#wilyss

[rangertessadarling]

Will is described throughout the series as having an incredibly quick mind. He catches on to things fast, and his ability to put two and two together is uncanny, Halt literally said in book 9 that he would choose Will over Gilan and Crowley because of how quick he is (not to mention he's his son but whateva)

Berrigan said it, Halt said it, pretty sure Crowley and Arald have said it, Will. is. incredibly. smart.

Which makes his obliviousness all the more funny. Cuz you put this kid in a room of advanced battle strategists and King's councilmen and he can rise to the occasion and catch on to every word, and probably even help them out.

But you put him a situation where an equally as smart, equally as quick-witted, courier is in love with him and has given him every indication that she's in love with him, literally KISSED HIM several times....and he's still not catching the drift??

Hilarious. Comedic perfection. What an adorable little man.

[ragingadhd]

Shitpost based off this tiktok

[name-s-are-not-important]

Alyss after moving in with Will: Hey, what are the names of the people across the road?

Will, after some thought: Their dogs are Lilu, Paw and Ash.

Alyss:

Alyss: That's not what I asked

Will: That's the information I have

Alyss:

Alyss: And the ones behind the woods?

Will: Sadly they only have one dog and I’m afraid she's lonely

Alyss:

Will: But I won’t steal her

Will: Again

[forgedroyalseal]

Ranger Gathering 2024

Day Two: Hero

Alyss slides up beside Will with two drinks in hand. “You know, I think gold’s your color.” She says passing one to him.

Will fought a blush and gladly took the offered glass. “This,” he gestured to the shimmering metal of valor pinned to his formal Ranger’s uniform, “is a bit much. I’d much rather be in my cloak.”

Alyss smiled at him. “Of course you would. Then you’d be able to sneak out of here without Cassandra catching you.”

“She promised me it would be a low key dinner with friends.” Will muttered, half to himself.

“To be fair, she is a princess. I think this is the simplest party she’s capable of hosting.”

“I just- it’s too much. I haven’t done anything to earn this.”

Alyss moves so she’s facing him head on, forcing him to look her in the eye. “Will. You deserve all of this, and more. You are a hero. I know that you’ve always struggled with feeling worthy, but hear me when I tell you that you are worth so much to so many people. And I’m at the top of that list.”

“Alyss,” He choke out her name, emotion washing over him.

“You matter Will.” She continued. “You’ve made such a difference in the world. And even if you retired today, even if you had never even become a ranger, you’d still matter. You’d still be a hero to me.”

[burnin0akleaves]

(Will and Halt)

There we go, all the kitty cat sketches people requested plus the Wilyss that made me want want to start drawing cats in the first place. You can see the dip in quality as we go

[caffeineinducedbeing]

white knuckled

---

"Alyss? You alright, love?"

A small groan emulated from the mound of blankets on the couch. Pauline snorted quietly to his left.

"How long has she been feverish?" Will asked as he moved to his wife's side, lifting the blankets near her face to lay one hand on her forehead and the other to cup her cheek.

"Since about 2 o'clock this afternoon. She said she felt queasy at around noon but didn't actually get sick until about 2"

Alyss' eyes peaked open slightly and her forehead wrinkled as she realized what was happening. "I'm sorry, Will. You should be working right now" she said in a quiet cracking voice.

"No honey, it's okay. Are you feeling any better than earlier? Pauline said you've been sleeping for about 2 hours now."

"That long" Alyss gasped out as she tried to sit up in a frenzy, obviously stressing over having been passed out on her mentor's couch for far too long. Talk about overstaying a welcome.

But she was weak, and all too obviously sick, and her arms shook with the strain of holding herself up, Will noticed this and hurried to lay her back on the couch gently.

"Lyss, stay still, honey, lay back down. Do you want to go home?"

Alyss looked up at him with glazed and weary-looking eyes and nodded pitifully. Her utter tearful disposition drew a snort from her husband and was almost enough to draw one from an amused-looking Pauline standing a few feet away. It was just so unlike Alyss, that it was humorous.

The usually assertive diplomat nodded teary-eyed at his question. Yes, she wanted to go home.

Will nodded at her with a smile still lingering on his face.

"Ok, can you stand? Want me to carry you?"

Alyss managed a small, exhausted smile through her weakness. "I think I can manage standing, though carrying wouldn't be a bad idea either."

Will chuckled softly as he gently helped her sit up. She swayed slightly, her fever making her feel disoriented. Will moved closer, his arm wrapping around her waist to support her. She leaned against him, grateful for his presence.

"Easy now," he murmured, guiding her to her feet. Alyss swayed again and Will tightened his hold on her. "Steady, love."

Pauline stepped forward, concern etched on her face. "I'll get the door for you two. Make sure she gets home safely, Will."

"Thank you, Pauline," Will replied, his focus still on Alyss. He started guiding her towards the door, his arm securely around her waist.

Alyss managed a weak chuckle. "I feel like I've been hit by a battering ram."

Will grinned, trying to lighten the mood. "Well, at least you've got a good story for later. 'Remember that time I got knocked out by a fever and ended up on Pauline's couch?'"

Alyss rolled her eyes, but a small smile played on her lips. "You're ridiculous."

"That's why you love me," Will said with a wink, his voice filled with affection. They reached the door, and Pauline held it open for them.

"Take care, you two," Pauline said, her voice warm.

"Thank you, Pauline," Alyss replied, her voice still a bit weak.

As they stepped out into the Redmont courtyard, the cool breeze hit Alyss' feverish skin, making her shiver. Will tightened his grip around her, his concern evident. "Let's get you home and into bed."

Alyss nodded, leaning against him as they walked. The journey back to their cabin was slow, but Tug was gentle, seeming to sense the distress of his riders. Will's support was unwavering, his arm around her waist providing her with the stability she needed. When they finally reached their cabin, he helped her inside and settled her on their bed.

"Rest up, Lyss. I'll make you some tea and get you some medicine."

Alyss nodded, her eyes already drooping with exhaustion. "Thank you, dear.” she mumbled.

He pressed a gentle kiss to her heated forehead. "I'll be right back."

He left the room, making certain that the bedroom door remained open enough that he could keep an eye on her from the kitchen.

When he returned with a steaming mug and a jar of herbs and supplements, Alyss had nearly dozed off. He gently nudged her awake, reassuring her that she could sleep after taking her medicine.

After she had swallowed every pill and drank half her tea, she curled into his side on the bed, her body still radiating heat from her fever, but at least she wasn’t trembling anymore, that’s a good sign.

If she didn’t break her fever tonight, he would take her to the infirmary. In the meantime, he held her while she slept, her breaths sounding deep and even, yet ragged all at once. Strained with her struggling nervous system.

Stroking her forehead, he gave the top of her head a little kiss, and for probably the millionth time through their five years of marriage, he thanked God for this woman. This amazing woman who somehow put up with him day after day, this woman who had seen him at his lowest lows and his highest highs, and still loved him relentlessly.

He didn’t deserve her, but he loved her, so so desperately. Life without her was unimaginable, making even a small fever such as this, terrifying for him.

How could the woman he loved not be in perfect health? How could he have allowed that? How did he not prevent this heinous illness from infecting his wife? Talk about a failure of a husband.

He didn’t realize his grip on her was so tight until this moment, he relaxed, his knuckles going back to their normal color after being a stark white just a moment ago. He clutched her tight as if he would lose her if he didn’t.

He sighed deeply, exhausted with his own mind. Logically he knew Alyss loved him just as much as he loved her, he knew her fever was not his fault, he couldn’t have prevented it.

So why did his mind proceed to torture him anyway?

He would never know. He clutched her tighter still, knuckles whitening once more, and gave her forehead another gentle kiss.

“I’ll never let anything happen to you, angel.”

[rangerangel]

Just the quickest Wilyss watercolor study of The Kiss by Hayez. I'm facing a lot of art block these days, which has been so frustrating! My goal is to chip away at my big pieces, and occasionally post some small things like this just to stay active. Thank you all for your support <3

Edit: [Also the only bad thing about this painting as a reference is the HEIGHT SHE SHOULD BE TALLER I should have put him on a stool damn it]

[that-one-enby-ranger]

Will: I’m this close to falling in love with Alyss. Halt: Your fingertips are touching. Will: Exactly.

[monicaaaaatje]

Chapters: 1/? Fandom: Ranger's Apprentice - John Flanagan Rating: Teen And Up Audiences Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply Relationships: Halt O'Carrick & Will Treaty, Pauline duLacy/Halt O'Carrick, Gilan & Halt O'Carrick, Pauline duLacy/Crowley Meratyn/Halt O'Carrick, Alyss Mainwaring & Halt O'Carrick, Alyss Mainwaring/Will Treaty, Horace Altman & Will Treaty, Horace Altman/Cassandra | Evanlyn Characters: Halt O'Carrick, Will Treaty, Pauline duLacy, Gilan (Ranger's Apprentice), Crowley Meratyn, Horace Altman, Cassandra | Evanlyn, Alyss Mainwaring Additional Tags: mentions of trauma, Drug Use, Addiction, disabillity, it's gonna get angsty, back to book 9 bitches, will he overcome?, All of this takes place prior to the Royal Ranger Summary:

While on an assignment to deal with smuglers who want to bring illegal medical potions, broths and ingredients into Araluen, everything goes wrong what supposedly could go wrong. Will is old warm weed trauma is acting up again and while attempting to save Will and Horace from being overdosed by warm weed, Halt gets nicked with a knife glazed in an odd substance. Knowing from experience how bad this can become, the men ride for Redmont in the hope master Finlay, a former student of the renowned healer Malcolm, can be of assistance. They were no moment too soon; Halt falls unconscious on his horse and is brought into the infirmary, unconscious. Master Finlay explains to lady Pauline that the knife was glazed in something called a "slow, viral poison", meaning that how longer it is present in the body, the more damage it can do. Halt will live, as Will and Horace got him to Finlay within twelve hours, but how will he be when he wakes up? Will there be permanent damage and will Halt recover?

[rangercorpstherapy]

opinion on Will remarrying in the series?

there was an ask about this before and I wasn't really against it then but more a bit apprehensive. but after the council meeting i had with @burnin0akleaves about their will treaty love interest #2 i am, dare i say, swayed. (this is your sign to bully him about sharing more information about his gay bandit). But not on the marriage part. I just don't see him remarrying ever again, alyss was his wife, and i think he would feel to much like he's 'replacing' her if he marries again.

this is not to say that i think it's immoral to marry again after your spouse dies, this is more about how their relationship was written in the books. They were childhood friends, they are set up to us as THE couple on literally the first page. their love was a big plot crutch in first series and it was used as a catalyst for the start of the second. i don't think john f. can pull it off the write a second, just as convincing, romantic plot for will with over half his books being about how much he loves someone else.

if it was written differently it think it would've worked.

if im going to pretend john would even entertain this idea I would want it to be a slowburn. but I have the feeling he would rush it. "But many relationships took more than one book to get to the point of marriage/serious relationship", yes and no. even though most characters weren't immediately together, it was often plainly stated that they had feelings for each other, or there was talk about how close they seemed to be. i want a second love interest build from the ground up. i don't even want a 'they are beautiful' before we have known them for at LEAT one and a half books. i want them both the be traumatized and lonely and I want it to be a mutual understanding that they're not replacing their past lovers because for the both of them it was to big of a loss to ever get over.

[rangertessadarling]

no but you're so right

All of right where you left me is incredibly Willyss coded but these lyrics specifically hurt so much:

If our love died young

I can't bear witness

And it's been so long

But if you ever think you got it wrong

I'm right where

You left me

You left me no, oh, you left me no

You left me no choice but to stay here forever

[rangertessadarling]

yes it's a crime that we never heard Will's best man speech for Halt's wedding, but what's more of a crime, in my opinion, is we never heard the Wilyss vows???

[ragingadhd]

RA headcannon when Will was engaged to Alyss he very awkwardly asked Pauline for her blessing and, though Pauline was very patient and humored him, the entire time she was thinking “wtf you on about”

[name-s-are-not-important]

🏳️‍🌈QUEERS ASSEMBLY 🏳️‍🌈

- representation in ff -

Hi everyone, my name is Nemo. I'm writting a ff titled "paper revolutions" on ao3 and it's mainly about Crowley’s and Cass' changes in the laws that allow more people to be themselves

It’s full of queernes, and it’s going to be a huge project, I assume

The main ships are already there, we have Wilyss T4T, Cralt evolving into Craltine, non-binary Cass/Horace and one surprise ship that appears first in the 3rd chapter

The story will follow their relations and life but I need lots of side characters and ships

And here's the thing, as a queer, disabled person myself, I’ve always found it irritating how even if there was some representation in media, it was rarely fitting my own experiences. I wanted to change it, so for the last dozen years I wrote a lot of queer stories

Here I ask if some of you may want to join the creation of that one

You can submit any canon character (except the one in the main ships) or your OC, shipped or not, who will be queer, disabled, neurodivergent or in other way wanted by you to be showed in this ff as a representation

We’re gonna need a lot of side characters, especially women, as some part of the stories will happen in Pauline’s Diplomatic Services School, there will be some friends of her and Alyss. We need more Rangers, some Scribes, knights, and people from the villages, some cooks who will interact with Jenny, some friends and family for all of the characters, Cass' friends, lords and barons, and ladies, and even more of them as the story takes place from TYE to TRR

And I want as many of them as possible to be queer (or other representation)

If you want to join, please contact me in any way you want to (comment, DM, reblog, ao3 comment), I will be honoured to include them in my story and I hope it will be fun but also something some of us may needed or wanted for a long time

For your OC write as much information as you want me to include while writing them

I will tag you, if you want me to, after the chapter where your character appears for the first time

Thank you for your time! 🏳️‍⚧️🏳️‍🌈

(I really hope someone read it to the end)

[nineteen-rats]

i had a wilyss thought

[rangertessadarling]

hsajgdf i'm speechless this is beautiful

Explain

Look, I know Will thought he could just take off and leave Seacliff for literal weeks just to tell Alyss that he loved her too but ??? Boy I wish it were that easy, I’m pretty sure you had some explaining to do though. But first: cheesy love declarations and explicit kissing iykwim

If there was an official record for travelling from Seacliff to Redmont, Will was pretty sure that he had just broken it. But what else could he have done? Alyss loved him. She loved him. 

And he loved her. He had realised it in Macindaw, but hadn’t dared to think that she reciprocated those feelings. But she did. She had told him so. She had told him she loved him without knowing if he felt the same way. But he did. And he had to tell her in person. 

Will dashed past the guards, in and out of the stables, up the stairs of the donjon and through the castle hallways. But then he stood in front of her office door, hand raised, and hesitated. 

Should he have announced his visit? What if she wasn’t in her office? What if she wasn’t even at Redmont? She could be away on an assignment. Maybe she was undercover again. And maybe he should have freshened up first? A million thoughts were racing through his head, and a thousand what-ifs. What if she’d changed her mind? What if she’d take back her words? What if-

But then Horace’s voice sounded in his head. 

What if you just knock and find out, you idiot. 

Will grinned. Horace was always pragmatic. And, if everything went as Will hoped, the knight would also be right. 

So Will took a deep breath - the last one before his heart would either be broken or claimed, never mind the cliches - and knocked. 

‘Just a minute!’

Thankfully, Will exhaled. At least she was there. 

Despite the worries that were still raging inside him, he didn’t have to fake the smile that grew on his face when his friend - friend? - opened the door. 

‘Will!’ Alyss said, caught by surprise. ‘What are you doing here?’

Her blonde hair was a little longer than it had been last time he’d seen her. It fell past her shoulders, a few strands tucked behind her ears. There was a soft blush on her cheeks - Alyss always blushed when she was working on something she enjoyed. Her white uniform elegantly hugged her figure, a silver laurel branch pin shining proudly on her chest. And her sce‘I too,’ he blurted out. 

‘You what?’

Alyss frowned softly. She skimmed his appearance, as he stood there, out of the blue and half undone. 

Then she saw it. The letter in his hand. The letter was filled with her own handwriting and although she could not read them, she knew what words were written on the back. ‘Oh.’

Will followed her gaze and raised the hand with the letter.

‘Yeah. About that…’

Alyss smiled faintly and broke eye contact. She didn’t need to look at him. Didn’t want to see his beautiful face, the freckles, the dark and messy curls, the brown eyes that drowned her, or the big and idiotic grin that could leave her shaking on her legs. She didn’t want to see the lips she longed to taste tell her that she never would. 

‘You don’t have to tell me,’ she said. ‘Really, you don’t need to tell me if you don’t feel the same.’

‘But I do.’

Alyss’s grey eyes - oh, they were practically a liquid silver - shot back towards him. 

‘You do… what?’

‘I do love you.’

‘You do?’

‘I do. A lot, actually.’

He grinned at her - oh, she would never get enough of his stupid grin - and Alyss could only stare back as a huge smile slowly lit up her face. 

Will raised an eyebrow. 

‘What?’ he asked.

‘Do you know how long I’ve waited to hear you say that?’

Will shrugged. 

‘Horace said I think too much,’ he replied. ‘I’d said it already, you know, in the tower - but you’d probably already figured that out - and I meant it, but I wasn’t sure, right - I didn’t know - and I didn’t know if you… I mean, it’d gotten you out of the hypnosis, of course, and Malcolm said - but I didn’t know-’

‘Will,’ Alyss interrupted him. 

Will looked back at her - really looked at her -, eyes big and, if she wasn’t imagining things, pupils slightly dilated. 

Alyss smiled. 

‘Shut up,’ she said. Then she kissed him. 

They’d kissed before, of course. At the restaurant, way back when. In Macindaw, a lot less time ago. And a few times in between those two events. But not like this. Never like this. 

Those kisses had been hesitant. They’d been careful. They had been filled with doubts and uncertainties and questions. But this kiss-- 

It was magic. Will had no other way of explaining it. Somehow, he had travelled to Macindaw to disprove the rumours of sorcery and wizardry, yet had returned under an enchantment he hoped would never break. 

Alyss’s lips were as soft as he remembered, though the force with which she pressed them against his was new. Her tongue, feared by many for its quick-wittedness, seemed eager to find his. 

And Will let it happen. Gladly. Because he loved her. 

He loved how she always carried herself straight, unafraid to tower above men. He loved how she always threw herself into every assignment, every mission. He loved her way with words, for hers could bring resolutions to even the most heated of conflicts. He loved how she could read every person, see right through them, and reduce them to nothing but a stuttering mess with just her smile and a raised eyebrow. He loved every piece of her, every doubt, and every insecurity. 

And suddenly, Will understood them. The tales. The songs. The bards and the legends. The stories, of neverending hope and of everlasting faith. Of two hearts beating like one and of souls melting together. All because of a love that could numb the senses better than anything ever would. 

Except, perhaps, the senses of a Ranger. 

A small noise had alerted Will. It was a few corners away, perhaps even a pair of stairs, but it was undeniably the sound of approaching footsteps. 

He pulled back - only slightly - and from a few centimetres above him, Alyss sought to meet his eyes. The blush on her cheeks had only grown. 

‘Your office,’ Will rasped, out of breath. 

‘Hm?’

‘We should get into your office. Anyone could see us.’

His voice - did she do that? Was that the effect that she could have on him, throat hoarse, as if talking was hard, was difficult, because he was restraining himself? Restraining himself… from what? Alyss needed to know. 

She grasped his collar and did as he had suggested. She pulled him in, gently but urgently, and heard how he kicked the door close behind them. Will’s cloak fluttered behind him - like the wings of a butterfly, Alyss faintly thought - as they moved into the office. They stood still in the midst of it and their lips found each other once more. 

They shared a breath, a moment, and so much more. 

Will tasted like vanilla. Alyss had never noticed it before, but he did. She let the flavour consume her. Will’s tongue was pushing against her teeth, begging her to let him in. She did. One of her hands was in his hair, never telling him to stop - not even when his mouth began to explore her jaw and then her neck, and she actually trembled. Her skin burned where his lips tasted her and yet she ached for more. 

His hands were everywhere, as she knew were her own. She wanted to feel him, wanted to touch every scar and kiss every freckle. 

Alyss knew her way with words, but if anyone asked, she wouldn’t be able to explain how she felt in this exact moment. 

Will loved her. He loved her like she loved him. She loved how he always asked a thousand questions, eager to get to the bottom of things. She loved his excitement, his hunger for adventure, and the way his mind worked to improve the lives of those around him. She loved his sense of humour, his compassion, and how he could always make her feel better. She even loved how long it had taken him to return the feelings. And above all, she loved his touch, his lips and his hands, their comfort and stability, their passion and dedication and love - pure, selfless, unimagined, love.

When at last, Alyss felt like her lips were chapped and as if she would faint if her lungs did not get to draw a normal breath, she pulled back. But not entirely. She rested against Will, and he leaned back. Eyes closed, just breathing each other in. 

They stood like that for a minute. Foreheads pressed together, both panting. Once again, Will’s hands found their way up and cupped Alyss’s face in them. 

‘Tell me what happened in the tower,’ Alyss whispered to him. ‘Tell me what you told me that broke Keren’s hold over me.’ 

How could he not oblige? 

‘I told you that I love you,’ Will breathed, as his thumbs traced the lines of her mouth. ‘And that I always have.’

His thumbs began moving up, over her cheekbones, every caressing touch so careful and so kind. Alyss opened her eyes and found herself looking down into his. She suddenly found it hard to breathe again. 

‘And then…’ Will gently stroked her hair, tucking it behind her ears, as if there wasn’t a part of her face that he wanted hidden from his sight. 

‘Then you saved my life.’ 

He sought out her lips again, but Alyss froze when someone knocked on the door to her office. Will balanced on his toes so his mouth could move past Alyss’s, until his lips were next to her ear. 

‘Don’t make a sound,’ he whispered. ‘Maybe they’ll go away.’ 

The knocking sounded again. 

‘Alyss?’ 

‘It’s Pauline, I can’t ignore her,’ Alyss sighed. She untangled herself from Will’s touch, took a deep breath, and called out: ‘Just a minute!’ 

Then, with one hand, she gently pushed against Will’s chest, beckoning him to move against the wall behind him. From there, a large closet blocked the view to and from the door. 

‘Stay here, and pray your invisibility skills are as good as you Rangers like to make people believe.’ 

Combing through her hair with her fingers, Alyss moved towards the door. Her cheeks were burning, she knew, but there was nothing she could do about that on such short notice. 

‘Pauline! What can I do for you?’

The closet might block Pauline’s view of the room, keeping her from discovering Will, but so too did it block Will’s view. He could depend on nothing but his ears. He heard a pair of feet enter the room. Then a voice. 

‘Alyss, dear, you look flustered. Is everything alright?’

Will couldn’t see it, but Alyss faintly gestured towards the stacks of paper on the table. 

‘Just a ton of work,’ she replied. ‘You know how it goes.’

Will grinned. He loved how easily she lied. But then-

‘It wouldn’t have anything to do with my former apprentice, whose horse I just saw in the stables, would it?’ a deep voice sounded. 

Inwardly, Will cursed. He had really hoped his visit would go unnoticed. 

Before Alyss could concoct another lie - one which Halt wouldn’t believe anyways - Will stepped out from behind the closet. His arms were wide, in what was supposed to resemble a welcoming gesture. 

‘Halt! What are you doing here?’ 

He was met by two raised eyebrows, both belonging to another person who now turned towards him. 

‘I could ask you the same question,’ Halt answered. ‘Correct me if I’m wrong, but didn’t you graduate a year or so ago? Don’t you have your own fief to take care of - say, Seacliff or so?’

But Will was ready. Somewhat. 

‘That doesn’t mean that I never have business elsewhere, Halt,’ he countered.

Behind the older couple, Alyss’s eyes widened. She quickly composed herself, however, when Halt and Pauline turned to her. Seemingly effortlessly, she said: ‘There were some questions regarding the events in Macindaw past winter. Will and I decided to try and answer them together.’

Halt raised an eyebrow. 

‘Is that so? And why did this have to be discussed in person?’

‘I thought it would be… faster,’ Will said weakly. 

‘So people asked questions and instead of sending letters like a normal person, you decided to drop by unannounced and spend the next long minutes giving an answer?’

‘Yes,’ Will said. His confidence was growing. Maybe he could get away with it. 

But Halt’s next question shattered any hopes of doing so. 

‘Then why are you still wearing your cloak?’

‘I… I was cold?’

‘Did Halt teach you to lie?’ Pauline asked. Her head was cocked to the side as she studied him with interest. ‘Because you have the same tells as him.’

This time, Halt’s frown was directed not towards his former apprentice, but towards his wife. 

‘I don’t have tells.’

But Pauline met his eyes without hesitation. 

‘You do, dear. Quite a few of them, too.’ 

Will bit his lip in an attempt to hide his grin. He was aided by the fact that Pauline now turned her piercing gaze towards another person in the room.

‘Alyss? I hope I taught you better than that.’

Alyss straightened her shoulder, raised her chin, and didn’t break eye contact with her mentor once. 

‘I sent Will a letter in which I referred back to the events in Macindaw. I also asked him to elaborate on something. So he travelled here to provide an explanation,’ Alyss said smoothly. Her voice hadn’t wavered, her hands hadn’t fidgeted, and she had successfully answered Pauline’s questions without lying. Out of all three of them, Will had known Alyss the longest. And if he didn’t know any better, he wouldn’t have guessed that she was hiding something. He added it to his mental list of reasons why he loved her. 

‘And were your questions answered?’ Pauline asked. 

Alyss nodded. 

‘Certainly. It has been most… enlightening.’ 

Will coughed. 

Pauline pulled one corner of her mouth up into an almost-smile. 

‘That’s better,’ she said. 

‘Explanations for Will's presence here notwithstanding …’ Halt continued, and Will could feel his shoulders drop. 

‘Is Seacliff aware that its Ranger has disappeared for the second time in less than a year?’

Will shrugged. 

‘I’ll be back before they even know I’m gone.’

But Halt seemed unconvinced. 

‘Is that so?’

A revelation dawned on Will.

‘I don’t even have to explain myself to you,’ he said. ‘You’re not my senior.’

Halt raised an eyebrow at that and Will corrected himself. 

‘Well, you might be a senior citizen, but you’re not my boss.’

‘What if Crowley finds out you abandoned your post?’

‘Crowley won’t know. Besides, nothing ever happens at Seacliff. Trust me.’

‘On your head be it,’ Halt muttered. Inwardly, Will smiled. As far as he could speak of winning, when his visit had been discovered, he was about to win this exchange. Especially when Alyss - smart, quick-witted, lovely Alyss - came to his rescue. 

‘I’m sure it’ll be fine, if Will says so,’ she added. 

A silence fell over the room. It wasn’t awkward - the four of them knew each other too well for that - but neither Will or Alyss was entirely comfortable with the lack of showing of either approval or disapproval from their mentors. But then Pauline spoke up again. 

‘Will you be staying for dinner, Will?’ the older Diplomat asked.  

‘Or was Alyss the only person in this castle you were planning on visiting?’ Halt added innocently. 

There was something devious about the way Will’s lips curled up into a grin. 

‘I honestly don’t know if you want me to lie or not.’ 

Halt rolled his eyes up at the ceiling. 

‘Just be there, or I might mention your visit to Crowley after all.’

‘Of course. Wouldn’t want to miss dinner with you, Halt,’ Will replied. His mentor muttered something at that, but moved back to the door. The older Diplomat began to follow him, but she was held back. 

‘Pauline?’ Alyss asked. 

The head of the Diplomatic Service looked back at her, beckoning for her to speak. 

‘What did you come here for?’

Pauline gestured towards the table. 

‘The papers. The … you know which ones. I just wanted to check in on your progress with them.’

Alyss nodded. 

‘Of course. I’ll have them done, I promise.’

‘After you finish the Macindaw business?’

Even Alyss could barely hide the blush that now spread over her cheeks. 

‘As soon as possible.’

And at that, Pauline drew the door in a close behind her. 

A sigh escaped both of the young people left in the room. Then, both of them looked up. Their eyes met and a burst of laughter escaped them. 

Will opened his arms and Alyss walked right into them, throwing her own arms around his neck. The young Ranger looked up at her. 

‘So. Where were we?’

‘I think you were telling me just how much you love me.’

‘Really? Did I use the words “a lot” already?’

‘You might’ve mentioned them.’

‘Then I guess I have to make myself clear using something other than words.’

Will’s eyes dropped towards her lips, but Alyss pulled back. 

‘Will you be in trouble?’

Half-reluctantly, Will met her eyes again. 

‘Nah. Halt won’t tell Crowley. And if he does find out… as long as I’m back by the end of the week, he won’t care much.’

‘Okay.’

‘What about your papers?’

‘They can wait. Pauline might give me a hard time over them, but they’re not due till the end of the week and I’m already almost done.’

Will’s lips curled up. 

‘So… does that mean that we have time to finish our unfinished Macindaw business?’

Alyss could feel her own lips pull up in a smile that matched his. 

‘We do.’

The kiss that followed was slow, but nonetheless full of love. By the time it ended, seconds could have passed, or it could have been minutes. Time was an illusion, anyways. 

Alyss pulled away a little, just so she could look at him. 

‘I love you,’ she whispered, before burying her head in his shoulder. 

Will smiled against her hair as he breathed her in. Really, he didn’t think he’d ever get enough. nt-- she smelled like mint and apple and the freshness of an early morning dew. 

Never had Will felt his heart beat as hard as it did now. And never had his smile felt this big. 

‘I love you too.’