Blood, Sweat, and Hanon - A Ranger's Apprentice fanfiction

Chapter One - Will

The Redmont Conservatory of Music is a large, imposing red brick building. It looms above the neatly trimmed hedges and even the perfectly spaces trees lining the street outside, all stately columns and wide windows and even towers on the corner, easily earning its place on the Araluen National Historic Register through its sheer permanence. 

Will sets his suitcase down on the sidewalk next to him. He takes a moment just to gawk at it, fighting away feelings of awe and insignificance. He still can't wrap his head around the fact that he's here. Years of dreaming and working and months of stressing over repertoire and auditions, and he's finally here.

"Hey, are you new?"

A pretty, blonde girl sitting on a bench a little ways down the sidewalk is looking up at him from her book, her face open and curious.

Will sighs. "Is it that obvious?"

The girl smiles at him. "I think everyone has the same reaction on their first day here. Don't worry, the excitement will wear off quickly, once you hit the practice rooms." She closes her book and gets to her feet, moving down the sidewalk towards him.

"Have you been here long?" Will asks her. He has to raise his head a bit to speak to her fully; she's taller than he originally thought. 

She laughs. "About three hours longer than you, as a matter of fact. I think that makes me an expert."

He smiles, and extends his hand. "Hi, I'm Will Treaty."

The girl shakes his hand. Her grip  is firm and confident. "Alyss Mainwaring."

"Nice to meet you," Will tells her. He hesitates, then asks, "So, Alyss, are you a residential student or a commuter?"

"Residential. And you?"

"The same. Would you be so kind as to direct me to the dorms?"

She smiles again. "Certainly, Will. I'll actually walk with you. I was heading back to my room anyway."

Alyss heads down the sidewalk, and Will follows, lugging his suitcase along with him. The taxi that dropped him off is long gone, and he's glad he only has this to carry. He can see other students across the street with their parents, struggling with masses of luggage. 

"So where are you from, Will?" Alyss asks. Will glances at her, trying to figure out if she's really curious about his life story or if she's just trying to make small talk. From what he can tell, she seems genuinely interested. Her face is open and curious, tilted slightly towards him.

"Highcliff," Will answers after a distracted moment's pause after trying to navigate his suitcase over the uneven bricks of the sidewalk. "It's a little town out west."

"Have you ever been to Araluen City before?"

He shakes his head. "Nope, this is my first time. I hope I like it here, because it's my home for the next nine months." He tries to keep the apprehension out of his voice, but he's not sure he's completely successful.

Alyss laughs, somehow putting him at ease. "Me, too. I've lived up north in Norgate my entire life. I have been to Araluen City before, though; my grandparents lived here before they retired and moved to Seacliff."

"What year are you in?" Will asks.

"I'm a junior. What about you?"

He grins. "I'm a junior, too."

Alyss stops in front of a four-story residential building of dark brick. Will, and his suitcase, scrape to a stop beside her. "This is the boys' dorm, Oak," she says. "I'm across the quad, in Laurel." She points to an identical building across the wide green space in front of the dorm.