The next morning was cool enough for Nuliyaa to grab her warmer littiichangs before she followed Cheeyt onto the street. “Nuttulch and Saknuu are not joining us?” she asked.
“No. They both want Miyt to spoil them as she does.” She eyed Nuliyaa. “Why are you so…dressed?”
“The mage academies will pay us more deference if they believe we have means,” Nuliyaa answered. She had even dug into Tseetsaa’s clothing to ensure she wore enough shiny jewelry to convince the administrative offices of their supposed importance. She wore her other shop tunic, a brooch in her littiichangs, and a wrist cuff. She had adorned her hair with a couple of carved wooden pins. Nuliyaa had no doubt her sister would shriek at her when they returned home later.
“I see.” Cheeyt fell to silence as she led the way out of their neighborhood and into the wakening river dock district.
Nuliyaa waved and greeted the people they passed, keeping the admonishments she wanted to give her sister under her tongue. Did Cheeyt not realize these people could potentially send business her way?
“Where are we going first?” she asked after a few minutes of walking.
“The Guild office.”
“You want to start your company soon, then?”
The barest hint of a hesitation. “Yes.”
Oh, her sister was most definitely hiding something.
“Have you given any thought to how you’ll differentiate yourself from the other companies? The Guild will expect you to have some idea of how you will operate.”
“I’m aware,” Cheeyt snapped.
They walked another few minutes in silence before Cheeyt said, “I think I will start with escorting single clients.” Her voice was hesitant, as though she expected Nuliyaa to laugh or argue.
Their relationship had strained the older they’d gotten, but Nuliyaa would not do that to her sister. Even if Cheeyt believed a service mindset extended no further than not voicing her opinions on a customer’s wants.
Cheeyt’s voice firmed as she continued, as though the more she thought about her plans, the more certain of them she was. “Young people going off to schools or apprenticeships, those visiting family, jobs like that.”
“That sounds like a good start.” They would be people of some means looking for security in their travels, but not wealthy or important enough to need a larger company.
Her sister’s manners were lacking, but she did seem to be good at her job. Nuttulch and Saknuu had often commented that Cheeyt had the best sense of direction of their company, and usually was right when she warned them of weather changes or rough roads. Not in a mage talent way. More from being the only one who paid attention and didn’t assume they could get blunder their way through problems.
But what was Cheeyt hiding? Nuliyaa narrowed her eyes. Did Cheeyt need to borrow money from her? That wasn’t likely. Cheeyt would have prepared a full speech on how she planned to use the money, when she would expect to repay the family, and how her plans would benefit the family in the future. She wouldn’t have hesitated to speak to Nuliyaa
Though Nuliyaa could see Cheeyt coming home to find out Nuliyaa was unemployed and now be looking for another way to finance her company.
They walked and walked, and Nuliyaa understood why Cheeyt had pushed to leave so early. The Guarding Guild office was further away than Nuliyaa remembered. And the further they walked, the more time they spent pushing through people out making early deliveries and opening their shops.
The building took up the junction between two roads. A bronze sign mounted into one of the double doors at the building’s front proclaimed the building the “Guild of Wayfarers, Escorting, and Guards.” Nuliyaa wondered if anyone had ever tried to come up with a more clever name.
Cheeyt muscled open one side of the double doors. “Do they expect an attack?” Nuliyaa murmured to her as she passed. The door was for an office, not a fortress.
A round desk stood in the middle of the entry hall. The woman seated behind it smirked at Cheeyt. “I wasn’t expecting to see you after your row with Supyuunch.”
What row?
Cheeyt scowled at the woman. “I have come to check on my company application.”
The woman laughed. “Oh, Cheeyt, you know you only have to wait a couple more days and Supyuunch will be begging you to come back. With a higher cut to apologize.”
Come back? Nuliyaa stared at her sister’s back.
“I’m not going back. I’m starting my own company.”
“Is this your first client?” the woman asked, eyeing Nuliyaa. She lowered her voice, but not enough to keep Nuliyaa from hearing, “Or have you bedded your way into some funding?”
Nuliyaa sighed. As fun as it was to find out just what her sister had been hiding, this woman was embarrassing herself. “I am her sister,” she said.
“Oh.” The woman shrugged. Apparently she didn’t find her own behavior embarrassing.
“Well, here is the application.” The woman pulled a scroll from under the desk.
“I submitted my application two months ago,” Cheeyt said. She looked as though she were holding herself back from dragging the woman over the desk. “I had a notice in my box yesterday that it had been processed.”
“Oh? Hm.” Pulling a book over, the woman began flipping back through the entries. “Shocking, that. This is the busy season where everyone thinks they want to start a company. Weather is nice. People will be going places and needing escorting. Usually takes longer than a couple of months to hear back from Administration.”
If only the woman would stop talking.
“Look at that! Here you are.” The woman jotted a note down on another book and pointed down a hall with her quill. “Go to Office B. I’ll let them know you’re here.”
“Thank you,” Cheeyt bit out before turning on her heel and walking the way they’d been pointed. Nuliyaa hurried to catch up.
“What did she mean by ‘begging you to come back?’” Nuliyaa asked once they were enclosed in the office. She sat on one of the cushions around the low table that took up the center of the room. Cheeyt remained standing, looking like she’d rather be pacing up and down the hallway.
Cheeyt froze. She spun away, seemed to realize there was nowhere to go, and turned back. “I quit the company,” she said after a moment.
“And you didn’t think that was something we should know?”
“There was too much going on yesterday for me to tell all of you!”
“Oh, certainly you could have snuck it in after I admitted I had been let go.”
Stolen from its rightful place, this narrative is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.
“I didn’t want Miyt to worry. To have both incomes go away in a single day?”
“What you mean to say is, you didn’t want to admit what you had done until you could show up with your earnings from your company so you wouldn’t have to feel guilty for your choice.”
“That is unfair.”
“And true!”
We stared at each other. Then the door latch rattled and a man pushed into the room. He was leathered with age, though he moved as though it barely bothered him. As far as Nuliyaa knew, this guild’s members didn’t move into administration until they could no longer handle jobs. What had brought him in from the road?
Then she saw his hands. They were gnarled into claws. Her own fingers twinged with sympathy, though she doubted some stiffness from holding a quill too long compared to what he dealt with.
“Yuunuusi Larpuu, thank you for meeting with me,” Cheeyt said as she finally took a seat on one of the cushions.
He gently set some papers down on the table and carefully lowered himself to another cushion. “You are welcome, Cheeyt Etskaau. It is good to see someone of your years taking on leadership, instead of one of the youngsters barely a year into membership.”
Nuliyaa did some quick addition in her head. Cheeyt had joined the guild at seventeen. She had over fifteen years of membership.She was almost ancient among their people.
“Let me introduce you to my sister, Nuliyaa.”
The elder turned his attention to Nuliyaa. “You are the sister who sells jewelry, yes?”
“I am, Yuunuusi. I was not aware Cheeyt shared much about her family.”
“She is proud of her family,” Yuunuusi Larpuu replied. Nuliyaa fought the smirk off of her face. Oh, was she?
Yuunuusi Larpuu turned back to Cheeyt and motioned toward Nuliyaa. “You show your wisdom by including your sister in your business dealings.”
Cheeyt’s expression went blank. “Nuliyaa will not be involved in my company. She is not trained in guarding.”
He watched Cheeyt for a moment, then nodded. “I see.” He placed the papers on the table but kept them close. “Before we begin, I will tell you how these young people gain their guild recognition for their companies.”
Nuliyaa felt more than saw Cheeyt stiffen. She realized what his words meant, too, then.
“They hire business managers and more experienced seconds-in-command. Those business managers fill out their applications with words that are very appealing to a Guild that earns a percentage of what their member companies charge for services. Those who bring in more money are always welcome. Those seconds tell the business managers what words to use to reassure the Guild the company has the experience.” He shook his head, face almost mournful. “The applications of those who truly have more experience do not look as appealing without the mathematics.”
“I don’t need a more experienced second-in-command. The Guild will make more money from me because I don’t need to keep so many people employed.”
“Yes.” He spread out the papers before him. Those must be part of the application Cheeyt had submitted. “You do have an impressive plan for utilizing your resources on different types of jobs.”
She slumped. “But it isn’t enough for the Guild’s approval.”
This was an opportunity, and Yuunuusi Larpuu had laid out a stone-paved trail toward approval for Cheeyt. Had she not realized that he was guiding her toward it?
Nuliyaa smiled the smile she reserved for the wealthiest of the jewelry shop’s customers. “Cheeyt misspoke earlier,” she said. “Of course I do not have the experience as a guard, but as I am acting as the business manager you described, that is unnecessary.”
As soon as the words were out of her mouth, Nuliyaa realized just how much she wanted them to be true. She had spent most of her life listening to Cheeyt’s stories of the places she had traveled to, everything that she had seen. Cheeyt spoke languages outside of Keeylish. She had tasted foods not available to Nuliyaa even though their city was trade hub. She knew what other people valued, how they celebrated, and who they worshiped.
Nuliyaa very much wanted to see those things herself.
“Nuliyaa,” Cheeyt whispered with a strangled voice.
“Ah,” Luunuusi Larpuu said. He pushed the papers toward Nuliyaa. “Cheeyt did not add your name to the application. An oversight, of course.”
“This decision was recently made.” Nuliyaa scanned the papers. “Do you have a quill available? I want to update a few items. Cheeyt realized having a business manager would enable her to take on more jobs.” Nuliyaa didn’t even need to consider additional jobs to increase the expected earnings Cheeyt had written in. Cheeyt must have based it on her own earnings, not considering that her cut had been just that: a small percentage of the total paid by the customer.
Nuliyaa passed the papers back to Luunuusi Larpuu. As he read, her sister stared at her as though she was considering using the dagger on her belt against her own flesh and blood.
“Yes, yes, these numbers are far more favorable.” He took the quill back and looked up expectantly. “Will you hire a mage?”
“Of course. We are on our way to the academies now to post our listing.” “Our” listing now instead of “Cheeyt’s.” Nuliyaa felt her customer smile edge more into a true grin.
He removed a stamp and pad from a pouch at his waist. “With these updates, I am able to grant your company provisional status. After favorable reports from your first three jobs, you will earn full status.”
“Thank you, Luunuusi Larpuu,” both sisters said.
Luunuusi Larpuu stamped the first page of the application, then pulled a square stone plate from his pouch. He laid the stone on the top half of the paper, murmured a spell, than ran the stone up and down all three pages. “Arm, please,” he said to Cheeyt.
She held out her arm and he laid the stone on her forearm over the Guild stamp she already carried. Light flashed from the stone and Luunuusi Larpuu lifted it away. The stamp had changed from the single shield that marked Cheeyt as a member of the Guild to the three overlapping shields of company ownership.
Nuliyaa held out her own arm eagerly. “You are not a member of the Jewelers’ Guild?” Luunuusi Larpuu asked at the sight of her bare skin.
“No,” Nuliyaa answered. “I have no training in jewelry making. I have always worked in the shop.”
“May your knowledge guide your sister and yourself into prosperity.” He laid the stone on her arm.
The light flashed and she had to stop herself from yanking away. What she felt wasn’t painful, exactly, but it was certainly uncomfortable. Like the itch of poorly-woven cloth.
Luunuusi Larpuu lifted the stone, then rolled up the application before placing both items in his pouch. “Congratulations,” he said. “I will keep you no longer. I know you have much to do.”
“Thank you, Luunuusi.” They bowed, then left the room, then the building, in silence.
“You have lost your job, and so now you steal my company?” Cheeyt demanded when they were away from the Guild’s building.
“There would be no company without me! What were you planning to do when he rejected your application? Immediately go to Supyuunch to beg to get your job back?”
Cheeyt was silent for several angry strides. “You know nothing about guarding. What are you planning to do, smile prettily at people when they try to stab you?”
“You need someone to help you find work and manage the business! Your job is to stop the stabbing.”
“People will target you! You’ll put our customers in danger!”
“Were you planning on being able to do it all yourself?”
Cheeyt growled. “You’re just trying to steal my business because you couldn’t take Maltangku’s.”
Nuliyaa stopped so suddenly that the person behind her rammed into her, then cursed her in what sounded like three different languages as they moved around her still form. “Fine, then. I’ll just go back to the Guild and tell them to remove my name from the application. Do you think they’ll let you keep the company?”
Cheeyt stopped and dragged her hands over her face. People snapped at them angrily as they avoided the women. “My work is serious, Nuliyaa. You cannot just come in and think you can take over when you don’t know what you’re doing.”
Nuliyaa grabbed her arm and dragged her toward a small square where a few tables and benches had been set up between two rows of vendors setting wares out on blankets. She chose a bench and sat. “I never imagined I would get the mark and be able to do what you do. And I am not without protection. Jewelry shops are always at risk, so I bought a few charms from mages. I can purchase more.”
“Which will use up more of our money.”
“If we are able to hire a decent mage, charms will be a part of their duties.”
“So now we have to find a mage who can defend our customers and make charms? I’m assuming mages charge more the more they can do.”
“Yes, most likely. But Cheeyt.” Nuliyaa slid closer. “I know people, people who will be interested in working with us.” She paused, suddenly feeling small. “Or do you just not want to work with me?”
Cheeyt closed her eyes. “If I must have a business manager,” she said slowly, “then there is no one else I trust my company with more. You are my sister.” She sighed. “And you are probably at least half as a good as you think you are.”
Nuliyaa grinned.
“But what about Miyt and Tseetsaa?” Cheeyt asked. “We cannot both be gone for weeks at a time.”
Nuliyaa’s grin melted. It wasn’t as though she had forgotten her mother and sister. But Cheeyt was correct that they couldn’t leave the rest of their family alone.
“What do you propose they do, then?” Cheeyt asked.
Nuliyaa sighed. “This would be much easier if Tseetsaa would go ahead and choose some man to marry.”
Cheeyt’s lip curled just a little. “Yes. If that’s what she wants so much, why not just pick one?”
“Every man in our neighborhood is boring, it seems.” Nuliyaa stood and stretched. They had already done far more walking than she usually did in a day.
“It isn’t that I disagree with her,” Cheeyt said. “I just happen to think that about all men.”
“Now if Nuttulch were to grow breasts,” Nuliyaa taunted.
Cheeyt pressed her fingers against her eyes. “Oh, why did you do that to me? I don’t need that image in my head!”
With a wrinkled nose, Nuliyaa said, “Yes, true, that does not need to be out in the world. Let’s forget about it by getting to the mages’ academy before the line becomes too long.”