The Life of a Ranger, Ranger's Apprentice Fanfiction

Chapter 13

   Three weeks later, Errols rib is healed enough to go back to the normal daily chores and practices. "Hey, Errol. Come here!" Will yells to him from the cabin. Errol immediately appears at the door. "Yes?" "We're going to go on a trip today." "Ok." Will looks at the young boy, confused at the lack of questions. He still isn't used to that. He can see curiosity in Errols eyes, but it remains squandered. "Wait here while I go get lunch for the day." Errol obeys. Will grabs the knapsack with food in it and spots Halt coming to him. "Hey, Halt, I'm bringing Errol to get his horse, today. You can relax with Pauline for the day." Halt grins. "And miss the excitement? No, I'm coming too. I miss watching apprentices trying to mount their horses." "Fine. Just don't mention mine, please."
  Errol rides with Will on Tug for a few hours before a farm comes in view. And it isn't just any farm. In all the fields, small shaggy ponies roam about. "Hey! Old Bob!" An old man, bent with age and days in the saddle, walks out of the barn. "Ho, Will Treaty! And old Halt! Haven't seen you 'ere for a while. How's it been at Redmont?" They shake hands. "It's been fine at Redmont. Not much activity lately. I want you to meet my new apprentice, Errol." Old Bob turns to Errol and holds a sunburnt hand out. Errol shakes it. "Oh, you've gone and gotten yourself a mighty fine looking 'un. Needs a 'orse, does he?" At their nods, Old Bob hobbles in the direction of more fields. Something catches Errol's eyes as they walk. A coal-black pony stands alone in a field watching him. Errol is drawn to the horse. He walks up to the fence without breaking eye contact. Something passes between horse and boy. Errol holds out his hand. "I'd advise you to keep away from that 'un. He's been through a lot." Old Bob walks to Errol. Errol doesn't turn around. "What happened to him?" Old Bob sighs sadly. "When he was young, some fool stole 'im and sold' im. The guy who bought 'im abused 'im. The guy drank a lot and finally knocked over a lamp in his stable. He didn't even try to get his 'orse out. Thankfully, some young fellow heard 'im screaming and got 'im out just before the roof collapsed. The 'orse immediately bolted back here and has never trusted humans enough. He's trained, but that took a lot of hard work. He still doesn't quite trust me. He's gonna end up in the fields forever." Old Bob shakes his head. "Too bad. He would have been a magnificent horse for someone. Come on. There's some 'orses over there for ya." Errol takes one more look at the horse and makes up his mind. "I pick this one." Will and Halt look at him in surprise. "What?!" Exclaims Will. "You heard him, Errol, this horse won't let anyone near him." Errol spins around to face him. "Will! I can't just leave him like this! He needs me. If I can't have him then I won't have a horse. He's the one for me." Old Bob comes over. "Come on, Will. It's worth a try. I'm fifty percent sure that he won't try to kill Errol." Will glares at Old Bob. "Gee, that's comforting. Fine. He can try. But if that horse has a go at him, we're getting a different horse!" "Agreed." Old Bob hands Errol the horse's tack. "His name is Midnight." Errol slowly walks over to Midnight, soothing him with words. "There, there, Midnight. It's just me. I just want to be your friend. Will you be mine?" Midnight's eyes roll nervously at the sight of a saddle. Errol sees that and comes to a solution. "I have to ride him bareback." Will explodes. "What?! No way, Errol. It's already dangerous enough. We don't want that increasing." Errol dumps the load on the fence. "It's the only way. He hates saddles. It reminds him of his former owner." Errol continues to Midnight empty handed. He pats him on the forehead. "Good boy. Gonna let me ride you now?" Errol moves to his side. Midnight eyes him as if to say, Are you sure you want to do that? Errol dismisses that and slides onto his back. Midnight stays still for a few seconds. All of a sudden, chaos erupts. Midnight rears and spins on his hind legs, then bucks with amazing strength. Errol goes flying over the fence. Splash! Errol lands in the water trough. Sputtering, he lifts his head above the water. Will and Old Bob are roaring with laughter. Halt just stands there, chuckling. Midnight nickers at him. Told you that you shouldn't do that. You didn't listen. A thought registers in Errols head, five minutes too late. "That's right. They have a password." Will and Old Bob go off again. Wiping tears from his eyes, Old Bob replies. "Yep. His password is G'day mate." Errol perks up, then nods and walks back to Midnight. "G'day mate." He whispers into his ear. Midnight's ears perk up and he nods. Taking that as a good sign, Errol slides onto his back again. This time, Midnight stands still. Errol nudges his side and he sets off at a walk. Old Bob whistles. "Well, would you look at that. Midnight has never let anyone near 'im like that before. They must have a strong bond. I've never seen anything like it before." Errol rides up to them. "You have now. How did you come up with that password?" "Oh, well, um, I heard some rumour about a land in the far south, that has people with strange accents. They apparently say stuff like that. In fact, your accent fits their description." Old Bob studies Errol. Errol desperately seeks to change the subject. "Hey, Halt!" "Yes?" "What was it like when Will got Tug?" At that, Halt bursts out laughing. Will eyes widen. "No. You couldn't. You wouldn't. Halt, don't tell him!" Halt continues laughing. He turns to Errol. "I would. Y-you should have seen his face! He-he was so excited and mounted Tug as s-soon as possible. Tug took off. All h-hooves came off the ground a-and Will went flying i-immediately." The thought of it sends Halt laughing again. Will, red-faced, decides to get back. "Hey, Errol. I'll tell you about Halts horse day!" Halts laughter cuts off. "Will! Don't you dare! How do you even know about that?" Will chuckles. "Oh, I have my ways. It's not as if Crowley uses that story at the Gathering when you're not around. Its everyone's favourite." Halt grumbles something about having a word with Crowley. He also uses words that anyone would be ashamed to repeat. Will ignores him. "Crowley and his friends hinted at Abelard having a password, but Halt didn't listen. He didn't even think about how only rangers can ride the horses. He got on and Abelard took off. Crowley described his face in perfect detail. Everyone else wishes that they could have been there." Halt tackles Will. Staying out of it, Errol rides away.
   Once Errol dismounts, Old Bob teaches him how to care for Midnight for the rest of the day.
   They are riding home the next day and Will pulls up next to Errol. "Hey. Sorry I was such a worrywart back there. I just didn't want you to get hurt." "It's fine, Will. Really." Will nods. "Yeah, well, that was a good thing you done for Midnight. I'll cook dinner and lunch today. You can practice with Midnight." Errol nods. Once they're home, Will picks up some letters and reads them. "Ooh, the Harvest festival is on, tomorrow. I can't believe I forgot about that. Hey, Errol! You can have the day off tomorrow! We're going to the festival!"

Can never forget about getting a horse. I really do wish that I saw Halts and Wills face on their day. That would have been so funny. :D