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Ellowwood Town Center, Melinda's Cafe

Approximately 5PM

YTD 334, 21st day of the 10th month

-

The bedroom door opened to Zoey’s room. A petite, blonde girl shuffled in, tired from the day’s events. She stood just under 5 feet, with a shoulder length mop of untidy hair.

Zoey had been working down in the cafe earlier for her caretaker. From between giving people their orders to having to partially restock the storeroom, she was just glad for her shift to be done.

Relieved to have the day to herself, the eighteen-year-old strode over to the chest by her bed, pulling it open and grabbing a folded pile of clothes and putting in onto the bed. In a flurry of activity Zoey threw off her aged green work dress, and all it’s associated clothing.

If she was going to enjoy her afternoon, she certainly wasn’t going to do it in her work clothes.

The outfit on the bed before her, is what Zoey called her “evening wear”. While it was certainly newer than aforementioned dress, it still had that simplistic tailoring to it. It was flashier in colors and was meant to be rugged. If anything, the fancy part of it was a double layer petticoat; it made her look nice but was appropriate for her tussling about.

And for working for Melinda at a $1 a day, it would’ve taken her a whole month to save up for it; even more if Zoey had to pay her board. Thankfully, a benefactor had been giving her work to do odd jobs for him. He had written her earlier today with details to another job, which she’d look over upon getting out and about.

It didn’t take long for her to get dressed into her new getup. A deep violet-blue blouse, striped stockings, a burgundy apron and a brown sleeveless pullover dress, fashioned out of a rugged material. The petticoat didn’t shape out as most Talmeron dresses, but it gave her great mobility in exchange.

Zoey huffed out a breath of air, still remembering a haughty girl who told her she “didn’t belong in regular society because her dress wasn’t wide enough.” She very well should’ve chucked an apple at her, but she didn’t want to go to jail, or pay a fine.

Putting some of her belongings into her apron pockets, the blonde walked over to the window over a walled courtyard, pushing the window open.

“Well Ms. Colossal Hoopskirt, see if your clothes allow you to do this,” she smirked.

Perching on the windowsill, Zoey reached out and grabbed a large metal pipe to the right, heaving herself to grab it before shimmying down into the courtyard. The grass was overgrown and had some of those annoying weeds which the seeds would pop out upon touching, sending quite a few scattering in different directions. Zoey didn’t bother to hike her skirts and walked through knee-high grass, finally arriving to the wall and clambering onto that.

Once her head was over, she could catch sight of the Ellowwood street, with this townspeople going back and forth. There was a sidewalk next to her, and a plum tree nearby.

Zoey hefted herself to sit on the wall, leaning against the building and letting one leg hang down into the courtyard. She let her skirts drape down and even ride back up past her knees just a little, opting to be more comfortable from her secluded vantage point.

The smells of the cafe had gotten to her, wondering why she didn’t lounge around there instead. Oh yes, she couldn’t sit like this here. Or worse, she’d have to wonder what people thought of her. At least up here, she had a small sliver to the world herself.

She reclined for several moments, watching the sunlight filter through the leaves and tall clouds up above. Despite the cloud cover, one could spot the Ring hanging in the sky.

I guess I should see what he wants me to do, huh?

Zoey fumbled into her pocket for the letter, along with a smuggled pecan shortbread cookie and a piece of cheese. Munching on the cheese first, she opened up the letter to see what this side job entailed.

Zoey,

I trust that this letter finds you well. Per our conversation regarding the Book of Aquarius, I would like you to retrieve it from the Goddess mission outside of Ellowwood, towards the southwest. The one on the hill, you should know about it.

The catch is you will need to use discretion and take it out of either the Head Priestess’ library, or from their library vault. Not to worry, this is something regarding the priestess running the mission, who refuses to let valuable books be removed off the premises.

I know you may be apprehensive about this, so I am doubling your fee to $20. It will be awaiting you upon it’s delivery.

Zoey felt herself become stiff and apprehensive. She never had an issue taking something, but from the Church? And to actually steal something of value? She was rightly suspicious about this. However the money was 3 weeks of pay if she stuck here. New clothes, better food, perhaps even a ticket to go to another town. It was hard not to ignore that.

And the book in question was supposed to be priceless. Why would Abel hire her to nab this for him? Did something change, or did his morals take a shift? She didn’t quite trust the man, but his work paid well. After all, most of his money had bought Zoey her bed and the outfit she was wearing.

As she started to think about what kind of obstacles she would encounter, Zoey became aware of someone poking and tugging at her skirts.

“To think someone carelessly leaves clothing laying around these days. Pity.”

“Indeed. And such good quality, too.”

Zoey looked down to see two older women poking at her clothes that had draped off the wall, apparently not noticing it was being worn. They had wide-brimmed hats and patterned day dresses. One was definitely from the town, looking a bit more refined.

She scowled as they continued, before clearing her throat.

“Can I help you with something?”

The women snapped back then looked upwards, letting out small exclamations in shock.

“Oh my, there is a girl attached to this. I was about to say it had a irresponsible owner! It’s certainly a fine dress, miss.”

The refined lady had a more smug look on her face, being less curious than her companion.

“I’d hardly call it fine, it’s a mish-mash of colors. Those stockings make her look like a clown. And the audacity to sit on this wall like a rural girl from the east-“

“Now Claire,” the other woman began.

“And PINK bloomers? You certainly are trying to make a spectacle of yourself. You petticoated hussy! No amount of quality skirts can hide that attitude. You short, frumpy-haired....Ugh!”

The woman had worked herself into a fit. Zoey would’ve laughed if she hadn’t called her a name, but they were here now, weren’t they? Even her friend was shocked, hand to her mouth.

“And how am I different from those lovely fall festival girls that dance?Are you going to say the same things about you or your friends? You’re just mad because you’re so stuck up to be this carefree.”

Zoey took an indifferent bite out of her cheese. Unfortunately, that made the woman even more mad.

“Why you-“

She lunged towards Zoey and grabbed her skirts, trying to yank her off the wall.

The petite rascal was a bit too slow to avoid this, with cookie and cheese in lap. However once realizing what was going on, took action. Giving the calmer woman a salute, she intentionally slipped off the wall back into the courtyard. She could feel the woman still hanging on, actually keeping her skirts pinned up and not letting her reach the ground.

Rolling her eyes, Zoey stowed her items and gave her skirts a good yank. She could hear a yell as they fell free back to her own person. The woman was now yelling incoherent phrases at her, ranging from “broom hair” to “yellowish green kicker”. None of it made sense as she was becoming unhinged.

Zoey made a quick exit, grabbing onto the pipe and quickly making it back into her bedroom. As she flopped to the floor to catch her breath, her cheeks burned red with anger. She was going to get that book for $20, and she was going to not worry about what some lady thought about the way she sat around.

Going back to her chest while consuming what remained of her food, she grabbed her lockpick set and a pocketknife. There was also a small pouch of climbing chalk and a tiny box of matches. That should be enough.

“If I’ll be there after dark, I guess I’ll use one of the lights they have. Although, they should keep the place pretty well lit.”

With a flick of her hair, Zoey steeled herself for the evening’s events. Here was to hoping Melinda wasn’t asking about her anytime soon.

-

I finally have gotten around to getting Chapter 1 of Zoey's tale! My life's become busy as of recent, and I've had some things going on the first part of the year holding back my art. Hopefully I'll get back on track now. Unfortunately I have a lot less free time right now, and can basically only draw on weekends.

Other pieces in this series:

Infiltrating the Mission Library

Avoiding a Roving Priestess Patrol
Escaping into the River
Catching a Breather
A Stolen Book and a Priestess at Home
Different Shoes for a Day

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Description

Ellowwood Town Center, Melinda's Cafe

Approximately 5PM

YTD 334, 21st day of the 10th month

-

The bedroom door opened to Zoey’s room. A petite, blonde girl shuffled in, tired from the day’s events. She stood just under 5 feet, with a shoulder length mop of untidy hair.

Zoey had been working down in the cafe earlier for her caretaker. From between giving people their orders to having to partially restock the storeroom, she was just glad for her shift to be done.

Relieved to have the day to herself, the eighteen-year-old strode over to the chest by her bed, pulling it open and grabbing a folded pile of clothes and putting in onto the bed. In a flurry of activity Zoey threw off her aged green work dress, and all it’s associated clothing.

If she was going to enjoy her afternoon, she certainly wasn’t going to do it in her work clothes.

The outfit on the bed before her, is what Zoey called her “evening wear”. While it was certainly newer than aforementioned dress, it still had that simplistic tailoring to it. It was flashier in colors and was meant to be rugged. If anything, the fancy part of it was a double layer petticoat; it made her look nice but was appropriate for her tussling about.

And for working for Melinda at a $1 a day, it would’ve taken her a whole month to save up for it; even more if Zoey had to pay her board. Thankfully, a benefactor had been giving her work to do odd jobs for him. He had written her earlier today with details to another job, which she’d look over upon getting out and about.

It didn’t take long for her to get dressed into her new getup. A deep violet-blue blouse, striped stockings, a burgundy apron and a brown sleeveless pullover dress, fashioned out of a rugged material. The petticoat didn’t shape out as most Talmeron dresses, but it gave her great mobility in exchange.

Zoey huffed out a breath of air, still remembering a haughty girl who told her she “didn’t belong in regular society because her dress wasn’t wide enough.” She very well should’ve chucked an apple at her, but she didn’t want to go to jail, or pay a fine.

Putting some of her belongings into her apron pockets, the blonde walked over to the window over a walled courtyard, pushing the window open.

“Well Ms. Colossal Hoopskirt, see if your clothes allow you to do this,” she smirked.

Perching on the windowsill, Zoey reached out and grabbed a large metal pipe to the right, heaving herself to grab it before shimmying down into the courtyard. The grass was overgrown and had some of those annoying weeds which the seeds would pop out upon touching, sending quite a few scattering in different directions. Zoey didn’t bother to hike her skirts and walked through knee-high grass, finally arriving to the wall and clambering onto that.

Once her head was over, she could catch sight of the Ellowwood street, with this townspeople going back and forth. There was a sidewalk next to her, and a plum tree nearby.

Zoey hefted herself to sit on the wall, leaning against the building and letting one leg hang down into the courtyard. She let her skirts drape down and even ride back up past her knees just a little, opting to be more comfortable from her secluded vantage point.

The smells of the cafe had gotten to her, wondering why she didn’t lounge around there instead. Oh yes, she couldn’t sit like this here. Or worse, she’d have to wonder what people thought of her. At least up here, she had a small sliver to the world herself.

She reclined for several moments, watching the sunlight filter through the leaves and tall clouds up above. Despite the cloud cover, one could spot the Ring hanging in the sky.

I guess I should see what he wants me to do, huh?

Zoey fumbled into her pocket for the letter, along with a smuggled pecan shortbread cookie and a piece of cheese. Munching on the cheese first, she opened up the letter to see what this side job entailed.

Zoey,

I trust that this letter finds you well. Per our conversation regarding the Book of Aquarius, I would like you to retrieve it from the Goddess mission outside of Ellowwood, towards the southwest. The one on the hill, you should know about it.

The catch is you will need to use discretion and take it out of either the Head Priestess’ library, or from their library vault. Not to worry, this is something regarding the priestess running the mission, who refuses to let valuable books be removed off the premises.

I know you may be apprehensive about this, so I am doubling your fee to $20. It will be awaiting you upon it’s delivery.

Zoey felt herself become stiff and apprehensive. She never had an issue taking something, but from the Church? And to actually steal something of value? She was rightly suspicious about this. However the money was 3 weeks of pay if she stuck here. New clothes, better food, perhaps even a ticket to go to another town. It was hard not to ignore that.

And the book in question was supposed to be priceless. Why would Abel hire her to nab this for him? Did something change, or did his morals take a shift? She didn’t quite trust the man, but his work paid well. After all, most of his money had bought Zoey her bed and the outfit she was wearing.

As she started to think about what kind of obstacles she would encounter, Zoey became aware of someone poking and tugging at her skirts.

“To think someone carelessly leaves clothing laying around these days. Pity.”

“Indeed. And such good quality, too.”

Zoey looked down to see two older women poking at her clothes that had draped off the wall, apparently not noticing it was being worn. They had wide-brimmed hats and patterned day dresses. One was definitely from the town, looking a bit more refined.

She scowled as they continued, before clearing her throat.

“Can I help you with something?”

The women snapped back then looked upwards, letting out small exclamations in shock.

“Oh my, there is a girl attached to this. I was about to say it had a irresponsible owner! It’s certainly a fine dress, miss.”

The refined lady had a more smug look on her face, being less curious than her companion.

“I’d hardly call it fine, it’s a mish-mash of colors. Those stockings make her look like a clown. And the audacity to sit on this wall like a rural girl from the east-“

“Now Claire,” the other woman began.

“And PINK bloomers? You certainly are trying to make a spectacle of yourself. You petticoated hussy! No amount of quality skirts can hide that attitude. You short, frumpy-haired....Ugh!”

The woman had worked herself into a fit. Zoey would’ve laughed if she hadn’t called her a name, but they were here now, weren’t they? Even her friend was shocked, hand to her mouth.

“And how am I different from those lovely fall festival girls that dance?Are you going to say the same things about you or your friends? You’re just mad because you’re so stuck up to be this carefree.”

Zoey took an indifferent bite out of her cheese. Unfortunately, that made the woman even more mad.

“Why you-“

She lunged towards Zoey and grabbed her skirts, trying to yank her off the wall.

The petite rascal was a bit too slow to avoid this, with cookie and cheese in lap. However once realizing what was going on, took action. Giving the calmer woman a salute, she intentionally slipped off the wall back into the courtyard. She could feel the woman still hanging on, actually keeping her skirts pinned up and not letting her reach the ground.

Rolling her eyes, Zoey stowed her items and gave her skirts a good yank. She could hear a yell as they fell free back to her own person. The woman was now yelling incoherent phrases at her, ranging from “broom hair” to “yellowish green kicker”. None of it made sense as she was becoming unhinged.

Zoey made a quick exit, grabbing onto the pipe and quickly making it back into her bedroom. As she flopped to the floor to catch her breath, her cheeks burned red with anger. She was going to get that book for $20, and she was going to not worry about what some lady thought about the way she sat around.

Going back to her chest while consuming what remained of her food, she grabbed her lockpick set and a pocketknife. There was also a small pouch of climbing chalk and a tiny box of matches. That should be enough.

“If I’ll be there after dark, I guess I’ll use one of the lights they have. Although, they should keep the place pretty well lit.”

With a flick of her hair, Zoey steeled herself for the evening’s events. Here was to hoping Melinda wasn’t asking about her anytime soon.

-

I finally have gotten around to getting Chapter 1 of Zoey's tale! My life's become busy as of recent, and I've had some things going on the first part of the year holding back my art. Hopefully I'll get back on track now. Unfortunately I have a lot less free time right now, and can basically only draw on weekends.

Other pieces in this series:

Infiltrating the Mission Library

Avoiding a Roving Priestess Patrol
Escaping into the River
Catching a Breather
A Stolen Book and a Priestess at Home
Different Shoes for a Day

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