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

Chapter Twenty-Seven - Alyss

Alyss knows the instant she has someone on her tail.

She's been wandering up and down the back hallways of the Conservatory building for nearly an hour now, pretending to listen to her pieces in preparation for her audition. She seems to be totally focused on what she's doing, rather than the world around her, but in reality she's almost hyperaware of her surroundings.

She's not sure exactly what tipped her off. It was more a shiver running down her spine than anything else. She pretends she hasn't noticed anything, and begins to lead whoever it is toward the back hallway she scoped out earlier.

The one with a dead end.

She turns the final corner and bends down to tie her shoe.

"Hello, my dear."

The voice comes from directly behind her, and in spite of herself, she jumps. Alyss rises to her feet quickly and whirls around.

There's a tall, blond boy standing a few feet behind her. She's never seen him before in her life.

"Who are you?" she asks. "What do you want?" She doesn't have to fake the sudden frission of fear.

The boy smirks, ignoring her words. "You, my dear, are certainly hard to keep down."

He begins to take slow, lazy steps toward her. Alyss begins to back toward the wall behind her, suddenly wondering if the dead end was a bad idea after all.

"Leave me alone!" she tries to say bravely, but her voice comes out shaky. 

The boy only laughs. "It would have been much better for you if you'd just stayed in the main hallways, where Halt and his little gang of do-gooders could protect you," he says. He notices her gasp of shock and smirks again. "Yes, we know about them. O'Carrick isn't as secretive as he thinks."

Alyss lifts her chin stubbornly. "Whatever you do, Halt's going to catch you," she says.

"Oh, I don't think so," the boy says. "It'll be hard for you to give evidence if you're unconscious."

Alarm bells go off in Alyss's head, and she reaches for the stellatite bracelet. "Stay back," she warns the boy.

He lunges for her, and in one smooth motion, hooks the bracelet off her wrist, sending it to the floor with a dull clatter. Then his fist comes out of nowhere and hits her on the right cheek, sending her head snapping back painfully as she cries out in pain.

Alyss stumbles backward, hitting the wall, and slides down it into a crouch. Her eyes are watering, and her cheek is throbbing insistently. She doesn't think she's felt anything this painful before.

"That was only a start," the boy says. "When I'm done with you, you're going to wish never came to Redmont."

He hits her again, and Alyss bites back a sob. She cowers back into the corner, holding up her arms to shield herself. The boy forms another fist and draws it back.

"Hey!" someone shouts from farther down the hall. "You're a coward, hitting a girl like that."

The boy turns away from her, his face resolving into a murderous scowl. "What did you just call me?"

Alyss blinks a few times, trying to make out the blurry figure that's just appeared around the corner through the tears covering her vision. After a moment, she picks it out. It's Will.

"A coward," Will says, glaring at the boy. "And a bully."

The boy sneers and raises his fist threateningly. "No one calls me a coward and survives unharmed.

Alyss sees Will's eyes, full of worry, flick over to her for a second. He seems to be trying to tell her something. She wishes he would run. If this boy manages to land a punch on Will, he could really get hurt.