Halt's Ranger Apprentices- John Flanagan Ranger Apprentice fan-fiction

CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE

It was sunset when Annabelle returned to the cabin. As she entered, she instantly took in the slightly built man sitting on a chair with his arms folding across his chest. His eye brows in a furrow, as an angry gesture. Halt had obviously heard from Rodney. Annabelle had to work and assist Martin for the rest of the day, and so she hadn't had a good day. She slammed the door shut and stood there, putting her hands on her hips. she sighed and began to speak

"It was a misunderstanding" she said in a calm voice. Halt instantly stood up to his feet instantly, after she said it.

"There's always an excuse isn't there?" he yelled. Annabelle took a long, deep breath and bit back at him

"It's true!" she boomed. Halt gave her a grim laugh, very much the same as the one Rodney had given her a few hours ago.

"Right, of course it's true!" he yelled. Annabelle, short-tempered as she was, felt her face burning in anger, and with-out thinking about her words carefully she shouted back

"I was protecting Horace from Alda, Bryn and Jerome, who were about to hurt him and me! They've been bullying him for-" she forced herself to close her mouth, realising that she had said too much. She heard a creaking and turned to see Will come out of his room

"What's this about Horace? Is he getting bullied?" Will said. Annabelle went wide-eyed

"No! No! Of course not, I didn't say that did I? No, no I meant to say that Alda, Bryn and Jerome were about to hurt a boy called...Uh...Hermy.." Annabelle wasn't the best name thinker. But, she had to find a name that sounded like 'him and me'. Will put his eye brows in to a furrow.

"Oh really?" Annabelle nodded.

"Yep, so I found it my duty to stop it." Will shook his head in incomprehension.

"Well, what were you talking about them have been bully 'him' for...?

"Oh right, well, I found out afterwards that the three kids had been bullying..Hermy...For weeks" Will nodded understanding. Then Halt started to speak, who was now standing next t Annabelle.

"That's funny, because Rodney said that it was only you, Horace and the three kids." Halt said. He knew she was lying, but he liked to see how she would handle it.

"Oh, well after I stopped the three kids from hurting him, Hermy ran off" she stodd there nervously, trying her hardest to resist her normal shuffling feet thing when she was put in the spot light. Halt nodded

"You know, this could be quite believable if I weren't a fully-fledged ranger, who could tell when some one was lying" he said. Annabelle blushed pink, realising that she had been terrible at covering up her statement. Halt gently pushed her toward a chair. Annabelle sat in it and, both Will and Halt stood next to her. They were trying to get the truth out of her for 20 minutes, and failed to get anything out of her.

"Are you sure that there isn't anything you want to tell us?" Halt asked her for the seventeenth time. Annabelle sighed, she opened her mouth to reply, like she had done all the other seventeen times, no, but there was a sudden knock at the door. Will opened it and, instantly his face went red with anger.

"Horace" he said, trying to keep his calm, gritting his teeth as he said it. Annabelle quickly stood up and sped over to the door.

"Horace!" she said in an alarmed voice. He looked dirty and grumpy, but as he saw Annabelle, his face instantly lit up. Annabelle heard Halt laughing behind her. He had also gone to the doorway to see Horace.

"Horace!" he said in a cheerful voice, Horace went red, seeing the scary ranger, in such close quarters. Halt's voice might have been cheerful, but his face didn't show a trace of it. "Horace why don't you come in and sit down" Halt said. Annabelle went wide-eyed.