WARNING: THIS STORY DEALS WITH RAPE. DON'T READ IF YOU DONT LIKE!
Disclaimer: I forgot this twice in a row. Anyway I don't own Ranger's Apprentice just borrowing (:
Alda cowered against the wall, ignoring the smug look of Horace as Sir Rodney yelled at him for things he new very well about but denied. "I had nothing to do with some bitch Ranger apprentice being attacked!" he exclaimed, not caring Sir Rodney's face at his colourful language.
"That is a lie Alda and you know it," the man growled, a menacing look in his eyes, "if you confess your punishment will be less, you have committed a very serious crime." Before he could continue though he looked at Horace waving the muscular boy away, not wanting him hear about Will's state until Will or Halt told informed him of it.
Once Horace had left Rodney stalked up to Alda, gripping the boys collar and yanking him forwards so their noses almost touched. "You've committed a crime that could send you to prison if the court and King Duncan see it fit. You and your pathetic group of mongrels!"
Alda flinched and averted his gaze but Sir Rodney's fury was far from over.
"I thought of you as a respectable boy despite your lack of practice for drills and obvious ignorance. But now I see I never should have allowed you to join this school." Rodney paused and took a breath, his face was red with angry and his eyes glittered, "I'm giving you one hour to gather your belongings, find Bryn and Jerome then report to the Baron's office. I assure you if you even try to run or elude your soon to be sentence I will send a Ranger after you all, and I'm sure you know which one."
Alda nodded fearfully, he recalled seeing Halt the local Ranger around once or twice speaking with the Baron and/or Sir Rodney and he knew what Halt lacked in size he probably gained in determination and stamina. Alda also knew Ranger's almost never missed their targets when it came to tracking down and hunting a thief or criminal… The thought of having Halt, furious over what they had done to Will, chasing him down with that scary looking long-bow made him want to be in prison instead of meet an slow and painful death by arrow.
"Now gather your things and find your twisted friends then report to the Baron's office!" Sir Rodney yelled, before shoving Alda away from him with a disgusting look on his face. Oh how he wanted to paddle the disobedience out of that second-year boy but he knew the Baron would be having a word with him if he even tried to punish Alda, or any of his friends, in that way.
He stalked away from Alda and headed straight for the Baron's office. He had a few words that needed to be said before those three arrived.
Will was sitting stiffly by the crackling fire a lost expression on his face. Halt regarded the boy with pity, ever since two days ago Will had been normal as usual, ever since the boar hunt he had been happy that Horace and him had finally accepted each other as friends. But now all that progress had gone down the drain, it was because of saving Horace from the boar that had caused all this, all Will's pain and suffering was caused by jealousy.
Halt wondered what he should do about it all, Will had openly expressed his feelings to him but Halt found it wrong that his apprentice should want to be held and touched like that so soon after being violated.
He shook his head, somehow he would figure everything out, but at the moment he needed Will to gain his confidence again and be the boy he had selected to be a Ranger.
"Halt," Will's hushed voice sounded above the crackling of burning wood and Halt watched as Will turned, his movements stiff and obviously uncomfortable. Will's eyes hesitantly met Halt's and Halt blinked.
"Yes Will?" He asked, afraid of what Will might ask of him.
Will lifted his hands and then proceeded to bury his face in them, "I need your help," he uttered as he started to tremble. Halt was up in an instant, kneeling beside the sobbing boy.
"I'm here Will," Halt murmured softly into the others brown hair, he had pulled the apprentice close and was gently rubbing his back, trying to ignore the feel of fat tears as they dropped onto, and soaking through, his shirt. Will's crying went on for a few minutes before it stopped.
When Will pulled back he leaned up, brown eyes watery and face flushed from the crying. He wrapped his arms around Halt's neck and sighed in content when Halt's strong arms encircled him in return.
"Can you help me up?" Will asked, whispering the question into Halt's ear. Halt nodded and with one easy movement he had pulled Will up into a standing position. "I'm so pathetic," he murmured, his arms still around Halt's neck, "I can't even get up without your help."
Halt sighed softly, noticing he'd soon need to go feed Abelard and Tug before it got dark. "You aren't pathetic," he said as he looked into Will's hopeless eyes, "you're just recovering from a vicious attack. What you are going through is what anyone else in your position would have to go through. Even myself."
Halt's words brought a little comfort to Will but still he felt stupid for relying on his mentor so much.
"I suppose, Halt, that you're right…"
"Have I ever been wrong?" Halt asked, a tiny bit of humour glittering within his eyes as he spoke and Will smiled in return, shaking his head.
"Now, where did you want to go?"
Will shrugged, "I just wanted to stand, sitting makes me feel so useless."
"Well I must go tend to the horses," Halt said softly, knowing Will would feel guilty that Halt was dealing with both horses by himself.
"May I come out with you?" Will asked hopefully, he was missing Tug after only two days of being bedridden and the desire to see the merry little creature was too great for Will to just wordlessly allow Halt to go out by himself.
Halt gave Will a good once over before wondering if his apprentice would even be able to dress for the cold of winter without his help. He went out on a limb. "Of course, Tug will be glad to see you."
A bright smile lit up Will's face and he nuzzled his face against the crook of Halt's neck, "Thank you."
"Now will you be able to dress into warmer clothing or do I need to help?"
Will bit his lip, frowning, "I hadn't thought of that… I don't think I'll be able to do it by myself, if it's too much of a hassle though Halt I can just wait till tomorrow."
Halt watched Will as he gently agreed with the boy, "Perhaps that would be best."
Will nodded and looked back up at Halt, taking in the features that made Halt, well Halt. "Before you go to them could you… Erm, help me to my bed?"
Will felt embarrassed asking but Halt gave him a curt nod and, without much of a warning, swept him off his feet and carried him to his bed. Halt was gently, as usual, when he placed Will down and Will gave the Ranger a shy smile.
"Thanks." He said and received a 'you're welcome' as Halt left for the horses.
"I'll be back soon enough," the Ranger informed and mentally pictured Will nodding as he vanished out the door.
And so Will was left sitting on his bed alone, the fire still crackled and he found himself staring at the nearest wall, blankly letting himself go as he started to daydream.
The images were rather nice, his friend Horace standing tall and proud as he shook Will's hand just after the boar incident, Halt's, almost, loving embrace and offered shoulder to cry on when Will had buried his face into the Ranger cloak to hide his tears from the Knights and Horace… Then there was Alda, Jerome and Bryn, they had smirks on their faces, and Alda was the first to make a move, charging Will while Jerome and Bryn closed in on him as well just slower. The initial impact of Alda flying into him made Will jolt back to reality.
He shivered, convincing himself that it was just cool in the cabin and that he wasn't trembling out of fear and hatred towards the BattleSchool apprentices, even though he knew it wasn't true.
Pulling his legs painfully up onto the bed he leaned back on the pillow, shutting his eyes and wishing for Halt to be back. Right now he needed the older Ranger's support, maybe a hug, maybe a quick kiss, just anything to assure him that it was over and done with, that those three would never find him again and violate him like they had.
That Halt would be there to protect him if they ever did… Halt, where was he anyway? Surely he couldn't remember that tending to the horses took that long, perhaps he was just going a bit crazy, maybe it had always taken this long to feed, groom and check their shoes for anything.
Will felt somewhat paranoid, the fire popped in the other room and he jumped, groaning as pain shot up his back, he tried to blink back tears but he failed and they trickled down his cheeks anyway. Still trembling and in pain he rolled over onto his side, facing away from the door and shut his eyes, forcing himself to ignore all the weird sounds that, oddly enough, he had never took any notice of until now. Now he actually had demons that could haunt him, attack him and brutally take him. He continued to sob, shaking as he listened to the wind that had suddenly picked up. Every creak in the cabin sounded like something creeping towards him and eventually he cried himself into a fitful sleep.
His last conscious thoughts being his fear of Alda's gang and his longing for Halt.
A/N: Okay. Shorter than the other two chapters... I've been so busy so I haven't had the chance to continue this so this might be the last chapter for at least a week (exams all next two weeks). I hope it turned out okay Dx Don't worry there will hopefully be more with Alda, Jerome and Bryn getting sentenced and stuff so yeah. Some time there will be some Will/Halt smut but not right now. It's too soon for Will. Anyway, enjoy. There might be mistakes so just ignore them for now XD
Review please!
No flames though, this IS my first Ranger's Apprentice fic (: