“Father Appleby, this child wishes to see you.” The person opened the door and ushered Seren in. They walked in, head high. Though they felt intimidated, they weren’t going to show it. The father was at the desk and looked up from his writing confused, but then a flash of epiphany lit up.

“You must be that Asche-Winters child I was hearing about.” He said removing his reading glasses. “Yes, come in please. Take a seat.” Seren walked to the desk and sat in the chair opposite of it.

“If you would like to know, the new roof is holding up perfectly.” Father Appleby said pointing up. Seren nodded, realizing why this person was in their binder now.

“Glad to hear it.” They said, sipping at their tea. “Should we deal with the real business?”

“Yes, of course. You have a busy day?” The father asked, sitting back at his desk.

“Coming up on the end of it actually. I’d like to save some daylight for reading.” Seren said. Pulling out their binder and laying it on the desk.

“Good, reading is very good.” The father said. He opened a drawer and Seren heard the tell-tale ring of currency, but they also heard something else. A ringing sound. “Furthering your education will prove to be invaluable in time.”

“Yeah, yeah.” Seren said, barely listening to what he was saying. “Do you have fae silver in there?” The father looked up surprised.

“Why, yes. I do actually” He said, lifting up a silver shiny coin. “It’s a bit of a mystery to who left it but it was in our collections box after prayer this morning.”

“May I see it?” Seren asked and held out their hand. Putting their drink down so they could hold the silver with both hands. “I’ve never seen fae silver in a currency setting.” The coin was white as snow and so bright it would glow in even the dimmest light. There coin had no engravings of any kind but a ring of gold inlaid around the edge.

“I did notice your sunstone ring.” The father nodded. “Should that coin be added to the payment?”

“Perhaps, it isn't worth much in its current form. Not to anyone in the town. Maybe a collector but that’s a long shot.” Seren said then thought about it a bit longer. “Maybe a jeweler would want it, but I don’t think this is enough to make any use of.”

“That’s fair, I suppose I’ll keep a hold of it then.” The father said and held out his hand for it back. SEren stared at it mesmerized. Almost too much so to hand it back. Finally they dropped it back in the father’s hand. Taking the rest of the money and putting it away.

“Thank you for being so compliant.” Seren said standing up from their chair. “I look forward to speaking with you again.”

“Glad to hear it.” Father Appleby said as he stood up. “If you ever have any questions for me, I’m happy to answer them.” The father held out his hand and Seren looked at it. Relenting to shake his hand with a smile.

They hopped down the steps. Waving at the other worshippers on their way. They pulled out their binder. Two more stops. Technically only one since they had to double back for the yarn but still. Two stops. Last one was in the Summer district, meant to be the easy last stop. Seren walked back to the caretaker’s house. They disposed of the glass waste from their tea in a glass receptacle on the way. They knocked on the door and hear no response at first, but after a minute they heard the sound of running before the door was thrust open.

“You’re back!” The woman said breathlessly. “I was just checking on the skeins.”

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“How are they looking?” Seren asked excitedly.

“I think they are looking well.” The caretaker said, matching Seren’s excitement. “Come see,” Seren entered the house and followed the caretaker to the sink where the two skeins were hung to dry. One vibrant and beautiful red and the other deep royal blue.

“They are perfect!” Seren clapped happily. “I am happy to consider this payment.”

“Really?! Mr. Asche accepts yarn?” The caretaker asked.

“No, I want it and he can take it out of my wages for the day. In the end your payment is paid either way.” Seren said. “Are the skeins dry?”

“Yes, you can take them now if you want.” the caretaker said with a sigh. “I guess I should thank you.”

“For what?” Seren asked. Taking the yarn from the hanger.

“For accepting a trade. I’d never be able to pay back the debt otherwise.” The caretaker said. “Is there a color I should prepare for next month?” Seren looked over the yarn.

“None thanks. This is all I need for now.” Seren said. Then they put the yarn away into their bag. “But if you have extra still I’d suggest the Artisan Market on Saturdays. The yarn itself is worth about 10.15 but you could get away with selling it for an easy 15 even.”

“Really? You think I could?” The caretaker asked.

“Yeah. Handspun, homegrown, cleaned and dyed. The synthetic dye might hold you back in some circles but I wouldn’t worry about it to start. That’s a thought to have in the future.”

“I’ll think about that. Thank you.” The caretaker said. Seren smiled and headed for the door.

“Welcome.” They said as they left. The last stop was in the Summer district, the home stretch. They ran most of the way and stopped at the nice villa. It had some of its own animals. Namely chickens. You could smell them when you got close though whoever cared for animals worked hard to make sure you didn’t.Seren knocked on the door and a chipper voice called for them to come in. Seren was baffled. So many easy jobs in a single day was unheard of. They opened the door and entered to see a smug man and a quiet girl tending to a little flower pot. But speaking to the man was another enforcer.

Enforcers were easy to spy. Usually they had some patch on them to show who they belonged to. The true surprise was that the enforcer now standing before Seren belonged to the Spring district.

“I don’t think we’ve met, I’m Serenity-”

“I know who you are.” The enforcer said. He had bubblegum pink hair that was styled forward and curled into his face.

“Fair enough. Who are you then?” Seren asked, standing a little straighter and putting their hands into their pockets. The man was taller than them by a bit, but didn’t have nearly as much weight as Seren. But Seren was more worried about the silver hand crossbow at his hip. Illegal weapons were the tricks to the trade but lethal weapons were never to be used.

“My name’s Kyi. It’s obvious what we’re doing here. The real question is why.” He said.

“SOMEONE didn’t do their work before lending it seems.” Seren said, smirking as nastily as the man before them. Seren couldn’t tell his age but he looked to be older. Maybe even actually sixteen.

“Yeah that sounds about right. Which means My job takes precedence. So beat it.” The man said, resting his hand on his weapon.

“Uh, no. MY job takes precedence, you can look at the paperwork yourself.” Seren snapped. They watched the boy start pulling his crossbow from its holster. “You don’t scare me.”

“I should. Are you stupid?” Kyi took a long look up and down Seren. “I mean you must be. Given the whole fae thing.” Seren slipped their rings back on their knuckles. They couldn’t admit they were scared.

“You say whatever you want.” Seren shrugged, hoping they looked nonchalant as they pretended they were. “At the end of the day you and I both came here to do a job. I think this guy might be trying to get out paying his debts by getting us to fight each other.” Seren turned back to the guy who’s smug smile faded. He looked at Kyi quickly.

“They’re making you look dumb,” He said quickly. “Are you going to take that?” Seren looked back at Kyi and sized him up.

“You aren’t dumb. You’re just new to this.” Seren smiled genuinely. Sliding the rings back off their knuckles. “Don’t worry, we’ll get what we’re both due. No point in fighting over a debt, he screwed himself over here. So why should we pay the price?” Kyi’s frown faded into a calculated smile. He removed his hand from his weapon. Both turning to the debtor.

“You heard ‘em. Pay up.” Kyi grinned.