The constant ringing thud that filled the silence of the hall for retired rangers emanated from the room that will was currently residing in Gil found it rather amusing to watch the young ranger to throw his saxe almost constantly before going to retrieve it again. Not as though he didn't do it. It was a nice pattern. Thud. Walk. Walk. Walk. Walk Yank. Thud. Walk. Walk. Walk. Walk Yank. Thud… and so on.

"Will!" he called out suddenly. Will looked up and smiled at Gil. He stopped the repetitive pattern and sat down next to the person he considered a brother.

"I have to leave tomorrow," Gil said frowning. "Our insane commander has requested my presence back at my fief again. I can't really go against his stupid wishes."

"Fair enough. I just wish that you could stay, and I don't blame you. There is nothing to do in here.," Will explained. "I feel worse that I did coped up on Shorkital. (once again, sp?) I just hate it here!"

"I would hate it as well. But we are going to work out why Crowley's brain has gone haywire."

A knock at the door stopped their conversation. Will lept to his feet and his his weapons and oakleaf whilst Gil his the other things such as the targets.

"Come in!" Will called out to the person on the other side.

In walked the King.

Gilan nodded once to the king before walking out respectively. Will bowed at the same time.

"Don't bother Will. No one else is here and you are the best friend of my son -in-law as well as having served his country faithfully for many years."

Will nodded and still sat two seconds after the king out of respect.

"Have the other rangers given you your silver oakleaf back yet?" King Duncan asked. Will froze and then tried to cover up his mistake. A silence grew in the room as Will decided on the way to approach the conversation.

"They have," he said simply, offering no more information on the topic.

"I'm glad. It wasn't right for Crowley to have you declared insane and he should have known it. I just don't understand why he is acting as he is," the king said and rubbed his face with his hands. There were more wrinkles on his face than Will had ever realised and it was only just beginning to show now that everything was turning sour. Will didn't know, but King Duncan had been fighting against his officials in court who had decided that enough was enough and wanted to get rid of the Ranger Corps. He had asked them where the rangers would go but they hadn't cared about that aspect.

"On another slightly different note, how was the mission?"

"Why do you ask?" Will replied, still hesitant.

"I am curious," the king simply stated and didn't do anything. Will sighed and decided to tell how the mission had gone and all the events, leaving nothing out from his perspective.

It took two hours and as the sun crept lower in the sky, the king thought about what was occurring and decided that Will at least deserved to know the truth.

"It is just as I feared," he paused, "I know about the witch."

Will's mouth dropped open in shock and he looked away and rubbed his face before turning to the king again. When this day started, this had not been on his todo list. "How?"

"She was a large threat twenty years ago. All of the Rangers tried their hardest to find her and bring her back before she could do anymore damage. Everyone of them failed. Now that doesn't normally happen in the corps and it was a low blow to all of you. Eventually all of the rumors died down and she was forgotten. The rangers from that time however are constantly on the look out for her which is why you were sent. It was believed that you could deal with anything she threw at you, and you have! It just seems as though she has gotten a mole in the corps. This could be the thing bringing you down. If you can't be trusted with this then how can we trust you with our country's security."

Will just sat there stunned.

Sad face :(

The last RA book EVER! comes out in a few days :(

I have been reading this series for 9ish years and it just gets better :) I will miss them when the last one comes out.

How long have you all been reading them for

SPOILERS!

Synopsis

Will took an oath when he joined the Ranger Corps. Does it mean nothing to him now?

After a senseless tragedy destroys his life, Will is obsessed with punishing those responsible - even if it means leaving the Ranger Corps. His worried friends must find a way to stop him taking such a dark path.

It is Halt who suggests the solution: Will must take an apprentice. The candidate Halt has in mind will surprise everyone - and it will be a request Will cannot refuse.

Training a rebellious, unwilling apprentice is hard enough. But when a routine mission uncovers a shocking web of crime, Will must decide where his priorities lie - finishing his quest for revenge, or saving innocent lives?

The final book of the Ranger's Apprentice series raises the stakes higher than ever. Is Will on his last mission for the Ranger Corps?

Summary

Will, now a grown man, has lost his beloved wife, Alyss , and the once mischievous and spirited young man has grown grim and humorless.

The Rangers still exist but are desperate for leadership and new energy. That new energy arrives in a most unexpected way: Maddlyn, the daughter of Horace and Evanlyn — a headstrong girl always getting in trouble and with no interest in her royal status.

When Halt, Will's onetime mentor, suggests that Will take Maddie under his grumpy wing, Will balks at first. Yet there is something about this troublesome and brave girl that reawakens the Ranger in Will.

Finally, the Ranger's Apprentice has an apprentice of his own.

Sob...