Thankfully, Aria settles down her hunting over the next few days so I don't end up in the same situation as on Saraday. Despite the frantic pace of work, I settle into it, working as hard as I can with each passing day. I learn, work, take care of Aria, and rush through my responsibilities at the orphanage with everything I have. Each day, I barely manage to make it home by the twelfth bell. On Hureday, John shows up in place of the usual messenger, carrying food and the next three doses of Aria's medicine.
He tells me that Eryk hired him and he's been working over at the refinery, not that there's much for him to do, just watching the customers coming into the shop. He also checks on Aria briefly so he can report on her condition, while I feed her lunch, and force her to take her medicine again. Once he leaves, it's back to work. Each day, Matthew is surprised and delighted with the hobins I bring. He praises me and pats my head, and as much as I hate to admit it, part of me likes the attention, just as much as the amazing food he makes out of them. Not that I would ever admit that to him.
The days pass one after another. Hureday, Firoday, and Nuvoday fly past. By the end of it, I finally feel like I'm starting to do better with the work at the bar. I don't mess up orders as much, I can wipe down tables quickly, I'm able to cut vegetables better too. I can remember lots of different parts about how to make good food, how flavors work, and how different ingredients can be combined. I can even recreate one or two of Matthew's recipes without much help.
The frequent trips to the well are easier, and I feel like I'm getting stronger than before. I'm starting to recognize some of the regular customers, and it feels like a lot more of them are praising me less jokingly and more genuinely as I rush around every day.
Then Shanaday finally arrives. Everyone meets up at the bar again, first thing in the morning, to bring Aria back to the doctor. Even Francis. I keep wiping down the tables and floors as they arrive. Eryk is last to show up, with John following behind. When he walks through the door, he looks around with a surprised expression. "This place looks completely different..." he comments.
"That would be thanks to this little one. Works like a girl possessed," Matthew laughs loudly while scratching at his mess of brown hair.
"Huh?" I look up at the comment. He's never mentioned anything like that to me before.
"Never seen anyone so motivated for anything," he adds. "I'm surprised she hasn't worked herself sick yet."
"And you just let her work like that?" Francis growls at him.
"I figured it would be a good lesson not to overwork herself," he puts his hands up to calm Francis, "but she hasn't faltered one bit." He shrugs. "If anything, she's just getting better the longer she goes. She's been bringing in a half dozen hobins every day too. I have no idea how she does it." Everyone looks over at me, seemingly looking for some response.
"W-well, I have been working as hard as I can, but..." I trail off, unsure of what to say. I had no idea he expected me to hold back. I thought I had to work as hard as I possibly could every single day just to get by! That's how it's always been before at least.
And it's not like I did it all on my own, I wouldn't have been able to keep it up without Aria's help hunting, or without the fire mana to keep me going. "It kind of feels like I'm cheating..." I lower my head and admit. "It's not like I could have done everything myself. There's not enough time in the day."
"You... had help? From whom?" Eryk asks.
I nod. "I can't talk about it, but I had help with hunting. And... Aria helped me to keep going, no matter how hard the work was." I know I wouldn't have made it without the fire mana.
"Hmm..." Eryk rubs his chin, but doesn't comment any more, on either part.
"Either way, you've been a big help around here," Matthew smiles again and leans over the counter to pat my head. I close my eyes, letting him praise me happily. It's been so long since an adult praised me... After a few long moments, he speaks again. "Now that the week's up, what do you say I hire you for real?" My eyes fly open.
"F-for real?" A real job? With real pay? My words stick in my throat. He would do that for me? Well, he did just say that I've been really helpful. But enough to actually hire me? Not just as a favor to Francis? I open my mouth to accept immediately, but Eryk suddenly thumps me on the head with his fist. I flinch away at the impact. It's not exactly painful, but... "What was that for?!" I suddenly shout at him. Everyone, Eryk included, takes a half step back. I wince, a spike of pain in my head from trying to pull back the anger that suddenly flared up far stronger than it should have. I'm not used to controlling the effects of fire mana like I am with earth. Once I've forced it down, I shake my head back and forth to clear any lingering thoughts. "Sorry about that. Why did you do that?" I ask in a more neutral tone. Eryk must have had a reason for it, right?
After clearing his throat a little, he responds, "I know you're still young, but you have to think things through better. Do you even know how much you would earn as a bar hand?"
"No..." I mumble. As I thought, he had a really good point... He looks over at Matthew.
"Usual pay is about four or five coppers per day." My eyes go wide. I immediately understand the point Eryk was making.
"Aria told me that half of your income goes to the orphanage," Eryk points out. "Now Emily, how much do you make each day in the forest? Before the orphanage takes half?"
I speak hesitantly, since I already know he's right. On a bad day, we might catch five hobins. On a good day, it could be more like twelve or thirteen, with other animals like rechits sometimes. "It varies each day, but about... ten to thirty coppers, before splitting it up." Everyone except Eryk stares at me, dumbfounded. I understand completely. If it was me from before, making five coppers per week, then making that much per day would be unbelievable. But... hunting the way Aria taught me, I make so much more money, even a real job can't compare.
I stare hard at the floor. I want to work here. I've always dreamed of getting a real job. But... it just doesn't make sense. There isn't any benefit in it. Not to mention, if I worked here, I wouldn't be able to go to the forest with Aria anymore. She wouldn't have anyone to help dress the animals she catches, and I wouldn't be able to keep up with all of her discoveries. The more I think about it, the less sense it makes for me to work here.
But... I still want to. I can't help the tears that fill my eyes. But I can't cry now. I stare at the floor, shoulders shaking as I clench my fists. This last week has been full of the hardest, most exhausting days of my life. But at the same time, I loved every bit of it. Matthew has taught me so much about how he runs the bar. All of the cooking and cleaning and customer service involved. It's only been a week and it feels like there are an endless number of things left to learn. But more than that, I've had the best food of my entire life here, and I actually understand why it was so good now. If I could just learn and practice more, I think I could make food like it myself. I've been learning so much, every day is full of new discoveries.
But the pay just isn't enough.
Without warning, a hand comes to rest gently this time, patting my head. I look up, and it's Eryk again. With a small smirk, he begins to speak. "Like I said, you're still young and short sighted. You have to look further ahead. Think about your future more. Working in a bar is worse than hunting in the forest, right? But what will you do when you become an adult? Consider the different possible paths. Will you keep hunting like you do now? I won't deny it, with that level of income, it wouldn't be a bad occupation. But you have to consider that alongside other factors as well. What are you good at, and what do you want to do? Make sure to keep those in mind, and think about this: If hunting is better than working in a bar, what is better than hunting?"
"Umm..." I try to think about it. Some job that would pay more than hunting? Wouldn't a high class job, like at shops in the central district be the ones to look at? But I can't get a job like that, I don't have any connections. So there are no jobs like that I could get. I lower my gaze to the floor again and shake my head. "I can't think of anything..."
"How about I give you a hint then?" Eryk sighs disappointedly. "Matthew, how much do you make here?" When Eryk asks that, I look back up at Matthew, who is frowning at Eryk. Is it rude to ask about how much money people make, even among the higher classes? He glances over, meeting my eyes briefly, then suddenly chuckles and smirks.
"More than thirty coppers," Matthew responds. The way he says it, I finally get it.
Seeing the look on my face, Eryk explains. "That's exactly it. If you want to make more money, you have to own something. You can't just work at a job, you have to build a business. Think long term. Chasing the money day by day won't get you any closer. Even if the money you earn hunting is a lot compared to some jobs, does it offer any path forward in your future? Does it meet your own goals? Does it use your skills? These are the things you have to consider."
"You don't have to worry too much about it though," Matthew says, like he's trying to take the pressure off. "You're still young, you have time to figure these things out."
"Not that much time," Eryk contradicts him with a worried tone.
"What do you mean?" I ask, looking back and forth between them. I still have eight years before I'm an adult. Isn't that a really long time? And normally apprenticeships only start at ten anyway.
"Think about when you'll receive another job offer. Given your position, this might be the only one. That's why I told you to consider your options carefully. You don't want to run into a job without thinking it through, but you also don't want to ignore it, since it might be your only chance," Eryk explains sternly. I gulp a little and nod. He's right, I never expected to have a chance to get a job, not unless Mister Fredricson sells me one day.
So, this offer from Matthew really could be my only chance to get a real job. "That said, it is just a job as a bar hand," he suddenly goes on. "You also need to think about what you plan to get out of a job. Since the pay is clearly inferior to hunting, what would your own personal goals be, if you were to take the job?"
"Learning to cook." The words leave my mouth before I even realize it. Everyone stops. Even Eryk looks surprised by the instant response. I'm surprised.
"So it looks like you do have a goal in mind." Eryk gets back on track. "Keep that in mind, weigh what you want to achieve. The pay now and in the future, and your personal goals, and you will reach your answer."
"And like I said, I don't want to pressure you. You can take your time deciding," Matthew comes in again to try and calm things down. "Only working a few days a week would be fine too."
I blink a little, my mouth falling open. Not working every day is an option?! I repeat the thought aloud. "I wouldn't need to work every day? I could work here and go to the forest?"
"A-aren't you doing that already?" Matthew chuckles a little.
"W-well, that's different," I wave my hands when I realize we're back on a dangerous topic.
"You did say she was bringing six hobins a day." Eryk rubs his chin. "Meaning you've been catching at least a dozen? Even while working here all day?"
I look to the side, unable to meet their gazes. "Like I said, I had help. I can't talk about it."
"Hmm..." I can feel him staring at me. "I suppose so, I never did meet Maven." Hearing him suddenly say that name makes me flinch. He raises an eyebrow. I open and close my mouth repeatedly, but have no idea what to say. How did he even hear that name? Did Aria mention it? But there's no way she would! "Is... something wrong?" He asks. "You mentioned Maven helping you hunt when you came to my shop, didn't you? I don't suppose that was supposed to be secret? I don't see why though..." He thinks aloud. We mentioned that in his shop? I can't really remember too well. If we did, we definitely didn't expect him to hear it!
"Hey Emily, Maven is..." Francis speaks up for the first time in a little while, looking over at me. He thinks for a bit, before clearly remembering something. "Oh." That's all he says, immediately looking away again. When did Francis meet Maven? I feel like I'm missing a lot here. But either way, we can't tell anyone about that, it's way too weird!
Eryk looks back and forth between us, but just sighs and shrugs his shoulders. He probably thinks it's part of the secret we won't tell him about, though that's not really true. It's really just part of what Aria has learned about mana, but it's definitely the strangest, most scary part. The way she described it, it was like turning Maven into herself? Even if I don't quite understand what that means, it sends a shiver up my back just thinking about it. It's easier to just think of it like taming an animal...
"Getting back on topic..." Matthew brings us all back. "It's pretty common for woman to only work so many days a month so they can take care of their families and all." He scratches his chin at the thought. "Not exactly applicable at your age, but who cares? You should have time to go, play, and be a kid." He gives a little shrug. "What do you say about working Arcadays, Saradays, and Firodays? We can work things out more later, just think about it while you're out today."
"Sure, I'll think hard about it." Then I turn to Eryk. "Thank you for all of the advice. I'll make sure to keep everything in mind and really think things through the best I can."
"That's what I like to hear," he grins. "And now that we've settled that, time to get Aria to the doctor." The way he completely switches to the next topic catches me off guard, and it takes a few moments to follow.
This story has been taken without authorization. Report any sightings.
"R-right. Let's do that." I nod and we all head into the back. Just in case, I go into Aria's room with just Francis and close the door for a little privacy.
As soon as I close the door, Francis grabs my shoulder lightly to stop me, then leans in close. "I talked to Frank. It seems that she told him she was blessed by Reena with magic-like powers?" He speaks in a near whisper, even with the door closed. That's right, I realize. This is the first time we've been alone to actually talk about anything. He raises an eyebrow, questioning the claim silently.
I whisper back, "Oh, something like that did happen. It's a whole story, but basically she did get blessed by Reena. I'll have to tell you about it if we ever have enough time." But everyone is waiting outside, so I have to move on. "She said it makes a good excuse if she needs to explain her powers to people. I guess she used that excuse with Frank."
"Blessed by Reena?" he stares down at her sleeping face. "Yeah, definitely tell me about that later." With that short conversation finished, we move on.
I start by rousing Aria and asking how she feels. I continue to speak quietly, just in case.
"I'm getting a lot better," she says.
"Do you think you can get by with a smaller amount of earth mana?" I ask. My main concern is whether we can take her back to the orphanage or not. If not, we'll need to ask Matthew to let her stay longer, which will be really awkward after that whole conversation we just had... I stare at the floor, blushing just at the thought of it.
"I think I should be fine." Aria nods her head a little. I let out a relieved sigh. "Thanks for worrying about me so much, Emily," she says with a smile.
"No, I, uhh, well, I..." I stammer, waving my hands. That's not what I was sighing about, but I really was super worried about her this whole time. She just giggles in response, and I decide to drop it.
"How low do you think you can go? Will it be enough to talk to Mister Fredricson?"
"Hehe, it'll be fine, I can just tell him everything." I put a hand to my forehead and sigh.
"Start converting as much back as you can, then try answering that again later," I say flatly.
"Sure." Surprisingly, the goofy smile drops from her face within moments. How did she do that so fast? It used to take most of a day to convert so much earth mana. When I ask, she simply explains what she figured out.
"If I just toss it into my mana well, it'll convert back right away. It's really useful!"
"I see..." I mutter. I understand that about as well as I understand most of what she's told me, but I'll keep it in mind anyway. "So how low can you go, safely?"
"Hmm, it feels like about twenty five percent. I'm starting to feel kind of bad though, so I'll probably need to make some more eventually."
"And that's low enough to talk to Mister Fredricson?"
"Yeah. It's a little high, but I should be able to control myself with this much," she answers confidently.
"Good, good..." I sigh thankfully. "We're going to take you back to the doctor now, ok?"
"Sure. But can I have more earth mana, at least until we get back to the orphanage?" Aria asks with a small frown.
"Of course!" Just seeing her frown after all of this suddenly makes my heart hurt. I grab the nurvite and iron for her. Surprisingly, she lifts her arm a little as I bring it over.
"You can move your arm already?" I ask, astonished.
"Just a little. I can still feel where my bones haven't completely healed, so they would probably break if I tried to do anything. But I can move them a bit now." I nod a few times at her explanation while touching the metal to her cheek. It's one of the only exposed parts of her body since most everything else is covered in bandages...
Aria takes a couple deep breaths, her eyes glazing over and her smile returning. "I only went to eighty percent this time. I should at least be able to hold onto a little bit of my sense like this. Thinking it's a good idea to be honest with Mister Fredricson is terrifying..." she mutters.
"It is..." I agree. After a moment, I push on. "Everyone's waiting, let's get going." She nods her head a bit. I guess she can move her neck a little too. For now, she goes back to sleep. Francis picks her up while I get the basket with her stuff, and we leave the room. John grabs the basket, then without any further discussion, we all get going.
----------------------------------------
The trip down into the central district is quick, with John carrying me this time so they can all go at their fast adult pace. Since no one has much to say, I spend the time thinking over what Matthew said. With or without Aria there, I really love working at the bar. Every part of it is a lot of work, but it's exciting somehow. But most of all is the cooking. I never realized I liked food so much before. Probably because I could hardly remember what good food was supposed to taste like. That answer I gave earlier, I didn't even think about it at all, it was just automatic.
I want to cook. How do I bring that in line with the other things Eryk told me to consider? The pay now, compared to the pay later. The pay now is really low, at least compared to hunting. But I can work in a bar. I can cook and clean and learn how to do all these things I wouldn't be able to otherwise. Once I get good enough, would I make more money? How?
I gulp a little when I remember. He said that if I want to make more money, I have to own something. All at once, the faces go through my mind. Eryk, Minarike, Gremory, Taylor. They all own businesses. They have a lot more money and power than any of the workers under them. I can feel the realization sink in. Owners can surpass what a worker is capable of making on their own. Even the man who buys animals from us, or the ones that sell sewing supplies. Just thinking about the amount of money they make every day based on what I've spent there, it must be way more than a single employee at a store.
Like he said, I would need to own a business to make money like that. But how? If I wanted to make a business of my own, I would at least need to know enough and be skilled enough to run it. Which brings me right back to the bar. Working there, won't I learn all the things like cooking and cleaning that I need to know? I mean, even if I only just realized it myself, it's obvious that if I started a business, it would be a bar or restaurant, some sort of place where I could make food. I don't know what else I would need to know, but just learning to cook and how to run a bar would at least cover a lot of it, right?
That's what Eryk meant, wasn't it? If I work at the bar, what do I want to get out of it? Since it's not the money, it's the knowledge. By working at Matthew's bar, I would learn how to run my own shop, so that sometime in the future, I would be able to open my own store and make way more money, even more than hunting in the forest. It would take years of learning and practicing, making less than I might be able to otherwise.
So that's how looking at it long term comes in. It would all be working in preparation for the future. Working toward a goal, so that one day, I might have a better life than I do now.
I quietly consider all of this as we wind through the streets of the central district. The surrounding buildings are bigger and more well maintained than anything where we live. Some are painted, some have writing on them. A few have small, see through glass windows, or flowers around them. This would be the kind of life I might be able to achieve, wouldn't it?
Do I want to pursue it though? This is the hard part, isn't it? This is why Eryk was so forceful when he told me to think everything through as much as I can.
Do I really want to dedicate the next years of my life to attempting to reach a far off goal I never even realized existed before? Even if I try, can I reach it? Without status or connections, is it even possible for someone like me? I don't know...
The decision is so big, it's terrifying. Can I really decide this all on my own? Maybe I should talk to someone about it, see if there's any more advice they can give me? While I continue to worry, we arrive at the clinic. John sets me on the ground before we head inside. The lady at the front tells us the doctor is already waiting for us as soon as we walk through the door. Once more, Eryk carries her into the back while I follow along.
Entering the doctor's room in the back, my nervousness over being in such a high class place mixes with my worry over my future, and I just stand in a corner, trying not to stand out too much. Eryk sets Aria down on the table, then Beth removes her clothes and bandages.
"This... is..." Her voice draws me from my thoughts. I hesitantly edge forward a little while Beth stares down at Aria. Even Eryk has his mouth hanging open. I go up on my toes to get a better look and see pretty much what I expected. While still covered in tons of wounds, most of the burns, smaller cuts, and bruises have already vanished. She still looks badly injured, but it's incomparable to how she looked last week.
"She... really does heal fast, it would seem." Eryk blinks in wonder as he looks her over.
"This child really is special..." Beth mutters. "Are you sure she wasn't blessed by Baro or something? I've never seen anything like this before. Healing like this is..." she raises her hands with a vague gesture, but she can't even seem to find the words, and trails off.
"Well, normally I would recommend continued bed rest for a month or more until the broken bones heal, followed by no more than light exercise. But at the rate she's healing... I don't know." She gently runs her fingers down Aria's arm, squeezing a little bit at a time as she goes. "It feels like her bones aren't completely healed, but for all I know, another week or two and they'll be fine. Keep her off of her feet at least until they are healed completely so she doesn't re-injure herself. Could you bring her back in another week?" She keeps looking back and forth between Eryk and Aria as she speaks, like it's hard to even look away from her.
"Ok, I'll bring her back again. What are you going to do now?" Eryk asks.
"For now, I'll re-wrap the wounds. It looks like the effects of starvation and dehydration have been mostly reversed, so she's out of danger there. You should continue feeding her high nutrition meals to help her recovery... probably. Well, I'm sure it wouldn't hurt at least."
"Thank you, we'll do that," Eryk responds. Then the doctor starts to wrap clean bandages around the remaining wounds. While she is working carefully, I look over at Taylor, just sitting at his desk. Besides writing notes, he didn't really do much himself last time. I look back and forth between the two. Is Beth the doctor, but Taylor is the boss? Then why was she telling him what to do last week?
"U-umm..." I mumble nervously. Beth glances at me briefly, but continues working. "Miss Beth, you're a doctor, right?" I stare at the floor. Is this really a good time for me to be asking this? Why would she even talk to me?
"Yes, of course," she responds in a neutral tone. It feels like my thoughts are all mixed up. Of course she's a doctor, she told us that the last time we were here. She must make a lot of money as a doctor, right? I saw Eryk pay them so much money last time. But didn't Eryk say you need to start a business if you want to make more money? Then what about her, being a doctor instead?
"I was wondering... why is this the Taylor clinic if you're the doctor?"
"Emily!" Eryk snaps in a warning tone.
"No, it's fine," Beth cuts him off. "Taylor runs the business and I work as the doctor." Well yeah, that's what we've seen here. I still don't understand why though. And why is Eryk mad?
"But why? It doesn't fit what Eryk told me..." All this stuff about starting a business is too hard to understand!
"Well, I can't help it. Normally a woman can't be a doctor." I finally look up at her.
"They can't?" That's all I can say in response. Why can't women be doctors? The more I ask, the less I understand.
"It's a man's occupation," she shrugs a little while she works on Aria. But Beth is one, so how is it only an occupation for men? That's not fair!
"Does that mean..." I mutter, before Eryk cuts me off.
"Of course not, if you were facing a problem like that, I would have told you..." He runs a hand through his hair, like he's exasperated by all of my questions. I just nod a little, and sink back into my thoughts.
"If you want my advice, go for it." She suddenly speaks up once more.
"Huh?"
"If you have something you really want to do, go for it. Do whatever you have to, and achieve your goal. You'll regret it otherwise."
"Hey hey, you aren't exactly the best role model you know..." Eryk complains for some reason, which makes Beth chuckle darkly.
"Us girls have to do what we have to do." When she says it, she suddenly looks over at Taylor, who grins back awkwardly and scratches his head. It sounds like she has some amazing past. Even though I don't really understand everything she's talking about, I try to take her words to heart as well. Do what I want, try to reach my goals, or I'll regret it...
We don't really talk any more while the doctor finishes wrapping Aria's bandages. There are a lot up her arms and legs, but it's not as bad on her chest, there are only a few across her forehead. She still looks like she's in really bad shape, but it's not quite as bad as before, when she was wrapped basically head to toe in bandages. "All finished," she says as she leans back up from the table. "That's all for today. I didn't know how it would go, but she's healing better than I've ever seen. There probably isn't much need for worry as long as she continues like this."
"That's good to hear." Eryk nods. Beth goes and grabs Aria's clothes, starting to slide them back on.
"Remember to bring her again next week, alright?"
"Yeah. We'll see you again next week." Unlike last time, she even ties Aria's skirt on as she works, then Eryk picks her up from the table. Once he hands her off to Francis, he goes to the counter to pay. I watch nervously again. It looks like he only pays with a few iron coins this time though. I wonder why the price is so different? We leave the clinic, stopping in the street outside once more.
----------------------------------------
"Time to take her home, I guess." Eryk says with a worried look that's rare for him.
"Yeah, let's get going," Francis agrees, and we all start to walk. Though it doesn't take long before John scoops me up and carries me again so they can walk faster.
"Aria has another checkup next week," Eryk explains as we go. "It looks like she is healing incredibly quickly though, so there is no need to worry. Also, I've waited a week. I would like to discuss that particular topic you told me you would explain, Emily." I gulp a little. I told him I would tell him about mana so he wouldn't ask anyone else about it. I haven't forgotten even a little bit in the last week, I'm still scared of having to tell him. But I definitely have to do it so he doesn't go asking around on his own.
"Yeah, I'll tell you today. Once we get Aria home... I guess." I can't hide my nerves at all when I answer.
"I'd like to hear too, I haven't had a chance to talk to her much lately," Francis chimes in.
"Sure, I'd like you to hear too." He should know how mana works too, in case he ever needs to help her with it, like I have been lately. Though I'm still not sure how much detail I want to go into with Eryk. I might need to tell Francis the rest later, when it's just the two of us.
Adults are amazingly fast when they want to be. We go through the central plaza and turn up North Main street, making it all the way up to the orphanage again just as the third bell rings.
The... third bell?
I feel the blood drain from my face as I realize that I screwed up.
Just as we're approaching the front door, it opens up and children begin to pour out. Today's church day! I didn't even go last week, did I? I flail in John's arms to get him to put me down, and everyone starts looking at me. He quickly drops me when I start flailing, but almost loses his grip on the basket in the process.
The kids leaving the orphanage all slow down to look at our incredibly out of place group, standing right in the street outside the front door.
This is bad.