"She can work the kitchens and I'll work the rooms."

Leila turns, horrified, amused, pissed, and there's the woman with the copper hair. She's not wringing or scrubbing her hands with a towel and she's not wearing thick skirts. The woman is wearing what Leila instinctively knows is tin rings, her hair pinned up and oiled, burning like molten copper, cheeks flushed with blush, and, most scandalous of all, her ankles are showing!

Leila's not sure whether she has any grounds to be indignant or not. She wanted work. She's working in the kitchens. She learned the name of the place, got food and money, if they actually pay her, and then she remembers that the barrel gets emptied once a week. This isn't stable pay.

"You made this sound like a real job not a one off!" Leila shouts at "Layla" as the copperhead rolls her eyes.

"You wanted a job, I gave you one," Layla drones, unimpressed.

"I wanted steady work!" Leila shouts, defiant, heartbroken, and embarrassed.

"Yeah, well, you didn't say that," Layla huffs before turning and wandering off.

Before Leila can try to find footing the angry lady comes back with a bundle of fabrics on one upturned palm, and a tankard gripped firmly in her other hand. On top of the bundle is a small pile of dented reddish brown coins, and a one inch wooden tile strung on a piece of cord by a hole in its corner. The woman offers Leila the tankard first and then starts in when Leila hesitantly accepts it.

"We've got all the help we need in the kitchens what with the girls, but none of them's willing or smart enough to get off into the woods without going into hysterics, so, if you're still looking for work, we can use you on the farm," the woman says, gesturing for Leila to drink. "That'll settle your nerves what with all the confusion and excitement. Sorry about Layla. She's lazy but she brings them in and turns them out. You got any problem with half bloods?"

Leila had just taken a drink of what she can only describe as pulpy kombucha and the question takes her by surprise. She doesn't know what a half blood is or how anyone knows if someone is unless it's really obvious, and she's not much for appearances. Either the woman senses her confusion or gets tired of the long silence as Leila tries to figure out what she's talking about because she sighs and continues.

"If you hadn't seen any out in the woods I'm not sure how long you'll last given how blind you are..."

"If you mean the people that look like wolves and birds, I saw them, but they weren't on the path to the farm so I just kept walking," Leila says defensively. "They didn't bother me and I let them be."

The older woman's eyebrows shoot up in surprise and she looks at Leila with a bit more respect and consideration. A lopsided smile makes an appearance and Leila flushes in embarrassment because she thinks the lady's remembering that she thought the brothel was a restaurant.

"You'll do just fine," the woman says, retrieving the tankard that Leila doesn't remember draining and passing over the clothing and copper coins. "You make sure to dress proper now. If you need to mend your clothes or clean them we've got plenty of girls that can do it until we're sure you're not just gonna get the needles or thread cursed." The woman looks her over, this time in a more friendly appraising manner. "When you get to the farm look for a half-troll named Jek. He's a mighty fine singer but people are afraid of him on account of him being half-troll. You be polite, you hear?"

"Ma'am..."

Leila eyes the older woman in suspicion as she wanders off. All this talk about work and no talk about pay or compensation? Although to be fair, she did pay her the coppers she earned for what was apparently a life or death trip through some enchanted forest to a potentially cursed farm. She really needs to get back to the others. Not only is the work not simple but she's got some intel they might want to hear.

Leila tucks the coins into her coin purse, is given meat, bread, cheese, and sliced onions in a sack when she asks if she can have her meal to go, then slams down another "ale" versus carrying the tankard around with her. Thus fortified she power walks in the direction of the wreckage. She doesn't make it halfway across the street before she hears Nick boasting loudly behind her. She turns in confusion and eventually spots the braggart wearing a poorly fitting, but still very fine, waist coat on top of his rags, some shiny potentially leather shoes with metal decorative "buckle", and a very limp bow tied at his collar. She stumbles over, trying to figure out if he really did spend all of his money, before seeing the others also dressed much better than before.

"What'd you guys get up to?" Leila asks, looking between Ashley, resplendent in what appears to be a thick, white, cotton nightgown, Serah in boiled leather, and AErin dressed like a visiting professor with pants that don't quite reach his ankles and sleeves that don't quite reach his wrists.

"Some noble came by and added us to his household," Ashley says casually, still smiling beatifically.

"Like a guild? That's great! Where are we staying?" Leila asks, looking between everyone and wondering what her class is.

"Oh, ho! Not so fast," Nick says, nose in the air and Leila knows she's going to regret not punching him immediately. "We can't just invite any common riffraff into our prestigious community! Surely we care only for the cream of the crop!"

Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

"Dude, we all agreed that we're all in this together," Leila rolls her eyes at him, turning away to see AErin looking sympathetic, Serah looking shook, and Ashley still gloriously high.

"We didn't mention you because we weren't sure if they'd take us in," AErin says with a completely insincere look of remorse. "We're imposing enough as it is to get training for the four of us..."

"Three," Ashley says, finally focusing on the group. "I'm going to be teaching."

"It's still a terrible imposition on the glorious personage of Lord Venril," Nick says haughtily. "Besides... You appear to have done quite well in getting employed in menial tasks."

"Great. Then I can work in his kitchens and get trained with the rest of you," Leila says, already knowing the answer.*

"Absolutely not!" Nick looks scandalized. "We can't have the good lord thinking we'd associate with such common miscreants as kitchen workers!"

"You mean the kitchen worker who got the job so that she could get food and information to share with everyone? Before they abandoned her to go live better lives?" Leila reminds them. "Dude, you found a guild and you're not gonna send me an invite?"

"You went off on your own to make your own money," Nick sputters while waving his hands at her theatrically.

"Because I thought we were all going to be working together to form a guild. Like always. I went off to do my part, you guys joined up on someone else, and no one tried to bring me in? And you're not gonna try to invite me?"

"I totally forgot to mention you, but it's because I thought we were going to tell him to send for you later!" Serah whispers, horrified, tears streaming down her face. "I'm so sorry."

"You're in the clear," Leila says to the tiny defender before turning to Ashley. "Let's go. What do you have to say for yourself?"

"Oh, no. This isn't my fault," Ashley looks surprised at the thought that she'd have to defend herself. "It's your curse. It totally makes sense and totally sucks..."

"What curse?" Leila asks, freezing as Ashley nods in agreement with something she hasn't said yet.

"I'm sorry but we don't have --," Nick cuts in boisterously before Leila turns on him with the sack of food outstretched.

"Shut the fuck up before I force feed you. And I'm not taking it out of the bag first," Leila maintains eye contact until Nick deflates before turning back to Ashley. "What was that about a curse?"

"Oh, yeah. It's pretty bad," Ashley continues nodding. "I'd totally help you if I could, but I'm only going to be teaching basic divination. That's more like master level."

"Well, can you teach me 'basic' divination so I can figure out my tablet?" Leila asks, raising the sack in Nick's direction without actually turning to face him and managing to cut him off before he does more than take a breath to fuel his next pretentious ramble.

"Oh, absolutely," Ashley says, shaking her head. "Just remember. Sticks and stones and crowns and thrones." Then she stops talking and just smiles happily.

"We best be going now," Nick says, jumping on the opportunity to leave once he sees that Leila is rage induced stun locked. "Places to see, things to do, you understand. Piddlepop, off we stop!"

"I fucking hate you," Leila murmurs, still stunned as she glares absently at the smug and fearful man.

Although her mind is a million miles away, Leila's body continues to pivot and follow Nick's progress as he tries to hurry the others on before she regains her senses. Once they're out of sight Leila just experiences extreme exhaustion. Now that updating everyone is no longer a concern or a priority she figures she may as well head back to the farm to find this "Jek" or "Jack" or whoever. She goes to throw her hands up in exasperation and starts when she realizes she still has the food sack. Then starts when she realizes she's holding her new clothes in her other hand. She finally gives up and just trudges back to the Red Top.

Passing through the front door, down the hall, through the dining room, into the kitchens then out the back door, Leila is greeted by some of the red tops who exchange pleasantries as they go about their business. No one stops to talk but she figures their open acknowledgement means she's officially employed. She sighs and follows the path, the walk that took nearly an hour with a barrel taking less time even though she's walking slower, dragging her feet but still intent on getting "settled" before nightfall.

"You must be the other Layla."

Leila screams, pulled from her reverie by a sonorous rumble that was soothing in its smoothness but terrifying in its abruptness. She looks up and sees a towering hulk with shaggy, ropy strands of seaweed like hair, egg yolk yellow glowing eyes, and long arms that were nearly the length of its entire body. She laughs, relieved, when she realizes that she hadn't strayed off the path and to her death and had managed to auto walk to the farm despite having been their only once.

"Sorry," she apologizes, hand to her chest while gesturing to her head. "Was lost in thought for a bit. You startled me, but I really should have been paying attention." She sighs, instantly in a better mood. "You must be... Jake, was it?"

"Jek..." he says while looking down at her in wide-eyed concern. "Are you okay?"

"Oh, just a bit of a falling out with my friends," she laughs humourlously.

"Yeah, no... I'm not used to people screaming when they hear my voice then calming when they see me..." He pauses thoughtfully. "Yeah, pretty sure it's always been the other way around."

"This feels like a setup up," Leila says suspiciously, wondering what the punchline will be, and hoping it's not a literal punch. "But they scream when they see you do what?"

"Beg pardon?" Jek asks, eyebrow raised in disbelief.

"You said they scream when they see you and I was wondering what you were usually doing when they saw you that made them scream," Leila says, rolling her hands to let him know that she's ready for the punchline.

"Do I look human to you?" he asks and she wonders what she did to offend him.

"I've never seen a human with yellow glowing eyes, or quite as tall as you, no," Leila says, wondering how to apologize for something she's not aware of. Yet.

"Well, some people scream when they see people that aren't human," Jek says slowly and emphatically and Leila wonders why they're mocking her.

"For what purpose?" Leila knows she's missing the punchline, but she for the life of her can't figure it out.

"Because they're afraid they'll get hurt," Jek says, throwing his hands up in frustration.

"Well, that's stupid," Leila scoffs. "Humans hurt humans more than anything else ever has, I'm almost positive. You think they'd scream because they saw another human."

Jek stares at her and she waits for him to laugh. She still doesn't get the joke and she wonders if he has to blink because he did before but he's not now. Maybe he fell asleep.

"Um. Well, then." He blinks, his eyes darting away before refocusing on her. Like she's a threat. To him. "Let's get you settled in, shall we? Welcome to Hermit Farms."