A/N: I do not own Ranger's Apprentice.

(Will)

There was no way of telling how long we had been here, there was no view outside. Just a while ago, the enemy brought Ranger Canthers body back to the cell. He had been tortured to death. Anger and grief raged like a blazing fire in my heart; I wanted to kill every single enemy. I jumped to my feet and attempted to attack the enemy guards, but a few other Rangers held me back. I fought them with all my strength, but I was outnumbered. Halt grabbed me by the shoulder, "Calm down!" He exclaimed while attempting to whisper, "Do you have a death wish?"

I growled, "How can you be so calm, Halt?"

"Years of practice in these types of situations. Now, shut up and sit still. Don't give them another reason to kill you and every single one of us." Halt stated and released my shoulder. I looked at Canthers motionless body. "Will, he was our friend, too. He would not want any of us to die in a useless quarrel."

Tears threatened to fall from my eyes, but they never did. "Halt, I've thought about Alyss and Derrick... but, that only makes my will to escape grow stronger..."

"You're going to have to wait like the rest of us if you want to see the sunset again. Just be patient. Believe me, the time will come to avenge Canthers." Halt replied.

I sighed, "The time had better come soon."

After a few minutes, the silence that settled over the Rangers was shattered. The leader walked in and stood in front of the defenseless Rangers. "King Duncan has refused our offer, which means a lot of people are going to die. Now, you're all probably thinking it is going to be you, but that's not the plan." The man smiled, "You'll see by dawn tomorrow what our plan is. Have a good night pondering on the thought of what is going to happen." The man smiled and left, leaving all of us confused. What was going to happen?

(Melody)

I sat at the fire with my mother in comfortable silence. It was one of the most peaceful nights I had ever experiance. The crickets sang outside, a night owl hooted, a dog barked, a wolf howled... A perfect night for every creature to roam peacefully. The peacefulness was interrupted by several screams outside. My mother and I ran to the door to see what was happening and the sight terrified us. Nearly eighty people were on the streets with bows, swords, knives, clubs, and maces all of the weapons bore down on unlucky victims. My mother quickly shut the door and placed a wooden chair in front of it. There was no way we could escape without being seen, so we just huddled in a corner and prayed.

However, moments later, eight men broke down the door and swarmed the small room. They grabbed our arms and forced us outside amongst the chaos. My mother and I was separated, but I still continued to struggle against the abductors. Then, I was being lead out of the town with many other children and teenagers. I was worried about my mother and everybody else, but I knew I had to focus if I wanted to survive this ordeal.

Hours later, we arrived at a large building with many guards. They rushed us through the doors and lead us to a large, empty room and left us there. Many children were crying and they were confused and traumatized. A hand grabbed my shoulder and I whirled around, then hugged the person. "Derrick, what's going on?"

He hugged me back, "I don't know, but I intend to find out."

"What are you going to do? What can you do?" I asked despairingly.

His eyes locked onto mine, "Listen, Mel. We're going to get out of here. I'm not going to let you get hurt, I promise."

At that moment, six men barged through the door. They stood at the front of the room and glared at every one of us. "You are no longer citizens of Redmont Fief, you are slaves for us now. If you try to run away, we will not hesitate to kill you. If you disobey orders, you will experiance extreme punishment. If you begin to make escape plans, you will wish you were dead. Finally, if you come in contact with other prisoners, you will have a slow and painful death. Am I understood?"

A few smaller children nodded their heads, but the older ones glared at the enemy. I reached for Derrick's hand, wanting the comfort of knowing I was not alone. He held my hand tight, like he would never let go. The six men left the room and we were left alone. Many children began crying and I looked up at Derrick.

His eyes were filled with a new fire, "The other prisoners they were talking about are most likely the Rangers..."

"Derrick, no. You will be killed." I pleaded.

He shook his head, "That's not what I'm going to do exactly, Melody. Trust me, we will all get out of here and go home. Just be patient. In the meantime, do what they say and stay alive."

I knew there was no way I could stop him, "When?"

"When the time is right." He stated.

Derrick hugged me as I began to cry, "Please. Whatever you do, don't get killed."

"I told you I am going to get you out of here and that is a promise I'm going to keep."

(Alyss)

I stood in front of King Duncan, who was worried about the current situation. One-third of Redmont's children had been taken hostage by the attackers. Only one child was the son of a Ranger. "King Duncan," I stated formally. "We need to prepare for another attack and try to rescue-"

A knight that stood in the room cut me off, "If we attempt a rescue mission, we will most likely be destroyed. However, if we stay here, there is a chance we can evacuate the civilians to another location and wait for another uncoming attack."

I glared at him, "Your child was taken by the invaders, too, or am I mistaken?"

He nodded, "And they will pay dearly for that. My son is loyal to his kingdom and will do anything to save it, even if it means sacrificing his own life. He will die honorably."

"How can he feel honor if he is dead? How can a father stand by and leave his son for dead?" I questioned.

The man was growing impatient, "My son will know before he is killed that he died for a reason. With that thought, I am at peace and I know my son will be as well."

This knight was cold-hearted. "Did you ever bother to ask your son if he wants to die? You never did get the chance when he was captured. How do you know if he is ready to die?" I yelled.

"What about your son?" The man asked, "You never had the chance to ask him either! He's probably shaking in fear of his upcoming death!"

Another man stepped forward, "You're wrong. Derrick was already accustomed to the fact that he may die." I looked over at Gilan who continued, "Derrick was going to go rescue the Rangers, even if he died trying. I figured if I refused to train him, he would give up. Now that he has been captured along with the others, he will see it as an opportunity to rescue everybody and get information."

The knight sneered, "He's just a kid! He will do no good! He will only be another body going six feet under!"

Gilan shook his head, "I know Derrick. He has his father's determination, spirit, and skills. Will Treaty killed a Kalkara when he was only fifteen and in his first year of training. Then, he burned Morgarath's bridge and was taken hostage. Don't you see, Will survived every ordeal."

"That does not guarantee that Derrick will." The knight retorted.

Gilan sighed, "You know the phrase 'one rally, one Ranger'? Well, you have over fifty Rangers in one place and, possibly, a teen with a plan. Do you really think the enemy is going to win?"

"The enemy is even stornger than the Rangers! How is one kid going to defeat ever single one of them?" The knight replied.

Gilan smiled, "He's not." Confused eyes watched the Ranger, "He's going to learn everything about the enemy and make a plan then."

King Duncan cut in this time, "What makes you think Derrick will do this?"

"It is what a Ranger would do. And believe me, Derrick is born to be a Ranger. Just give him a few days, he may have a plan by then." Gilan replied.

"Is it wise to put this much trust in a fifteen year old?" King Duncan asked.

Gilan nodded, "I believe so, sir. However, it is your decision."

The knight returned in the converation, "Will you trust the son of a Ranger with no experiance, or will go with the plan of somebody with experiance?"

There was silence.