Ranger's Apprentice - Rescue

Chapter 30

Will had waited outside while Halt had gone in to inform Baron Philip of all the details. Will had wanted to go in as well, if for no other reason then to bid a farewell to the baron and thank him for his help. But Halt had insisted that Will remain mounted on Tug, saying there was no reason for Will to put so much strain on his injured leg if it wasn't necessary. The argument made sense, so Will had agreed.

Then they'd returned to the inn and gone to the room Gilan had rented out for them. They had met with Gilan briefly to inform him of the baron's relief that they'd caught the Outsiders so early, as well as assuring the taller Ranger that Dursby and his assistant had been placed in a holding cell in the castle's dungeon.

Now it was the next morning. With nothing keeping them from returning home, the Rangers and George has risen early and packed their things. Will was the only one who remained dismounted now, leaning his left side against Tug's body to keep the weight off his leg.

He stood awkwardly before Annalise, who was shifting her weight uncomfortably before him.

"You helped me more than you know," Will told her now, smiling at her. She smiled back sheepishly.

"I only told you what little information I had," she replied humbly. Again, there was an awkward pause. From a respectable distance away, Halt cleared his throat. The message was clear. Will sighed, holding a hand out to Annalise, who took it hesitantly. He shook it once before releasing her.

"Take care, Annalise," he said. He wished there was something else he could do. He'd already gotten Annalise her job back in the castle, demanding that Halt be sure to get the documentation from the baron the previous night. He'd been afraid that Annalise would resent him for such a thing, seeing as how she'd run away from that very job before. But when he'd told her earlier that morning and presented her with the documents, she'd been ecstatic to have a job once again.

Still, Will hated to just leave her without anything further. She had helped him tremendously. But there was nothing left for him to do for her. Aware that he was stalling, he carefully mounted, feeling awkward as he did so from the right side rather than the left side due to his injury.

Once atop Tug, he hesitated once more, glancing down at Annalise. She was staring intently at the dirt beneath her shoes.

"Don't forget what I told you," he said in a quieter voice. He wasn't sure how much about her time in the fortress she'd shared with Halt and Gilan, but he didn't want to make her uncomfortable by announcing her trauma loudly for everyone to here.

When he spoke, Annalise had looked up with a strange glisten in her eyes.

"Don't let those vile men get the best of you," Will elaborated. "Grow from this. You are incredibly strong and brave, Annalise. Don't lose that part of you."

This time, it was Annalise who smiled first. She nodded once.

"Thank you, Ranger Will," she said softly. Will nodded his goodbye before slapping the reigns against Tug's neck,m making their way toward Halt and Gilan. Will, as he so often did, refused to turn and look back.

They rode away from the castle and village in silence for about an hour. Will's mind was turning back through the events that he'd been through in the past two and a half months. It was by no means the way he had expected his first solo mission to go. In fact, despite Gilan and Halt's reassurance, a part of Will knew he would always struggle to view his mission as anything but a failure.

Still, he was comfortably aware of George riding to his far right. The scholar apprentice was still thin and wiry, but he always had been. Will could look at him and tell that in the few weeks that he'd been rescued, first by Will and then again by Halt, he'd put on several healthy pounds. Gilan had also offered to cut the boy's shaggy hair, and George now looked more like himself.