"..Come on, Will! It's the Choosing Day!"

My name is Will. And yes, it's the Choosing Day. I mean, everybody knows the Choosing Day, right? That is the most important day of an orphan's life! You finally get out of being the helpless child with no family and you are given a brand new chance in life! You can finally have a job, the job of your dreams! A knight maybe, or a diplomat, maybe a cook. Who knows? After all, it's a new beginning.

A new beginning.

My name is Will, yes. The weak, thin orphan; with no skills other than climbing the trees; the poor boy. Doesn't even own a surname. Always humilliated. A displeased laugh escaped from my lips. It was my rebellion to life. Because I had an surname. I had a past I recalled, and I knew my parents. Above all, I wasn't an orphan.

I am Will O'Carrick. The prince of Clonmel. Third in line to the throne. I've lived in a gracious palace once. Everything I needed was with me. Even after I was forced to leave my homeland, I had had a happy life. No mother, yes, it hurt; but a happy life after all. There was love and fun. I had so much fun.

Exactly 8 years ago, all of these was taken away from me. What I was left with? Memories. And a broken arrow.

I've cried. For years. Secretly. Why do you think I learned to climb the trees? To hide. Hide my tears. My confusion. My despair and desperation as a child. I was lost. And hiding the truth brought so many consequences. Everyone was making fun of me. They still do. I've cried for nights, wanting to tell them that I wasn't an orphan, but they wouldn't believe me. If I said that I had a father, and he was alive, he was a Ranger; who would believe me? After all, where was my father?

I've kept that broken arrow. It was the only thing I had from him. My father. In every Christmas, I would want him back from Santa. In every birthday of mine, I would wish him back. And I would cry my eyes out for him. I would beg to all Gods I've ever heard to bring him back.

He never came. I was left alone in the whole world. After all, maybe I was an orphan.

It was the Choosing Day. It was the most important day for the orphans.

It was the day I made myself believe that my father died long ago. It was the day he truly died inside of me.

I could never know it would be the day I met him again.

(Eight Years Ago, The Cottage of Ranger Pritchard)

"Pritchard killed the former head of the Ranger Corps?"

Crowley was sitting on the couch, his head in his hands as Halt paced the room without stopping.

"He...He had told me once that the Commandant, or his mentor, was about the betray his country all those years ago. I-I think his name was Gerald. He and some of the other rangers had plotted agaisnt the King George. He had made a deal with Morgarath, and was about to kill King George, kidnap Prince Duncan and crown Morgarath. If he wasn't stopped, they were going to succeed because Ranger Corps were so powerful back then. But he had told me that, somehow, while he and the other Rangers were about to execute the plan that night, the ship they were sailing with had sinked so the plan never happened, but the Ranger Corps were scattered after their death. Morgarath lost his number one supporters in one night and couldn't ascend to the throne but... But he took his revenge by destroying the Ranger Corps. Except the new Commandant and some other old Rangers but they weren't enough. You know the rest of the story."

"So now we know what it was Pritchard that somehow sinked that ship to prevent their ultimate plan. Even if it made him the murderer of other Rangers and caused the corps to fall apart."

"He had...no other choice." Crowley said in a weak choice. "I won't... I won't accuse him of betrayal."

"Me neither, pal. But... He is gone now. I promise you we will avenge him. But now we have to figure out how to get out of this and save Will."

"Pritchard told us to find Andreas, the Commandant. He said he'd help us to find Will. Annual Ranger Meeting is in two days, I am sure that we can find some clues there."

"I am going tonight." Halt left to collect his weapons and wearing his cloak. Crowley nodded.

"And I am coming with you."

"Wait,wait,wait, what do you mean Morgarath's men raided your cabin and attacked you? And then kidnapped your son?"

"I know it is hard to apprehend it but you have to believe us, Andreas." Crowley begged as he looked at his Commandant.

"So Pritchard is dead?"

"Yes." Crowley said, closing his eyes for a moment. "He told us to come find you. If they got to Pritchard, none of us is safe. We have to contact King Gerald and Prince Duncan. And we have to find Will, please Andreas."

The older man sat down slowly, shaken from the news. "This is bad." He looked up to them. "I will send a few Rangers I trust to Araluen. If Morgarath really kidnapped your son, I think I know the place he is holding him hostage. Come with me."

"So who is this... Triston guy?"

"I don't know much about him either but I think he was the head of the Morgarath's guard. People told that Morgarath made him do his dirty jobs."

"If he is the one who kidnapped Will and killed Pritchard, people weren't wrong." Halt said as Crowley sighed angrily.

"I will kill him with my bare hands when I find him."

"Get in line, buddy." Halt held Abelard's reins tighter. "But we need to talk about something. How are we going to hide after we find Will? Andreas told us we can't trust anyone. Not even the King since he is under the influence of Morgarath."

"We'll talk when it comes do to that, my friend. Now focus.''

"Speaking of focusing, I think we arrived. This must be the grove Andreas told us about. " Halt stopped in front of a wide,wooded area in front of stopped short after him. "If they are keeping Will hostage here, then the cottage of Morgarath's men must be somewhere into this mess. Morgarath is really a clever man, regular people wouldn't think there would be a life sign into this forest." Halt said whilst inspecting the chaos of trees bushes.

"Good things we are Rangers, then." Crowley mused as he gripped his bow and handed Halt his.

"What is the plan?"

"As always, we'll lie low and wait."

(Present Day)

"Do you think Master Chubb will actually take me as an apprentice? Like actually actually?"

"Well, I can answer that question if you can tell me if Lady Pauline will take me as one."

"Come on,Alyss,you are like a diplomat by birth." George said as he drank his morning tea from his mug. "Like Lady Pauline wouldn't notice how resourceful you are."

"What profession will you choose,Will?" Alice kindly asked to the boy sitting and eating his breakfast silently at the table. Will looked up, a bit startled like he wasn't listening.

"Sorry, Alice. I was just...thinking."

"What, how they won't ever accept you to the Battleschool?"

Will sighed as he looked at the one person who he wished didn't exist. "So funny, Horace. You should go be a clown apprentice."

"What, am I wrong here? Sir Rodney would never let you, you are so frail."

"That's enough, Horace." Alice warned him. Will was glaring daggers at him.

"Pretty sure I know much more about being a knight than you could ever know, Altman so don't push it."

"Oh yeah? How could someone like you know all about being a knight? You are just an orphan..." Will saw red at thhat point and thought he had no reason to hide the truth from them anymore. Maybe he could feel relieved if he told them, and Horace certainky wouldn't mock him anymore. It wasn't like is father was going to come anyway, he had stopped waiting years ago. He had stopped hoping. Why wouldn't he tell them he was a member of the royal family of Clonmel?

"I know about it because I used to be a pr..." Will started, but a familiar voice cut them.

"Kids, it is time! Come on, hurry up!" said the ward's maid from the door, ushering them out of the room. "Baron Arald won't wait you whole day."

Will sulked visibly, he was actually so close to tell the truth but the worry he was feeling about the Choosing Day quickly made him forget it. Maybe he could finally move on from his old life and live his dreams to be a knight, like a normal person that served his country, like he didn't have a father who he didn't even know where he was and he could, maybe, be finally happy enough to move on.

Not that these thoughts could prepare him for what he was going to see in Baron's room.

(Eight Years Ago)

Halt glanced at Crowley as they spied on the little cottage from a hill.

"Four hours and no sign of a seven-year-old child living inside that cottage."

"You see, I kind of am running out of patience because even my Ranger education can't make me stand still for another minute while my son is being held there so I decided to go shoot all of these guys till I get to my son. You with me?"

"So much for staying discrete. Okay. How about you go from behind and I'll tackle them from the other side?"

"Deal. Try not to get killed." Halt said as he got up, taking his bow into his hand. Crowley sighed.

"Always the light of my life. See you in five minutes."

Halt took a deep breath as he looked at the two armed men guarding the cottage from behind. Will was probably inside so head to be as silent as possible. He took a deep breath as he contemplated on using the bow or knives. He settled on knives and grabbed one from his belt and approached them.

He hit one from behind and quickly disarmed the other one as the former collapsed to the ground. Halt had his arm wrapped around the startled warrior's neck.

"Shut your mouth and don't make a noise if you want to live." He squeezed more. "Where is my son?"

"I... I... Upstairs." he spoke quietly.

"How many men are inside?"

"There is only...two..."

"Good." He hit his head and he blacked out. Then, he froze as he heard an familiar voice.

"Let me go!"

"Will..." he mumbled to himself as he ran to the other side but he was late. A man was standing in front of the cabin with a knife pressed on a little,curly-headed figure's neck.

"Daddy!"

"Will!" Halt felt his heart throb in his ears. "Will, don't be scared, I am here. I'll save you, don't be afraid."

"So you are the famous Ranger Pritchard's Hibernian apprentice. Morgarath told me you would be like Pritchard. Stubborn. Impulsive. You have a lovely son. Who won't live long if you move one more step." He, who Halt supposed was Triston, snarked. "Stay behind."

"Leave the boy." Halt said in a cold tone, hand still on the bow.

Triston. "So you could kill me easily? Not a chance, Ranger. You will let us leave nicely."

"Daddy..." Will whimpered and Halt's gaze flickered over him. He thought only for two seconds before deciding.

"Will, don't be scared. Just trust me, alright? I need you to keep calm and trust me." Half said, in a soothing but sharp tone. Will frowned, but he suddenly saw how his father was holding his bow. He raised his eyes, nodding slowly.

Halt smiled. "Trust me." He looked back at Triston as he laughed.

"You are not getting out of this, Halt. If you lay a finger on me, I will kill your son."

"You have a good hand."

"What..." He looked at his hand for one second and then he had an arrow in his hand.

He screamed as the knife fell to the ground, and collapsed on his knees as Crowley's arrow hit him on the back. Will just ran to his father, crying. Halt held him tight as Crowley loomed over the man, checking if he was dead.

"I was so afraid, Daddy..."

"Its okay, honey. It is alright, you are safe now. I got you."

Crowley walked over to them. "They can't be far behind. We have to move on."

Halt nodded with Will's head buried in his cloak.

"Okay. Let's get out of here."

"Uh, Lady Sandra?" asked nine year old Will, as he nervously fiddled with his fingers..

"Yes, sweetie?" Lady Sandra smiled at the boy encouragingly.

"Why did my dad left me here?"

Lady Sandra's smile faltered, and she walked over to him, sitting beside him and holding his head.

"Honey, he never wanted to. But do you remember being kidnapped?" Will nodded. "Morgarath did that. And your father was one of the enemies of him. So he wanted to make bad things to your dad. He wasn't safe, Will." She stroked his hair. "And neither were you. It was very hard for him but they had to go to fight Morgarath to save this country. He couldn't risk you going with him, because Morgarath could kidnap you again or do bad things to you. Halt was afraid of losing you, so afraid. So he chose the safest option. He left you here with us but I know how much he wanted to be with you."

Will sighed.

"Do you think he will come take me back now that the war is over?"

Lady Sandra smiled. "I like to believe so, dearest child."

(Present)

Will smiled at Alyss encouragingly. "You got this, Alyss. Yiu will just walk inside and charm your way into Lady Pauline's heart."

Alyss smiled. "Thanj yiu, Will. I know that youncan do it too. You just need to believe in yourself."

Will took a deep bfeath. "Thank you."

Soon, Martin, the Baron's secretary, opened the door.

"Come on kids. You will keep calm and treat our Baron and Craftmasters with manners, understood?"

"Yes, sir." Everyone said and Martin fully opened the door. "Come in."

Will smiled as he walked into Baron's room, he loved this room, it reminded him the rooms in his old palace. He was feeling pretty nervous and excited as he turned his head to see the line where the Cratfsmakers were standing.

And he stopped dead in his tracks when he saw the figure wrapped around the Ranger cloak.

Will felt like someone just washed him with icy cold water as his eyes found the pair hidden in shadows of his hood.

"Dad?" he whispered to himself, shaken, breath coming in quick gasps. George turned to him, frowning. "You alright, mate?"

Will shook his head, eyes wide and blown as he took in the figure in front of him. Baron Arald looked at him softly.

"Will, can you please come closer?"

And Will did the only thing he could think of at the moment.

He ran away, getting out of the room fast as they shouted behind him.

(Eight Years Ago, In Front of Redmont Ward)

"We don't have much time." Crowley whispered to his companion. Other man turned his unfocused eyes on him as he talked.

"Daddy?" Someone asked, a little voice, and Halt looked at his son's confused face as he felt his heart clench in his chest. He slowly put him to the ground, kneeling to the ground to his level.

"Will, I love you." He felt his eyes water as he tried to form words. "I love you so much, son. More than anything in this world and nothing is going to change this fact, I promise. Please, just, just know that I love you so,so much. Don't ever forget that, okay?"

Will nodded, still confused as he watched his father. Crowley took a deep breath, his eyes painful as he looked away.

"You... You need to stay here, Will. With Baron Arald and Lady Sandra and the bunch of other kids in the ward, okay?"

"Why?" Will frowned.

"Because here is safe. Safer than outside. You will be safer here than with me. I have to protect you. And I can't do this while I am on run, and in the middle of war, but they...they can do it here."

"For how long am I staying here?"

Crowley closed his eyes. Halt took a deep breath.

"I don't know, Will. But for a long...time. Until I... I make sure that you can be safe outside."

"But...But I don't wanna stay here! I don't know anyone here! You told me you were never going to leave like Mom did, but you are leaving now. I want to come with you." He said accusingly.

Halt was on the edge of crying. He held his son's little hands on his own.

"You can't come with me, baby. You must stay here. Look, if you come with me than bad guys will take you away again and I can't do that again, Will. I... I have to do this now, please understand me."

"But you will come back, won't you? Promise me you will come to get me and we can go home, promise me. You must come and take me home." Will said, indulgingly, his lower lip trembling. Halt pulled him into a hug, pressing his head into his cloak, breathing in his scent. Crowley had tears in his eyes too.

"Promise." Will demanded again.

"I promise. I will come back. I'll come back to you when this is over. Then we could do all kinds of things together, huh? I'll even take you to the Araluen Castle and we'll see if it is really bigger than ours in Clonmel." He pulled away with red eyes, trying to form a smile. "Be a good boy, alright? Make a lot of friends, I want to hear all your stories with them when I come back, alright?"

Will nodded, smiling. "Alright, Daddy." He hugged him again. "I love you."

"I love you too, baby." Halt hugged him for one last time, kissing his curls. When he looked up, he saw Crowley's eyes looking at him.

"Halt we need to go." He said slowly, like he knew how heavy those words were. Halt inhaled, kissing his son's cheeks.

"Take good care. And eat your meals. And don't you ever pass the bedtime, you always get cranky in the morning if you don't get enough sleep."

"Okay." Will smiled sincerely. Halt tried to remember this. Crowley softly stepped up, trying to smile at Will as he held out his hand.

"Come on, little one, I'll drop you off. They are gonna adore you, buddy." He said in a forced cheerful tone as Will took his hand. They slowly walked to the door of the ward as Halt watched them go with hazy eyes. Crowley knocked on the door and Will turned back on the last second, waving to him. He waved back, trying to smile as the door opened, Crowley talked with a woman who was informed earlier by Baron Arold, smiling softly as she met Will and took his hand. The door closed as Will waved goodbye to Crowley too, and Halt felt his resolve break the moment it closed.

He had tears running on his cheeks as Crowley came to his side, hugging him. He was shaking as he held onto his best friend.

"I-I-I can't do this, Crowley, just let me go over there and take him back..."

"Halt, please, I know how much it hurts right now but you know this is the safest way. We can't keep him safe while going into a war like that. We can't hide him from Morgarath again. He will be okay. He will be okay..."

It was the last time Will saw his father until that day.

(Present)

"Will! Will, stop! Will, come on, just stop, I want to talk to you..."

Will turned around, his eyes still shocked and nearly in tears as he looked at the man in front of him, the man he hadn't seen in eight years. He had thrown himself into the first empty room he saw, and now he had no other chance than face him. His father had a little gray in his hair and just a little more lines on his face but he looked exactly as his seven year old version remembered. They still had the same brown eyes. He felt an insane tug inside of him all of a sudden, an instant but strong urge to hug him, let him comfort him like he was still a little kid, leave himself into his father's warm presence. He had missed him...so much. But apparently his father hadn't since he had never come to see his face all those years. He had cried for years after him, but Halt hadn't even send a message. So why was he here right now?

"Why are you here?" He had realised tears were filling his eyes.

"Will,I know this is a big shock for you but just let me explain, I missed you so much?"

Will laughed bitterly. "You missed me? Is this a joke? You...you didn't miss me at all. Why would you? If you did you would have come years ago." He wiped his eyes. "You have no right to show up 8 years later and tell me you missed me."

Halt looked shook but he held out his hand. "Will, I know what you are feeling but I mean every word, son. I never wanted to leave you for so long, but..."

"But what?!" Will shouted, surprising himself. "Couldn't you at least end a letter? I-I didn't even know you were the Ranger of Redmont till now, oh God..."

Halt was starting to feel desperate as his son was having a control attack. "Will, I need you to calm down, please let me explain myself, you'll understand me, let's just sit down alright?"

"No. You want to talk? Then we will. Now you listen to me. When you left me here, I was seven. When the war ended and Morgarath was prisoned in exile, I was nine. You had told me you'd come back when this was all over. I waited. When you didn't come I thought you had died in the battle. There was no other explanation for me. I was so sure you had died, you know, so when I learned there was a Ranger named Halt that was guarding our country with his friend Crowley, I didn't believe that. I was ten. I had thought it was a namesake. But then Baron Arald told me it was you."

Halt looked away for a moment as Will went on.

"I used to... I used to wish for you to come back. Somehow, someday, with some explanation. I just wanted my father. I asked Baron Arald for you countless times and he had no answer but I still hoped endlessly that you'd come back. I hoped as Horace mocked me for having no surname. I hoped as other people looked at me with pity. Like I was an orphan, like I didn't have a father traveling all over the country except here, I hoped for that one day through all that. I waited for you for years!" Will shouted, tears in his eyes. "For eight years. And now? When I-I just stopped hoping and crying over you, you dare to show up? With absolutely zero explanation? And you want me to run into your arms like the last time I saw you? Who do you think you are?"

His eyes were so angry as he looked at Halt, he felt like someone tearing his heart apart. He took a deep breath.

"Will, just, just listen to me, I know you don't believe me but just give me a chance..." He tried to reach out to him but Will jerked away.

"No. No you are not doing this to me. Go. Get out of here, go to wherever you have been up to before this and don't you dare to come back again."

"No,Will,son, please, it is not what you think, just let me talk to you for five minutes, don't ask me to do this, don't ask me to leave again.." His eyes were painful.

"I am not your son." Halt looked at up him with wide eyes. "My father died years ago on that war. He never came back again."

"Will..."

"Do me a favor, Ranger Halt, and leave." He told in a stoic tone. "Leave me alone."

Halt was so shocked, he was shaking with the impact of his son's words. He couldn't even form words as he looked at his face. His son was right in front of him and he wasn't even able to hug him, to hold him.

"Alright." was all he could say as he left the room, his eyes filling with tears for the first time after that night he had to leave Will at the ward all those years ago as he walked out of the castle, not looking at anyone's face.

Hey guys, I wanted to finally finish this chapter after so long, I kniw it has been a while but I hope you still want to read it :) I'll try to update constantly from now on, I hope you enjoyed it! Can Halt explain his long absence to Will? Will everyone learn the truth about them? We'll see in tge next chapter :) Have a good time reading this.