Author's Note:

Much shorter than usual. Basically Alyss' reaction to Will's return from Arrida. Remember Alyss/Will aren't together at this point :) Mildly fluffy.

Chapter 3:

Will/Alyss

|| Return ||

xxx

"Oh Will, look at you!" She exclaimed, causing her hands to travel towards her mouth while she stifled a giggle.

The young apprentice frowned and folded his arms. "What do you mean?"

Alyss maintained herself, and reached out to take his hand. Misreading the gesture, a blush came to his cheeks, but she quickly turned his arm over to indicate the dark colour that had formed.

"You're tanned." She remarked, this time unable to stop the laugh that escaped her lips.

Will was rather baffled by her reaction, especially since everyone else had the same sort of colour. Granted, they were less-brown since they hadn't wandered into a desert and burnt the majority of their skin off, but it wasn't until the reasonably pale girl showed him just how different he was to the people of Araluen.

She stared at him for a few more moments, making him feel sufficiently uncomfortably under her scrutinise gaze.

"I missed you!" She whispered, reaching forward and pulling him into a hug.

He hugged her back with equal warmth, enjoying the sweet scent that washed over him. But then she pulled away, the slightest shade of pink tinging her cheeks. To him, she was utterly beautiful.

"Well come on, you have to tell me about your trip." She enthused, pulling him towards a table outside Redmont.

He'd only just returned since his trip to Arrida and his adventure, rescuing Jarl Erak, or Oberjarl now, and she had been there waiting for him as he and Halt arrived at the castle.

Alyss had kissed him once, and he remembered it now, with her soft hand in his, but he knew virtually nothing in the way of her feelings. He was glad to see that their friendship was still as strong as ever, despite the months separated.

"What was it like?" Alyss questioned after she sat him down beside her.

Will gave himself enough time to think about his answer; Alyss knew a lot of the Arrida customs from being a Courier, so she wanted to know about his own experience.

"There was a lot going on, that's for sure." He told her at length.

Nodding, she let her head fall onto her hands, gazing at him intently. "I heard it was another Skandian leader that tried to kill Erak."

Will sighed. "Yep, and he had a whole bunch of desert nomads on his side to help; bandits and thieves."

Alyss frowned. "But Pauline said a group of nomads helped you to rescue Erak, did you manage to change their sides...?"

The Ranger shook his head. He knew Alyss would have gotten part of the report from when they landed at Araluen to deliver the Princess and was unsurprised that she was seeking the rest.

"The Tualaghi were the bad ones, helping a Skandian called Toshak. But there were others, the Bedullin, peaceful nomads who knew the desert. One of their scouts accidentally gave away Halt's position with the Wakir and his men, so he felt guilty and helped me rescue them and defeat the Tualaghi." He explained.

Alyss nodded slowly, absorbing the information. Will assumed she knew most of the terms he used and was proud of her quick mind.

Eventually she laughed a sweet melodic sound. "And to think you went for a simple ransom."

Will groaned. "I know, but we ended up with heaps of maps and new information on Arrida. The Wakir was so impressed that there might be a possible treaty in the future."

The Courier smiled. "All thanks to you." She noted.

"Me?" Will blinked. "Surely we all did our work, Halt and Gilan tracked the Tualaghi and Horace beat up quite a few guys. And I mean Evanlyn was the one who stopped the Tualaghi leader, or else we would have lost."

Alyss' expression darkened at the mention of the Princess. She had hoped their conversation would stay away from her, especially since Will had just spent months in her company.

"Either way," she voiced, making sure to not show her irritation, "I'm sure Halt is very proud of you."

Will smiled shyly and bit his lip. "Think so?"

"I know so."

Glancing up, he saw the sincerity in her eyes and believed her.

"Thanks Alyss."

In response, she gently kissed his cheek, even lingering for a few seconds.

"Any time Will." She replied, taking his hand in hers.

Will hadn't noted before, while he was in Arrida, surrounded by his friends, that he had lacked something. But now he knew that he had truly returned home.