Ignoring History - Ranger's Apprentice Fanfiction

Chapter 7

~☕Crowley☕~

"Farewell, Gilan. Thank you for helping me today."

Gilan bowed his head. "It was a pleasure to work with a real ranger."

They parted ways, and Crowley looked back at Gilan whose demeanor seemed to dimmed at their parting. He pursed his lips.

"Gil?" The young knight turned his head back, and Crowley smiled. "I never told you my name."

Backtracking his steps, Gilan found himself standing in front of Crowley again. "I'm listening."

Crowley smiled. He reached a hand and clasped onto Gilan's shoulder. He squeezed it comfortingly. "My name is Crowley," he said. He paused before continuing, voice lowering significantly. From what little Crowley knew of Gilan, he knew that he could be trusted. "If you want, you can find me in the morning," he said. "On that hill right there. We can talk Morgarath then."

Gilan smiled the biggest smile Crowley had ever seen. "Yes, sir," he said. "Thank you."

Crowley watched Gilan walk away in the sunset. He sighed to himself. The knight had faced so much despite his young age, maybe even more than him. Crowley looked down at the silver oakleaf in his hand, squeezing it tightly. He closed his eyes, feeling Gilan's pain.

Gilan had lost his father, and he had lost Pritchard. Both to Morgarath. The more he thought about it, the more Crowley knew. Morgarath's rule over Araluen needed to end. And he planned to make it happen.

Sighing, Crowley disappeared into the trees. He had to make sure his friends hadn't killed themselves yet by planning to storm the castle.

Crowley's arrival was marked with Cropper's neigh. He stepped into the clearing, and all eyes snapped towards him. He shrugged it off, raising his arms. "Did you miss me?"

"Miss you?" Samdash snorted. "We were going to leave your behind to rot in that cell."

"I thought I told you to be careful!" Jurgen added.

"Well, I made it out alive," Crowley said. "And I just so happen to—"

"Will you guys shut up?" Norris snapped. "This is no time for your useless blabbering."

"Norris is right for once," Berrigan sighed.

Crowley blinked. "What happened?" he asked. "What's going on?"

The rangers glanced at each other before they wordlessly stepped aside for Crowley to see who was standing behind them. Crowley stiffened, automatically straightening. He sucked in a breath and bit back a gasp.

He bowed, and his voice slightly shook as he spoke. "My lord," he whispered. "Prince Duncan."

"No need to bow. I'm no longer a prince," Duncan paused.

"Crowley Meratyn," Crowley said.

"Crowley."

Studying Duncan's ignoble appearance, Crowley frowned. Leaves and twigs were tangled in his hair, and mud stained his clothes. Dark bags sagged under his eyes. He was nowhere near to being the king he needed to be.

"Go get some rest," Crowley said. He gestured at his tent. "Take my tent."

"No, no," Duncan said, shaking his head. "I can't."

"You'll need it for the things to come, sir."

When Duncan finally surrendered into Crowley's tent, Crowley turned to his companions. "Where did he come from?" he whispered. "I thought Morgarath had him killed."

Egon shrugged. "He says he's been following us for a few days,"

Crowley frowned. "Are you tell me someone, be it our Prince or not, with no experience in concealed movement has been following us?" He crossed his arms. "Not possible. Out of the question."

Norris frowned. "If you haven't noticed, you guys can be quite loud at times. Who knows what unwanted company you're attracting?"

"I don't want to hear another word out of you, Norris," Crowley snapped. He turned. "Are we sure he's the real Duncan?"

"You've seen him," Berwick answered. "If it were one of Morgarath's croons, he would be massaging his feet.

"But one of Morgarath's could be decently trained in concealed movement!" Lewin said. "They could at least have some chance of following us."

"But that doesn't explain how he found us in the first place!" Leander said.

"Why not call it luck?" Berrigan retaliated. "We've all had a good look at him. Unless Morgarath is practicing dark magic, there is no way he's going to have a lackey that looks exactly like Duncan."

"Okay," Jurgen said. "What is to say Duncan turned on us?"

"He would never!" Berwick explained. "This is Duncan we're talking about. Why would he turn after all Morgarath has done to him?"

"Say it is luck," Samdash said. "But to follow us for days?"

"What if he taught himself?" Egon suggested. "He is in exile. He'd be stupid if he hadn't picked up some survival skills."

The arguing continued, and Crowley frowned. He blocked his ears from the conversation, letting drift away to listen to the horses grazing. He closed his eyes when the arguing grew louder. Looking to his tent, Crowley wondered if Duncan, or fake Duncan, was listening. His lips formed a thin line.

"All of you, shut up!" His voice boomed across the clearing, louder than he expected. But it got the job done nonetheless. Sighing, he continued. "None of that matters right now. We're getting nowhere. Duncan is here, and it doesn't matter how. We'll need to be more careful from now on."

Crowley turned to the edge of the camp, where Tommi and Adri silently sat with the horses. He smiled warmly at them. "But for now, I believe we have some apprentices to tend to."

Tommi grinned, jumping up to his feet. He pulled Adri up with him, and Crowley looked to their assessors.

"I'm sorry," Leander said.

Crowley blinked, biting back a smile. The other rangers choked down their snickers, and Tommi's face was crestfallen. Surprisingly, Adri grinned, having already been in Tommi's position during his first assessment.

Leaner continued. "But both of you are stuck with us for the rest of your life." 

Crowley snorted at Tommi's expression, doubling over. He laughed, grinning when Egon spoke.

"Not that you aren't already stuck," he said. "You're stuck with us whether you like it or not. You all already know too much."

Fishing out a bronze oakleaf from his pocket, Crowley gently handed it to Tommi. He smiled and squeezed his shoulder. "Welcome to the Ranger Corps, Tommi."

He looked to Adri, who hovered behind his friend like a shadow. "Congratulations to you too," whispered before ushering the two to their mentors.

The rangers dispersed into small groups, casual chatter rising here and there. Crowley stood alone, leaning against a tree. Cropper nudged him with his nose, and Crowley grunted. His fingers tangled into Cropper's mane, gently massaging the back of his neck.

He nodded at each of his rangers as they one by one retired for the night. He climbed a tree, propping himself up to take first watch. A smile graced his lips. What started out to be a bad day was turning around. With Gilan's aid and Duncan around, it was the perfect time to overthrow Morgarath. Fate, maybe. It was meant to be.