Chapter 4

A/N: I'm sorry for what happened in the last chapter! I really didn't want to kill Will just willy-nilly like that but it plays a crucial part later on. Just a quick heads up: I won't be posting anything from July 5th to July 22nd. I will be going to the mountains then and won't have internet. So be sure to let me know what you want to happen!

Three days later

Halt was sitting at the table, his face in his hands. Alyss, Horace, Jenny, Gilan, and George were there as well, just watching Halt. They were not totally sure how to comfort him if they could. Alyss was wondering what to do, Horace was thinking about food, Jenny was thinking about what she'd do when she graduated from Chef Chubb and moved on herself. Gilan was thinking about how attractive Jenny was, and George was thinking about all the paperwork that came with a death. It was a pretty big amount for anyone dying but when it was a Ranger, the paperwork was three times the normal amount. Halt, on the other hand, was blaming himself for Will's death; how he could and should have done more. He thought back to when he and Alyss were crying.

After Alyss had slowed her crying, Halt sent her to go retrieve Horace, Jenny, Gilan, and George. An hour later, she showed back up to the cabin with everyone in tow. Horace had been practicing, Jenny had been cooking, Gilan had been in his office and George was doing paperwork, as always. Everyone sat down and cried for about an hour. Lady Pauline, curious as to why those students suddenly went away, went to investigate for herself. She went to the cabin, the first place those students would go. Perhaps Will had invited them to an event and no one had informed her. In that case, she would not have minded. However, as soon as she stumbled upon everyone and saw that they had been crying, she knew something was horribly wrong. She found Halt sitting beside Will's bed, Will just laying there. Halt looked up at her, red-eyed. That told her everything she needed to know. Halt never cried and very rarely showed emotion, if ever. Finding him crying was a terrible sign. She simply kneeled down next to him. They stayed in that position until the sun went down.

The next day, they had a funeral for Will. King Duncan was in attendance as was the entire Rangers Corp. Horace, Gilan, Evanlyn, Halt, Jenny and George were also there. Everyone said a few words about how great Will was and it was sad to see him go. Halt spoke the longest, crying for the entire speech and speaking about what such a great apprentice he was and how great of a Ranger he could have been. He also talked about how he was always there for his friends and his friends were always there for him. He finished by saying how hard it would be to move on without him; how he had thought of Will as a son. They laid Will into the ground and everyone left; the gravediggers would take care of the rest. Now they sat in Halt's cabin, thinking about what they could have done differently to help prevent his death.

Everyone was blaming themselves for Will's death, although none of them could have done anything about it. They sat in silence for two hours, everyone lost in thought. Suddenly, Halt stood up, his chair toppling over behind him.

"THAT TRAITOR!" He screamed. Everyone jumped, surprised at the unexpected outburst. "I should have known."

"Known what?" Jenny asked.

"Thomas. He's the only person who could have done that." Halt muttered to himself.

"What? Halt, you're not making any sense." Gilan said.

"I have to go after him! He'll pay for this!" Halt said.

"Hold on!" Horace yelled, throwing himself in front of the door as Halt reached to open it. Halt gave him a disapproving glare.

"Halt, you need to tell us what you're thinking." Horace said. "None of us understand what you're saying."

Halt took a deep breath and sighed. "Okay. I've been thinking. What could have killed Will? There wasn't any blood in his bed so we know that he couldn't have been murdered. But then I remembered his wound. It had been irritating him the last few days before he died. So I was thinking, what if when we took Will to Thomas, he poisoned Will instead of healing him?" He looked to Horace.

Horace rubbed his chin thoughtfully. "I don't know, Halt. That seems like a bit of a stretch, doesn't it?"

"Not at all!" Halt said. "I'm leaving to go track him. No one better follow me." A glare toward Gilan.

Before anyone could stop him, Halt was out the door with his cloak and boots on and he disappeared. Everyone stood in disbelief as they looked around only to find no trace of the Ranger. Suddenly, everyone heard hoofbeats and Abelard with Halt on his back appeared and took off, hitting the main road and turning south.

"I guess that's how you make an exit." Geroge said.