The following morning, just after the sun had risen, Will and Halt set out for Castle Arulean with the three bandits tied between their two loyal horses. Since they had led the horses on a leisurely walk along the dirt paths without any loping, Halt didn't see any reason to stop for a rest until midday. They continued at the same relentless pace in the afternoon, and about two hours after their brief lunch respite, one of the captains spoke up, despite the others seeing no use to his plea and sending a warning glare with his eyes.
But, the other man ignored his warnings anyways. "Ranger?" he asked gruffly, trying to maintain some respect and dignity- a difficult feat to accomplish while having your hands tied together in front of you and between two horses.
Halt ignored him, as did Will, both of whom were riding with their cowls drawn up over the faces so that the bandits couldn't see their features.
"Ranger?" he tried again, slightly louder.
Still, Halt refused to respond. Will grinned from beneath his cowl, appreciating the new form of entertainment during the otherwise dull journey.
"Hello? Ranger?" he persisted exasperatedly.
"Will? Do you hear anything significant?" Halt asked, apparently oblivious to the man.
"No. Just some birds to the East," Will replied conversationally.
Halt nodded as if that settled the matter, but the captain clearly disagreed.
"We've been walking all day. Can't we take a break?" he whined petulantly.
"No," Halt replied shortly.
"Just for a few minutes?"
Halt sighed. "You know, Will, I'm starting to think that dragging around three useless lumps might be too unfair on the horses. We'll make better time if we get rid of one."
Don't blame this on us. We can drag plenty more than three useless lumps and you know it, Abelard replied tersely.
Halt patted his horse on the neck as a reply and glanced sideways at his apprentice.
"That does make sense," Will agreed. "Do you have anyone in particular in mind?"
Halt turned in his saddle and faced the middle captain fully. "Yes. Yes I do," he said, his dark eyes boring into the man's shifting blue eyes.
The man gave a weak smile as the color drained from his face, having no doubt that the Ranger would follow through on his word if he saw fit. He would much rather face hours of endless marching and the dungeons of Castle Arulean than the infamous Ranger.
Halt turned back around to face the front with some satisfaction and the man remained silent until the night when they made camp. Even then, the only sound he made was a painful groan that escaped his lips despite his best efforts as he collapsed against the tree that Will was tying them to.
After an uneventful night with the two Rangers sharing watch duties and a warm breakfast with coffee, they resumed their sluggish journey back to Castle Arulean. The castle's turrets came into sight a few hours past noon, meaning that Will and Halt were both starving since they didn't stop for lunch.
They deposited the bandits into the hands of three guards, each of whom grabbed a bandit under the armpit and marched them promptly into the castle without needing a command or an explanation. This time, Halt decided to let a young boy care for their horses and Will gratefully trailed after Halt into the castle, eager to find some food.
A page stepped into their path on the ground floor of the castle with a beaming smile, rosy cheeks, and asked in a high voice, "Hello! May I show you to your rooms?"
"Same rooms as last time?" Halt asked her gruffly.
"Yes, sir," she confirmed with a nod.
"No need. We know the way."
"Are you sure? The castle is quite large. Even I get lost sometimes in all of these hallways and staircases…" she rambled on, waving her hands wildly in the air.
"We'll be fine," Halt interrupted.
"Thank you though," Will added in a softer voice, making Halt send him a harsh glance. Will gave a faint shrug in his own defense.
"Then would you like me to get you anything to drink or eat?" she asked, eager to be of help in some way.
Will opened his mouth to reply affirmatively, but clamped it shut with wide eyes of horror when Halt replied instantly.
"No," Halt answered firmly. "Thank you though," he added as an afterthought.
"Oh… Okay then… have a good day," the young girl said awkwardly. She gave a quick smile, ducked her head, and quickly walked off down a hallway.
Will watched the girl leave without moving his head and the moment she turned the corner, he rounded on Halt. "Why'd you say 'no' to food?" he demanded.
"I didn't say 'no' to food. I said 'no' to her getting us food," he clarified and strode off purposefully.
"But why? I'm starving!" Will complained, quickening his steps to keep up with his mentor.
"Then you should get some food," Halt suggested unhelpfully.
Will threw up his hands in frustration. "But you just said 'no' to food!"
Halt opened his mouth and Will amended himself. "Fine, you said 'no' to her getting us food."
"That doesn't mean we're not eating," Halt replied evasively, a ghost of a smile touching his face, knowing how confused he was making Will.
"What- Are we getting food or not?" Will demanded.
"Yes," Halt answered shortly.
"Then why not just have her get it? She clearly wanted to help."
"Because she was too talkative," Halt said with a wave of his hand. "Besides, this way, we can pick out whatever we want."
Will sighed. "Are you planning on telling me what's going on anytime soon?"
"Maybe," Halt said and the corners of his mouth twitched up.
Will shook his head but said nothing, following Halt through the halls of the castle, hoping he knew where he was headed. Much sooner than expected, Halt stopped in the middle of an empty hallway with a thoughtful look on his face.
"Actually," he began slowly, turning to face his apprentice. "You can do this. Consider it a training exercise."
"Ummm… okay?" Will agreed tentatively, still having no idea as to what he was agreeing to.
"The kitchen is the third door on the right after taking the second left and then an immediate right. Bring some lunch up to our rooms. I'll meet you there after I tell Crowley we're back. Got it?" Halt asked, an eyebrow raised.
Will nodded. "Second left, immediate right, third door on the right," he repeated.
Halt nodded to confirm and turned to leave.
"Halt?" Will called before he could take a step.
He grunted and raised an eyebrow, letting Will go on with his imminent question.
"Why did you say getting food would be like a training exercise?"
Halt grinned widely, only adding to Will's sudden apprehension.
"Let's just say the chef here makes Master Chubb's ladle look like a warm hug, so I would try not to get caught," Halt said slyly.
Will grinned in sudden understanding. "I assume you have some sort of personal experience when it comes to this?"
Halt shrugged nonchalantly. "A Ranger's hunger doesn't always align with the royal timetable. I've done what needed to be done."
Will grinned and shook his head in wonder as Halt strode away. Will turned and headed for the second left when he heard Halt call over his shoulder, "See if they made any turnovers yet!"
A few minutes later, Will pressed his back against the wall next to the third door on the right and he slowly peered inside the small square window. The kitchen was bustling with men and women, each focused on their job and dressed in matching white aprons with the royal seal in the upper right corner. Will glanced around for the sight of the fearful chef that Halt had mentioned, but could see no one that seemed to fit the description yet.
He ducked back to one side just as the door swung open, almost hitting Will in the face, as a page came out with a silver tray and pot of tea in hand. It swung back the other way, careening into the kitchen and Will carefully slipped through before it swung to a standstill, standing even with the wall. Luckily, right next to the door were a few brooms leaning against the wall that Will could hide with as he scouted the surroundings.
The finished food was clearly on the main silver table in front of him where a few white plates were gleaming under a lamp and he was sure more would be added as they got closer to dinner. But these were clearly the dishes for the royalty, not the servants. These dishes were intricate and beautifully laid out, meaning it would be much more difficult to sneak away. A sandwich or mince pie, something easier to grab, would certainly be from the servants' food.
So, Will slid along the wall to the left, hoping that he was headed in the right direction, ducking behind some cover and other times walking purposefully, knowing that the chefs were so focused they would hardly recognize that a person was passing by them, let alone one not in a white apron. Once around a divider with brick ovens lining its surface, Will saw the Master chef of the castle.
She was decked out in white pants and a white tunic with a red apron and a tall white hat perched upon dark brown, almost black hair, that was pulled into a tight bun at the nape of her neck. She had broad shoulders and a square chin, her lips pulled into a snarl at the offending chef who had apparently messed with some part of her well-oiled machine. While Master Chub preferred the ladle, it was clear that she had selected a wooden rolling pin as her weapon of choice. Though it didn't have handles, it was just a smooth wooden cylinder that Will figured could be called a bat in a different arena.
Will remained perfectly still as the chef, now nearing tears, approached the wooden table he was standing in front of and dropped their platter of slightly burnt bread rolls into the bin underneath. Will snagged a few of the bread rolls, preferring his bread well toasted anyways, along with a large empty dinner plate before making his way through the kitchen, grabbing a few items here and there when the chefs weren't looking. He was about to leave when he saw one chef pull a pan out of a brick oven with crisp, golden, buttery pastry in perfect triangles, oozing with fruit filling. The kitchen was suddenly redolent with the sweet smell of cinnamon and now, Will understood Halt's specific request for the kitchen's apple turnovers.
He crossed the kitchen and crouched near the brick divider, watching as the chef hummed to himself and set the pan on his worktable in front of him. Will slowly rose from his crouch with a plate now full of food in one hand and hurriedly slid two of the pastries on top of his small mound.
But then suddenly, the chef turned and stopped his mindless humming and flinched as he came face to face with a dark cowled Ranger, a hand outstretched towards his pan of perfect pastries.
Will swallowed, adrenaline coursing through his veins, unsure of what to do when it was quite clear what he was doing.
But then the chef smiled and held up a finger to say 'wait one moment' and he turned around to grab a handful of small bite-sized cookies with a dot of jam in the middle. The man carefully balanced them on Will's full dinner plate, then stepped back with a mischievous grin.
Will grinned too and said, "Thanks."
"No problem, Ranger," the man said with a nod. Then he turned back to his work, humming tunelessly once more.
Still grinning to himself, Will made it safely out of the kitchen without another incident and pushed his cowl down while he began to walk back to his suite of rooms. Just as he began to climb the first staircase, he heard a set of heavy footsteps pounding against the stone floor behind him along with the clank of metal, and somehow, even though it could very well be the sound of any knight or guard, Will knew exactly who it was.
"Hello, Horace," Will said loudly, not bothering to turn around.
"But- How- how did you know it was me?" Horace asked, flustered, still jogging to catch up to the Ranger.
Will stopped, letting Horace come to his side, then responded with a grin. "No one else can sound quite like a bull in a china shop like you can."
Horace rolled his eyes and the two friends started walking up the steps together. "Please, I'm not that loud."
Will raised an pointed eyebrow, but said nothing.
"I saw you and Halt ride in with three men tied together, so I assume the mission went well? What was the mission anyways?" Horace asked.
"Yeah, it went well. We stopped what needed to be stopped," Will said, unhelpfully.
"What a great story," Horace commented sarcastically. He reached out to grab a jam cookie from the top of the stack, but Will whirled the plate out of his way before he could.
"Hey! These are for me and Halt!" Will said.
"But you have plenty!" Horace cried, pouting. Then his pout turned into a look of clear suspicion. "Wait a minute… How come you have a plate full of random, haphazardly piled food in the middle of the afternoon when Chef won't let anyone get food until an hour before sunrise at the earliest?"
Will grinned. "She didn't necessarily let me, per say."
Horace froze and his narrowed eyes widened in understanding. Then he let out a short bark of laughter. "Who knew your training would come in handy someday."
Will gave him a sidelong glance and replied, "I think it's come in handy before having to do with food too."
Horace shrugged. "This is certainly the most practical use." He tried to reach around Will to grab a cookie but Will shifted the plate again, letting his hand touch nothing but air.
"Oh, come on!" Horace whined. "You have a small mountain of food! I think you can spare one cookie!"
"Fine," Will conceded with a grin and held out the plate to Horace. Horace was still skeptical and slowly reached out, waiting for the moment when Will would snatch it away again. But Will stood perfectly still with two eyebrows raised in amusement, watching Horace's hand gradually select a cookie from the plate.
When he finally had a cookie in his hand, Will sighed dramatically and popped one in his own mouth, setting off down the hallway once more. Horace trailed after him happily, stopping a page on the way to get a message to the Princess, telling her why he wasn't waiting by the library today.
When they entered the Rangers' small suite of rooms, Halt was already lounging by the fireplace, pushing a jug of water into the fire to make coffee.
"You're back early," Will commented, setting the plate of food down on the table between the two chairs and settling into the second one himself. Horace dragged a stool over, close to the table, for himself.
"Crowley's in a meeting with the King at the moment, so I'll talk with him later," Halt explained, instantly grabbing a turnover from the middle of the pile and saving it for himself.
Horace reached out for the second one, but his hand was slapped away by Will.
"That's mine!" Will said. "You already had lunch!"
"Can we split it? There's only one left," Horace pleaded.
"I only got two 'cause I didn't know you would be here to take mine," Will fired back.
"Fine," he grumbled, taking another jam cookie instead. "But I thought Rangers were supposed to know everything."
"We can't predict the future, Horace," Will explained with an entertained grin.
Horace stuck his tongue out and grabbed a few slices of an apple, crunching into it noisily.
Once the plate was cleared, Halt stood up, cracking his back quickly and reached for his bow. "I'm going to find Crowley. You two can practice your weapons with each other for the afternoon."
Will grunted his acknowledgement since his mouth was too full for words and he swallowed quickly while Halt strode out the door.
"To the practice range?" Horace asked with a smile.
"To the practice range," Will agreed with a nod.
I hope you enjoyed part 4 of the story! Let me know what you thought, especially if there are any typos that I missed.