Kel's feet were leaden weights as she stumbled her way through the page's wing. While the possibility had always been there, she had let herself be lulled into a false sense of security. She had thought if she trained hard enough, studied hard enough, she would be permitted to stay after the probation year.
Hope had blinded her and she had run headlong into reality.
The door to her room materialized in front of her and she stood for a moment, staring blankly at the sturdy wood. It wasn't until the thud of footsteps broke her trance that she fumbled in her pocket for her key. Kel slipped into the room, shutting and locking the door behind her, and hoped no one had spotted her.
Standing inside the door, Kel surveyed the room. Her Yamani cats still waved from their spot on the mantelpiece. The feed bowls for the sparrows sat abandoned on the lower window sill. Her glaive was still propped up against the wall.
Since she had been so focused on making it through the year, Kel had never considered what she would do if she was kicked out. Her parents had a townhouse in the city but she had no desire to stay in Corus and, if she returned to Mindelan, she would have to face her sisters-in-law.
She was so preoccupied by her thoughts that it took her a moment to register the figure sitting at the desk.
The open upper shutters provided the only light but it was enough that she could make out the person's face. She had never met the person but she'd heard enough about them to know who was sitting in her room.
"How did you get in here?" she asked.
"You'd be surprised how accommodating people are when you share a common interest," said the person, rising from the chair. "Now, we don't have very long. Are you set on your course to become a lady warrior?"
Kel didn't even have to think. "Yes."
The person smiled wryly, obviously expecting nothing else. "Good. If you will trust me, I can make that happen, although maybe not the way you had originally planned."
Kel regarded the person for a moment. "I trust you."