A few days passed, and Kelves saw that Alea was content to let him watch TV and relax while she went about her own business. She still paid attention to him, offering him meals and asking if he needed anything, and that made Kelves do more thinking than relaxing. It didn't feel right to him that he was doing the same thing he did at home, except in someone else's house, especially since that someone was going out of her way to attend to him. He wanted to make a move, prove that he was worthy of all the attention. Alea had said that her behavior towards him wasn't a matter of him being a loser, but a matter of wanting to ease his pain; nonetheless, he still felt very much like a loser. Furthermore, her willingness to "spoil" him was sapping his self-esteem just a bit. He felt like she was treating him like a second child, and he didn't want to be a child to her.

He wanted to be her friend.

Alea passed by the couch, pulling on her coat as she did. "I'm going to get more groceries. I'll be right back."

Kelves sat up a bit straighter. "Let me come with you. It's only fair, since I probably ate most of your groceries. I mean, I don't have much money to help you with, but... I think I should help."

"Thank you for your offer," Alea said, eyeing Kelves with suspicion. "But people might say things if they see me with anyone other than Geralt."

The words sent a pang of disappointment through Kelves's chest, but for some reason, he didn't feel compelled to just lie down and take the objection like he normally would. "They probably already know I'm here. And why do you care if they say things?" He regretted the question immediately after it left his mouth. He knew why Alea would care if people gossiped about her. It still stung to have those little whispers floating around, no matter how hard one tried to swallow the sneaking pain.

To Kelves's surprise, Alea accepted the counter point. "You're right. It's not as if they don't talk about me already." She beckoned him to come with her. "Are you coming?"

"Yup." With that, Kelves followed Alea to the grocery store.

On the way there, Kelves heard children's voices and turned towards the sound on reflex. What he saw nearly made his heart stop. Two human children, a boy and a girl, were following a young white Caprimet boy. From what he saw, the girl had tanned skin, making the boy look starkly pale in comparison. Both of them had medium-length hair, adding a touch of similarity to their looks. The Caprimet, meanwhile, didn't even have vague stumps of his horns growing in; clearly, he was still a child. The three seemed to be talking happily with each other, but the mere sight of a human made Kelves jump. "Alea, there's- there's humans here?" he said to Alea in a hurried whisper.

Alea arched an eyebrow. "What?" Then she saw what Kelves was referring to. "Ah. Them. Those two are Caleb and Fenne, and the Caprimet is Prince Alrai." Kelves felt a bit embarrassed about having passed by Magicant royalty and not even having known it. "Caleb showed up in the Sealed World about two years ago. Alrai found him, and the royal family took him in. Fenne showed up last month. She's been adopted too."

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"Huh." Kelves scratched his chin. "How does a human even get here?"

"Who knows," Alea said. "But there's talk of how Caleb and Fenne might be the key to unsealing this world."

"Really." After a quick glance over his shoulder to make sure no one else could hear and comment, Kelves added, "Honestly, it doesn't make much of a difference to me. It won't give me my family back. Some people might get their homes back, but who knows? Maybe the humans have already taken them over."

Alea nodded. "I understand that feeling." She then changed the subject. "Let's keep going."

Eventually, Kelves and Alea arrived at the grocery store. It was a smaller establishment, with the aisles fairly well organized; he could see points for and against the possibility of being seen here. On the one hand, maybe people went to the bigger, more popular stores, but on the other hand, if someone spotted you here, there wouldn't be any escape. He dutifully followed Alea around and watched as she put groceries into the cart. "You're getting a lot," he noted at one point.

"Yes, I am," Alea said. "Not only is it to feed you, but you're around to help me carry these, so why not get a bit more than usual?"

Kelves chuckled and scratched the back of his head. "Right."

A woman's voice came from across the aisle. "Alea!"

Alea jolted, then froze as she was approached by a Caprimet woman with snowy white fur. "Kastra."

"I'm so glad to finally see you again," Kastra said. "I haven't heard from you since your daughter died."

"I've been busy," Alea said flatly. "I saw Alrai and the humans earlier."

"Ah, I must have just missed them. Alrai told me he was going out to play with Caleb and Fenne, but he didn't tell me where, so I thought I'd look for them myself. Nash is holding down the fort." Kastra then looked to Kelves. "Who is this?"

Kelves swallowed nervously. "I'm Kelves. Kelves Weaver. I'm, um, visiting."

Kastra's face immediately fell. "Kelves... I'm so sorry. I know about what happened to your family. I wish we could have done more."

"We all wish that," Kelves grumbled, only to receive a firm elbow to the ribs from Alea.

"You do realize you're speaking to Queen Kastra Aryes, don't you?" Alea asked.

Kelves's eyes nearly bugged out of his head. "I-I'm sorry, Your Highness, I didn't realize..."

Kastra giggled. "Alea, don't scare him like that! You know full well that both Nash and I are fine without the formalities. At any rate, while I'd love to catch up a bit more, I really should continue my search. Next time, Alrai really needs to tell me where he's going. Take care, you two!" As suddenly as she appeared, the Caprimet queen left.

"Huh. For a queen, she's rather personable," Kelves said. "I wonder what was with that sudden exit though."

Alea shrugged. "King Nashir is also famous for being a very accessible person," she said. "As for Kastra, well, it's not so much that she's flighty as much as it is that she tries to do a lot at once but isn't the best multitasker."

"You sound like you know her well," Kelves said.

"We used to be on good terms before my daughter's death," Alea said, her voice barely above a mumble. "How about we wrap up here? I only have a few more things on my shopping list."

Kelves nodded, and the duo finished grocery shopping and headed home.