The Official Fanfiction University of Araluen (OFUA)
DISCLAIMER: I do not own Ranger's Apprentice or the Official Fanfiction University concept. Ranger's Apprentice and anything related to it belongs to John Flanagan, and the OFU concept belongs to Miss Sandman. This story is for enjoyment and not for profit. I am not profiting in any way by it.
Chapter Two
Orientation... And Will...
"They're here," Gilan whispered, leaning close to Will.
Halt's former apprentices sat stiffly in the chairs that lined the back wall of the auditorium.
Will seemed to be barely repressing the urge to run away.
"Maybe it won't be as bad as it was last year," Gilan told him hopefully, as much to reassure himself as it was to reassure his friend.
Will shook his head. "Don't think so," he said.
And so they waited.
0o0o0o0
Hannah's fears were quieted when she realized that the horse wasn't going to buck her off and that she'd most likely been sitting on it for several hours without that happening.
She noticed that the ranger on the horse in front of her had barely flinched at her scream, and she frowned, wondering if he had earplugs.
Wait a minute. Why am I even thinking that? There's no reason for me to believe this is even real. It's probably some sort of freakish dream.
Her horse stumbled, and she went forward, her stomach striking the saddle bow.
It hurt.
And Hannah realized that you didn't hurt when you were dreaming.
Maybe not. But there's no way that this is real!
Hannah sighed. Then she brightened. If this, by some impossible, strange, odd, weird, unlikely chance, was real, then she was in Araluen! She was going to be there for two semesters!
And, best of all, she'd meet Will in real life.
Oh my gosh I hope he likes me!
She was now a bit giddy and didn't realize that the horse had stopped.
"Miss Embrey?" came a voice from below her, jerking her out of her reverie.
She looked down to see the Ranger who'd brought her there.
"Uuuuuhhhh..." she said, not knowing exactly what to say.
Fortunately, she was spared the thinking that her slow brain was reluctant to begin.
"We're here, Miss Embrey," the Ranger told her. "It's time to go in for orientation."
Hannah shook her head a few times to get rid of the sleepy fog in her brain.
"Orientation?" she thought, confused. "Oh, right. That."
She started to dismount, and did so rather clumsily, falling into an undignified heap on the ground.
The Ranger seemed to take in breath sharply.
Hannah looked up, scrambling to her feet, and glanced ahead.
Her jaw dropped and her eyes widened to nearly twice their size.
Before her was a massive gate made of stone and iron, and beyond that a castle rose up. Not a palace, but a fortress, made entirely of hewn stone blocks, with battlements and towers, and with a banner fluttering from the peak of the tallest of those towers.
Around the castle, but still inside the gates, were acres upon acres of forest, grassland, and rivers, though Hannah could only see the tops of the trees from outside of the gates.
"Whoa," she managed. "This place is awesome, isn't it?"
She didn't get an answer. Her Ranger escort had already disappeared.
Slowly, she made her way toward the gates, which were open. It would be tough to get them open once they'd been closed and locked, she mused as she looked at them.
She continued to make her way up the path to the doors of the castle, above which was a wooden sign which said 'The Official Fanfiction University of Araluen.'
She gazed up at the doorway as she passed under it, into the castle's courtyard.
She met a guard on her way in, who handed her a slip of paper and pointed her towards the auditorium. The slip of paper had a number on it: 38.
Hannah shrugged and walked off in the direction the guard pointed her in.
Surprisingly, the University looked quite a bit like a normal school, if you ignored the stone walls and the torches. It looked a lot like the hallway back home at school.
Hannah stopped at a doorway. The room inside was quite large, and the massive oak double doors were swung open. Because of that, she decided that this must be the auditorium. Also, the large sign above the door which read clearly 'Auditorium' gave it away.
She went inside, looking around curiously.
It was even larger than it had looked before, she thought. There were rows of seats, and a wide aisle down the middle. There was a raised platform at the far end, complete with a curtain.
"Take a seat, Miss," a guard, who'd been standing at the doorway, said to her.
She made to sit at the closest, but he stopped her.
"The one that matches the number on your card."
Hannah glanced down at her slip of paper. "Oh," she said, making her way up.
It took a while before she found seat 38. There were quite a few seats, to put it lightly, and she had to check each of the rows.
But, at last, she found it.
She slid into the seat and looked up at the platform. Near the front of it was a podium. Hanging on the front of the podium was a coat-of-arms, obviously of the University.
At the back of the platform was a row of chairs. In each of them sat various characters from the books.
Hannah's eyes widened as she recognized each one.
This can't be real... this can't be real...
Her heart skipped a beat as she saw the one she'd dreamed of every night.
Oh my gosh...
Hannah was fairly sure she was going to pass out when a woman rose from her seat and stepped up to the podium. Hannah was so focused on Will—and some of those near her were fairly sure she was drooling—that she didn't notice the woman until she began to speak.
"Good morning, students," she greeted, all businesslike and chipper.
Hannah started, tearing her eyes away from her Lust Object. She turned to see the woman at the podium.
This woman was in her twenties, she thought, fairly average looking overall. She was a brunette, with a slight copper tinge to her hair, which was pulled back in a tight French Braid at the back of her head. Her skin was olive and her eyes dark brown, and she was not too thin, but not heavy; not tall, and not short. She dressed in a fairly simple blouse and skirt, complete with dark brown leather boots.
She didn't seem to be threatening or commanding at all to Hannah's eyes.
"I am glad to formally welcome you to the Official Fanfiction University of Araluen. I am the Coordinator here, Miss Tori. Now, there are a few things we must go over before you go to your rooms. First of all, you are here for learning, not leisure. I expect no laziness on the part of anyone."
The word 'anyone' was accented sharply by a resounding slap that caused all of the students in the auditorium to jump.
Hannah looked for the source of the slap, and saw that it came from a riding crop that Miss Tori held firmly in one hand. She'd evidently brought it down on the podium.
"Second, I am Miss Tori, and nothing else. You may not call me 'Miss,' 'Ma'am,' or, heaven forbid, 'Tori' or 'Madam Coordinator.'"
She glanced around the room, watching the students' heads nod in understanding and agreement.
"And, lastly," she leaned forward a bit, glaring at them.
Hannah felt a bit nervous at her strange behavior.
"No stampedes."
She spoke the words ominously, and Hannah thought she could sense a tension go through the row of characters behind her.
Miss Tori straightened. "Do we have that clear? Good," she said to them, not waiting for an answer. "Now, a list of rules will be found in the booklets that can be found underneath each of your seats, as well as a map of the University—which, I might add, shows the location of your dormitories, and tells you which areas are off limits—and your schedule for this semester. Mind you, the list of rules is not exhaustive. There will be many, many more, I feel, as the semester progresses."
The students were now reaching for their booklets, which they found beneath their chairs.
Hannah began to flip hers open.
"Wait until Orientation is finished. The booklets are not going anywhere," Miss Tori said, a bit harshly.
Hannah shut hers, startled.
Miss Tori cleared her throat, and then continued.
"I expect that all of the rules will be followed. Now, I do not think that I need to introduce our illustrious staff to you, for you should already know them."
She put heavy emphasis on the word should.
Of course I know them! Hannah thought to herself, a bit indignantly. There's Will, and Halt, and Will, and Gilan, and Will...
"And, I believe that is all. You are dismissed, and, good luck!"
Miss Tori began to step down, and, as an afterthought, added one more thing.
"You'll need it."
0o0o0o0
To Be Continued...
I am still offering the enrollment, so if anyone wants to enroll, just fill out the form. You have been warned, though.
Farewell for now,
Luthien