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Will knew that people liked him. Not in an arrogant way, it was just the truth. A truth he had come to understand because he had spent the first decade and a half being someone that wasn’t worth liking. A poor orphan boy who got into too much trouble and whose mouth was a little too fast. But then Halt chose him. He picked him as his apprentice. He saw something worth liking. And little by little, Will grew up. He put all of his troublemaking skills to use in the Corps. He figured out how to fine tune his wit into charm. He learned when to bite down on his tongue and swallow down his true feelings whenever they weren’t convenient. He let Halt and the Corps sculpt him from a boy to a ranger. They chipped away the unsavory bits and sanded down his unfinished edges. And what was left was a full fledged ranger who Halt, who all of them, were proud of. A man that a woman like Alyss would actually be interested in. A man who a crown princess would befriend. A man who an entire fief would trust and rely on.
And Will?
Will was just happy to finally be what people wanted.
Even if he woke up every morning wondering when they’d all realize it was just a mask. Realize they had been backing the wrong man for years. Realize he was still just that scared, unwanted, useless, little boy. Some nights, he’d lay awake and wonder if they’d be more angry or hurt. If they’d hate him for fooling them all or wounded that they lost someone who had never even existed in the first place. He knew it was inevitable that someone would see behind the curtain, but he was going to do whatever it took to delay that day from coming.
So he worked harder. He molded himself into a person nearly impossible not to like. He was funny, but never in a cruel way. He was smart, but never a know-it-all. He was kind, but not condescending. He was a great ranger, but never arrogant. He worked hard to maintain his friendships and his relationship with Alyss. He became somebody people want. And that’s all he’s ever wanted.