The Life of a Ranger, Ranger's Apprentice Fanfiction

Chapter 12

  The doctor follows Will out, stopping next to Halt. "Did you want me to leave medicine here for ya?" Halts face reddens. "Scram!" He shouts to the doctor. Dr. Fleaf waves a hand. "Ok, ok. I'm going now. No need to shout." Will smirks at Halt. "See ya later, oldie." He bolts out before Halt can bash him on the head. Errol hobbles up to Halt. "So, oldie, what did the bandits say?" Halt restrains himself from breaking another of his ribs. "I thought you're a very serious person?" Errol nods. He's still as serious as ever, but there's a twinkle in his eyes. "Maybe I am, but I still have a sense of humour." Halt frowns. "You call that humorous?" "Yes, I do." "You don't even smile at your humour." "Ah, but I can still be amused. Now what did the bandits say?"
"Ok. The bandit I talked to said that they were hired to capture you." Errol looks puzzled. "What? Why? I'm nobody important." "Errol, you must be important if someone is after you. If you tell me your past, I might be able to figure it out." Errol is already backing away. "No. I'm not important! And my past won't tell you anything." Halt stays firm. "You have to tell us sometime. You can't hide your past forever." "Like your past?" Halt goes pale. "How do you know about that?" "Like I said: rangers are legends in my land." "And where is your land?" "I already told you! It's none of your concern! Now leave me alone!" Errol bolts past Halt, the twinkle in his eyes gone. "Errol! Errol! Come back here!" Errol ignores him and continues on, past Will who just arrived. Will looks to Halt. "What happened there?" Halt mutters something unintelligible. "Halt?" "I told Errol that someone is trying to capture him." "What?! You didn't even tell me that first?" "You were busy. Anyway, I asked Errol to tell me about his past for some clue and he got upset. We need to find him now! Who knows what he might do?" Halt rushes to saddle Abelard and gallops away, leaving a shocked Will behind him. Will urges Tug to catch up to Halt. "I wonder what happened?" Tug shakes his head. Don't ask me. I was with you. Remember? "Yes, I remember. But you seem to know Halt better." Well, I know he's a mean, old man who doesn't give me enough apples. "That doesn't have anything to do with this." It has something to do with me. Shaking his head, Will pulls side to side with Halt. "Where do you think he's gone?" He shouts. "Probably to the next clearing. He likes being a ranger too much to leave." True enough, Errol is kneeling down in a small clearing, his head in his hands. Halt stops at the edge of the clearing. "You go." He tells Will. "You're younger than me. He might listen to you better." Will nods and moves to Errol. Dropping down next to him, Will puts an arm around Errol. "Hey." Errol flinches at his touch, and looks up, his eyes broken. "Hey. What are you doing here?" "You're my apprentice. I'm meant to be here." Errol shifts under his arm. "I'm sure I'm not meant to be here." "What makes you say that?" "The fact that everyone hates me." "I don't hate you. And neither does Halt." "You probably will, once you get to know me. You heard Baron Arald. I'm a weakling." "He was just worried that you wouldn't be able to handle it. You can show him that you can, now." Errol shrugs. Will, nervous, that he might do something wrong, tries again. "Come on. I was just like that. I didn't even have a family. But look at me now. I'm one of the most famous heroes in the country." "In the continent, actually." "Eh, maybe so. Still, you might turn out like that too." "Doubt it." Errol looks deep into Wills eyes. "Will, what was it like when you were young?" The young rangers eyes go out of focus as he thinks back to his childhood. "It was hard. I was often jealous of all the other wards. They knew who their parents were. They had a surname. One of them, Horace, used to tease me about that. He's changed now, but back then, it was hard. Every time I look at other people hanging out with their families, my feelings pop up. I feel a deep sorrow when that happens. But now, I have Halt and Pauline. They're my family now. I don't wish for anything else." Errol looks at Will with pain in his eyes. "I'm sorry. That must have been hard." Will smiles. "It was. But I'm content with my life now. And like Halt did with me, I can help you with your life too. You have to let us in first, though." Errol nods and stands. "Its getting late. We should head back. I do need to cook your dinner." Will stands, too. "No. You rest. I'll cook tonight. You do have a broken rib." Errol sighs. They continue back to Halt. Will helps Errol onto Tug and leads him home.
   Once home, Errol is sent to rest while Will cooks. Halt enters. "So, did he open up?" Will sighs as he chops up some carrots. "No. But he's getting there. He reminds me of me a lot." Halt sits down and rests his legs on the bench. "Yes, He does. By the way, you may want to slip some sleeping medicine into his dinner. We're gonna want to make sure he actually sleeps at night instead of wandering off to trouble." Will agrees reluctantly as he shoves Halts feet off the bench. "By the way, Halt," "Yes?" "You aren't related to Errol are you?" Halt frowns. "No. Why?" "Oh, well, he reminds me a lot of you."