Ranger's Apprentice One Shots

Time Flies

Will glided through the trees, treading carefully. The ground was littered with traps, ones that could end his career. He slithered up to the closest tree and leaned his back on it, peeking to the other side. Four men were walking around, almost silent, searching for Will. 

Will's eyes narrowed. These men had been looking for him for over fifteen minutes, and he was running out of time. If he didn't get to the barn on the other side of the forest before thirty minutes, he'd fail his mission. 

He surveyed the terrain again, looking for any less crowded spots. About fifteen meters was the clearing of wheat, the next stage to the barn, but much too close to where the men were. 

Painfully slowly, he bent down, ending in a plank position, and started belly-crawling. He remembered his struggles with his exercise not long ago, and knew that if he failed this time, it wouldn't be good. he tried to envision himself as part of the earth. He tried to feel the ground pressing up against him and the grass, his walls. 

Snap! 

Will almost jumped at the sound of how close it was. it must've been coming from no more than a few feet away. He stopped instantly.

"I swear, he was right here!" a gruff voice shouted. "He just disappeared!"

"Of course he disappeared, you fool! that's what Rangers do!"

Will didn't move a muscle. After hearing the man's footsteps walk away, he waited a full minute and a half before continuing again. Only a few more meters until the clearing. 

Finally, he reached the clearing with just tall wheat. Will smiled. This would be no challenge. 

He moved through the wheat, almost swaying with it in the wind. A smaller barn came into his view. He scanned the area for any people that might be guarding, but didn't see any. 

"There has to be someone. It would be too easy if there weren't,"  he thought. 

He heard a noise. So faint that it could've been a bird, but something told Will it wasn't. Taking precautions, he started moving towards the barn. His internal clock told him he only had about five minutes left. The wheat was getting shorter, now only a couple inches above his head. 

There! He saw the man. He slowly moved to pick up a twig, and snapped it. The man looked up, immediately in Will's direction. Though, still covered in the wheat, Will remained hidden. The man started forward, but Will glided though the wheat. He stopped, only about ten feet away, but that was enough. All he needed was a few seconds. 

The man searched for Will, but Will already left. He made it out of the wheat and resisted the temptation to runt to the barn. Instead, he walked like he owned the place. 

"Look like you belong, and no one will give you a second look," Halt's rule reminded him. 

Will pushed open the barn door, and smiled when he saw an red-haired man leaning in his chair, his feet resting on a small table.

"Will done," the red-haired man said, "You passed your final test. Now get ready for the graduation," he said, his eyes twinkling.

Will's smile stretched over his entire face. "Thanks, Crowley."