Finally, a bit of humor.

The next day, Rina woke early in the morning since she had collapsed into a deep, exhausted sleep the night before. Not that it had been devoid of nightmares, but for once, she didn't remember them in painstaking clarity. She took a look at herself in the mirror before going downstairs. She really was a mess. For the first time in months, really, she rummaged through her pack for a comb, and attempted to untie her hair. She was startled to find that there was no ribbon in her hair- apparently, that had disintegrated long before and her hair had tangled itself into a sort of ponytail. Fairly disgusted, she painfully worked out all the knots. Somehow, she didn't mind.

She hadn't felt in such high spirits in a very long time. After last night, about the only thing she had left in her emotional reserves was happiness.

Unsatisfied with it still, she carefully washed it in the bowl that had been supplied for that purpose- it was actually Jauffre's, because the man was almost obsessive about his hair, but for once, she cared about her appearance- she was using it, and if he had anything to say about that, it was his business.

Rina was surprised at just how long her hair had become. She combed it out again, drying it with an extra shirt. The last time she could remember doing this was that one special Dark Brotherhood assignment so long ago, when she had not only be suave and charming- but look it as well, to gain the trust of the five other houseguests. She had definitely earned her bonus after that.

Looking in the mirror once more, she didn't recognize herself. Her hair had been lightened to auburn by all of her time out in the sun. It now went about halfway down her back, framing her face and making her once-broken nose less obvious. She hated her nose. One fight with a guard, that's all it took. I just wish it hadn't healed a little crooked.

Going through her pack, she looked for something to wear- she wasn't going dungeon delving today, so armorprobably wasn't necessary. She thought she'd take advantage of that to wear something nice for a change.

Red and purple finery from the Shivering Isles? Far too much. Her Madgod regalia? Even worse. Where would she ever actually wear that stuff?

Usually she just put on her armor without thinking twice about it, unless there was some special occasion. This was taking far too much thought.

Actually, her black and burgundy dress would be perfect- she had enchanted it to shield her, so she would never be caught off-guard in town. If anything odd happened today, that should be enough.

She wasn't sure why it was so important to her that she look presentable today. Maybe it was the way that Martin had looked when he held her hand for that short time- it was like a glimmer of… something was there; he had never looked at her like that before. Every once in a while, he would laugh at something she said or did, but not until last evening did he seem truly at ease with her- and it never seemed that they thought so alike.

Martin was in the Great Hall working on the Xarxes again, as usual. Did he ever take a break? She greeted him with a friendly pat on the back and pulled up a chair across the table from him, saying, "Good morning, your Majesty. I trust you slept well?"

"Rina!- you- oh... I, um, g-good morning. That is, yes, I slept pretty well. Thank you for asking," he replied, the words stumbling out of his mouth. He looked away from her quickly.

Silence.

"…What?" she asked. It was almost a dare. She tried hard not to smirk.

"You look quite different- er nice, that is, you look nice. Erm, that is, I'm not saying that you normally don't"- a blush- "er- did you do something with your hair?" Martin's face was growing more crimson by the second. She almost felt sorry for him. What had she expected, though, after looking like a mountain woman for so long?

"You might say so. Know why you didn't see me at breakfast?"

"Um-"

She gestured at her hair. "That's how long this took." She couldn't help but feel a little victorious. "Hey, I'm going to run down into town and pick up some things. Is there any vegetable you're particularly pining for?" she asked him before swinging her legs around the chair to stand- and the next thing she knew, she tumbled head over heels onto the floor under the table, having tripped over her own hem.

"Oof."

Martin was about to get up and help her when a hand gripped the edge of the table and he heard a muffled "I'm okay." In a moment she was standing again, glaring at him as he laughed. Under her breath she was muttering, "don't you DARE say anything, Matin, or so help me…"

"Oh, and as far as vegetables go, not really, but thank you. Farewell, and be careful going down the mountain in that dress."

Touché.

Martin watched Rina leave.

Wow.

Embarassed, both at her own boldness and her little stumble, Rina ran down to Bruma so she could get some exercise and clear her mind. Before she went back up to Cloud Ruler Temple, she needed to be less giddy. Naturally, Shadowmere was no longer where she had left him. She also needed to get rid of all the stolen… silverware and things she had unintentionally picked up, so she went to see Ongar since he was the closest fence around. He was taking a nap, as usual, but at this point, she knew him well enough to be able to wake him up without him calling the guards or telling her to get out of his house.

"Wha- unghmrphtalgmubcrab…" he mumbled and turned over, falling asleep again instantly. She only caught a few words, and had to stifle a giggle.

"Ooooongaaaar," she called to him. This time he actually woke up.

"Nungh- Oh, it's you. I just had the strangest dream," he told her as he stood. She was positive she could hear the creaking of his knees. Inside, she winced slightly. "I was in Morrowind again, and there was this island out in the middle of nowhere with a-"

"I know. I've been there myself," she interrupted him, laughing. "Yeah, he's loaded. Obnoxious character, though," she added.

Ongar made an odd sort of strangled noise.

"How did you know?"

"You were talking in your sleep. Again. You are pretty much every time I find you napping."

He looked rather sheepish, and was eager to change the subject.

"So what brings you here? Business to transact, or just catching up on Guild news? Methredel was in recently and said they haven't seen you in a while down on the Waterfront." He was fumbling around for his coin bag. "I could have sworn I had it here a minute ago-" he muttered, getting more confused by the second.

"Looking for this?" Rina drawled as the bag slid out of her sleeve. Even Ongar had to laugh.

"I guess I'm losing my touch. So, need anything… moved?" he asked her in hushed tones. "Oh. I guess I don't need to use any… code words since we're not at the inn, eh?"

"Just silverware, planters, things like that I picked up accidentally. Got a bunch of stuff, but it's mostly junk. Anything that isn't junk, I'm keeping!" she joked, giving him his coins back. "I've been busy with other things recently. Haven't even been back to the Arena in a few months. They're probably sending out search parties to find me as they watch their coffers dry up. Actually, it's been a while since I've been to the Imperial City at all. I've been up in this area most of the time, recently," she told him as she dumped all the useless, but not worthless items out of her bag.

He looked them over. "I could probably give you, oh, 60 for what you've got here. I don't think anybody is going to be likely to need stolen flowers, though. How did you pick all of this stuff up 'accidentally'?" he asked.

"You know how it is. You're looking for good stuff in one of the castle halls, and one of those wretched planters works its way into your pack. The next thing you know, you're almost overburdened by all of it," she said, her voice matter-of-fact. "Well, I'd better get going. Shadow hide you," she told him over her shoulder as she went out the door. She felt as if a large weight had been removed from her shoulders- which, in fact, was the case.