John Flanagan - The siege of Macindaw

Will had spent the previous five years almost exclusively in Halt's company, and he was not really equipped to deal with a social situation like this. Now that he had admitted the depth of his feelings for Alyss, he dreaded the thought that she might not return them – that she might reply with the statement that, over the years, has proved the death knell for so many relationships: Can't we just stay as friends?

He'd discussed it, in the strictest confidence, with Horace. Horace, after all, was a knight who moved in the highest social circles at Castle Araluen and was far more used to spending time in female company.

The tall warrior had claimed to be completely unsurprised when Will confessed how he felt.

"Of course you love her!" he'd replied. "She's been your best friend since you both could walk, and now she's grown up to be beautiful, talented, intelligent and witty. What's not to love about all that?"

Horace's solution to the problem was typical. Just come right out and tell her. But then, as a warrior, he always favored the direct approach. Rangers, Will told him, were more inclined to look for the subtle nuances of a person's behavior to determine their true feelings.

"You're more inclined to be devious, you mean," Horace had said, dismissing the statement as pretentious balderdash.

Will couldn't find a suitable reply to that, so they dropped the subject.

Altogether, it was a confusing and awkward situation for the young Ranger. He paused now outside Alyss's door, wondering if he should wait another day. Then he decided that he was only trying to postpone the inevitable, and he rapped on the door, a little more sharply than he had intended.

"Come in."

He felt a surge of nervousness at the sound of her voice, then he opened the door and went in.

Alyss was sitting up in her bed, close to the window, where she could look out over the surrounding countrys ide. The last of the snow clung stubbornly to the treetops and gleamed in the sunshine. She turned from the view and smiled at him.

"Will," she said. "How lovely to see you."

She wore her pale blond hair down, brushed till it seemed to shine. She looked tired, but pleased to see him. He moved to the side of the bed. There was a straight-backed chair there, and he sat down. She reached out and took his hands. It was a natural, unaffected movement. A gesture between friends, he thought.

"How are you feeling?" he asked her. His throat was dry, and the banal words seemed to stick in it as he spoke them.

"I'm fine. A little tired is all."

He nodded. He couldn't think of what to say next.

"I've got a million questions to ask," she said.Tve been having the wildest dreams." She rolled her eyes dramatically. "I've been wanting to ask you about everything that happened in the tower the other night."

He watched her carefully. "You don't remember anything?" And he thought he saw a momentary flicker of hesitation in her eyes. It was only there for a fraction of a second, but he was sure it was there.

"Not really," she said, and he knew he'd been right about the hesitation. She did remember – but didn't want to admit it.

Truth be told, Alyss was feeling every bit as confused as Will. She had indeed been having dreams. She dreamed that they were back in the tower and she was about to hurt him in some terrible way when suddenly, out of the blue, he was telling her that he loved her – words she had been hoping to hear from him for longer than she could remember.

But she didn't know if the dream reflected what had really happened or something she wanted to have happened. They looked at each other, both uncertain, both unwilling to declare themselves.

He shrugged.

"Perhaps we should leave it until you're stronger," he said. She studied him carefully. "Was it really that awful?" she asked.

A dark look entered his eyes as he remembered those grim moments.

"Yes. It was, Alyss. But as I told you on the night, you saved my life. And that's the important thing." There was a long silence.

"Any sign of the relief column from Norgate?" she asked. She sensed that he was relieved to hear the conversation move on to a safer, more general, topic.

"Our scouts say they're ten days away."

"What about the Scotti?" she asked. After all, they were an immediate threat, and they were closer than the Norgate forces. But Will shrugged.

"I doubt they'll be coming. You knew we let MacHaddish go, didn't you?"

She sat up straighter at that news. "Let him go? Whose idea was that?"

"Mine, actually. And everyone else reacted pretty much the way you just did when I suggested it."

"Well, then – " she began, but he cut her off.

"We brought him here first and showed him that the castle was fully garrisoned by wild Skandians. Plus some of Orman's original men have begun to filter back in. So we showed him around, told him the relief force from Norgate was due any day, then turned him loose to report back to his commander."

He didn't mention that he had also taken MacHaddish to one side and made him a personal promise: If your army comes back here, you will be the first one I look for. The Scotti general hadn't been frightened by the threat. But he knew it was genuine, and he respected it.

"So," Alyss said thoughtfully, "he'll report that Macindaw is back in enemy hands, and probably a tougher nut to crack than it was before."

"Exactly. Skandians will be much harder opponents than your average provincial soldier. They're professionals, after all." There was a note of pride in his voice, and she couldn't help smiling at him.

"You really like them, don't you?"

"Skandians?" he said. "Yes, I do. Once they give you their word, they will never go back on it. They're terrible enemies, but they make the best allies you could ask for. Horace says if he had an army of them, he could conquer the world."

"Does he want to conquer the world?"

He smiled. "Not really. It's just the sort of thing warriors say."

"And what about you? Any dreams of world domination for you?"

He shook his head. "I just want to get back to my peaceful cabin at Seacliff Fief."

"I seem to recall there was a pretty little innkeeper's daughter back there?" she said. Her tone was light and teasing, but there was a purpose behind the question. Will shrugged.

"Oh, I'm sure she's forgotten all about me by now."

"I doubt it. You're not an easy person to forget."

He said nothing. He didn't know how to answer that, and the silence between them grew longer. Abruptly, he became aware that he was still holding both her hands. He released them and stood, sending the chair skating back on the floorboards.

"I'd… better be going," he said. "Malcolm told me not to tire you out."

She forced a yawn in reply to make things easier for him. She was, after all, a trained diplomat.

"I am a little sleepy," she said. "Come by tomorrow and see me again?"

"Of course." He made his way to the door, unwilling to turn his back on her, and sidled out, half waving, half saluting as he went. "Well, I'll see you then, then." He realized how stupid that phrasing sounded.

She waved, just fluttering her fingers at him, and smiled goodbye. He groped for the door handle, got it open somehow and went out, closing the door behind him.

In the anteroom, he paused, leaning his forehead against the rough stone of the wall.

"Oh, damn it all," he said quietly.

In the bedchamber, Alyss was saying exactly the same thing.

The relief force from Norgate clattered across Macindaw's lowered drawbridge and filed through the gatehouse into the courtyard.

There were twenty mounted knights and a hundred marching men-at-arms, and all of them stared around curiously at the grinning Skandians who manned the battlements. Sir Doric, the Battlemaster of Norgate, who was leading the force, saw the small welcoming group waiting in front of the keep and turned his horse toward them. Will noted that there was a Ranger riding beside him. That would be Meralon, he thought, the Ranger assigned to Norgate Fief. He knew little about the other man, but he had heard that he was inclined to be stuffy and a little set in his ways.