I know this isn't as long as Chapter 1. I will make up for it with the length of Chapter 3. It doesn't focus on my main characters as much. They will be the main people again in Chapter 3.
Chapter 2- Ambushed !
Halt and Gundar stood at the bow of the ship, admiring the silent midnight sea. Halt rarely saw his fellow Skandian captain when he wasn't barking orders or hurling insults at his crewman, so this was an enlightening experience. There was a strange peace that surrounded the man, even more unusual for a Skandian, noted Halt was that Gundar had relinquished his hold on his beloved battleaxe for a brief moment. Only for a moment, he soon retook that hold. Skandians will be Skandians thoght Halt. To add to the evergrowing strangeness of the moment, Halt realised he wasn't feeling sick. This was turning out to be quite an evening. It would have interested Halt to know that Gundar's thoughts were surprisingly similar. Neither could believe that for one tiny, small moment all seemed well, everyone was asleep, the sea calm and no one was trying to kill them. The illusion did not last for long. The trance was broken as a volley of arrows thudded against the thick wood of the ship. It did not take Halt long to come to the realisation that they were under attack, with no one ready to defend the ship.
Irwin slowly walked to the stables, bow in hand as always, then he realised something was out of place. Michael's horse was saddled and untethered from the stable. Except Michael's was not present. Something was wrong, very wrong, he was certain. He noticed the footprints leading to the treeline and immediately began to follow them. He instinctively notched an arrow as he ran along, remaining hidden to anyone beyond by staying behind the trees. He stepped out from behind to see what on earth was going on. He saw Michael bleeding out on the ground and Irwin quickly began to fear the worst. He also saw a man with a bloodstained knife fleeing from the scene. Irwin naturally assumed the man wasn't present to provide moral support. He shot the fleeing man twice in the back without giving it any second thought. In uncertain times such as these hesitation could be a man's strongest enemy.
Halt sprinted below deck, the enemy warship only minutes away. He remained cool and calm as he was trained to do, it still wasn't easy for Halt. He knew their chances of survival were slim at best, he needed to act fast. He ran along the corridor banging on the doorse as he sprinted past them.
"Wake up everybody, wake up!". Halt shouted. He flew round the corner running as harder and faster than he ever thought possible. The last room was Will's. Halt needed Will by his side if they were to survive this encounter. He didn't bother knocking, he stormed into the room.
"Please Will, wake up, quickly!" Halt roared. His petrofyingly loud voice had the intended affect. Will was shocked by the sudden entry, he rolled over in the sheets attempting to will the disturbance away before quickly realising what was going on. He jumped up grabbed his bow and sprinted for the door. No need to put on his cloak, he never took it off.
SMASH! Will and Halt fell to the floor as the enemy warship crashed into the side of Wolfwill, they were in some serious trouble now. Both of them recovered from the shock quickly and ran for the top deck. WOOSH! An arrow flew past Will as he exited the stairs, temporarily throwing him off balance. Again, he got up quickly. The enemy had stormed onto the ship. Whoever was attacking them had obviously never fought against Skandians before thought Halt, they were attempting to engage them in single combat. Despite being outnumbered 4 to 1 Halt knew from this little piece of information that the situation was well under control. Although they were safe, Halt's mind was still troubled, who would dare take on the Skandians like this ? Who had the ego and self confidence to believe they would win? The part that worried Halt the most was that his mind kept coming back to the same answer, but it couldn't be, they would never attack like this, never against Skandian's anyway.
And then it all began to make sense to Halt, the weapons, the broad stature of the men, the hair. This lead Halt to the exact same conclusion as his previous question did. These men weren't here to take the ship, they were here to kill Princess Cassandra, they weren't simple pirates, they were Scotti.
King Duncan paced through the lively corridors of Castle Aruluen, perplexed by his current predicament. He had recently recieved intelligence reports from Crowley stating that the Scotti armies had assembled on the border between Picta and Aruluen. The report also said that they were planning to cross it into Aruluen within the week. He still could not understand this recent aggression from the Scotti, it wasn't like them. Someone else was involved but the question was who? King Duncan had the feeling he would be finding out very shortly...
He lost his train of thought as Crowley interrupted him. He knew it was going to be bad. Crowley, the leader of the rangers, a man who had taken down entire countries singlehandedly looked worried. In his opinion Crowley never seemed worried about anything, so this couldn't be good. Sadly, he was correct.
" Sir, I'm sorry," began Crowley, "We just lost Norgate Fief." Duncan couldn't believe it. Right in front of Crowley and at least a dozen other people the King collapsed, completely overwhelmed by the sort of day he has having, and in case the reader is wondering, not such a good day...
"Can we talk please?" Whispered Alyss. Will was standing but a metre away but still only just heard the question. Alyss had hidden hidden during the battle but quickly emerged once the fighting had stopped.
"Sure, why not?: Will replied, there were a million other things he was supposed to be doing but Will could think of nothing better than simply talking. All he wanted to do was get the horrific violence that had just taken place out of his head. Alyss took his hand and led him back to her cabin.
"Will," she began. "If we are to be married you must get used to the idea that, sometimes..." Alyss stopped, thinking her next sentence through, knowing that the following conversation would define their marriage. "Sometimes you will have to put our relationship before being a ranger." Breathing heavily and terrified at Will's answer, she reluctantly took a seat. Will was completely stunned, he didn't know what to say. He was not prepared to answer at all, but luckily from Halt's recent experience with married life, the ranger corps had a adopted a brand new policy regarding this very problem.
"Alyss, I know you think being a Ranger is all that matters to me, and I will admit up until a short time ago that was true. Then you came along and changed my life." He stopped momentarily to attempt ot gauge Alyss' reaction, she still seemed anxious. The feeling was mutual. Time to get this over with. "No matter where I am, no matter what I am doing, whether that is a thousand miles from you or right next to you, there will always be a special place for you in my heart." Butterflies fluttered through Will's stomach. Truth be told, Will had rehearsed that last part for several hours. Still... he thought, it didn't make it any easier. Alyss who was now smiling rather happily (much to Will's appreciation) , got up and gave Will the biggest hug ever thought possible, than a small kiss, the she left the room to pursue other matters. She would never tell Will this, but Alyss couldn't help but noticing a funny feeling running through her stomach. Little did each of them know that the future would so incredibly harsh in testing the commitment started in that room, on that fateful day.