The white-haired man sat beside him, and for a moment, the laughter of his companions and the crackling of the fire were the only sounds to be heard.
"So," Pritchard said at last. "You met Crowley."
Halt snorted. "Sadly." Even so, his lips twitched as he spoke, and he spared a glance back at the redhead. "I figured it would have been a bit cold to let him lose a bar fight."
"A bar fight?" The old Ranger raised one eyebrow. "Now that's new."
"Morgarath's men."
"Ah." Silence. Halt shifted ever so slightly, fiddling with a piece of grass in his hand. "What does he think about you being a Prince?"
There it was. That knowing tone, that warning. Halt kept his eyes to the ground, and said, "He doesn't know."
Pritchard didn't say anything at first, and he risked a quick glance towards the man. "You're going to have to tell him eventually," the Ranger said. "You can't run forever."
His stomach twisted. Halt looked away again. "It doesn't matter." His words were flat, dead. "I'm never going back there again."
Pritchard was watching him. "Do I even want to know what happened? Last I saw, you were willing to stay with your family at all costs."
Halt laughed bitterly. "Well, that was when Ferris wasn't so open about caring for the Crown more than he did his own brother." He snapped his mouth shut, breaking the blade of grass in two. "It doesn't matter," he repeated. "He doesn't need to know."
Pritchard merely nodded. "Alright, Halt," he said quietly. "I trust you." The Ranger stood, brushing off his pants. Halt remained where he sat, staring off in the distance, clenching his hands together tight.
"Halt?" Pritchard was watching him. "Take care of yourself."
Halt nodded. "You, too," was all he said. It was all he needed to say.
YOU ARE READING
Ranger's Apprentice: Tales Untold
FanfictionYou've heard of their adventures, of the wars, of their accomplishments. You know where they've traveled. But what about the parts you don't see? The parts of their lives that have been untold?
