Ranger's Apprentice; The Final Pieces

The News - Lost Love

Part two; after 'Goodbye – Lost Love'. Again, please let me know what you think of it and... yeah, I don't know if I should say have fun...

btw; thanks to Liekeeh for sending me the particular chapter I needed for writing this story!

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Everything was normal in the little cabin at the edge of the forest. Except for her. Or rather, her absence. Will flipped a page of the paper he was reading, though he couldn't concentrate on the letters he was supposed to be reading. It was quiet, too quiet. Tug was standing in his stable; Sable lay on her favourite spot on the veranda. Alyss was on a mission, still. She had gone to court of Celtica, to oversee the renewal of the defence agreement between Celtica and Araluen – a routine trip and a routine mission, nothing major nor dangerous.

But then, why wasn't she back yet? Will knew Pauline and Halt were getting worried as well. He could tell by the looks on their faces when they thought he wasn't paying attention. Alyss had left quite some time ago, and should have been returned already a week ago. But she hadn't. Pauline had already sent a letter to the court of Celtica and she had received an answer two days ago, saying that Alyss and her escort had left on time. They should have been here already, but they obviously were not. Something was wrong. In every bone in his body Will felt that something was wrong. Wrong with Alyss. One way or another, he could mostly tell how she was. It was a feeling he had developed during all the years he had known her, and knew she felt the same. They could tell when the other wasn't speaking the truth; they could tell when the other was in danger. Will flipped another paper, his eyes going over the pages but without reading them. Halt and Pauline didn't want him to know they were worried; they were scared that he would do something stupid, like going to look for her. And they were right. Will wanted to be sure that his wife was okay. But he couldn't leave Redmont; he had to be there for whenever he was needed. And maybe, just maybe, his feeling was wrong this time. Will had learned to trust Alyss, just like she had learned to trust him. They both went on dangerous missions and couldn't do anything but trust the other that they would return safely. Also this time.

Will put down his report. He couldn't concentrate on it anyway. He looked around, searching for something he could do, something to get his mind off his wife. In a corner of the room he saw his bow. He remembered that he had found a little wastage in the bowstring, so he decided to make a new one. He quickly got all the stuff he needed, and sat down at a chair next to the table.

As Will was working on his new bowstring, unrest was caused when three soldiers arrived at Castle Redmont. Their clothes had folds everywhere and were dirty. Their horses had foam at the mouth, and they were leading a fourth horse, looking just like the others. It was mainly the fourth horse that caused the unrest. On it were bags, some of them in which documents were being transported. It was clear that the fourth horse belonged to someone else – someone who had carried documents with him or her before leaving the escort with everything behind. The soldiers were clearly panicking and in shock, and without really having to proof who they were – the guards had recognised them anyway – they were lead to where Baron Arald was working. Other people took care of the four horses, making sure all stuff would go to the ones it belonged to.

The Baron looked up in surprise, when he saw the three soldiers entering his office. He recognised them immediately.

"Have you finally arrived? What took you so long? I thought something –" he abruptly stopped halfway a sentence, when he noticed the state the soldiers were in. He noticed the way they looked, which made him notice something else.