Ranger's Apprentice; The Final Pieces

Anniversary // Coming home

Coming home

Will smiled. He had known Halt and Pauline would be waiting for his return. He appreciated how they had taken the time to wait for him, given that he hadn't known beforehand how late he would be back.
It was not just the sight of his mentor and wife that pulled his lips into a smile, though. Equally important was the tall, blonde woman who sat on the wooden couch on the verandah. One of her hands was softly scratching a black-and-white border collie behind her ears, the other was wrapped around a mug of tea, he presumed.

Will nudged Tug forward, onto the clearing that he knew so well. The Ranger patted his dear horse on his neck and whispered into his ears: "Let them know we're home, boy."
His horse neighed an enthusiastic greeting. It was returned by another, similar looking horse, and then by the barking of Ebony, who had left her comfortable spot next to Alyss and now came running towards the couple. Halt and Pauline turned around at the sudden pandemonium of sounds. Lastly, Alyss' eyes flicked upwards, and her grey eyes met Will's.

How the ground between them was erased no one would ever recall, but one moment they were apart and the next they were morphed into a single being. The warmth of his body met her cold skin, giving hope like it always did. Will's hands clasped around Alyss's waist and lower back and the following moment she was in the air. They swirled around, Alyss screaming and laughing and Will simply smiling. All sounds and all pairs of watching eyes disappeared into nothing but details, it was just the two of them.

It seemed like an eternity, but only moments later, Will pulled his wife into a tight hug. Alyss pressed her head into his shoulder.
"I missed you," she murmured against the soft fabric of his cloak. Will softly pressed a kiss against her hair. He was overwhelmed by her soft perfume. "I missed you too."
He carefully pulled out of her hug and looked her into the eyes.
"I love you," he said, and leaned forward to push his lips against hers. Alyss smiled, then broke the kiss and reached out to his hands. "Come on, they're waiting for you."

In the couple of hours that followed, the young Ranger only let go of his wife's hand once, which was when he embraced Pauline. Without Will's noticing - he had been too busy focusing on other things, as Halt would later smirk - the old Ranger had taken care of Tug.

The young couple sat down on the wooden bench, facing their mentors. Will sighed.

Halt's mouth twitched and Will was certain that he was fighting a smile. "Welcome home," the old Ranger said simply.

All the anguish of the past days evaporated like the dew of the morning in the warm spring sun. This moment a small vacation, a blessed relief from all the distress that shoved its way into his brain. For a single moment, the reports and letters that lay waiting after such a mission did not matter. He lost the tightness in his chest. The muscles in his neck relaxed. After all that had occurred, he felt hope.

It was his favourite part of being a Ranger. Coming home.

>>>---------->

Hi everyone! As some of you might or might not know, today is the anniversary of this account. Exactly two years ago I started this account, and I cannot believe how big it has become. I am aware of how cliche this will sound, but I want you to know that every single word is true.

Three years ago I first got a taste of the world of Ranger's Apprentice. A couple of months later, I started wondering what the story would have been like in case Alyss hadn't died, and in case she and Will would have had kids. As some of you might know, it is that story that made me start a Wattpad account. Now, I'm not too proud of that particular story, just like I'm not too proud of the stories at the beginning of this book. But I would be lying if I wouldn't admit that it is those stories that transported me to the wonderful world of the Ranger's Apprentice fandom. Because they were a start, and made me further develop my writing and English. And it keeps developing because of you.

So two years ago exactly I started this account, hoping to be able to share my view and my interpretations and dreams concerning the books of John Flanagan. I have succeeded in that more than I had ever dared to expect.

It would be contumelious of me not to pay tribute (*wink*) to the all of you, who played a possibly even bigger role than me in transforming this account (and me) to what is is (and who I am today). It is because of you, that I never gave up on writing when it didn't go well. It was and is you that support me through the Dunglish, that support me through the writer's block, and that generally support me through life.

You are always there for me when I return utterly late with a new story and no matter how crappy it is, you guys never, ever hated on me for my writing, or hated on me for my long absence and inactivity. You spam and spoil me with sweet comments, from "I really like this" to "I'm a (hardcore) fan of you". And you also give me feedback, both spelling/grammar mistakes that I made and generally stupid plotholes.

I just want to thank you, the all of you, for being there for me even when I'm not there for you (with new writing. You can always PM me, because I will always reply and try to help out). I love you for that, the all of you. The ones who follow me, the ones who spam with comments, the ones who vote, and also the ones who are simply here and read this. I hope to have the honour to make you smile, laugh, cry and get angry at me by the means of the stories that I write. I hope to have the honour to entertain you for as long as may be.

I promise to do my very best.

Love, Rose

PS: In order to fully celebrate my anniversary, I am now also releasing the parts that I wrote on Halt and Trump!

Update October 5th 2017: So for some unknown reason Wattpad decided to throw me out on my anniversary, which is the reason this didn't publish until today. I'm sorry for the inconvenience, and I hope this is still as enjoyable as it would have been on my actual anniversary!