Ranger's Apprentice - Rescue

Chapter 33

"Will, for the last time, why don't you take a break?" Halt suggested.

Will cut his eyes over to his mentor.

"I can't, Halt," he replied evenly. In truth, Will was rather frustrated at Halt for constantly suggesting that Will stop his exercises. It was so unlike Halt, Will thought, to be this persistent about a break. 

"Yes, you can."

Halt made his way off the veranda and stood beside Will, crossing his arms. He raised an eyebrow at Will.

The apprentice hesitated. He glanced down at the bow in his hand. He knew by memory that had about ten arrows left in his quiver. Then he glanced back up at Halt.

"Just let me finish off the quiver," Will reasoned. He waited patiently for Halt to consider his offer. A strange urge to add more to his request, trying to further convince Halt, tugged at Will's mind but he pushed it to the side. With Halt, that sort of thing came across as begging. And begging never worked with the grizzled Ranger.

Finally, Halt sighed. He uncrossed his arms and took a step back, spreading his arms wide.

"If you insist," he conceded. "But don't say I didn't warn you."

Something in Halt's voice made Will hesitate. Maybe Halt was right... Will had been standing and walking more today then he had in the past two days since they had returned to the cabin. He could feel the muscles in the calf of his left leg tremble every now and then. And it did feel weak. And now that he was no longer concentrated on his training, he had to admit that he was in a considerable deal of pain.

He shook his head. He was fine. Ten more arrows wouldn't kill him.

Taking his position in front of the targets once again, he drew another arrow. He fell back into the routine of drawing, aiming, and releasing. By time the tenth arrow was on its way, Will wasn't even paying attention to see where it struck the target. He'd already dropped his bow to the ground and was wiping sweat from his brow. He casually bent over, pretending to examine the strings of his boot. As inconspicuously as he could, he gently raised one hand to his left calf and massaged the muscle there. It only seemed to make it hurt more.

"Alright there?" Halt's voice asked. It was all too obvious that he knew Will was hurting. Which, in turn, meant that Halt had been right. And Will didn't want to admit that, lest he be subjected to his mentor's teasing for the next several weeks.

"Yes, I'm quite fine, thank you," Will lied smoothly, straightening up. He saw Halt raise an eyebrow out of the corner of his eye, but ignored it. Instead, he limped his way to the targets to retrieve his arrows.

"Why don't you let me-"

"Hello you two!" Gilan's cheerful greeting interrupted Halt. The tall Ranger had ridden into the clearing and was now dismounting. Halt and Will had been expecting him for a few minutes, since Tug and Abelard had let out greeting calls.

Halt turned to look at his former apprentice.

"Took you long enough," he said gruffly. "With the time between Abelard and Tug's calls and now, I thought you'd gone and fallen off that horse of yours."

Gilan flashed a grin at Halt as he approached.

"Oh, Blaze and I were just enjoying the morning ride, is all."

Halt nodded.

"And... am I to understand that you were visiting the young miss Jenny again?"

Gilan's smile faltered momentarily.

"Er... yes?" he said slowly. "Is that alright?"

Halt made a show of nodding hugely and raising his hands in surrender.

"Oh yes, yes. Quite alright."

Gilan frowned as Halt smiled knowingly at him. He rolled his eyes.

"So what have you two been up to today?" he asked, eager to change the subject. Halt waved a dismissive hand.

"Just unpacking and the likes," he said halfheartedly. "Will's been stubbornly refusing to listen-"

Once again, Halt's sentence was cut off, this time by a loud cry of pain.

Gilan and Halt shared a concerned glance before they both turned to look at Will. The boy was on the ground by the targets, leaning heavily on a tree. His left leg was bent at the knee and he was holding it in pain.

"Will," Halt and Gilan chorused. Both men rushed to the apprentice's side, kneeling beside him.

"I'm fine," Will assured them. He scooted himself to sit up straighter as they approached, although he winced at the movement.

"No, you're not," Halt said, his tone somewhat irritated. "I told you, Will. You should have taken a break."

Will bit his lip to keep from groaning in pain. He head fell back against the tree.

"We need to get you inside," Gilan said, glancing at Halt. "Do you want me to carry him?"

"Carry me?" Will interjected. "I'm not completely helpless, you know."

"Yes, I think that might be best," Halt said, ignoring Will. "Set him on the couch when you get him in. Get that leg propped up."

Gilan nodded, moving to lift Will.

"Alright, enough!" Will said, swatting Gilan's arm away. "Here, just help me up."

Gilan frowned. "Will, would you just let me-"

"No!" Will shouted, and both Gilan and Halt flinched at the sudden volume of Will's voice.

"Will," Halt said sternly. He wasn't sure why his apprentice was acting the way he was, but it was certainly uncalled for. "That's quite enough. You don't need to be putting anymore weight on that leg today. Let Gilan help you inside-"

"Halt..." Will's voice was much lower now, almost as if he was embarrassed. "I don't need to be carried."

There was an awkward pause in which Halt and Will stared at each other, Will trying to compel his mentor to see why he didn't want to be carried around and Halt trying to understand Will's thoughts.

Finally, Gilan could stand it no longer. Will needed to be inside, not out here arguing to no avail.

"How about I just help you inside?" he asked meaningfully. Will nodded.

"Alright then. Help me up."

Together, they stood. Gilan pulled Will's left arm around his own shoulders and helped the boy limp inside. Halt followed along close behind, shaking his head as they went.

"Stubborn boy," he muttered. Gilan heard the words and turned to glance at Halt over his shoulder.

"Where do you suppose he learned that from?"