"This is the place," Skylar said, looking up at the sign with a small smile.
"What was your mother like before?" I asked curiously as we stepped inside, and Skylar's smile faltered a bit.
"She was... difficult to deal with at times. She had high standards and expected everyone to meet them no matter what," Skylar explained, and I could hear the strain in her voice.
"I only expect what I know a person is capable of. You just don't like to do anything you don't want to," Titania said as she came and took my other arm. "If you are going to talk about me, at least include me in the conversation if you are going to do it right beside me."
I couldn't help but chuckle as I leaned down and kissed her on the cheek as we walked inside. "Sorry, Titania. I just wanted to learn more about you."
"Hmm, well, that is a touchy subject for my daughter," Titania said as we all started to look around the store at all the different shoes they had.
"I am not touchy! I just don't like talking about you," Skylar said defensively, and I could see the anger in her eyes.
"I see. Well, I am sure Galio will be more than happy to listen to whatever you have to say about me," Titania said, and I could feel the challenge in her voice.
"I would love to hear anything that she has to say about you," I said with a smile as we all started towards the back of the store, where there were some shelves with different boots and shoes.
"Hmm, well, let's see... You are an amazing woman, but you can also be quite frustrating at times. You always want things your way, and you have a hard time compromising," Skylar began, but Titania cut her off.
"That is not true! I am perfectly capable of compromise!" Titania exclaimed indignantly as she crossed her arms over her chest. "You just don't like it when I win."
"That is because you rig everything to be in your favor, or you just don't do anything!" Skylar growled, which surprised me, but it seemed she was less awkward when her mother was around. Even if it was for all the wrong reasons, I am sure it wasn't easy to live with someone like that.
"Rig? I do no such thing," Titania said, but I could see the amusement in her eyes.
"You totally do! You just don't want to admit it because you are afraid that people will think less of you," Skylar retorted, and Titania sighed as she shook her head.
"Fine, maybe I do rig things a bit, but it is only because I want to win. Can you blame me for that?" Titania asked, and Skylar huffed as she turned away from her mother.
"Yes, actually. It is not fair to everyone else when you do that."
"I see your point, but sometimes winning is more important than being fair," Titania said nonchalantly as she started looking at some of the shoes herself. "Now, help me find something suitable for walking in the snow."
Skyler huffed but then let go of my arm and surprisingly walked off with Titania after she also let go of me. I just watched the two women walk off, scratching my head.
"That was... unexpected," Claire said as she came to stand next to me with a bemused expression.
"Yeah, I am not sure what just happened," I admitted as we both started looking around at all of the different shoes.
After a few minutes of looking, we managed to find something for everyone, and then we headed back up to the front of the store, where the owner was waiting. She was an older woman with graying hair and but she looked to be in good shape. She had a kind face, though, and she smiled when he saw us coming.
"Find everything that you were looking for?" The woman asked, and we nodded as Daphne stepped forward with her arms full of shoes.
"Yes, thank you," Daphne said politely as she set the shoes down on the counter in front of her. "We will take all of these."
The woman's eyes widened a bit in surprise before he quickly recovered and started totting up the cost. "That will be 100 gold pieces, or would you like me to split the bill up?"
Daphne nodded and started counting out the gold, but I stopped her before she could give it to him. "I will get this," I said as I pulled out some money from my pouch and handed it to the woman. Tallia had given me over a thousand gold pieces and this handy little magical pouch to carry them.
"Oh, no, Galio! You don't have to do that!" Daphne protested, but I just waved her off.
"It is fine. I brought you all with me on this trip, so consider it a gift," I said with a smile as the woman took the money from me and put it in her own pouch before getting everything bagged up for us.
"Thank you so much for your business!" The woman said as he handed the bags over to me, and then we all headed back outside, where Claire cast a heating spell on all of our clothing to keep us warm since we would be heading back out into the cold soon enough anyways.
"Where are we going next?" Eliza asked, but I looked down at the bags. I underestimated just how many bags we would have from the first store.
"I think we should head back to the inn so we can put all of this stuff away," I suggested, and everyone agreed as they started heading back in that direction.
As we walked, I couldn't help but think about what Skylar had said about her mother. I could see how it would be difficult to deal with someone like that, and I wondered if that was why they were always at odds with each other. Still, they seemed to have a good relationship in the end, so maybe it wasn't as bad as it seemed.
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