Chapter Two: Traitor and a Disappearing Ranger

Summary: Will and Halt have a fierce little argument, while there is a traitor in the midst of Mytycaea; Horace isn't too happy with his friend for disappearing on them, and two of Mytycaea's natives still don't get along...

Here it is, chapter two! ^^ It's done a bit earlier than I first told myself. But then, that's all the better for the readers, isn't it? :) (It's also much shorter than I originally planned...I apologize for that)

Thanks goes to MeL, who again beta-read the chapter before I posted it, AND alerted me to a pretty big mistake on my part. ^^; Now that that's over with, please enjoy the second chapter of Land of Mytycaea! :)

"Hey, Halt! Gilan's here," Will told his former mentor.

The grizzled Ranger grunted and took a sip of his coffee, avoiding the cleverly-put invitation to talk.

Gilan tipped his head to one side. "So, Halt, want to tell us why you're staying behind?"

Before Halt could reply, Will burst in, still angry at Halt for tricking him about when he'd start the mission, and also worried about his moodiness, yet a bit mad at Halt for having (supposedly) lied to him and Gilan.

"Why did you tell Crowley to lie to us? Can't you trust us?" Without him realizing it, his voice was getting progressively louder and high-pitched, and his words became a jumble that the older Rangers could barely understand. "Don't you know that we aren't apprentices anymore? D'you think we're stupid, or that we don't care for you?"

"Will..." Gilan moved forward to stop the young man from exploding. Strange for Will to act like this, he thought.

Halt looked at his former apprentices and smiled sadly. Gilan, tall, joking, cheerful; Will, young, optimistic, more like a son to him than a mere servant or apprentice.

"Crowley didn't lie to you two. There are bandits waiting for me back at Redmont. The Temujai are a danger to this side of the world again. Even worse, Hibernia's falling apart yet again, and there's been quite an amount of troublemakers in the northeastern fiefs lately."

"He's not making you take care of all of that, is he?" Will demanded sharply. A flame still burned in his brown eyes as he regarded his teacher and friend.

Halt hesitated before answering. "The bandits will be easy enough to take care of. Hopefully, the two senior Rangers Crowley sent to Skandia will help the archers and the sea wolves. Maybe the King can work out the clashing Hibernian kingdoms. And two of the younger Rangers are off with their apprentices to deal with those idiot cults stirring up trouble." He sighed heavily. "But I'll miss you two. I'm not allowed to go off on those other missions for fear that I'll be reckless, or do something that...might not be the wisest choice."

Will looked away for a long time, out towards Redmont. Gilan noted his determined gaze, set stance, and sparkling eyes and thought, Oh boy. I hope he doesn't hurt himself, doing what he's about to do.

"Right then, I'll be talking to Svengal if you need me," Will muttered, then swung around and walked away from the older two Rangers.

Halt heaved another gusty sigh and put his face in his hands. "Gilan, I'm an idiot."

"Yes, you are," Gilan replied.

"Has anyone seen Will or Alyss?" Halt asked at the dinner table. "The last I saw of them was just after lunch, when they went for a walk in the woods."

Horace slowly set down the cup he'd been about to drink out of, now worried. "You say they've been out there for five, six hours now?"

Gilan nodded. "I also noticed them go off into the woods. And they still haven't come back!"

The three men jumped to their feet and ran out the dining hall of the Castle to the forest outside.

"Will! Alyss!" they called over and over again. Then Horace was left pacing impatiently at the very outskirts of the forest as Halt and Gilan rode their Ranger horses inside the undergrowth to search for any sign of them.

When the two Rangers finally did come out again, it was not with good news.

"He's gone," Halt choked out. "Blood everywhere!"

Horace was alarmed to see how heavily the grizzled Ranger leaned on Gilan's shoulder and how hollow, how much older they both looked.

"He's gone, and it was all my fault."

Creek called out to the tanned brunette walking by.

"Lightning!"

Lightning turned. Her dark brown eyes flashed when she saw who had called to her. Without a word she whirled around and walked away towards her parents' tent, head held high.

Creek shook her head sadly. "Things still aren't right between us."

A figure shrouded in shadow watched from inside the gnarled, tangled mess of tree branches as Lightning walked by. After Creek had also left, they darted out of their hiding place and made for the other end of the forest, the opposite direction that the two girls had gone.

After almost an hour of jumping over tree roots and pushing through twisted branches, the mysterious person reached their destination.

A cloaked figure stepped out from behind a large tent and held his hands open in a welcoming gesture.

"You have come."

The other swallowed and nodded. "Yes. It was easy to elude the other members of my Tribe. Even my own daughter did not notice me hiding in the trees."

"So you will prove useful after all. Very well then!" The cloaked figure clapped his hands and the other was instantly swept into the large tent by ten Tribe girls. Then the cloaked figure continued, "In here we will tell you all that you need to know, mostly about the coming raids..."

The other looked up, their face already lighting up with hope.

"...but also concerning your husband."

Hundreds of miles north, Will was finding it painfully hard to breathe.

"You idiot, Will! We thought you had died!" an angry voice belonging to a beet-red face yelled.

Will gasped and choked, tearing at the iron grip around his throat. After a well-aimed kick, he managed to break free and roll away from danger.

"My god, Horace! You nearly killed me!" he exclaimed after catching his breath. "And it's not like I'm in full health conditions, you know."

Immediately, Horace's anger melted away and changed to concern. "What happened? Are you all right?"

Will grimaced as he held tightly on to Horace's shoulder, gaining his balance. "I got a pretty deep cut on my right side. I'm tired, cold, and hungry after beating up those darned bandits back at Redmont. And I'd really love a nice, warm bed and maybe a hot stew right now."

"Well, come on, then!" Horace half-dragged, half-pulled Will back to the castle's dining hall.

As the two of them came in, everyone else looked up from their meal and gasped.

Halt was the first one to react. He jumped to his feet, knocking his chair over, and ran over to his former apprentice, Gilan following a second behind. They both tackled Will, forcing him to lie flat on his back.

Halt unsheathed his saxe knife. Gilan did the same. There was an ominous quiet in the room as everyone held their breath, waiting to see what would happen to Will.

Halt stared down at his former apprentice, his expression unfathomable as he held his knife ready.

Finally, he threw the knife to one side.

There was a collective sigh of relief in the room, coming from precisely sixty-two mouths. (Well, sixty-four, counting Will and Gilan.)

"Will." Halt paused after he'd said the name. "Son." That was better.

"Don't ever do that to me again, d'you hear me? I swear, all the hairs on my head have turned gray now, all because of you!" he snapped, trying to seem angry but failing miserably as Will smiled and hugged him and Gilan.

Will grinned weakly as Gilan pouted, "What about me? Didn't I do half of the job?"

"Ah, that was only the beginning of what I'm going to do to you, Halt," Will said as he was dragged to Castle Araluen's infirmary by his two relieved superiors.

I like the ending. ^_^ (Well, seeing as I'm the author...XD)

So, did you like it? Like it or not, please review and tell me your opinion and feedback! :D Flames will be used to roast marshmallows and hand them out to reviewers, just as a warning! ^^

Chapter Three will be up by this Wednesday, just to let you guys know. Hope you enjoyed, and again, please review.