Halt P.O.V
I crouch down at the place they had been not moments before. Picking up his bow, I place his arrow in my quiver and I sling the bow on my back. Then, I turn to the tow objects that had glinted in the sunshine just before she pulled him away. A Saxe knife and a throwing knife. Gilan's knives. Gently picking them up, I get up and walk over to Abelard. I pull a spare cloak out of my saddlebag and carefully wrap the knives in it. I sense more than hear Crowley coming up behind me. I don't spare a glance at him as I stiffly replace the cloak in my saddlebag.
"Halt," Crowley started softly. "We will get him back." I turn to look at him then, He's only a couple feet away from me and his body posture screams determination. I look him straight in the eye and see compassion and understanding and the same anger that is coursing through my veins.
"You're damn right we will."
Susan P.O.V
The sun is almost completely down before I start looking for a place to rest. I want to get as far away from the Rangers as possible. I can't imagine what they would do to me if they caught me.
Siding with Morgorath. Killing a Ranger. Attempted murder of three other Rangers. Kidnapping an apprentice Ranger. I mentally list my faults. My punishment won't be pretty.
I hear a small intake of breath from the apprentice behind me.
Here we go. I had expected questions, of course. He was a Ranger after all. But I had hoped he would be too shocked to start asking until tomorrow.
"Where are we going?" His tone was light as if we were friends.
"Do you really think I'm to tell you?" I make my voice brisk and cold, trying to discourage anymore questions.
"I guess not. It was worth a try, though." I pause and look at him. He pauses as well and looks back at me. I can't see a hint of fear in his eyes, only curiousity and a glimmer of humour.
"It really wasn't." I turn around and continue walking before I can see his reaction.
A couple minutes later I spot a few bushes that can hide us from casual observation. I point it out to Gilan.
"We'll rest there for the night." He nods in agreement.
Not that he has much choice.
After retying his hands in front of him so he could actually get under the bushes decent, I hide myself in a halfway comfortable position.
"Get some sleep," I tell him. "We'll start walking again once the moon is up." He props himself on one elbow and looks at me.
"What about you?" He asks. My forehead creases in confusion.
"What about me?" I reply.
"Aren't you going to sleep?"
"if you think that I'll fall asleep and let you escape right under my nose, you can keep dreaming." I tell him harshly. This seems to get through to him and he lays back down.
I look between the branches of the bush, at the dark trees, silent save for the whispering of the gentle breeze through the leaves.
Peter would love it here. It's so peaceful and it has a sort of suppressed beauty sitting in the dark, anticipating the rising of the moon. He'd say to me that the sun and moon are like a king and queen. The sun is the king, lighting the sky and earth with its brilliance and harsh rays. Everybody was grateful to the sun for marking the time of day and helping things grow and giving them light to work by. But only a few knew of the importance of the moon, the queen, mirroring the goodness of the king with a gentle light, illuminating the world into a silver glamour.
He would then tell me that him and me were the king and queen. Everybody knew Peter, know he was next in line for the throne, knew they'd have a king again when he ruled. But not many payed attention to me, though I am the second child. Of course, they acknowledged me, I was their princess after all. But they had a queen and they were ready for a change.
Tears threaten to make an appearance as I think of my brother, I held them back, not trusting that the ranger wouldn't see them.
Eventually, though, I hear his breathing slow down and I know he's asleep. Then, wrapped in the night and away from the prying eyes, I let the tears fall silently down my face.