A/N: New chapter up! This one is my favorite so far! =P
Special thanks to Hatakefire for being the first to review and giving me inspiration for this chapter. I would also like to thank Harpfire for reviewing. Your kind words made me smile.
Disclaimer: I don't own anything! =)
3. Light
Halt stared out the window, eyes fixed on the horizon. The sun was emerging from behind the trees, casting yellow light over the cabin.
It was the third morning since Will had gone missing.
This is all my fault! He thought miserably. Why did I have to send Will out to get firewood in the middle of the night? He shook his head, trying to banish the horrible thoughts from his mind. No use playing the what if game. That wont bring Will back. He told himself.
Will... Bright, lighthearted Will. He was more than Halt's apprentice. Will was the son he never had. And now he was gone.
A knock sounded at the door, making Halt jump. He took a moment to gain his composure and then called, "Come in. The door is unlocked..."
Rodney stepped into the cabin, his face grim.
"Any sign of him, Rodney?" Halt blurted out.
"None," Rodney said. "Horace insisted on looking all night. There was no sign of him. The snowstorm erased all traces..."
"We have to keep looking!" Halt said gruffly, striding over to the door of the cabin and throwing it open.
Rodney followed him out into the frosty air. "Halt!" he called to his friend, but Halt ignored him and continued walking. "Halt!" Rodney grabbed Halt's arm but he just brushed Rodney off and turned angrily.
"I don't care how hopeless it is! I have to find him. I will keep looking until I know what happened to Will!" he shouted.
"Halt! I know. I was just offering to come with you," Rodney said gently. Halt looked at him incredulously.
"Fine..." he said after a moments pause and then quickened his pace into the trees.
"Will couldn't have gotten very far..." Halt commented. "He usually goes into the clearing... over here."
"Halt, we already looked here. It was the first place we went and searched..." Rodney began.
"We're looking again," Halt growled. After that, Rodney decided it would be better if he remained quiet.
Halt scoured the clearing, but there was still no signs of his apprentice. He closed his eyes, listening to the sounds of the forest around him. His eyes snapped open and he began to walk again, going deeper into the forest, following his instincts. He stopped suddenly. Something wasn't right. His head snapped around. There! Halt stumbled hastily forward, his hand gripping at the branches of a large oak.
"There has been a fight here recently..." he murmured, fingers brushing the tree bark where dried brown blood was splattered.
"How do you know that?" Rodney asked tentatively.
"Broken branches... blood..." he whispered.
"It could have been a deer, Halt..."
Halt shook his head, caching up and pulling a small sliver of cloth that had snagged on a branch. The fabric was a mottled green and gray. Without wasting a moment, Halt shot off. He wasted no time, only pausing to look for more signs of broken branches. Something had happened to Will. Something bad.
The sky was beginning to darken as the sun set. (A/N: I know... This is about light, but you will see what I am doing…) They continued to search.
Halt was beginning to give up hope when he saw smoke rising into the sky. He slowed down, stepping lightly on the ground. Creeping forwards, he peered through the forest to see the large campsite that lay before them.
A huge bonfire blazed in the center of the camp and several tents were pitched around it. Men were sitting around the flames, talking loudly and drinking. Halt searched around for any sign of Will. He spotted a figure tied to a tree on the outskirts of the camp. His heart thudded as he recognized the small frame and mop of brown hair.
"Will!" he whispered. After a moment of staring at the slumped figure, he turned to Rodney. "We will have to wait until they all fall asleep..." Rodney just nodded, his eyes glinting with anger.
They didn't have to wait long. As the moon began to rise, the men gradually parted ways, each going to a separate tent. Soon, there was only one man left, presumably the guard.
Halt nodded to Rodney, standing up and moving towards Will. Rodney suppressed a groan, trying not to fall over as he approached the guard. How do rangers do it? He thought, before smacking the guard once on the head with a branch he had found. The guard sank to the ground without a sound, out cold.
Halt strode towards Will, quickly taking his throwing knife out from underneath the folds of his cloak and cutting through the boy's bonds. Will slumped forward and Halt caught him, quickly assessing his injuries, noting the dry blood that caked the side of his head and the deep gash in his thigh.
Hoisting Will in his arms, he began to run through the woods, a new vigor in his pace. Will was light… too light.
They reached the cabin just before dawn. Halt threw open the door, laying Will on the couch and immediately beginning to boil a pot of water. "In the cabinet there should be bandages… Get some out for me please…" Halt ordered. "And then start a fire."
Rodney got out the strips of cloth from the cabinet and then went outside and grabbed wood for the fire. Soon, the warm flames lit up the cabin.
Halt began to wash the blood away from Will's head and leg, wrapping them both tightly in bandages. At first, Will was unresponsive. He began to stir when the sun was peeking over the trees. Light streamed in from the window. And that was when Halt knew everything was going to be okay.
Will cracked open his eyes, his head throbbing and his leg aching. What happened? Where am I? He tried to sit up and then fell back down when a spike of pain shot through his skull. And then he remembered. I was getting firewood for Halt and then…
"Halt?" Will croaked.
"Will!" Halt rushed forward. "How do you feel?"
"Like I was run over by a cart. How…? Where…?" he asked tiredly.
"We found you tied to a tree in a campsite… What happened?"
Will smiled weakly and then began his tale.
(Continued in Dark)
A/N: YAY! This one was much longer than the other two chapters. =P That makes me happy… sorry the other two were so short. I am still trying to get used to the whole writing process.
I would love to know a couple of things in your review.
1. What did you think? Love it? Hate it?
2. Is there anything I can improve on? Grammar, descriptions, etc…
3. List to the several times I used light in this story. I will give a virtual cookie to whoever can guess them all. There are at least three. =P
4. How often should I update?
5. Will I ever get over my BBC Sherlock obsession?
Ok… so maybe you don't have to answer number five… but I really am obsessed. The other day at dinner I deduced which place was mine at the table by the amount of butter on the plates. Talk about being a nerd… Aaaannnyyywwaaayyysss…
The next chapter (titled Dark) will be a continuation of this. Hopefully that will answer any of the questions you may have and fill in the plot holes (because there is several unexplained occurrences I know... You will figure out it all next time)
Review please! Until next time…
-Dawn