A/N: whoop whoop I'm back again. This chapter has been the struggle of a lifetime. I wanted to get the plot to move further towards the actual battle, because I still have some chapters after the battle that I'm looking forward to write. However this chapter is needed because Will and Halt do have things to discuss. I'm sorry for letting you guys wait this long, but the conversations in this chapter were necessary and a pain in the ass to write, therefore taking far too long. Thank you all for patiently waiting and I hope to see you soon.

Chapter 9

As a shadow he slithered through the huge building. Not seen by anyone, always observing. It was busy around him, yet a silence hung in the air. It was a silence marking the dawn of something terrible. Halt knew this lack of noise, he had seen it before.

The Skandian warriors were preparing for battle and the normally so high-spirited men, were more calm than ever. Everyone felt the seriousness of the situation, this was the battle for Hallasholm and the next morning they would know whether certain risks had been worth it.

Before dawn they would march to the place Halt had pointed out. Everyone would take their position and then the battle would enfold.

Halt had been amazed by his apprentice and his little army. He stood his ground in front of a hundred former slaves and had been training himself as well. However, as the young man's strength was slowly returning, the nights were getting more problematic.

Just a few days after arriving at Hallasholm, Halt had been pleasantly surprised at how quickly Will fell asleep. He became more and more relaxed in the evenings, and had barely any nightmares.

Yet, the past days he had seen Will getting more restless again, almost like the nights after they had just reunited. Halt could feel it was more than just anxiety for the battle. He knew the nightmares had returned and Will wasn't sleeping at all because of it. As the young ranger didn't seem to like to share his returning nightmares, Halt was again left to guessing.

It was heartbreaking as he saw the boy shiver intensely even if he had multiple blankets on top of him. Halt had waited for days for Will to open up about the whipping marks, but it seemed it hadn't been all there was to tell.

Halt returned to the stables like he always did when in doubt. The two ranger horses looking curiously as their leader was walking up and down like a caged lion.

Abelard sensed the discomfort of his friend gave a little push with his nose to stop the ranger in his walk. Want to discuss it with the most intelligent of the company?

For a moment Halt thought he was going crazy but he needed to get this of his chest so he sat down.

"It's Will. Something's changed and he's not telling me anything. I can't wait any more days because the war is upon us."

It was Tug who snorted, then ask him, he simply said with that.

Halt looked at the smaller of the two horses, "Maybe I'll push him away further. I don't know what is going on in his mind."

He wants to be honest with you

That made Halt take a double look at the horse, did he hear that right? "He talked to you?"

Maybe

"What is wrong with him?" Halt asked desperately, even though he knew this conversation was mostly in his head so he wouldn't really get an elaborate answer from a horse. Their expressions were enough with the bond they shared to put meaning to it, but not more than that.

Tug however couldn't help but tease the ranger, as if I would tell you, you never give me apples

"That's because you're getting fat." Halt grunted.

Good luck with talking to Will, the shaggy horse seemed to say before turning around.

Suddenly the ranger heard a noise just outside the stable, and before he could turn around he heard a familiar voice.

"Were you just talking to the horses?" Erak stared in wonder as if he saw water burning.

Halt groaned, cooped up in his own troubles he hadn't noticed Erak at the other side of the stable. He couldn't deny talking Tug and Abelard, so he used another strategy.

"Well they are definitely more intelligent than you." He spoke and briskly walked out of the stables, leaving the confused warrior behind.

Moments later Halt arrived at Will's room. He knocked on the door as he knew Will would be inside after the training. He opened it and saw the same thing he had seen the past few days, a shivering frame holding his head like it was about to explode.

After taking a deep breath, Halt decided it had been enough and he needed answers. "Will, what's wrong?" He started but it only made Will jump.

"nothing, I'm fine," the young man mumbled through his chattering teeth.

"You're not fine, you're shivering like it's winter and in the evening you're barely eating again." Halt stated, not backing down now.

Will kept silent, he didn't want to disappoint Halt, not now, just before the war.

Halt sat down in front of him, keeping his temper under control. "Will, something has changed in the past few days and I need to know what it is."

This time Will shook his head, a single tear escaping his eye. "I can't" he whispered.

It took all his effort for Halt not to burst out and give a lecture about trust, but he knew he wouldn't get the answers he needed for it. So he tried again, with the utmost sensitivity.

"Why not? Haven't I already proven to you that I'm not mad at you?"

"It's not you. Don't worry I'm handling it."

"An apprentice isn't ready to handle things," Halt immediately bit his lip after his automatic response, especially after he saw the shoulders of the young boy slump even lower.

Halt knew he had to do some damage control before his boy would shut down completely. "Look Will, I'm worried about you. The war is upon us and I need to be completely sure that you're well enough to come to the battlefield. As long as you keep secrets, it won't convince me that you're truly up for it."

Deep down the ranger knew it was some kind of blackmailing, because Will would do everything to come along to the battle.

"Halt, I'm addicted to warmweed." Will admitted softly.

Halt only nodded, he knew addictions were hard to get rid of, so it didn't come as a surprise that Will experienced some lingering effects, "Yes, you are. But you haven't used it or asked for it ever since I found you."

This time Will gathered all his courage and looked his mentor straight in the eyes, "I've used it. I took the pouch from Evanlyn, and then I realized the smell helped me calm down at nights."

His mentor only looked at him, no emotions revealing from his face so Will decided to continue.

"Evanlyn found out and pointed out to me that smelling was still addictive behavior. I didn't want to disappoint you, so I stopped myself but now the nightmares have returned and I'm so cold…" he spoke with his voice trembling more and more with each sentence.

For a moment, Halt didn't know what to say. He felt an anger boiling inside of him and he didn't know yet to whom it should be directed at. He was angry at the Skandians for offering this awful weed to slaves. At the same time he was angry at himself for not noticing the signs of addiction and not keeping a closer eye on his apprentice.

Halt knew he had to be firm right now. Addictions weren't to be taken lightly and even though he trusted Will to be able to stop using the weed, he needed reassurance.

"Where is it?" he asked curtly.

Will's jaw stiffened, he was glad that he wasn't at the receiving end of Halt's outburst right now, but the idea of giving up his only remedy for nightmares was daunting as well.

Unfortunately Halt saw the hesitation, "Will, I need that pouch of warmweed now. I'm proud that you stopped by yourself, but you shouldn't take it lightly."

"It's in the cupboard." Will whispered and pointed to the cupboard in the room as he watched Halt stand up and get the pouch.

With the pouch safely stashed away in his pocket, Halt sat down next to Will. He thought silently about what the future had in store for this resilient young man. Will had a long way to go before being a fully fledged ranger, but nightmares and an addiction didn't make his road any easier. He wanted to make sure Will was okay before returning him to Araluen.

"Maybe the infirmary here has something to help you sleep." Halt suggested to Will out loud, but the young man's head whipped up as if Halt had suggested murdering a puppy.

"No!" was the only answer the ranger got.

For a moment, Halt tried to read the emotions flashing all over the boy's face, but other than fear he was completely lost.

"Care to explain why not?" he asked calmly.

Will hesitated, biting his lip before answering, something Halt knew he did before trying to formulate the perfect answer. "I can't risk getting addicted to something new, Halt. Warmweed has been my battle the past year, but I'll make sure it will be my only battle."

The young ranger got a sharp look from his mentor, who realized once again how much Will had grown this year.

"There are supplements that are not addictive, you know," he tried to suggest, but he already saw that the decision had been made.

"I'm not risking it." Will spoke firmly.

"Fine, I understand. But make sure you do have something that can help you in Gil's cabin just in case." Just as the words were out, Halt knew he had made a huge error. His hopes of Will not paying attention were immediately washed away when he saw the sharp brown eyes fixated on him.

"Gil's cabin? Why would I need to have something for nightmares in his cabin?" Will asked, his voice stronger compared to minutes ago when he was talking about his addiction. It was a clear sign that the warmweed only played inside Will's mind when he had nothing else to occupy himself with.

"Nothing I misspoke, I meant our cabin of course." Halt tried to save himself without success.

Will already shook his head, "No, no this has something to do with what happened in Araluen. Something Horace didn't want to tell and you've been trying to avoid ever since you found us."

Halt opened his mouth trying to save what was left to save, but the young boy didn't give him a chance. "I've been wondering why you weren't wearing your oakleaf. I thought at first that you didn't want the Skandians to know, but that doesn't add up anymore given you've earned their trust," Will started thinking aloud as he came to the answer himself, "You're not a ranger anymore, are you?"

Even in the seriousness of the situation, Halt's favorite response slipped out. "Are you asking or telling me?"

It was the confirmation Will was waiting for, but he could feel the despair in his stomach grow. "How?" he asked simply.

"It's a long story, which I will tell you once all this is over. But the short version is that a ranger's duty lies with the king, and mine had shifted."

Will could do the calculations himself, realizing that Halt had given up his whole life to rescue him. And what had he paid in return, not being honest and still addicted to warmweed, he thought bitterly.

"I'm sorry Halt. I'm so sorry you had to come for me, you shouldn't have."

It were those cracks in Will's mind that had Halt worried the most, and he placed his hand on the boy's shoulder, "I'm not sorry. You were under my care and I would face the whole Temujai army all by myself to keep you safe. I do not regret the choices I made."

"You should. You're the best ranger of Araluen and all you got back was a broken addict," Will said as he finally admitted how he truly felt.

It broke Halt to see his boy like this and he wanted more than ever to be able to enter Will's mind and let him see how loved he really was.

"I got my son back. You're in a better shape than I could have dreamed of when I left to find you and with Gilan as your new mentor, Araluen will have a new perfect ranger. Besides, the law doesn't say anything about doing ranger work without the oakleaf." He reassured Will with a soft smile.

"I don't even know how to thank you Halt."

"Start by placing more trust in yourself, and use all that energy of self pity into training. Training an apprentice is hard enough without getting a half decent one in your care. I wont put that torture on Gil."

Will could smile a little more, but the thought of not having Halt as his mentor anymore was daunting. "I don't want Gilan to be my mentor." He said honestly.

Halt raised his eyebrow, he thought the boys did get along quite well and beside himself he would trust Gilan the most in completing Will's training. "You blame him for leaving you in Celtica?" he asked, but immediately got a surprised look in return.

"No of course not! Why would I? I just meant that I just want to have you as my mentor, Halt. I care about Gilan like an older brother, but he's not you."

"Thank the gods he's not," Halt mumbled, "let's just take one problem at the time. For now we have an army knocking at our door, which might need your full attention. So I suggest you get your weapons ready and meet us outside."

Will nodded, stood up and did as he was told, while Halt himself left the room again with the pouch of warmweed. Somehow the room felt much lighter. He couldn't feel the pull from the weed anymore, because it just wasn't there anymore. With a deep sigh of relief Will knew he was on his way back to being himself again.

The army was slowly moving to their destination for the battle. Exactly halfway Will's army had to split up from the others to get into position in the woods.

Halt was slightly nervous of splitting up again but made sure he didn't show it, "This is where we split up, you three take care of each other."

He placed a reassuring hand on the princess' arm and then looked at Horace, sending a message over without any words.

Horace knew exactly what was asked, "I'll keep him safe, and knock him out before he thinks of some stupid heroic action again."

It was the reassurance Halt needed and he turned slowly to his boy. It seemed that Will too remembered all too well how the last separation before a battle with Halt ended and decided not to leave everything to fate, "Thank you, Halt. For everything."

Halt quickly pulled him into a tight hug, "Just promise to stay alive."

"I'll try my best." The muffled answer came from being pressed into the ranger cloak.

"And don't get captured" Halt added with a raised eyebrow of sarcasm before leaving the trio behind.