Please don't kill me! I know, I know, it's been way too long. I'm sorry. I know you all want more themes, but I - erm - don't have them yet. So here's a little 630-word oneshot I wrote for yinz in the meantime. Enjoy!

The path ahead of Halt was dangerous.

That, at least, Gilan knew. Everything else was uncertain. There would be twists and turns and setbacks and shortcuts, but above all it would be dangerous.

And yet, Gilan wouldn't have it any other way. He could have done without the danger, surely enough, but there was only one person on this earth that Gilan trusted to find Will. And that was Halt. He also knew that Halt would have stood for no other going to search for his lost apprentice. It had to be him. And it had to be soon—for they were running out of time.

People had said that it would be impossible. Gilan disagreed. Determination, sheer skill, and above all, the powerful, driving force created from the oath Halt had sworn to his lost apprentice melded together to form something that could completely defy the impossible.

Gilan shuddered at the mere thought of the boy he saw as something of a brother living under the cruel hand of an abusive master, but he knew that it was more likely than not that this would be the case. Skandians were a race that was, as a rule, overly fond of their ale. That, combined with the horrid beatings and other punishments he'd read about in books made Gilan certain that Will would be massively abused during his forced captivity. His heart clenched at the thought of the horrors Will would endure on his own, with no one by his side to help him—for he and Evanlyn, as Gilan still thought of her, would almost certainly be sold away from each other. It was a long, cold, sorrowful life to live alone, and Gilan couldn't bear to think of Will facing it on his own, quiet and strong and proud. The same way he had burned the bridge. It was a path filled with hardships and pain; one that a fifteen-year-old boy shouldn't have to face now, or ever.

And all paths have an end—the conclusion of this one just came much, much more quickly than those of the others. Because inevitably, it became too much. Will was strong, stronger than most, but there wasn't a soul on earth that wouldn't break, living that life. There wasn't a single person who wouldn't welcome the end as it came, warm and welcoming, to take them away from the cold and suffering of a life of slavery.

And that just couldn't happen to Will. It just couldn't.

All of their hopes rested in Halt now, really. But there was no one else Gilan would rather have seen looking for their missing friend. When Will had been taken, Halt's parental instincts had been activated. His son was out there somewhere, hurting and alone and afraid. And now there was nothing that could stand in his way, keep him from searching. His closest friends and confidants had tried and failed—even his oath of loyalty to the Rangers and to his country had been unable to prevent him leaving. And that was just as it should be.

In the end, it came down to this: Halt would find Will because he promised. He had promised Will, and he had promised Gilan. And right now, to Halt, nothing was more important than those promises. Nothing. There was not one thing in the entire world that could take the place of those oaths in Halt's mind, and there was nothing that could stop him fulfilling them.

And because of that, Will would be back some day. He would be happy, be safe, be home. In the end, it would all be worth it.

And that was really all that mattered.

Don't forget to review! Encouragement (or even concrit) makes me update faster (true story). So hop to it!

-Phinneas