have survived this?" The boy asked. "If he's not here that means he's a captive. Or they decided to take his body along to bring out when they find us."
Aileen said nothing. She grabbed her bow, and shot three arrows into the trunk of a tree with full force. They stood out from the wood, quivering with the impact. Yanking her dragon pendant off, she threw it as hard as she could. It sailed into the air, far out of sight. With a grunt she sat down. Some of her rage vented. But only some. Will pulled the arrows out of the tree and handed them back to her. She stared at them a moment before putting them back with the others.
"We have to get back to Araleun," she said finally. "Braedon is probably almost there already."
Will nodded, and they untied their horses, and slipped the bridles back on. They rode back to Castle Celtica.
/\ . /\ . /\ . /\ . /\ . /\ . /\
Tug and Tiger, had indeed been well taken care of. They had both already eaten all their hay and grain. The horses had also emptied their water buckets, but the stable boy had refilled them. When Will and Aileen walked in, both horses were being groomed. Tug raised his head and whinnied when he saw Will. He took a step forward in the ties, reaching his head forward toward Will. The bond the two shared was truly special.
Aileen patted Tiger's neck, and the mare pressed he head against Aileen's shoulder. The horses words were as clear as if they had been spoken. I missed you. When do we start again? Aileen grabbed her saddle, and placed it upon the saddle pad.
"Now," she whispered softly.
Will already was tightening the girth on Tug's saddle. Soon they would be on the move again, heading toward Araluen, where they would be plunged into war. Ranger against Ranger. Two groups with the same skills, but one with infinitely greater numbers.
Okay, we're starting to approach the battle at the end! *Looks happy* I love battles. By the way, yes, dislocated shoulders are painful. I've popped mine back in myself before. If you do it right after it dislocates, it doesn't really hurt to put it in again. Especially with me because my joint is so loose. That's why I had surgery. I imagine if you had a normal joint it would be harder to put in and hurt more. Anyway, please review! I know I'm annoying and bossy, but reviews are really what's keeping this story up. I love you guys! REVIEW!