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

CHAPTER THIRTY THREE:

The slight chill in the air was refreshing for Belle, with the nice warm breeze rushing past her. The birds were singing their happy tune, and no one could take away the happiness that filled Belle. Today was the gathering.

“Are we there yet?” Will asked for the billionth time that day. Belle heard Halt sigh but didn’t reply to Will. Belle couldn’t help but smile. For some reason, she loved seeing Halt irritated by someone other than herself. Will turned and saw Belle smiling and he gave her a jokingly dirty look. “Do you think this is funny?” Will asked grumpiness obvious in his tone. Belle tried to wipe her smile away, so she didn’t offend Will, but she couldn’t bring herself to doing it. Belle gave up the attempt and just shrugged. Will sighed angrily and turned back to Hat. “Are we there yet?” Will asked once again. Belle saw Halt’s cheekbones stiffen in frustration and knew that Halt wasn’t happy. Belle decided to change the subject.  Belle opened her mouth to speak, when Will asked another question.

“Are you looking for something?” Will asked. Belle saw Halt’s face lighten up and Halt turned to Will.

“Finally you ask me a useful question, yes. In fact I am looking for something” Belle sighed in relief. When Will asked another question she was sure Halt was going to explode but thankfully, he didn’t. Halt explained to Will about the rangers always trying to catch Halt. Belle zoned out of the conversation since she had already known it. She had never been to a gathering before, but Halt had always told her stories about what happened there. Halt also told her about how the rangers always try so hard to catch Halt, and Belle thought that, since no one had caught Halt yet, they wouldn’t this year. Belle realised that she was very excited about how it would all unfold. Suddenly, Belle caught a glimpse of movement in her peripheral vision. Belle knew from all her training that you never look directly to the spot of the attacker. Belle scanned her surroundings searching for more movement but failed to find anything else. Belle became aware of Hal calling her name. Belle whipped her head back around to see Halt’s approving look.

“You saw that?” Halt asked. Belle let a small smile creep on her face and she nodded. Halt nodded towards her.  “Good girl” he said. Instantly Belle’s smile disappeared

“Excuse me?” Halt’s only reply was a broad smile. Halt knew that Belle hated being called a girl or anything girly. She especially hated being called a princess. Even though she was literally a princess, she always felt like a spoilt brat whenever someone called her one, even if they meant it as her address. Belle didn’t bother fighting with Halt, she just gave him a dirty look and looked away.

A few minutes later, Belle noticed Halt was craning his head. Belle, at first thought he was going crazy, but she realised he was listening for something. Belle then noticed quiet hoof beats. Halt looked at Will and Belle expectantly.

“Do you hear it?” he asked. Will craned his head to listen to what Halt was talking about Belle nodded to Halt after he asked the question.  After a few seconds Will sat up straight in his seat and nodded his understanding. Halt nodded toward the two apprentices. “Change gait” He said softly “On three” Halt counted to three in a soft voice, once he said three, the three of them simultaneously changed gait, making the horses falter in their smooth stride. As they did it, it was all too obvious of another set of hoof beats behind them. But, it only lasted for a moment then, the hoof beats matched their gait perfectly. Belle let a smile crease her face and she turned to Will and Halt. Halt smiled back.

“It’s Gilan” Halt said quietly. Belle and Halt smiled at each other but Will sat in the seat of his horse with curiosity written all over his face. Halt sighed, then began explaining who Gilan was. “Former apprentices do tend to want to catch their former mentors off guard whenever they get the chance” Halt finished explaining. Will and Belle looked at each other. Halt saw the mischief written on his apprentices faces. “Oh dear lord, help me” He spoke to himself quietly so Will and Belle were out of earshot. Halt scanned their surroundings and found the spot that he had explained to Will to go to if there was an ambush. Halt got Will’s attention and pointed to a tree with branched over hanging on the track they were riding on. Will nodded his acknowledgment. Once they reached the tree, Will quickly grabbed hold of a branch overhead and swung his legs and body onto it. Belle watched Will move swiftly through the branches to a good watch spot. Belle then looked admiringly at Tug, who was trotting riderless with great effort to dig his hooves in the ground to make it sound like there was still three riders present. Belle then caught sound of Halt. She looked up from her gaze on Tug and saw Halt point to a boulder nearby. Belle nodded her acknowledgment. Halt had instructed Belle of what to do if there was an ambush the night before. Once they reached the boulder. Belle took a quick nervous intake of breath, since she didn’t want to muck up anything. Belle then quickly let go of the reins, then in one fluent movement took her feet out of the stirrups and quickly stood in the saddle. Belle concentrated on balancing perfectly then once the boulder was within reach, Belle jumped from the saddle and onto the top of the boulder. Belle, then quickly crouched on the boulder and slid down the side of the rock, out of sight. Halt reined in the horses and jumped out of the saddle. He was barely a metre away from the boulder. Belle unsheathed her Saxe Knife as quietly as she could and stood rock still, with her ranger cloak covering everything but her face, which was practically in shadow. Belle glued her eyes on Halt’s position, forgetting to breathe. She watched Halt bend down, pretending to look at some tracks in the dirt. Then, the sound of hoof beats came in to better ear shot and before Belle knew it Gilan was in vision, smiling broadly.