We met up with Gabrielle.
For a moment, I almost didn't recognize her.
The girl sitting in front of me wasn't quite the same Gabrielle I had known—the one I had spent most of my academy days with, side by side, sharing countless moments and inside jokes only we would understand. This Gabrielle… she was different.
She carried herself with a subtle grace I hadn't seen before with her presence somehow heavier and more grounded. Her hair looked shinier, her posture straighter, with her movements slower and more deliberate. She had… an air about her now. Mature. Refined. It made me blink twice, as if my brain needed an extra second to catch up and confirm that this was indeed her.
"Hello, Rose. It's been a while," she said, her tone smooth, almost calm. She rubbed her stomach with a hand.
