Keya just stood still, covering her eyes and cringing in fear while she did nothing, and allowed her friend to be pummeled. Akio attempted to speak up, hoping to reason with his assailant. Unfortunately, it fell on deaths ear as she lifted him up, pile-driving him right into the ground, despite her small size.

Akio's face was covered in bumps and bruises with a trickle of blood coming out of his nose.

"That's what you get for planting your face in my but, you sicko!"

"Akio!" shouted Keya. She was shocked and horrified, hovering over the boy's unconscious body. "That was a little too much, don't you think?!"

The dwarf girl clapped her hands to remove the dust. Turning her attention to Keya, she retorted, having a scowl and a hand to her hip, "Not at all. Had to teach the creep a lesson."

"B-but he's not a creep! We're just here looking for someone to repair Akio's broken sword!" Keya protested in anger.

Crouching down, she helped Akio up while providing him leverage to regain his equilibrium.

"Eh?"

The dwarf's face turned pale followed by a nervous gulp.

"Why I have the nerve to turn you over the authorities for reckless brutality!" Keya threatened with a glare.

Waving her hands, the dwarf girl attempted to calm the elf girl. She pleaded, "Woah! Woah! You don't have to go that far!"

She grabbed the boy's hand and shook it rapidly.

"It was just a mistake, you see! Also, I didn't properly introduce myself! My name is Grimhilda Faldrum, granddaughter of Torstein Faldrum, at your service! Sorry about what happen earlier, but it was a good thing it didn't get ugly!" she chuckled nervously at the end.

"Besides, I don't want to get in trouble with the law, again!" she added whisperingly.

"I have minor head trauma and you don't call that ugly?" Akio deadpanned in anger. His face had mysteriously returned to normal, yet he could still feel the pain throughout his body.

Letting go of his hand, Grimhilda strolled up to the door and opened it with the key in her pocket.

She called while gesturing a hand, "Come on in! We just started opening up shop!"

"At this late in the afternoon?" Akio pointed out.

Grimhilda chuckled while scratching her face. She explained, "Ay…my grandfather sleeps from 6AM to 1PM. So, it's hard to open up shop when the blacksmith is not working. Fortunately, it does give me time to spruce up the old place before we open."

Keya and Akio sauntered into the house, closing it behind them as Grimhilda guided them into the living room.

Sitting in a rocking chair, there was an elderly dwarf with a long gray beard taking a nap while he emitted a loud snore. Grimhilda groaned and walked up to the old dwarf. Placing her hands on his right arm, she carefully shook him awake.

"Grandpa! Wake up! We have costumers!" she said in a calm tone.

The old man ceased snoring and instantly opened his yes. He snapped his head rapidly in confusion. It took him awhile to collect his bearings before turning to his granddaughter, and then to Keya and Akio.

"Hilda, what time is it? We don't open shop until 1PM," he pointed out.

"It's one already, you old fart!" Grimhilda irate.

Having a shocked expression, Torstein quickly got up out of his chair, threw his blanket to the side, and gingerly waltzed out of the room.

"Why didn't you wake me up sooner, lass! We need to get everything read before the costumers leave!"

He started to panic. His motion was very slow, carefully not straining himself while having a hand on his back while stomping like there was no tomorrow. With each step, he shook the ground with such tremendous force. Keya, Akio, and Grimhilda had trouble keeping their balance.

Grimhilda dashed and grabbed her grandfather's arm, stopping him and flashed him a reassuring grin.

She confirmed, "Grandpa! The sign is already turned over, so they'll know that the store is open. But, what I mean to say is that we already have customers, already!"

Keya and Akio were bewildered by the two, having the same thought: These two can't possibly be related!

Torstein turned his attention to the two. He noticed the medallion around Keya's neck and gasped, bowing his head in respect as he greeted, "I'm sorry for wasting your time with my laziness! It is a pleasure to have such esteemed patrons within my humble establishment!"

Confused and surprised, Keya and Akio didn't know how to respond to the old man's comment. A droplet of sweat formed on Keya and Akio's heads as they were taken aback. Keya gestured her hands down calmingly and smiled, correcting in agitation, "No! No! You are mistaken! We aren't esteemed in any way! We're just here to repair my friend's sword and also browse!"

They' all sat in the living. Grimhilda and the old man made some tea for their guests, treating them with the best hospitality they could muster. Akio handed his sword to the old man and he examined it with caution.

"My…this is a very old sword. I'm surprised it's still in one piece!' commented Torstein.

"Does that mean you can fix it?" Akio asked straightforwardly.

The old man scowled at the boy, giving him an annoyed huff as he placed the sword on the table. Standing up, he shouted in hubris, "Of course, I can! I can fix anything with these old hands of mine!"

His granddaughter dragged him back down on the couch. Grimhilda pinched the bridge of her nose while shaking her head in irritation. Her grandfather caught up and flustered as he became embarrassed from making such a scene.

"H-however, it will cost you," he remarked.

"How much?" Keya questioned.

"1 silver coin."

The two were relieved at how cheap it was.

Tornstein added, "Unfortunately, it will take about a day to seal up the crack, which is lucky for you, young man! One more swing and this sword of yours would've shattered into pieces!"

Akio did not like the sound of that.

"In the meantime, we have some extra rooms. We've been talking so long it's already pass afternoon! So, you can stay here for the night until your sword is ready."

"What?!" Keya and Grimhilda shouted in unison.

"I don't want some…pervert sleep under the same roof as us, grandpa! I'd rather get captured by an ogre than let him sleep in the guest room, along with his elf bimbo!" Grimhilda protested, flustering as she pointed at the boy.

"I have a similar feeling when the thought of sleeping in a house filled with uncouth barbarians!" argued Keya. She had been offended by the dwarf's statement and couldn't help but retaliate.

Grimhilda sneered as she turned her attention to the elf girl.

"What did you say?!"

Standing up, Keya walked up to the dwarf girl, staring down at her with a glare.

"Oh, you heard me! I said I didn't want to sleep in a house filled with uncouth barbarians!"

The two then growled at each other, but not before Akio grabbed his friend and dragged her upstairs. He shouted, "Thank you for the room, good sir! Sorry for my friend! She's just having an off day! She didn't mean anything! We'll get settled in real quick while my friend cools off!"

"Be sure to go into the last room, on the right!" said the old man

"Thank you!"

Akio brought his friend into the guest room before throwing her onto the frill-covered bed and closing the door behind him. At that moment, he started banging his head against the door, but then stopped as he started receiving a headache.

"Akio?"

Keya cooled down. She was puzzled at her friend's action, but tensed when she saw Akio beaming at her. She didn't understand why he was angry but she was about to find out soon.

Trotting up to her, he yelled, "What the hell is wrong with you?! How could you say such a thing when that man just gave us a place to stay for the night?!"

"Me?! Didn't you just hear what that pint size girl said to us?! She called you a pervert and me a bimbo?!" Keya argued.

"Yeah, I heard, but I try to be the bigger person and turn the other cheek! That's another thing! What do you have against dwarves?! What have they done to you?!"

Keya took a deep breath and chuckled, planting a hand on her face, as she looked away form Akio. The boy began to feel uncomfortable by this. His anger then disappeared, becoming unnerved by Keya's gesture.

She looked up with somber eyes at the boy. Then she stated, "That's right, you have amnesia. So, you don't know the whole story then, I see."

She patted the other side of the bed, gesturing Akio to sit next to her. He complied. Once he sat down, she started telling him everything.

"For as long as my people can remember, the elves and the dwarves have been enemies. We elves feared, hated, and envied the dwarves, and I guess it's vice versa for the latter. Most times, we fought over certain things like land and resources. Other times, we just fought for no reason. We even told our children stories to scare them into behaving! It was the same with me, and my brothers and sisters."

Then silence fell upon the two. Neither one of them spoke, or continued to speak. Finally, Keya continued, "I'm sorry, Akio, for yelling at you and causing such a stir in the center of town, and even nearly starting a fight with Grimhilda. It's just…I was taught to hate the dwarves, but I never asked myself WHY I hated them."

She tensed up as she felt the boy's hand on her shoulder. She blushed and turned towards him, feeling warmth from seeing his understanding smile. He lectured sympathetically, "It's okay, Keya. I'm not angry at you anymore. After hearing all of that, I can see why you couldn't help but lash out at Hilda after what she said to us, but you shouldn't think the way your people think. Being proud of what you are is a good thing but having the same kind of pride as your people? That's not pride. That's arrogance. And that's not healthy. You need to throw away your people's views and create your own, and that way you can be your own person with your own ideas. Not a parrot repeating what she was taught. Who knows! Maybe Grimhilda and her grandfather are savages, or maybe they're nice folks. You never know until you try to get to know them."

Keya thought deeply about all Akio had just said and smiled. Standing back up, Akio reached his hand, wanting Keya to grab it. He said, "You ready to come back down stairs?"

She nodded, "Yes…I would like that." she gripped and lifted herself up.

"Oh, by the way…" Akio twirled and faced the elf girl while arching a brow. "What's a…parrot?"

Parrots do not exist in the world of Ashura. So, Keya would be confused by such an alien word.

"Umm…it's nothing! Just…something that popped into my head!" He lied.

"Come on! Let's not keep our hosts waiting!"

They waltzed out of the room and headed down stairs. The Faldrums had prepared dinner for all of them. Beef stew, it was, and it looked delicious. However, right before they could eat, Keya had passed out from the stench of boiled meat.