'Hallie' was feeling miserable, because he had been the reason nobody had been able to search for Will, but besides that he was doing fine. He should have stayed in bed, as had been told him many times. Naturally, he hadn't obeyed with everything going on around him. He wasn't going to make that mistake a second time. Therefore he now obediently stayed in bed, staring at the ceiling he knew so well. His childhood bedroom simultaneously felt familiar and strange, the latter because of the amount of time he had spent aboard the Heron.
He wondered what life would look like, as soon as he was healed. From what he heard from Edvin and the other doctors, he was incredibly lucky to be alive. Would he ever be the same again? Nobody knew. He sighed. If only he knew the answer to that question, he would feel a lot less lost. He quickly rebuked that thought. What if the answer to the question was that he would not be the same again? He wouldn't want to know that now. That Would only discourage him. He needed to stay strong. His own little pep talk did not change his mood, so he decided to simply continue staring at the ceiling.
Before another minute of his silent staring had gone by, the door opened quietly. A grin split open his face; every visitor meant distraction from his depressing thoughts and boredom. Excitedly he regarded the door being opened frustratingly slowly, presumably to prevent it from making noise. Hal's grin turned into a frown. Why would anyone need to enter this carefully? Experience had taught him that often people with bad intentions would do such a thing...
His precautionary tension disappeared rather quickly as soon as he recognized Lydia standing there.
"Did you have to startle me like this?" he asked, teasing her. His little joke did not have the intended effect. Lydia burst into tears. This time actually startled, Hal attempted to make his way towards her, but she gestured for him to stay put. She hastily closed the door, before coming to side on the edge of his bed.
"Me startle you?" she sobbed angrily. "How about the other way around?!" The skirl cluelessly tried to think of something to calm soothe his friend. Despite her protests, he managed to sit upright, so he could at least look her into her eyes properly.
"Hey, it's okay," he awkwardly mumbled. He reached out to touch her shoulder, but Lydia smacked his hand away, turning her back towards him. Even though they were alone, she refused to show him her tears.
Hal frustratedly dropped his arm, while simultaneously looking through the room, trying to find something to distract her. Failing to find such a thing, he rested his head against the wall behind him, to avoid looking at Lydia's breakdown. He was not used to seeing her like this. He opened his mouth, hoping something brilliant would come out, but no words sprang to his mind.
"Lydia..." he therefore said, semi-desperately, hoping she would soon get a hold of herself, turning back into the strong version of herself she always was. The opposite happened: she threw herself in his arms, once again sobbing. Luckily she paid attention not to put any pressure on his stomach, instead leaning onto his shoulder. This did not reduce Hal's state of confusion. He automatically wrapped his arms around her. Her hair tickled his face, but he didn't dare speak out about it.
Slowly but steadily Lydia calmed down somewhat. Hal realized he had whispered all kinds of soothing words into her ear, his voice muffled by her hair. Slightly amazed he observed the girl - no, the young woman - he was holding. They had been through so much together, he had thought he'd seen every facet of her before. Now he realized they had a long way to go before he could claim such a thing. He smiled. The idea was quite to his liking, which surprised him. He had never thought of Lydia as a potential girlfriend before. No, that was not true. In the very beginning, when the Herons had just met her, both Stig and Hal had shown interest in her. He thought he had left that feeling behind long ago, but right here, right now, he couldn't imagine ever letting her go.
Unfortunately he was forced to sooner than expected, as Lydia grudgingly let go of their embrace. For a moment they stared into each other eyes, then Lydia leaned forward and kissed him. Hal felt unable to move for a second, then he pulled her in closer. A feeling of happiness washed over him, and he barely felt the pain in his stomach as Lydia came a little too close.
"Hallie!" a happy little voice suddenly exclaimed, as the door suddenly swung opened. Lydia couldn't have sat up straight sooner than she did at that moment.
Evanlyn dashed inside, closely followed by Will. Will raised his eyebrow at Hal, an amused look on his face. Hal answered with a sheepish smile.
"Come on, Evanlyn," Will remarked dryly. "Hal is obviously doing quite alright. Let's go find mommy and daddy." A disappointed pout appeared on Evanlyn's face.
"Fine," she sighed dramatically, to then follow Will out of the room. "Bye Hallie!" Hal chuckled.
"Bye, Evanlyn, Will," he answered, perhaps slightly too happily.
Apparently the gods had answered all Hal's previous prayers for company, for not a minute later Stig rushed inside as well.
"Have you heard the news? Will and Evanlyn are... back?" he exclaimed. He looked at Lydia, than Hal and back again. "What have you two been up to?" he grumbled suspiciously. Lydia turned to face him, a soothing expression on her face.
"Well, the thing is..." she started, but nobody got to know what 'the thing' was, as Stig abruptly interrupted her.
"Right. I understand." His voice was cold as ice, which matched the slightly scary expression on his face, as he pointed at the door. The look in his eyes resembled the one he had always used on Tursgud and his friends, before the brotherbands had been formed and Stig learned to control his anger. Hal wondered why this same look had appeared that moment.
Lydia met Hal's gaze for a second, hesitating, but Hal never stopped frowning at Stig. Tensions almost got unbearable in the small room. Lydia wisely decided not to say anymore and instead hurried outside.
"I thought we'd decided that our friendship was above this," Stig stated, a raw edge to his voice. Hal's frown deepened.
"Stig, what..." he started.
"No, don't 'Stig what' me," Stig yelled. "What did you think? I'm hurt, so I can take whatever I want?!"
Without any further ado, he stormed away. Hal slumped back into his pillows, groaning. Everything was a mess. He wondered how on earth he could fix this...
Will closed the door to Horace and Cassandra's room. He had returned Evanlyn, and while she went to sit on her father's lap, Will half-heartedly listened to Cassandra's preaching. Her concern warmed him, although he couldn't exactly point out why. He figured he was simply happy with having such amazing friends.
Shortly before he left, Horace asked him what their course of action should be now. Technically the war was over, at least that was what they hoped. The Scoti soldiers were still carrying their rampage throughout Araluen. Will suggested to hold a meeting with all parties involved in the war, including Erak, the Herons and the king of Picta. Horace immediately set out to do some preparations. Will returned to Hal's home.
Karina let him in without asking questions. She didn't know the ranger, but he had saved her son, which was enough to win her trust. Lydia sneaked outside simultaneously, ignoring Will's raised eyebrow. Will shrugged. Karina returned to her chores, as Will made his way down the hall towards Hal. The sound of a door being slammed shut greeted him. Automatically, the ranger hid in the shadows, only seconds before Stig rushed past him. Will immediately connected the dots. Something was up between Hal, Stig and Lydia. That could turn into some nasty trouble...
He found Hal in a miserable state, as he had expected.
"What did I do, Will," he sighed. Will shrugged.
"I might seem difficult now, but issues like this have the tendency to solve themselves, if you let them," he remarked. "Don't say things you will regret later, then it'll all be alright in the end." Hal rolled his eyes.
"Easier said than done," he mumbled sourly.
"But then again, isn't that true for everything that matters?" the ranger stated. Then he decided to get to the point. "We will be holding a meeting concerning the future of Araluen and Picta and I would like for the Herons to be involved. Do you think I can ask Stig to come in your place? We can't all squeeze ourselves in here after all." For a second, Hal looked uneasy.
"Yes. Yes, I guess you should," he then quietly said. Will nodded in confirmation and left the young Skandian alone with his thoughts.
Evan leaned against the wall of his room. The king had ordered him to stay in here, as if he was a little child who could be send to his room. He snorted indignantly. It was not fair. This should have been the best day of his life. Instead, Will had chosen to turn his back on him and side with Halt of all people. How dared he?!
A knock on the door startled him. Before he could answer, the door was already being opened. Evan squinted, opening his mouth to scold the person who dared to show such brutality, but then he realized that it was Will who entered.
"Will, what... What are you doing here?" he asked, his voice breaking. A small wave of triumph washed over him. Even though he was still wearing a funny little cloak like Halt, Will had come to visit him.
"Are you prepared to clean up your mess?" Will asked, ignoring Evan's question. The latter abruptly shut his mouth, insulted at the disrespect. "Come on, you are receiving a second chance here. Take it," Will insisted, a hint of desperation in his voice. For a few seconds they stared at each other. Eventually Evan nodded, though reluctantly. If this was his chance of getting Will back after all, then he would gladly take it.
Horace looked around at the group gathered in front of him. The 'peace meeting' would soon start. Erak had given him permission to use the great central hall of Hallasholm. The oberjarl was sitting across from him, impatiently waiting. The two were separated by a large wooden table. One side had been reserved for the Herons, with Stig as their spokesman. He was not looking very happy. Horace figured that he would rather have seen Hal in his position, instead of being wounded. Cassandra and Alyss both sat beside Horace. Duncan had taken place on the other side of his daughter, as Pauline had positioned herself with her former apprentice. Halt refused to sit down. Instead he had found himself a corner of the room from which he carefully watched all participants.
Will entered the hall last, accompanied by Evan, the king of the Scoti and Eden and Celia. They claimed their place on the other side of the table, opposite the Herons. Horace decided that it was time to get to the point, raising his hand. The others took his cue and focussed their attention on him.
"Alright," was Horace's original opening. "Let's start."
The meeting didn't take more than an hour. All participants agreed that the war between Araluen and Picta had officially ended. Nevertheless, with all leaders gathered in Skandia, the fighting raged on. The Scoti king announced that he had already sent his fastest birds back to his officers and generals at home, with orders for retreat. This solved most of the issues Horace had listed immediately. Some discussion was necessary to work out the details, but no new problems arose. When the subject of Evan's punishment arose, everyone was surprised to find Will taking his defense. The ranger had managed to convince the other parties that he would be the one to take care of Evan, though he refused to specify how exactly. Horace doubted this would be more bearable than being punished by anyone else, which was most likely why Will had gotten permission. The subject, and with that the meeting, were ended then.
Everybody left the hall in order to work on their part of the peace treaty, though nothing much needed to be done. Most importantly was the task of preparing their departure. As they were walking down the street, shortly before entering the building in which he stayed with Cassandra, Horace noticed Evan pulling Will aside. He wondered what that was about, but figured it was none of his business. They would be alright. Evan had never shown any hostility towards Will after all.
"Before we both go our separate ways," Evan started, avoiding Will's gaze. "I would like to ask you something." Will decided not to answer, and instead raised his eyebrow. He wondered what his newly found brother was aiming at. "Would you... Would you, when we're back in Araluen, come with me? I don't mean permanently," he hastily added, as soon as he noticed Will's expression. "I want to show you something, something even Halt does not know. It is one of the reasons why I refused to go to Redmont with Halt at the time." For a moment, Will was at a loss for words. His mind was racing, trying to figure out what Evan could have been keeping secret from Halt. He couldn't figure it out, which sparked his curiosity. He wanted to know.
"I shall go with you," he therefore agreed. "But as you said yourself: it won't be permanent, so don't expect me to turn my back on my home." Evan flinched a little, but that didn't bother Will. His home was in Redmont after all, and there was nothing Evan could do to change that.
They then split up, both going back to their rooms. Will returned to Alyss, lost in thought, hoping this nightmare would soon be over. He couldn't wait to get back to Araluen, to pick up the pieces of the kingdom and try to rebuild it as well as possible.