Chapter 5
After a delicious lunch consisting of varieties of roast meat dripping in oil and fat and steamy green vegetables poured over with thick brown sauce, the Araluans made their way back towards the conference room which was being used for important reading.
"Right who wants to read the next chapter?" Alyss asked. Many of the listeners were surprised when Halt volunteered to read next. Secretly he only offered because he knew he wasn't to be mentioned in this chapter, the book was based on Will's life after all.
"Alright then, well that's sorted carry on with the story Halt." Baron Arald exclaimed. The second surprise for the rest of the listeners was hearing the smooth voice that emanated out of Halt's throat. It was by no means amazing but it was a change from the regular gruff tone the grizzled ranger usually spoke in.
THE SKY WAS HEAVY WITH SULLEN RAIN CLOUDS. SOMEWHERE the sun may have been rising, but here there was no sign of it, just a dull gray light that filtered through the overcast and gradually, reluctantly, filled the sky. As the little party crested the last ridge, leaving the massive shape of Castle Redmont behind them, the new day finally gave in to the clouds and it began to rain — a cold spring rain. It was light and misting, but persistent. At first, it ran off the riders treated woollen cloaks. But, eventually, it began to soak into the fibers. After twenty minutes or so, all three were hunched in their saddles, trying to retain as much body warmth as they could.
"And this is why I hate long journeys." Jenny said triumphantly.
"Jenny, when have you ever had to make a long journey before?" Will asked.
"Never and I don't intend to start either." She said with much exuberance. Halt shook his head at their pointless banter and continued reading.
Gilan turned to his two companions as they plodded along, eyes down, hunched over their horses' necks. He smiled to himself, then addressed Horace, who was keeping a position slightly to the rear, alongside the pack pony Gilan was leading.
"Why were you behind Gilan? Why didn't you ride along side them?" Cassandra asked with a little annoyance. Horace so far seemed nothing like the Horace she knew him to be when he was based at castle Araluan and his deference to rangers was making her feel bad as she usually mocked and taunted the Rangers as a joke.
"As I said before Cass, I was a little bit formal back then." He replied while asking himself internally how he managed to be best friends with the people of whom he used to be scared of.
"Well then, Horace," he said, "are we giving you enough adventure for the moment?" Horace wiped the misting rain from his face, and grimaced ruefully.
"Less than I'd expected, sir," he replied."But it's still better than close-order drill."
All the knights in the room chuckled at that. They knew after many years of experience how painful those drills were but they also knew if it weren't for the practise they would never be where they were today.
Gilan nodded and grinned at him.
"I imagine it is at that," he said. Then he added kindly: "There's no need to ride back there,you know. We Rangers don't stand on ceremony too much. Come and join us."
Nearly everyone smiled at Gilan's radiating friendliness and Halt gave him a quick nod which was equivalent to him giving Gilan a good pat on the back.
"Thanks Gilan I really did need that you know." Horace said.
"Don't mention it; I felt the same about rangers as well." Gilan smiled back.
He nudged Blaze with his knee and the bay mare stepped out to open a gap for him. Horace eagerly urged his horse forward, to ride level with the two Rangers.
"Thank you, sir," he said gratefully. Gilan cocked an eyebrow at Will.
"Polite, isn't he?" he mused. "Obviously manners are well taught in the Battleschool these days. Nice to be called 'sir' all the time."
Will grinned at the kindly meant jibe. Then the smile faded from his face as Gilan continued thoughtfully.
"Not a bad idea to have a bit of respect shown. Perhaps you could call me 'sir' as well," he said, turning his face away to study the tree line to one side so that Will couldn't see the faint trace of a grin that insisted on breaking through.
Everyone laughed after Halt read Gilan's lines as they waited to see how Will would react.
"Well this should be interesting." Cassandra said while laughing. She knew Will too well and couldn't wait to hear his reaction to the jibe.
"Trust me it was interesting but also embarrassing." Will replied.
"Yes it was, I recall that you were almost choking from the shock." Horace teased. Another pillow was tossed across the room at him from Alyss.
"Leave my husband alone I want to hear what he said." She called out.
Aghast, Will choked over his answer. He couldn'tbelieve his ears.
"Sir?" he said finally. "You really want me to call you 'sir', Gilan?" Then, as Gilan frowned slightly at him, he amended hurriedly and in great confusion: "I mean, sir! You want me to call you 'sir'…sir?"
Gilan shook his head. "No.I don't think 'Sir-Sir' is suitable. Nor 'Sir Gilan.' I think just the one 'sir' would do nicely, don't you?"
Everyone laughed at Will's foolishness even Halt's lips were turned up at the corners. Though no one laughed as hard as Will who was almost crying.
"It's not that funny Will." Arald said while Will had to control his breathing.
"Sir, once I heard how foolish I was during my teen years you'll realise how stupid I sounded then." He said while wiping the moisture from his eyes.
Will couldn't think of a polite way of phrasing what was in his mind, and gestured helplessly with his hands. Gilan continued.
"After all, it'll do nicely to keep us all remembering who's in charge of this party, won't it?"
Finally, Will found his voice. "Well, I suppose it will, Gil…I mean, sir." He shook his head,surprised at this sudden demand for formality from his friend. He rode in silence for a few minutes, then heard an explosive sneezing sound from beside him as Horace tried, unsuccessfully, to smother his giggling. Will glared at him, then turned suspiciously to Gilan.
"The book is right though you do sound as if you're sneezing when you laugh." Cassandra said while Horace blushed.
"Yeah you do, remember castle Macindaw?" Will winked at him as Horace laughed at their inside joke. He remembered all too clearly the effort of trying not to sneeze and the bruises that came after it. Everyone else had puzzled looks on their faces.
"Let's read on with the story." Pauline veered the topic. She wanted to hear her husbands soft voice again.
The young Ranger was grinning all over his face as he eyed the apprentice. He shook his head in mock sorrow.
"Joking, Will. Joking."
Will realized his leg was being pulled again, and this time with Horace's full knowledge.
"I knew that," he replied huffily. Horace laughed out loud and this time, Gilan joined in.
"Oh poor Will and his young little ego." Duncan said while everyone burst into fits of laughter, including Will.
They travelled south all day, finally making camp in the first line of foothills on the road to Celtica. Around mid afternoon, the rain had slowly begun to peter out, but the ground around them was still sodden.
They searched under the thickest-foliaged trees for dry, dead wood, and gradually collected enough for a small campfire. Gilan joined in with the two apprentices, sharing the work among the three of them, and they ate their meal in an atmosphere of friendship and shared experience.
Halt looked at the three younger men before him and felt slightly sad knowing that sooner or later he would have to retire his silver oakleaf for a gold one.
Horace, however, was still a little in awe of the tall young Ranger. Will eventually realized that, by teasing him, Gilan was doing his best to set Horace at ease, making sure that he didn't feel left out. Will found himself warming to Halt's former apprentice even more than before. He reflected thoughtfully that he still had a lot to learn about managing people.
"You have a lot to learn about managing people? You must be joking Will! You're one of the bubbliest people I know, you don't need to learn to manage people it comes naturally." Baron Arald scoffed. Will flushed at the praise from the baron.
"Really I didn't get much of a chance to mingle with people; I was kind of stuck with Halt for 6 years." Will laughed. Everyone knew Will was talking about Halt's natural tendency to be silent and Halt scowled at his former apprentice realising how cheeky he had become.
He knew that he faced at least another four years' training before he finished his apprenticeship. Then, he supposed, he'd be expected to carry out clandestine missions, gather intelligence about the kingdom's enemies and perhaps lead elements of the army, just as Halt did. The thought that one day he would have to depend on his own wits and skill was a daunting one.
"Well you seem to be doing just fine on your own." Halt said to Will. He went crimson and felt his chest swelling up at the first piece of praise he had heard from Halt.
He sighed. Sometimes, it seemed that life was determined to be confusing. Less than a year ago,
he had been a nameless, unknown orphan in Castle Redmont's Ward. Since then, he had begun to learn the skills of a Ranger, and basked in the admiration and praise of everyone at Redmont Fief when he had helped the Baron, Sir Rodney and Halt defeat the terrifying beasts known as the Kalkara. He glanced across at Horace, the childhood enemy who had become his friend, and wondered if he felt the same bewildering conflict of emotions. The memory of their days in the Ward together reminded him of his other friends — George, Jenny and Alyss, now apprenticed to their own Craft masters. He wished he'd had time to say good-bye to them before leaving for Celtica. Particularly Alyss. He shifted uncomfortably as he thought of her. Alyss had kissed him after his homecoming dinner at the inn and he still remembered the soft touch of her lips. Yes, he thought, particularly Alyss.
"WAIT WHAT! When did this happen?" Cassandra exclaimed. She knew Will and Alyss loved each other but she never knew they had their first kiss at fifteen. Everyone else seemed to be sniggering as Alyss sat tall and proud while Will covered himself behind her curtain of blonde hair. Everyone but Jenny was surprised. She knew what had happened that night as Alyss had come to her room to tell her in excitement.
Across the campfire, Gilan observed Will through half-closed eyes. It wasn't easy being Halt's apprentice, he knew. Halt was a near-legendary figure and that laid a heavy burden on anyone apprenticed to him. There was a lot to live up to. He decided that Will needed a little distraction.
Even though Halt would never tell Will, he knew that his son had the potential to be so much greater than him as a Ranger and he felt proud as he remembered all of his achievements.
"Right!" he said, springing lithely to his feet. "Lessons!"
Will and Horace looked at each other.
"Lessons?" said Will, in a pleading tone of voice. After a day in the saddle, he was hoping more for his bedroll.
"Ha no such luck there!" Gilan told Will while elbowing him in the ribs.
"You weren't even the one who had to take the lessons Will, it was me!" Horace proclaimed.
Sorry I didn't finish the chapter but this one was particularly long and I hadn't updated in a while so I decided to half instead then the other half later. Please review and tell me whether I should improve on anything or what you thought of it altogether.