Ch. 3 Making a Living

The next day, Ana was woken up by her rooster as always. She fed the birds, prepared a small meal for her mother and left before the sun was even up.

Throughout the day, she went from one place to another doing chores for anyone who would let her. The only difference was that on this day, a skinny young man was following her everywhere like a creep.

"Did you find yourself a stalker, Ana?" asked Mrs. Jones, a baker.

"No, he's living with me."

"You've made a stalker into your boyfriend? Come on girl, you can do so much better. Look at his sunken cheeks. And those eyes… Why is he looking at me?"

Of course, Ethan could hear everything. However, before he could decide whether to kill the wench who bad mouthed him or not, Ana had already excused herself and moved on.

After half a day of following her around, the boy was perplexed. Why was she washing clothes for 2 coppers per hour? How could a lady cut wood for a few measly coins?

When one of her patrons put his hand on her shoulder and began talking with a lewd grin, he had finally had enough. He grabbed the man's arm and spun him around.

"F***k off."

"What?... Oww! " The man had no time to be revolted, for before he could say another word, Ethan kicked him in the groin. After ending his legacy, the boy grabbed a wide eyed Ana and left the store.

After putting enough distance between them and the pervert, he sat her down and started scolding.

"What the hell is wrong with you, putting up with so much crap? Don't you have any pride? A young lady should try on dresses, not clean them. This is insulting. I can't believe…"

He went on and on while Ana looked perplexed. However, she did eventually catch on to his meaning. Her cheeks became red, and the corners of her lips went down in anger. She got up and slapped the cocky teen across the face.

"Ouch, why?" It was the first time someone slapped Ethan in the past 4 millennia.

"You… You… Ungrateful brat!" It was the first time Ana got angry at someone in the past 10 years.

"I've fed you and took care of you, and yet… You think money grows on trees?" the confused look on the teen seemed to suggest 'yes.' "That guy was one of my biggest payers! So what if he touched me? We could have eaten rice tonight!"

Ethan could almost see the vapors rising up from her head. Still, he protested.

"That is unacceptable. I will not let my friend be treated like this."

"Then, you go make money! I see you've eaten nothing but beef until now. Surely, you can earn coppers without even trying."

Her irony went right past him, but he did understand the challenge. It was a bit beneath him to work for money, but considering the state of his benefactor, it couldn't be helped.

"Fine! Since you can't even do this much, leave it to me."

He wouldn't allow his friend to continue living like a commoner. The first step was to free up her time. The next was to make her a mage.