After eating breakfast, Caspian and Elincia left the inn and wandered around the town. It was early in the afternoon. The sun had risen above their heads, casting beams of warm light upon the earth, illuminating the hundreds of people that were walking along the street.

Caspian felt surprisingly refreshed despite having slept on the floor. There was a certain vigor to his movements that hadn't been there a week ago. He glanced at the girl walking by his side, wondering if she was the reason that he felt so good.

Elincia noticed him looking at her and quickly looked away. Her cheeks reminded him of a bonfire. Caspian frowned. She appeared to be agitated.

Did I do something wrong?

"Um, Caspian..." she started to say, her eyes flickering to him before looking away again.

"Yes?"

"What, um, what are we going to do today?"

"To be honest, I have no idea," Caspian admitted. When Elincia stared at him in surprise, he released a nervous chuckle. "I've never done something like this before... well, not quite like this anyway," he amended, remembering the time that he'd spent with Erica.

A little over three weeks ago, he'd been tasked with delivering a letter to Erica Demonica de Angelo, the sorceress who oversaw Ashtown, one of the largest industrialized cities in Arcadia. What should have been a simple delivery had somehow turned into him becoming her temporary knight. From that experience, Caspian had gleaned a lot of useful information, though at that moment, his mind was focused mostly on how Erica had forced him to go shopping with her.

"Well, I suppose we could visit some of the stores..." he trailed off when Elincia's eyes started to sparkle, their luster reminiscent of azurite. "Would you like that?"

"Yes!"

Elincia pulled ahead, dragging an amused Caspian behind her. He almost stumbled when he lost his footing, but he quickly righted himself as they waded into the crowd.

The streets were as populated today as they were yesterday. Scents from various people invaded Caspian's nose, and a plethora of colors filled his vision.

Since Arcadia was in the center of Terraria, many different people from the other four nations came to this country, either to live or as a stopping point during their travels. These people tended to bring a variety of clothing styles with them. That's why fashion in Arcadia was always varied and colorful.

"Come on, Caspian!"

"I'm right behind you, and there's no need to rush. We have all day."

Yesterday, Caspian had done most of the leading, this time, he allowed Elincia to lead him. His friend didn't seem to have a destination in mind. She appeared to be more interested in taking in the sights.

"You're awfully excited," Caspian muttered.

Elincia turned her head and beamed at him. "Of course. I've always wanted to go shopping, but Sylvia would never let me. Ever since you left, I've been confined to her mansion. The only times I was allowed outside was when I snuck out, but that grew boring after a while. I guess it was because you weren't with me."

"Heh, sorry about that."

"It's okay." Elincia shook her head. "I know why you left. We made a promise, didn't we?"

"That's right," Caspian said. "I promised to train hard and become your knight."

"And I promised to become a sorceress worthy of your companionship." Elincia's smile was so bright that it outshone the sun.

They meandered around the town, entering stores and checking out their wares. Caspian tried to remain unobtrusive during this time. It should have been easy, given the crowds, but several people noticed him. They didn't say anything, probably because they were busy with customers who didn't know of his infamy, but the looks they sent him were enough to let him know what they were thinking. He was not wanted inside of their stores.

He did his best to ignore the glares he received. For Elincia, he would pretend they didn't exist.

"Ah! Look at this bracelet, Caspian! Isn't it cute?"

Elincia held up a purple bracelet. The feel of the material let him know that it was made from synthetic fibers instead of natural silk. It was rougher and lacked the luster of silk. However, the brading used in its creation was well-done, complexly woven yet sturdy enough to withstand wear and tear.

"I think it suits you," Caspian agreed. "Would you like me to get it for you?"

At his question, Elincia suddenly flushed scarlet. "O-oh, no. I could never ask you to buy this for me, especially since you already bought me those crepes yesterday and paid for us to stay that that inn."

"Don't be ridiculous. You're my friend. I don't mind buying stuff for you occasionally. Just consider this a present for all of the birthdays that I missed." Grabbing the bracelet from Elincia's hand, Caspian tossed the girl a quick grin. "Just don't expect me to buy too much, all right? I'm not made of money."

"I... okay. Thank you."

Caspian led Elincia to the front register, where a woman with long brown hair and a plain face stood behind the table. She smiled at them, words of greeting on her lips—until she noticed who was standing in front of her. Then she frowned, her brows furrowing into a scowl.

"Can I help you?"

Ignoring the woman's rude tone, Caspian placed the bracelet on the counter. "I'd like to buy this... please."

"That will be two-hundred drachma."

Drachma was the currency used by the Terrarian Alliance. Oblong in shape, drachma could be made from either copper, silver, or gold. Copper drachma were only worth a single unit, while silver drachma were worth 50 and gold was worth 100.

"T-two-hundred drachma?!" Elincia gasped. "But the price tag said it was only—"

"It's fine, Ele."

"But—"

Elincia looked ready to protest some more, but he gave her a look that said, "please don't cause a scene," causing his friend to fall silent.

Reaching into his pocket, Caspian placed two golden drachma onto the table. The woman huffed, seemingly disappointed to discover that he had enough money to buy the bracelet, and grabbed the coins. She ignored Caspian after that, and he and Elincia left in silence.

"Caspian..."

"Hold out your hand, please," Caspian interrupted Elincia, who blinked at the request.

"Oh, um, sure."

She held out her hand, which Caspian delicately grabbed and slid the bracelet onto. "There you go. Just I thought. It suits you."

"Caspian," Elincia said, causing him to stop. "W-what was all that about? Why did that woman have you pay nearly three times the amount that this bracelet actually costs? What's going on?"

Sighing, Caspian tugged on Elincia's hand. She frowned at him, but followed him when he started walking.

They blended into the crowd of people, just another couple enjoying the sights—or that's how it probably appeared to most of the citizens. Caspian couldn't quite contain his sigh, which he released in a slow breath of disappointment.

I should have realized this was a bad idea.

Walking around in broad daylight, much less wandering into a store, was like giving people an invitation to openly revel in their hatred of him. He'd been hoping to avoid having Elincia find out about this.

I should have known better.

"Caspian..."

"I'm not very well liked by people around here," Caspian admitted reluctantly. "It's been like this since I enrolled in the academy."

"You mean they always treat you this way?"

"Pretty much."

"B-but that's horrible! Why would they treat you like that?"

Elincia held a hand to her mouth, hiding what must have been quivering lips. Tears welled up in her eyes. Caspian really hoped she wouldn't start crying. He didn't know how to handle a woman's tears.

"Why don't we do some more exploring?" Caspian suggested, more to get off of this depressing topic than because he had any real desire to explore.

Elincia seemed to realize this, for she gamely put on a smile that she clearly didn't feel. "I'd like that? Where should we go to next?"

"Let's just walk around and see where our feet takes us."

"Okay."

Having come to a decision, the pair once more disappeared into the crowd. High overhead, the sun continued to shine.

***

"Caspian!"

"Oh, no," Caspian muttered as a loud shout split the air. Elincia tilted her head at him, as if to show her confusion, but he just grimaced. "Could you please take a step back?"

Elincia didn't know why he was asking this, but she did as he asked, taking several steps away from him. Caspian offered her a pained smile before turning toward the source of the shouting.

It was Christo. The young man was running toward him, waving one of his arms back and forth like a lunatic. All the while, the same cheerful grin that annoyed Caspian so much was plastered onto his face.

Preparing himself, Caspian bent his knees and flexed his fingers like he was getting ready to unsheathe a sword.

"Caspian! There you are! I've been looking everywhere for you—guag!"

All conversations ceased when Caspian, without warning, clotheslined Christo. The young noble's feet left the ground as his body spun around Caspian's arm before he was launched into the air, where he made a graceful parabolic arc. Then he slammed back first onto the ground. Hard.

"Is he going to be alright?" asked a worried Elincia.

"Don't worry," Caspian assured the girl. "He's fine."

Indeed, mere seconds after being clotheslined, Christo leapt back to his feet and cried at Caspian. "What was that for?! That was so cruel! What did I ever do to deserve that?! And what kind of person does that to his best friend?!"

Caspian held up a hand and listed off reasons on his fingers. "One: I did that because you're annoying. Two: You deserved that because you annoyed me. And three: You and I are not nor have we ever been best friends. I only have one friend, and that person is not you."

Christo laughed his words off like they were water. "You're such a funny person, Caspian. Everybody knows that you and I are best buds. I mean, we live in the same dorm room and everything."

"We live in the same dorm because the old man put us in the same dorm, idiot."

"Um, excuse me," Elincia said before Christo could retort. "Caspian, who is this person?"

"I believe that I should be the one asking that question!" Christo pointed at Elincia, who took a step back. "Caspian, who is this beautiful girl that you're with? No! Don't tell me! She's your lover!"

"L-l-lover?!" Elincia's face exploded. Redness spread from her cheeks to the rest of her face, and Caspian even thought he saw steam rising from her ears. "O-oh, no. I could never—I-I mean, it's not as if I hadn't though of—but no, we're definitely not lovers! Oh, dear! Now I'm getting all flustered!"

Caspian sighed. He'd really been hoping to avoid this meeting. The last thing that he wanted was for Christo to discover Elincia—at least for right now. He knew that it would be unavoidable, since his friend was the sorceress whose honor this tournament was being held in, but he had wanted to prolong such a meeting for as long as humanly possible.

"Ele," Caspian got his friend's attention. "This is Christo, my roommate and the biggest idiot I've ever met in my life."

"Hey!" said biggest idiot shouted.

"And Christo, this is Elincia, my best and only friend since childhood."

Christo's gaze went from Caspian, to Elincia, then back to Caspian again. It didn't take a genius to figure out what the boy was thinking. Caspian could almost see the dulled spirit crystal within Christo's head flickering.

"Childhood... friend..."

Caspian sighed. "This isn't going to end well."

Elincia just looked confused.

"Why didn't you tell me that you had a childhood friend?!" Christo exploded with emotion, tears welling up in his eyes as he dropped onto his knees. "How could you keep something like this from me?! You're so mean! Meanie! Bleh!"

"Oh, shut up! And stop hugging my leg like that! It's creepy!"

***

In the end, Christo joined him and Elincia in their wandering.

Caspian should have known this would happen. Christopheles was a nosy young man. It wouldn't have surprised Caspian to learn that, after he'd vanished the other day, his roommate had gone on a citywide search for him, only to be disappointed when he never turned up. It also wouldn't come as a surprise to learn that Christo had come down to the city first thing in the morning to search for him.

Really, I don't even know why I bothered trying to keep Ele a secret.

"You said that you're Caspian's friend here at the academy?" Elincia asked Christo, who walked alongside them, his hands behind his head and his posture slouched.

"We're not friends," Caspian said. "We're not even close to friends."

"Caspian is my best friend in the whole world," Christo said with great enthusiasm. Caspian twitched. "He and I have been buds ever since we moved into the same dorm room together."

"No, we haven't. Don't tell her such blatant lies."

"So I see," Elincia said, then giggled into her hand. "You know, I'm sort of envious of the chemistry that you two have."

"What chemistry?" Caspian asked.

Christo presented her with a sunny smile. "I know, right? Isn't it great!"

"Don't ignore me!"

Caspian twitched as Christo did just that, ignored him and regaled Elincia with tales of their time together at the academy. His friend hung onto the idiot's every word as if reliving each memory. Her eyes sparkled and her face reminded him of a child being told an exciting tale of heroism and chivalry.

His friend had always been too trusting. Then again, he couldn't really blame her. Had he not been the same way? Before coming to the academy, before learning the truth about how this world worked, Caspian had trusted people without just cause.

It was that inability to distrust others that had gotten him almost killed. He'd learned the hard way that in order to survive in this world, one had to become cold and unbreakable, like a steel blade. Trusting others, befriending others without learning of their motives first, it could only lead to disaster. That's why the only person that he trusted, the only one that he cared about, was Elincia.

Elincia eventually grew tired of walking. Caspian surmised that she was not used to being on her feet all day, which made sense, seeing how she'd been cooped up in Sylvia's mansion for most of her life. They found a bench on main street and sat down to rest. A little ways away, a vendor was showcasing his wears, speaking in a loud voice as he held several demonstrations.

"So, you two really lived together before Caspian came to the academy, huh?" Christo asked.

Elincia nodded as she watched a pair of children run past them. "Yes. Caspian and I lived together at Lady Sylvia's place for several years."

"Man, that is so cool! Living in a palace with your childhood friend and the greatest sorceress who ever existed. You must have had the best childhood ever."

Elincia went stiff at the mention of their benefactor, the one who'd given them a place to stay and let him enter the academy. Caspian surmised that she wasn't comfortable talking about what it was like living with Sylvia.

"It had its ups and downs," he answered for her. Elincia sent him an inquiring glance, but he just smiled at her. "Sylvia was a rather impersonal caretaker. For the eight years that I lived at Sylvia's home, I think I only saw her a couple dozen times, and it was usually only when she was giving us lessons."

Christo hummed. "Is that so? Well, I guess that's just how it is. At least you two had each other, right?"

Caspian and Elincia shared a glance. He placed a hand over hers. She smiled at him. Life would have indeed been a lot worse if they'd not had each other.

"Heh... what's this?" Christo also noticed their reaction, and his face adopted a look that could have been defined as "creepy" at best and "disturbing" at worst. "You two get along really well. Are you sure you're just childhood friends?"

"I'm not sure what you're trying to imply," Caspian said, trying to keep his face straight. Elincia blushed.

"Sure you don't. Anyway, I'm guessing you're already aware of this, but where is Elincia going to stay?"

"Can I not stay with Caspian?" asked Elincia.

"Unfortunately not," Caspian said. "Remember what I told you? Arcadia's Knight Academy is an all-boys school. There's no way you'd be able to stay with me. Aside from that, I wouldn't want you to suffer through Christo's presence every day like I have to do."

"That's harsh, Caspian. Truly. What happened to being best buds?"

"Whatever," Caspian sighed. "Anyway, I'm thinking we'll need to pay a visit to the old man and ask him if he can find accommodations for Ele. She won't be able to sleep in the student dorms, but I'm sure he can find a place for her to stay."

At least, I hope so, Caspian did not voice his thoughts out loud.