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

Chapter Twenty-Five - Alyss

Alyss wakes up in an unfamiliar bed.

Her mind whirls for a few minutes as she sits up and tries to figure out where she is. She's in a small alcove curtained off on all sides by white hangings, blocking her view of the rest of the room. For the first time in several weeks, she feels alert and well-rested, though her stomach is grumbling.

Alyss gingerly swings her bare feet to the cold floor. She's still wearing her black dress from yesterday's auditions. She stands up carefully, her head swimming a bit before she recovers her balance. She slides the curtains aside and steps out into the main area of the room.

It's the infirmary. Suddenly, she remembers. All the events of the day before come rushing back. The morning audition, the callback, the dark, cold closet. She can't quite figure out how she got to the infirmary, though. Her memory is a little fuzzy, and she can't remember falling asleep. She can vaguely remember being carried, but nothing else.

Halt and Ms. DuLacy are sitting side-by-side in the plastic chairs that comprise the waiting area, their heads bent together, talking quietly. Ms. DuLacy glances up and sees Alyss, and breaks off the conversation abruptly. She hurries across the room and pulls Alyss into a warm hug, before holding her out at arm's length to look her over.

"It's so good to see you finally awake!" she exclaims, her expression one of profound relief. "We were so worried!"

Halt follows her over, and squeezes Alyss's shoulder comfortingly. "Glad you're okay, sweetheart," he says simply.

Ms. DuLacy begins to fuss over her. "How are you feeling?" she asks.

"Well-rested," Alyss answers. "I am a bit hungry, though."

Halt raises an eyebrow. "You better be well-rested. You've been asleep for twelve hours.  It's nearly eleven am."

Alyss is surprised. "Really?" she says. "Well, I guess I finally got caught up on my sleep!"

"Halt, can you have someone run to the dining hall and get some food for Alyss?" Ms. DuLacy asks. "We need to talk."

Halt pokes his head out the door. Horace seems to have been waiting outside, because a moment later he heads down the hallway towards the front entrance of the Conservatory.

"Alyss, they're postponed the callback auditions until this afternoon at the earliest," Ms. DuLacy says. "Mr. Baron says they can move them back farther, if you need to rest some more."

Alyss shakes her head. "I'd really rather just get it over with. It's been hanging over my head for too long."

Ms. DuLacy nods. "All right, then. But we can have you go last, if you would like."

"That would be helpful," Alyss says. Then she lowers her voice. "What happened last night? I can't really remember how I got here."

Ms. DuLacy smiles sadly. "You were pretty out of it. We found you in a locked janitor's closet in one of the back hallways around 10:30 last night. Halt organized a handful of groups to search the school. We brought you back here. You didn't seem very alert at the time."

Alyss nods at the explanation. "Okay," she says. "I wanted to figure out how I got here."

There's a knock on the door, and Halt opens it. Horace is standing there, flanked by Gilan and Will, who are wearing matching worried expressions. The look of relief on Will's face when he sees her awake and unharmed is almost tangible. Alyss feels her face flush a little. The way he's looking at her...it makes her feel beautiful.

"Ah, the food is here," Ms. DuLacy says. "Come in, boys. You might as well be present for the next part of the conversation.

Halt closes the door firmly once the three boys enter the room. Horace hands Alyss a covered container, which turns out to hold several large portions of lasagna, one of Alyss's favorite foods. Alyss gives him a grateful look before digging hungrily into the food.