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

Chapter Fifteen - Will

Will flexes his fingers once more, making sure they're still loose and limber.

He wishes he had an instrument to hold, like Alyss or George, because making sure it was ready would distract him from what's coming.

Gilan's grin is big enough to crack his face. "Are you guys ready?" he asks.

Alyss nods confidently, and Jenny beams. George looks unconcerned, and Will wonders if he's the only one with eagle-sized butterflies in his stomach.

But he smiles and says, "Yeah, let's do this!"

One of the competing groups is waiting near the stage door, whispering among themselves. Will swallows nervously. The petite, blonde-haired mayor's daughter is there, cradling her violin, and smiling shyly at Will every few minutes.

Will glances over at Alyss. He's confused to see her glowering in Cassandra's direction. He always thought they were friends - at least, when he's around, they act friendly towards each other.

He nudges George. "What's up with Alyss?" he whispers, nodding at the tall blonde girl.

George glances at Alyss, following her gaze to see Cassandra. He smirks. "It's just a girl thing," he finally says.

Will finds this answer totally unsatisfactory, but he doesn't press the point. His mind goes back to the task ahead of him. He tries to take a deep breath and get rid of some of the nerves, but it isn't working.

The auditorium is full of incredible musicians, whom Will respects and looks up to, among them Rodney Brunt and Halt O'Carrick. In a few moments, Will will be onstage, playing for them.

Thankfully, he won't be alone. He won't even be the only piano. The way Gilan has written the piece, if he makes tiny mistakes, they'll easily be covered by the other parts. 

He's distracted from his thoughts again by a stagehand dressed in black heading towards them, wearing a headset and holding a clipboard.

"Which group are you?" she asks Gilan.

"I'm Gilan Davidson, and this is Alyss Mainwaring, George Carter, Jenny Dalby, and Will Treaty. We're playing my original composition, Phoenix."

The stagehand consults her clipboard and shakes her head. "Are you sure you're in the right place?" she asks. "You're not on the program."

Gilan's jaw drops in confusion. "What do you mean?" he stammers. "I signed us up and got confirmation we were on the program!"

The stagehand shakes her head. "No idea," she says unsympathetically. "I just coordinate backstage. Now, I'm going to have to insist you leave the backstage area because we have a large group of performers coming through here in a few minutes."

She quickly escorts them out of the backstage area and goes back in, closing the door behind her with a final-sounding bang. But before the door closes, Will catches a glimpse of Cassandra smirking in Alyss's direction.

Will's head is whirling as he tries to wrap his mind around what just happened.

Gilan looks devastated. He's shaking his head, mouth moving but nothing coming out. Will realizes that for the first time since he's met Gilan, Gilan's speechless.

Alyss is scowling again. "Something isn't right here," she says darkly. "Gilan, I know you didn't mess our application up. We all got the email that we were in."

George is frowning, too. "She's right. This is suspicious." He thinks for a moment, and then he lowers his voice, leaning in towards the others. "Guys, do you think this has something to do with the fact that we're the only all-scholarship-student group in the competition?"