Alyss' Return: She Lives

Chapter Seven: Will

Will was sitting on the chair on the veranda when Halt came riding down the path. Will grimaced. He'd heard the spread of the news of him falling in love again and he was sure that his former mentor was the main source of it all.

He waited until Halt was at the top of the stairs, on the veranda, before speaking. "Halt. You and I need to have a talk." He said.

Halt looked at Will, then at the door, then shook his head and sat down on the second chair on the veranda. "What is it?" He asked.

"Halt, I know you're spreading the news of me falling in love. You're the only one I've told, and now over half of Redmont knows about it. Admit it, you're spreading it." Will accused.

Halt nodded. "I am. But I'm not the only one who's spreading the news." He said. Will leaned forward. "Who is it?" He asked. Halt shook his head. "I promised to keep him anonymous." He said.

Will slumped back in his chair. "I'll figure it out if it's the last thing I do." He said.

"No. You'll admit your love to Catherine if it's the last thing you'll do." Halt told him. "I think she'll be rather pleased to hear that she won the heart of a lonely old Ranger like yourself."

Will glared at his former mentor. "You wouldn't dare." He said.

Halt rose an eyebrow. "Will. Whenever I made a threat, did you ever once think that I wasn't incapable of carrying it out?" He asked.

Will had to give up. He'd seen Halt in interrogations and they never went his way without threats being made. Or carried out. "Did you tell her already?" He asked.

Halt shook his head. "Do you want me to?" He asked. Will hurriedly shook his head in return. "No, no. I'll tell her." He said. Then he realized his mistake and face-palmed.

Halt grinned. "You might as well hurry, then. Me and my accomplice have about two more of your friends to go." He said. Will started at the amount of people he would tell that Will knew. "Two?!" He cried.

Halt nodded, then left before Will could say anything else.

"The man is uncanny!" Will cried. Maddie was walking out the door to show her work on the map of Araluen. "Who's uncanny?" She asked.

"Halt. He and someone else are spreading the news of my new love." Will replied.

Maddie just laughed. "Really?" She asked.

Will nodded and Maddie smiled. "Well, it is monumental. You've been depressed since you-know-who died and it's been worrying the hell out of everyone you know. They deserve to know how you're doing and if they don't need to worry anymore." She said.

Horace had walked up to the cabin while they were talking, so it was consequential that they hadn't noticed his approach. "She's right, Will. Me and Cassandra were worried sick about you since Alyss died. But now that you have an apprentice to keep your mind busy and a beautiful young woman to keep your heart busy, I don't have to worry day and night about my best friend." He said, startling them both as he spoke. In spite of their reactions, he kept talking. "And besides. I brought her so she could get to know you."

Will's mouth hung open. "Horace!" He cried.

"Relax! I didn't tell her how you feel. I just asked her if she wanted to get to know Ranger Treaty, since practically everyone here knows you. Of course I had to wait outside the restaurant for her to finish her part, but I brought her." Horace reassured him.

Horace looked back the way he came and beckoned someone to come further. Or telling someone to hurry up. Will thought. He saw Catherine from the corner of his eye and turned his head to see if it was her.

Sure enough, Catherine was striding gracefully down the path to his cabin. "Catherine." He said under his breath. Maddie looked at him and smiled before shoving her map in his face. "Check it, please." She said.

Will was pulled out of his trance and he pulled out his own map. He picked up a red pencil and circled the landmarks that were missing. As he handed Maddie her map and an empty sheet of paper, he was aware of a presence at the edge of the stairs that led to the veranda. He looked and saw that Catherine had stopped before the stairs.

"You don't have to stand at the bottom of the stairs, miss Altright." He said. "Us Rangers don't stand too much on formalities."

Catherine almost gracefully came up the stairs. Almost, meaning that she tripped on the last step. Will rushed forward and caught her. "Careful! That last step is always...tricky." He said. He paused between the last two words as his eyes met hers.

He could have sworn his heart missed more beats than the last time he saw her. Horace coughed and both of them came out of their trance. "Sorry." Will said. He helped Catherine up onto the veranda. He gestured to one of the chairs. "Have a seat. I don't want to keep you standing." He said.

Catherine sat in the chair farthest from the door as Will walked over to Horace, grabbed his collar and looked him in the eyes. "Tell Halt that he'd better watch his back." He said. Horace nodded and Will relaxed his iron grip on his friend's collar.

Will went back up the stairs and saw Catherine playing with the strings on his mandola. "D'you want me to play?" He asked. Catherine looked up at him, then back to the mandola. "This is yours?" She asked.

Will grinned. "Well, it's not here just for decoration. Now back to my earlier question." He said. He opened his mouth again to speak, but Catherine cut him off. "I'd love to hear you play." She said.

Will strummed a cord and began to play his absolute favorite song.

Graybeard Halt.