A/N: OLAF! It's me, IFYOUCOULDFLY! So there was a lot of confusion on that last chappie. Sorry bout that! When I was copying/pasting, something went wrong and it deleted a sentence that most of you were confuzzled about (the one where Will's scar is bleeding). Well, it just had an extra bit that explained that the patch of skin had been torn open again in the fight at the Harvest Festival, and now it was torn open again at the boar hunt (jeez, how much can one little scar/bruise/thing/I know scars can't bleed/take?). This is the longest A/N ever (at least for me) so just go ahead and read :P
Chapter Seven: A Hand in the Dark
Will was nervous. Each day, Halt grew more and more suspicious of him. He never said anything, but Will could see it in his eyes. A slight spark of curiosity, a little shake of the head. It wouldn't be long before the questions would start. And what would happen if he found out? Will shuddered. He had grown so fond of Redmont, he truly didn't want to leave.
"Will!" Halt called, jerking Will back into reality. "Yes?" He asked quickly, and Halt sighed. "I said, we're nearing the Gathering. You might try letting your mind stay in Araluen for once." The Ranger turned Abelard, and Will quickly followed on Tug, smiling as he realized he felt no pain as lightly kicked his pony. After the boar's tusk had torn open his ankle a month ago, it was difficult to ride. Thankfully, the wound had healed, and Will was alright.
Suddenly, Halt held up a hand. "Get off the trail." He whispered urgently, and Will responded immediately, quickly leading Tug behind the trees and dismounting. "What is it?" He whispered frantically, and Halt smiled. "My old apprentice. Quick, get in that tree." Will smiled evilly and climbed quickly, anxious to meet Halt's previous apprentice.
Will sat atop the tree, hidden perfectly by the dense leaves. He sat and waited, keeping his eyes peeled for any sign of the Ranger, but found nothing. Finally, he spotted a figure creep out of the foliage on the opposite side of the road. Will frowned. He hadn't seen anyone approaching. Strange.
He couldn't see the stranger's face, but watched in amusement as the tall figure crept up behind his mentor, seemingly oblivious to Will. Finally, he heard a voice say from behind the hood; "Hello, Halt."
Will frowned. That voice sounded familiar, but he couldn't place it. He shrugged and watched, waiting for his chance.
"Oh. Hello." His mentor said, not bothering to turn around. The cloaked Ranger sighed. "And I thought I'd actually got you this time." Halt smiled. "Well, apparently not, seeing as I'm the one that got you."
Will couldn't see the hooded face, but he was fairly certain that it was frowning. "What do you mean, you got me? You didn't g-."
Suddenly, an arrow whizzed past his face, so close it nearly tore his hood. The arrow landed with a thunk in a nearby tree, and the Ranger turned in shock to see a small figure perched on a tall tree limb.
Will smiled broadly. "Gilan!" He called cheerily, neatly vaulting from the branch and landing squarely on the ground. Gilan smiled in return. "How come every time I see you, you're in a tree?" He called, and Will rushed up to meet him.
Halt raised his eyebrow. "Hold on, you already know each other? Did I miss some extra Gathering or something?" He asked, and Will laughed. "I thought you were all-knowing, Halt! Nothing can escape the gaze of the seven-foot-tall, fire-breathing, Wargal-eating Halt!" He cried in mock fear, smiling as Gilan cracked up.
"Well, I like this apprentice." A voice called, and they spun around to see another Ranger. "Oh, great." Halt muttered. "Now Crowley's here to rub it in." The Ranger, Crowley, smiled and turned to Will.
"I assume you're Will." He started, and Will nodded. "Well, I'm Crowley, the Ranger Commandant. Halt's spoken very highly of you." Immediately, Will snapped to attention. "Oh! I'm sorry, sir. It's great to meet you sir, I…wait, he has?" Will babbled, turning to Halt suspiciously. "Aw, Halt, you do care!" He cooed, trying to annoy his mentor. It worked.
"I most certainly do not." Halt frowned, setting his lips in a thin line that meant "You'd better stop talking now". Gilan chose to ignore this. "Oh, don't listen to him. He's really just a big cuddly teddy bear on the inside." The group laughed, and Halt's eyes narrowed.
"I am, am I? Well, looks like I'll just have to prove you wrong." He muttered, and the Rangers fell silent. Halt was starting to scare them. Seeing he had their attention, he began to step towards them, eyes glinting evilly. Quickly, Will whistled.
Tug barreled around the corner, and Will vaulted on his back. "HAVE FUN, SUCKERS!" He cried, and Gilan followed shortly after, leaving Crowley alone to face Halt's wrath.
…(Um…Pagebreak, this is where you come in) NO WAY. I'M TOO BIG A STAR NOW. EVERYONE LOVES ME, WHY SHOULD I DO YOUR DIRTY WORK? (you just did) OH. POOP.
Halt watched as Will laughed along with the other apprentices, sharing stories of his own apprenticeship and the adventures that it included. "He has quite the way with people, doesn't he?" Gilan said, appearing beside him.
Halt nodded. "He does." A silence passed between them before Halt spoke up again. "By the way, how did you meet?"
Gilan smiled. "Well, I was coming to visit Baron Arald and heard some noises coming from a tree. Turns out it was Will. We talked a while, then I took him back to the ward. He kept talking about the Choosing Day, and how he wanted to be a knight. Kind of a twist there, huh?"
Halt nodded, and Gilan frowned. "Come to think of it…the noises sounded a little like crying. And his eyes were a little red…though I don't know why he would be crying." Halt raised and eyebrow. "Sometimes, I wonder if that boy is keeping something from me. Something big." Gilan shot him a look, question in his eyes. Halt glanced at him, then began to explain.
"Sir Rodney and I found him nearly two years ago, on the side of the road. He looked injured and very tired. He told us that his foster parents had died recently, and he was just a wanderer. I never quite believed him though. There was always something in his eyes, no matter how happy he seemed, something deep and sad, like he was carrying a great burden."
He paused to think, and Gilan's frown deepened. Now that he thought about it, Halt was exactly right, which left him wondering: "What does Will have to hide?" Halt watched his apprentice for a moment, trying to study his actions. Finally, he sighed and continued.
"Recently, a girl showed up at our cabin after being chased by a boar. I obviously don't know much about her, but I know that she was one of Will's friends from before he arrived in Redmont. She and Will talked for a while, very quietly. At one point, I was about to walk into the room and couldn't help but overhear part of their conversation. Will was saying something about refusing to leave with her to go to Celtica, and the girl, Elena, protested that Will was in danger and couldn't hide forever."
Again, Halt stopped and frowned, shaking his head sadly. After a long silence, he spoke up again, voicing the thought Gilan had had only a minute before. "What does Will have to hide?"
YOU KNOW WHAT? I'M LEAVING TO PURSUE MY DREAMS AS A POP STAR! AT LEAST IN HOLLYWOOD, I CAN GIVE MY FANS WHAT THEY WANT. (Wait, you're kidding right? Nobody wants that!) SHUT UP!
Will smiled softly. For once, his life seemed nearly perfect. He had an apprenticeship, friends, and his own little substitute family. Now, as he gazed up at the stars, he could think nothing but happy thoughts.
He glanced around. The other Rangers and apprentices had fallen asleep already, even Halt. He sighed contentedly, and as the embers of the crackling fire nearby dimmed, his eyelids drooped and he prepared to drift off into a dream…
Suddenly, Will's eyes flew open, and he kicked about wildly. A hand had emerged from the darkness and was clasped over his mouth and nose. He grabbed the arm and pulled, desperately trying to call out to the Rangers.
He realized with alarm that he was being dragged away. "Hush now, Will, or you won't get a breath." After dragging Will for a while longer, about a minute, the man took his hand away. Before Will could cry out, a gag was shoved in his mouth by another shadowy man, and a different one tied him to a nearby tree. "At least I can breathe," he thought miserably.
"Now, Will. Do you recognize us?" The voice muttered, and Will nearly gasped as three faces came into view: The Triad.
"That's right." One boy sneered, the leader. "You know us as The Triad. But around Redmont, we're known by our names. Alda," he said, gesturing to himself, "Bryn, and Jerome. Oh, and Will, we don't appreciate what you did back in Oaktown."
Will shuddered, remembering the haunting promise Alda had made as they ran off into the night.
"We were nearly caught, Will. We had to leave Oaktown and apply for Battleschool in Redmont. We don't appreciate that, Will." Bryn cut in. "And now," added Jerome, "You're gonna pay. Cause you're gonna wish we'd kill you tonight."
Alda smirked at Will's panicked eyes. "That's right, baby. We're gonna tell your daddy where you are. Then you'll be sorry. You'll be runnin', just like us." With that, Alda drew his fist back and punched Will in the gut, hard.
Will would have cried out, but the gag prevented him from making a sound. Before he could move to protect himself (which was very difficult, seeing as he was tied to a tree), another fist swung at him from the darkness, then another, then another.
Over and over, knuckles smashed against his chest, nails raked at his flesh, and his breath was ripped away by kicks to his stomach. What was even more painful was the fact that help was so close, but would not be coming. Even worse, he knew this would be nothing compared to what his father would do to him when he arrived. Finally, the attacks ceased. But only for a moment.
"Alright, baby's had enough. For tonight. Night-night, baby!" Alda cooed mockingly, drawing back his fist. It met Will's chest with a sickening smack, and the apprentice fell into unconsciousness. Jerome grinned and plucked Alda's dart, which had been carefully concealed by his fist, out of Will's chest, and they grinned in satisfaction.
Slowly, they dragged Will back to the camp and set him down just where he used to be and, with surprising litheness, disappeared into the trees once more.
A/N: So…stuff's going down…hehe. I know it's not very likely that Alda, Bryn, and Jerome could be so stealthy, but…whatever. Well, anyways, I'd better go. I've got to go find Pagebreak. Last I saw him, he was yelling something about American Idol, then he jumped on a bus and left. So keep reading/reviewing/being awesome!-FLY