Holy moly, it's been a long time since I've updated any stories. I apologize for this as I was a bit busy with life. If you did not read Volume One, then I highly recommend doing so before reading this. I felt bad for kind of leaving everything to gather dust, and decided I'd should update at least one story before college starts up again. I will continue to update as much as I can, but it may be a bit slow going until summer, or at least spring break.

This volume of Celestial Ranger will include The Burning Bridge, Icebound Land, and Battle for Skandia, and despite the fact the poll result that Lucy should stay with Halt, there were some things that would just ruin the flow of the story if I did that, so I decided to make her leave with Will, Horace, and Gilan.

Disclaimer: I do not own Ranger's Apprentice or Fairy Tail.

Lucy was lying awake in her bed after another hard day's training (the dangers of the world wouldn't stop just because they killed a couple Kalkara after all), and was pondering what to do about her fellow apprentice/roommate. To put it simply, Will had been a bit down in the dumps lately; The reason for this being the fact that he panicked when he was charged by a Wargal during a tracking mission. He was ashamed and angry at himself for not only losing his cool, but missing two shots as well.

Still pondering how she could cheer him up, Lucy heard the sound of hurried-but-trying-to-be-quiet shuffling of her roommate from behind the curtain. She frowned in annoyance, wondering what in the blazes he was doing this hour of the night, despite the fact that she herself had not gone to sleep.

Then she heard it, voices coming from the kitchen. One was the muffled familiar tones of Halt's voice, the second was familiar, but Lucy was having difficulty placing it in her current state of exhaustion. On the other side of the curtain, she heard Will stop moving. She got out of bed and cautiously pulled the curtain aside, not wanting to catch Will in a state of undress, but it hadn't been necessary as he was fully dressed, hair tousled from the bed and listening intently at the door.

"What are you-?" Lucy began to ask before Will quickly shushed her, finger to his lips.

"Gilan's here," Will said quietly as by way of answering her question. Lucy spread out her hands with a confused expression as if to say, "Yeah, and?" Will sighed, whispering, "Just . . . play along?" not wanting to admit that he wanted to play off Gilan's arrival as Halt had done.

He opened the door and walked out and Lucy followed, trying to straighten out her own bed-hair and still in her nightgown.

She hid a yawn as Will casually greeted Gilan, "Evening, Gilan. What brings you here?"

"I'm wondering the same thing, actually," Lucy added.

"Isn't anybody surprised when I turn up in the middle of the night?" he asked in mock despair.

"Lucy, Will, it's late and we have a busy tomorrow, you best go back to bed." Halt said.

Lucy wasn't going to complain, but Will looked stricken and his air of casualness dropped instantly. "Oh, please, Halt?" Will pleaded. "I want to know what's going on!"

Gilan and Halt seemed to exchange amused looks as Will hopped from one foot to the other. Lucy, on the other hand, was more than willing to go back to bed. Halt kept a straight face as he set four mugs of piping hot, freshly made coffee on the table. "Just as well I made four cups then, isn't it?"

Realizing that they had been giving them a hard time, Will just shrugged, grinned and went over to the table. Lucy trailed behind him like a zombie, drifting towards the coffee. Within a few moments, everyone was settled down with their coffee.

"So, Gilan, before Will explodes with curiosity, what is the reason for this unexpected visit?" he said.

"Well, it has to do with those battle plans you discovered last week. Now that we know what Morgarath has in mind, the King wants the army ready on the Plains of Uthal before the dark of the next moon. That's when Morgarath plans to break out through Three Step Pass." Gilan explained.

Lucy remembered that event, could she forget considering it was the same event that had kept her from falling asleep tonight. She couldn't forget how scared Will had been, and how he could have died were it not for the combined efforts of Tug, Halt, and herself. He felt awful about missing his assailant twice. She couldn't really blame him.

While the Wargals were nothing compared to what Lucy had to deal with on a nearly daily basis in Fairy Tail, Will had only ever been in a couple life-or-death situations, both of which had nearly ended his life, and the second of which didn't have the enemy charging directly at him. But the document contained information about Morgarath's attack plan, including a force of five hundred Skandian mercenaries making their way through the swamps to attack Araluen forces at Three Step Pass, then the Wargals would flood out onto the Plains.

"So Duncan plans to beat him to the punch," Halt said, nodding. "Good thinking. That way we control the battlefield."

Will copied the movement, causing Lucy to roll her eyes, and attempting to match Halt's tone said, "And we'll keep Morgarath's army bottled up in the Pass."

With a grin, Gilan said, "On the contrary, once the army's in place, Duncan plans to withdraw the garrison, then fall back to prepared positions and let Morgarath out onto the Plains."

This surprised both of the apprentices. "Is the King crazy!? Why would . . . ?" he trailed off remember just who he was calling crazy. "I mean . . . No offense or anything like that, but it's just—"

"Oh," Halt began. "I'm sure the King wouldn't be offended to hear that a lowly apprentice Ranger thought he was crazy. Kings usually love to hear that sort of thing."

Lucy decided to chime in. "I'm kind of with Will on this one. Why would the King let Morgarath's forces out of Three Step Pass where the Araluen army can bottleneck them?"

Halt felt a small bit of pride at Lucy's tactical thinking, even if she was failing to see the larger picture. Though he supposed he couldn't fault her for it, she had lived in an entirely different world from them and couldn't really understand just how much fear Morgarath caused throughout the year, even if she had studied the country's history. "Because we've spent sixteen years looking over our shoulders at Morgarath, wondering what he's up to. In that time, we've had many of our forces tied up patrolling the base of the cliffs and keeping watch over Three Step. And he's been free to strike at us any time he likes. The Kalkara were the latest example, as you know only too well."

Gilan piped up, "And there's another reason. After sixteen years of relative peace, people are growing complacent. Not the Rangers, of course, but the village people who provide men-at-arms for our army, and even some of the barons and Battlemasters in remote fiefs to the north."

"You've seen for yourself how reluctant some people are to leave their farms and go to war," Halt added, causing both apprentices to nod as they had spent the last week raising levies of men. Needless to say, some of the villages were . . . shall we say, less than eager to provide the men that would make up the bulk of the army.

"As far as King Duncan is concerned, now is the time to settle this. We're as strong as we'll ever be and any delay will only weaken us. This is the best opportunity we'll have to get rid of Morgarath once and for all." Gilan said.

"All of which still begs my original question," Halt said. "What brings you here in the middle of the night?"

"Orders from Crowley," Gilan answered, placing a dispatch notice in front of Halt.

He unrolled the paper and read it before rolling it back up. "So you're taking dispatches to King Swyddned of the Celts. I assume you're invoking the mutual defense treaty that Duncan signed with him some years ago?"

"The King feels we're going to need all the troops we can muster," Gilan answered with a nod, sipping at his coffee.

"With this plan, I suppose he would want as much manpower as he could get," Lucy said, nodding. She wasn't entirely aware of this treaty that was mentioned, or the reasoning behind it, but there was always time for history lessons later . . . like . . . during the day, after she'd gotten more sleep.

Halt nodded in agreement. "I can't fault his thinking there. But…?" he said as he spread his hands as if to question Gilan's presence.

"Well, it's an official embassy to Celtica," as he put emphasis on the last word, realization dawned on Halt.

"Of course," he said. "The old Celtic tradition."

"Superstition, more like it," Gilan answered, shaking his head. "It's a ridiculous waste of time as far as I'm concerned."

"Of course it is," Halt replied. "But the Celts insist on it, so what can you do?"

"It's all very well in normal times, but with all these preparations for war, we're stretched thin in every area. We simply don't have the people to spare. So Crowley thought…"

"I think I'm ahead of you," said Halt.

Will and Lucy were looking back and forth between the two men, then at each other, neither one of them fully understanding the two fully-fledged Rangers. Will looked frustrated and like he was about ready to explode, but Lucy had a bit more . . . tact than her male compatriot when it came to these matters.

"What are you two talking about?" she calmly asked, confused. "Because I think I lost you somewhere in that conversation."

Halt turned to her with a raised brow. "Getting lost in a conversation is no good. It should be obvious that Gilan is asking me to you two to him so you may accompany him to Celtica."

Lucy thought for a moment as she thought on her geography lessons as Gilan nodded in confirmation.

"Us? Why us?" asked Will. "What can we do in Celtica?"

"Celtica is the border country to the north, one of our allies, right?" asked Lucy.

"That is correct, I see you've been paying attention to your geography lessons, better than someone at least . . . . To answer your question, Will, I suppose you'd ask interminable questions, interrupt your betters and forget to do your chores. The real question is, can you be spared from duty here, and the answer to that is 'Definitely.'"

Will and Lucy both wanted to ask what they would actually be doing in Celtica and why Gilan need someone to accompany him, but they both also knew that Halt would only give that answer when he felt like giving it. No sooner, and no later. It was a behavior that had become a constant irritation to Lucy, who took great displeasure in being denied knowledge, especially knowledge she couldn't ask Grandpa Crux, and while it did annoy Will, who had a burning curiosity, had learned to be at least somewhat patient.

Gilan took pity on them both after a few minutes. "I need you two with me to make up numbers since traditionally, the Celts insist that official embassies consist of at least three people. And Halt's right, you two are the only ones who can be spared. Lucy a little less so if people were allowed to know about her magic. If it makes either of you feel better, I only got this mission because I'm the most junior of the Corps."

"But why at least three people?" asked Will. "Can't one person deliver a message just as well as three?"

Gilan sighed before beginning to explain, "As we were saying, it's a superstition among the Celts. It goes back to the old days of the Celtic Council, when the Celts, the Scotti, and the Hibernians were one alliance. They were ruled then by a triumvirate—"

Halt interrupted before the impromptu history lesson to continue. "The point is, that while Gilan could deliver the message himself, they'd keep him waiting and fob him off for days, or even weeks, while they dither over form and protocol. And we don't have that sort of time to waste. There's an old Celtic saying that covers it: One man may be deceit. Two can be conspiracy. Three is the number I trust."

"So you're sending us because you can do without us?" Will asked, somewhat offended.

Lucy couldn't help but roll her eyes a bit, "Give him a chance to explain."

"Well, we can, as a matter of fact. But you can't send just anyone on these embassies. The three members have to have some sort of official status or position in the world. They can't be simple men-at-arms, for example. Both you and Lucy are members of the Ranger Corps, that will carry a certain amount of weight with the Celts.

"I suspect we may need to find a fourth member for the embassy, due to Lucy being of the . . . fairer sex. They might not believe her to be of an official status or position. Whether they do or don't, four would do just as well as three."

"Aren't we still just apprentices?" asked Lucy.

"Bronze or silver, it doesn't matter. If you wear the oakleaf, you're one of us." Halt stated.

Will smiled at Lucy before looking back at Halt with the same smile. "Well, when you put it like that, I'd be glad to join you, Gilan."

"I suppose it'd be pretty neat to see some other countries of this world, even if . . . you know . . . it's because of a war . . ." said Lucy, accepting the invitation.

Halt regarded the two dryly (don't want to get too supportive now, do we?) before turning back to Gilan. "So, Gilan, can you think of anyone else who's totally unnecessary to be the fourth member?" he asked, causing Will's smile to fade.

"That's the other reason why Crowley sent me here. Since Redmont is one of the larger fiefs, he thought you might be able to spare someone else from here. Any suggestions?" asked Gilan.

Halt began to rub his chin as he pondered the final member of the embassy and an idea began to take root. "I think we might have just the person you need. Lucy, Will, you'd better get some sleep. I'll give Gilan a hand with the horses and then we'll go up to the castle."

Lucy had yet to fall asleep that night and Will had not gotten enough, so they both headed to bed after bidding Halt and Gilan goodnight, eager to rest up for the next day and their coming journey to Celtica.

Hope you enjoyed and please leave a review. :)

On a side note: It feels absolutely amazing to get back to writing.