A.N.: Finally, the end of my first Ranger's Apprentice fanfic! *TEARS* Thank you all for reading my story and going on this trip with me all the way to the end. I love you guys! True, it had been a very very very very long trip but I am very proud of myself! ^ ^ I hope you have enjoyed my story up to this point!

Epilogue

The arrow hit straight home and Will wiped the sweat from his forehead. It had been a long, hot and gruesome day. Sitting down and taking a swig of water, he began collecting his arrows.

It had been one long week since Baron Arald had found him not guilty. Life had changed dramatically afterwards. Gilan had gone back to his fief after leaving it for so long and Will was a little sad to see him go. Horace had gone back to his training and was forbid to see the brunet until the baron gave his permission, which wasn't easy to be predicted. As promised, a guard or two were always near him or at lease close in enough to watch him. The latter was what was happening right now. He eyed the two guard clad in bright red uniform a distance away, sitting under the shade of a tree while keeping a constant eye on him.

Halt, well, Halt was just being a Halt. There was nothing unusual about him, it was as if the whole incident, whatever it was, had never happened. Will had learned from a reluctant Gilan that he had forgotten a whole month of his memory. He had been surprised. It seemed like it was just yesterday that he had fell from the cliff.

Stocking his arrow back, he decided to rest for a while and found a rock under a shade to sit on. He still couldn't grasp the technique of the bow. It was as if that the bow was an unfamiliar weapon. True, he could hit the target about seven times out of ten, but it wasn't good enough. He couldn't improve any further than that for a long time. But he knew that giving up wasn't an option in Halt's eyes. The Saxe knife by his belt seemed more familiar to his hand but the grip was not. His accuracy for the knives were better than the bow's, he wasn't sure why.

He stood up again and resumed his practice.

The sun was slowly sinking down the mountain when he finally started making his way back to Halt's cabin. The guards had left him earlier a while ago when the cabin had come into view. He was about to open the door when he heard the familiar voice of Crowley and Halt having a conversation. Pressing his ear closer to the wooden surface, he listened.

"Have you find anything yet?" Came Halt's gruff voice.

"Yes, a small castle." Crowley replied, "When we reached them, the soldiers had already burned it down."

"Burned down?"

"Yes. There was nothing left except debris and ashes." Crowley said, his voice muffled by the door, "We found bones that were similar to the shape of humans. There was about three set of them."

Will clasped his hand over his mouth to cover his barely suppressed gasp.

"It was deep in the forest, Halt. No wonder we couldn't find it that easily."

There was a moment of silence, then, "So the assassins are dead?"

This time, Will couldn't conceal his gasp and it was loud and clear. The occupants inside stopped talking immediately. Bracing himself, the nervous boy outside the door looked for an excuse.

"Will?" The door opened, revealing Halt himself.

"Halt." Will said, as confident as he could.

"I heard you gasped." The ranger pointed out, "So you overheard."

"Huh?" Blinking in fake confusion, the boy said, "Oh, that. I gasped because I thought I saw someone out there in the bush. There was a rustle."

"Oh." Halt was clearly relieve and Will felt a wave of guilt.

Letting him in, Halt stepped aside. Will dropped his arrows and bow in his room. He heard Crowley leaving the cabin after saying goodnight to Halt and receiving a similar reply.

The boy moved into the room and sat down in a chair. Halt placed his dinner in front of him. He was hungry alright. He devoured the food in a matter of seconds before leaning back against the chair and watch his master, no, his former master, continued eating. The thought saddened him. Halt wasn't technically his former master, nor his master. More like…he wasn't sure how to describe their relationship. Acquaintance?

Halt, sensing his gaze, got up and placed a cup of brownish liquid in front of him, "Drink."

Will blinked in surprise. Normally Halt will never do something like that for him. It was always, go get yourself your own cup. Don't be lazy and such. Taking the warm cup in his hand, he stared at the liquid. It looked so…alienated in his hand.

"Assassins don't ask pointless question. And they don't drink coffee."

"What?" Will looked up in surprise at the voice.

"I didn't say anything." Halt merely look at him.

"Must be my imagination."

Who was that? Will frowned. He sounded so…familiar and…warm. Placing his still full cup back on the table, he left for his room. He just didn't feel like drinking coffee that moment and he didn't know why. Coffee had always been one of his favorite drink. But after hearing that voice, he just didn't want to.

Half a week had passed. Will had switched from drinking his daily coffee, to just water or juice. Halt was surprised the first two days, then he got used to it after that.

Stretching on the grass field right below the cliff he had fallen from, he closed his eyes. Tug roamed the grass next to him and sometimes further down, but never leaving him for too long. It seemed to him that Tug had developed a protectiveness for him. He chuckled slightly. He should be the one taking care of Tug, not the other way around.

Slowly, he fell into a sleep. In the dream, he heard people talking. Sometimes it was him, sometimes it was someone else. There were three of them constantly. They reminded him of a family. They were warm. They were kind. They were…familiar.

"I am Morten." The man introduced, "What is your name, boy?"

"It is alright. Your name is Will. Do you remember anything else?"

A man lighted a small torch and squatted down next to Will, "What are you doing here?"

"Coincidence, huh. I was looking for you too." The man said.

"You know," He began, "I will always be there for you, Will."

"You sounded like Halt." Will said, pillowing his head with his hands, "By the way, call me William."

"Your mission is now complete, Morten." The tall man paused then continued, "Except one more thing."

"Train him to be one of ours." He said, "Teach him. Take him as an apprentice."

The middle aged man sighed and looked ahead again, "We are not that barbaric, William. True, we are assassins. We are not justice. But we do not kill people just for random reasons. We do have a reason for every person we kill."

The teen laughed, "Nice to meet you, I am Archelous. But Sir Morten likes to call me Arch. Even though it is too short for my taste but I prefer people to call me that."

"Assassins are such a creep." William muttered.

"That doesn't make sense." William mumbled as Arch dragged him along, "And how do you know where the King's chamber is located?"

We have a map." Arch said as if it was the most obvious thing in the world, "A very detailed map."

"You don't expect me to leave a comrade here, do you?" Will whispered, "I will not betray my family."

"Shiro!" Arch yelled, "Get the heck out of here this instant!"

"But if things got out of hand, please, kill him, Liam." The tall man sighed unhappily, "It is either you or him. Personally, I prefer you over the king."

"And besides," The man attempted to cheer him up a little, "Kings aren't really fit for being an assassin, do they?"

"Come back in one piece…Liam."

He jolted awake all of a sudden as memories began flooding back to him. Morten, Arch, and K. The small castle. His missions. The letter he had left with Halt. The loneliness he had felt at first. It all came back to him. The whole month of his life. The part where he had forgotten. They all came back. How could he had forgotten them in the first place? They were all precious to him.

Tears began pouring down his face unrestrained. They were of happiness yet something else at the same time.

"Have you find anything yet?"

"Yes, a small castle. When we reached them, the soldiers had already burned it down."

"Burned down?"

"Yes. There was nothing left except debris and ashes. We found bones that were similar to the shape of humans. There was about three set of them."

"So the assassins are dead?"

His eyes widened in realizations as the truth of Halt and Crowley's conversation struck home. The happiness he had felt earlier vanished completely, leaving a gaping hole in the middle of his already broken heart. No, this is not possible. Why is this…happening? Tears streamed down his face in sorrow and he screamed his agony into the air. The sound reverberated across the empty plain and between the mountain and forests. The air suddenly grew chilly but he didn't notice. Why…Why is the world being so cruel?

Why…are they dead?

For the first time after the whole complete incident, he wondered with his broken heart that what would have happened if he hadn't misunderstood Halt's teasing words from back then. The words that aren't what they mean?

~FIN~

I have decided, my sequel will be named : The Clash Of Reunion I know...Another weird title. But who cares... ^ ^

Little Wishlet: YOU ARE MOONFYRE... I feel like being trolled. Hehe, it is okay. I don't mind. It is actually funny anyways, the way I completely freaked out when I missed the name! ^ ^

Guest 2: I just love cliffies. They make me smirk in self satisfaction(I am just pure evil). And well, if you end at a very uninteresting section, it is kinda...disappointing, you know what I mean? THanks for loooooooo(x 1000)ving my story! I really appreciated it! If you have any ideas for the upcoming sequel, do tell me. I haven't decided on my whole plot yet, but I think I have the base down!

Lala the Screaming Fangirl: I kinda fell sorry for Will to keep on loosing his memory...I am so sorry, Will! .

evanlyncassandraaltman: don't stalk me! - ! Well, I am usually more energetic at night than during the day. During the day I am just so sluggish that I don't want to move. At night, I am literally bouncing around the house. I think I am a night creature...Lol. Anyways, yay, now i have finally finished one story!

hope4mustangs: The assassins didn't really appeared in the last few chapters nor the epilogue tho... I hope the ending is to your liking, if not, I am terribly sorry! *squeak* Well, chapter 32 is kinda lame and all, I know. But I don't really want anything too energetic for the ending. You know what I mean? Like quieting down all that. Tying all the loose endings with some random moments.

Maddie Altman: I am finally starting to work on my sequel! Yay me. School gonna start real soon(next week, two more days), so the sequel's update might be really really slow. I hope I won't drop it, I hope I won't, because I myself is really looking forward to the sequel too. (did that make sense at all? don't think it did! ^ ^)

Introverted-thespian: I followed you on G+. Your email didn't show up on the review, I guess they don't allow emails to be posted because of scam and all that. :)

I have to say this again. Thank you everyone for your reviews, your encouragements, and your enthusiasm throughout my story! The prologue for the sequel should be posted tonight(hopefully, if not, then sometime tomorrow).

Well then, on that note. Peace out and see you soon! ^ ^

Her highness, Kawazoe Kumiko