NOTE: I don't own any of the characters from Ranger's Apprentice!

This chapter is two short chapters smashed together. Split by the line.

Review and Enjoy!

A New Choice: Victory and Defeat Chapter 10

Gilan rode with the patrol as quickly as possible. He was panicking inside. They should already met up the apprentices and the princess. Blaze snorted under him. She understood his worry. Already they were approaching the border with Celtica. Hopefully nothing happened to them.

Please be safe, Will. I know how much Halt cares for you, Gilan thought desperately.

Just then the sound of battle reached their ears. Without command, Blaze picked up the pace. Rounding a corner, the patrol found a shocking sight. Horace, along with several Celts were at an all-out war with several Wargals. Horace cut one down, spun to his left and stabbed another. Then he spotted Gilan. At once he raised his shield arm in salute. His face, however, was far from happy.

The Wargals, seeing the oncoming group, broke and fled. The Celts, yelling insults, gave chase. Only Horace remained. Tug, Kicker, and the pack pony were also standing there. Gilan looked everywhere but there was no sign of either Will or "Evanlyn". He pulled Blaze to a halt beside Horace. The young warrior apprentice was sullen and exhausted, covered in blood. Gilan dismounted and grabbed Horace by the shoulders.

"Horace, where are Will and Evanlyn?" Gilan asked, fearing the answer.

The rest of the patrol circled around them as Horace answered slowly, "We found a Wargal patrol with Celtic prisoners. Will choose to follow them and find out what was going on. We found…we found a huge bridge across the Fissure…"

"Impossible!" cried the captain of the group.

Horace shook his head, "That's why Morgarath wanted Celtic miners. They could build the bridge easily and quickly…"

"Horace, what happened to the bridge?" Gilan asked as Horace went silent.

Tears in his eyes, Horace continued, "Will learned that the bridge was near completion and that an army was waiting to cross. He got the Celts to help. We…he burned down the bridge. Before he could escape…Skandians attacked…Will tried…they knocked him out with a rock…Evanlyn tried to help him but the bridge…collapsed…they were caught."

Gilan felt his heart break into a million pieces. Horace lowered his head. It was then that Gilan realized how much stress Horace was under. After all, he had watched his friend fight hard and still end up captured. Gently he patted Horace's shoulder. He would feel the same way…he did feel the same way. Guilt gnawed at Gilan's stomach. He had left Will alone when he should have stayed. Maybe then Will would be safe, along with the princess.

Horace spoke up, "Gilan, I'm so sorry. I tried to protect him…I failed!"

The captain glared at Horace, "Don't you know who the girl is…"

"No, captain," Gilan interrupted. "The less that know now, the better it will be for her. After all, she did it in case Morgarath ever did catch her. We have to trust her and Will to take care of themselves now."

Gently he pulled Horace to Kicker. Suddenly Horace balked, "Gilan! Will also found something else out!..." Gilan looked at him, showing Horace that he had Gilan's attention. Horace continued in a softer voice, "Morgarath plans an ambush through Thorntree. It is purely a Skandian attack."

"Good work, Will," Gilan breathed with a nod.

With that, the group mounted up and headed out. Several of the Celts returned and called out good wishes to the men, especially Horace. One man also called out that Will and Evanlyn would be in their thoughts always. Gilan guided Tug behind him. The little pony kept looking back the way he and Horace had come…

Towards the last place he saw his master.

Will moaned weakly as he woke up. He was moving, slung over someone's shoulder. A shout rang out, stabbing into his already hurting head. The man stopped and let Will drop. With his hands bound, Will could not stop himself from hitting the ground hard. He moaned again. Then gentle hands touched his face. Opening his eyes, he looked into Evanlyn's green gaze.

"Evanlyn?" he moaned.

Evanlyn smiled weakly and whispered gently, "We did it, Will. The bridge is down and the Celts are free."

A booming voice entered his ears, making Will wince, "Yes, the Celts are free but you're not."

"Stating the obvious, Erak," Will responded dryly as he sat up.

Erak looked at him with shock. Then he nodded to himself. Obviously Will had done some slinking around before releasing the Celts. Learning Erak's name was not hard, especially with some of the loose tongues in the group. Will gently rubbed his head where the rock had hit him. Then his eyes traveled to the area surrounding him. They were heading through the Mountains of Rain and Night. Where to was the question.

Erak eyed the young boy as he took in his surroundings. This boy was smart, smart enough to come up with the plan to burn the bridge and free the Celts. Also, the scars running down the boy's face meant that he had seen conflict before. His extremely good shooting also marked him a formidable opponent. However, the boy was injured in several other ways. Erak had seen a limp in the boy's step as he tried to flee. Curious, Erak had rolled up the boy's pant leg, revealing the massive injury to his leg. With that wound, the boy could not go far. It also explained why the boy's bow was so thick.

Erak reached over and grabbed the boy's collar, hauling him to his feet. "Get up, boy. We still have a long way to go before nightfall. Get moving."

Will stumbled away from his grasp as Erak sent him forward. Evanlyn was the one who saved him from falling flat. She glared hard at Erak. Then the group moved onward. Will kept his jaw tightly shut as they moved. It was the only way that he could fight off the pain from his leg. He noticed that Erak kept looking back at him. Obviously the skirl, as he knew Skandian ship captains were called, knew of his injured leg.

At least he has the decency to check on me, Will thought dryly.

That night the group camped in a clearing among some boulders. Will and Evanlyn were released from their bonds long enough to eat. Afterwards they were tied up again. Will constantly scanned the world, listening to the quiet conversations. He learned that they were returning to the main army. Erak, however, had no intention of turning Will and Evanlyn over to Morgarath. They were profit for the trip. Will snarled at this thought. The only way they would be profit is as slaves. Not a thought he liked to entertain.

Evanlyn pulled closer to him at one point and whispered, "Any ideas of what we're going to do?"

"Survive. That's all we can do at this moment," Will whispered back.

Evanlyn was silent for a while before she asked, "Do you think we can survive this?"

"I hope so," Will said with a sigh. "I don't want to be trapped like this all my life. Nor do I want to be handed over to Morgarath. He now has two reasons to torture me to death."

Evanlyn looked at him in confusion. Will saw it and smiled. His bound hands came up and touched the right side of his face. She nodded, showing her understanding. Horace had told her that Will had gained the injuries saving his mentor's life. That got her thinking. Slowly the idea expanded in her mind. Looking at Will once more, she decided it was worth a shot.

"What would you do?"

"That depends on the situation. What are the end results?" Will replied, understanding her meaning.

"Victory and pain or defeat and death," she responded.

Will's face screwed up as he thought about his answer, "I'm not sure. Everyone would make the choice differently. I couldn't say at this point."

Evanlyn looked away and shrugged, "Well, I guess it depends on what matters to you."

"I guess so," Will said with a small laugh. "What matters to me would decide the end decision."

"Could you make that decision when the time came?" Evanlyn asked after a pause.

"Of course! I'd have to. It all depends on the situation," Will replied, looking at her.

Evanlyn bit her lip. Now it was time for the real question behind this conversation. "How's this: would you want your friends to die or yourself?"

"Myself," Will replied instantly. "Nothing will ever hurt those I care about. I don't want anything to happen to them. I will guard them no matter what."

"Big words. I wonder if you could live up to that promise when the time comes," Evanlyn said with a sigh.

"I would live up to it," was the quiet but firm response.

"How do you know?" she asked cautiously.

Will remained silent. He was watching the Skandians as they laughed around the fire. So content, so happy. It seemed as if they forgot they had two prisoners that they planned to sell. Two people who had proven themselves brave and loyal. Evanlyn waited for a few minutes. Then she started to think that Will had forgotten her question.

"Well?" she prodded. "How do you know that you would live up to that promise?"

"Because," Will said, forcing her to meet his brown, "those I love would need me to."

And Evanlyn believed him. His eyes were filled with determination and love. Yes, she could see fear. However, his love and loyalty would drive him to end of the world if it protecting those he cared about. She looked away. She knew that she was not a part of that special group.

Then Will pressed his head against her's and whispered, "I will always protect those I care about. Don't fear, I will protect you…

Cassandra."

Surprise! The teaser was featuring Will and Evanlyn! Hoped you all liked this chapter. I plan to have the next one up either tonight or tomorrow.

Hint: the next chapter features someone that we all hate in one form or another (at least, all the characters in the book)!