Newly Broke Heroine!

Ch. 10: License to Print Money

No. No. Not that one. Not cute enough. Too revealing. Too flirty–wait, isn't that the same as too revealing?

Fiona frowned and looked at her closet that slowly faded to darkness; the arcane light had automatically dimmed out, because she'd been standing still for too long. She waved her arms lazily while she contemplated a suit for today and the light clicked back on, and Tucker rubbed at her ankle, meowing softly.

She considered her options: she had the long black jacket and the white blouse shirt–it was plain, but professional, which is what she needed to carry the appearance of today. Except, for that cute green tie that she'd procured for the earlier outfit, and it did work nicely against the black vest and white blouse shirt.

"Mrooow." Tucker rubbed against her calf again, and more than subtly bumped her. She bent down a little to scratch his back, where he arched his spine in response.

"You booger, I know, I'll make a choice as soon as I can. Choosing an outfit is hard!" The cat responded by leaping up onto the storage shelf just above her head, and walked over to a box filled with a couple of sets of older boots. The cat peered down with a flicker of amusement, and Fiona's ears laid back a bit.

"Don't you dare. I see that look, cat! It's like a universal thing, all cats knock stuff over when they're bored!" She accused the feline, who peered at her with a glint of amusement in his eyes. Tucker immediately patted the box off the shelf with a nudge of his head and a thrust of his paws, and Fiona had to catch the box with a quick swerve. Tucker started purring as he peered down from his perch.

She gave the feline a silent glare, before going back to matching her outfits. Long black stretchy leggings would finish the look, and she quickly got dressed.

"Man Tucker, even as I lament the lack of TV, and YouTube, or even radio, this place is kind of nice," she said a short time later. A quick trip to the kitchen resulted in her snagging a slice of freshly baked bread that Granny had dropped off, and she applied some fresh blackberry jam. She dove in and enjoyed that ever so slightly sourdough flavor of the bread, and the sweetness of the berries and let out a dedicated sound of delight. "Mmm. This beats processed crap, though! I've probably never been in better health!"

"Moooow." Tucker made his commentary known from his seat she'd pulled up for him, at the small table for two. She slid him the other treat that Granny had brought, a tin of salted fish. He squawked in joy and instantly dug in.

"Yes, and you're welcome, goober cat!" She assured as she gave him a quick pat while he devoured the treat. "Mommy dearie has to go get some work done, I'll be back soon!"

The palace wasn't the only major municipal building that was in the city, and she went downtown past bustling citizens of all types. A few elven kids played tag as they breezed by her, along the full clanking of mechanized carts in the main lane. Horses still had their place, as the carts seemed to be a tad unreliable at times, and people were slow to change. She felt like it was the transition of horse-drawn carriages to the early days of automobiles, just a little bit. And magical horses could pull heavier stuff than one might believe.

One thing she realized she'd been taking for granted: the lack of smog, pollution, and cars honking was a delight to her. No more having to beat rush hour traffic, when she could just walk there! If she needed long-distance travel, she could just get a ride with Bonnie, who had a cart with pet oxen she kept at a local stable. Or a teleport pad to the other major towns, since that was the primary means of long-distance or critical travel. Mages had it easy! Bonnie said something about it being a utility class.

She guessed that they called careers classes around here? Every time someone asked her what her class was, she shrugged and said 'monster slayer', and everyone just nodded like it was the natural state of things.