Ranger's Apprentice AU where Will is Halt's biological son and Ferris is not a fraticidal bastard
Ok, so, this is a very crazy idea I had out of nowhere while organizing my bookshelves:
Imagine that Will is Halt's biological son, born in Hibernia as a result of an arranged marriage and raised alone by his father after his mother died in childbirth. Now imagine if instead of Ferris trying to kill Halt, the twins talked things through and decided to fake Halt's death so their father would name Ferris heir to the throne (since Will would be too young). Once the deed is done, Halt goes to Araluen to become a Ranger. However, he willingly leaves Will behind to be raised in the court, since he doesn't want to drag him into a dangerous life in the wilderness, and because he knows Ferris position is more politically secure if he has an heir. He gifts little Will the bronze oakleaf necklace that used to be Pritchard's when he was an apprentice and that the old Ranger gave to him. Ferris promised him that he would care for Will, and Halt always visited over the years when he could. They also communicate through letters. Like canon, Halt meets Crowley, recruits the rogue Rangers, fight Morgarath, trains Gilan, all of that, and he keeps his royal past a secret, so no one even knows he has family. Meanwhile, in Clonmel, Will grows into the extroverted, kind, witty, curious and smart boy he is in canon, being raised as his uncle's heir instead of an orphan, which makes him more confident than he is in The Ruins of Gorlan. He also grows up with his cousin Sean. Will loves Halt deeply, never takes off the necklace his father gave him (not knowing it's meaning) and cherishes his visits and letters, but he doesn't know his father is a Ranger because Halt doesn't tell him the truth, saying he works as a forest warden. Will suspects this isn't true because his father is too skilled to be just a forest warden, but doesn't pressure Halt out of respect. He trains archery, knife throwing and other Ranger skills just to have something in common with the father he rarely sees, unknowlingly becoming a self-taught Ranger outside of the Corps. Think of him as a male version of Maddie in TRR: Dutiful crown prince by day, Ranger by night.
Years later, Morgarath prepares to go to war against Araluen a second time: He makes a secret alliance with Tennyson. In exchange for Morgarath providing muscle (his mercenaries) and tactical advice, Tennyson uses the Outsiders cult to drain the wealth of Hibernian kingdoms, starting with Clonmel. The gold stolen from Clonmel's nobles and commoners via the Outsiders' extortion racket is smuggled across the sea to fund Morgarath’s war machine in the Mountains of Rain and Night. Tennyson's cult begins preaching that King Ferris and Crown Prince Will are "false rulers" who refuse to protect the people from bandits (the mercenaries Morgarath promised). Once Clonmel is economically crippled and politically divided by cult riots, Morgarath plans to land a mercenary fleet, execute Ferris, and use Clonmel as his western staging ground to launch a surprise naval invasion against Araluen's west coast. He knows that if he only attacks from the south, Araluen’s Rangers and army can bottle him up. An attack from the western sea forces Duncan to split his forces.
As the Outsiders cult grows in Clonmel, Ferris has Will investigate them, knowing how stealthy his nephew is. Will learns about the cult's connection to Morgarath’s forces across the sea (remembering the warlord from his father's stories). He gathers evidences of their plans to Clonmel and present them to Ferris, who then sends him to Araluen with the mission of showing the evidences to King Duncan and request his aid in purging the Outsiders from Clonmel. Will goes hoping to receive the King's help and to discreetly meet with his father to tell him about what's happening in Clonmel.
So there Will goes, and upon entering on the throne room for the private audience with Duncan, he sees Halt (a supposed forest warden) standing beside the King and the Ranger Commandant, freezes and says 'Dad?'
(Cue absolute chaos, Duncan blinking in shock, Crowley’s brain short-circuiting, and Halt having to explain why the Crown Prince of Clonmel is wearing Pritchard’s bronze oakleaf and calling him 'dad'.)
