Alice and her dragons weren't interrupted for the rest of the night.

In the dawn of a new day, Alice took stock of what she had. She knew they weren't safe in this room, despite the locked door. If the intruders returned with lock-picking tools or conducted a more thorough search, she would be in trouble. She needed a plan.

She sensed that Prim was on the verge of leveling up. Alice had occasionally reached that threshold under her old General Laborer class whenever she was about to advance a skill, and when she focused on Prim, she felt the same way. Like she was balanced on the edge of a cliff.

Perhaps laying an egg had given her a lot of experience.

Once everyone was awake, Numi had another copper coin for breakfast. Prim curiously watched the green dragon egg, but thankfully made no request for a coin, content with actual food.

Then Alice had Prim scout the area under her Concealment skill.

The dragon reported back shortly. "I looked up and down the street, and I didn't see those men anywhere. But there are fresh foot tracks below in the dust on the first floor. I think someone was there during the night. It could have been the men or someone else looking to get out of the cold."

"Either way, we need to leave." Alice straightened her work smock and brushed off stray dust as best she could. Her best shot at avoiding notice was to make it look like she was on an errand for a household. Although this task was typically reserved for specialized classes like Maids, a lower-income household with only a few servants might be desperate enough to send someone untrained such as a General Laborer out.

Alice separated the pile of coins in half, taking the silver and several coppers for herself and giving the valuable gold to Numi.

Then she stared in dismay at the little green dragon. "You don't have a Concealment skill. What am I going to do with you?"

"I'm still very good at hiding," Numi said. "And your sleeves are very big." The little dragon scuttled up Alice's leg like a lizard, into her shirt, and tucked herself into Alice’s right sleeve.

It caused the sleeve to sag a little oddly, and Numi's hot scales pressed against the bottom of her arm, but it would do as a hiding place for now.

From inside the sleeve, Numi piped up, "The cracks in the roads are deep. Once you're outside, bend down and pretend to tie your shoe. I'll travel the cracks and look for more delicious coins."

Alice bit her lip. "Are you sure?"

"Yes, I want to find all the coins," the little dragon said enthusiastically.

Well, Alice could imagine the dragon scuttling in and out of the cracks in the streets. In this part of town, the cracks within the cobblestone streets ran deep, and it wasn't like anybody would be bending down to press their eyes on them.

"Okay," she said, glancing at Prim who immediately understood and went to the window. Alice headed for the door.

Outside the building, the streets were bustling with people, including House Servants, Merchants, and specialized workers like Bricklayers, Dockworkers, and Harvesters from various classes. There were apprentices and journeymen Merchants, Carters, Traders, and all kinds of people in between.

The higher-skilled classes and craft masters were nowhere to be seen. They sent their lower workers out to do their bidding.

Alice tried to stay out of everyone's way, keeping to the side of the road. Although some people glanced at her, they weren't interested and just read her identity tag before looking away.

Occasionally, she caught glimpses of Prim flying overhead, which looked like a bird if she didn't focus too much.

As planned, Alice slowly made her way down the street and pretended to bend down as if to tie her shoe. Numi then slipped out of her sleeve and into the wide cracks between streets and sidewalk, scuttling quickly from one crack to another when necessary. Whenever Alice caught a glimpse of the little green dragon, her heart skipped a beat.

People were too busy with their day and didn't seem to pay attention to their feet. Alice spotted quite a few rats in the darkness and figured it was better not to look too closely, herself.

Alice had a vague sense of where Numi was, and although she could not pinpoint her exact location, she knew the general direction and distance. They were connected.

Because she's an aspect of my class, Alice reminded herself. She had been She of Many Dragons for just over a week and a half now, and it was finally settling in what that meant.

During her slow stroll, Alice stopped at a food stall that was serving morning pastries. The prices were much more reasonable that morning compared to last night. She had been taken for a fool by the meat pie seller.

A case of content theft: this narrative is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.

She paid only a quarter of a copper for two pastries, and suspected that was still a high price because the pastries were very rich indeed; fluffy with a thick coating of icing on top. The treat was almost too sugary for her taste, but she nibbled on it anyway and made sure to wrap the second pastry in a bit of wax paper for Prim.

While casually chewing, she spotted a stall that was hung with bright bolts of fabric. An old memory hit her of looking through such things and reaching out to feel the fabric between her fingers. She had been quickly chased away from the stall as a child because she was too young to have a class, and surely could not pay for it.

Well, they will not be chasing me away again, she thought, an odd feeling hitting her that was close to rebellion. I have money now, and I have a good class, even if no one can see it.

Alice strode up to the booth. The merchant behind the booth looked interested as she approached, until the moment she obviously read Alice's tag.

"Mind you don't get any fingerprints on the fabric, or I'll be reporting to your employer," she warned.

"Of course," Alice replied. Then, on a whim, she added, "I'm on an errand for my mistress."

"Is that so?" The woman looked skeptical.

Alice met the woman's eyes without flinching. After all, she was the friend of two dragons. Despite her impulse to shrug and make an excuse to leave, she calmly replied, "I need simple clothes for a simple woman. Nothing too expensive. My mistress wants to save some coin."

"What size?" the woman asked automatically.

Alice thought for a moment. "My height, but a bit heavier. She's recovering from her third child."

The clothes were for Alice, of course, but she wanted them to be a bit larger on her skinny frame, in hopes that she could hide Prim or Numi in a pinch.

"She's looking for a good deal," Alice added, cocking her head to the side meaningfully.

"Oh, a copper pincher. Hard times indeed," the woman replied, relaxing a bit and seeming more friendly. She must have assumed that Alice's family was struggling financially. They must be to send only a General Laborer out for their shopping.

The Merchant led Alice to a table displaying sturdier denim fabrics. Alice selected two shirts and a simple skirt that would cover her ankles and had deep pockets. Each shirt cost twenty copper and the skirt was priced at a half silver or fifty copper, but Alice considered it a worthwhile investment because the clothing was of better quality than what she was currently wearing and brand-new. The first brand-new clothing she’d ever owned.

After paying the fee with her last silver, she carefully took the nicely wrapped clothing and ducked into a narrow alley to change, making sure not to let any of her new fabric touch the filth on the ground.

While Alice was changing, she heard a piping voice interrupt her. Numi scuttled out of a crack in the brickwork. Her stomach was round and tight again.

"Alice, I found many coppers and one more silver," the little dragon said, looking happy.

Alice smiled at her and said, "Good work. Now, please give me the gold coin."

She heard a fluttering sound from overhead and saw something out of the corner of her eye that she thought might be a pigeon, but she soon realized was Prim.

She was glad to see her. Alice had often wondered if Prim had a deeper understanding of Alice's new class than she let on. "Prim, do you know if I need to keep my General Laborer tag?"

Prim cocked her head and replied, "Do you want to show yourself as She of Many Dragons?"

"No, no," Alice said, nervously giggling. "That would be disastrous. Most people think that dragons are beasts who eat cities, so that wouldn’t be a good idea. No, I want to change my tag to something else. Do you think I can?”

"I don't know," Prim said.

That wasn't a definitive "no”. Curious.

Alice accessed her profile sheet.

She concentrated on the hidden tag, and to her surprise and delight, a new option appeared. She could choose from several tags:

Available Hidden Classes:

* General Laborer

* Streetwalker

* Apprentice Cook

* Apprentice Merchant

* Maid

* Thief

Alice was taken aback. Why would anyone opt for "Streetwalker" or "Thief’ tags?

The rest appeared to be starting classes. Also, this was a greater variety than she ever thought would be possible. What should she pick?

Prim suddenly squawked. Alice almost shushed her, but then she realized it was a warning.

Alice ducked behind a trashcan just in time to hear the sound of heavy footsteps coming down the alleyway.

As she dared to peek an eye around, she saw that one of the men’s tags was that generic Worker again. Were they the same men, or different ones?

The men were speaking to each other in low tones, but she was too far away to catch the words.

It sounded like a business transaction, and then after a few minutes, one walked away, then the other. Alice looked up at Prim, who was clinging behind some piping leading down from the roof.

The little dragon bobbed her head, indicating that it was safe now. Alice let out a breath and straightened up, brushing off her new clothing.

That did it. She needed to change her visible class. If the Workers were reading people's tags and didn't look too closely at Alice, dressed in new clothing, maybe they wouldn’t recognize her from last night.

But why did she need to be on the streets at all? She looked down at the gold coin Numi had given her, still clutched in her hand.

"What should we do now, Alice?" Prim asked.

Numi just watched her with her bugged-out eyes. They depended on her, and she on them.

Alice took a deep breath to settle her racing heart. She had been leaning toward the Maid tag because it would be work close to what she knew.

However, maybe it was the adrenaline from her close call, but she felt like she needed to take a risk right now.

"Ladies," she said softly, "I think we need to live like one of the rich folks."

She changed her visible tag to Apprentice Merchant.