And Reality Was Left Far Behind (runawayninja x Tenty)

[runawayninja]

The Radcliffe Academy for Elite Youths was huge. There was a large, open-air campus on a vast plot of land that was surrounded by dense forest in every direction, with only a single road between the academy and the forest on it's southern border. Outside, there were a number of large buildings and some simple work joining them, some concrete or cobblestone paths, many trees, a few gardens and rest areas for students to gather or study at, a large hedge maze, athletic facilities including a large outdoor pool, some courts of various kinds, a track and field area.

Rafe was running down the path towards the gates, along the brick and stone path that lead from the Main Building, to the gates. He was late and he needed to be there to introduce a new student. One of the peculiar sites that he ran past that was clearly visible from the road, sitting in front of the Main Building, was a large marble fountain with a depiction of a young woman in the midst of what appeared to be some state of ecstasy, with other young women attending to her.

Rafe came to the open gates and was forced to lean upon them, breathing raggedly to catch his breath. He was wearing the male uniform, a deep forest green sport jacket with a black dress shirt beneath, matching green slacks, and a red tie with a pin in the middle of it, showing off the school's emblem, a lion and a unicorn fighting in front of a large stylized "R" and "A." Rafe was tall and slender without looking malnourished, with a lightly muscled, athletic build. He had dark green eyes that looked exhausted at the moment, expressing his hurried mental state, an a mop of short, silvery hair that had been neatly kept, but his intense run had promptly taken care of that.

 

[Tentacle_Lover]

Alexandria smoothed down her clothes as the car pulled up at the gates of Radcliffe academy, her school and home for at least the next several years it would seem. She was from a very business family, her father building several large businesses from virtually nothing, her mother inheriting a large multi-national company from her own parents. When the two had married many of their businesses were merged together into a single entity, Saren Industries, one of the largest companies in the world with branches in virtually every single field of science and industry.
For a long time Alexandria had been taught by private tutors, but eventually it had been decided, by her more than anyone else, that she attend a more normal school in order to associate with other people around her age. So, it had been decided that she would attend Radcliffe Academy, one of the best elite schools that the world had to offer, home to the children of the rich and powerful. It seemed the best place for her really, the most appropriate.

The driver got out of the car, moving to the passenger seat and opening up the door for Alexandria so she could get out, smoothing down her skirt and adjusting her glasses. "So...this is home" She looked up at the buildings in the distance, then slowly went to step forward through the gates. She had been told to expect another student who would meet her, and as she glanced around she spotted what she assumed to be him. "Ah, good morning" She turned to Rafe, taking a few steps closer and holding out her hand. "Alexandria Saren, it's a pleasure to make your acquaintance" Everything about her screamed 'groomed for high class'. The way she was dressed, the perfection of her skin and hair, even the way she spoke. All of it the very best that money could buy.

 

[runawayninja]

Rafe thankfully caught his breath by now. He smiled to her and took her hand in his own, bowing forward a bit to kiss her hand softly. Cold metal rubbed up against her hand and she might notice the source was a large signet ring on his left ring finger bearing a stylized "A." Rafe smiled at the new student and offered to lead her inside the gates. "Welcome, Miss Saren. I don't think anyone here hasn't heard of your illustrious family. I wanted to welcome you on behalf of the school and the student body. I think you'll find we're quite mature here. Many of the students here are going to be future leaders, heads of finance, media moguls, and other positions of prestige, so we carry ourselves here with a measure of respect. Fighting is strictly not allowed, of course. You'll find many of the people here are quite open and agreeable, since we'll be making many friends and contacts here for our futures." They started up the stone path, moving past the Goddess Fountain.

"If you want to meet people, I'd suggest joining a club, or more than one if you can manage. If you don't have at particular interests, I can recommend the Pride Club. It's just a general club to help out around the school, preparations for the numerous festivals and celebrations here, and just a means of helping out. We take great pride in our school here." He opened up the door to the main building and walked with her to a desk manned by a student employee. "Many of the students get side jobs here to make some extra money that their parents don't know about." He chuckled lightly and mentioned her name. The student got out the keys to her dorm room, a single like the others, none of them were shared, some code and conduct books, her class schedule and maps, and club information. "Here's a list of the officially recognized clubs if you like...some...well, some of the students have private clubs off the books, but you have to be invited to those. Secret societies and the like, things to make some people feel important or feel like they're a part of something exclusive." Some of the clubs were pretty mundane, Archery, Choir, Language Clubs, Sports Clubs, Activity Clubs...but others were stranger. And had odd requirements. The Hellfire Circle. The Alpharus Club for Males Only. The Daughters of Medusa for Females Only. The Knightly Order of Dionysus. They had emblems as well, and she might notice that Rafe's signet ring matched the logo for the Alpharus Club.

"If you like, we can walk around and I can show you where everything is..." Rafe's smile was genteel and genuine, his face beamed lightly, he had an aura of kindness about him, like he really wanted to help her. "I'm really to designated liaison, so it's my duty to make sure you acclimate well enough to life here."

 

[Tentacle_Lover]

Alexandria glanced down as Rafe took her hand and kissed it, a greeting she was somewhat used to with her upbringing. She noticed the ring he was wearing, the slightly odd letter upon it, but she quickly dismissed the thought for the time being, it didn't matter after all. "Well, I must say thank you for the warm welcome" She smiled slightly and gave him a small nod, as if in acknowledgement of his welcome, before turning to follow him towards the school. "It's good to hear that this place is as you say. I must admit, I was rather concerned that there would be nothing but spoiled children who let money go to their heads"

As they passed the goddess statue Alexandria couldn't help but let her vision linger on it, raising an eyebrow at the sight. It was certainly...unexpected to say the least. To see such a statue on such open display in a school like this? Still, she suspected the statue likely pre-dated the school and was probably kept for the sake of tradition more than anything else.
"A club? Ah yes...I was actually going to enquire as to those...." She thought for a few moments about the Pride Club...it sounded...well...not right for her. It was less of a real club and more simply a gathering of people for the sake of organization...something she had little interest in being involved with. "Well, let's take a look" Alexandria took the club list and opened it up, beginning to quickly read through it. At first they were fairly normal, sports clubs, hobby clubs, the kind of thing you would expect at any school this size. But then she got to some of the stranger sounding clubs at the bottom, ones which had simply a name and no real description, and then he even mentioned some secret private clubs that were kept off the record. "Hm....most interesting....I intend to join them all" She handed back the list to him. "I will join and sample all the clubs this school has to offer, official or not" There was confidence in her voice, but not cockiness. No, this tone showed her confidence was well earned.

"I see....your ring bears the symbol of this....Alpharus club. What activities does that club get involved in?" She took her things and turned to go. "Perhaps you can show me where my room is an then show me around the campus, whilst explaining more about these....stranger or secret clubs"

 

[runawayninja]

Rafe tilting his head for a moment, then he looked at her as if she were joking, but based on her manner and her attitude, it was clear that she was completely serious. "I...I don't think that's possible. I mean...the Alpharus Club only takes men, how are you going to pull that off? And about secret clubs, even if I were a member of one, I couldn't tell you about them." He sighed a bit and shook his head. "Look...just try to take it easy, I don't know what you're thinking here, but you shouldn't bite off more than you can chew here. Let's just get on with the tour, alright?" He started to walk on ahead. He avoided talking about the Alpharus Club, save that she couldn't get in since she was a woman.

 

[Tentacle_Lover]

"Nothing is impossible, merely challenging" Alexandria looked over at him, a deadly serious expression on her face, clearly she intended to try at the very least. Then again her family were known for quite often proving things that other businesses thought were impossible certainly were possible....it was a habit she had inherited from both her parents. "So tell me, what is it this Alpharus Club does that precludes the joining of women? You might not be able to tell me about the secret clubs but the Alpharus Club was in that book. And what of this... 'The Daughters of Medusa' that is for women only...what do they do?" Rafe might have been trying to avoid the subjects, but Alexandria was used to people being evasive...she wasn't going to let herself be distracted so easily.
"Though perhaps you're right in that I should start out small...join a few clubs to begin with and expand later...I have several years here after all, so there's not quite a rush just yet"

 

[runawayninja]

Rafe looked at her incredulously for a moment before he smiled a bit. She had spunk and ambition. He decided that he liked that, even if her didn't believe she could achieve it. But it would be and uphill fight and she wouldn't necessarily get help from him. "I can't tell you what the Daughters of Medusa do, I'm not in the club and their practices are secret. And I'm not allowed to talk about what goes on in the Alpharus Club. Just because it's not the list doesn't mean their policies and practices are made public."

He started to continue explaining to her where everything in the main building was, including offices, the cafeteria, and some of the classrooms. "Meals are served from either to ten in the mornings, noon to one in for lunch, and after that the cafeteria is open for dinner when the afternoon classes let out until curfew, from three to ten. Classes are from eight to three. Lights out is at midnight. When you're not supposed to be in a class, you're allowed to roam the campus and there's a shuttle bus that runs every fifteen minutes between here and Ravenwood, that little town down the main road. There you can get anything you can't find here. For simple stuff, there's the campus store..."

 

[Tentacle_Lover]

"So....secret activities hm? That only makes me more curious really...well....I'll find out what this Alpharus Club of yours does one way or another soon enough...that much I can promise you. As for these Daughters of Medusa...well...I suppose I'll simply have to join them and find out" She glanced back down at the list. "Hm...no sign up information....I suppose this is one of those clubs you must be invited to is it? Well then, I'll just have to spread the word that I'm looking to join and see what happens. Should that produce no results, then I'll take other steps. Perhaps you can assist though, who or where might be the best person to spread the word that I am looking to join this Daughters of Medusa club?"

Alexandria looked around as Rafe pointed out the various facilities on the campus, making sure to memorise the locations for later. "I see....well I'm sure I'll find my way around quite quickly, thank you" She glanced over to Rafe and nodded slightly, giving him a slight smile as thanks. Coming from someone like her, getting a smile like that was probably quite the privilege.

 

[runawayninja]

He shrugged softly. "I don't know, I don't really do much with them or get involved with their affairs. But I think a woman named Heather Grange is involved with them. You could inquire, but...I don't know. Truthfully, what I'd do is put the word out that you're interested and if they want you, they'll come looking for you. Heh, but somehow, I think that's not your way...hey, are you leaving already? I was going to give you the tour, but...if you think you'll make it alright, I suppose we can go our separate ways..." He seemed a little concerned for her now.

 

[Tentacle_Lover]

"Heather Grange? Well...I'll be sure to keep that name in mind...perhaps the way I'll put out word that I'm interested in joining is by mentioning it to her....though locating her may prove problematic due to my limited contact network here so far..." She tapped her chin, then glanced over at him. "Hm? Oh, no I wasn't planning on leaving just yet. A tour will assist in my finding a way around this place and I'm likely to meet more people by sticking with you for the time being" Alexandria gave him another soft smile before looking back up ahead of them. "So, tell me about the statue in the centre of the fountain. It seems rather....graphic"

 

[runawayninja]

"Oh alright, my mistake then." He smiled and then looked at her when she mentioned the fountain. "Oh that! A little forward isn't it? It's a local legend. The statue is supposedly from a monastery in Britain. Legend has it, the monks were digging a garden when they cam across a statue buried in the loamy earth. They unearthed it and found it beautiful, despite the rather suggestive nature of it, and being men of learning and some of them art lovers, they could not bear to destroy it, despite that it was a pagan idol, a depiction of the Roman goddess Venus. So they put it outside and cleaned it up. But as the days went on, some of the monks started to go against their vows, drinking in town, chasing after women, gorging themselves on food, such that a normal of the monks were called into question. The local bishop was called in and said that the idol needed to be destroyed, that it was possessed of pagan spirits. One young monk, who's virtue was superior took it on himself to redeem his order's name and declared that he himself would deface it and then destroy it. He went out into the night and did not return. In the morning, he was found dead beneath the collapsed statue. It had apparently fallen upon him...but it's arms were wrapped around him. The statue had moved and wrapped itself around him. Unable to free him, they buried all of it again. That's how the story goes anyways."

 

[Tentacle_Lover]

"Hm....interesting...." Alexandria glanced over in the direction of the statue as Rafe told her the story about the statue, then back to Rafe as he finished the story with how it was buried once again, even still holding onto a man. "Hm? So....if it was buried....then how did it get dug up again and end up here in the school then? I mean...it still seems a rather strange thing to have in a school" She folded her arms as she continued to slowly look around the campus, taking careful mental note of the positioning of various things. "And even then...I wonder where it came from before that....before the monks found it buried....it could be ancient Greek but....how would it end up buried in Britain? The Ancient Greeks never went that far....and it doesn't appear to be Roman in origin....very curious....a mystery like this certainly requires further investigation..." It was unclear if Alexandria was talking to Rafe or simply to herself, it could quite easily be either one.

 

[runawayninja]

"The way I hear it, it was bought at auction in Paris for a hefty sum. The legend is just a legend after all...I mean, I don't rule out supernatural means at all, but I'm a man that likes to see things before I believe in them. As far as why it's here..." He shrugged softly. "I didn't build the school so I honestly can't say. And the person that did is already dead. As far as I know, the statue is Roman in origin, but I could be wrong, I'm not an art major." Rafe smiled just a bit. Some might have called her behavior detached, bit he thought it was cute. He showed her around the dorms, the gym complexes, the outdoor areas, and the major campus areas. There was an unusual and large hedge maze on the grounds. "Heh, there's a pretty strict curfew but...some students sneak out and the hedge maze is a popular area. It's a little exciting to see who you'll meet in there at night or if you'll get caught..."