"Got it!" Will hissed in the middle of the night. Halt stirred, always having been a light sleeper since childhood.
"Go back to sleep Will," he said.
"I have a huge hole in the wall!" Will hissed really close in his ear. Halt sat up at once cursed. After making sure that his apprentice knew that he was going to regret sitting that close and being that loud after he had just woken up, he inspected the hole. The positioning of it was so that only people in the right spot inside the cell were able to see it. Will had been working on it whilst it appeared as though he was sulking in a corner. That way it looked as though he was doing nothing really except facing the wall and ignoring the others.
"Bored were we?" he asked. Will nodded sheepishly.
"I felt bad for getting you all stuck in here," Will said with a shrug. "So I fixed it."
"I'm not complaining of the hole," said Halt. Carefully he crept through. It was a tight fit for him and he knew that GIl would have more trouble getting through. The bricks that Will had somehow managed to chip his way through silently were already worn and although a few had repairs, it was only in the case of places where they had been assessed to pose a problem. Thankfully it was already dark, as if there was sunlight it would have come streaming through the hole.
Stupid idiots placing their dungeon above ground, Halt thought.
"Anything?" Will asked.
"Outside!" Halt whispered back joyously. "Pass Josh through," he ordered and Will, who had woken Gil up and updated him on everything that had happened, helped to get Josh out by passing the unconscious person through. Gil was the next to go and for a terrifying moment had gotten stuck. If it hadn't been such a serious moment Halt would have ended up laughing his head off at the sight of his second ex-apprentice attempting to shove the first through a hole in a wall. Halt just pretended that he hadn't see anything, instead remaining as look out. He was planning on using it as blackmail later. Next Will quickly came through, the action easiest for him as Gil had widened the hole ever so slightly. After getting out they went carefully along, Halt at the front, Gil carrying Josh and Will watching their back. Eventually they found where they had told their horses to hide previous to either being captured or attempting to storm a castle with 4 people.
They were four hours away before someone had finally noticed that they were gone.
That night around the campfire, Gil and Halt cleared and fixed as many of Josh's wounds as they could. Will had volunteered to stand watch, allowing Halt's experience and Gil's paranoia to take over.
"They should make torture treatment a part of the first aid course for fourth years," Halt said with his nose scrunched up in disgust. It was a horrible sight but would be useful for when the Rangers had the misfortune to come up against something like this. Perhaps it could have different scenarios attached, Halt pondered. They finished a few hours later after going at a slow even pace and sat back.
"I'm getting too old for this," Halt said and moved over to sit next to Will where he was looking out.
"What do you think she is doing now?" Will asked vaguely, but Halt already knew what he meant. It had been obvious to see that Will had been thinking of his wife the whole time they were captured. It had weighed heavily on his mind what would happen to her and the child if they never made it back.
"I imagine that she would be lying in her bed thinking the same of you. Feeling her child kick and missing you," Halt said in comfort and moved away to get ready for bed.
"I say tents. It looks like it's going to rain tonight," Halt called to the others and set up his then Josh's tent with Gilan without too much difficulty or trouble at all.
Later that night during his watch, Gil watched for intruders with one eye and his apprentice with the other.
"What do you want?" the short woman asked Halt. The next day they had decided that it wasn't safe to remain where they were, even considering Josh's condition. So early in the morning they had gently loaded him onto this horse and packed up his things. Two hours later they came to a bridge with a woman sitting in front of it using a loom. Now Halt had ended up in a mental battle of wit with her and somehow he was losing.
"To cross," he replied shortly, bloody annoyed, to state it simply.
"Water over the bridge, can't," stated the woman equally simply before muttering, "stupid Toscans." She obviously thought that they hadn't acknowledged the half foot of water. It wasn't as though the men were cautious about it because of an unknown depth. The water was one of the clearest they had ever seen during a flood.
"Happy chappy," Will muttered back.
"Everyone is constantly," Gil muttered back in reply.
"We had better go then before they attack," Halt said as he swung Abelard around to join the other Rangers. Will rolled his eyes in exasperation.
That night the men stopped further down stream just along the bank where the trees were able to provide adequate cover. As they highly doubted that they were going to be caught again where they were Halt gave Will the go ahead for pulling out his mandola. Halt knew that they all needed a little cheering up, especially Gil who hadn't moved away from his position next to Josh. The song Will started off with was the same one that Josh had first played what was only a few nights ago that seemed an eternity. Gil was amazed at Will's capabilities to pick up and memorise the notes that fast, although he did find himself wincing every now and then as Will got creative when he couldn't remember anything. He finished and let the remaining notes float into the air.
"I still play it better," a very weak voice stated in the background.
"Of course," Will smiled, looking over to the young man. Almost at once Gil went over and started asking Josh how he was and if he needed anything.
"Just spiffing," Josh responded sarcastically. Gil smiled.
"He should live," Gil told the others, relief clearly evident on his face.
"Great," Halt said. "Now feed him and then let him sleep, Gil."
Josh woke to the others talking about where and what they were going to do next.
"Move up onto here," Halt said pointing at a map or something of the sort. "And if you stay there until Josh is back on his feet then we can all rendez vu at this place, compile information and then take everything back to Crowley effectively finishing up this mission."
"When will we meet up?" Gil asked or at least Josh thought it was Gil. From his position on the ground he wasn't able to see anyone's faces, just the cloaks.
"Three weeks?" Will replied. " That should be enough time to make sure Josh is alright and for you to scout the area."
"But I'm fine!" Josh said, finally alerting the others that he was awake. He then tried to sit up by himself but was forced back down again due to the pain being too great. After the movement he cursed himself for the stupid actions and the inability to perform such stupid actions.
"And that just proved otherwise," Halt said. "Gil are you going to stand there worrying like an old man or are you going to help your poor wounded apprentice?" At once Gil got up and started helping Josh, who just raised one eyebrow at Halt.
"Don't worry," Will reassure Josh. "That's the normal attitude of mentors who were afraid their apprentice was going to die."
"And you would know how?" Halt asked, being the person to now have one eyebrow raised.
"I was on Josh's end more times than I could count," Will replied with a smirk.
"Try being on this end," Halt counteracted. "It's harder, believe me."
"Nah. We have to defy death and somehow live through the pain and all of the injuries," Will argued smiling. Even though it was a small argument about nothing really, it helped to distract everyone from the situation they were currently in.
"He has a point there," Gil reasoned.
"I thought you were on my side?!" Halt cried out, annoyed slightly that his first apprentice suddenly changed sides in a mock argument without any prior warning.
"I'll tell you what. When we get back, we can get Will an apprentice and see his opinion later," Gil suggested.
"Won't work," Will replied stubbornly.
"Why not?" Halt asked with an eyebrow raised again. Gil's idea was something that he would have to think about, but already he was warming to it.
"Because...," he paused. "I haven't actually thought that far ahead to come up with an argument..."
"Does Will have more brains than Gil?" Josh suddenly asked Halt out of the blue.
"I sometimes wonder that as well. Why?"
"Then he can take me for the rest of my apprenticeship," Josh suddenly suggested. Will started rolling on the floor laughing and Gilan just looked shocked. Halt however smirked.
"About that," he said and looked at the others. Gil kicked Will and they all seemed to stop laughing somehow. It was almost as though the move had been practiced, although it had probably occurred often enough that it had been practiced.
"Your actions were impressive to say the least and, instead of waiting those three months until you would normally get it, I would like to award the silver oakleaf to you now."
Josh's mouth dropped open and he was made speechless for possibly the first time in history.
"Of course in three months time you would have all the celebrations and get it presented to you but for right now, you would be a fully fledged Ranger until then," Gilan explained. Halt had broached this conversation with the other two the night before and had gotten the reaction expected; they had been ecstatic.
"You had to do this when I can't even sit up to thank you guys?" Josh cried in slight annoyance but smiling the whole time.
"That's it," Will said and Halt knew he was about to be mocked from his smile from previous experiences. "Halt just was planning to avoid a hug." Halt groaned,
Halt ignored the rest of the jabs from Will and Gil and bent to unclip Josh's bronze oak leaf and replace it with a new shine silver one.
"You had one in your pocket?" Gil asked astounded at it. Whilst the meeting the night before had been to discuss it, they just assumed that it was going to be a ceremonial thing, rather than an actual handing over of the pendent. Halt nodded, not wanting the others to know the real reason why he had it and the unknown gold one.
"Welcome Ranger Josh to our band of hippocratic, elite warrior misfits!" Will proclaimed happily.
"Yep, we are not a group of mindless bashing thugs," Halt said with a grin and Josh frowned. Not only did Halt's smile creep him out, but he didn't know who he was referring to.
"Who are they?" he asked.
"Knights," Will and Gil said at the same time with identical shrugs. Josh was silent at this action, completely creeped out now more than ever and was glad when Will broke the silence with the offer of food.
"You think you are up for a feast?" Will asked Josh.
"I could eat an elephant!" Josh exclaimed happily. Nothing would be able to get him down at this point in time, except all of the wounds that pretty much prevented him from getting up by himself and that made riding rather painful. As Will started to prepare the meal, Gil helped Josh into a sitting position.
They all ate merrily and joked around whilst they were at it. Afterwards, Will played his mandola and Halt occasionally accompanied it with his harmonica that he managed to smuggle out of the prison then promptly forget about as it was in his pocket the whole time (Or so he claimed). The four rangers sang along with well known tunes and laughed along with the songs.
And then, when night fell upon them and the nocturnal animals started to come up to play, the laugher was paused and Halt nodded to Will. He tuned his mandola slightly different and started to play and sing the haunting melody.
I met a girl down by my lake
she was waiting there as if for me.
I asked if she was alright and she replied:
I know a place where the poppies grow,
where rangers stay for a while,
as they sleep the eternal sleep.
My heart lies there as well
for he passed protecting you all.
She lay down, worried at it all.
I sat next to her and watched.
The night grew cold
and she still didn't move at all.
I know a place where the poppies grow
where rangers stay for a while
as they sleep the eternal sleep.
My heart lies there as well
for he passed protecting you all.
I left her soon, she refused to come
and as I watched the fire I wondered
how it all came to be.
The widow sitting on the grass
watching the poppies grow.
The days passing slowly.
The children growing.
And her words stayed with me:
I know a place where the poppies grow
where rangers stay for a while
as they sleep the eternal sleep.
My heart lies there as well
for he passed protecting you all.
The fire died out and i went to sleep
I woke up and went to my lake
the girl still was there.
It was a simple smile that captured
her attention and yet again her heart.
but nothing changed.
I know a place where the poppies grow
where rangers stay for a while
as they sleep the eternal sleep.
My heart lies there as well
for he passed protecting you all.
The widow sitting on the grass
watching the poppies grow
the days passing slowly
the children growing.
And her words stayed with me
And her words stayed with me
As I sat in my cabin in the trees
My version of Cabin in the Trees. Written before I knew about any proper versions. I can't break it out into paragraphs as it won't let me for some reason. I tried. So sorry!
:)
I am so sick right now I don't expect anything to make any sense. That's including the latin assignment I just submitted.
Aly