The glow of the computer in the dark gave Katie's face an unhealthy pallor. She yawned and rubbed at her eyes, determined to get the next chapter of her fanfic published before going to bed— even if it was three in the morning.

Katillana looked uncertainly at Halt, "I think this bow is to strong for me.", she said. Halt smiled at the elf and showed her how to hold it, "Like this.", he said and showed her how to hold it and stepped back to let her try it. She looked uncertainly at the target and tried to shoot but missed. "Don't worry you'll get it.", Hat said, "Come one lets go in for lunch."

There, that seemed like a good place to end the chapter. Katie clicked 'Publish', but nothing happened. She frowned and spam-clicked the mouse button. Still nothing. Katie bit back a wail of frustration when a pop-up blocked the screen.

You have been selected to attend the Araluen Fanfiction Academy! Please click 'Continue' to fill out the form.

Katie rolled her eyes and clicked the little red X in the corner, but instead of closing, the pop-up changed into what looked like some sort of form. Katie peered at the small print at the top.

Please fill in the form to the best of your ability. We apologize for the inconvenience! —The AFA staff

Fine, whatever. Maybe filling out the form would make it go away. Name: Katie Bowman. She always liked her last name, it seemed very appropriate. Hair: Blonde. Blonde was much prettier than her plain brown. Eyes: Brown. Species: Wait, species? What kind of weird joke was this? Human, duh. Actually, why not elf like in her fic? That would be funny. Have you written a Mary Sue? Y/N: No, I NEVER write Mary Sues! Have you written slash? Y/N: What's slash?

When she finally answered the last question, the pop-up disappeared. She still couldn't get the chapter to publish, though. Frustrated, she gave it up as a bad job and went to bed.

"I think that's the last of them," Alyss said when a scroll appeared on the table in front of her. She unrolled it, raising a delicate eyebrow. "Interesting. Another who listed her species as 'elf'."

"Chuck it in with the rest of them, then," Iximaz said, jabbing a thumb at the bin labeled 'Elves'. "The Scribeschool apprentices can finish filing them before term starts tomorrow."

Alyss nodded and got up to place the scroll in the bin, sighing. "Will's rather nervous," she said, pausing by the bin. "Most of the fangirls arriving tomorrow have him listed as their primary Lust Object." She didn't look too pleased; after all, the man in question was her husband.

Iximaz nodded. "I can't blame him. If it'll make him feel any better, I can assign another two minis to him. Does that sound okay?"

Alyss smiled. "I'm sure he'll appreciate it." Neither of them said what they were both thinking: Will Treaty, who had faced down Wargles and Kalkara, commanded a squadron of archers against the Temujai, and was generally known as one of Araluen's greatest Rangers was scared of prepubescent girls. But then again, few things were more terrifying than an all-out fangirl stampede, and if things didn't go smoothly tomorrow, that's what they would likely be facing.

Ranger's Apprentice belongs to John Flanagan. Credit for the OFU concept goes to Miss Cam. Thanks to Darkotas, Desdendelle, and Hieronymus Graubart for beta reading. If you're interested in enrolling in the AFA, just leave a review with the following form filled out:

Name:

Hair:

Eyes:

Species:

Have you written a Mary Sue? Y/N:

Have you written slash? Y/N:

RA country of origin (Araluen, Skandia, Hibernia, etc.):

Number (and titles of books read, if you have not completed the series):

Lust Object(s):