Disclaimer: I do not own rangers apprentice. I only own the plot and my original characters
Hey everyone. I'm so sorry this update was so long. I had my last week of school for the term when I posted the prologue and even in the last week I had way too many tests and exams and assignments to complete and hand in. But I'm on holidays now and I have way more time so the updates will be faster. Also, I am Australian so I'm sorry if it annoys anyone that I spell me words differently compared to your country. Anyway, please enjoy chapter 1 of buried gems.
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The figure turned around fully. They looked at the face and gasped
"You" Halt whispered
2 months earlier…
It was a beautiful day in redmont. The sun was out fully, a pleasant surprise after the downfall of dreadful rain that followed the second war with Mogarath. There was a slight spring breeze, ruffling peoples' clothes and the very tops of the trees. Kids played along the cobblestone pathways and dirt road, laughing and giggling without a care in the world. Will watched them with a slight smile and a sigh. It seems like forever since his life had been that simple.
"Will" An elegant voice called softly
He turned towards a small apple tree, seemingly hidden by the castle walls looming shadows. He smiled. A true, genuine smile. It turned into a grin as his 4 former wardmates waved him over. It felt like an eternity since he had seen all his best friends. He jogged over lightly and was instantly caught up in a tangle of arms and legs and incoherent sentences
"-Oh will…"
"-You're just in time for pies"
"-Glad you could make it mate"
"-Absolutely splendid to make your acquaintance again"
Finally, they could break apart and he was ushered into his seat on a red picnic rug. The smell of freshly baked mince pies hit him and he suddenly heard his stomach growl. Everyone else hear it too and the 5 teens started laughing. Maybe Will thought as he bit into a mince pie things can be simple. For now, anyway
"So" Horace began when they settled down "Have you been in hiding lately or something? Nobody's seen you around"
Will laughed at that
"Yeah" He sighed "Halt's been making me stay out of the public eye lately. Though I'm pretty sure he's just enjoying using me as his personal slave after one year of not having me around"
"Will" Alyss reprimanded gently "He's probably just protective. I mean, can you really blame him after what's happened these past 2 years?"
"No" Will sighed again "I just wish he would back off a little. I swear he's in attack mode if I even sneeze"
Horace snorted at that
"Anyway" Will said dismissively "Enough about me…"
"Enough about Will" Horace interrupted with a mock gasp "The famous war hero, Girl magnet and oh so perfect Will?!..."
He was promptly cut off by a piece of mince pie being shoved in his mouth, muffling the rest of his sentence. He glared at his laughing friends and swallowed the piece of pie
"As I was saying before someone interrupted me" He said, directing his stare obviously to Horace "Enough about me, what have you guys been up to?"
"Oh, courier work has been quite boring" Alyss said simply, tossing her long blonde hair over her shoulder "Just finalising all the stuff that has to do with the aftermath of the war. The payment of healers, how many children per ward, meetings with barons, stuff like that"
"Master Chubb's kitchen has been crazy. Since the war destroyed most of the crop farms, the only place people can buy meals and fresh produce is Chubb's kitchen. He's been quite snappy lately. But it's good for me, I've learnt heaps" Jenny said cheerfully, her smile infectious
"I for one have been quite busy" Said George, sitting up straight "Preparing all the papers need signing that concerns matters such as memorials, wards, agreements with baron, things such as the previously listed by courier Alyss"
Everyone had to laugh at George's straight-forward, statistical way of words, even if only having a conversation
"Battleschool's been tough" Horace admitted, absently rubbing his sore upper arms "They have me working harder than ever now that they know I'm a protégé, they want to make sure I'm working hard to fulfil that title. It's quite exhausting"
"Well" Will started before sighing dramatically "My life has been ever so tiring. I must chat to fan girls all day long. And to make things worse, Halt has me bed-ridden for the next 2 days to get over my Skandia ordeal. Oh, the horror" With this, he fake fainted into Horace before he broke down laughing along with the rest of his friends.
After they had talked a bit more and ate some more food, they decided to walk around the village for a bit. Horace watched his best friend carefully. Beneath his brown eyes, he could see the sadness, no matter how much he tried to cover it up with humour. He decided to pull him aside.
"Oy guys" He half yelled "Me and will are going to catch up to you. We just want to look at this booth"
Without giving Will a chance to protest, he dragged him towards a booth but ushered him into an alley way when he was sure the others weren't looking.
"Okay, no audience. No judgment. Nothing" Horace said "Now, tell me. How are you really going?"
Will looked down at his feet, kicking any pebble he saw on the dirty ground
"Come on Will" Horace said, slightly annoyed "I'm your best friend. We've bonded over things no one else has. You can trust me"
Will looked up after a few moments of silent and finally spoke
"It's just everything. I still have nightmares about what they did to me in that slave yard. I feel like a failure. Heck, I can't even look Halt in the eye without feeling ashamed. And nobody understands. You all say you do but you don't. The things they did. The things they said. No human should have to go through that"
"And the one person that does understand is a week's ride away and she's probably never going to speak to me again anyway. I got my Ranger's assessment coming up soon too and if I don't work my arse off to the point of exhaustion I'll have to repeat the first and second year. So no, I AM NOT OKAY" he finished his rant shouting, silent tears streaming down his face.
Horace, not knowing what else to do, pulled his best mate into a hug. They stayed there for a few moments, will crying and Horace holding him.
He eventually pulled back, rubbing his eyes and sighing
"I just feel so lonely. Like a piece of me is missing somewhere. I just, I don't feel complete" Will whispered. Horace silently squeezed his shoulder. If only he knew what I can't tell him Horace thought miserably
He felt a pang if guilt. How would he feel if he found out everyone was keeping the biggest thing in his life a secret? How could he forgive them…?
He saw a hand pass his line of vision and snapped out of his daze, directing his gaze back to Will
"What?" He questioned will
"I said" Will sighed "We should probably catch up with the others. They'll start worrying"
He looked around and raised his eyebrows in surprise. The sun was just barely setting beneath the horizon. They must have been standing there for a good 10 minutes while Horace was deep in thought
"Sure" He said, giving Wills shoulder one more squeeze "And Will?"
The boy in question turned, though slightly hesitantly
"Yes?"
"Whenever you need to talk, I'm here"
Will smiled at Horace and nodded
"Thanks, Horace. Thanks, a lot."
The two friends walked back to their group, the air around the seeming a little lighter
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Although exhausted from the day's events, will could not sleep. He tossed and turned, switching positions every 5 minutes. He sighed, eventually just listening to the forest outside to get him sleep. The forest sounded beautiful at night, Will realised as he lay in bed. The frogs and crickets hummed gently, the birds occasionally chirped as if they were having a silent conversation. He could hear the wind ruffling the tree tops, the steady rippling of the creek water. It was like mother natures' lullaby. Wills eyes drifted closed as he felt the sensation of the breeze hitting his face. Will smiled as he felt himself being pulled into darkness. Sleep was finally here.
Will slowly felt himself waking up. His sleepy mind searched for what had woken him and eventually it detected a foreign sound. Not like anything he had heard in the forest, it sounded more… His mind searched hard for the right word. Human. That was it. Human. As his senses became more alert, he realised he was lying on something soft. He slowly opened his eyes, only to shut them instantly when bright beams of sunlight came into his line of vision. He waited a couple of minutes before carefully opening them again, squinting slightly because of the light.
As his eye's adjusted, he could make out he was in a small room. It was a simple room. A small closet in the corner, a table, some wooden chairs and a crib. Sitting up slowly, he looked down and realised that he was lying in a cot. The humming sound was back, this time coming closer to the room. Panicking and confused, Will quietly opened the closet and slipped inside, making sure to leave it a crack open so he could peer into the room.
The door opened to reveal a young woman. She wore a simple dress and her brown hair was in a bun, a couple of pieces hanging loose so that it framed her face. She had chocolate brown eyes and a small frame. She was the one humming. That humming soon turned to singing
"Hush little baby don't say a word, mamma's gonna buy you a mockingbird, and if that mockingbird don't sing, mamma's gonna buy you a diamond ring…"
The singing continued and will soon recognised it to be the lullaby the maids at the ward use to sing. She continued to sing the words until the lullaby was finished. The whole time the lady had been rocking something in her arms. Will could not see what it was until she placed it in the cot and moved to the other side of the room. It was a baby. He laughed a little at his stupidity. Of course it was. The baby had pearly white skin and a tuff of brown hair sprouting from the top of its head. As Will looked closer he could see the baby had blue eyes that were quickly turning the same chocolatey brown colour as their mum. From his angle, he couldn't tell whether the baby was a boy or a girl. Curiosity got the better of him and he pushed the door open slightly more. He cursed under his breath as the door creaked loudly. He froze in place, not even daring to breathe.
After a couple of minutes, he slowly lifted his head to look outside the closet. He screamed with fright. The closet door had somehow completely opened and the woman who he saw earlier stood before him. She stared at will for a moment before placing a shaking hand on his cheek
"Will" She whispered
Suddenly everything surrounding him started to fade. Colours and shapes passed by him in a haze, but he could distantly still see the face of the woman. The face of, what he thought was, his mum...
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Will bolted upright in his bed, dripping in sweat and breathing heavily. He looked around him wildly, disorientated and confused. When he finally managed to catch his breath, he flopped back down on his bed tiredly. This was going to be a long night.
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Thank you to those 2 who reviewed and anyone who simply took the time out of their day to read my story. It's really inspiring to me. Also, I hope you enjoyed that Horace/Will fluff. Disclaimer: this is not going to be a story were Horace and Will are in a relationship. I have absolutely nothing against the LGBT community but I just wanted to clear that up