Will was awoken from his restless and pain filled sleep by a key turning in the heavy lock. He propped himself up on his elbow and faced the door as Morgarath, two Wargals, and a small, humpbacked man came in. Will moved to get up, but a Wargal roughly shoved him back down.

The elderly man hobbled up to Will and pulled his bandage off, not minding Will's gasp of pain when skin was pulled off as well. The man peered at the wound, then rubbed a poultice that stung against the boy's heated skin into the wound. The man, whom Will assumed was a healer finally turned to Morgarath. "It shouldn't get infected. I'll check back tomorrow, my lord."

The man scuttled out of the room. Morgarath strode to Will's bedside and unceremoniously pulled him out of bed. "Come on, boy."

The young Ranger suddenly felt angry. What right did this man have to order him around like a dog? Will raised his chin in defiance. "No."

Morgarath spun to face Will. "No?" He seethed, "No? You don't tell me no. You will address me as Master, and if I order something, you will do it."

Will's very soul rebelled at the idea of calling his captor Master. "I will never call you Master." Morgarath's eyes turned chillingly cold.

"Oh, I think you will."

-Oh dear.-

Hours later, Will was thrown back into his room. He had been whipped and beaten mercilessly by the cruel lord himself until he had finally given in.

Morgarath walked into Will's cell moments later. He loomed over the exhausted boy. "Now, what do you say? I did stop, after all."

Will shuddered. He closed his eyes tightly, then spoke three dreaded words. "T-thank you, M-master." Morgarath smirked, obviously pleased with himself.

"Good boy. Now, go to sleep. You have training tomorrow, after all." He looked expectantly at the Ranger lying at his feet.

"Y-yes Master."

-Whee. Can anyone imagine Halt's face when he finds out about this? I almost pity Morgarath.-

The next morning, Will wordlessly followed his Wargal guards to training. The knives had been replaced with wooden replicas after Will's earlier stunt, and the arrows were sharpened sticks. When Will had woken up, a new set of trousers and a shirt had been waiting for him, and there was also a simple, gray version of the Ranger cloak. It wasn't mottled, but the cloak had a deep hood that Will took great comfort in.

After practice, Will tried to run away from the guards, and was beaten as punishment. Once returned to his cell, he was given bread and water, and forced to thank Morgarath for it, calling him Master when prompted.

Over the next few days, a routine formed. Will slowly lost hope, but kept trying to escape. It was all he could do.

-Halt. 'Nuff said. Oh, wait, Crowley and Gil are here too. Oops. Almost forgot about them.-

Halt, Crowley, and Gilan finally made it to the bleak castle. The three Rangers silently stole across rooftops until they overheard two of the few humans in the castle talking about a Ranger boy being held in the Northeast Tower. The Rangers found the only room that could possibly be housing Will, and each stationed themselves on the window ledge outside the barred window. Just as they had gotten settled, the door slammed open, bouncing against the wall, and Halt's blood-soaked and bandaged apprentice was escorted into the room.

Will's eyes were downcast and he sat unmoving, his shoulders held in a way that told the Rangers that his back was injured. The boy offered no resistance as a heavy manacle was attached to his ankle and Morgarath strode in the door. The Wargals moved back to the door and Morgarath simply observed Will, as the young Ranger knelt in the center of the room.

Morgarath crouched and grasped Will's chin almost delicately, even as the object of his fascination flinched away from him. "I don't know why you struggle, boy. It's over. Halt isn't coming for you. Why would he save a disappointment like you from me?"

Will stilled and kept his gaze down. Morgarath slapped him sharply across the face. "Well, boy? What do you say?"

Will's voice was a whisper. "I don't know."

"You don't know…" When Will refused to respond to Morgarath's query, the dark lord rose and began kicking the boy with his steel-toed boots, eliciting short screams when he hit Will's damaged back.

"I don't know, Master!" Gilan and Crowley had been restraining Halt from trying to attack Morgarath, but all three Rangers froze when they heard what Will said. They exchanged horrified glances that clearly said, Master?.

Morgarath smiled and nodded, clearly satisfied. "Good boy." He turned and left, taking his Wargals and locking the door behind him. Will was left gasping on the floor, nursing a few fractured ribs. The Ranger apprentice hauled himself onto the bed and lay there, sobbing. After straining their ears, Halt, Crowley, and Gilan could clearly hear Will whispering to himself.

"H-help m-me, H-halt. P-please h-help m-me." Halt's mouth set in a grim line. He took a bottle of fast-working acid and applied it to the bars. Will heard the hissing and looked towards the window. "W-who's there?"

Halt's hand clung to the bars, pulling, trying to free Will faster. "It's me, Will. Halt. I'm here. So is Gilan and Crowley. We're going to get you out of here." Will gasped in surprise and limped to the window.

"Halt? It's really you?" Halt nodded, his heart twisting when he heard the desperation in his foster son's voice.

"Just a few more seconds, Will. Then we'll ride like hell to Castle Araluen, and we'll get you some medical attention."

Will suddenly looked ready to cry. "I-I'm sorry, Halt! He… He made me call him Master… I… I couldn't…" Halt made soft, reassuring shushing noises.

"It's all right, Will. I'm so proud of you. You were so brave, burning the bridge. Did you know that the girl, Evanlyn, was actually Princess Cassandra in disguise? You saved King Duncan's daughter. And you've been so very brave… I'm more proud of you than you can imagine."

The bars on Will's cell window finally snapped and Halt hoisted his apprentice up onto the window ledge by his forearms. Then he just held Will, rocking the boy back and forth while he sobbed. Halt gently cradled Will in one strong arm, while the other arm rappelled them down the wall using a rope Crowley had strung up.

Halt carried his apprentice to Abelard and set Will in front of him on the horse. Will leaned against Halt's chest, promptly succumbing to exhaustion and falling asleep. The three Rangers began riding back towards Three Step Pass. Will needed medical care, and fast.

-Yay! It's not over yet!-

The next morning, Morgarath walked into Will's room, flanked by two guards, and stopped short. He radiated rage, spying the discarded iron bars resting on the floor. It was the Rangers. No, it was Halt. This was all Halt's fault. The evil baron silently vowed to recapture Will. Next time, however, Morgarath would make sure to kill Halt.

-And hello, sequel idea!-

Halt, Will, Crowley, and Gilan thundered through the gates of Castle Araluen. Halt didn't stop, he just kept riding until he came to the infirmary door, where he jumped off Abelard with Will in his arms.

The healers inside the infirmary jumped as the door swung open. Halt laid Will, who was unconscious, on the bed and turned to the healers. "Help," he croaked, then collapsed heavily onto a chair beside the bed. The healers jumped into action, pulling off Will's shirt and calling for thread to sew up the lash marks, and herbs to keep Will from feeling anything.

Halt gasped in horror and anger when he saw the burn on Will's chest. One of the apprentice healers led Halt to another bed and told him to sleep, that there was nothing he could do for Will right now. Halt grumbled a bit, but he listened, falling into a deep sleep.

-Get ready for massive fluff-

Will slowly woke up, feeling as if he were drifting on a lake. He slowly opened his eyes, and was surprised to see that the ceiling above him wasn't the dark stone ceiling of his cell, but a tiled white one.

The Ranger apprentice then remembered Halt rescuing him, and he let out a sigh of relief. It was over. It was all over. Will propped himself up on his elbow, gritting his teeth at the pain in his back, and saw Halt asleep in a chair beside his bed. There were also a lot of cards and flowers on the bedside table. He noticed, with a small blush, that a vase full of elegant white flowers had a tag that said Alyss.

Just then, Will heard Halt start to wake up. He waited patiently until Halt was nearly awake, then whispered, "Halt?" Halt jolted awake, then looked at Will with unmistakable relief.

"Will? You're awake?" Will nodded shakily, then he started crying with relief. Halt got up and sat on the bed, pulling Will into a sitting position against his chest, and held him.

"Is it really over?" Halt nodded, smiling at his apprentice's relief. Will slowly started smiling too. "You came. I knew you would."

Halt felt love for the boy welling up in his chest. "Of course. I'll always be there when you need me." Will looked at Halt, biting his lip.

"Did you mean what you said… at Morgarath's castle?" Halt nodded, and Will relaxed. "Morgarath… he said you weren't coming, that you didn't care." Halt suddenly felt like he hated Morgarath more than anything in the world.

"Look at me, Will. I do care about you. You and Gilan, you're like the sons I never had." Will looked a bit surprised, but elated at Halt's confession.

"Halt? You're like a father to me, too." Halt smiled down at his apprentice.

"Go to sleep, Will. People will want to see you tomorrow." Will yawned and nodded.

"Okay. Good night, Halt."

"Good night, son."

-Was that too OOC?-

The next morning, Will woke up to Halt sitting at his bedside. Halt smiled to himself when he saw that Will was awake. "Morning, Will. I've got to make my report to the King, but Horace, Princess Cassandra… remember, she went by Evanlyn, and Alyss will be visiting you while I'm gone."

Will nodded. "So Evanlyn… is Princess Cassandra? Wow. I mean, Gilan and I suspected she was the noblewoman in disguise, instead of the maid, but… we didn't expect her to be the Princess. And Alyss is here?"

"Yes, Lady Alyss came here with Lady Pauline when they heard that you were… missing." Halt cleared his throat nervously and busied himself with gathering up some papers. Will tilted his head thoughtfully to the side.

"How did you know I was alive? I mean Evanlyn, sorry, Princess Cassandra didn't know if the Wargals had killed me." Halt shifted uncomfortably, then decided to try to evade the question.

"Well… Morgarath was…gloating a bit before he retreated… anyway, I think I hear your friends. I'll be back in an hour or two. Don't try getting out of bed." Will looked a bit sulky. That was exactly what he had been planning. Halt grinned, then walked to the door, quickly wiping any trace of a smile off his face. He did have a reputation to uphold, after all. Halt let Will's friends in, then strode to the throne room. He had much to discuss.

Halt walked into the throne room, and bowed in front of King Duncan. He noticed that Gilan and Crowley were already there, and the room had been emptied of the usual nobles. Lady Pauline was serving as the sole witness needed.

King Duncan nodded at Halt to proceed, and the grizzled Ranger cleared his throat and began talking. "Your Majesty, may I request that none of my report leaves this room?" King Duncan nodded his assent, and Halt continued. "Crowley, Gilan, and I rode to the Castle of Rain and Night, avoiding Wargal patrols as we went. We found Ranger Will's cell in the top of the Northeast tower, and waited for Will to be returned to the cell. A few moments later, Will was thrown inside and shackled to the wall by his ankle. Morgarath proceeded to-" and here Halt faltered, then gathered his resolve to finish his report.

"Morgarath proceeded to start beating Will, telling him that I wasn't going to rescue him, and forcing Will to call him Master." Lady Pauline couldn't stop a small gasp as she heard how Will had been treated. Halt took a breath, then continued. "We melted the bars on the window with acid, and carried Will down the tower. We rode to Castle Araluen, the closest castle that one of us was stationed at, and I delivered Will to the infirmary. The medical examination revealed that Ranger Will is covered in cuts and contusions, has been severely whipped several times, and has been… branded on his chest with Morgarath's seal. Despite what Will has gone through, he seems to be of good mental health and should make a full recovery."

Lady Pauline was nearly crying by now, and the Rangers and King Duncan looked aghast at what Will had suffered. Gilan shook his head slowly. "I didn't know it was that bad…" Crowley nodded his agreement. Halt nodded sharply, and turned towards the door.

"May I get back to my apprentice, Your Majesty?" King Duncan hurriedly nodded his assent, and Halt swept out of the room.

Crowley summed everyone's thoughts up with one word. "Whoa." Lady Pauline looked thoughtful.

"Does Will still want to be a Ranger?"

Gilan nodded. "Yes. On the way back, I overheard Will asking Halt if he was disappointed in him, and Halt immediately told him that he was proud of Will. Will asked if Halt still wanted him as an apprentice, and Halt reassured him that he would be glad to keep training Will."

King Duncan leaned back in his throne with a sigh. "That boy will make a fine Ranger one day." Crowley nodded in agreement.

"He already is one."

A/N: Yup. I HAVE FINISHED SAILING… until Flying Scot season starts! Basically, in two weeks. ;-P Shoutouts!

Pennydragon: Yes, you most certainly did hear Will whumpage! And Fatherly!Halt fluff… and fluff of every kind imaginable… and it's over! Until I start posting the next RA fic I have planned…

FMM: THANK YOU! And yes… I have another RA fic planned… I've already written three chapters… I may or may not start posting it today. NO PROMISES! I'm neglecting my two other in-progress fics, aren't I?