Those eight words rumbled in Noble's head like thunder. The Provost didn't just want to see her. Her presence was demanded presently.
'Not good.'
Noble had never been called to the principal's office as a child, but she imagined that this must have been how it would feel.
Floating down the hall and out into the cold, Noble could not meet anyone's gaze that she passed. She averted her eyes, worried that they might see the shades of shame swirling in them.
'I just can't catch a break…' The professor lamented.
Provost Alden had already not been pleased with her for being tardy earlier that morning. Actually, she had been racking up many negative strikes against her in recent weeks. Too many for her liking, that was for sure.
Could this have been the final straw?
'Am I about to be fired?'
Once the idea was rooted in Noble's mind, she couldn't quite dislodge it. She couldn't remember anyone being forcibly removed from the staff of the Academy, but there had been a few instances where rumors of people being given less-than-desirable assignments had driven them off.
She remembered a man from her early days, Teacher Arlo, who had been assigned to host only late-night classes until he gave up his post and decided to wander the Dream Realm until he was never heard from again.
What would Noble do without the Academy? She could focus solely on the Dreamer Academy. It was doing quite well with Zenkai still leading it part-time, but he had planned to move on to his next adventure soon. Noble could invest her time in ramping up the courses offered and provide some additional skill seminars to mundanes trying to make it in the Dream Realm.
Unless...
'Could they take the Dreamer Academy from me also?'
Provost Alden did not have direct purview over the twin Dreamer Academies of Ravenheart and Bastion. Noble had taken out a loan to build it, and that money had been hard-earned. However, it was a combination of government funding and the Great Clans' generous purse strings that kept it running, since Noble did not charge her students to attend.
If Provost Alden said the word, would the government withdraw its support, or worse, ask her to resign?
They couldn't directly fire her from there, she didn't think. Noble hoped she wouldn't find out.
'I hate being in trouble!' With each step, the ache in the pit of her stomach grew.
As it often did when Noble felt she was in the wrong, every past mistake, slip-up, or grievance against her came to keep this error company. The professor was quick to let the slights of others go, especially once they apologized, but her own shortcomings constantly resurfaced like weeds.
Noble was her own harshest critic, and the farther she walked, the more certain she was of her own condemnation. By the time she reached the building in the heart of the campus, she had all but given up hope of the meeting going well.
The secretary in the waiting room did nothing to ease her nerves.
The mundane woman looked old enough to be from the first generation, with her grey hair pulled into a tight bun. Her sharp eyes glanced up at Noble over the top of thick glasses as the professor entered.
"Sit." She said, not even bothering to ask Noble's name.
"Yes, Miss Mable." She read the nameplate on the desk.
The professor knew better than to argue with her elders, especially one she guessed should have retired years ago, so she selected one of the two armchairs along the wall and floated above it obediently.
Time slowed to a crawl as Noble watched the woman stand, walk slowly to the door behind her, and disappear into the Provost's office. Seconds felt like hours, and Noble was pretty sure the room was actively shrinking.
It didn't help that both this room and the office adjoining it were both magically soundproofed, so the only thing Noble could hear was the sound of her own breathing and the beat of her own heart.
'Is Miss Mabel ever coming back? Maybe she went in there for something else entirely. If that's the case, then I don't need to worry because the conversation in there isn't even about me. The Provost is so busy. He's probably forgotten about me. Miss Mabel will come out and ask for my name to report it to him in a moment. I am getting myself worked up for no reason…'
Noble tried desperately to talk herself down as her heartbeat marked the passage of time.
The door opened, startling the professor with its crisp click.
"Master Noble," Miss Mabel squinted at the woman on the far side of the room. "Alden will see you now."
Noble's mouth went dry. Miss Mabel not only knew who her guest was, but she didn't need to ask the professor the nature of her business.
The professor stood.
"Oh…yes, thank you."
'She's probably the one who sent the terse message. Maybe she meant it more firmly than the Provost had intended.
Noble's hopes were quickly dashed as she entered Provost Alden's office.
The room itself was large and comfortably built. It was meant for members of the Great Clan to be welcomed, so the decorators years ago had spared no expense to make the right impression. Alden and his staff had kept it in pristine condition, never letting it fall into disrepair.
The head of the Academy sat behind a large oak desk—at least Noble thought it was oak; her knowledge of tree species was admittedly lacking. Around him, the walls were covered with art, some of which were copies of old masterpieces from before the dark times.
"Master Noble. Timely as usual." Alden's voice dissuaded the professor from trying to study the beauty of the room. "Sit."
The command had been the same as Miss Mabel's and filled her with just as much anxiety. Noble nodded and floated forward.
She passed the area where Alden held more informal visits. The couches there could rival the most prestigious clubs of the NQSC, but Noble marched past as if they were not there at all.
Oh, how she wished that the head of the school had been waiting for her on one of those cushions! That would have meant a friendly visit, wouldn't it? Behind the desk meant the meeting was purely business.
Finding the chair indicated by her superior, Noble did her best impression of sitting for the second time in as many minutes.
She regarded the neatly arranged desk and the communicator resting between his arms in the center of it. Perhaps he had been the one to summon her personally after all.
"I received a message that you wanted to see me?" Noble managed a polite but shaky smile.
But Provost Alden did not smile back. His frown deepened.
"Do you know why you are here?" He nudged his communicator forward as he folded his hands on his desk.
Noble glanced down at the screen. The video of her was playing on it with the sound off. The color drained from her face.
"I'm so sorry! I can explain!"