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She wondered why Eric was so moody at times.
He is more emotional than a girl sometime, I think. She thought to herself as she walked toward the bazzarr. She headed down the road until she found Celeste who was selling some jewelery in a small corner of the market.
"Hey there." Nika said, waving to her.
"Jesse!" She cried, running up to her and hugging her. "How have you been? I am selling jewelery to help my mother. Care to have a look?" She asked.
"I'm doing alright thanks, and okay, I'll look, though I'm not one who likes to wear jewelery..." She said, her voice trailing off.
"Oh really?" She smiled, pointing to the pearls in her hair.
"Oh...those were my mom's...the only jewels I wear." She smiled.
"Cute." Celeste said, shifting some of her wares around on the velevety table. "Here are some jade beads....and some marble pendants....and here I have a few small gold bracelets. They came from Mael. And some gemstones from the mines north of Mael..." Her words became fuzzy in Nika's head. She had zoomed in on a certain ring that looked familiar to her.
"That ruby ring there...," She said, interrupting Celeste. "Where did you find that?" She asked.
"Oh...that...it was actually a gift to my mother from a friend. She hates to sell it so...but we need the money to buy her medicine." She sighed.
"I see..." Nika said, running her fingers over it.
"Want a closer look?" Celeste asked, picking it up.

"Do you like this ring a lot?" Celeste asked, fidgeting while Nika had a good look at it. Finally she put it on and sighed.
"Yes I do." Nika said, turning it around on her ring finger. She was almost positive it was the same ring her father had given her mother when they were married. "I like it a lot...I love how the ruby catches all the light inside of it..." She sighed heavily.
"What's wrong, Jesse? Does it remind you of a boy you like?" She seemed a little nervous as she asked this. Nika laughed.
"No, I don't like any boys....but I love this ring. It looks just like a ring my mother had....when she was living....and it reminds me of her."
"Oh well in that case...if you like it that much, I suppose I can give it to you for free..." Her voice seemed a little sad.
"No, no...I'll buy it from you." She said, handing over some very heavy gold coins.
"B-but..." Celeste protested, "I know it's not worth that much...my dad's friend is a jeweler and he came by one evening and told my mom and I it's not very valuable. At least the ruby isn't nor the gold band itself." She sighed.
"Well listen, I'll pay you for what it is worth. Then I'll buy you whatever medicine you need for your mom." Celeste was so happy she did not know what to say. But she hugged Nika for a very long time.

((Ahh that was truly emotional. I wept as I read it! xd ))

Nika looked at Celeste's meager offerings.
"Do you normally sell jewelery?" She asked.
"No, I actually sell flowers...my mother used to manage the flower shop but I do it now. It's a nice way to pass the time in the market. And I love to make people happy with the flowers..." She smiled. She seemed much happier now than she was before, when Nika met in her in the tavern.
"I see...well tell me what medicine you need and I'll be going to the doctor's."
"Well I'm not sure what it's called, exactly but it's the stuff they give people with weak hearts. Also medicine for arthritus is needed." She said, writing somethings down on parchment.
"Okay I'll be back later..." She handed Celeste the coins for the ring and slid it back on her finger.
"Thank you so much...Jesse." She waved goodbye. Nika turned and headed for the doctor's house once again...

She nervously knocked on the doctor's door.
He opened it and was surprised to see her.
"Hey there, Jesse. Back so soon....! Do you need more aspirin or something? I don't know why the pharmacy makes everyone come to me. I suppose I shouldn't complain, it's nice to be freely advertised." He winked. The doctor was a tall, dark-haired, honest man who seemed to have a simple life and if looked at for a short while, he appeared almost so ordinary that he was handsome. Nika dodged his gaze.
"Actually, I, uh, came to run an errand for a friend. I need these things..." She handed him the paper that Celeste had written on.
"Oh I see...hmm...these aren't cheap...did your friend leave you change? The pharmacy carries these but I have them right here...." He said, shuffling through his upper glass closet.
"I have the money..." She said, withdrawing a small pouch where she had placed some extra coins. Nika realized she was running low on funds, and she didn't want to spend her emergency coins just yet. She needed to go find that cave of wonders...the cave of treasure...
The doctor sensed the medicine could be a gift.
"This is for Celeste's mom, isn't it?" He suddenly realized. "Are you buying this for her?" He asked.
"Y-yes...I am. How did you know?" She seemed befuddled.
"I knew her mom had a weak heart, but I thought it had gotten better. She stopped coming to see me for medicine."
"Oh..." Nika said. "She is low on money...I suppose that is why." She handed him the coins.

"You are such a kind person, Miss Jesse...I didn't realize they needed money...I could have let them buy the medicine on credit, or something. I'm not exactly poor...I'd manage." He sighed.
"It's alright. Celeste is selling odds and ends in the market to make ends meet. She's a clever girl, I'm sure they'll be fine." She took the medicine from him and placed it in her satchel. Nika was about ready to go when the doctor noticed the pummel of her sword.
"That sword...it's so beautiful." He got up and walked around the table that seperated them to examine it. He put his glasses on and looked it over. "How exquisite." He said. Nika was nervous and feared he might discover her. "Errr...yes, isn't it though? I bought it at a shop in Mael." She was very nervous now and began to breathe heavily without realizing it.
"Oh I see...uh, Jesse, are you okay? You seem a bit tense. Is something the matter?" He seemed genuinely interested.
"No, I'm alright." She said turning so that he couldn't see the sword, and prayed she wasn't wearing anything else that could attract curiosity.
I best try to keep inconspicuous when I am out I suppose. She thought to herself.
"I must go, Celeste is expecting me." She said quickly.
"Alright. Come back anytime...if you need anything...anything at all." He waved her off.

He shoveled some more fruit in pausing to think for a moment. He chewed and swallowed "Well we could alternate cooking and cleaning, I can cook and you clean, then you can cook and I clean."

He smiled "We both will of course. We'll have our own school of children, I loved having lots of kids to always be around, Im thinking 8 will be good. And once the older ones get old enough to move out we can have more to replaced them."