Author's note:

I am having trouble coming up with a synopsis and chapter titles. Does anyone have any suggestions? ^_^;

Anyway, here is the promised chapter. Please enjoy!

As Andric was away, Elise quickly found herself getting bored.

The room was interesting to her at first as it was the first time she had been to such a quaint inn.

Not that she was boasting, but as a Princess, all the inns she stayed at when she was required to travel were all luxurious and of the highest class, hence it was a big change of environment for her to stay in such a simple room. The room consisted of only a bed, a chair, a dressing table with a palm size bronze mirror and a lockable chest.

After exploring all the nook and crannies in the room, Elise was now sitting on the bed and peering out of the window with her face propped up by her hands.

The streets were starting to get busy. There were more people walking about, and some vendors had set up push cart stalls selling breakfast and other items.

Elise opened the window slightly, and the sounds of the people walking and conversing on the streets soon floated in.

Sniff.

It smells like scrambled eggs?

They had an early breakfast before entering the town so she was not hungry, but she still felt tempted from the delicious scents wafting up.

Should she…?

She did promise Andric that she will remain in the inn. But if she went out for a while and return quickly, he won't even know right?

In the first place, why was she even prevented from going out?

Having convinced herself, Elise stood up. Her sudden movement caused the hair that she has hastily tied up into a ponytail with a tree vine become undone.

Long tresses came falling over her shoulders like a light, golden waterfall.

Elise fingered her hair that has come undone. Her original hair was black and straight, while the hair she had now was blond and slightly wavy.

Although the hair was pretty, it was very troublesome to take care. The long hair will get in her way when she lets it down, and because it is thick, it was difficult to tie up as well.

Looking around, she saw the dagger that she had put on the table.

The original owner might have spent a lot of time growing out the hair and taking care of it, but she was afraid she would have to cut it off to make her life easier.

As she held the 30 cm long dagger in her hand, she soon realised that she had another problem.

The bronze mirror was too small to see her head properly. Furthermore, she is unable to see the back of her head to trim her hair evenly.

Maybe she should ask someone for help…?

Just as she was thinking about it, someone knocked on the door.

“Elise, are you inside?”

Oh, Andric’s back, she thought with slight regret. It seemed like her plan of going out on her own is gone.

“Yes. The door is not locked, please come in.”

The door opened with a slight creak. Andric’s face soon appeared from the back of the door.

He gave a gentle smile as his eyes met hers, however, when it travelled down to the thing she was holding on her hands, the smile froze.

Using a speed that was faster than what she had seen him using while fighting Goblins, he appeared beside her and plucked the dagger out of her hands and slammed it on the table.

Before she was able to explain herself, a low and stern voice sounded out.

“I thought that you had learned from your previous attempt so I didn't say anything. Although it might be inappropriate for me to say so but you should treasure your life more.”

Knowing that Andric had completely misunderstood her, she gave a deep sigh.

“What are you sighing about?” He asked with a frown.

Elise stared at him in silence for a moment.

“What?” He asked again. He had to admit her upward gaze was powerful. When he look into her eyes for an extended period of time, he could feel himself getting drawn into the grey depths.

“I want to cut my hair,” she said plainly.

“Huh?” Her sudden reply caught him off guard.

“My hair is getting in my way so I want to cut it short,” she elaborated slowly.

Looking at the dagger at the table and at the girl who was looking at him like an idiot, he could feel his face getting hot as he realised that it was a misunderstanding.

“So you want to use the dagger to cut your hair?” He confirmed.

When Elise nodded, he flicked her forehead lightly.

“Who on earth uses a 30 cm dagger to cut their hair? Are you intending to cut your head off as well?”

Rubbing the spot that he had flicked, Elise grinded her teeth to control her anger. I am a eighteen year old adult. I should not go around killing people who is treating me like a kid.

Once she had calmed down, she jerked her head towards the side and replied indignantly, “I don't have any smaller blades with me.”

Looking at the red mark that had appeared on the girl’s forehead, Andric felt a slight pain in his heart. Perhaps he had used too much force…

Heaving a sigh, he took a few steps to stand behind her. Just as Elise was wondering what he was up to, he took out a small blade of around 10 cm and said composedly, “Hold still. I’ll help you to cut your hair.”

He often trimmed his own hair while he was traveling as he disliked having long hair, but this was going to be the first time cutting someone else’s hair.

“How short do you want it to be?”

Elise looked at him with suspicious eyes. Even though it was her intention to ask him for help at the start, she was not sure if she wants to accept his help right after he had done such a childish act of flicking her forehead.

Andric met the gaze of the girl. Knowing that she was upset with him, he rummaged through his pockets and took out a candy wrapped with purple paper.

Placing it on the table, he said, “This is hard boiled candy made from grapes.”

Elise unwrapped the candy and popped the pale violet ball into her mouth.

Mm, tasty.

“Apology accepted,”she said with a slight smile.

Looking at the mirror in front of her, she turned her head from the left to the right slowly before replying, “Around my chin would be nice.”

Andric hesitated. “Wouldn’t that be too short?”

“Just do it.”

*****

“Young lady would you like to try this chicken kebab? It is really delicious ya know!”

“Hey! You new in town? Then you should know that you can’t say that you have visited Wivendale without trying some of my handmade fried fritters!”

“Don’t listen to what that old man is saying. Everyone knows that Wivendale is only well known for the cloth!”

Elise chuckled as the stall owners bantered to catch her attention.

“You should take a look at some scarfs I have here! They are made with 50% Giant Spider thread. The quality is really good!”

Now that the stall owner mentioned, she was feeling a little cold. Elise pulled her cloak tighter around herself before she excused herself and continued on her way.

They were now walking on the main street of the town, where most shops and stalls were at. As it was late morning, the streets had gotten considerably busy.

She flitted from stall to stall excitedly, drawn by all the new things that she had never seen before. Her chin length hair would bob up and down as she ran around. She would occasionally stop to ask about what certain items were and how much they cost, but she will soon move off. Andric followed closely beside to make sure she did not lose herself in the crowd.

“What is that?” She asked as she pointed at a stall that was selling what seemed like rolled up leaves.

“This is a kind of food made from barley, herbs and chicken wrapped with leaves and steamed. It is usually eaten as a snack,” Andric replied.

Eyeing the girl beside him who was looking at the stall with interest, he took a few steps to the front of the stall.

“How much is it?”

The middle aged stall keeper who was in the middle of arranging the rolls smiled broadly. “Only 3 Merin for one, good sir.”

Andric took out six small bronze coins and handed it over to the man.

“I'll have two. Thanks.”

Elise looked closely at the type of coin he was handing over. Prior to coming out of the inn, she had opened up the money pouch in her bag to check the coins. However, as the currency Lauritopia uses and currency Perenia Kingdom uses were different, she was unsure of how much each coin was worth.

Based on what she had managed to observe and find out, the name of the currency used in the country is called ‘Merin’. Each small bronze coin is worth 1 Merin and the bigger bronze coin is worth 10 Merin. The small silver coin is worth 50 Merin while the big silver coin is worth 100 Merin. She had a gold coin in her money pouch as well, but she had not seen anyone use a gold coin so she was not sure of its value.

She could probably ask Andric directly, but wouldn’t it be too strange to not even know how the currency of the country works?

In terms of the price range, most of the food items sold at the outdoor stalls were selling at a price between 2 to 6 Merin while meal sets at eateries were sold at around 5 to 12 Merin. For daily necessities and fresh produce, they were sold from between 1 to 5 Merin. Ready made clothes of decent quality were around 15 to 20 Merin while custom made clothes start at around 30 Merin and can go for over 100 Merin depending on the quality. The most expensive kind of item she had seen so much were clothes made from pure Giant Spider thread. A simple pants made from that would cost at least 500 Merin.

“Do you want to try?” A roll that was wrapped with leaves was suddenly held in front of her.

Elise was jolted out of her thoughts, and accepted the roll.

“How much is it again?” She asked as she reached to her bag to take out her money pouch.

Andric stopped her. “It’s my treat,” he said with a wry smile.

“I'll buy you something else in return later then.” Now that she knows how money works, she was confident that she had some spare coins to treat him in return. Plus she had the gold coin which she perceived to have a high value.

“Andric, do you know where is the shop that sell maps?” Elise asked. She had not forgotten about her goal of returning to Lauritopia.

“We should be able to find it at an item store,” Andric answered.

“But why are you so insistent on going to Lauritopia? Have you remembered anything?” Andric asked as he studied her face closely.

To his disappointment, Elise shook her head. “I still don’t remember anything about my past…”

“But I do feel a sense of nostalgia when I think about Lauritopia,” she said softly. Looking at him with a slight crease between the middle of her brows, she asked, “Do you think I might have come from there?”

Take my pretty girl attack! Elise thought triumphantly while still maintaining her mildly troubled expression. In her original body, apart from her brother, normal men would steer clear of her. However, with this current body she was certain that any guy with a conscience would not bear to treat her badly.

“I wouldn’t know about that…” Andric replied with a sad smile. “However, this is the nearest town to Spider Forest. Perhaps if we ask around, someone whom you know might appear,” he continued sympathetically.

Honestly speaking, that would become a disaster, Elise thought. Even if someone was to come up to her and say that she is her mother, she would still be acting troubled and insist that she cannot remember. At the moment, her main goal is to return to Lauritopia. Although she was interested in the identity of the body as well, that would come after she has achieved her first goal.

However, Elise cannot say her true feelings, so she only nodded. “But can we get the map to Lauritopia first? I have a very strong feeling that I need to get there as soon as possible.”

He studied her face with a thoughtful look. Elise was not intimidated and met his gaze squarely. Finally, he relented. “If you are sure about it, then let’s go to a item store to get the map.”