She hit three hundred and ninety six indents in the paneled ceiling before her eyes crossed. Had she counted that indent before? Very likely. Kay blew out a breath between her lips and let her head flop back on her pillow. Sleep continued to elude her despite the long day.

Jess didn't message her back.

Even during their worst arguments as roommates in college, Jess never outright ignored her. But they weren't newly minted adults, fresh out of their teens, anymore. They were supposed to have maturity, or at least enough life experience not to be an absolute idiot and run away from their problems. This somehow felt worse than losing her previous job, living space, and s.o. in one massive blow, maybe because she was the absolute idiot in this situation.

Kay covered her face with her hands to stifle the groan. During the day, she could distract herself trying to enact little improvements on the Grid, but right now, the ticking analog clock on the wall was the loudest sound in the building. Her thoughts wound in little circles, following the unavoidable static rhythm. She refused to look at the clock, certain it was some ungodly hour, but the clicking siren song eventually pulled her gaze after a solid two minutes of moping.

Ten thirty! It was only ten freaking thirty? Sweet crispy crackers, this was going to be the longest night of her life. It was bad enough when she had to wait out Stanley in the locker room earlier but at least then she'd distracted herself with one of the books she hadn't slipped to Serena. Not that her brain could remotely concentrate on the Hobbit, but the attempt had provided a distraction. She was out of distractions now. Kay shifted so her hands rested on her abdomen. It wouldn't be long before she literally started twiddling her thumbs, Kay mused with mild disgust. She'd read all the books left in her backpack multiple times, and her phone was locked up tight in a drawer at the front guard station. Kay was horribly, terribly, wretchedly bored.

Serena would probably get a hoot out of the Hobbit. It was one of the few fantasy novels Kay still owned from multiple moves, but she'd purposely avoided passing along any of them. After living the reality, Kay didn't see them the same way anymore. She doubted the great dragon Smaug got indigestion from eating rancid pork chops. Her late afternoon task cleaning the cage of a surly farting dragon was enough to dissolve any lingering fears and awe she had of Dorothy and her ilk.

On cue, a sonorous rumble echoed down the hallway, followed by the tell tale 'foof' and gout of blue tinged light. 

That's right, Stanley quarantined Dorothy in the hall to spare the other dragons. Fun fact about a flatulent dragon; their gaseous emissions caught fire. They had to sequester Dorothy in the hallway or she'd burn all the oxygen out of the dragon unit. Kay thought the dragon's explosive back end had finished up an hour or so earlier, otherwise she wouldn't have tried to sleep.

The sound of a strangled tuba shot down the hall, the light strong enough to cast shadows through the open door of the locker room.

Kay accepted she wasn't a mature adult in any sense as she dissolved into giggles. She'd bet even the aloof golden princess would crack a smile at the situation. Kay's grin dropped into a scowl.

Why the hell did her thoughts keep circling back to Serena?

Unbidden, her thoughts dredged up the lone text she had received for another mental perusal. Kay swallowed at the faint heat that flushed up from her chest. How did Serena even get her number? For that matter, did she even have a phone? Was this text by enchantment? Did she like books?

Kay tugged her bottom lip. Stop thinking about her, she ordered her brain. But she swore that the tiny Kay in her mind raised a mental eyebrow. Her gaze flicked to the clock. Ten forty five.

She rolled to her feet with a sigh and padded to the doorway. She didn't worry about being caught. The upper floors did have a night-time janitorial staff, but they didn't venture down to the grid. Cleaning duty fell solely on her and Stanley, which was probably for the best when they left gassy dragons in the hallway.

The dragon in question was a good thirty feet away, squatting in her cage. From that distance, frankly from any distance, it was difficult to determine a dragon's mood. Dorothy rocked to and fro in the confines of her cage. Kay supposed she couldn't be all that comfortable.

The normal fluorescent lighting had been dimmed to help Dorothy sleep, but that appeared to be a futile gesture. Kay watched the restless dragon when her head snapped to the left, slit pupils dilating like a cat about to pounce. Kay frowned and followed the dragon's line of sight, biting back a yelp as a large rat scurried along the opposite wall. Guess they didn't do such a fab job of cleaning after all, though she could almost admire the balls on that rodent for venturing in spitting distance of a dragon.

Dorothy's lip curled back to reveal some scary looking teeth. At first, Kay thought she was snarling at the offending rat, until she shifted her body to face away from it and she tensed, reptilian features contorted into some strange, almost comical expression Kay couldn't figure out--

A plume of fire spat out the dragon's back end. There was a high squeak, just audible over the low rumble of fire. The flare of light temporarily blinded her, while intense heat licked her face. Kay rapidly blinked the brown spots out of her eyes. Her jaw dropped at the blackened wall, but for the small distinct outline close to the floor.

Her mouth was unfortunately open when the unholy stench of dragon flatulence wafted her way. The taste of methane and rotten eggs hit the back of her throat. Kay gagged and wheezed, frantically trying to wave the stench away as Dorothy's tail threaded out through the bars of her cage to scoop up her charred prize.

Kay was still choking on the smell when the crunch of flame broiled rat filled the hall.

She thought about retreating into the locker room, but the smell permeated everything, and Dorothy seemed perfectly content to gnaw on the unfortunate rodent like a charcoal chew toy. Sleep was a distant goal at best, and to spare her olfactory senses, Kay stumbled into the elevator. Least, that's what she told herself.

She pressed the button for the fifth level.

Her stomach lurched as the car descended. Her thoughts spiraled. This was stupid. It was late enough Serena might be asleep. Was she really sneaking down to see the golden princess this late at night? Kay froze as the elevator door dinged open.

What the hell was she doing? Going to have a girl talk with the prisoner? Not like they were gonna paint each other's nails, not that Kay did that at any sleep over, ever. She ran a hand through her increasingly unruly curls, snared by uncertainty and embarrassment.

There was a flutter of wings. Kay glanced around to find the little bird, prancing in place at the entrance of the elevator. It cocked its head to peer up at her with tiny black eyes, feathers fluffed and ruffled out. Kay smiled. However the bird got down here, it didn't seem in a hurry to leave, in fact it made quite the pleasant greeter.

It chirped at her and took to the air. A small part of her envied that ability to up and fly away, natural as breathing. She was firmly attached to the ground, and all the doubts, fears, anxieties, and problems that came with it.

With a sigh, she followed in the bird's wake, her footsteps following a now familiar path until she stood at the outer door to Serena's cell. Another moment of doubt gripped her. The hall was quiet, an unsettling quiet; the swollen hush of some great beast holding its breath in the shadows as she unwittingly passed by.

If she found Serena asleep like before, she would just go back upstairs and suffer through a night of dragon flatulence.

Kay squared her shoulders and opened the outer door. Her steps stuttered to a halt, but an entirely different reason.

Serena sat up as the door opened, snapping shut The Devil Wears Prada at the intrusion. But it wasn't her choice in literature that blanked Kay's thoughts. Gone was the elaborate fairy tale dress and the hairstyle of high pinned curls. Serena's golden hair tumbled down over her shoulders in loose, luxuriant waves, while a simple white nightgown hugged her body, slit at the bottom to expose a great deal of smooth golden thigh.

For a moment, Kay forgot to breathe.

A small frown creased Serena's brow as she looked over her intruder. "Kay? What the devil are you doing here?"

Kay swallowed, suddenly terribly self conscious. She knew her hair was in complete disarray, and she'd changed into her long sleep shirt and rather ratty pj pants when she attempted to go to bed earlier. Her feet were stuffed in her sneakers without socks. She stood, awkward as all hell, in the doorway, hugging herself with one arm as she cast about for a suitable excuse.

"Dorothy keeps farting." Obviously her brain wasn't on board with her mouth. 

Serena pressed her lips together. "The dragon?" Her words were slightly strangled.

"She ate some bad pork," Kay blurted.

Serena bowed her head, her hair spilling down to conceal her face as her shoulders shook. "Ah," she said faintly, "That is a problem."

"Well, Stanley isolated her in the hallway," said Kay. "But then she toasted a rat and dear god the smell--like a dead cat in a gas oven--"

Serena fell over, clutching her sides as she gave into a deep belly laugh. Kay couldn't help it. It was infectious. She dissolved into giggles. The princess laughed until there were tears streaming down her face. She flopped onto her back, gasping for breath as her curtain of hair fanned out beneath her.

"Oh sweet Mab, I haven't laughed that hard in ages." She lazily fanned her face as she glanced at Kay. "What are you doing here, love?"

Kay's good humor shriveled though her stomach did a strange little flip at Serena's casual pet name. "All the books I left you and you chose the Devil Wears Prada?"

Serena raised a brow at the totally subtle subject change but didn't call her on it. "It's a fun read." She shrugged. Kay could appreciate the need for escapism in a place like this. That golden gaze slid over her. "Though I admit, I didn't expect it coming from you."

Kay frowned. "What's that supposed to mean?"

"Uh, just that, I don't know, it's kinda, um, girly?" To her shock, a red flush rose on the princess's cheeks.

Kay thought she should be insulted at the insinuation but she couldn't stop looking at Serena's face until she pinched her own chin. "I'll have you know," she said, gesturing at her rumpled sleepwear, "I am the epitome of feminism." She snorted at the end, unable to maintain her mockingly serious expression.

Serena covered her mouth to stifle her laughter, but soon the two of them had fallen into another fit, until both were gasping for breath.

"Seriously though," said Kay, trying to catch her breath. "I have eclectic tastes in literature."

"Pffft, if you could call it literature," said Serena.

"If you read it, it's literature," said Kay. "Life's too short to be snooty about things like genre and content."

Serena's expression abruptly sobered. "Interesting perspective."

Kay looked at her, picking over her words to figure out what made the princess run cold. "Except life's not short for you, is it?"  

"No, no it is not," said Serena.

Kay slumped back against the wall, mindful of any pieces of broken glass that escaped clean up. "Um, if you don't mind me asking, how long have you been here."

Serena's hands fluttered down her sides, until they settled in a loose knot over her stomach. She didn't look at Kay as she answered. "Since the construction of the Grid."

A chill of unease seeped through the thin material of her night shirt. She vaguely recalled Shaffer's brief history of the Grid. It was at least a couple centuries old. Serena didn't look a day over twenty five, and that was being harsh. Kay couldn't wrap her head around it, what it had to be like, staring at the same ceiling year after year, the same four walls. She felt a sudden tightness in her throat at the thought and wished she could offer something, anything, to take Serena's mind off it, if only for a few minutes.

"So what do you think of Miranda?"

Was that a smile on her lips? "Oh, I like her," said Serena. "A woman after my own heart."

"I had a feeling you'd say that," said Kay.

Serena's face tilted toward her. "Why? Do I strike you as the Ice Queen type?"

Now it was Kay's turn to blush. "Don't know you well enough, yet."

Serena rolled onto her side and propped her head up with her fist. "You want to get to know me?"

There was something in her tone that made the warning bells go off in her mind. She mentally skirted around anything remotely personal, searching for something neutral and safe.

"What's your favorite book?"

The cold distance didn't immediately leave Serena's golden eyes, dull as old coins, but after a moment she thawed to Kay's question.

"Favorite? Ask me to choose a favorite limb, why don't you?" Serena huffed her hair out of her face. "I find myself somewhat partial to Robinson Crusoe, though it's been an age since I read it."

"I don't think I've ever read that one," said Kay.

Serena raised a haughty eyebrow. "Yes, the classics seem to be out of fashion with your generation."

Kay made a face. "How would you know?"

"From the Netflix." Serena waved a lazy hand at the flat screen suspended from the wall.

Kay bit her lip to keep from laughing. "You know, that is not the most accurate representation of everyday life."

"You mean all those docuseries are full of lies?" Serena made a sound of disgust. "Typical humans."

"Not all lies," said Kay. "But the truth does get a little distorted for the sake of entertainment."

"That, my dear Kay, is called a lie," said Serena. "Though I am very fond of the baking competitions. I used to be a marvelous baker."

Kay bit back the question to explore that particular slip of information. "What else do you like to watch?"

Time quietly slid onward. She didn't notice it at first, until the pull of exhaustion dragged on her limbs. She closed her eyes, only for a moment, lulled by the rich sound of Serena's voice.

Kay startled awake at the bang. She jerked up to find Serena standing directly on the other side of the clear barrier, her hand raised to rap her knuckles against the hard plastic.

"You should go back up, Kay. It's late," said Serena, her expression unreadable. Standing, her nightgown fell down to her knees, and clung to her body at oddly alluring angles too perfect to be real. Kay suspected magic.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to doze off," she mumbled. She groaned as she stood at the stiffness in her limbs. She was going to be hurting in the morning. "What time is it?"

Serena shrugged. "Three in the morning or so."

"What? Crap!"

Serena watched her. "You never did answer me, why are you here?"

Kay might have been a little fuzzy in the brain, but she wasn't completely brain dead. "Cause I work here."

Serena's eye twitched. "I meant, why are you here this late? In your jam jams?"

Kay snorted. "My jam jams?" She stretched. "I'll see you in a few hours or so."

Serena frowned. "Are you being purposefully obtuse?"

Kay yawned furiously into her fist. "As opposed to acute?"

It gave her a small sense of satisfaction when Serena's face scrunched up in frustration.

"Try to nab some beauty sleep, Princess," called Kay as she shut the outer cell door behind her.

She grinned for the duration of the ride back up to her floor. Kay almost forgot what chased her away in the first place until the doors dinged open and Dorothy's head swiveled in her direction. Thankfully there were no shreds of rat to be seen, though the dragon seemed to squint at her. Had the flatulence finally passed? Kay crept for the locker room on the tip toes of her shoes and took a tentative sniff of the air. Dorothy shuffled in her cage. Kay froze, unable to move as the dragon turned her back towards her.

"You wouldn't," Kay hissed. A low rumble filled the air.

She yelped and dove into the locker room as a gout of flame flared down the hall.