description: slavery has been outlawed in Araluen; however, there are still those few that own them, and of course there are illegal slave traders. what happens when King Duncan and his group come upon a young slave that has them all falling in love with him, even the emotionless Halt? a young slave has somehow found himself to be the company of the king and some of his men, what will happen to him? and just exactly who it this slave?

warning: punishment of slave, mentions of inappropriate touching, blood, memories, beatings, and so on. ALMOST RAPE!

disclaimer: all known characters belong to author, John Flanagan! not me!

sorry it's been so long.

Recap:

"no." William's voice is calm and collected, and it scares me. before I can react Will slams his elbow back into my stomach and twists my wrist until it is behind my back and he is using it to keep me on the ground. I manage to lift my head enough to look at the brat as he speaks. "you forgot that one of the men you lent me to the most was a Ranger, and what you didn't know was that the Ranger taught me while I was working for him, because he believed I have what it takes to be an apprentice. that, is what you forgot, father."

the last word was said as a curse, but I didn't laugh for we were now once more surrounded by the other men in the camp. the king speaks.

"the choice is yours Will." King Duncan said. "it is up to you whether this Bast**d hangs in that yonder tree, or is carted back to the Castle and put to work as slave labor. what is your decision?"

"I want him to..."

Will's P_O_V:

I think carefully about what I want before turning once more to King Duncan, knowing that once I make this decision there will be no turning back. taking a deep breath I tell the King what I want done.

"I want him to hang mi-lord, it is the only way I know that he won't be a threat to anyone else." I had hoped that my voice would be louder, but it still came out soft and scratchy from disuse.

"very well William, he will hang in the morning, for now though, I would like to hear your story." as soon as the King said my name I knew that I would forever associate that name with my father and that I never wanted to be called by it again. I don't know how I feel about telling the king my story, but I realize that it would do me no harm as my father already told them about half of it, but he didn't couldn't tell them what he didn't know.

"I will tell you my story my king, but please, all of you, do not call be William, call me Will." I asked them and waited for there responses. the men and Rangers all nodded, but the king was the only one that spoke.

"very well, but what do you say we all have a nice cup of coffee as we hear your tail?" his smile was warm and welcoming and I found myself relaxing as I nodded and slowly returned to where I had been sitting on the log, watching as men lead my father away before sitting around the fire themselves. I just keep staring at the men as they drag my father away, making it so I don't notice when the King makes and tries to hand me a cup of coffee. "Will, take it, it will calm your nerves."

his soft voice brings me back to the real world and I take the cup from him with a grateful nod and a small half-smile. I take a soft sip, before quickly spitting it out on the ground, making everyone around the fire laugh. I just smile softly, before my eyes light upon a small pot of honey and my smiles becomes a true one. as I quickly spoon honey into my coffee I ignore the looks of disgust on the faces of the men, the look of amusement on the face of the king, and the looks of surprise on the faces of the Rangers. I shrug as I answer their unspoken questions. "coffee is disgusting without honey." it's all I said, and it's all I had to say.

the coffee is now slightly sweet without being that sickly sweet that makes you wanna barf (A/N I've tried honey in coffee and it tastes good)

I looked at the king. "where do you wish for me to begin my King?"

"please Will, just call my Duncan, and where ever you wish it is your story after all." his smile was soft and his eyes kind, and I suddenly realize why everyone loves our king, for I suddenly feel the same way about him.

"very well Duncan." I think about where I want to start, and I suddenly know exactly where I want to begin my story, after all, the beginning is always the best place to start.

(A/N his story is Italicized regular speak is just the normal stuff. )

my name is William James Thorn, and I was five when my father with beat me. before my fifth birthday there was a war going on around me, but about a month before my birthday the war ended as the leader of the other side was finally defeated, although not killed, after that my father changed, he was no longer the man I loved. at first he just started to ignore me, then he started locking me in a closet, or not letting me eat, but after a while he would get angry and hit me always apologizing after words. but then, on my birthday, he tied me to a post and ripped off my shirt, he said that it was my fault that my mother is dead, that if I had never been born she would still be here. then he whipped me until I could no longer keep myself up, then he left me hanging there for days, until I slipped into a nine day coma.

when I woke up I discovered that the beatings and whippings were going to become an everyday thing, that it was my life now, and I had no choice but to except it. the whippings and beatings began getting more and more frequent and I soon became used to the pain. a year went by like this, before my father decided that I was large enough to put to work and so I started doing all the work around the farm. I was soon doing everything, getting whipped almost as bad as the first time if I did something wrong, I soon learned how to do everything correctly the first time.

at the age of seven my father started selling me out to other villagers for money, and my education began.

"what do you mean, 'you education began'?" one of the men asked, and I smiled softly at him.

"listen and learn." I said softly, before continuing my tale.

I was sold out to all sorts of me, including a baker, woodworker, healer, blacksmith, and finally a Ranger. all of them knew what my father did to me, but they also knew that they couldn't do anything about it because my father would find out and just take me away, making ti even worse for me. even the Ranger could do nothing of fear of making my life even worse, so instead they just all made sure to make sure someone lent me everyday so that I could get away from my father for a few hours, and it was amazing. for years it was just the baker, woodworker, healer, and blacksmith that took turns lending me and they all taught me something new.

the baker taught me how to tell the herbs from the weeds so that I would cook with them. he taught be how to set snares in a forest so that I could catch fresh meat with which to make a savory stew from simple ingredients. he taught me how to always know how to obtain food no matter where I am, so that I would never starve because I was alone or in an unknown place.

"it is because of him that I know that the plant over there on the edge of this clearing would make a fantastic stew if mixed with a little of rabbit meat"

the woodworker taught be how to tell what tree is which and how they are used. he taught me howto make a bow and arrows from scratch, knowing that I could shoot from the age of four. he taught be how to start a fire in the pouring rain and how to use fire to season my meat, or to have a fire that emits no smoke.

the healer taught me the most out of the four. he taught me what herbs, plants, weeds, and insects to use when injured. he taught me how to find medicine from almost any source and how you can turn the simplest things can be turned into a deadly poison. I learned how to turn soil and tree bark into a paste to keep out infection, and how to make a healing broth that will cure a fever. he taught me how to save a life, how to take one away, and how to tell the difference between which I was doing so I did not do one by mistake while trying to do the other.

the blacksmith taught me how to fix horse tack, how to shoe a horse and how to handle them. he taught be how to make a blade and use a pair of knifes to defend myself. he taught be how to tell the heat of a fire from the color, and the heat of the day from the sun. he taught me how to tell time and where to rub a horse to make them an instant friend.

but the ranger, he is the one that taught me the most so far in my life. he taught be how to properly shoot an arrow. how to read animal tracks and know what kind of animal it was and how many. he taught me how to strike a body to cause instant death, and how to use knifes as if they were a part of me. he taught me how to listen to the world around me for signs of danger, and how to tell when my body has had enough. he had begun my training as his apprentice, and was planning on taking me on, until he was killed a month before my father sold me.

my father sold me as a slave on my thirteenth birthday, he sold me like livestock to a man that whipped and beat me for two years, before finally deciding that he would never break me or get me to call him 'master'. for two years he tried to make me his slave, only to then sell me to Allen...

"and you all know what happened then." I said with a chuckle, surprised that so many of the men around me wore looks of hatred and disgust, although I realized that it was at my father, not at myself.

"Will, I would like to ask you to continue your apprenticeship under myself." Halt asked me, and a smile spread across my face as I thought on what this meant, it only took me a few seconds to decide.

"I would love to."

I know this isn't how I originally ended this story but its been so long since I could write that I've decided to just come back and end this here after deleting the other chanters. I'll try and finish my other stories, but since this is a, kinda, good ending I've decided it would work.

as promised, this chapter is more than 1500 words, and a little over 2000. tell me what you think.