The end...? (Ranger's apprentice/ Brotherband fan-fiction)

Chapter 7

Hello dear readers! Sorry for the long wait (again... :/) but here is chapter 7! Enjoy!

Hal contently looked out over the deck over the Heron. For the first time in days, the sun had managed to break through the thick clouds and the wind had become less rough. In a steady course they headed for Stormwhite Sea. The crew hadn’t forgotten the attack of the previous night, but they had gotten over the initial shock. Every now and then, Ulf and Wulf would tend to the position of the sail, but besides them, everyone had some time to relax. Hal was standing at the tiller. The cut in his arm that he had got in Araluen, had started to bleed again during the fight, but Edvin had given him a proper bandage, so he only felt a slight nagging pain. He didn’t really bother; he’d had worse.
                              Evanlyn had taken a seat with Lydia. After their first encounter, the girl had gotten very curious to one another and now they didn’t stop talking. Hal didn’t have a clue what they were talking about, but he figured it would be a girls’ thing and he wouldn’t want to know anyway. A grey-green shadow appeared besides him and Hal smiled for a moment.
“Hello, Will,” he greeted the shadow calmly. The ranger pushed back the hood of his cloak, revealing his face.
“Hello, Hal,” he replied. “How long till we reach Skandia?” Hal thought about it for a moment.
“If the weather allows it and if we go straight to Skandia, it would take us a week,” he then explained. “But we’ll have to go via Skorghijl to restock. The original plan was to do so in Araluen, but as you know, we didn’t really get a chance for that.” Will nodded and looked out over the water. Hal, noticing his sombre look, asked him what was going on. Will turned back to the skirl and after a slight hesitation he started telling about a wild journey to the castle of Araluen with someone named Halt and about the flight with his friends.
“When we were stuck underneath that cliff, they told me to take Evanlyn to safety and get help. For some odd reason I called down that we’d reunite in Skandia…” Will concluded his story. Hal let it all sink in for a moment.
“So that’s why you want to go to Skandia so badly,” he understood and the ranger nodded in acknowledgement. They both kept silent, lost in their own thoughts.
                              Evanlyn came running past them, squealing happily. Hal followed the little girl with his eyes and noticed how Lydia was running after her; both laughing, the two girls chased after each other all over the deck. Hal tried to think of something to get Will to lighten up a bit as well, but since he barely knew the ranger, he had no idea what he could say. He sighed and remained silent, regarding Evanlyn as she climbed on one of the rowing benches in between Ingvar and Jesper. As the girl took off again, the two boys burst out laughing, before diving out of Lydia’s way, who was still in pursuit and jumped over the bench without any sign of effort.
“Well, she does know how to turn your ship upside down,” Will stated amusedly. Hal decided this was his shot at cheering Will up and made up a quasi-indignant reply.
“I should tie you two to the mast, considering all of the trouble you cause me!” I worked: Will chuckled and Hal suppressed a satisfied grin.
“Yes, maybe you should, but you’d have to catch us first!” the ranger replied, pointing at Evanlyn who managed to dodge Lydia. Hal laughed and decided to make a surprise attack at Will. His arm shot outwards, but it met nothing but emptiness. Confused, Hal looked around, to find Will on his other side, grinning cheekily. He tried again and the ranger jumped in front of him, just out of his reach; Hal couldn’t abandon the tiller.
                              Thorn, having noticed the mock battle, apparently felt like joining in, as he soundlessly crept forward, inch by inch. At least, Hal didn’t hear a sound. But clearly Will did, as he again jumped out of the way at the last moment, causing Thorn to nearly loose his balance. Hal regarded the ranger admiringly, as he easily managed to stay out of the reach of the cursing Thorn. He knew there couldn’t be many people who’d be able to do so. Stefan and Edvin, who dared to laugh, hastily tried to look serious again, as Thorn threateningly turned towards them. Hal shook his head, a slight smile on his face, and looked at the horizon. The sun had started its way down. They had about three hours of daylight left. During that time, they could still cover quite a distance, so Hal decided they’d let the anchor down at night again. This time, though, he would make sure someone would stand guard, just in case there were more Scoti following them. He sincerely hoped there weren’t any, for he could use a decent night’s rest. The storms and previous attacks had kept him awake often enough already.
                              Will and Thorn quit their little game and Thorn came to stand besides Hal. Will went over to Evanlyn and Lydia, who had sat down again by now.
“I don’t trust that ranger,” Thorn stated. Hal raised an eyebrow at him.
“Well, you’re not making a secret of it,” he replied. Thorn shrugged. A moment of silent passed between them.
“What did he ever do to you then?” Hal dared to ask. Thorn just looked out over the sea. Just as Hal thought he wouldn’t reply, Thorn turned back.
“I’ve got my reasons,” was all he said. Hal didn’t question him any further. If Thorn didn’t want to tell it, nothing would be able to change his mind. And nothing did. He turned to look at Will, who was telling Evanlyn an animated story, accompanied by a large amount of gestures. Evanlyn was giggling so loudly she needed to gasp for air. Even Lydia looked amused.
                              They coursed on for two more hours, until the sky started to show shades of orange. As planned, Hal set up a guard for the night. Slowly, it got silent on the ship, except for the sound of sleeping people. Nobody noticed the ship appearing on the horizon…