Ignoring History - Ranger's Apprentice Fanfiction

Chapter 33

~🌾Will🌾~

The letter was gone.

Will stared at the secret compartment, his hands shaking. He breathed in slowly, silent. It was empty, containing nothing but dirt and a sprig of grass. The loose floorboard lay uselessly to the side, tossed away like a piece of trash. A million thoughts went through his head, but Will didn't really know what to think. Was he really in disbelief that the plan had gone horribly wrong? Was he supposed to be angry, driven to seek out revenge? Was he meant to be worried? Concerned?

At that point, Will had become numb to everything around him. Experience taught him that everything would eventually come crashing down. Nothing phased him anymore. He had witnessed fire and blood, and he had encountered his fair share of fear. It was just an ongoing cycle now—the moment things were beginning to look up, something just had to go wrong. They would always pick their broken pieces back up again, but it was no use. The world wanted them to fail. It wanted them to suffer, to give up and surrender themselves to a life of somber desolation. Everything was against the revolution. They would never break free of the cycle, not if they were destined to fail over and over again. They were running an impossible marathon.

"So it's gone?" Horace said from behind him.

Will closed his eyes, his hands forming fists. He let out a breath. "Yes."

"Then, we should try to get it back, right?" Horace began to pace, his footsteps creating a clacking noise that filled up the cabin. "We could travel to Gorlan, me and you. We'll need to bring weapons and food. Maybe Alyss can come with us. She's bound to know her way around. I'm pretty sure she and Lady Pauline went on an infiltration mission there not too long ago."

"What good will that be?" Will said. He stood up, turning his head to face Horace. "Whoever took that letter is already long gone. We'll never get to them in time to intercept it. It's as good as gone. Morgarath will have read it by the time we even get to Gorlan. We don't have any horses. The army took all if not most of them."

Horace frowned. "We can still try," he said. "Maybe we could warn Halt, somehow. Didn't you say that he was going to Gorlan to distract King Morgarath? We can still find and tell him."

"Yes, but..." Will trailed off. He crossed his arms. "I'm a farmer, and you're just an apprentice. We can't do anything. We're not important people like the rangers. We can't just go around and save the world. That's not our job."

"So?" Horace said. "We're still people. We can still do things. What's stopping us?"

Will gawked at Horace, confusion spreading to his brain. "I thought you hated me," he said. "Why do you want to go to Gorlan with me of all people?"

"I don't hate you."

Will narrowed his eyes. "Really?" he said. "Even if I'm small with short legs?"

Horace scratched his head, chuckling awkwardly. "Ah, I was pretty harsh, wasn't I? I was just having a bad day. You know, with the bullies. They sort of just... got to me that morning." He cleared his throat, looking away. He was clearly embarrassed. "Besides, George likes you. He's a pretty good judge of character."

"I see," Will said. "I think we got off on the wrong foot, then."

Horace laughed. Smiling, he held out a hand. "Yeah," he said. "Let's start over. I'm Horace, nice to meet you."

Will met his eyes, which were bright blue. They were guileless, open and honest. It almost seemed as if a weight had been lifted off of him, allowing his wings to spread. Will took his hand, gripping it tightly. He shook it. "I'm Will," he said. "Nice to meet you too."

"So Gorlan, then?" Horace said. "We can probably leave today if we move quickly."

Will sighed. "Are you sure this is a good idea?" he said. "What if we get caught?"

"We'll burn that bridge when we get to it," Horace said. He crossed his arms. "Come on, Will. Don't you want to help out?"

Will stared at Horace, raising an eyebrow. It wasn't until later that he realized that he had picked up some of Halt's mannerisms. "I do," he said quietly. "Of course I want to help."

"Then, what's stopping you?"

"What difference is this going to make?" Will said. "We're ants compared to Halt and the rangers. We're trying to overthrow a king. Do you know how hard it is to even get an audience with a baron? We're way out of our league here. They don't need us to interfere. They're all adults. They can handle themselves."

"So you think you're useless?"

"No!" Will said. "Yes? Maybe—what, I don't know. This doesn't have to do with anything!"

"During a war, who do you think is doing the most work?"

Will blinked. "The people," he said. "The soldiers and knights. They're the ones fighting it."

Horace nodded. "Right," he said. "The soldiers. Who makes up the soldiers?"

Will opened his mouth to answer, closed it. He huffed in frustration, but a small smile found a way to his lips. "Ordinary people," he said. "Farmers, blacksmiths, carpenters."

"See?" Horace said. "It doesn't matter who you are and what you do. Everyone has a part to play. You never know what difference one person can make, so I think it's always a good idea to at least try."

He faltered, face twisting in a grimace. "And uh..." He covered his face with one of his hands, sighing. "I may have just deserted the army by following the bullies here and saving you, so I really don't want to stay here. I think I'd rather go try and help than stay here like a coward."

Will cracked a grin at that. "Uh huh," he said. "Sure. Okay. Let's do it, then."

"We should find Alyss," Horace said. "I'm sure she'll be happy to join us."

Will nodded, heading towards the door. He held it open for Horace. He inclined his head, musing out loud. "What about Cassandra?" he said. "She's the girl that came here with the rangers. She's not as busy as Alyss, and she'll want to help out."

Horace shrugged. "The more the merrier," he said, passing him on the way out. "We're going to need as much help as we can get."