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With free time to herself Niiemh had decided she would send a letter to her brother to see how things were going for him. Of course that meant she had to go in secret. Or at least keep it from her stepmother's eyes. So she'd put on her least eye catching outfit and put a wrap over her hair to keep it concealed. Nii thought that it would be hard to identify her with how she was dressed.

So she stepped out like that and hurried along to town. It wasn't that far of a walk and she had no problem making it. Of course the courier that she and her brother used to communicate wasn't the main one and so she had to go to a side street that wasn't full of people and some of the people it did have didn't look so savory. Nii was so used to walking this particular street that she hardly paid them any mind. One would even say she wasn't very aware of her surroundings.

As she usually did, to make sure her stepmother wasn't following her or had sent someone to do so, she looked over her shoulder. Scanning the people behind her, not that she'd know if someone was spying on her or not, she took a breath. Looking forward again she stepped over to the courier's small out-stall and waved at him. He nodded to her before he dusted his hands off and stepped closer. There was only a few words exchanged, a conversation done so often it was like second nature. Nii told him it was to be sent to her brother Viltre, and he told her whether or not she had mail from him. Once he took the letter from her and waved her off Niiemh smiled and turned to walk away. She still had plenty of time before she needed to be home.

With no new news from her brother she had nothing to hide on her person. So Niiemh didn't need to worry about that at least. Still, she didn't want to go home just yet. So she looked left then right before moving along down the street. She was headed toward the cheaper shops rather than the higher end ones that her family frequented.

Nii liked one in particular. A clothing shop of sorts. When she reached it she paused in front to look through the small window. She was trying to see if there was something new that hadn't been there the last time she'd visited. Something did catch her attention. A fluffy looking pillow set off to the side. The fabric looked silken and the stuffing looked like it would be soft. Niiemh had a small collection of pillows on her bed that she seemed to enjoy and figured this one would make a nice addition.

Turning her head she looked at the small crowd that was passing, maybe five people, and smile politely. She waited for them to be past before she made a move toward the door.

Completely oblivious to the fact that she had gained the attention of someone, Nii had picked up the pillow and was feeling the fabric. So when someone leaned in behind her and spoke she half jumped out of her skin and gave a shriek. The pillow almost fell from her hands but she fumbled to keep it from hitting the ground. "E-Excuse me? H-How did.. I mean, uhm.." She closed her eyes and internally scolded herself.

After a second she turned her head to look at who it was that had said it. They had said her name. At first she thought it might have been a friend of her brother's but she didn't recognize the person. So she held the pillow close as she moved a step away from the person. "I-I don't believe I know you.. How do you know my name?" Devereux's disguise was much better than hers and clearly worked.

When the person laughed at her fright she frowned a little. It hadn't been that funny, had it? Niiemh shifted a little. When he took his glasses off and told her who he was she went wide eyed as she stared at him. "D-Devereux!?" She once more shrieked, this time with disbelief. Of course her eyes also went behind him to see if someone else was there as well. She instantly thought that someone had sent him to follow her and she worried.

When he asked her what she was doing since he did t see her shopping g for wedding gifts she held the pillow tighter and looked down at it. "I actually like this little shop." Of course something for their upcoming wedding would be bought elsewhere. "I usually only get to come here when I have free time." Perhaps he hadn't seen her go to the courier so she wouldn't have to explain that to him. "What are you doing here? And why are you dressed like that?

When he looked around so did she but she found no one that she recognized. Of course she was starting to see how awful she was at spotting a familiar face. All it took was a change of clothes apparently. Which made her worry she may have been followed after all.

As Devereux spoke again she looked at him. Knowing he came to this side of town often was a bit of a surprise but she didn't blame him for it. Even if the shops weren't 'high quality' like the others one could still find nice things in them. And since she tried to only spend her own coin to avoid being noticed it left her options slightly limited. "Oh." She thought of mentioning that she'd not seen him before but clearly if she had she wouldn't have recognized him.

His mention of having the right disguise made her cheeks heat up with embarrassment. Clearly it was made to remind her she was hiding from nobody. She turned her head to the side to avoid having to look at him and his little smirk that served only to make the color in her cheeks deepen. Nii didn't know what to say to that since he was clearly right. "Please don't tell anyone you saw me here." Her words came out as a whisper. She was more worried about being confined or having a permanent guard when she left the house if her stepmother knew.

He had a point. It wasn't like he was going to go to Merle and let her know he'd seen Niiemh on the shady side of town. Though, then again.. He could if he thought it might get him out of their arrangement. Claim she wasn't suitable to be his wife. Nii wouldn't blame him. Though when he stated that he wouldn't tell if she didn't tell she nodded.

Her head turned to watch him as he looked at a blanket. She took it in for a moment before she brought her attention back to him. The blanket itself didn't look all that interesting to her, though she also didn't much care for which blanket she had. Hearing Devereux's comment about being strangers she looked at the floor for a split second. "I'm sorry. I know you wanted me to stop them.." Nii could have tried harder if she'd been willing to insult people.

"I've never been able to fully stop her. Derail her plans a little or slow them down maybe.." Her small shoulders lifted up slightly before slowly going back down. "If you ran away from this I wouldn't blame you o-or be upset." Niiemh wanted to make sure he knew he didn't have to worry about upsetting her. If he knew a way out of it then he could take it.

She watched him with the blanket, tilting her head a bit as he seemed to be interested in the item. When he turned to her and managed to catch her eyes she could only blink at him. Niiemh was amazed at how different he looked with glasses on though he was still similar. 'I don't think you're an urchin.. perhaps if you added a bit a dirt to your face.." She commented with a faint smile reaching over to collect a bit of dust from a shelf onto her finger so that she could hold it up half threateningly.

"Our day? Does that mean we'll be spending the day together?" Nii was curious about that. It would give her some time to get to know Devereux. If nothing else she at least wanted to be on friendly terms with him if their families were really going through with things. "I wouldn't mind the company of a very well kept urchin." She teased a little.

Nii couldn't help the giggle that escaped her at Devereux avoiding her dust covered finger. She lowered it, wiping the dirt on her pants with a few pats, and watched him step around the shop. The look tossed at Dev was noticed but she said nothing. So long as the shopkeeper didn't try to throw him out or do anything else she didn't think she needed to do anything.

Being told that Devereux was hers for the day, save for an errand he had to take care of, she smiled. "I do like to read, though I rarely have time to myself since I am made to practice my dancing quite often." Rehearsals were long most days. "I can paint but it's not something I want to do all the time." Niiemh could paint a flower or two, maybe even some fruit, or a hilltop, but if someone asked her to do a portrait then they'd be disappointed. "I fail at archery, that is more my younger sister's thing."

She stepped over to where Devereux was, pillow still in hand. "Usually when I have time to myself like this I will walk around the shops before I go visit with my brother and try to help with the ledgers. However, he's out of town for a while. So today I was planning on looking for a pair of swords."