Halt stretched and sat up. The tantalising aroma of coffee and frying bacon filled the air. "Will does know how to make a great breakfast," thought Halt to himself as his stomach complained loudly. He stood up and went to breakfast.
"Halt! You're awake at last!" exclaimed Will as Halt sat down at the table. "Humph. What time did you wake up at, then?" Halt retorted. "He woke up way before us, Halt! You're not the last one," said Gilan, stepping out from the kitchen holding a plate of bacon, freshly fried by Will. "I just got woken up by Will and asked to help with the bacon," continued Gilan. Halt noticed that Gilan was still wearing his pyjamas, the ones with oakleaf patterns on it and also his brown bunny slippers. Halt smiled to himself as he watched his apprentices set the table. "I'm going to get the coffee," he said as the aroma of freshly brewed coffee filled the cabin. Halt poured the coffee and added honey, then passed the mugs to Will and Gilan. He took one for himself and sat down.
While eating his perfectly fried bacon, Halt heard a buzzing sound and saw a fly buzzing around his mug of coffee. He shooed it away from his fly went away. Halt sipped some of his coffee and went back to his bacon. The fly was there. He shooed it away again. It went back to Halt's coffee. Halt shooed it away from his coffee. The fly went back to his bacon. Halt shooed it away again. It went back to Halt's coffee. "Pfffffffffbtbtbtbt!" Will and Gilan tried unsuccessfully to smother their laughter. Halt turned his withering gaze onto them. Will and Gilan refused to wither, so Halt gave up. The fly flew to Will's plate. Will laughed and shooed it away. The fly flew to Gilan's coffee. Gilan shooed it away. The fly finally flew out the window.
As the fly flew out, Halt leaped up and slammed all the windows and doors shut. He sat down again to finish his breakfast. And right on his fork was the fly. Halt picked up the fork. On the fly's back was a stripe that looked like an exclamation mark. Halt shook the fork. The fly didn't move. Halt glared at the fly. The fly stared back. Will and Gilan were laughing so much, Will fell off his chair and Gilan's chair tipped over and fell backwards on the floor, Gilan still sitting on it. Halt glared at them and Will and Gilan decided that it would be safer to go outside the cabin until they had their emotions under control.
As they went out, Will and Gilan heard a string of curses directed at the fly, who was still standing on Halt's fork. When they collapsed on the ground, they heard the clatter of a battlehorse's hooves. "Will! Gilan! Why are you lying on the ground, laughing?" exclaimed Horace as he swung down from Kicker. Will and Gilan told him the whole story, and when they were done Will, Gilan and Horace laughed and laughed until they hurt. From the cabin came the sound of furniture clattering to the ground and more curses. Suddenly, a triumphant shout of "Yes!" rang out from the cabin. "Let's go in and take a look," said Gilan.
When they went in, they saw Halt holding a bottle with the fly in it. The "exclamation" fly buzzed madly in the bottle, trying to get out. Halt made sure the bottlecap was secured tightly and tossed the closed bottle out the window."There! That's the end of the little pest. It won't bother us again. Help me clean up this mess," Halt said to Will, Gilan and Horace. They straightened chairs, picked up forks and spoons and other things. Then, they sat down to have some coffee. Halt went to the kitchen to get a cup of coffee for Horace.
Halt walked out from the kitchen, holding a mug of coffee for Horace. Halt sat down at his place to enjoy his coffee, just to find that the very same fly was now buzzing above his coffee. "Gorlog's beard! How did it get out?!" Halt yelled and rushed out to inspect the bottle. He expected to find the bottle broken or open, but it wasn't broken nor open. He went back in to find Will, Gilan and Horace grinning at him, a mug placed upside down on the table. "We caught the fly, Halt!" Horace said. Halt ran out, grabbed the bottle, lifted the mug up gently and caught the fly. He put the cap on the bottle and rode out into the forest. After going for a few kilometers, he opened the bottle and let the fly out.
When he got back to the cabin, Halt made Will, Gilan and Horace swear an oath to never tell Crowley about this incident. Halt knew that if Crowley heard about what had happened here today, he would be teased non-stop by Crowley. But, little did Halt know that making Will, Gilan and Horace swear was of no use, for Crowley already knew of the fly who got Halt frustrated.
Crowley stood up silently. He was going to drop in to have a cup of coffee with one of his oldest friends when he saw Will and Gilan emerge from the cabin and collapse. Then he saw Horace ride up and heard Will and Gilan explain everything that had happened. Then Crowley heard the triumphant shout and ghosted to one of the cabin windows and peeked in. He now grinned to himself. He would come visiting tomorrow, and when he did he would bring up the subject of the "exclamation" fly. Halt would glare at him and hit him in the ribs or anywhere, Crowley knew, but seeing his face would be priceless.
Part two coming soon!