I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t nervous. Today was like the first actual day of my new life. Somehow, every first I had done once before was shockingly more nerve-racking the second time.

  “Identifications?” the town gatekeeper asked.

  “Certainly,” I said, handing my fake documents. I worked hard on them, so hopefully, they would pass. If they didn’t, my mission would be over long before it ever started.

  He stared for a moment. “Quite pretty, Alexis. What brings you to town?”

  “Hoping to get a job with the guild,” I said, smiling. That much was true.

  He handed me my identification papers back. Without them, I would have to pay a toll every time I entered and exited the main gate. That would be a hassle. “Maybe we can get a drink sometime. My treat?”

  “Oh my, such a flirt,” I said, blushing. “ Well, I am not against the idea, but maybe give me a chance to settle first?”

  “Okay. Where are you planning to stay?” he asked me.

  “This town has a shelter, yes?” I asked. In truth, I already knew it did and where it was. But I didn’t want him to know that.

  “Oh yeah! If you go down the main road, all the way down, and then turn right, it is in the back corner over by the gate wall,” he added.

  “Thank you! I appreciate the help,” I said as I bowed slightly.

  “Jackson! Stop flirting and get back to work,” a man from outside my view shouted.

  The guard, Jackson, turned towards the noise. “Yes sir,” before facing me again and gesturing to me to pass.

  I felt my cheek. Was I really pretty? I guess I knew I was, but it felt so different to see someone react like that. I glanced back at him and saw him blush. I should totally go on a date with him. But that could be regulated for later. Now, I need to focus. Getting a job was my primary focus. While I knew about the shelter, I had never been there before. So I should probably go there first.

  It took about thirty-five minutes to reach it. It was tucked in the back, far from all the city gates. The south gate, which I entered through, was the busiest as it led both to the forest and the main road. The east gate led to the noble district, and the west to the local farmlands. A cliff blocked the route north, so no gate was over there. That meant that the shelter was literally in the furthest corner it could be from anything besides farmer routes.

  Pfft, I should not be surprised; what society wants their helpless citizens to be visible. It was a sentiment that disgusted me, but I needed to push that feeling down. After all, right now, my life was good. No, it's better than good. Great!

  Outside the shelter was a woman in blue and white robes with light brown hair peeking through the gaps in her hood. She smiled softly while sweeping the area outside the entrance but stopped when she noticed me. “Hello, may I help you?”

  “I hope so,” I said. “I’m new to town and don’t have any money or a place to stay.”

  “Oh my. Yes. We can help with that. We offer a place to sleep and one meal per day. I wish it could be more, but funds are difficult to come by.”

  “One meal is more than enough for me. I eat rather small portions, but with any luck, I will be able to get a job as a guild receptionist soon enough,” I said.

  “Oh? You can read, write, and do math?” she asked.

  I nodded. “I’m not an expert at it, but I figured I could get better on the job.”

  She shook her head. “Oh no. The guild gets quite a few applicants. They tend to be a bit picky. I can help you with your study, but…”

  “But?” I asked.

  “Well, many of the girls here study for that position, so I ask that if you do get the job, you donate a small portion of your wages when you can manage.”

  I wore a big old grin. “I’d be delighted to do that. Can we check my ability now? I would love to see how close I am to being ready to apply.”

  “Quite motivated, hmm, I don’t see a reason not to,” she said as she offered me inside. First, she guided me to an immense hallway with many curtains spaced evenly. Though curtains would be a generous way to describe them, rags were more accurate.

  She moved one of the curtains to the side, and I noticed a cot, a bedpan, and a wooden box chained to the wall. It was barely big enough for me to lie down in. I guess this was the only type of room she offered.

  “This building used to be a prison. We removed the bars but couldn’t install proper doors, but the chest locks, so there is that,” she said. “So you should be able to store your belongings safely.”

  I bowed. “Thank you. I have nothing I need to store at the moment, though. Oh, by the way, I am-”

  Stolen content warning: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences.

  She raised her hand. “Let’s save introductions for a moment.”

  I chuckled. Okay, why not? She led me to an office building and pulled out a slate before writing something down and handing it to me.

  I glanced at the characters. Hmm… okay, wait. No… oh crap. Uhm. “Can you… my name is Darcy?” I said.

  “Nancy,” she said. “Close, but what about this word?” She pointed to the one word I skipped. “Understand.”

  Can you understand my name is Nancy? Got it. Well, I didn’t, but I was close. She wiped down the slate and handed me the chalk stick.

  This should be easier. I wrote, “my name is Alexis.”

  She read it. “Alexandra?” she asked.

  “What? No way! That.. that can’t be-”

  She giggled. “Just kidding, Alexis, right?”

  I calmed down a bit. “Ah! Why would you do that!”

  “Just a little teasing, but your skills aren’t bad. But not quite at the level of the guild. But maybe you can get there soon enough.” She stood up and opened a chest before taking out a rolled-up thing. I wasn’t sure what to call it, but she handed it to me.

  “What’s this?” I asked.

  “A wooden slip book. I make them during winter,” she said. “An old habit from my Drachenlict days.”

  “That’s a different country, right?” I asked. I knew it was a different country, but not much else. So this would be a good chance to learn.

  She nodded. “It’s to the southwest of here. It is the capital of demon hunters in the world, or so we like to say.”

  “Are you saying you're a demon hunter?” I asked. That could be bad.

  She giggled again. “Oh, heavens no. I can barely do any magic, but in Drachenlict, even commoners learn how to read and write. Otherwise,” she paused and took a large leather-bound book from her desk. “We wouldn’t be able to read the bible.”

  Well then. That might have to be a goal of mine. I bet tons of helpful information would be in there. “So, how does this book work?” I asked, holding the slip book.

  She unrolled it and pointed to the text. Interesting. It was essentially a bunch of wooden plates with etched letters, and then it looked like they were soaked with berry juice to give the indentations color. I am guessing ink was too expensive for this.

  “So, I can study with this in here?” I asked.

  “You can borrow it as long as you plan to be careful,” she said with a smile.

  “I’ll treat it like my own child,” I said.

  “Take the slate too,” she said. “I should get back to work; will you be okay on your own for a while?”

  I nodded and took my leave.

  The bed was pretty hard, and there was no place for me other than the bed. Being comfortable would be considered a stretch, but I could make do. I used my slate to make notes for myself. Not that I would keep them, but it was good practice.

  “One. Made it in town. Two. Ran into trouble with job. Three. Am working on it. Fourth, made a friend from D….” yeah, I didn’t even try to guess how to spell Drachenlict.

  I wiped the board clear. I tried reading the slip book. I thought it would be religious, but it seemed to be a child's story about the dangers of getting lost in the dark. Or I think. Many of the words were unfamiliar, so I wrote a list to ask Nancy about later.

  I didn’t want to bother her when she was being so nice. So, I thought I would take a walk around town before dinner. It would be useful to at least do a full once-over with my current appearance. That way, if anyone asked me something and I said something I shouldn’t know, I could say I learned it during this walk.

  This northeast corner was depressing. All the poorest people were nestled together. The shelter had space, apparently, but I guess during the day, at least most people would rather be outside. I couldn’t blame them. They were all staring at me too, with almost a look of contempt and curiosity in it.

  That too, made sense. My clothes looked clean, which was enough for me to stand out in this part of town. However, I wasn’t against standing out. It might help me later on. Though as crappy as the poor corner was, it was at least briefly short.

  The following district consisted mainly of craftsmen and other workers. Some glanced at me, probably wondering if I was a customer or was gonna ask to work. It was a tempting offer, but I would rather build up my skills for the job I was already shooting for. It was easy to be pigeonholeed by the first good job you get.

  The center of the town was where the food vendors would be selling crops and premade food. That was more a luxury for the crafters that, for whatever reason, didn’t or couldn’t pack a lunch. Or wealthy travelers, I supposed.

  “Oh hey!” a husky voice called out. I turned and saw Jackson with a half-eaten baked potato in his hand. “What brings you here?”

  “Just looking at the sights,” I said. “I plan to live here from now on, so gotta learn it eventually.”

  “You must have worked up an appetite,” he said. “Let me buy ya something. Whatcha want?” He gestured to the various stalls.

  I raised my finger to my lip. “Your boss was right; you are such a flirt.”

  “Is that a bad thing?” he asked.

  I let out a little giggle. “I suppose not.” I felt like I had begged his situation down at this point. Soldier, buying food definitely means no wife. So he was probably legitimately trying to court me as a wife. I had no plans of marrying anytime soon. I didn’t wanna mislead him. But I would be lying if I said I was against the idea of dating him for at least a little bit.

  I pointed towards the stall, where a man was stuffing various meat and veggies inside some uncooked dough that he had placed on a hot skillet to fry. It made for a nice way to hold it while eating it outside.

  “Nice pick,” he said, handing the man a coin. He took one of the ready-to-go meals and offered it to me. “Milady.”

  “Oh my. I’m not used to such treatment,” I said honestly. Though I could certainly get used to it. I took a bite, and the warmth filled my mouth. “Thank you.”

  “Ha, surely you kid. A fine lady such as yourself should have seen this treatment wherever you find yourself,” he said.

  Gah! My heart was racing. I took another bite to avoid replying as my face turned bright red.

  “Hehe, my charm is working?” he asked with a chuckle.

  I should probably take stuff like this slower. Ah, heck, why not. I leaned in and gave him a kiss on the cheek. Now it was his turn to blush bright red. I took another bite of the meal. Admittedly, it was a bit drier than I remembered, but the savory flavor was as good as ever.

  “Oh, hehe,” he said as he touched his cheek. “Oh, crap. Look at the time. I should get back. It was nice seeing you again.”

  I smiled. “Likewise.”

  With that, my second encounter with the guard Jackson had ended. Let’s see. I guess I could continue my walk around. The southern area of town was primarily residential. And the southwest was where the guilds were. That was where my knowledge ran out. West and northwest were richer areas of town.

  I decided exploring the places I was unfamiliar with wasn’t a bright idea on my first day back in town and decided to return to the shelter. The sight was quite a bit different as tons of women were walking around outside. I guess they all came back for dinner.

  Nancy saw me and waved me over. “Line for dinner is over here.”

  “It is okay; a guard I met bought me dinner. So I will be okay.”

  Her face turned glower. She came close to me and whispered. “He didn’t force himself on you, did he?”

  Oh damn. I hadn’t even thought of things that way. “No, no. He seemed nice.”

  She breathed a sigh of relief. “In the future, please let me or one of the girls here know when you plan to meet a boy. Just in case. Okay?”

  “Okay,” I said, smiling. I didn’t feel any sense of danger from Jackson, but I can definitely see how that would be good advice. I would do well to listen.

  “Are you sure you aren’t hungry? There will be no second chances later?” Nancy asked, making sure.

  I nodded. “I’ve never eaten very much,” I said, lying. I used to eat like a horse, but recently, I ate a shockingly low amount and was just fine. I planned to hold to that new standard. Especially given that the only reason I would be given no chance later was that all the girls here would finish everything. I’d rather none of that food wasted on me when they needed it much more.

  After dinner, a few of the girls did their cleaning duty. Apparently, there was a chore schedule, but I wouldn’t be added to it until next week. I hoped to get more studying in, but Nancy preferred after dinner to be more of a quiet time. It was dark outside, and shelter began abuzz with chatter in certain places. Other places were dead silent.

  I did wanna make friends with these women, but no need to rush. I decided I had done enough for one day. After all, I made it inside. I call that alone a pretty decent success. Tomorrow was going to be a big day after all, so it was best that I got rest where I could.