Gray light filtered through the glass of the solarium situated at the back of the house. Various plants sat in the corners of the room designed to hold heat better than the rest of the mansion. Thayva sat on one of the five cushions placed in a circle at the room’s center. A stack of papers sat atop a large, round table in front of her. She held a featherless quill, which she dipped in a bottle of red ink every now and again as she marked a couple forgotten tests.
	Wind gently blew through the room from the couple glass panels Thayva had opened, flooding the usually warm space with the fresh scent of the impending storm. Thayva paused and inhaled the smell. Even after the few years she had spent outside the dracon realms, she still had yet to grow used to the pleasant scent of rain.
	She heard the inside door to the solarium open. With the familiar gait and way he shuffled forward, it could only be her beloved Serapis.
	“Good morning, my dear.” She glanced up and returned his loving nuzzle before looking back to the papers. 
	[b]“Any big jobs for the students to do?”[/b]
	Thayva gave him the nod she knew he awaited. “Well,” Thayva reached into a small pocket hidden in her skirts, pulled out the prank note, and placed it beside her pile of papers, “I’d say eliminating a fire-breathing duck would count. Don’t suppose you’ve heard anything about it, have you?” A smile pulled at her maul. “Other than that, the blacksmith’s apprentice has fallen ill, so he needs an extra pair of hands this weekend, the butcher’s looking for an extra hunter, and the potter has offered her knowledge to teach any who may want to learn the art of pottery.”
	Thayva glanced out at the yard, then to the sky, trying to gague the time. “It looks nearly eleven. Lunch should be served soon. Would you care to join me?”

[center]*	*	*[/center]
	When the teachers released the orphans for their last class of the day and sent them on their way to lunch, Kia and Laya stopped and waited outside one of the classrooms for Nick and Ilyrana.
	At last, the door all but burst open, and people flooded out. The two girls stood to the side so the others could exit.
	As soon as the other two elves joined them--Nick and Aurelian having separated during their last class--the four headed to the lunch room.
	“Remember, don’t sit together,” Kia whispered just loud enough for her friends to hear. “And try to make our separation look unintentional. We don’t want to arouse suspicion.”
	The others nodded. The four separated, losing one another in the crowd of students flooding the halls as they headed to the dining hall.