A/N: Oh guys I know I shouldn't bore you with my excuses why the chapter is late again. But I got some great news this week from school and my mind was just all over the place. I hope you can forgive me. Also on the positive side, I've had my exam this week and there will be no exams for about two months. That means more time for writing, yeey.

(please read the end note!)

Now quickly back to our friends, because I'm dragging it again too long.

Chapter 12

Horace ran as fast as he could to the place Tug was standing. He took down every Scotti warrior in his path, nothing could slow him down right now. When he reached Will he saw that Will was covered in blood once again.

As he turned Will on his back he was relieved to see that the blood was coming from his old stab wound. No other major injuries were present. He didn't think his friend would survive any more injuries. Will woke from the movement around him and Horace saw a curious eye watching him.

Horace smiled as he saw his friend gained back his consciousness, but still feared that this journey was one too many for him. He tried to keep Will awake by talking to him "I can't leave you alone for even a second I see, what is it with you and these dangerous adventures. Don't even think I will lend you my sword a second time. "

Will tried to laugh even though it hurt "well someone had to save your asses down here." He immediately fell into a coughing fit which sounded like he had been under water for far too long.

Horace immediately went to action, normally they would only move injured soldiers from the battlefield when there was no immediate threat. It was always risky to take care of the injured while being in the middle of a battle. An enemy could always take the advantage of a distracted warrior. But this was no mere injured soldier, this was his best friend and the man who saved all of Araluen. Horace was willing to put his life on the line many times for Will.

To give them some more space, Horace decided to take down some more Scotti soldiers. He heard the screaming in the back and he knew the Araluan army had attacked in full power. Soon the Scotti would be defeated, but right now there were still too many standing.

After taking down at least ten soldiers, Horace turned back to Will who was clearly struggling to stay conscious.

"Okay Will, I'll put you on Tug and you need to ride as far away from here as you can. If things are settled here, I'll come after you so don't try to hide somewhere, because I won't be able find you then."

Will nodded but Horace wasn't sure whether his friend really understood the message. He pulled Will up from the ground, trying to ignore his struggles and groaning. Luckily Tug was not a giant horse like Kicker, and Horace could easily place Will on Tug's back.

He looked at the horse and hoped that he had some link with those ranger horses as Will had. "Take him to safety, please. I will find you soon." To his own big surprise Tug moved his head as if giving a nod. Without Will to guide him, Tug decided to run away like Horace had suggested. The shaggy pony was more than glad to take his master far away from all the dangers here.

Without losing any second, Horace turned back to the attackers.

Gilan raced around the battlefield on Blaze, taking down some Scotti warriors on his way. He didn't want to spend too much time fighting, he knew Will and Horace needed him in the back. He just prayed he wasn't too late.

As Gilan rode he saw the Scotti army break, more and more warriors scattering to safety. Only the greatest warriors were fighting. In a few moments the white flag would probably rise, to save the last of their people.

He wasn't interested in the war anymore, he only wanted to find the man he called his brother. Finally he bumped into a Skandian warrior, it put him off guard not sure what to do. Then he saw the Skandian putting down a Scotti soldier and he knew Will had indeed brought the warriors of Erak to the battle to fight for Araluen.

"Have you seen Will, the small guy with a green cloak?" he yelled.

"I saw him last in the back shooting his arrows to safe us"

Gilan couldn't believe what he heard. "How in the lord's name did he manage to fire a single arrow in his state." He muttered to himself.

He urged Blaze forward and went on searching for Will. Then he heard someone scream his name. Turning around to see the source of the voice, he came eye to eye with Horace.

"You fool! We were supposed to meet in the middle. We were worried sick you idiot." With all the chaos going on, Gilan couldn't hold back anymore. He was glad to see Horace, but at the same time he was ready to bash his face for letting him worry like that.

Horace was unimpressed by the outburst of the ranger. He had been in the company of Halt too much to be affected by such a speech. He grinned back at Gilan, "nice to know the lot of you care so much about me. I'm sorry I didn't meet you at the battlefield, I got a message of Will being here and I knew he needed help." Horace felt actually proud of making the decision on his own. Normally he would look to Halt or Will for approval, he knew he wasn't the best in tactics. But he saw how the battle had developed after his choice and he knew he had made the right one.

Gilan's attention had shifted when Horace mentioned the name of Will. "Have you seen Will here, I can't find him."

He got worried by the strange look on Horace's face. "I found him, he was mostly unconscious. I send him away on Tug to find a safe place. It was really bad Gil, I don't think it was a great move for him to come all the way here."

"I never thought he would be able to even move, let alone get involved in this war. We should find him quickly."

They were startled by a sound of a horn. The Scotti had finally raised the white flag of surrender. Most of the Scotti had already fled, probably back to Picta. Now the others also had given up. It would take months if not years to get all of the warriors out of Araluen. Diplomacy was needed to restore peace between the two nations.

But Gilan had no time for all the formalities. The army would deal with the remains of stubborn warriors. He only had his mind on finding Will.

He looked at Horace who had been watching the white flag with curiosity as well. "Were did you send Tug?"

Horace looked as if he was asked how gravity worked. "Well I don't know, we were in the middle of the battle so I just send him away. I didn't pay attention whether it was to the north, east or west. I only know it was not south because he would have gone more to the battle."

Gilan cursed under his breath and for the first time Horace saw the resemblance of Halt shining through. Will was always a more cheerful copy of Halt, but Gilan was just different. Seeing the frustration he knew Gilan was just an old apprentice of the grumpy ranger as Will was.

"Where did you see him last?" Gilan bit his lip to stay calm. Will was hurt somewhere and no one knew where.

"A few meters away from here, I'll bring you to it."

They rode in silence to the place where Horace had send Will away. Gilan immediately started to inspect the ground for tracks. It was difficult because a lot of people had fought and ran here, but to the trained eye of Gilan it was clear which direction Tug had gone.

He turned around to Horace and met a face full of guilt. He felt immediately sorry for the big knight. "I'm sorry Horace, it was not fair to react like I did. I'm just worried about Will."

"It's okay, I'm worried too. And I should have remembered where I had sent him off to. If not for you, I would never had a chance to find him again."

As the two friends nodded in understanding to each other they continued in their search. Gilan and Blaze rode in front leading the way, with Horace and Kicker right behind them. All hoping to find their friend in time.

Halt had been at the side of Duncan and Crowley at the battlefield. They were getting close to victory thanks to the help they had received from the north side of the battlefield. But they had to close in on the Scotti army to prevent any regroupings.

He saw an escape possibility at the east side of the battlefield and decided to command the troops to the place. Sir David heard the command and followed with his part of the cavalry to the gaping hole, making sure no Scotti could escape.

From a distance they saw every escape possibility go down. The Scotti army finally realized the battle was lost and they raised the white flag. Everyone stopped fighting, the Araluen army made sure no warrior escaped while king Duncan made his way forward.

Halt knew what was about to happen, the main leaders were to be executed. Others would be driven back to Picta. Then as a punishment for invading the country Duncan would probably claim more land from Picta. All in all, not the most exciting things for Halt to endure while his boys were god knows where.

Crowley had finally managed to get back on Cropper, and was looking at his friend. He knew they would manage all this without Halt, and his friend had waited long enough to find Will.

"Go find that stubborn kid of yours, I'll cover for you." He whispered. Halt looked to his friend and didn't need any more words. He turned Abelard around and made his way to where Gilan had hinted to find Will.

Will woke up with a shock. Tug had finally stopped walking, probably finally satisfied with their hiding place. Will wondered how he managed to stay on Tug's back while unconscious. As if Tug heard the though he turned his head

I'm not an amateur, I would never let you fall.

"Thanks buddy, I owe you my life a few times now."

Maybe you could be more careful with it next time.

"Hah, little chance there, but I'll try." A coughing fit started again and for the first time Will got seriously worried about his situation. The stab wounds had started bleeding again, his head throbbed in ways Will had never experienced, and he didn't even want to start thinking about his shoulder.

They were in the midst of the woods so it was probably safe to rest here. He slid of Tug and slumped down in the grass. Normally Tug would stand guard but he knew Will needed him more. He lay down next to Will, half unconscious Will snugged against the furry coat enjoying the warmth that came with it.

After a short nap, Will was suddenly woken up by Tug who gave a warning sound. Will's eyes and ears were immediately working as if nothing ever happened. He heard footsteps not far away from him. It could be Horace he thought, but honestly how was it possible that he had found Will so soon.

No this was someone else and Will's heart told him it was not a friendly one. He couldn't fight anymore and running away with Tug would be dangerous because he would certainly fall off his back.

He needed to hide and quickly. Will turned to Tug and saw the horse understood the situation. "I'm so sorry, but you need to go. I will hide and maybe he won't find me. You find Horace quickly, there is nothing you can do here for me now."

Tug could be stubborn and worried about his master, but his training told him when situations were too dangerous for a discussion. He turned around and went to a sprint which would make Bedullin horses look like snails.

Will crouched between the bushes hoping his cloak would give enough cover. A few heartbeats later he saw the man coming closer. His heart stopped when the face of the stranger came in the light. It was commander MacLeod.

I should have killed him when I had the chance, thought Will bitterly. Somehow seeing the man who had given him so much pain, caused his wounds to hurt even more. Will felt a cough coming up, he tried every tactic Halt ever thought him to suppress the cough. Nothing worked, lying on his stomach made his ribs hurt worse and it gave the itching in his lungs.

At the worst possible moment Will couldn't hold it back anymore, a slight cough escaped his mouth just as MacLeod was inches away from him. The man turned around and saw the cloaked figure lying the grass. Without even seeing the face, the commander knew exactly who it was.

"Oh boy, we're in trouble now. It seems I found my toy again."

A/N: okay I know I told we were close to the end. But I must say I'm beginning to enjoy this story a lot. So I didn't really know how to continue from here. There are two options from here and I've decided to just give it to you.

The first option is that Gilan and Horace find Will in the woods and we continue from there (which was my original idea). But now there is also a second option which makes the story probably much longer. The second option is that Will is captured by MacLeod and our gang is going on a rescue mission (I would love to write more, but I would also understand if you think this will drag Will's suffering too much).

So maybe you can all help me how to continue, leave your opinion in a message or review (yes silent readers, I'm also talking to you) . I'll be back next week so be quick!

Stay safe, trust the cloak and see you next time!