Title: Cabin Days
Rating: T
Author: TayliaNinja
Summary: Takes place right after book 3, before book 4.
Disclaimer: I do not own the book. All rights go to Mr. Flanagan.
Note: This one is a chapter story. The ship is Evanlyn/Will. I don't really know which ship I ship, but I felt like writing it. Reviews make me happy.
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Chapter One
"Evanlyn!" Will smiled broadly. "Thank god you're safe!"
She was safe. Her dirty blonde hair fell down her shoulders, framing her beautiful face perfectly. Her hands were holding her catch from hunter, curling around the flesh of the fresh rabbit. Her eyes began to fill with tears and slowly the tears slid down her face as she stared at Will in disbelief.
Will was confused. There didn't seem to be a reason to be crying at the moment. If anybody would be it crying it'd be him. His confusion only doubled when the girl started to smile.
"Evanlyn?" Will said softly.
Her control seemed to leave her. She dropped her hunting supplies and ran into Will's arms. Her face rested in between in shoulder and his neck. Will wrapped his arms around the Princess, speaking words of reassurance into her ear. She smelled of dirt, sweat, and pine needles but Will thought she smelled wonderful.
"Will…" Evanlyn whispered.
Her crying slowed until it almost reached a stop. She smiled, finally taking in the new Will. His once dark and dead eyes were now filled with concern and love. His curly brown hair, now long and framing over his brown eyes. His tanned handsome face. For once he actually looked alive. She smiled and took his hand, leading Will over to the old wooden chair sitting next to the fire. Will sat and looked at Evanlyn curiously, a small smile playing on his delicate lips.
"I missed you," Evanlyn said softly, pulling another wooden chair next to Will's.
Will's eyes filled with confusion and so Evanlyn explained. "Will...you haven't been yourself in a while."
Will nodded. "I've been sleeping. But I can't remember anything."
Evanlyn didn't want to ell Will. She wanted him to be happy, but the truth had to be told. She decided the best way to start was to tell him the truth and skip hinting around it.
"Will, you were drugged." She said the words softly, as if the better they sounded when it came out, the better it'd be.
The Ranger's eyes moved to her green ones. They were filled with dead but the wanting to know more. He looked at her pleadingly as Evanlyn took his hand in her and began the story.
It was a long one. She told Will of their kidnapping, of their time on Skorghijl, of arriving in Skandia, of his job as a yard slave, of his addiction to Warmweed, and of their time at the cabin. Will was a good listener, only interrupting a few times when she didn't explain herself thoroughly. Will's eyes filled with shame when she described how he acted while he was addicted to the drug.
"I'm sorry," Will said when Evanlyn was done with her story.
Evanlyn squeezed Will's hand comfortingly and asked, "Why?"
Will looked into her eyes. "For getting addicted to that drug. It's my fault."
Evanlyn shook her head quickly, trying to stop the tears from forming in her green eyes. "No, don't…" She sniffed loudly. "It wasn't your fault. It was the one who gave you the drugs fault. Please, Will, don't apologize."
Will almost smiled, leaning into her embrace and feeling her heartbeat thump softly repeatedly. Evanlyn put her arms around his small body, holding him close.
"Thank you," Will said softly into her shoulder.
Evanlyn removed Will from her just far enough to look closely at him.
"For what?" she whispered, her eyes searching his lively brown ones that were filled with a mixture of sadness and love.
Will said, "For taking care of me. For saving my life. For everything."
Evanlyn held him in her arms, her dirty blonde hair streaming like a blanket over Will's small body.
She held him to her chest for a long time but it seemed very soon that the Rangers breathing slowed and he drifted into sleep.
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She late moved his sleeping body to the small bed in the corner of the cabin. She gently laid him on the bed and covered him with blankets, making sure his head had something soft to sleep on. Evanlyn fixed it so his hair was not covering his face and then went to make her own bed with extra blankets.
But then Will started to moan.
She stopped laying blankets down on the floor and looked at Will. He was muttering, his voice gradually getting louder and louder. Evanlyn dropped her blankets and moved to Will's side, pulling a wooden chair with her to sit next to him.
"Will?" Evanlyn whispered softly, trying to figure out if he was having a nightmare.
The Ranger yelled, "No!"
He started to jerk around in his sleep, trying to get away from whatever it was that was happening in his dream. Evanlyn reached out and put her hand on his forehead. He was a burning hot. She whispered his name softly before starting to move him over and over, calling his name.
"Will!" she yelled as he slapped her, trying to face the other way.
"No, please!" Will screamed.
"Will, wake up!" she screamed as loud as she could and slapped him across the face.
His eyes opened and he looked at her in confusion, breathing quickly and his heart was racing. He had sweat going down from his forehead, a small trail leading down his cheeks. He stared at her in confusion for a minute before remembering what was really going on and where he was.
"It was a dream?" he whispered shakily.
Evanlyn nodded. "You were dreaming. It's all right now. I promise."
He breathed in and out for a moment, staring at Evanlyn's green eyes. They sat there for some time just looking at each other. Will held out one over-heated hand and clasped hers in his. Evanlyn squeezed his hand gratefully and Will smiled shakily. She waited but Will did not seem to want to talk about his nightmare so she just sat in a comfortable silence with the Ranger. The only sound heard was the crackle of the fire.
"Evanlyn…" Will whispered her name.
Evanlyn smiled at him. "Yes?"
"Could you…?" He patted the open spot next to him on the bed and scooted over to make room for her.
She smiled and nodded, getting under the covers with him. She wrapped her arms around his body and held him. He smiled, leaning into her embrace. They laid there for a long time, just enjoying each other's presence. A while later, Evanlyn heard Will's breathing even out as he fell asleep in her arms. But she stayed awake for a while after him, thinking about their journey. And about what was coming next.
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