My First Con

During my early 20s, money became tight due as the shop struggled to stay afloat financially. My father became unable to continue his trade due to the tremors in his hands. Our hair had begun to turn silver, only fueling the rumors of a ghostly curse afflicting our family and storefront. In some ways, the rumors were true. My father became increasingly unable to work, with his fatigue increasing each week. We had received visits from local healers, consulted herbalists for remedies, and purchased elixirs from alchemists in hopes of improving his condition. Despite these efforts, my father only had the energy to continue his work about once a month, under the light of the full moon.
 
Eventually I began selling old design and simple textures at the local markets, where I could only charge a few silvers at best for each article, as opposed to the several gold pieces my father could receive for his specialized commissions. Everywhere I walked, I felt their eyes on me. It wasn't particularly new. Growing up in a majority human community, I noticed other children frequently staring at my ears. Nowadays, it's more of the same, although people seem more concerned about the seemingly unnatural color of my hair.
 
Needing to earn more money for food and medicine, I gathered my father's remaining inventory and stored it in a pack. I walked to the larger cities within a few days travel, hoping to have more success selling in these areas. I'd colored my hair black with a charcoal dye and tucked away my ears to see if a different appearance might help my approachability. It did. Eventually, while selling, I was approached by a young aristocrat. She seemed polite, albeit a bit too naive. She liked the look of one of my father's rejected commisions, laden with frills and fancy designs. It seems my father had produced work similar to a popular designer for the local nobility. The young woman asked me if the dress was an authentic designer piece, offering me 25 gold pieces. I was caught off by guard the offer, then before I knew it, the words 'yes' escaped my mouth. Suddenly my food costs were covered for the next two months.