"Maybe I can help them, then," she muses idly.

"Possibly. They're always interested in hearing new ideas."

Smirk. "That too."

"You know, if you keep dropping hints I'm going to start wondering."

She laughs.

"I suppose I should probably stop, before that happens."

She gets up and bows.

"Good luck with everything, Raafi."

"You too." He gets up to let her out.

The next day, unable to meet his eyes, Scyelen stammers an offer to buy Raafi some furniture for his new room.

After that, the school gets back to business as usual.

Classes begin, covering a variety of subjects relevant to magic-wielding noble teens.

Scyelen completes the academic assignments diligently, and bows out of the practical spellcasting demonstrations, like usual. She's still withdrawn and the dark circles under her eyes remain, and she has trouble looking either Raafi or Miss Vaux in the face, but she gets through the day. Some of her classmates do, in fact, mock her viciously for not being up to the task of making Raafi behave like a 'proper' familiar. The mutterings about him being a hoax have mostly died out, thankfully.

Siesta becomes a bit of a fixture of Raafi's days, taking upon herself the task of helping him settle in and fetching whatever he needs. She just seems to be genuinely friendly and cheerful and finds him pleasant to be around and to work for.

Kirche tries to hit on him on two additional occasions before finally giving up.

For a couple of weeks, life goes on without incident.

It's not a bad couple of weeks. Raafi takes Scyelen up on her offer of furniture, requesting a bed and a desk and a couch. He learns her class schedule and spends about half of them with her, favoring the magic classes, and mealtimes, and some of her downtime, even when she's awkward with him. He doesn't press her on it when she is, but keeps himself busy reading or taking notes or fiddling with various wood-and-metal puzzles from his collection. He spends time with Siesta, too, telling her stories about his world and asking her questions about this one, but more of it out walking, exploring the woods and taking advantage of his ability to teleport back and forth to make his way down the road outside the school, a few miles further each day.

About ten miles down the road, he finds a town. It's nothing special, but it has the basics. A church, an inn, a tavern, shops, farmers, markets, and a small garrison of knights.

Scyelen doesn't really get less awkward, save for how she now accepts his hugs without guilt or shame.

Siesta really enjoys the stories, and in turn tells him more about her grandfather. Her own stories begin to suggest the possibility that her grandfather might just have been from Raafi's world himself, though the connection is tenuous.

And then, one day, Siesta isn't there.

That's concerning. He has an idea of her usual haunts, by now, and checks them, and asks around among the other maids for her.

One of the other maids reveals that Siesta's contract has been bought. She won't be working in the school anymore. She'll be working privately for a local Count named Jules de Mott.

Her what has been what. How does that... work.

The maid nervously explains that for a commoner to be gainfully employed by a noble institution such as this, they must sign a contract specifying a term of employment to which they are bound. The contracts may be exchanged between noble institutions at market value. And, the law is written so that technically noble households count as noble institutions.

"But this isn't supposed to happen!" the maid he is talking to finally blurts. "The school isn't supposed to sell off staff contracts! I don't understand why this would happen. Oh, I hope Siesta is okay..."

Well, that's certainly not not making him want to light several things on fire.

"It'll be all right, sweetheart. I'll look into it."

He's been making a point of keeping Sendings prepared, for emergencies; this certainly is one. "Siesta, sweetheart, it's Raafi, are you okay? You can think a message back to me."

?!?!?!???!?!??!??????!?!?? ?!

Raafi? I, ah, I don't think I'll be available today. Or possibly ever again. I'm terribly sorry and I wish I could've said goodbye p-

Twenty-five words is a frustrating limit and ten minutes is a frustrating length of time. Ten minutes later, though: "It has to be a short message, sweetheart. Are you okay, or should I come find you?"

You shouldn't come find me but I wish you would no don't but I don't want I'm in Count Mott's carriage and I think--

Having a limited number of spells per day is the worst.

Where's Scyelen.

Out beyond the campus wall practicing her aim again. She's getting pretty good.

Sylphid is perched on top of the wall, watching her.

"Scyelen, sweetheart. Siesta's been taken. I need to go find her."

Scyelen flinches at this sudden and unexpected information.

"Wha...? Siesta? Taken? What do you mean, taken?"

He paces, too agitated to stay in one place. "They sold her contract. They're not supposed to, she didn't agree to it. Count Mott, if you know anything about him, I don't. But she doesn't want to be there."

"Sold her...? The academy's... not supposed to do that. I think I've heard that name before too, but I'm, um, not sure? We should probably ask the headmaster? He governs the staff."

"If you think that will help, instead of - he's kind of an idiot."

"I, um, he's, um, but he's still the one who'd have to, um, authorize the transfer."