Let this day serve as a lesson to me. The rule of steel, is always right. I was too soft on Raphtalia. I allowed her to overindulge at breakfast, and now we both must bear the consequences. Not even twenty minutes into our journey to the capital, my familiar shot up from her seat, shoved her head out the window, and wasted a good deal of food.
I couldn't help but wince in sympathy, even as I covered my nose. There really wasn't much for me to do, other than hold her hair back and wipe her mouth with a handkerchief when she was done. I briefly considered keeping the handkerchief for cleaning and later use, but then thought of it stinking up the rest of the trip to the capital. In the end I threw it out the window.
That proved to be a mistake too. Only an hour later, Raphtalia was heaving out the window again, but with nothing left in her stomach, she only managed to drool bile down the front of her chin, and I no longer had anything to wipe it off with. In the end we stopped two more times to clean Raphtalia's face with the driver's waterskin before we arrived at the capitol.
Normally I would have ridden the carriage further into the city to cut down on time walking, but for her sake it seemed best to exit at the gate. She was so happy to be out that she would have kissed the earth if I had let her.
Tristania was always a busy place, though it was small compared to a city like Londinium, or Lutece. Its small size did come with some advantages, specifically that a lot of the roads were made of cobblestone rather than trodden mud, and in the merchant parts of town people made sure to keep their filth from the streets. That wasn't to say the place didn't smell poorly compared to outside its walls, but in opposition to some of the other places I had traveled it was quite bearable. Elearnore had horror stories to tell about Lutece and its slums.
Some part of me was vaguely disappointed by the lack of exuberance from Raphtalia as we walked the streets. This must not have been her first time to a city, as she merely looked curiously about while keeping just a few paces behind me. The houses of the merchant district were sturdy things of brick, often two story structures with tiled roofing and well ordered shop fronts. Normally a member of a house as great as mine wouldn't stop here, instead calling a professional tailor to visit us at the estate, but on short notice it would do for Raphtalia's needs.
The tailor I chose displayed a number of maid and serving uniforms in its windows, and I suspected it to be wear my academy uniform originally came from, though I'd never been here before. As we stepped inside a bell rang, alerting the shopkeep to our entrance.
"Milady, it's an honor to have you inside my store." The woman behind the counter curtsied as I entered. Maybe she did actually know who I was from my pink hair and academy uniform, but I cared little either way.
"I need three, simple, easy to work in servant's uniforms for Raphtalia, here." I stepped to the right and pushed my familiar forward so the lady behind the counter could see. "And I need them delivered to the academy before the start of the week."
The store keeper cast an eye over Raphtalia, lingering on her ears curiously, before nodding quickly. "Of course, milady. I can have them delivered tomorrow afternoon. I'll just need to take her measurements."
I directed Raphtalia to stand in front of the mirror, while the store owner disappeared out back to find a few rulers for measurement.
"Um…" Raphtalia looked at me in the mirror.
"What is it?" I asked her.
She thought carefully about what she wanted to say, before holding her hand parallel to the top of her head. Then she raised that hand up to around my height.
My mind worked for a moment, before I held the hand above my height. "Tall. This is taller. Tall." Then I brought it down to her height. "Short. This is shorter. Short."
Nodding in understanding, she raised one arm above her self. "Raphtalia tall."
...I couldn't help but smile at the way she was standing on her tiptoes. "No, I'm quite sure that you're short." Placing my palm on top of her head, I pressed down so she was standing at her normal height again. "See?"
She gave a frustrated huff. "I don't want you to waste gold. Once I'm level twenty, nothing from here will fit me."
"I'm sure you'll grow taller with time." Or at least that's what I told myself when I thought of all six feet of my mother, or Elleanore who was almost as tall as father. I was just a late bloomer, mother said she had been the same at my age. Yes, by the time I reached my full height, I would be able to look down on Kirche, who was the tallest in our year. I was sure of it, though it would be nice if that growth spurt hurried up already.
Raphtalia didn't seem reassured, though that was probably because of the language barrier. Her pouting face in the mirror was cute too.
The store owner returned and began to take measurements, but stopped when it came to Raphtalia's tail, shooting me an uncertain glance in the mirror before continuing.
That reminded me, actually. Raphtalia's appendage had proven incompatible with the skirt that was part of the academy uniform. When she was wearing around her hips, her tail had to be pointed pointed to the floor or she would raise it indecently. The skirt itself was already practically short enough to be immodest, and that problem was only exacerbated whenever Raphtalia's tail twitched or went up instinctively.
"Be sure to include a hole for her tail." I told the storekeeper, who hesitated before giving a nod of understanding.
We left the store soon after that, and I took Raphtalia to the alchemical supply. Not because I particularly needed anything but because I wanted her to know where it was for when she was ready to run errands for me.
After that, there wasn't much left that I intended to do in the capital. I hesitated to head home right away, if only because of how long and uncomfortable the trip to come here was. It would be a good idea to get lunch, but in light of Raphtalia's motion sickness I hesitated. Internally I debated whether it was a good idea to feed her or not, but decided to just give her a few hours to digest before we headed out. Lunch came from a good inn, and this time I was careful to stop Raphtalia after just one plate of chicken stew, though she looked quite unsatisfied.
"Well, is there anything you can think of to do?" I asked her.
She looked up at me unsure.
"Where?" I tried, and pointed at a few different stores. "Where would you like to go?"
After leading me down the street for a while, she indicated one store that caught her gaze. I rolled my eyes when I saw the sign, and then thought of entering it. No, it would not do for me to be seen there.
"Well, if you want it, you can go in, but I'll wait here." I took out my purse and handed her some coin.
A little while later she emerged with two spring mouse traps, looking quite pleased with herself as she handed the change to me. Counting it quickly, I thought she did a fair job negotiating the price despite not speaking Tristanian.
The only other store that seemed to catch her interest was a blacksmith.
AN: How do we feel about derfflinger? In some ways I'm hesitant to include him, as in the show I found him to be used far too often for exposition purposes, in addition to which Raphtalia has the hammer which strikes me as a more useful weapon for her. If anyone has any advice or arguments in favor of the talking sword, I'm interested to hear it.
Also, there will probably be no new chapter tomorrow.
Last chapter, a reader helpfully pointed out that yes, horses were a thing in Melomarc. So I've gone back and deleted the AN when I suggested they were not, but otherwise the scene remains completely unchanged. Children like animals, and the language barrier keeps Raphtalia from explicitly stating her reason to be excited about the horse, so the reader can simply infer that however they please.
Please let me know about any errors I've made.