Will sat atop Tug, looking at Three Steps Pass. Today was the day that the final battle would be fought. He had been called to fight, and he had had to go, even though he and Halt hadn't found Maria. Halt refused to come and fight, and Will could tell that Maria running away hurt him if he didn't want to fight. Will recalled a memory that made his blood boil.

Will raced into the castle after handing Tug over to the stable master himself. A letter had come out to all of the Rangers saying that a battle was coming and that their help and skills where needed. He was specifically requested to meet with the King, but he had no clue why it was him that the King needed to see. Reaching the chamber doors, Will took a deep breath and entered.

King Duncan sat behind his elegant dest, clearly waiting for him. Gilan stood behind him.

"Sit down, Will." said King Duncan, motioning to the chair in front of him. Gilan nodded his head in a Halt-like maner of welcome. It made Will sad, to see his mentor in such low spirits.

"You no doubt want to know why I requested you to meet with me." the King said. "I'm going to fill you in on just how this sinister plot had unfolded. Gilan had been pursuing a Ranger impersonator, when he can across someone who had met the person who had uncovered the plot. Olc, Morgarath's son, wants to reenact the Three Steps Pass battle. She wants you to meet her."

"Her?" Will asked. A small figure in a Ranger cloak entered the room, the cloak's cowl hiding the face. The cowl fell, revealing Maria's face to him. Will gasped, anger filling him.

"Maria! What are you doing here? Go back to Redmont! You're just a girl." Will shouted, lunging for the girl. She jumped back, but Will was too fast for her. He grabbed her cloak in his iron grip hoisting her up to look her in the eye.

"Do you know the pain you've caused your father?" He hissed. "He has been looking non-stop for you! He's dying inside."

Maria never thought she would ever say this, but she was truly terrified of the man who held her captive. Gilan, sensing this, rushed around King Duncan, who was staring blankly at the scene before him, and unlatched Will's hands from the helpless girl's collar. Maria fell to the ground in a heap. She looked up at Will, the man she idolized and looked up to, and she began to cry. She pushed herself away and struggled to her feet, fleeing the room. Gilan watched the brokenhearted girl exit the room, the girl he felt protective of, and he felt anger rising in him. Will seemed to just realize what eh had doen to the girl who was like a sister to him as Gilan turned to meet his eyes. King Duncan had followed the girl out of the room.

"Now you've done it!" shouted Gilan. "She discovered the Olc's plot, she planed this war with us! It's Halt's fault to begin with, Maria is everything we look for in Ranger apprentices! If she hadn't run away, we would have been ambushed and overrun. Do you even know why she went to the Fissure in the first place?" Gilan let the question hang in the air like a deadly poison. "No." Will muttered under his breath.

"She wanted to be like you!" Gilan continued. Will looked shocked. "She looked up to you, was even jealous of you! You had everything that she ever wanted. You where a Ranger, Halt loved you like the son that he never had! Maria thought that if she could be more like you, Halt would love her for her." Will's shoulders had slouched and tears where running down his face. Will whispered,

"The only way I saw it was Maria being stubborn and hurting Halt. I never thought of it from her view, never realized how jealous she was of me. Why did I do that to the girl who was like a sister to me? I'll be lucky if she ever speaks to me again."

Gilan softened. "I know."

Will shook his head in disgust at the memory. Maria wouldn't even stay is the same room as him anymore. Why he thought it was a good idea to frighten her so, he would never know. But now he was paying the price for his actions, he had lost the trust of his little sister. But he had just found out that Maria would be leading a horse cavalry. Who in Arulean came up with that idea?

Doo do doooo! The horn sounded that the enemy had been sighted. Will watched as the Wargels burst out of the opening in the mountains. With his shout, vollies upon vollies of arrows rained upon the enemy. Will watched in satisfaction as the wolf-like beasts fell to the ground with cries of pain. The remaining Wargels regrouped around the man that was the spitting image of Morgarath. Just like Maria said they would. With a war cry, the five groups of six riders in arrow formation drove into the heart of the army, scattering and slaughtering. At the tip of the lead arrow, Maria rode atop her snowy white horse, Blizzard. Will smiled in satisfaction.

Maria looked around through the chaos the battlefield had become, searching for her prey. She spotted his in the center, trying to regain control over his army. With a smirk, she steered Blizzard in that direction with her knees as she loaded her recurve bow.

Blizzard rode straight towards him, they where three meters away when she released her arrow. It drove straight through his stomach and out the other side. Maria rode right past him, her fatal mistake. With a lunge, Olc drove the sword into Maria with his last ounce of strength. Maris gasped as the sword was driven into her gut, pain shooting through her body. Olc had fallen off his horse. He looked up at the injured girl, giving her a bloody grin as she gasped for breath.

"I win." he said with his last breath. After that, he fell face-first into the dirt. As if in deja-vo, the remaining Wargels became like lost toddlers, wandering about and dropping their weapons. Maria whispered, "Find Will." Blizzard cantered off.

Will was looking from his post atop a hill for any sign of Maria. When the Wargels dropped their weapons, he knew the battle was over. But there was no sign of the rangers daughter to be found. A white object was speeding towards his post. Will immediately recognized it as Blizzard. But something wasn't right.

The rider, clad in a ranger cloak, looked like it was in agony. Something matted the loyal horse's coat, altering it's color. Blood! Will realized in horror. The rider, he hoped, was not Maria. But sadly, it was.

"Maria!" Will shouted. He cantered down the hill and to the small horse's side. Maria tumbled off the saddle and into his arms. Will began to look her over for any injuries, and gasped at the gruesome sight. A massive broadsword was lodged deep in Maria's gut.

"No." whispered Will.

Maria looked up at him, and she smiled. Will said, "This is all my fault." His voice was choked with grief.

"No, Will" Maria whispered in a dead quiet voice. "It isn't. Tell Dad it wasn't his fault either." Maria eyes began to droop, and she muttered "So tired..."

Will, shocked into silence, could see where this was heading. "No! Maria, don't go to sleep! PLEASE!" Maria looked at him, as if saying Why can't I sleep?

Will carefully lifted Maria into his arms. He needed help, and he needed it fast. Horace wasn't drafted because of his wedding, so there was only one more person who could help him.

"GILAN!"

Author Note: Please don't be mad! FYI: Flamers go on my death list, so don't get any ideas. Hope you liked!

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