The instruction told Elara to leave Kira behind.
She read that line before looking at the signature.
The notice had arrived through the garden office with two ordinary work orders. It used the right paper, the right household name, and a reference to a real dispute over seized herb cargo. It requested her presence at a receiving office after the second bell on the nineteenth.
Attendance required. Transport arranged. No companion beasts permitted inside the assessment chamber. Elara placed the notice flat on the potting table.
Kira stood beside her shoe and looked up. The fox hadn't read the paper. She had felt Elara go still.
"We're staying here," Elara said.
The garden assistant waited with his delivery book open.
"Shall I confirm the collection?"
"Confirm that I received the notice. Don't confirm that I'm going."
He paused, then crossed out the second part of the entry he had begun.
