Ranger's Apprentice: Tales Untold

Not Alright

"And at the time, my mother and father were arguing nonstop—they were never what you might call a happy couple."

- Halt O'Carrick, Kings of Clonmel

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DOOR SLAMMED. VOICES WERE raised. Something shattered against the wall; glass, he supposed, by the noise.

Someone was knocking on the door. Halt glanced over at Ferris before treading across the room, turning the doorknob. It was safe enough; with their parents occupied, there wasn't anyone else it could be.

The eight-year-old stood in the entrance, eyes wide with fright. Her dark curls were ruffled from the little sleep she'd gotten, and her face was unusually pale.

"Halt?" Caitlyn whispered. "What's going on?"

Halt motioned her in the room, hurriedly shutting the door behind him. The screaming lessened somewhat—but not by much.

"God, how long have they been at it?" Ferris muttered, hopping off the bed and wrapping one arm around their little sister. Halt looked back and shook his head.

"I don't know." The volume of their voices rose and another glassware shattered. Caitlyn winced, shrinking back. Blast it, Halt thought. "It won't be over for a while." He turned to his two younger siblings. Both of them held a tinge of uncertainty in their faces, and perhaps even a little fear.

"It's going to be alright," he said quietly. It usually didn't last too long; a screaming match that night and tension in the morning, but it was more than he could have ever asked for.

"You liar!" Their mother was shrieking. "How dare you accuse me of such a thing?"

"Oh, so you call me a liar now?" their father thundered. "I could have you thrown in the dungeon, Clara! And believe me, I would do it without a moment's hesitation."

"Oh, shut up!" Halt snapped, louder than he'd meant to. He tensed as soon as the words left his mouth, a cold stone of fear forming in his stomach as he looked towards the door. But their parents continued shouting at one another instead, and he sighed in relief.

"This is the second time this week." Caitlyn looked away, heading towards the window. "What if they...?"

"They won't," Ferris said. He shot Halt a look that said he wasn't convinced. "It's going to be alright, Cait."

"Did you just hit me? Darren, did you just hit me?"

"Blast it!" Ferris shot an angry look towards the door, his hands clenched. "Halt?"

Halt stepped in front of him. "Don't do it. If you go out there, you'll only put yourself in the middle of it. Both you and I know that's not a smart idea." The bruise on his face was still a deep, ugly purple, a reminder for all three children.

"But..." His younger twin shook his head, eyebrows furrowed. "How much longer are we going to have to put up with this?"

He sighed. "I wish I knew," he replied heavily. Shaking his head, he looked from one disconsolate face to the other. "Cait, you can stay in our room for tonight. We're just going to have to wait this out." Just like we always do.

Their sister nodded. She was shivering slightly, and he shrugged off the thin coat he wore, wrapping it around her shoulders. "I'm scared." She looked at him. "Are you sure it's going to be okay?"

"Yes." Halt fixed them both with a look he hoped was reassuring. "I won't let either of them hurt you." He winced as another object crashed to the ground.

"If you say so," Ferris said, chewing on his lower lip. Neither of them looked convinced. Halt himself knew he was lying through his teeth, and yet he had to protect the two somehow. But they all knew it wouldn't be alright.

It never was.