Halt's Ranger Apprentices- John Flanagan Ranger Apprentice fan-fiction

CHAPTER THIRTY-FOUR

A/N: ok, well firstly, I would like to thank the awesome people who voted and commented on my 'should I continue?' part. And I'm not saying this just because I feel like I have to, I want to, because I needed you guys to give me just a little push in the right direction and you gave me that, so thank you guys so much. To repay you guys, I'm gonna keep going with the book! AND (yes there's more!) I want to personally thank you guys! (and if I miss you, TELL ME so I can put you in) Thank you so much to:

- Anna_Schout

- PsychofreakBB

- RangerWill

- NicoleBinkley

- BenjaminJ38

I have received so much support and I really do appreciate it! So I wont bore you anymore, let's get on with the story shall we? haha(:

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"Something's happened" Halt said. Belle was riding alongside him, with Will on the other side, leaving Gilan on the other end next to Will. They all had reached a small hill. Once they reached the top, you could see the whole clearing where the gathering was being held. The small group stood and observed the atmosphere of the place. Panic filled the air and a big 4 by 4 metre pavilion in the centre of the camp, with one man tents surrounding it. The pavilions cloth walls were rolled up, giving a view of what was happening in there. There were a large group of men standing around something that wasn't visible, but Belle assumed it was a table. Belle could see the green and grey mottled cloaks, recognizing them as rangers. They seemed deep in conversation and it didn't look like a happy conversation by the way they all stared grimly at the table in the middle.

"You three go and find a good camping spot, don't set up anything though, just wait there while I go check out what is going on" Halt said before setting off in a fast gallop toward the pavilion.

The three had found a good camping spot, big enough to hold four one man tents, not that they were going to set them up or anything. Will and Gilan sat on a log, waiting for Halt, while Belle sat comfortably in a tree in their camping spot. It wasn't a big tree and Belle was only 2 metres from the ground, but she found it more relaxing to be surrounded by leaves then standing on stable ground. They all sat in silence, curiosity suffocating the air.

While they were waiting for Halt, Belle found a trail of ants climbing up a branch next to her, and entertained herself by poking a stick around them to make them run in different directions. After a while it got boring and decided to break the stick up in tiny pieces. Then, Belle was about to groan in boredom, when she heard a voice from below where Will and Gilan were sitting,

"Any news?" for a second Belle felt a spark of excitement thinking Halt was back and someone had asked him what was happening. But, to her distress, it was a man who must've been camping next to them asking Gilan the question.

"I was about to ask you the same thing" Gilan replied. The old man huffed and sat next to Gilan on the log. Now that the man's face was more clearly visible to Belle, she realised that he looked familiar. She searched her brain for the name, but before she could think of it, Gilan started speaking again. "It's Merron isn't it?" Gilan said and they both shook his hand. Belle smiled, her memory being refreshed now that she knew his name.

"Merron!" Belle squealed in excitement. Merron was in his mid-thirties, and she hadn't seen him for years. She had met him when he came down for a mission and he seemed nice and he taught her some ranger tactics about unseen movement. They had become good friends, even though they had only met once, but he was a nice and sweet man.