Ranger's Apprentice: The Tantalizing Tales

In which Halt tells Crowley the truth and Crowley... well, he's Crowley

"So when are you going to tell me why you really left Hibernia to come seeking the life of a Ranger?" Crowley asked casually. He sat in his chair in his Ranger Commandant office in Castle Araluen, comfortably leaning back with his feet on his desk.

"What makes you think I didn't tell you the real reason already?" Halt replied. He too had his feet up on Crowley's desk, his hands folded over his stomach. His friend shrugged. I just think you didn't, that gesture meant and Halt knew it. When he didn't reply, his friend moved down his feet and leaned forward.

"Oh come on, how bad can it be? Surely you're not some cast-away crown prince..." He looked expectantly at his friend and Halt could feel that there was more behind that question. He narrowed his eyes. "That wasn't a guess."

Crowley coughed. "Ha, well, erm, funny that you should mention it, uhh, I might have asked Pritchard and - he didn't say anything else - just that you didn't belong in the castle - and then I looked at the latest reports from Hibernia which stated that Clonmel's crown prince mysteriously disappeared and I just thought, one plus one equals two, so..."

"You checked up on me?" Halt interrupted him, raising an eyebrow. Crowley moved back in defence.

"You have to look at from my side of things. I mean, Morgarath was secretly planning a hostile takeover, forcing Rangers out of the kingdom. Then you show up, trained as a Ranger by coincidentally my former mentor, refusing a job that could have made you one of the most powerful men of Araluen simply because of your support for a country you have been in for only days, continuing to then play a major role in a war that you have no place in. It was too good to be true."

"So you decided to check up on me?"

"No, look. Obviously Pritchard confirmed part of your story. I trust you, and I trusted him and he trusted you so that was good enough for me. And it was good enough for Duncan until I said I was going to give you the silver. He's in his full right to demand that you tell us more about where you're from."

"Are you saying you don't trust me?"

"No. All I'm saying is that we just came out of a war against someone who was the King's biggest advisor. Duncan cannot make a stranger one of the most powerful people in the kingdom. He needs to be able to justify his actions."

"Isn't trust good enough of a justification?"

"Come on, Halt. Don't you think at least I have earned the right to hear the full story?" Finally, Halt gave in.

"Okay. But you better have someone bring the best damn coffee present in this castle because it's not nothing."

>>>———->

When the coffee had been poured and the usual remarks about honey had been made, Halt leaned back in his chair once again and looked at his friend.

"Alright, as you found out already, I am Clonmel's crown prince. And Pritchard was right, I didn't belong in the castle life but that's not the reason I left. Look, you have to know that I never wanted to be king. But I was the firstborn and I had accepted my claim to throne and all responsibilities that came with it. My younger brother, however, never made peace with it."

"Let me guess, he thought he was the better fit and that you didn't deserve the crown," Crowley stated. Halt nodded.

"Something like that. His real frustration, however, came from the fact that I was only a couple of minutes older." Crowley frowned.

"Hang on... You have a twin brother?" Halt smiled, but it was a sad smile.

"A twin brother that believed I took his rights from him. He never forgave me for being born first and actually tried to kill me for it." He was silent for a few moments, staring outside, reminiscing, before returning to his story.

"When my father, the King, was on his deathbed, Ferris felt that he was running out of time and tried to drown me. At that point I had already been trained by Pritchard for some time and I decided that enough was enough. I swam away and never returned. I trained with Pritchard for a few more months and then decided to come to Araluen."

The Commandant seemed to be lost for words, until he finally said something.

"Duncan needs to know. No seriously," he interrupted Halt's protest, "if we ever have Hibernian officials over and they recognise you, that could complicate matters. Just tell him, and Arald and no one else will ever hear a word of it if you don't want to." Halt nodded.

"Thanks, Crowley. I really appreciate it." "Of course. I'm glad you told me. It must have been eating you up."

They sat in silence, sipping their coffee. Until Crowley spoke up again.

"So when are you going to tell Pauline? Maybe she's into royalty." The deviousness was evident in his voice and Halt rolled his eyes.

"Do you ever shut up?"