{Ranger's Apprentice} "A Mission to Skandia"

Chapter 5: On-board Ship

"Halt, I think you should go below decks." Pauline was holding Halt's right hand firmly with her left, to give him some ounce of reassurance. The others, who had traveled with them out of Castle Araluen, had already escaped to some cabin, to avoid accidentally sparking Halt's anger in his current unstable state.

Halt shook his head, not fully trusting his voice. With another lurch, his face went a sickly color and he leaned over the sides of the ship. Unfortunately, he had foreseen his own weakness at sea and chosen to not eat anything that morning before they set out, which meant that now, there wasn't even anything for him to throw out. Moaning, he turned his head slightly to look at Pauline.

Halt felt very terrible, and not just physically. Pauline knew about his vulnerability at sea, but she had never seen it herself. Halt thought that she would only judge him and think him weak now that she has seen it personally at last. He had tried to appear strong in front of her in every occasion possible, but now, it seemed as if it was all for nothing.

As if reading his mind, Pauline reached out her free hand and brushed his roughly-cut hair away from covering his face, then let it settle on the side of his face to stroke it calmingly, and said, very gently, "Even the greatest of warriors would have one small weakness, even the strongest can become tired; so why should you be ashamed of this one small flaw that you have? I would never judge you for this, I would be proud to say that my husband is the mightiest warrior in Araluen, and I would proudly help you cope with this one small weakness."

Halt looked like he wanted to say something, but could not bring anything out as they passed another, unusually big lurch. Will and Alyss, who had been hiding away from Halt in a cabin, sprang out of it. Will said, "What's going on? That was not exactly a normal sized lurch."

Sick at the very implication of Will's words, Halt clung once more to the sides of the ship and looked mournfully out into the sea, praying silently that it would be calm.

"Aye, that wasn't," the ship's first mate said, "Wouldn't be at all surprising if we get a storm soon." Halt, who was not facing him, only heard the grim seriousness of the man's voice, but Pauline, who had turned to Will and the first mate when they spoke, saw how both of them had wide smiles on their faces. As Pauline turned a fierce glare to Will, he immediately schooled his expression into one of fake innocence. Beside him, Alyss shrugged to Pauline rather helplessly as she noticed the glare that turned from the Ranger to the Courier.

"Ignore them, Halt. They're playing a sick joke on you." Pauline said once she was satisfied that she had sufficiently shut the two culprits up. "Now what would you like me to do for you? Because I would willingly find any means to make you feel better. Coffee, perhaps?"

Halt shook his head. "I wouldn't be able to handle it," he croaked softly, "Warm water will do well enough."

Pauline nodded. "Should I bring it up here for you, or would you like to come with me below to get it?"

Halt said nothing, but also made no attempt to move. Pauline smiled encouragingly at him, then she gave him a quick squeeze of the hand before letting go and hurrying away to get the water.

Upon passing the three people who were standing at the stern, she said with a threatening edge to her voice, "If any one of you even thinks about annoying him, I will personally see to it that he will be avenged."

"Right." Alyss said with sudden determination and grabbed Will's hand. "Will, we need to go at once. Below. Or back in the cabin. You don't want to know what it means to be avenged by Lady Pauline. I should know, I was under her training for so many years." Then, turning to the first mate, she added, "I suggest you do the same, actually. Couriers could become as fierce as Rangers or Knights when it comes to these matters."

"Good girl." Pauline said to Alyss with a flash of what could only be described as a dangerously sweet smile.

Alyss grinned back. "Don't worry, Pauline, I'll—I mean, we, will be right off."

Satisfied, Lady Pauline hurried down below decks to get the water that Halt had asked for. Her Ranger was not usually the kind of person who would ask her for help in any way whatsoever. Even though they both knew that to an extent, Halt could never best Pauline with her way with words, and thus could never really have much authority over her, at least in most of the non-serious things, he had never shown any sign of vulnerability to her, even after the two of them had technically retired. Halt had always been strong in front of her, the invincible Ranger warrior who managed still to be gentle to her and to give her all his love and care. And thus, while Pauline desperately wanted Halt to recover and return to his normal self, she also greatly relished the rare chance to take care of him instead.

"Lady Pauline." Alaric, the young knight who had been chosen to accompany them, was sitting on a box below decks, with a board and a few papers in his hands. Upon seeing her, he stood up at once. "Is there anything I could assist you with?"

Pauline waved away the offer of help. "Very kind of you to offer, but I don't really require anything. I was just down here looking for some warm water. What is that thing in your hands?"

"Oh," he said with some mild embarrassment, "It's just a bit of this and that. I like to draw things, you see."

Pauline only smiled encouragingly at him. "Everyone has something they like. Alright, I have to go. This can't really wait. I'll see you later?"

Alaric nodded politely in response. Apparently, a few hours on a ship with a few Rangers had not yet quite changed him into the kind of person Horace had changed into.