Explanation

I went straight to my room, and trained the control of my energy. Fox didn't visit me for the rest of the day, but I wasn't concerned about that anymore. 'I no longer trust her as much as I did before' I thought. I never trusted anyone fully, not since I experienced slavery. Even Finch and others from Savala Village did receive my full trust. I was able to share a lot with them, but at the same time, I was ready to take action if something happened.

The next day, I went downstairs, but didn't see Fox there. I shrugged my shoulders and left. I headed towards the Grand Library, to read some books. At the Library, I met that woman from the day before again. We conversed about some books at first, until I recalled something, and asked her, "Where do I obtain the pass, to enter the upper floors?". She asked in reply, "Did you become some sort of official over the night?". I laughed, and replied "No, I already met one of the requirements. I just didn't know about it".

I didn't want to flaunt my strength, so I didn't say which requirement. She replied "There is a building outside, where this can be taken care of. When you go out, and turn… Actually, I have some spare time now, want me to take you there?". I nodded, and replied "Sure, I would appreciate that". As we walked through the streets, she introduced herself "My name is Elly by the way". I replied "Just call me traveller". She looked at me confused, and asked "You don't have a name?". I smiled, and replied "I'm just a traveller".

I decided not to reveal my name. This could be tied to Savala Village one way or another, and I had a sword to find. If I created trouble inside the Imperial City, no one would search for me there. She replied "You are weird". We soon arrived at some sort of building, where Elly said "This is the place. Let's go in". I shook my head, and said "I will take care of this by myself. I still have something else to take care of before that. Thank you for showing me the way nevertheless".

Elly nodded her head, and replied "Alright, I will see you at the Library then". I waved her goodbye, and waited until she left. I stood in the crowd of the people for a while, then disappeared. I appeared in one of the side alleys, and asked "Why don't you come out? Fox". I knew she was there. Since the time she tried to mislead me, I've paid much greater attention to my surroundings. Even though I knew she was there, she didn't come out. Instead, she started running away.

'You want to run away from me? Futile' I thought, and chased after her. Even though she was using stealth, I already experienced that many times. This time, I could use my full set of skills, as well as my Aura to chase her. I located her approximate position, and used my Aura to envelop the area. Fox was caught up in my Aura, and tried escaping it. Ultimately, she couldn't do it. Her stealth disappeared, while I walked over, and said "Fox, why would you spy on me like this? First lying about the Library, now spying".

I retracted my Aura, and awaited an explanation. If she couldn't provide one, we would be done. She asked angry "Do you hate me that much? Because you can't see my face?". I didn't expect such a reply. I asked confused "What do you mean?". She continued "You are so stupid. All you care about is training. You just left me alone that day, and didn't care. Weren't we supposed to travel together?".

I was stunned. 'What does this have to do with lying to me?' I thought. She continued "If you hate me this much, fine then, I will leave by myself". She turned around and started running. I quickly grabbed her, and asked "Why are you so mad? Did I ever lie to you? Did I tell you what you can and cannot do? I'm not interested in clothes. I wear stuff that is protective, not that looks good. If it does, fine. If it doesn't, great as well. Buying a tonne of clothes… for what? You enjoy that, while I don't. Forcing me to enjoy it, by threatening not to lend me your feather, is not alright".

When I finished saying that, I could hear that she was crying a bit. 'What the hell! It's not my fault at all! Why the hell should I do, whatever she wants?' I thought. I let her go, sighed and said, "I always treated you as a friend, and never forced things upon you. I don't understand why you would assume that I hate you, or anything like that. I just don't like to be mislead. If your reason for misleading me, was for me to tag along for your shopping, I can understand that. But for the future, I suggest being truthful and open about stuff. This will at least show me, you are not trying to use me or something... If you want to leave, I will not stop you anymore".

She stood there for a while, but stopped crying. She replied with a shaky voice "I'm… sorry. I knew you would go straight there, so…". It was true, I probably would ditch her anyway. I was much more interested in knowledge contained inside the books, than shopping. 'So it was this. I guess, I acted badly towards her as well. I'm at fault too it seems' I thought to myself. I patted her shoulder, and replied "I'm sorry, I shouldn't have done that. You are right, I would probably go there straight away. I promised your father not to abandon you. I will not do that anymore, as long as you promise to not mislead me anymore".

She nodded her head, and said "I'm alright with that". I smiled, and said "Good. Let's forget about that then, we are still friends. I owe you for yesterday, so let's go shopping. I will try to be helpful, as much as I can. Alright?". She nodded her head a few times, and seemed to be more lively.

I continued "Tomorrow though, we go someplace else. How about the Arena?". She asked surprised "You don't want to go to the Grand Library?". I replied, "We can go there later, it's not like all the books will disappear from there. Arena should be enjoyable to both of us, right? Maybe we can fight on it too, just like we did in the North". Fox liked the idea, and agreed immediately. 'So this was only a misunderstanding' I thought and walked forwards. I took a few steps, and noticed that Fox just stood there. I asked "You coming?". She was probably thinking about something. Hearing my question, she snapped out of it, and replied "Yes, yes coming".

We visited many shops that day. I tried telling her which clothes looked better on her, and which not so much. Although I knew nothing about that, I still had preferences. I sifted through my memories, and tried to recall what I liked for women to look like. 'It was usually long or short dresses, now that I recall. I always thought that girls dressed like that, were more attractive' I thought. She seemed happy, that I at least tried. She enjoyed that day a lot, I could tell. We forgot about what happened, and simply moved on.