A/N. Wow talking about a writers block… I'm sorry guys for the waiting, I'm still not perfectly happy with the chapter but maybe I'll make things right in the next chapters.

This is more a filler chapter (pretty long) so not a lot of action this time. But I think our heroes deserve a little bit of rest.

Chapter 14

Gilan felt the cold stones beneath him. It surprised him that he was still alive after what happened during the fight. His head pounded like hell but other than that he didn't feel any pain.

With enormous strength, he managed to get his eyelids up to scan his surroundings. But he was immediately greeted by a pair of familiar brown eyes. Will sat next to him, his body bruised and at some places swollen, but he still managed to smile.

"Glad you finally decided to wake up. Really nice of you to join me here." He said with a slight grin.

Even though he smiled, Gilan could see the pain in his eyes. He took several seconds to quickly observe the boy but was horrified at the sight. Due to the torn tunic, he could see every bruise with colors ranging from fresh red to almost black, and he saw blood seeping through his old bandages.

It was useless to ask how Will was feeling and Gilan knew what answer he would get. He decided not to begin a discussion about the meaning of feeling "fine". Instead his terrible humor came to the surface, as it always did in times of need.

"We came to your rescue of course" he said with a smile. Somehow the situation felt ridiculous funny even though he knew they were in a lot of trouble. He felt immensely stupid and didn't even dare to face Halt in the coming sex years. But right now was not the time to mope around.

Will was glad with the lightheartedness of his friend. "Good job. But I must say that I fail to see how you as a captive will help, but I'm all ears."

They laughed together as if they were joking around at the gathering. It was something they both needed, because the days ahead would probably prove to be much worse.

And indeed the laughter was soon cut short when Will's laughter started to change in a coughing fit. Gilan shoved closer to him and rubbed his back to give him some comfort. He immediately noticed Will trying to hide his hands from him.

After the coughing eased down, Gilan gently grabbed Will's hand. He felt him resisting and it worried him how easy he could break through his protest. With a pounding heart, he turned the palm of Will's hand upward.

His stomach dropped at what he saw. Blood. Will had been coughing up blood. There could be several causes that could make this happen but none of them would be particularly good.

"Shit Will, that's not good. We really need to get out of here as soon as possible." His hands started waving frantically at his friend. It was not often he lost his nerve in times of distress, but he knew that his friend needed medical attention as soon as possible.

Will however was not overly concerned about his fate yet. His mind was working a bit sluggish due to the concussion and the new blow to his head not too long ago. But he realized something important in what Gilan had said earlier.

"You said, we came to rescue you, whom did you speak of? I only saw you coming into the cells."

"I was with Horace but we were ambushed. I've no idea where he is now, if he escaped it might be possible for him to reach Halt."

Will nodded as Gilan started searching their prison cell, hoping to find some way out. Will had already searched the cell when Gilan was still unconscious but didn't find anything that could help them escape.

Soon Gilan came to the same conclusions as Will. Aside from some straw and dust on the floor, there was nothing they could use. Even the tiny windows with bars were not big enough to get out.

Gilan looked at Will who had been silent during his whole observation. "Where do you think we are?" he asked.

"I guess it's Macindaw. From what I can see through the window it looks like the surroundings of the castle. It's also the most logical option for them to go to Macindaw. Norgate has been reclaimed, and it is a long journey back to Picta with two prisoners."

The older ranger nodded in agreement and sat down. There was no other option than waiting right now. Halt was probably miles away and who knew what happened to Horace. Somehow they had to figure out a way to escape out of here.

As soon as he turned to Will to discuss the options for escape he saw that the young ranger had closed his eyes. Probably unconscious from all the injuries and exhaustion the last few days.

Gilan put his cloak on Will and sat down next to him against the walls. There was no way they could escape today, so he wanted Will to rest as long as possible. He figured the coming days were going to be a nightmare, especially with Will's health declining so fast.

"What do you mean they are not here?" thundered the voice of the grim ranger around the whole camp. Everyone had fell quiet when the ranger walked briskly to the healer. Both were around the same height but with the tension around them it felt like two massive bears were fighting.

Unlike the grizzled ranger, the old healer remained calm. "Like I told you, the last time I saw Will was when he set off to the battlefield. I haven't seen Horace nor Gilan either."

"Well where are they then? They weren't at the battlefield when I arrived."

Unlike Erak, Malcolm had no fear in telling the truth to the ranger. He knew that in war not everyone made it out alive. Will was doomed for that fate when he left. Still it was always hard to look someone in the eye and tell them about the possibility.

"Have you looked where they placed the bodies? I know you don't want to believe it Halt, but it was a terrible battle, who knows what happened."

Sadness overwhelmed in the dark eyes of the ranger. "I can't, not again, not the three of them." He whispered. He didn't turn around when a large hand landed on his shoulder.

He heard the steady voice of Sir Rodney behind him, "I'll go and look if they are there. I'll be back in a few minutes."

Sir Rodney had fought many battles and had lost many good men along the way. He was fearful of the truth about his former apprentice and the two young rangers but he knew that Halt needed the truth right now.

Halt remained stiff and stared at the healer. "Why did you let him go? He couldn't even walk a few steps, let alone riding into battle."

He knew it was not fair accusing the healer like that. Will was trained well enough to know that the kingdom always came first, even though it meant his own life. He felt the guilt rushing through his body. He had trained Will this way, he had drugged him before the boy got the chance to tell him about the Skandian force, if it was anyone's fault it was his.

Malcolm didn't back down at the accusations of the ranger. "Will knew he had a duty to this kingdom and was willing to pay the price. We both know that there is nothing I could have done to keep him here."

Finally Halt gave up and his shoulders dropped down. That was when he felt a hand on his shoulder again. This time it wasn't the firm hand from Rodney or Erak, but a more gentle touch.

He turned around to look in the blue eyes he had longed to see for the past few days. Without saying a word Lady Pauline led him towards a private tent where they embraced each other.

"Why are you here?" he asked, even though he knew the answer. Halt didn't feel like talking about anything else right now, although Pauline would probably not settle for an easy conversation.

"Since the battle is won, the diplomats are asked to assist in setting things straight with the Scotti. Alyss and I arrived just now. What happened?" Pauline answered while quickly searching for any injuries. She clearly could see that Halt was in pain, but something told her that it was probably nothing physical.

Then she noticed the absence of a certain young boy. Even though Will had graduated years ago, the two of them were inseparable. Not wanting to fit the pieces together too fast she whispered in fear, "where is Will?"

Halt shook his head in defeat, "Gone, I don't know where he is." Once that was out he suddenly felt the need to explain everything. He talked about what happened before the battle, how Will escaped the Scotti severely injured and how he probably knew about the Skandian troops at the back of the Scotti army.

Pauline had stayed silent during the whole story, feeling quite well that her husband just needed to talk right now.

Halt was pacing up and down in their tent like a caged tiger, for the first time not knowing where to start.

"It's my fault, I was so desperate to keep him here that he didn't get the chance to tell us about the help coming our way. And because I lost my head, Gilan started looking for Will and Horace and now they are all gone…"

When her husband nodded she stood up, "I'll go find Alyss, she needs to know what happened. Then I'll look for Sir Rodney if he found anyone yet." As she walked to the door she saw Halt standing up trying to follow her.

"No, you'll stay here. Don't you dare move before I return." She didn't need to anything more and walked out of the tent.

After a few stressful minutes, Sir Rodney and Pauline returned, reassuring that neither Will, Gilan nor Horace was among the dead. Which meant they were somewhere else around the battlefield.

A shimmer of hope glanced in Halt's eyes as he realized that he could still find his boys. But before anyone could say something else they heard a commotion outside.

Halt, always eager for news, quickly walked outside to see what caused the disturbance. Immediately he heard the most familiar voice shouting, "Out of the way! Where is Halt?"

Blindly pushing everyone aside who stood in his way, Halt finally came face to face with the knight. "Horace where have you been?" he asked

More questions were burning on his lips but Halt wouldn't make the same mistake his former apprentice still stubbornly made. He then saw the two horses behind Kicker, both looking distressed.

Halt looked desperately at Horace, hoping for some good explanation and the news that somehow Will and Gilan were just running around in the forest. But he was disappointed.

"I came from the woods, I was searching for Will with Gilan. But things got bad and now Gilan has been taken too." The young knight brabbled the story as if everyone instantly knew what he was talking about.

Halt raised his eyebrow, "and now more slowly and coherent please." He said trying not to sound too impatiently.

Horace took a deep breath and dismounted. He needed to speak to Halt alone, such a huge crowd around them would only slow things down. The ranger received the message and guided the knight to his own tent.

Private was not the word Halt would describe the conversation. As soon as he and Horace walked inside the tent, they were followed by several people.

Somehow the tent was immediately filled with Lady Pauline, Alyss, Crowley and Erak. All were eager to know what was going on. Halt raised his eyebrows and was ready to push everyone out, but was cut short by his wife "don't start, you know we all want to help."

He immediately cowered back from the stern voice that he loved so much. Erak watched in full confusion, he had known Halt as a man leading a foreign army to victory, never to cower back from anyone. But apparently the ranger did have a weakness.

Halt turned to Horace and gave an encouraging look to continue.

"I found Will at the battlefield, he was severely injured so I send him away to wait for me. When Gilan arrived we started looking for Will but he was taken by a Scotti. We walked right into an ambush and when we fought I lost Gilan. I found this dart so I assumed he had been taken too."

He held up the dart and looked at Halt, expecting the ranger to immediately confirm his story. Halt however remained silent for a long time. Then he broke the silence in the tent.

"Why did you come here, instead of following them?" he asked.

"Well I tried, but uhm I'm not that good in tracking it seems. So I thought it would be best to inform you."

Horace looked defeated, he knew it had been pointless to try and track Gilan and Will down, but the detour had taken him further away from saving his friends.

Before Halt could react, Crowley stepped in. He was fearful of Halt's reaction right now as he was obviously terribly worried about his boys. There was no time for pointless discussions so this was the time for a commander to interfere.

"Good thinking of you lad. You would have been wasting precious time if you had searched any longer. Maybe you can show us on the map where you last saw Gilan and then we can make plans. Although I must say all this should stay quiet. The king is focused on getting all the Scotti out of Araluen and he won't be pleased of people going on a rescue mission."

Everyone nodded in agreement. And they took the map and placed it down for Horace to look at it. Although Horace never had really geographic lessons he knew where the back of the army was and he had paid attention when he and Gilan had searched for Will.

He pointed at a place where he thought was the most logical place for them to have ended.

"I think it should be here somewhere, I know we went that direction and we ended at a clearing in the middle of the woods."

Halt scrutinized the map and the possibilities and soon he had his conclusions. He looked up and stared in the eyes of his best friend. An understanding sparked between them, knowing this how difficult this would get.

Crowley put into words what the rest of the people in the tent wanted to know.

"They are at Macindaw." He said quietly and turned to Horace, "I suggest you and Halt leave immediately and make sure they come back in one piece. Damn the rules, do everything you can. I'll come up with an excuse for the king."

Horace nodded and looked at Halt and couldn't resist a small smile forming on his face. Nostalgic feelings creeping up as the two of them would go on a rescue mission again.

Then a small but steady voice rang inside the tent, "I'll come too."

Everyone turned around and saw the tall woman slowly walking to the table. "I know Macindaw better than the two of you as I've spend as a guest and prisoner myself. Running inside a castle like that might me harder than you think and maybe they are less suspicious if a woman walks in. Besides if Will is that hurt, I need to be by his side."

Halt felt the stern voice and eyes he often found in his own wife. He saw the logic and sentiment in her arguments but a paternal feeling in him rose.

"I don't know what we will walk into. I can't promise protection when we are there. Maybe it's better to stay here and I'll send a message as soon as Will is safe."

But Alyss shook her head, ready to refuse the offer. However she felt the hand of her mentor landing on her shoulder and Pauline spoke, "Alyss knows what she is walking into. We diplomats are not helpless beings and I know she won't be a burden. I think it is a great idea that she comes with you."

With that the discussion ended and Halt accepted that they had another companion. He started his way outside the tent but was again held back by another voice.

"If she comes, then we will come too." Halt turned around to face Erak with blazing eyes.

"And why, if I may ask, would you be coming along?" he asked with a soft but dangerous tone. Everyone felt the tension building and knew that Halt was coming to a boiling state.

Erak stood firm against the ranger, "Gundar, Svengal and I will join you because maybe you need some force to get inside the castle. If it is possible to do it without us, we will stand aside but it's better if we were close in case something goes wrong. Your king doesn't need us here anymore so we won't be missed."

Again Halt was thrown back by the arguments of his considered opponent. How was it possible that he had to listen to all of them. I really must be getting old, he thought to himself.

He saw the positive side too of this companionship, the Skandian warriors would be able to keep Alyss safe while Horace and himself released Will and Gilan.

"Fine, but don't you dare ruin the mission. You'll have a arrow in your chest before you can say Gorlog."

Erak laughed, "It's always a pleasure with your amazing humor, my dear Halt." He clapped his hand on Halt's shoulder, who almost sank through his knees due to the mass.

The group decided to leave as soon as possible, so they left the tent to gather their supplies and horses. As soon as they left the tent, a surprise was again waiting for Halt.

Malcolm stood ready with a small horse, a saddlebag filled with probably loads of medical supplies. Before the healer could say anything Halt burst out.

"Let me guess, you want to come along? Let's make it a surprise party! We are going on a rescue mission not a nice visit for a cup of coffee!"

Pauline again needed to step in before her husband would really lose his temper and people would end up hurt.

"Sweetheart, Will was already hurt when you last saw him. He's going to need Malcolm when you rescued him."

Halt just grunted and walked away, which made everyone assumed as an agreement. Malcolm smiled and walked towards the lady and Alyss.

"Thank you for the save my Lady. I assume you must be the famous Lady Pauline, the one and only to control the rough ranger?"

Pauline laughed, "yes I am," she said, "pleasure to finally meet the man that saved my husband. Now I can personally thank you instead of a letter. But I must ask you to again keep this group as safe as possible."

The healer nodded and promised to do his best. Finally he and Alyss went to join the rest of their group. Everything had been gathered and the horses were ready.

The group left with Horace, Halt and Alyss leading. Alyss turned to Halt, seeing the tension spread on his face.

"We will find him. I can feel it."

I hope you all liked the chapter. Please leave a review and let me know what you think.

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