Spoiler Warning.

This one-shot is full of spoilers. Please do not read unless you have read up to Halt's Peril. I do not want to be the one to spoil the ending for you. Halt's Peril is an amazing book and having you read this when you have not yet read books eight and nine would be terrible. So keep this writing in mind and come back to it once you've finished with those. If you read this and it's spoiled for you, don't complain to me. It's not my fault.

This short story contains one of the last scenes of Halt's Peril and is written in the point of view of one of the characters. The scene was not written in first person and I decided to try out writing it in another's point of view to show how they're feeling, what they see, and how they take things differently than what was written by John Flanagan.

Once again, I do not own Ranger's Apprentice. I do not even own the story really. Most of what has happened in this story is already written by the author but written and changed into a different point of view.

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Finally Home

A group of farmers were the first to spread the news.

Two Rangers were riding towards the castle. According to the farmers they were both riding shaggy horses, were wearing dark cloaks, and had their heads down as if they were almost exhausted. They both carried longbows that were easy to recognize and were heading straight to castle.

I now stood next to Pauline in the crowd that had gathered by the entrance to Castle Redmont. The crowd of people talked excitedly, wondering what had happened on the mission that the two Rangers were sent on. The people were from young knights to farmers that were gathered to welcome their Rangers home.

I felt a sudden excitement in my stomach. Will was not very far from me. He was fine and well and his mission was done. My nights of constant worry were finally over. I remembered sitting at the table in the main hall of Castle Redmont next to Pauline while we both worried over our men. Pauline's worry only amplified mine. She knew Halt well and loved him very much so it was only logical that she would be wondering if he was okay.

But during those nights I used to think about Will and remember that I've known him since before we could walk. He's been my friend since we were children, I would think. He's capable and more than strong enough to come home alive. After all, he'd done so many times.

An excited shout rang through the square and I knew that Will and Halt were approaching the castle and not that far away anymore.

I smiled, looking at Pauline. Pauline's eyes were squinted as she searched for her husband. Then after a few seconds she turned her gaze to me and she slowly smiled.

We didn't have time to speak anything to each other because somebody had caught sight of the two Rangers. The crowd began to cheer louder than ever and Pauline and I moved so we could see over the large throng of people. But we were both very tall, so it wasn't very hard.

I could finally see them. There were two people seated on their horses riding towards the castle. They wore their long and dark Ranger cloaks and a longbow on each of them could be seen from where I stood. I noticed they were both sitting up and looking around, as if they had just woken up. I could not blame them. Riding on a horse from country to country was not a comfortable thing to do.

The Baron was in the front of the crowd. He was smiling, very easily seen that he was proud of the two men as they approached. The Rangers got closer and closer and soon I found that I could make out the features of the two of them.

Will was on our left side. He had his head bowed as he rode forward and his face was easy to recognize. I stared at him, feeling extremely relieved and happy to see Will back from his mission. His dark brown eyes were on Baron Arald and his dark hair was covering parts of his face. I could not take my eyes away from him.

When Baron Arald moved back to where Pauline and I stood, he was grinning broadly. Then he bowed slightly as he made a gesture for the two of us to move forward and be the first to welcome them home.

I smiled and moved slowly over to my boyfriend, making sure I took my time and didn't run. My eyes were on Will and he was wearily getting off of Tug. He stood next to his horse, blinking his eyes as he looked around. Then Will's eyes were slightly to the right with a small smile. I turned my head to where Will was looking.

Halt had Pauline in his arms and was kissing her softly and sweetly. I smiled, feeling happy for my mentor as she was held by her husband. Halt's arms were around Pauline and he held her close to him. Pauline had her arms around him also, keeping him close. But I could not feel slightly surprised at how Halt was expressing his feelings so publicly. I'd only seen Halt and Pauline kiss a small amount of times because they did not like expressing their affection in front of people. But then I shrugged inwardly as I turned my attention back to the younger of the two Rangers.

I placed my hand on his arm and smiled at him, happy to see him home. He raised his eyes to meet mine and I could see the happiness in them as he looked at me as if I were the most precious thing in the world.

"Looks like a good idea," I said. I turned my head to where Pauline and Halt were still kissing. I wanted nothing more than to feel his soft lips against mine at this moment. I'd been too long without him.

He smiled and nodded slightly as he moved forward toward me. Then his arms went around me and I leaned into his embrace. It felt amazingly good. But then he placed his lips over mine and my head swam slightly. I put my arms around his neck, pulling him closer to me as we kissed. Will gave a small sigh into my mouth and ran his tongue across my lower lip. I relented, giving him free access to my mouth.

I dimly heard the crowd making sounds of awe and surprise. I should feel awkward, being the fact that I was kissing my boyfriend so openly. But they decided to stay and watch.

Finally, our lips parted and we took our hands off of each other. Will took hold of my hands and I looked deeply into his beautiful dark brown eyes. I had missed him terribly over the time he had been on his mission. I missed his presence, his sweet words of encouragement, the feeling of his arms around me and his lips against mine.

"My friends! An occasion such as this deserves a speech to mark it…"

The crowd was disappointed by the idea and made an audible sound of their feelings. I raised my eyebrow, wondering where the Baron was going with his words. Then the baron smiled and continued his words. "But perhaps not," he said and the crowd was visibly relieved.

"Instead," Arald said, "I'll announce a welcome home feast in the hall tonight."

The crowd began to cheer. They were easily excited, I thought to myself. Then something caught my eye. It was a bit of black and white that was moving in Will's jacket. I looked closer at it then smiled softly, knowing it was a puppy. Somehow Will had managed to get another dog.

"Who's this?" I asked, looking at the squirming puppy.

"This is Ebony," Will took his hands out of mine and took the puppy out of his jacket. The puppy was surprisingly small. She had one blue eye and one brown and she looked up at me with curiosity. I patted her gently, feeling her soft hair under my fingers.

"Careful! She'll nip you," Will warned me quickly but I rolled my eyes, slightly amused yet touched by Will's concern. I smiled slightly and looked at the puppy once more.

"Of course she won't," I said. "She's a lady."

I patted her and felt her hair. She gave no resistance, as I had expected. You just had to treat her a certain way. We were both ladies, I thought. Will looked at Ebony then raised his eyebrows, surprised.

"You just have to know how to treat a lady," I smiled at him as I said the words. He nodded, taking in the point and set the puppy down on the cobbles. She looked around and was suddenly aware of all of the long legs and the noise. Her tail went between her legs and she moved with surprising speed to in between Tug's front hooves. Then she lifted her tail up and started yipping. Tug looked at us with a unusual expression. I laughed quietly.

And as I turned my gaze back to my boyfriend I smiled at him. He was raising his eyes from his horse but then his brown eyes met mine. I looked at him in awe and in pride. He was finally back from his mission to Hibernia to get rid of a cult. I did not know how the mission went or the full story but I knew one thing. I knew that Will was alive and well.

I took his hand in mine and squeezed it gently, taking pleasure in the feeling on him. It had been months since I last saw him, Halt, and Horace. But it looked to me that all three of them were fine. If something had happened to Horace then Halt and Will would not be in such good moods. I looked away from him for a moment, my eyes searching for Pauline and Halt. They were standing close to each other. Halt had her hand in his still and they were looking into each other's eyes. I looked away, not wanting to intrude on their moment.

Then Will put his arms around me once more and I leaned into him. His grip was strong and protective. I had been waiting for this moment for so many months. Now it felt amazing to feel his arms around me once more.

The castle was beautiful in the sunlight and as I felt Will's lips on my cheek, I smiled.

He was finally home.

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