"What a rough day", Jean sighed as she took a sip of mead, a drink that she's grown very - or perhaps too - fond of since coming to this world.
"Could you not drink for a day at least?", Leah frowned.
"Hey, this is my only solace for days like these"
Leah was calculating the expenditure on the rough piece of paper with a feather pen.
"You seem to have such a day every day. Besides, we really need to cut down on our spending. This month doesn't look good"
"Eh-, it's money I earned. I should be able to spend a bit on things I like at least, shouldn't I? I'd go crazy otherwise. There's nothing to do here except work and sleep and work and sleep"
"I would have accepted that answer if you hadn't come to me all the time crying that you ran out of YOUR money"
"So mean", Jean took another sip.
"Sigh-. Finish that drink but no more drinks for you for the next few days"
Despite the constant bickering, for one reason or another, Jean always got her way.
"Aye aye, my lady"
"Don't call me that!", Leah put her pen down, irritated.
"But that's what people call you in town. Nobody calls me a lady now. I miss Ivar", Jean sulked.
"Perhaps you should start acting like a lady then", Leah's voice - cold as ice.
"Pffft, like I care", another gulp for Jean.
"So, going back to what Makovski said earlier. Have you given it a thought?", Leah brought up the tough topic.
"Huh? What?"
"That I start working upstairs. We'd be making a bit more money that way"
Although Leah drew the line between her money and Jean's money earlier, practically, she knew they were living on joint finances.
'Gees, it's not like we are married or anything', Leah thought as she waited for Jean's answer.
"Well, extra money would be nice… but, Leah. I can't accept that on principle"
"What the heck?"
"You heard me today. I believe in equal pay for equal work. The kids downstairs believe it too. How can I say equal pay and equal work and then have you do the same job upstairs to earn more and live off that money as if it's a totally normal thing to do?"
'You say that as if you take it for granted you would live off my extra earnings…', Leah had to chuckle inside at this girl's audacity. At times she was naturally annoyed by it, but at times Jean so incredulously pushed the boundary that it was only laughable and she couldn't even get mad.
"Listen, Leah. We can do this. We don't have to succumb to the way of the pigs"
"The pigs pay us, Jean"
"THAT is precisely what needs to stop!", Jean gulped down her mead, lifted and tilted her cup to see if there was any more left, and whatever was left fell on her face in droplets.
"What do you mean that has to stop? So you'd work without getting paid?"
"Look at Makovski. He does nothing. All he does is sit in his office and play chess or whatever the heck they play in this world with his mates, smoking cigars. He does NOTHING and WE are doing all the work! Why does he make more money than us?"
"Jean. There won't be a workshop without Makovski. He owns the place. He organizes the sales. He finds and hires the workers. He balances the books. THAT is also work", Leah wasn't going to lose this argument, for she spoke facts.
"But that's precisely it! His ownership of the place brings him money. That's exactly what the Old Man was talking about, wasn't it? These guys make money off what they already own, not through work"
"That was just the Old Man's opinion. He's not right about everything in the world, you know?"
"But he was right in principle. These people… the owners… the landlords… the monarchy. They are living off the property they own, most of the time just passed down to them through generations. The 'work' they put in is close to nothing! WE toil the soil, WE plant the seeds, WE do the harvest work - and the majority of earnings go to their pocket"
"I think you drank too much, Jean. Just cut the nonsense and go to bed"
Leah waved her away and put her balance sheets away. Bringing the lamp over to the bedside table.
Jean sat on her table, her brain too excited to sleep.
"Aren't you coming? I'm gonna blow out the candle. We have to save or the candle won't last till the end of the month"
The hot-blooded girl finally got up, now slouching and sulking, dragging her feet and heading to bed that they had to share because they couldn't afford a room with two beds.
Leah scooted closer to the wall and Jean laid herself down next to her.
"Jean, blow out the candle"
But this girl had a remarkable ability to fall asleep as soon as her back touched a surface. Lean had to lean over the girl to blow out the candle. Just before she did, she looked at the now-sleeping girl's face.
'Stupid girl'
Leah thought to herself.
She knew Jean had a point. As silly as she could be, Jean had a heart of gold. That much she knew. She had a spirit that sought justice. She couldn't walk past someone in need of help. The children at the factory loved her already in less than two weeks they had been there. This ludicrous girl had something that drew people in.
And that's why Leah didn't want her to go around speaking nonsense.
Her power to draw people and build rapport was dangerous.
They were not of this world and it was best to live an anonymous life. Leah has seen enough in this world already to understand how things work. It was a brutal, strict feudal society with a monarchy that had the blessing of the church that held unquestionable divine rights. Slavery was legal. Child labor was encouraged. There was no concept of weekend rest. The work started at sunrise and ended at sunset.
In this world, the best these two strangers could do was survive.
Leah blew out the candle, went back to her side, and turned her back to Jean.
'I wish what you say could come true too. But it just won't happen'