Ranger's Apprentice - Rescue

Chapter 38

"And so, it is with the greatest excitement, and whatever..." Crowley dragged on.

Will glanced at Halt for the fifth time in the past two minutes. The older Ranger was standing, stone-faced, with his arms crossed over his chest to watch Crowley reading from an old looking parchment. Will turned back to the Ranger Commandant in slight confusion as the man continued.

"That I present you with this silver oakleaf necklace thingy," the Commandant said with a small yawn. He stepped forward and dropped the silver chain over Will's neck without a word or a smile. Then he stepped back.

"And so... yes, I think that's it. Erm... congrats."

Will frowned. He hesitated, then opened his mouth to voice his troubling question; was this it? Five years of training to be admitted as a full member of the kingdom's most elite organization, and this was all he got?

But before he could get the words out, a roar rose up from around him, coming from all directions.

"CONGRATULATIONS!"

Will jumped so hard, he bit his tongue with the action. His eyes grew several centimeters wider as he spun around to gawk at the fifty-plus Rangers that had suddenly emerged from the woods around him.

They were all laughing already, in a good natured sort of way, at Will's baffled reaction. After all, it was a long-standing tradition, or rather a prank, that the Rangers loved to pull on their new members. As such, Will had been completely unaware of what was going to happen until the moment after it did.

And despite his initial shock and fear, he felt relieved to know that his graduation ceremony wouldn't be so menial and boring after all. He felt a smile spread across his face as he looked to many faces that had become familiar to him over the years. Then a heavy arm fell on his shoulders and he looked up to see Gilan's laughing face.

"You should have seen your reaction!" the tall Ranger exclaimed through laughs. "It was bloody priceless!"

Will laughed along with his friend, shaking his head.

"A little warning would have been nice," he said, giving Gilan a playful glare. Gilan winked.

"No can do," he replied with a friendly smile. "This here as a top-secret tradition! Everyone has been through it! Except, of course, Crowley and Halt I suppose. But as for most of the rest of us, this is just a part of becoming a Ranger!"

Will shook his head again, laughing. Sometimes, he thought, it was easy to get caught up in the serious nature of the Ranger Corps and their jobs, and he could forget that they were also like a close-knit family at times. They loved to play games on one another.

"If you say so," he told Gilan. His friend removed his arm from Will's shoulder and stood back to smile again at the new young Ranger.

"I promise, it's more fun from our side of things," he told Will. "And next time we have someone who will graduate, you'll get to be in on the prank."

The thought was an appealing one, and Will couldn't help but laugh again.

"In other news," Gilan said, "Seacliff Fief! It's beautiful and peaceful out there. You'll love it."

Will smiled again. He liked the thought of having his own fief. It made him feel mature and responsible.

"Thanks," he said. "I'm sure I will!"

Gilan winked again before he stepped back to give others a change to congratulate Will.

The next several minutes flew by, with nearly every Ranger stepping forward to congratulate Will personally. Some, he knew and remembered well from past years. Others, he only knew their name. Some, he couldn't even recall the names of. But Will was the only apprentice to graduate that year, and as such, all the attention fell to him.

Not to mention the many, many legendary adventures Will had embarked on, the missions he had helped accomplish, the mentor who had trained him and who himself had a legendary background, and the many services Will had already single-handedly performed for the kingdom in his apprenticeship alone.

Will was already a legend, whether he knew it or not. Most of the other Rangers were truthfully dying to meet him up close. The young protegee of Halt, who was said to possess the skills to surpass even his mentor.

Finally, though, the crowd cleared away, more quickly once Crowley had announced that there was food waiting. Now, only a few remained in the clearing. Crowley, seeing that Will was momentarily unoccupied, took the chance to shake the boy's hand.

"Congratulations Will," he said, giving the young Ranger a genuine look of admiration. "You've earned it."

Will smiled, touched by his Commandants words.

"Thank you, Crowley," he said. Crowley nodded before glancing quickly behind Will. His eyes seemed to receive some silent message, and he nodded almost imperceptibly. He moved away, toward the large table where the food was laid out. On his way, he shooed the remaining Rangers away until Will was alone in the clearing.

Well, almost alone.

He didn't have to turned to see who was behind him that Crowley had caught the message from. Will knew who would be there. The same person who always had been there, and who always would be there for him.

Still, Will turned to face his mentor. Not surprisingly, Halt didn't have a smile on his face. But he did have a strange light in his eyes, and Will knew that was the same thing as a smile.

"Congratulations Will," Halt said. "I am beyond proud of you."

Halt stuck a hand out. Will regarded it carefully. He glanced back up to Halt's face, and a strange, overwhelming emotion spread through his body. This was the part of his graduation that Will had dreaded. Despite his excitement to start his own career, he didn't want to leave Halt. Not because he doubted his ability to act on his own knowledge, but because he enjoyed the grizzled old man's company. The thought of a day without Halt's sarcastic comments, or his constantly raised eyebrow, or his grumpy nature; it made Will sad.

What was more, he owed everything in his future, everything he had today, to Halt. Halt had been the one to choose him out, saving him from a life of farming. And then saving him again from a short life of slavery in Skandia. Countless other times, he had saved Will's life and taught him the skills he would need to survive the life of a Ranger. Will owed everything to the man before him.

And as those things passed through Will's mind, he made his decision. Ignoring Halt's outstretched hand, he stepped forward in a rush. He crashed into Halt with what he knew to be a long-overdue hug, wrapping his arms around Halt's small, muscular frame.

For a moment, Halt froze. The contact was not only unexpected, but also rare in Halt's life. He wasn't one to show sentiment.

But the longer Will hugged him, the more Halt's mind turned, replaying every memory he had of the young man. Reminding Halt how much he cared for the boy. And before he even realized what he was doing, Halt was hugging Will back, holding tightly to his former apprentice.

And as he did, silent tears somehow found their way down Halt's grizzled bearded face. But he let them fall.

Just this once, he let his tears fall without shame.