Hey y'all! I'm so sorry it's been so long! My life has been hectic between a crashing computer, a depressingly sad social life, and a loooong semester of school, I have had basically zero opportunities to write. Anyways, I'm back for the time being so enjoy the chapter! In this one, Halt plots, Crowley and Gilan plan, and even Charlie and Ferris puts in their two cents! Enjoy!

Halt silently watched as Charlie, Drayen, and a few others conversed quietly on the opposite side of the camp. he sighed quietly to himself, a small part of him wishing he could turn back time. Back when Ferris hadn't been trying to kill him, and when his parents had actually been parents and not politics machines. He grunted bitterly as he forced himself to steer his thoughts away from his parents. He needed to focus on escaping. Crowley knew where he was now, the reckless red-head was going to be getting him out soon. He sucked in a sharp breath as Ferris thundered into the camp, marching importantly over to Drayen and pulling the commander away from his men.

He fixed his expression into a surly glare as Ferris glanced in his direction. He was rewarded with a slight flinch from the weaker twin. He was punished by a sharp kick to his side from some mercenary that Ferris had hired, Couren. A growl escaped Halt as he glared up at the man.

"Watch where you're putting your feet," he snarled, "you might want to show some respect."

"Why?" the man snorted, "you're not the king."

"No," Halt agreed, keeping his voice low and level, "but I am a King's Ranger. So, again, watch your feet."

The man responded by kicking him again, "oops."

Halt stared at the man until he started to squirm, "I'll remember you," was all he said before turning his attention back to his biological brother and his friends. Ferris was watching him as he spoke to Charlie and Drayen. He couldn't hear anything from their conversation and so kept his eyes firmly on his brother, reading his lips. They were talking about him, about Aruelen, about Duncan, and about Gilan. He felt his blood chill as he read the words 'hostage' and 'assassination'. He could pretty much figure out the rest. Since he had ruined Ferris' original plan, he was improvising. They were going to use Halt as a hostage... and make the rangers... Halt froze. Assassination. They were going to make Gilan or Crowley kill Duncan. The pieces suddenly clicked into place for Halt and he felt himself go cold from head to toe. Ferris was going to blow his own cover and then use Halt as a pawn. A pawn to cause the downfall of Aruelen. The ranger struggled quietly against the ropes binding him. There was no way he was going to let either member of his family go through that. He had to escape. He had to.

***Line Break***

Gilan and Crowley took advantage of 'Halt's' absence to plan their rescue of the real Halt. They knew that Gilan couldn't exactly fight, so he would have to distract the fake Halt while Crowley did the actual rescuing. It killed Gilan to not be able to play more of a role but he understood. His injuries would slow him down, making him more hampering than helpfulness. So, he resigned himself to the role of glorified babysitter. Crowley's task, however, was significantly more difficult. Somehow, he had to get Halt untied and out of the camp undetected until they could get away. It would be a challenge, but the criminals had made one huge mistake. They'd put Halt at the edge of camp. It was the wrong move what trying to kidnap a royal ranger. A very wrong move. As long as Halt wasn't injured, it should be fairly simple to get him out. Halt would just need to cooperate fully and not try to play hero or do anything reckless. Neither one of them counted on him trying something, but they didn't put it past him. It would just be Halt being Halt. Nothing unusual about that.

The two rangers, agreeing on the basic plan, set to work ironing out the details. Every single one. They ran through possible scenarios and compensations for said scenarios, before settling in and waiting for nightfall. They would get Halt out tonight.

***Line Break***

Charlie hated every second of this. He hated seeing his childhood best friend tied to a tree, bruised and exhausted. He hated seeing Ferris giving ordersto his men. He hated having to follow the slimeball that was the King Regent. He hated this. Hated it with every fiber of his being. He hated being used to hurt Halt, and he hated the thought of using Halt's new family as collateral. It was sickening and Charlie's entire being rebelled against the idea.

But he was a soldier. He had to follow his orders. More than once he had thought about freeing Halt and helping his friend escape. He longed to see Halt disappear into the woods the same way he used to. In the past, it had infuriated Charlie to not be able to find his friend, but now... he'd give anything to lose sight of Halt in the trees. It would mean he was safe. It would mean Halt would be away from Ferris. Charlie sighed and hung his head ay his rebellious thoughts. He wished he had the choice to escape from the hold that Ferris had over him, but he didn't.

Besides, he couldn't abandon Caitlyn and their new baby boy, Sean. He couldn't do that to her. He loved her too much for that. he wished she were here now. Caitlyn always seemed to know what to do in situations like this. She would just flip her hair, raise her eyebrow, and blatantly tell him what the correct decision was. Charlie looked lazily around the camp, noticing Ferris watching Halt carefully. A confusing array of emotions was crossing the King regent's face. He seemed almost... sad...

Charlie shook his head and rolled his eyes. Ferris was never regretful about anything. Never.

***Line Break***

Ferris was, for lack of a better word, stressed out of his mind. His plan with the apprentice had fallen down around his head. His plan with Halt was just a last minute, thrown together idea that both of his commanding soldiers was against. In all fairness, it wasn't his plan that had fallen apart. It was Morgarath's. He didn't like the plan to begin with, but the warlord was convinced it would work. The original plan was to collect the apprentices of the corp and hold them hostage. That many children would serve the purpose of convincing Duncan to give up his throne and secede it to Morgarath.

It was supposed to be simple. Seamless. Quick and easy. Unfortunately, while Ferris had been careful not to underestimate the ranger masters, he had severely underestimated the pluck and courage of their apprentices. The death had been an accident, all the soldiers in his company having been given express instructions to not harm them. The boy, Ferris couldn't even remember his name, had managed to slip past their guard and had almost made it to the edge of camp before being discovered. he had fought tooth and nail, injuring and incapacitating several of Ferris' men before one of the guards had stabbed him through the abdomen. The had tried their best to save him, but the boy was too far gone for them to help. So, they'd left him behind. His cries had woken up Ferris for several nights.

The kind regent shook himself as his mind focused on his new mission. He needed to focus on his job. He had to get the re-headed ranger alone. That was when his men would do their jobs and take him hostage. Then they would have both the boy and the ranger. There next order of business would be to use them as hostages against Halt. The ultimatum they would give him was cruel and unforgiving. The king or the rangers. Either he saved his friends and killed the king, or he saved the king and watched his friends die. Ferris was sure the plan would work. As gruff as Halt was, he had a soft spot for anyone he was close with, at one point that soft spot was even for Ferris himself. The King Regent frowned as the thought flitted across his mind, Halt had been a fool to trust him. A damn fool.

Ferris used the bitterness to force the thought back and refocus himself. He sighed and stared across the camp at Halt. His twin was watching him, the familiar black eyes staring at him with nothing but bitter anger. Ferris felt a pang of... was it sadness?... at the expression on his brother's face. It was a bit sad to think they'd gone from inseparable to bitter enemies. Oh, how five minutes can change so much. So much. Sometimes he regretted his actions against Halt. Sometimes he reminisced on the many times the twins would befuddle their tutors or spy on their parent's formal events. Occasionally, his mind recalled a simpler time when he and Halt would run through the castle shrieking with laughter as their servants chased them through the halls. Sometimes he missed his big brother desperately. Then his mind reminded him of those horrible five minutes. Those twisted, unfair, unjust five minutes that had started this whole thing. It was all the fault of those damn five minutes.

There y'all go! I know it's short, but I hope you liked the little insight into Ferris' mind. I debated for a while as to whether or not to put that in the story at all, but then my brain hit the 'what the heck, it's my story anyways' button and BOOM there it was. So, i hope you enjoyed it! Lemme know what y'all thought about this chapter by leaving a review! I love reading y'all's thoughts so bring on the reviews! And if y'all have something you want me to try adding into the story either review or even PM me and I'll try my hardest to fit it in! Love y'all!

-storyspinner16