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

Chapter 18

Eventually he decided to come to Stig's aid.
"Evanlyn can call herself Evanlyn," he explained softly. "But to others she is called princess Evanlyn. Officially, at least." Stig lowered his eyebrows.
"Right," he grumbled, apparently not very happy with the fact that a little girl had been pulling his leg. The little girl herself had gotten to her feet. She was still somewhat shaky, but that didn't stop her from going on another exploration tour around the ship. Stig grinned mischievously.
"How about I come get you now?" he called out, following Evanlyn. Evanlyn squealed, let out a laugh and then hid behind Lydia. Will chuckled. So much fun.
Stig pretended to be confused.
"Where did Evanlyn go?" he wondered loudly, scratching his head, looking around the ship. A muffled giggling sounded from behind Lydia's back. Will watched for a while as Stig entertained Evanlyn, who was looking better by the minute. It was good to see her running around again.
The game exhausted her much quicker than it normally would. It was not all that surprising, but stilll...
"Alright, everyone!" Hal called out from the tiller. With his gaze directed at the setting sun, he continued: "We have nearly reached Skandia. If we sail through the night, we could be there in the morning." As happened every time their arrival in Hallasholm was mentioned, the crew started cheering loudly. Hal patiently waited before continuing.
"But considering we are not in a hurry - and Edvin will not allow me to stay up through the night - I don't think it is necessary to continue at full speed. Besides, Edvin, Stig and I also like to sleep every now and then." Edvin and Stig loudly agreed with that. "So, it seems to me that we should take it easy. We'll arrive some time in the afternoon, then." Hal's short speech ended and a cheerful chattering filled the silence. Will could understand that they were happy to be near home. He wished he was home himself, without a war wrecking the country...

Hal's was executed with success. They calmly continued their travels, relaxing on the deck. At night, Evanlyn curled up against Will, which she started to do more and more often. He wrapped his cloak around the two of them, to then fall back asleep. As soon as the light of the rising sun awakened him, a sense of excitement washed over him. He was relieved that the Heron brought them to Skandia without encountering too much resistance, but at the same time he was tense, afraid that his friends would not be there to meet him. He tried to suppress the feeling. He would figure it out in due time.

He yawned and got up to stretch his legs. One by one the crew members woke up as well. Will saw that Thorn, who pretended to still be asleep, was keeping an eye out from his corner of the ship, clearly enjoying the fact that he was still able to fool his younger companions like this. Hal was standing at the tiller, having a relaxed conversation with Stig. Will scanned the horizon, knowing that they were too far away, but nonetheless hoping the northern country would be visible. He frowned. Was that...?
"Uhm, Hal?" he said, covering the last meters separating him from the skirl and his friends. "What kind of ship is that?" He pointed at the small sail that had appeared on the horizon behind them.

Hal squinted and studied the ship in question, that was slowly making its way towards them. A moment later he relaxed.
"That's a ship of Skandian origins," he assured the ranger. Will nodded, hoping that meant the ship was harmless. "It's probably harmless," Hal, who seemed to read Will's mind, remarked. Will turned around - still not fully convinced, being the ranger he was - and made his way back to Evanlyn. He couldn't help feeling somewhat uneasy, no matter how hard he tried to shake it off.
In the meantime, all passengers had awakened, which was Edvin's cue to start preparing breakfast. A rough circle made up of hungry Herons formed on the deck a few minutes later. Will looked on, amused by the way they were longingly following Edvin's every move. Evanlyn, still rubbing the sleep from her eyes, took a seat next to Lydia, as she had been doing every time the past days.
Barely an hour later breakfast had disappeared and the crew was satisfied for a couple of hours. Will noticed that the other ship had disappeared to the back of his mind. Now, however, he noticed that Hal repeatedly glanced over his shoulder in the direction of the strangers, frowning. That couldn't be good.
"What's wrong?" he asked quietly, trying not to attract the others' attention. Hal looked up at him, startled, clearly not expecting this question. He recovered quickly, though, gesturing to the ship.
"Something's not right. That ship really is of Skandian origins, but I don't recognize it. And they are in a real hurry..." He voice trailed off. The worried tone in his voice alarmed Will.
The two of them watched as the possibly hostile ship covered more and more distance between them. The other Skandians started to noticed their skirl's and the ranger's glances, causing a sense of restlessness aboard. Hal sighed. It was clear to Will that the skirl was in no mood to hold a speech to calm his crew. That's why he decided to take the initiative to himself, testing his lifting-spirits qualities.
"Listen carefully, everyone," he announced. His voice was not loud, but the chattering faded away immediately nonetheless. All faces turned towards him. "That ship over there," he pointed to the ship, "might be a threat. We are not sure about this. So, we all need to keep our guards up, but don't be too worried until Hal tells you it's time to worry." He had spoken calmly and carelessly, which had an immediate equally calming effect on the crew. Mission accomplished. Relieved Will turned to Hal, who nodded at him in appreciation. "So, what's the plan?" Will asked. Hal glanced at the potential threat one more time.
"Let's just wait and see. By the time that ship reaches us, several hours will have passed. And as you said: we have no idea whether the ship is hostile at all," he decided. This time Will nodded in appreciation. He regarded this as a professional plan, worthy of a skirl like Hal. As far as it could be considered a plan of course.