Nina was working her ass off. Instead of being sent to one singular area of work after Rinaye was taken away, She was everywhere, doing everything, all the time. Because of her cheerful personality, even more work was handed off to her because she couldn't say no. This particular time, she was running errands for the laundry rooms. They ran out of soap so Nina went into town to purchase some. The town was a rather large place as it was the one that surrounded the Duchy. Streets were lined with food carts and merchants and shops where everywhere. Nina used to live there before she worked at the Duchy.
Today was especially busy. Some event was probably going on, decor was everywhere and bards and minstrels were singing at every corner. Nina decided to stop by where she grew up before she got into the tedious chore of running errands. She walked through town and towards the middleclass area. It was filled with lively children playing through the streets and people walking to and from the market. The houses where those children lived were old but well taken care of. Clothing hanged off of clothes lines, drying in the summer heat.
"Big Sister Nina!" a small voice called out from a girl in the middle of climbing over a fence. "Hold on, I'm coming over to you!"
"Ah! What are you doing, Cassie?! That's dangerous!" Nina ran over to the girl named Cassie, dropping her basket. But it was too late, Cassie, overexcited to see her big sister, fell right off the fence.
Sorry, Big sis..." Cassie said with now bleeding knees.
"Oh, Sol! Let's get you back home! Those wounds don't look very good at all!" Nina fussed over her with a big sister's overprotection. Nina, with her strength unnatural for her small size, picked up Cassie with ease also grabbing her basket on her way, carried Cassie to Nina's childhood home.
"Hi Dad! I'm home!" Nina called out to the house.
"Nina! You're home!" Her dad said from a distance, walking over to greet her. "Oh, Cassie! You're hurt! Were you climbing the fence again?" He cried.
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"Maybe.." Cassie mumbled.
"You troublemaking girl! I told you to be more careful!" He talked to her in a worried tone.
Nina's father had a pink apron with the words "Don't kiss the cook, he's my husband." Embroidered on it.
"Dad, why are you still wearing that thing?" Nina asked with a sigh.
"My husband made it, why wouldn't I?" Her dad questioned
"It's really cheesy..." She said.
"Well, lets get you all better," He said, taking Cassie from Nina's arms. "Will you be staying for lunch?" He asked from the other side of the house.
"Sure! I just have to get back to work as soon as we're done." Nina replied.
"Understood, milady!" He laughed at his own hilarity.
"Dad!" Nina said in a 'Don't embarrass me' tone.
Lunch was a simple meal of a sandwich and fruit but it was good nonetheless. Because of Nina's work at the Duchy, their family was able to afford things like meat and mayo for these sandwiches. She felt rather proud of herself for that. Even if her other dad brought in a suitable salary. Without two incomes, their family would be a lot less well off than they were now. Cassie spent the entire time asking Nina about her work in the Duchy. What she did that day, the workplace gossip, Sabrina, yes an entire topic was Sabrina. Nina talked a lot about her. Nina finished her sandwich with a satisfied stomach, said good bye, and headed off once again to stock up on soap.
The store the Duchy procured their soap from was in a higher class section of town. The houses were more polished, the streets more taken care of, and the stores more gilded. Carriages were everywhere, ranging from standard taxis to fancy personal carriages plated in gold and other precious metals. In other areas of the town, rank and status didn't really matter. People were people. Here it was different. Ladies in fancy attire stayed well away from the ladies in clothing. Same with the men and everyone else. People with status didn't even glace at the food carts selling (delicious) street food. It was beneath them.
The soap store was in a less fancy part of the fancy part of town so Nina didn't feel that uncomfortable walking into the store. She flashed the Duke's emblem to the store workers and she was handed a large order of soap bars. It was quite light for Nina so she carried it out with ease.
Rinaye placed the soap into her vary large basket and carried it all the way back to her childhood home, hoping to say good bye to her family again before going back to the Duchy. But she didn't get the chance because of a familiar figure that she had spotted in the district square.