The Price of a Pie

Tyr regretted letting Macha help him review the refugee profiles. She was being stubborn about where the women would be placed. Tyr brought his finger down on a paper, tapping it with great force, "I do NOT think this woman should work at your pie shop." His face took on the cold and chiseled feature that most people in the guild knew him for.

The sound of Macha's heels clicked against the wood. She paced back and forth with her hands on her hips. "I told you, I want to ASK her if she will work for me. I value her skills." It annoyed her that he was being especially difficult with this refugee.

She wanted Fatima, a former assassin, to work as a cashier at her pie shop. She believed the friendly environment would be healing for someone who used to live in such a cold and heartless world. Macha also valued Fatima's fighting skills and would feel better if the shop had a trained fighter there all the time.

Tyr laughed, in a sarcastic tone he mocked, "Her skills? Her skills? What is she going to do, kill your customers?" He did not understand how Fatima's skills could be used for a pie shop. He pointed his finger at Macha and warned, "Look, I don't know how trustworthy these people are. I know nothing about them other than what's on this paper. The last thing I want is for you to hire some ex-assassin to work for you."

Seeing Tyr point his finger at her made Macha's eyes narrow. "Don't you point that finger at me. What's the difference between an ex-assassin and what we've done? Everyone in this guild has killed something or someone before. What's important is coming out of that lifestyle and finding peace in your heart." She wanted him to understand her point of view. Macha saw Tyr's reaction as being prejudice.

The papers shuffled. "Look, you can have this woman. She used to be a housewife," he said, slapping the paper. "Aponi would be better suited to work for you." Right now, he wanted to flip his desk over and pull out his hair. He did not understand why Macha did not worry about a woman like Fatima working for her. He planned on having Fatima join the guild. It was a better line of work for her skills.

She closed her eyes and took a deep breath. After she calmed her temper, Macha made her way over to Tyr. Wrapping her hand around the finger that pointed at her, she lowered it. "Tyr," her voice strained from checking her temper, "I want Fatima because everyone deserves to find peace in their life. She moved to a new city and deserves to start a new life if she wants to. Did you not give me a new life? I won't force her to join the pie shop, but if she wants, she can."

The warmth of Macha's hand wrapped around his finger caused his conviction and temper to waiver. He sat down and ran his fingers through his hair. His voice quavered, "Macha, what if she's dangerous? I don't feel it's safe for you to hire her." Tyr just wanted to keep the woman he loved safe, but she constantly pushed against his desires and put herself in dangerous situations.

Macha moved behind his chair and wrapped her arms around him. "What if I was a trained assassin sent to kill you? You knew nothing about me when you found me. Yet, here I am. We can't live our lives in a world of what-ifs." She nuzzled her nose against his cheek, "Where I come from we trusted people and tried to have what we call the 'Spirit of Aloha'. It means you love yourself, you love others, and you love the land. We're all connected. I want to show Fatima the same respect and kindness you extended to me. Can we please not be prejudiced against her?" Macha ran her fingers through Tyr's hair to sooth his anger.

The idea of 'The Aloha Spirit' seemed too naïve to him. It was a beautiful idea and now he understood why she acted the way she did. He wanted to believe in a world like that, but he had seen the darkness that lay in people's hearts. Macha asked so sweetly and his heart was torn on whether he should indulge her or not.

Tyr closed his eyes and hoped that he was not making a mistake. He leaned his chair back so he could see Macha standing behind him. In a defeated voice, he acquiesced, "Fine. You can ask her if she wants to work with Unai. Only because you told me a little of your past." He still did not like the idea of Macha employing someone who could kill so easily, but he had to let it go. A prolonged argument with Macha would only ruin their day.

A few minutes later, Fatima entered the room. She dressed in black overalls and wore a maroon shirt. Fatima's hair was a charcoal color that had been cut in a boyish style. Her grey eyes studied the two people before her. They were obviously close and interacted without needing directions or queues. The woman named Macha did not look like anyone she saw before. This caused Fatima to wondered if the woman was a human or some sort of creature.

Macha served Fatima tea and offered her a crustless sandwich. She sat down and took a sip of her tea. "Fatima, I know you were an assassin before, but did you want to continue doing a line of work like that, or would you be interested in working as a cashier in a pie shop? I wanted to give you options to change your line of work." She facing Fatima and gave her a friendly smile.

Steam rose from the teacup and Fatima mulled over what Macha said. She did not get fulfillment working as an assassin. Her father had been an assassin, therefore she trained to be one as well. It was a family business. Working as a cashier sounded so mundane, but also peaked her interest. She did not expect to have a choice or even be offered a job when she came to Marseille. Her face made no movement and she remained silent as she considered the job offer.

Tyr cleared his throat. "You also have the choice of joining the guild or finding another job if you don't like either of these options. Let us know your decision." He doubted the woman wanted to work as a cashier. She had the hardened jaded look in her eyes that he identified with. He would go crazy having to be nice to so many people and interacting with customers all day.

The smile on Macha's face faded. She hoped that Fatima would have liked working as a cashier. She did not want Fatima to feel pressured, so she quickly followed up Tyr's comment, "Of course you don't have to decide today. If you want, you can let us your decision tomorrow."

Fatima did not want to join the guild. It would barely be a change from the life she lived before. "I can try the pie shop position. I've always wondered what that sort of life would be like." She had always envied the women who could wear skirts and be so carefree. She hoped that this new job would give her a peaceful life that did not involve watching victims draw their last breath. One day, if she was lucky, she might even get a chance to go on a date or fall in love.

Macha jumped out of her seat with joy. "Excellent! Are you sure? If you hate it, let us know and we can come up with something else." Handing a business card and envelope to Fatima, she explained, "This is the address. The head cook is Unai, who is from Jimbaran. He is a child but makes delicious pies. Give him this letter and tell him Macha sent you. There are a few bedrooms upstairs, so you can pick one that isn't taken."

Not immediately taking the papers, she asked, "How much is it for the room and how much is the pay?" Fatima worried that the room would equal the pay, and she was being used as a slave. Kochi was notorious for having deals like that where the poor would be taken advantage of.

"Hmm..." Macha put her finger under her chin, doing some quick calculations, she said, "The room is free, but the pay is scaled to how business is doing. It's a percent of the profits. I would say you would make about six gold coins per day, on average."

Fatima's eyebrows lifted, "Are you sure you have your calculations right? Six gold per day? I used to kill easy targets for ten gold. What kind of pies are you selling to turn a profit and pay that rate?" She thought the woman must be mistaken. Most jobs paid one gold per day in Kochi and did not provide rooms.

Macha looked back at Tyr, her eyes wide and confused. His face did not change. She could not gather any information from him. Shrugging her shoulders, she replied, "I just pay what I consider being fair. Unai and I agreed that a percentage would be the best option. Our pies sell for one gold per pie. Keep in mind, you make as much as the shop sells, so if you can't sell any pies you make no money."

She had created the pie shop to help Unai and share his delicious pies with Marseille. It did not matter to her how much profit she made and wanted everyone working there to feel like a family. The last thing she wanted was for the workers to believe they were being paid unfairly.

A loud laugh came from Fatima. She realized this woman in front of her was naïve. The world was harsh and cruel, the weak were taken advantage of by the strong. "All right, I'll go see this Unai boy and start my job. Don't complain when I boost sales and you have to pay me ten gold a day." Fatima excelled at many things, she did not see selling pies as difficult.

When Fatima left, Macha spun around to face Tyr. "Do you think there's something wrong with my pay? I mean, you pay me a hundred gold a day. The six that the workers get is nothing in comparison." Fatima's reaction made Macha feel as if she did something wrong. She would love if the woman could boost sales to ten gold a day.

Tyr smiled over the lip of his teacup. "I'm biased," he said as he took a sip. He paid Macha a small amount to him but understood that it was well over what he should pay her. He never wanted Macha to worry about money or the price of anything.

The way she spent money was frugal in comparison to Fenrir. Although she bought expensive things from time to time, she never forced them to shop for the sake of shopping. She only went to the market when she needed something in particular.

Macha strode over to his desk slowly, letting her fingers graze the dark grain of the desktop. As she slid into his lap, she pulled his head down to her lips. He tasted like the passionflower tea she had brewed. Her lips curved into a devilish grin, "Because I'm such a good worker?" she asked in a sultry voice.

He picked her up and moved to lock the office door. As he laid her down on a sofa, his voice was husky, "No, because you're my girlfriend." He moved on top of her, kissing her deeply. The faint fragrance of lavender enveloped him. Tyr reached his hands up Macha's skirt and slipped her underwear down to her ankles. "Now let me give you a small bonus before the next refugee comes in."