I wake up to hear someone knocking on the door to my room. For a brief moment, I am confused as I try to figure out where I am. The answer comes to me a second later: Vanessa's mansion. The knock sounds once again, this time a little louder. With a little focus, an unfamiliar female figure flashes in my mind, with all being blurry except her outline. I stand up and walk to the door before pulling it open. There is a girl standing behind it, her hand raised to knock again. Her appearance intersects with the image my mind had previously formed and it is a perfect fit. Then it is all gone, stored for any future use.

"Yes?" I say as I look at her.

She lowers her head. "Good morning. The Mistress says to tell you breakfast will be ready soon." She hesitates a moment before adding. "It will be served by seven." She lowers her head once more before walking away. I stare at her retreating back, trying to guess what she really wanted to say. If she really wanted to tell me breakfast was by seven there would have been no need to hesitate so long. After coming up with nothing I shake my head and close the door.

I take another refreshing bath and after changing into my last pair of clean clothes, I leave the room and make my way to the dining room. As I walk through the hallways I pay attention to everything around me. Most of what I see is very familiar to me, unchanged from when I left, but ever so often I see something unfamiliar. Slowly I am reminded of what was lost and with every step, my heart grows heavier. Soon it reaches the same choking intensity I have been living with for years. I blink rapidly to get rid of the tears forming behind my eyes.

I reach the dining and walk inside. Vanessa is already seated and reading a letter, with a small stack of letters to her right. I pause and take in this scene before walking towards a seat on her right. "Good morning." I greet as she glances coldly up at me.

"Morning," She says a bit tersely. "You didn't come for dinner last night."

Suddenly I remember that she had told me that dinner would be ready by seven. At the same time I have an idea why the maid had hesitated earlier, Vanessa had most likely told her to say something rude to me but she couldn't bring herself to do it. "I am so sorry," I apologize. Knowing Vanessa she must have been pissed when I didn't show up yesterday night. She snorts but doesn't say anything more, choosing instead to continue reading her letters.

Not too long after, the door to the dining opens and the maid I had seen earlier comes in with two others, they arrange the food on the table before promptly leaving. I wait for her to start eating as etiquette dictates before following her actions. Breakfast is a silent affair as both of us focus on our food. Once we are done, the table is cleared and then I am left alone with Vanessa. I remain seated for a minute or so, before finally deciding to leave. I am halfway out of my seat when Vanessa asks. "What are your plans for today?"

I slowly settle back into my seat. "I'm not sure yet. I was thinking of maybe spending the day at home."

She stares at me for a few seconds, her finger tapping her cheek. "Okay then, it's settled. We're going shopping today. No offense but I've seen peasants who are dressed better than you are currently, and there is no way you can attend the meeting looking like… this."

I open my mouth to reply when I realize that I can't think of anything to say. In the end, I settle for a simple okay.

She tells me to prepare before leaving the dining room. Half an hour later we walk into a tailor's shop. It is a small shop when compared to the buildings in the Rose District, but it is still decently sized. To the left some good-looking clothes are displayed, most likely to give the impression that the owner of this shop is good at what they do. In front of us sits a young boy quietly reading a book. He looks up to see who just entered the building when it activates. In my mind, a blurry layout of the building appears. There are two doors on the floor we are currently on, one to my right leading to a mostly empty room and another one on the wall behind the boy, but shifted a bit to his right. Behind the door is a staircase leading to the second floor. There are two rooms on the second floor, the larger being full of clothes, clothing materials and pieces of equipment I can't picture clearly. They are also several people working in there, though I can't see them clearly. The smaller room is even more blurry and seems to be an office. I can only make out three things in the room, a table, a chair on which a featureless woman is sitting and what resembles a small safe.

A look of surprise flashed on the boy's face as he recognizes Vanessa. He quickly gets up from his seat and gives a small bow. "Miss Reacher, welcome. I'll go and inform the Mistress."

And without another word, he disappears into the door behind him. The moment he is out of sight an image appears in my mind of him running up the stairs. I focus on the image wondering why he saw the need to call his Mistress. We are only here to get some clothes after all. Vanessa chuckles as she sees my slightly puzzled expression. "I own the shop, so he probably thought I was here for something serious."

In my mind, the boy reaches the featureless woman's office and after knocking walks into the room. Then he pauses. A moment later she gets up and they both begin to come down. "That explains a lot," I reply.

A moment later the woman walks in. Her features merge with the featureless image in my head before disappearing. The next moment her figure appears in my mind once more but this time it moves, giving a little curtsy. Two seconds later the woman repeats the exact same action as she greets Vanessa.

"Good afternoon, Madam. Sir." She says as she greets Vanessa and then me. Judging by her tone she must be well educated. This isn't too surprising as no one would let a shop like this be run by an uneducated person.

"Good afternoon," I reply while Vanessa just nods.

"I need you to take his measurements and make him some good clothes as quickly as possible," Vanessa says, nodding towards me.

"What type of clothes, Madam?"

"Something he wouldn't be too embarrassed to wear in front of nobility. He is going to the meeting tomorrow and I need to ensure he doesn't embarrass himself too badly. And once you're done with those, make him some casual clothing too."

The moment Vanessa mentions the meeting, her posture changes slightly. It's something small but my ability causes me to pick it up nonetheless. She studies me, making sure to give me more than the fleeting attention she had given me when she greeted me earlier. A moment later her eyes light up as she seems to recognize me.

"Is he Master Arell?", "Is he perhaps Master Arell?". Her figure appears in my head, speaking a second before she actually speaks. The figure is mostly correct, only just missing the word 'perhaps'.

I shake my head and try to focus on what is going on in front of me, sometimes my ability can be a little distracting.

Vanessa nods. "He is."

The woman turns to me once again as she curtsies once more. This time I can feel that her greeting is a little more respectful than earlier. I look on, feeling a bit amused and unsure how to react. Still, I give her a little nod to acknowledge her greeting.

"Please give me a moment, Madam," she says before hurriedly leaving the room.

Once she leaves the room, Vanessa shoots me a look before shaking her head. "What?" I ask turning to look at her.

"Oh, it's nothing. I guess it's to be expected."

"What is?" I ask again.

"Didn't you see the way she acted the moment she figured out your identity? But again, it isn't too surprising. After all, you're the Blue Fairy, Protector of the Poor, Hero of Tinael, Strongest Sadabi … I've forgotten the rest of your titles."

For a moment I am a bit speechless, but I guess it can't be helped. After all, I've heard a few of the titles myself. "I don't know what you've heard about me but I'll tell you right now to ignore them. A lot of them are exaggerations, some are even outright lying. For instance, I am definitely not the strongest Sadabi."

Vanessa doesn't look convinced. "So you didn't save the residents of Liadel, and I'm guessing you didn't stop those traffickers who were kidnapping Harish nobles, hmm. Oh and there's the time you fought two of House Ordis's strongest Sadabi and even won. So all that's false."

I shake my head. "I did that but-"

"Stop trying to diminish your achievements, Arell. It doesn't suit you. If it was back then you'd probably even exaggerate your achievements yourself, and maybe even make a few more lies of your own."

At this point, the Mistress comes back in with a scrawny but well-dressed man following her. The man bows to both of us but I can feel his eyes keep darting toward me. He holds a measuring tape in one hand, and a book and quill in the other. The Mistress gives me a small bow. "He'll be taking your measurements, sir." She gestures to the man beside her. Once more the man bows to me, then he motions for me to follow him. He leads me to the empty room by my right where he proceeds to quickly take my measurements.

"We're done sir," he says as he writes something in his book. I turn to leave the room when I hear him mutter. "Thank you, sir."

I stop and turn back to look at him. He doesn't look up from his book. I leave the room. Vanessa seems to be having a discussion with the Mistress when I come but it quickly comes to an end. We leave the shop after that.