I apologise for the slow update. The writing in Bold and Italics is Halts memory.

Disclaimer: I do not own rangers apprentice I only own my characters.

Arrow

Halt looked at the three children in front of him. The oldest one, Willow Treaty was fifteen. She had long brown hair that flowed over her shoulders, her eyes were a deep brown just like her father's but she was tall and elegant just like her mother. Her younger brother Jake Treaty had a mop of brown blonde hair and he too had brown eyes. He was eight years old and was very adventurous, normally covered head to toe in mud and dirt. The third child in the house was called Anna and she was the child of Gilan and Jenny. She had dark brown hair as well and she had dark green eyes. She was tall and a little chubby and was nine years old. Halt had been forced into looking after three children by his former apprentices. Actually their wives had given him the guilt trip.

"Tell us another story Granddad Halt" said Anna looking up at Halt. Halt sighed. Why had his two apprentices drilled into these children's heads that he was their granddad? He wasn't that old. He smiled at the three children's smiling and eager faces.

"No I have told you enough stories today" Halt said

"Please" Jake whined and Anna chorused him.

"Ok" Halt said "What on"

"Tell us about the one with the competition and the flower" Jake said. Willow looked at Halt and then at her brother. She leant back and started to listen to Halt tell the story.

"You know Will we should have a competition" Gilan said, "The entire corps." Halt sighed as he listened to his former apprentices.

"What on?" Will asked sitting up and suddenly looking very excited.

"Maybe it could be on unseen movement" Gilan asked.

"No that would be unfair, everyone knows that you're best at that" Will said "It should be an archery competition."

"Maybe" Gilan said. Halt sighed again at how excited his two apprentices seemed to be. "What about you Halt? Do you think it is a good idea?" Gilan asked turning to Halt. Why do they always have to involve him in their conversations.

"I don't know. Have you even asked Crowley yet, after all he is the commandant and you can't do anything without his say." Gilan and Will both stood up and started to walk towards the larger tent at the centre of the clearing. Halt smiled as he finally got some peace and could relax without anyone annoying him. Halt took a sip of coffee and then closed his eyes to relax. He woke suddenly to the sound of two people cheering and shouting. It was something about a competition and who was going to win. He looked up and saw two smiling faces looking down at him.

"Come on Halt Crowley agrees with the idea and wants everyone to go and meet him" Will said.

"He actually agreed with the idea" Halt asked shocked with what he was hearing.

"Yeah he thinks it is a great idea" Gilan told Halt. Halt smiled. The smile certainly didn't reach his eyes. Somehow Halt found himself on a field with the other fifty rangers and five apprentices. He couldn't believe he was actually doing this. That he had been forced to take part in a silly competition just because Will and Gilan were bored. He looked over to where Will and Gilan were standing and glared at them. If looks could kill then Will and Gilan would be on the floor dead right now.

"Right then the order at which we will be taking our shots in is as follows. Will, Gilan, Meralon, Me, Halt..." Crowley said but Halt stopped listening as soon as he heard his name. Halt walked over to a tree and leant against it watching everyone take their turns.

"Stupid Crowley, Stupid ex apprentices, Stupid everyone for making me do this" Halt muttered to himself. He really hated everyone right now.

"Halt it is your turn" shouted Will. Halt sighed and walked over to them. 'If they want a competition then they will get one' he thought to himself. He got into position and then aimed the bow. He let go of the string and the arrow sawed through the air and missed the target.

"Halt you missed" Will said. Will looked slightly concerned. He turned towards Gilan and they looked at each other. Suddenly they both started laughing and they couldn't stop.

"I wasn't aiming for the target Will" Halt sighed. Will ran over to where Halt's arrow was half buried in the ground. He pulled it out the ground and ran back to the group. He passed Crowley the arrow which had a small dandelion hanging on the end where it had been fired at with the arrow.

"Wow" said Anna amazed at what her granddad could do.

"How far away was the dandelion?" asked Willow.

"Six hundred metres away" Halt said without thinking. Willow raised one eyebrow, it was something that she had watched her dad do for years and she had taught herself to do it as well.

"Ok it wasn't six hundred metres" Halt said. Willow, Alyss and Jenny were the only people that he knew that could make him feel guilty for doing something.

"What did they say, Crowley and my father and Gilan" Willow asked still not believing what her granddad had said.

"They were all shocked that I had such great aim. They knew I was good with a bow just not that good." Halt looked into the fire. Willow, Jake and Anna looked at each other. Jake and Anna looked excited and amazed. But they always looked like that when Halt told them a story, even if he had told them it several times before they were still just as fascinated by it as the last. Anna just looked disbelievingly at Halt. She used to believe everything Halt told her but as she grew up she realised that Halt didn't always tell the truth, especially when she had been told stories about him from her father, Gilan and Horace (her uncles).

"How far away was the dandelion exactly" she asked.

"I don't know. I didn't actually go all the way up to the arrow and measure the distance" Halt said to Anna.

"But you're a ranger. Surely you can estimate a rough distance?" asked Willow curiously.

"Well the dandelion was a long way away. I would say it was…"

"Is he talking about the dandelion story again?" asked Will as he walked into the house with Alyss at his side.

"Yeah. He shot a flower that was six hundred metres away" said Anna running over to say hello to Will and Alyss.

"Did he" Will said raising an eyebrow at Halt. "And when did my favourite niece arrive at my house?" Will asked Anna, picking her up and hugging her. She hugged him back and Will put her down.

"My daddy came by and asked Halt to look after me" Anna said whilst hugging Alyss.

"He came by with Jenny to visit you but you weren't here" Halt said to ease Wills questions. "And I don't know why before you ask me" he added as an afterthought. Anna let out a laugh and then covered it up with a cough. All the adults turned and looked at her and both Halt and Will raised one eyebrow at her. She did the same in return.

"She is a mini female version of you, Will" Halt said and Alyss nodded in agreement.

All three of the adults went and sat round the table whilst Willow went off to her room and Anna and Jake went and sat in front of the fire.

"So, you can hit a plant from six hundred metres away?" Will asked.

"It was a dandelion apparently" Willow said as she walked back out of her room.

"A dandelion" Will said nodding his head in understanding. "And I bet he said he aimed for that to show off" Will asked.

"Yes, he said that he was annoyed that you had got him into a competition so he was going to show you who the best really was" Willow said knowing full well that she had just put Halt in a situation that he wouldn't be able to get out of. Her father was going to prove Halt wrong.

"Really, because if I remember rightly you had a cold that day and you couldn't stop sneezing." Will smiled as he said this, "and when you were about to fire the arrow you sneezed and your arm moved. It was only luck that it hit a dandelion. That was a funny day for us all, except maybe you" Will said leaning back on his chair and putting his hands behind his head. Halt glared at Will for a second and then smiled evilly.

"Will, remember I told you to never mention that day again" Halt said in a low voice. Even though Will tried to hide it you could see the slight fear in his eyes.

So did you like it? Again I apologise for the slow update, the next one should be sooner. The idea of Halt hitting a dandelion from six hundred metres was given to me by Jang715. Thank you. Again if you have any ideas for N or any other letters please let me know. Please review, follow and favourite. If there is anything that I can improve on let me know as well as I am always looking to improve my writing.