Will's Peril and Gilan's Apprentice || A Ranger's Apprentice Fall Fanfiction

Well, This Creates a Problem, Doesn't It?

A/N: I'm not ever going to be writing from Halt's POV, since I have no idea whatsoever how he thinks 😂, but I'll keep on with the other POVs... Am I doing good on them?
Maddie's POV:

This was all Kai's fault. First she had stolen Will's attention, now this. I was tempted to believe she did it on purpose. She might even be in league with those sack men. Now I was sobbing over Will's unconscious body, laying on the forest floor, when I heard hoofbeats.

Two sets of hoofbeats.

I didn't move, too overcome with weariness to greet Halt. When Halt and Kai finally reached me, I heard Halt's sharp intake of breath as he surveyed the situation.

Kai, without even a glance, let alone a word to me, dismounted and walked over to Will. I heard her take and resheath her knife from where it lay beside him, then a rustling as she gestured for Halt to help her.

She nudged me off him and grabbed his feet, Halt cradling his head. When I opened my eyes a tiny crack, I could see tears glistening in Halt's eyes, one of the rarest sights I would ever see.

Or maybe it was just my own tears.

By now I was half-asleep, exhausted from crying, even if it was only the 5th hour in the evening.

Kai's POV:

Halt and I carried Will into his bedroom, laying him carefully in bed. I could see that Halt wasn't going anywhere, so I went back outside to get Maddie. She was asleep on a bed of fallen leaves, so I prodded her none-too-gently with my foot. "Get up."

She blinked and rubbed her eyes, standing up and obeying me thoughtlessly like a small child following their parent. I led her inside to her bedroom and closed the door when I went out.

Back in Will's room, Halt and I stood silently beside his bed. I had told him everything, how Will and Maddie found me, how Maddie hated me, and how my training was going.

Halt listened stoically to my account. Then I decided I needed some answers.

"What happened to him? I whispered. gesturing to Will's prone figure on the bed. "It all happened so fast... I know that you understand it." He sighed. He told me all about how Will had been addicted to warmweed in Skandia so many years ago, and how the queen saved his life.

"I know why Maddie dislikes you," he said after a long silence. "She thinks Will is paying more attention to you than her. She's jealous."

"But she's the Royal Princess! How could she be jealous of me?" I exclaimed, maybe a little to loud, because Will grunted and rolled over. "Sorry," I whispered apologetically.

"Royal Princesses have feelings too, and you've bruised her ego. She'll get over it eventually," Halt told me.

The Next Day...

Will came down with a cold. I think I might have a faint idea of what had caused it, because Maddie wouldn't stop glaring at me. I silently cursed her jealousy. Halt was right. It wasn't my fault that Maddie was so angry at me.

But what was my fault was Will's dilemma. If I had offered to get the knife instead, he wouldn't have tripped and there would have been no need for me to use the warmweed salve.

Now I was in Gilan's office, which he had temporarily set up at Castle Redmont. I liked Gilan. He was funny and always willing to make you smile. However, we had more important things to discuss.

"Well, this creates a problem, doesn't it?" Gilan frowned down at his desk, contemplating what to do. Will and Maddie were scheduled to leave to track down the demon-worshippers in three days, but now he couldn't go and Maddie was staying to take care of him.

Halt was there, as well as Maddie. One of the women from the village had volunteered to look after Will for an hour or so.

"Halt, I know you already have something important scheduled, so I'll go. I'm free all of this week." said Gilan. "I think you should more than suffice... after all, remember the old saying?" Halt said. Everyone, in spite of the situation, grinned and chorused, "One riot, one Ranger!"

Then Gilan spoke up quietly, "Actually, I'd like some help on this one." He pointed to me. "I'd like to see what you can do."

My face was a blank mask. I had learned a few things over the years about secrecy. Even though I felt like recoiling in surprise, I replied, "Alright then. I'd be happy to go with you."

Gilan, who was obviously expecting a better reaction from me, looked disappointed, and inwardly I grinned.

"She could contest with you for inexpressible joy," Gilan told Halt sarcastically, and he and Maddie laughed. Halt and I deadpanned (aka studied) each other and I shot him a thumbs-up. I had a feeling he wanted to smile, but he just gave me the thumbs-up back and winked.

Gilan's POV:

I absolutely couldn't wait to see what this girl could do. It was the next day, and I was riding towards Will's cabin excitedly. When I got there, I visited with him for about half an hour, then went to the room that (I supposed) Kai shared with Maddie.

I was right. Kai was morosely cramming one more change of clothes into her bag before leaving with me. "What's the matter?" I asked, creeping silently into the room, hoping to at least see her jump.

"I heard you coming," she said quietly, and my face fell. "This is all my fault. I should've gone after the knife. Then Will wouldn't be sick and Maddie wouldn't be as angry with me."

Maddie had given me a very heated account of how everything was all Kai's fault, but I knew she was overreacting. Too much. But I thought this girl was invincible, now here she was, blaming this all on herself when she hadn't even been here a week.

I instinctively walked over to her and put an arm around her side, and she relaxed. "It's really not your fault, you know. Will wanted to get the knife for you. He told you to keep practicing. You obeyed him. You did the right thing," I said warmly.

A single tear slipped down her face and she nodded, wiping it away. "Let's go, then. Maddie said I could borrow Bumper for the trip."

If you didn't notice, I referred to Evanlyn (or Cassandra, whatever you wanna call her) as Queen. Yeah, in this story Duncan has died. It's sad cause I know we all loved him, but it was gonna happen anyways...
-Audrey🔎🔎🔎🔎 (something new, yeah?)