That night, Ruby told Lia everything about The Brown Hattery and the rest of her disaster of a morning.
“Maybe if they pulled their hat out of their ass for one, it wouldn’t be brown.” Lia roller her eyes at the half-expected outcome, crossing her arms.
Ruby smirked at the joke, enough to put her in good spirits again.
“I was actually thinking on looking for something more local.” Ruby said, having had her chance to think about her options on the way back.
“You think you’ll find someone around these parts? You?”
“Yeah, I mean, the fancy stores will not even give me the chance to speak, but here? My rep is the only problem.”
“You’re saying it like it’s barely a thing.”
“But it’s something I can argue about and it’s not tangible.”
“I don’t know what ‘tangible’ means, but sounds like someone has a battle plan.”
“Not a battle plan, just a normal plan.”
“Sounds like a battle plan to me.”
“How do you even differentiate between the two?”
Aurelia’s whole face went bright, a gleam in her eye.
That night, Ruby learned not to ask questions about plans to Aurelia unless she needed a pick-me-up.
When they went to sleep, Ruby couldn’t help but stare at the ceiling again. She still felt down about what happened with her brother, but there was purpose now in her life. She had a few goals in mind for the short and long term, which gave her some resemblance of energy.
She had been in this world for a bit now and still felt utterly overwhelmed, but now things were just a tad bit more bearable. Were things looking up? In some places at least, but there was still work to do. At this point in time, Ruby was already sure she had no way of going back to her previous life, this was her new reality, for better or worse.
Letting things go was hard, including the very little distant family, close friends, and commodities she was used to. It was, however, her chance to start over. It had taken her years to acquire the knowledge and level of skill she had now, always fighting in-between for a spot in the industry. Now? If she played her cards right, she could do so much more than she ever did in her previous life.
It was a golden opportunity, but at times like these, where everything seems so new and raw, it was difficult to see the silver lining.
Yet again, that night Ruby went to sleep trying to convince herself she could do it. She was made of sturdy stuff and could overcome this. She had to.
The next day and the days to come, she took things into her own hands and went to different stores, workshops and even a few farms, looking for a mentorship.
A mentorship was not something she needed in the same way other kids did. She was certain at the next winter’s solstice she was going to pull off a Class that was suitable for her goals. She was, however, worried that people were going to question and doubt her if she didn’t get a mentorship. This was basically the equivalent to looking for an internship, knowing that getting one could easily open doors for the future. Besides, she needed to know more about how things were done here.
It was a cultural tradition to get one, so she had to do it too or her reputation would plummet even further if it was even possible.
She walked the streets over and over, many a time getting lost in between the shady alleys of the lower city. However, unlike across the bridge, here she was able to actually speak. Sure, some store owners and whatnot kicked her out immediately when they recognized her, some women even going as far as to cover their children from her. But, Ruby talked. She argued and debated, trying her best at selling her skills to the best of her ability.
Some possible mentors heard her, but things went south quickly whenever they asked for a reference of character or something. The only people she knew that could vaguely vouch for her where Aurelia and Mrs. Sianna, but she still didn’t know much about Aurelia and Mrs. Sianna had known her for years as a savage walking red-flag, there was not a single chance she could get help from them.
Ruby didn’t give up though. She had to do this.
That’s why, after almost a week of searching, walking and pleading for a mentorship, she found someone willing to talk.
The Gilded Mirror was a clothing store hidden behind several dark passages and dingy half-constructed houses. In a street made of packed dirt and thick morning mist, a dark wooden sign showed the way to the secret store.
The wood of the store looked old and dusty, the light dim, and the fabrics inside gave vibes of being untouched for quite some time. They were not yellow at least, but that seemed to be because the sun didn’t seem to even touch the windows during the day.
The woman behind the main desk was a scraggly old woman of elf descent, yellow hair almost fully white now at this point in her life.
“You’re the future breaker around these parts, I’ve heard of you, girl. What are you doing in my store?”
“I’m pleased to meet you, I’m Ruby. I was wondering if by any chance you would be willing to take someone for a mentorship?” She completely ignored the woman’s comment, going straight to her business. There was no point in making a spectacle of herself in every single store by dodging the subject, might as well just be straight with it.
“And why would I do that?”
“Because while you’ve heard of me, no one has heard of your store. Certainly not I, and you know how rumors spread around these parts.”
The woman gave her a stern look, nose rising at her pride being put into question. Ruby, however, had her game face on.
“Well, it seems at least like the rumors had it right.”
“What thing?”
“That you’re no flower.”
“Is that a problem for your business?”
“Don’t test me, girl.”
“I’m sorry, Mrs. …?” She left the question hanging.
“You’re clever, I'll give you that. I like them like that, the wiry ones are always smart.”
That wasn’t a yes from her part though. She didn’t give a name either.
“So you think you can make clothes?”
“I’m fairly confident in my skills, to which I’m more than ready to show you if needed.”
“Oh, consider yourself an awakened, don’t you?”
“No such thing, just confident.”
The nameless old elf stared her down, analyzing her up and down. Almost a whole minute passed by before the older woman continued.
“I already have a girl to mentor, the girl has a desire to be a Seamstress.”
“And you think I don’t?”
“I see trouble with you.”
“I think what you see is adversity, but we both know opportunity doesn’t come without its own drawbacks.”
“Fancy words for a child.”
“Only until next year.”
She was getting tired. The back and forth wasn’t so bad in itself, but the woman was stoic and seemed like an iron wall, not willing to bend.
“I don’t think I would be really getting a fair deal out of teaching you.”
“You don’t have to pay me, just teach me.”
“I wasn’t planning on it, I just think my time is much more worth it, this store doesn’t run by itself. I’ve been the owner of this place for over a hundred years, you know? I know your kind.”
She wanted to be snarky, but held her own comments.
“Why do you think that? because of my reputation?”
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“Mostly, and because I don’t think you would know more than the basics. You’re an orphan, are you not, girl? I doubt you’ve been taught how most women need to be taught.”
“I did say I’m confident in my skills, right? I could show you.”
“You think your skill is enough to compensate for the trouble you bring? No, if anyone were to find out I’m mentoring you, half the town would go crazy.”
“Which is why you should do it.”
“Explain yourself, girl.”
Was this reverse psychology? She didn’t know exactly, but it seemed to be working. Whatever it takes to get a goddam mentorship.
“There’s an old saying where I’m from that goes ‘There’s no publicity that’s bad publicity’.” She couldn’t remember who was the first person to ever say that, but every single designer knew it was always valid to make a commotion in the media, even if it was for the wrong reasons. There were, after all, very few reasons that could really harm your brand.
This store didn’t seem more than a sinking ship, if people started to talk about her, the mentorship, and the store itself, it would at least bring a semblance of hope for this store to not die.
At her response, the woman started to look at the window; first time in the conversation where she avoided the human’s eyes. She was thinking, the gears in her mind slowly clicking as she realized what the girl had just said.
Then, her eyes shifted back towards Ruby.
“You can call me Opal. Opal Amakir, and I’ve been a Seamstress for over three hundred years, girl, so don’t ever test me.”
“Not even in my wildest dreams Mrs. Opal.”
“I’m still not taking you as my apprentice yet, don’t take that for granted.”
“I know, but my understanding is that you have something in mind?”
There had to be a reason why the old elf had taken so long to answer, she clearly had a battle plan on her mind.
“It’s always the wiry ones.” She asserted in an off-hand comment, more to herself than to add anything to the conversation while an old skinny finger pointed at her. “I have to say there’s at least one thing that’s been bothering since the moment you walked in.”
“Oh?” She couldn’t feign surprise, for she really wasn’t sure where she had messed up. Was it her looks again? The place was almost falling apart, but Opal kept holding herself as if the store was right in the middle of Alma plaza, just having a low number of customers at the moment.
“It’s the scarf, girl. I’ve been around this town for quite some time, and this is my first time seeing one like that. Who made it? Was it Clementine?”
This was it. This was Ruby’s bargaining chip. If she played it well, she could do this. After the whole Theo debacle, getting a mentorship would surely put her back again on Mrs. Sianna’s good graces.
Getting her confidence back, she answered truthfully.
“I made it, actually. I used some of the wool that was donated to the orphanage and knitted it on my own.”
“Don’t lie to me girl, for if it was Clementine who sent you here, you’ll leave this place at once.”
“No ma’am, you may even ask a Guard and fellow brothers and sisters if I’m telling the truth. I have made this with my own knowledge and hands.”
Opal crossed her arms, analyzing her again, though this time looking at her in a new light.
“So I see that you put your money where your mouth is. May I examine it more closely?”
“Be my guest.” She said, taking the scarlet scarf off and handing it to the older woman.
Ruby saw as the woman took the warm scarf, carefully tracing her fingers along the stitches and the whole pattern, clearly trying to decipher how such a young human girl had even made an item of such quality, considering that she was even unawakened.
After a long examination, the woman broke the silence.
“I must say I’m impressed at the craftsmanship of this scarf, even if it’s only a scarf. Good coin could come from a product like this.”
“Thank you, I tried my best.”
Opal went quiet again, but this time mostly because she seemed to be searching for words.
“I’ll strike you a deal then, girl.” She seemed to have come to a decision. “There’ll be a test first and foremost, as I need to see with my own eyes that you can, in fact, do the work I intend you to do.”
Ruby’s heart started to race. A test was nothing in comparison with what was at stake. Worst case scenario she would be asked to do some heavy lifting or make something with very crude and old tools, both of which sounded horrible but it wouldn’t matter because she would be getting a mentorship as a trade-off and that would help her in the long run.
She was about to answer her acceptance of the test, when Opal continued.
“And there’s also the fact that I hope to make and sell the scarves you make. If people are going to come, they might as well see the shiny and exclusive things we have for sale. You’ll be teaching the other girl how to make them too.” It was no longer a question, but an order. She would do it and that was the end of it.
Was Ruby a little scared of the old elf? Yes. Would she fight her decisions? Not in a million years if it put her chances at the mentorship in danger. She would do this.
It was only scarves after all.
----------------------------------------
Aurelia kept on waiting, the bruises on her left side still throbbing despite the fact they were days old. Maybe it was a Skill, or maybe pure skill – there was a difference – which made the pain last for so long.
From time to time she would have the same feeling rising inside of her, a tinge of desperation and hesitation, pushing her to just leave already and give up. Sadly for her own sake, she was too stubborn to really give up.
For the last two weeks she had been pushing her luck and waiting outside an old building. It was no random building though, as she knew for a fact it was the Blue Wings’ base.
The Blue Wings was a mercenary guild, as most of the guilds were, though mostly focused on adventuring and security within the city. The first week she spent making sure she knew it was their real base and trying to gather as much information as she could from them. Then, during the last awakening day, she made sure to know if they were actually recruiting.
That was why she had needed to get to the temple so early that day, as she needed to be sharp and identify if their scouts would actually approach the temple or not. That little bit of information could easily tell her if she had a chance or not of ever joining them.
Luckily for her, she had found him. It took time, but she was able to recognize the same beastkin who she had seen back at their base.
Now, however, came the real hard part.
For the last week she had been waiting and stopping their leader, Rain, every time she had the chance, though she wasn’t begging for a mentorship nor asking for one directly. No, she was literally just jumping at the guy.
Whenever the blue-haired beastkin stepped outside the base of the Blue Wings, she would immediately go for him. She tried jumping from the roof, waiting in the alley next to their base, hiding inside a crate, and even just staying right next to the door. Every single time the man walked out, she attacked with everything she had.
Rain was going easy on her, she knew. Hell, everyone knew, but that didn’t matter.
Aurelia had something to prove, and if she was going to get a mentorship from the Blue Wings, she was going to give everything she had and earn her place. She was not like Layla, who probably lifted her skirt or something to get a mage to teach her. No, she could do this on her own and with no help.
There was, after all, only one thing she had in the world. Only one and she was certain that was all she needed. Maybe the rest would never understand, but she knew Rain would. He had to.
It took time. More than other days at least.
She was sure now that the Blue Wings had gone out on a mission that morning and were resting, now that the job was over. Rain was probably annoyed at having to deal with her again, and was just biding his time.
Or, hopefully, he didn’t know she was there, as he slowly started to step out.
“Tits up Lia, time to do this.” She thought to herself, watching the guy’s every move.
Rain poked his head out, his eyes wandering to both sides, looking for traces of the dog-beastkin who had been fighting him every time he took a step out of his base.
After a pause and hearing nothing, he found no traces and quickly stepped out, hearing laughter from inside the little building.
“Oh shut up already, she gave up, so that’s done. See? She wasn’t-”
Before he even finished that sentence, the window’s latch on the neighboring house quickly opened and nimbly came out Aurelia. The old human easily bribed with her own breakfast of the day for her chance to just wait inside his house for this opportunity.
Aurelia flew towards his back in complete silence, pouncing more like a cat than a dog, but she held her fist back and flung it towards the blue-feathered beastkin.
Time seemed to slow, as her shadow fell over the man’s back, fist slowly approaching.
Rain was in the middle of his sentence, but his eyes reacted by mere instinct and they had zeroed-in on the unawakened in a split second.
By the time Aurelia’s punch arrived, the man was no longer there. The lack of target made her react as well, immediately trying to guard her side, as she had been taught the bad way what it meant to not protect herself.
She felt fortunate for reacting in time, because by the time her feet touched the ground, her whole body was being pushed to the side and towards another house by a lightning-fast punch.
Dust rose around her as she collided with the wall, but she didn’t linger and got up, immediately running towards the guy.
“Fucking guilders and their monstruous strength.” She thought, feeling her arms pulse in pain after blocking.
Rain was waiting with a serious face on him this time, the whole laughter and joy façade he had had when being around his guildmates was completely gone. Instead, he was just waiting, the blue feathers adorning his hair rustling in the wind.
Aurelia ran with all her might, but just a few feet away from him she jumped, going for a punch directly to his head.
The bird man didn’t move from his place and lifted his right arm to block the punch, easy to read as all the encounters he had had with her so far. Everything changed, however, when Aurelia’s fist opened to reveal a cloud of dirt she hastily threw at his wide-eyed face.
Flying through the air and with the guy’s arm extended, she took the chance and instead of punching him, grabbed him by the arm and quickly twisted, using all of her weight to break his balance and throw him to the ground.
That was the idea at least, if it wasn’t because Rain was a man of experience and used to movements like these.
As he was being forced to spin in the air, he used his other winged left arm to stop some of the momentum and regain his balance mid-air, landing on his own feet and quickly reversing the twist on Aurelia with a quick spin.
Not being prepared for her own plan to back-fire, she was sent flying against the same wall from before, never expecting him to use the same grip against her. She collided once more, sprawling now against the floor.
Her mind was spinning.
She couldn’t help but feel her fists get tighter, seeing him stare at her before walking away as she tried to gather herself.
She tried to muster strength to try one more time, to show she had the resolve. She really tried, using her hands and back to let the wall help her get steadier, but her legs felt numb.
“C-come on, I can do this! Come on legs!” She was convincing herself, slowly rising, her mind thinking of a new plan on how to approach the guy.
“Come on!!” She yelled in rage.
Suddenly, her knees buckled, making her butt hit the ground once more.
Aurelia’s eyes became watery, anger rising at her own weakness.
“I’LL COME BACK TOMORROW YOU BASTARD!!”
Was all she could scream, letting the defeat sink in. Her sleeves dried her eyes as she tried to let the ire go down, recomposing herself fast as she watched him go.
This wouldn’t be the end of it. She could do this.