Okay y'all! Mid-terms are over and I finally have a moment to take a breath and step back, so I am finally updating my stuff! I know it's been a while but thanks to those of you who've stuck with me! This chapter is a little short because I needed a bit of a basis going into the next part of the story, but it's good. I wonder if y'all are like me and only glance vaguely at the A/N's at the beginnings of chapters... If you are then leave a review saying something about neon green ponies (or something pertaining to the story *shrugs* that works too) Well, purple elephants climbed the trees and monkeys swam the seas. And I was so turned right-side down that I didn't know what to see. Yeah... I should probably drop poetry and just go with story writing... I just wanted to see if y'all were paying attention ;) Alright, for those of you actually reading this part, I hope you enjoy this chapter! Without any further babbling... I present to you... Chapter 12!

Crowley waited until "Halt" was gone before approaching his friend's apprentice. Gilan had watched the two rangers like a hawk, not wanting to take his eyes off Crowley's comforting figure for one moment. The older ranger had been torn between watching the impostor and looking out for the wounded apprentice. As soon as the impostor had left to gather tinder for the fire, Crowley quickly slid over the younger man and knelt next to him.

"You and I on the same page here?" he questioned softly, gently changing the bandages on Gilan's wounds.

Gilan nodded, grimacing slightly, "that's not Halt. He would never hit me or call me that."

Crowley nodded his agreement, "and as much as we love each other," he shrugged, "he would only initiate contact if something was desperately wrong or if I was dying."

Gilan, choosing to ignore the fact that Crowley's assessment of 'something wrong' did not include him dying, glanced at the spot where Halt's poser had gone off in search of wood, "what are we gonna do?"

Crowley rubbed his chin thoughtfully, "what do you think we should do?"

Gilan scowled, "this is not a teaching moment, Crowley."

Crowley smirked, "everything's a teaching moment. As of the present we don't know where Halt is or who has him. So, what's our next move?"

Gilan glared at him, but Crowley could see the wheels turning in his mind, "well... we can't attack whoever he is because we don't know if the people holding Halt are still watching us. And if we attack him while they're watching us then they might hurt Halt, and we can't let that happen."

Crowley nodded along, "good. You're right. We don't want to alert the enemy, whoever they are, that we're on to them. But what do we do about the impostor."

Gilan frowned thoughtfully, "well, what if you were to find a reason to leave the campsite at some point tomorrow and then you could scout around and look for Halt while I stay here and keep an eye on the fake."

Crowley grinned, "exactly what I was thinking, bud. Good job."

A rustling sound at the other end of the campsite warned them of the impostor's return. Crowley quickly switched gears, laughing about something that Gilan hadn't said.

"Are you serious?!" Crowley snorted, ruffling Gilan's hair and ignoring his squawk of indignation.

Gilan reached over and lightly punched Crowley's arm, "yes, you idiot."

"What's going on here?" the man grinned, crossing over to the two rangers, an almost hidden suspicious glint in his eyes.

Crowley snorted, "your boy here tells very interesting stories about you Halt."

The man scowled playfully, "oh does he? And just which story has he told you?"

"When the cat treed you," Crowley laughed, "although it was probably more of a kitten."

"It was a huge cat," the man protested, crossing his arms, a rather grumpy expression dancing across his face, "and I'm allergic."

Several moments passed before Crowley and Gilan quit laughing at the man. His expression grew crankier as the moments passed and finally he stood and stalked irritably over to his bedroll.

"Good night," he snapped, rolling over to where his back was to them, "

Crowley continued up his soft laughter charade, "oh calm down, Halt," the word tasted vile in his mouth when directed at the stranger, "we're just teasing you, ya old grump."

The stranger snorted in disgust then curled into his blanket deeper, ignoring them completely. Crowley winked at Gilan then completed redressing the boy's wounds. Gilan winced slightly but managed to keep most of his pain hidden. He glanced over to watch 'Halt' and Crowley's interactions, he couldn't help wondering why the real Halt had left Hibernia in the first place. He supposed it was a similar situation to his becoming a ranger instead of a knight. A sense of adventure, and a knowledge of his calling. Gilan turned that over in his mind for a bit, chewing on that particular thought. Did that have something to do with Halt being willing to take him on as an apprentice? Had halt's own experiences aided in Gilan's recognizing his true calling in the rangers? Gilan frowned, rubbing his chin in thought. He would have to ask Halt about it when they got him back. Gilan's train of thought was interrupted by a random burst of pain from his knife wound. He hissed in pain, forcing himself to not grab at his injuries.

"You okay Gilan?" Crowley called, causing 'Halt' to look up and fix him with the fakest expression of worry Gilan had ever seen.

"Yeah," the apprentice called, "just shifted wrong is all. I'm okay."

Crowley nodded in understanding, frowning as he glanced over at their stash of Yarrow leaves, "why don't I go get more yarrow," he suggested, "I'll get some willow while I'm at it, see if we can reduce that pain a little bit more."

Gilan smiled, "thanks Crowley."

"I'll stay with Gilan," the stranger agreed, "make sure he doesn't cause too much trouble."

Gilan's stomach twisted at the thought of staying alone with the stranger who had tried to kill him only three days before, but he nodded his acceptance. As 'Halt' turned back to the fire, Crowley fixed Gilan with a questioning expression 'you sure?' Gilan nodded, almost imperceptibly 'go ahead'.

Crowley stood and shadowed away into the woods, leaving Gilan alone with the impostor.

***Line Break***

Halt glared up at his captor, a brief lance of betrayal shot through his chest as he recognized half of them. Most of Ferris' men were soldiers from the castle Dun Kilty, Halt's birth home. Most of these soldiers Halt had trained with when growing up, many of them he had called his friends. He recognized several of them from a group of boys he used to run wild with through the woods, hunting for anything from deer to squirrels. They had been friends, and now their backs were turned to him as if he were a stranger. Halt froze as he recognized his own former best friend, the boy who had helped him escape, milling about the other side of the campsite.

"Boys," he whispered in horror, the term used purely from force of habit. No one said or did anything for a moment and Halt nearly cried out at the pain that shot through his heart. Was he really so far gone from their minds that none of them recognized him or cared?

Then several of the soldiers glanced at him guiltily, while others chose to ignore him. Charlie flinched but didn't look at him. Halt supposed it was easier that way, for them to pretend like they didn't know. To pretend like they didn't know who he really was or where he was born. To pretend like he wasn't their true heir to the throne and they were taking orders from a fake. Halt bit his lip and looked away, choosing to also pretend. His bound hands clenched into fists as he tried to reign in a sudden desire to run screaming for the nearest cliff and hurl himself off of it. This wasn't fair. To anyone. Halt turned away and curled in on himself, letting the pain gnaw at him until he fell asleep.

***Line Break***

The commander bit his lip and turned away from his young former charge. He hadn't been surprised to see that Halt's pain still shone through his eyes, it always had. When Halt had been around, Drayen could remember being the fresh captain in the garrison assigned to his wing of the castle. He could remember the young boy who had always returned from his parent's chambers looking so defeated and in pain. Not physical, well... sometimes physical, but most of the time it was the constant wear down of having two harsh parents. Drayen could still remember comforting the young prince after meetings with his parents and brother. Drayen sighed, it was a shame that the boy he'd once cared for was now his enemy... He sighed, of course, that didn't stop him from caring. Glancing around to make sure no one but Charlie was watching Halt, Drayen picked his way over to the younger man and sighed. He knelt down and gently examined the cut and bruise on the lad's forehead. 'No use in it getting infected', he reasoned, pulling out a cloth and gently wiping away the blood off his young friend's forehead.

Okidoki y'all! I finally got the next chapter out! Woohoo! Thanks to y'all who have stuck with me through this whole thing! And thanks to those who are just recently joining! I love you all! Please leave a review! I get insanely happy when I get the notifications about them and read your thoughts! Btw, yes. Charlie and Drayen will play a bit of a roll later! I decided that it would be kind of ridiculous to have Ferris chasing Hat but have no soldiers that Halt recognized in his company. Hope y'all liked this chapter! Again, feel free to leave a review for me! Love y'all!

-storyspinner16