For my dear rangerthursday11 on tumblr!
014: Smile - Implied Halt/Crowley
King Duncan, Lord Anthony, and the other advisors turned when the door to their meeting room opened, admitting two stone-faced Rangers with their hoods down and quivers empty. That was normal for this part of the castle, the guards probably having disarmed them at the door, but it still threw Duncan off from what he had been saying-he honestly hadn't thought either Ranger was going to come, and the fact that they were disarmed meant that they were staying for the meeting. They were just late.
"You're both here," he said bluntly, putting down the paper he had been scanning. It was something about tax withholdings from Caraway Fief, and it was obvious they were short. He'd have to send someone to check it out, on if it was on purpose or bandits. The Rangers were the obvious answer on who to send.
"Sorry about that," Crowley said, flashing Duncan a grin. "I got distracted doing some ... stuff." The Commandant paused at the last word, eyes flicking away from Duncan and over to Halt for a moment, but he gave the King a one-shoulder shrug before taking his seat to his left.
"...I see." Duncan was immediately suspicious from the vague statement, but waited to say anything until the servant who came in with two steaming mugs of coffee to leave. He placed the cups down in front of the two Rangers, nodded and bowed briefly to King Duncan, and left.
"So what's your excuse, Halt?" Duncan said, eyes going between the two Rangers. Something was definitely going on between them, and, knowing from experience, that wasn't always a good thing. They could be planning anything, and Duncan didn't like surprises when it included two Rangers of varying chaotic tendencies.
Halt, standing just behind Crowley, was refastening his cloak, which Duncan hadn't even noticed was undone. He finished fixing his cloak and went to sit at the chair next to Crowley. As he did so, though, he answered Duncan's question. "I was the stuff."
The room was silent, the advisors' faces all turning bright red in unison. The silence was only broken by Crowley picking up his cup of coffee and taking a long gulp from it. As he did so, he turned to look out the window behind Duncan, completely refusing to make eye contact. Halt, however, was completely willing to make eye contact.
He was stone-faced, just as he'd been when he walked into the room. But as Duncan considered him in the silent room, a slow, smug smile spread itself across Halt's face, unseen by the other advisors. And, just as he watched it appear, it went away.
Halt turned and picked up his own cup of coffee, taking a sip and smacking his lips.
Duncan considered his options for a moment, eyes blinking. After a moment, he simply decided to pick the paper back up, and continue reading from where he left off. "So these missing taxes from Caraway ..."