Ceron and his mother faced each other.
"Do you know who that was?" Aunt Mary asked in anger.
She pulled her hand away from his grip.
"Who was that?"
"The new Meter Reader!" Aunt Mary said in frustration. "We hadn't paid for this month's Energy Crystal! So he came to take it Seal it until we did! I tried to say you were a powerful magic user to stop him but this cursed-tongue girl! She called you weak."
Cameron sighed and looked at Freya with a helpless look.
Freya looked down in guilt.
She felt a warm hand on her shoulder.
"It's okay, mom. It was our fault anyway" Ceron said.
Aunt Mary huffed.
"I think you should leave!" she told Freya.
"Mom!"
"You keep quiet! This unlucky girl always brings us trouble!"
Freya sighed and ran into their home.
"Hey! Where are you going!" Aunt Mary called. "Are you shameless that-"
Freya came out again with her raincoat.
She smiled at Ceron and waved goodbye.
Aunt Mary gritted her teeth, unwilling that all her words seemed to not affect the girl at all.
"You called my son stupid! So can you do something about this?" the pudgy woman asked with disdain. She waved at a magic circle drawn on the side of the building.
Freya's hand tightened on the hem of her raincoat.
"I don't have magic, Aunt Mary," she said in a dull voice.
The woman scoffed. "That's what I thought."
"Mom!" Ceron hissed.
The woman grabbed his hand started to drag him into the house.
"Goodbye then," the woman said to Freya and slammed the door shut.
Freya looked at the circle on the wall again.
She walked to it, tracing her finger on the rough surface.
A white square was drawn around a grey circle with a single dot in the middle where a bluestone was embossed in.
A basic sealing. The man was not powerful enough and botched up the crucial part, which was to draw lines from each corner of the square to the dot in the centre.
It was no wonder the man panicked when he heard that Ceron was a powerful magic-user.
One look at it, and an expert would be able to say that the Sealing was shoddy.
Freya's eyes went to the closed door and then to the magic circle.
Thunder rumbled.
Freya turned and walked back to the shack.
There was no need to help hateful people with such minor problems.
Freya reached her home just as the rain began again.
She went through her things in the metal chest in a corner and found the documents regarding her qualifications.
She then went out into the rain again.
Through the busy, rainy streets, she ran until she was near the edge of the Slum area.
At one corner stood a small building, with the word "Records" on it.
It was the local library for the humans created by a few youngsters two years back.
Freya was lucky enough to help lay down the stones that built the building.
She walked in, removing her raincoat and her shoes.
Making sure she was no longer dripping water, Freya walked through the large shelves of scrolls.
"Mrs Benjamin?" she called.
Something fell with a loud thud.
Freya started and ran towards the place.
"Mrs Benjamin!" she called.
A round woman came out from under a pile of scrolls.
"Freya! Freya! Come help me, child!"
Freya pulled her up.
"Are you okay?" she asked the grey-haired woman.
Mrs Benjamin laughed. "Fine! Your shout startled me! Heaven's child! Are your steps made of feathers? I didn't hear you come in!"
Freya smiled. "Sorry. Are you really okay though?"
Mrs Benjamin gave her a jovial laugh. "What can happen to me? Aren't I a sturdy woman? What do I have all this fat for if not to cushion my falls?"
She smacked her butt as she said so.
Freya giggled. "Okay then. I surrender."
"Obviously," the woman said. "Now why are you here? Done with 'Routine Constructions' so fast?"
Freya shook her head. "Not yet. I'm just here to look up some information."
"What is it?"
"Fresia Tower."
"Semi-High end on Grace Street. About 4 miles from the city centre in the west. You are deposited right in front of it if you use a FireLine. Why?"
Freya smiled. "Looking for a job."
The woman nodded. "They do hire some humans. But are you sure you can get a job at that place?"
Freya shrugged. "Don't know. Worth a try though."
The woman nodded and handed her a map for it.
They talked for some time until the rain slowed to a stop.
Mrs Benjamin closed the Library and walked away.
Freya stared at her back until it disappeared into the crowd and then returned home, hungry.
She pursed her lips. She should have at least drank the tea at Ceron's place.
Shaking her head, she went to sleep early.
All the excitement of the day took a toll on her, and Freya fell asleep as soon as her head hit the pillow.
In the morning, she drank congee and left for the meeting place in her newest clothes. A simple white shirt and plain black pants made of cotton.
She walked until she reached a 10 feet grey arch near the library.
A man in a black cloak stood at the end with a Slab in his hand.
Freya walked up to him and handed him a single white coin.
"One ticket to Grace Street."
The man placed it on the Slab.
The slab flashed and a white ticket appeared instead of the coin.
The man handed it to her.
"One ticket to Grace Street. You have 12hourse. If you want to leave after 12 hours, you will have to buy a return ticket."
Freya nodded and stood under the arch.
A deep blue hologram appeared in front of her.
Freya lifted her ticket.
A beeping sound echoed in her ears as she felt her body twist to the west.
Freya blinked her eyes, trying to adjust to the sudden displacement.
She looked around her and raised her eyebrows.
Deposited right in front of the Tower indeed.
Fresia Tower was a tall building made of grey bricks with the word "Fresia" written in a cursive hologram floating above its roof. It looked imposing even from such a distance.
Freya walked forward.
At the Front door stood two men in black cloaks.
Seeing her approach, one of them walked towards her.
"Halt! Show me your ID!"
Freya frowned. ID?
The other doorman hit the first in the head.
"Idiot! She must be here for the St Vlad Meeting!"
The man rubbed his sour spot.
He looked her up and down, and glared.
"She is not dressed like the others though!"
Freya's heart sank. Was there a dress code? Did she already screw this chance up?
Freya stood there, unsure.