Ranger's Apprentice: The Tantalizing Tales

A new beginning

It's about him. It always has been. Always will be. 

~~~

It had started with him. So it was only fitting that it would end with him, too.

Will sits on the roof of the small cabin at the border of the woods. As an apprentice, he had made a habit of doing that, climbing onto the roof whenever he needed a break from everything that was going on below on the ground.

There's a soft morning breeze that's blowing through his hair, pushing up the cloak until it's flying behind him. The fresh air is soft on his face. It makes him feel alive.

The Ranger pulls up his knees and wraps his arms around them. He stares into the distance, all the way down to Wensley village. All the way to the red Castle up on the hill. He doesn't look behind him. He doesn't look back. He never does.

The first rays of the early morning sun start to flicker through the dense leaves of the trees at the edge of the forest. They warm his face. They make him feel alive.

As the sun starts to rise up in the sky, the stars disappear. They're still there of course. He just cannot see them anymore.

As another day begins, the Ranger stays on the roof. There's a smile on his face. A simple, genuine smile. It's a smile that shows all the pain and all the happiness that he's known throughout the years. All the hurt, the burden, and the hardships. All the joy, the laughter, and the love. Every single emotion has he felt, and he has felt them in his bones. Every single thing that a person could experience, he has lived through. And every single choice that can be made, he has faced. The memories are etched in his brain, carved in his soul, and reflected in his smile.

The day begins, and Will is alone, as he somehow always knew it was going to turn out.

But that's okay.

Because at least he got another day. Another new beginning.