Ysandra smiled beatifically at Bethany Cobb, accepting the warm tea and taking a sip from the cracked mug, “Thank you.”

Bethany wrung her hands in her apron, fluttering about the room full of mismatched and worn furniture. The rug on the floor was faded and did little to hide the scarred floor from the Companion’s eyes. “You’re welcome. Wish I had somethin’ more to offer.”

“That you’re willing to speak to me is more generosity than I’d expected.”

Ysandra had always liked traveling to Kennedy. Two days from the heart of Sihnon, it felt both foreign and familiar to her. There was nothing pretty about Kennedy. The buildings were worn and used, the sidewalks stained and dirty. Factories spit dark smoke into the air, casting a dreary smog to hang over the heads of the men and woman who lived there. Men and woman who worked hard for every credit they earned. Or stole.

It was a world away from the affluence of Rosetta.

Bethany’s blue eyes slid to the Companion’s and there was an unexpected fire in their depths, “It ain’t generosity. You know it.”

Ysandra’s smile faded and she nodded tightly. “I can’t promise that you wont regret the decision, but I can assure you he will not.” She studied the woman for a long moment; she was younger than the lines on her face made her look. They were probably of an age.

Making a reckless decision, she spoke candidly. “I never did.”

Bethany sank into the chair across from the Companion, the bone deep weariness weighed heavy on the woman’s shoulders and Ysandra knew then that the boy was already hers.

“Do you…do you ever see them? Your family?”

It wasn’t within her to lie. “No.”

Bethany exhaled sharply and met her eyes. “How long you been watchin’ my boy?”

“Since his tenth birthday.” She replied smoothly, “We like to thoroughly observe prospective students before making an offer. We’ve had access to his academic and disciplinary records for some time. Jayne…” she trailed off, smiling enigmatically, “has a lively spirit.”

His mother responded wit