Disclaimer: This is a work of fiction, made possible by the Ranger's Apprentice by John Flanagan. I have only borrowed his creation and I make no money. For this story I have used several other Rangers from the books, though I've also added my own. I do this only in the hope to entertain…
Author's Note: No harm shall come to the characters that can't be fixed with enough coffee…

Chapter 6

Alone in the small bedroom Gilan found it hard to sleep. He had had difficulties with it as long as he could remember, which he thought with a bitter laugh, wasn't very long. A much stifled, bitter laugh, as he did not want Halt to hear, but the fact remained. The bed contained his tall frame quite comfortably. He doubted it had been built for Will, who was quite short. At some point, someone who was at least as tall as he was himself would have had to live in this room. Even if the beds in the infirmary at Castle Araluen hadn't been that bad, or too horribly cramped, they certainly had been on the short side for him. If he moved carelessly, he would hit his feet on the footboard.

In this bed, that was obviously not going to be something he had to think about which was a comfortable surprise. It still didn't mean he could sleep though.

Sighing, he thought maybe he should get a drink of water, or anything, because just lying there seemed to make it worse and worse. His mind was racing and it certainly did nothing for his mindset.

Easing his bare feet to the smooth wooden boards he limped into the outer room. Knowing Will slept there he was as quiet as he could be, though with the limp he supposed he made some noise. Not enough to wake someone though, and a glance that direction showed the boy still had his eyes closed.

Relieved, and not thirsty at all, Gilan quietly pulled out one of the chairs from the table to sit down.

"Can't sleep?" the quiet voice startled him so he jumped. Hitting his injured leg on the table, and wrenching his shoulder as he tried to spin around while seated.

"Damn!" the quiet exclamation that escaped him was only a whisper, but Will sat up, looking concerned.

"You okay?"

"Fine, just yeah, suppose I couldn't sleep," he admitted. "I didn't mean to wake you…"

"That's alright," Will shrugged it off. "Halt's training me to wake up at just about anything that happens."

"Why?" Gilan frowned. "How?"

"So that I'll be ready for anything that happens, and won't be caught unprepared even if I'm asleep, and mostly by doing things he thinks should wake me," Will gave another shrug as he stood and walked over to the table. His bare feet barely making a sound that Gilan could hear. "If I don't wake from it, he tends to wake me in far less pleasant ways. So, I'm getting better at it. Do you, I mean, do you want to talk about it?"

"Not really," Gilan shrugged. "I didn't mean to wake you, but, just lying there awake… It just seems to get worse the longer you do."

"It's fine, I don't mind at all," Will sat down at the other side of the small table. He wouldn't have minded a full nights sleep. Halt really was waking him up at any odd time, by doing any number of things. Knocking something on a wall, tossing something on the roof. Getting Abelard to call a warning, just to see if Will would wake from it. If he did, he was usually allowed to go back to sleep again. If he did not, he was likely to be woken by having a bucket of cold water thrown over him.

"You really are Halt's apprentice?" Gilan asked, the name strange on his tongue. "What is it like? What do you do?"

"Do you always do that?" Will countered with a question of his own.

"Do what?" Gilan frowned.

"Ask several questions at once, it does make it kind of hard to answer," Halt said he did that, though he had never noticed he did it quite that way. He did tend to ask questions, of course he did. How else would he ever be told anything. He just didn't ask them quite that fast, or that close together. He was sure of it.

"I don't know, I've not really had anyone to ask any questions, nor anyone who cared if I did," Gilan slumped in his chair and Will reached over to pat his hand. Frowning as Gilan gave a start.

"Sorry," he apologized, though he thought that was really strange. Gilan had never had anything against being touched before.

"S'alright, just didn't expect it," Gilan shrugged. "I'll go back to bed, I won't bother you."

"No, it's okay," Will urged. He didn't want Gilan to think he couldn't ask him things. It was just the way he did it had confused him. He had to think over the whole sentence to figure out how to answer it. "I am Halt's apprentice. I've been for a few years now, though I've not really had the normal apprenticeship," there was no need to go into details about Skandia. "There was some trouble that interrupted it," he decided, watching the unknowing and slightly curious gaze on his face. It was strange to see Gilan unaffected by that. Usually, any time the beginning of Will's apprenticeship was mentioned, something dark would come over Gilan's eyes. Halt had said he never had got over the guilt for leaving him, Horace and Evelyn there when they were captured. Which was strange, for Will had never even considered blaming him. Gilan had made the best decision he could under the circumstances, which was leaving them. When the circumstances changed, Will had made the best decision he could, and it had led to his capture.

While his time as a slave had been hard, he remembered very little of it and was not overly bothered by it. There was the occasional nightmare, but they were infrequent and for most parts, he was okay with it. He wasn't happy it had happened, but there had been good parts form it as well, and it truly did not bother him. This however, was the first and only time he had seen Gilan without the heavy shroud of that guilt hanging over him.

As much as he wanted his friend, his big brother back, he rather hoped that part of him would stay gone. Gilan was obviously waiting for him to finish so he cleared his throat. "It's very hard," he stated. "Halt is very hard on you, but it's for your own good. I know it is, but it means things like getting waken in the night, stand for hours and practice archery. Hunting, tracking, silent and unseen movements…"

"What's that?" Gilan asked.

"It's when you can walk right up to someone, and they neither hear nor see you."

At the voice suddenly coming from behind him, Gilan gave a startled cry and tried to spin around. Falling halfway off the chair before Halt caught him.

"Easy," Halt helped him to steady himself, taking in the wide-open eyes and the rapid breathing. "I'm sorry Gilan, I didn't mean to scare you that bad. I didn't think you'd jump like that, but I didn't want Will to keep you up all night with his incessant chatter."

"I think I'm the one woke him, I, I couldn't sleep," Gilan was slowly getting his breathing back under control. He was giving Halt cautious looks, guarded. Halt was used to looks like that, whenever he was in the village, and whenever there were people who weren't used to Rangers. He had never before got a look like that from Gilan though, not even when he was a twelve year old boy at Hackham Heath. Curious, excited and inquisitive yes, but never guarded or fearful.

"You should try and get some rest though," he urged, watching the way the shoulders slumped. "I'll make you a cup of tea. Should help you sleep."

"Tea?" Gilan frowned as Halt poured some water into a small pot and started up the fire in the stove.

"Special blend of herbs, it should help you sleep," Halt stated as he took down a small jar, spooning some of the dried herbs into a mug. Will had seen the jar before, but never seen him use it. Once it had finished steeping, Halt also added a small spoon of honey, and as Gilan had his eyes on the table, he also took down a bottle and added a healthy dash of the liquid.
Will knew what it was, brandy, but he had never seen Halt use it for anything but medicinal purposes. The only other time he had seen Halt use it was when Gilan had been hurt, as he always insisted you couldn't use anything poppy based on Gilan. Why, Will didn't know, but he suspected it might give him a rash or something. He thought that was what usually was the problem when someone wasn't supposed to have something.

Halt put the mug in front of Gilan who hadn't said another word, but was tugging self consciously at the too short sleeve of the borrowed nightshirt. "Let it cool a little, then drink it down. Should help you sleep."

"Thanks," Gilan sniffed the hot liquid, taking a tentative sip. Wincing as it was still hot enough to burn his mouth. Blowing on it, he quickly drank it down.

"There, back to bed with you," Halt urged. "Before you fall asleep where you sit."

Nodding, Gilan rose from the table, shuffling back into the bedroom.

Halt, putting the empty mug in the dish basin nodded his chin towards the corner where Will had laid his bed, then he disappeared back into his own bedroom and Will made his way back to his blankets.

It was scary, very scary, to see Gilan so unlike himself. He would have thought that even if Gilan couldn't remember much of who he was, he would still be him, Gilan.

Instead, it was a stranger, someone he had never met before who started at sudden noises, looked sullen and uncertain. Nothing like Gilan at all.

That was what scared Will the most, if he got his memories back, which Gilan would it be, the old one, or the new one.
He had to admit, he really wanted it to be the old one.

TBC
The caffeine addicted Cricket wants to thank you all for reading...