When one door closes in your life, others naturally open.

Of course those doors might lead to a cliff or a pit of venomous monsters, but that's why you always pack a featherfall scroll or tool.

A Travellers Wisdom, Vol 2 page 17

4993 A.D. Fourth day of the seventh week of Autumn. Fifth Bell of the evening…

Gupalagia Esme Bright, Traitor, Master of Sedition, Tax Evader, and all round enemy of the state, the woman executed a week ago today and reborn as Henrietta Cooper, a minor noble from a distant rural estate, looked upon her wardrobe and despaired.

There were bows, and ribbons on her dress, the whole thing looked impractical and uncomfortable, and the heels! She had tried them on and immediately hated whoever had designed these torture devices.

So it was that Emily walked in and found Guppy sitting firmly on her cot within her cell with naught but a shift on.

Emily had raised an eyebrow at her, yet when Guppy had pointed out how silly the clothing was the elf had looked at it and swept it away without a word, returning with much more acceptable clothing that she swiftly tailored to Guppy's size.

Her new outfit was far more subdued and traded the satin and velvet for good study cotton. The creamy turquoise blouse and black split leg long skirt were both comfortable and modest.

As Guppy turned and stretched, she couldn't help but let out a smile the range of movement her new attire afforded her. The finely woven cloth whispered quality and understated money to her skin.

She liked it.

"Satisfied?" asked Emily, breaking her former silence.

Guppy nodded in reply and followed the elf as she turned and left. A long walk ensued in silence between them.

Guppy honestly didn't know what to think of the woman. Initially, she had hated her, hated that she denied Guppy her freedom, hated that they enslaved her, that the elf had- Guppy took a settling breath. The woman had been doing her job, a fact Batty had pointed out emphatically one night when he had tired of her mental ranting.

When Guppy considered the elf- no, Emily's actions over the last week, she faced a conflicting range of emotions.

Emily had painstakingly instructed Guppy on her new cover as Henrietta Cooper along with basic noble etiquette, and while many of the rules had seemed downright silly, Guppy found most of the simple rules were the same as those she had learnt from her mother as a child. In a spare moment she wondered where her mother had learned them. Perhaps she served as a servant in a noble household when she had been younger?

And as Guppy had paid attention, she noticed a thousand little actions from Emily that had spoken of her care. Like how the food Guppy fed had markedly improved, or how Emily brought her clean cloths for her monthly bleeding.

The Elf had taken to braiding her silver hair up in a circlet and even brought her news of her sibling's welfare. While her brother and sister had been in mourning over her 'death', the two were being looked after both overtly and covertly, and had even moved to a nicer residence in a safer part of the city.

So it was with a confusing mixture of anger and gratitude that Guppy regarded the elf as she was shown to a carriage with curtains drawn and fastened.

As Guppy stepped into the carriage, she could not help but turn and utter a question that came unbidden to her lips.

"Emily; will I see you again?"

The elf did not answer her, she just smiled and shut the door. Guppy threw her hands up in exasperation and humpfed down on the plush seat. Weirdest boss ever!

The elf was abrupt, annoyingly smug, insensitive, annoying-

Guppy gave up and let her hands drop to her sides again. She was being ungrateful to Emily, who had treated her a fair bit better than expected, especially after the whole collaring-

Guppy brushed past her trimmed fringe and fingered the glyph on her forehead. The swelling had gone down, and now it looked like any other tattoo. A hot swelling rose in her chest and she struggled to breathe for a moment. She pushed the feeling down and focused on steadying her breathing for the next few minutes as the carriage clattered across cobblestone streets.

Needing a distraction, and realizing it had been a few days since their last chat, Guppy leaned back into the comfortable seat and focused her mind inwards.

A moment of silence before she felt his presence stir.

{Gupalagia, what do you need?}

Guppy did her mental equivalent of a shrug and thrummed their connection with her feelings of boredom at the journey yet excitement for their destination. They had forbidden her from practicing any magic while she was held-wherever they had held her. But once she arrived at the Royal academy, she was not only allowed but encouraged to use it within certain limitations.

she asked.

Guppy felt minor amusement flow across the bond, along with the dragon's own boredom.

{I sleep most of the time little one, while not as bad as it was, it is a struggle to maintain awareness for long periods of time, your mana output is barely enough to support me so I slumber to save up and conserve what I can.}

Guppy slumped guiltily, her mental form displaying her internal discomfort. She knew she was weak, but hearing that she couldn't even give the dragon enough energy to maintain his awareness was still a bit of a blow to her self esteem. Batty must have felt her distress and helplessness though, for he spoke up again.

{Fret not Gupalagia, you will grow stronger, and I believe we will get through this rough patch, however grey our scales may currently be.}

Guppy sighed but sat up a little straighter at his comforting words.

Guppy sent through her hope and optimism to Batty, feeling a pulse of affirmation back before the dragon's consciousness faded back into slumber.

Guppy floated upwards, returning her awareness to the outside world. She opened her eyes slowly, feeling the gentle rocking of the carriage as it passed over cobbled streets. Her other senses picking up the familiar sounds and smells of Nolusburg.

She settled in patiently, for patience was a familiar friend now, a reliable ally in the uncertain circumstances she found herself within.