nick stood up and stretched out causing his joints to pop comfortably before he walked through his dwelling and ascending the stairs to the surface. opening the stone door nick discovered bellania standing there with a dumbstruck expression causing nick to grin. "what might i help you with miss bellania?" he asked feigning ignorance. bellania acted depressed "how could you forget our deal so soon? (sob)" she asked obviously pretending. nick shrugged "well jokes aside i was under the impression i had at least another day till the kings birthday party." nick said honestly. bellania smiled brightly "it seems you misunderstood me when i said you would be playing the part of my boyfriend , its not a one and done type thing you have to play the part for as long as you need my support , besides if i just show up at the party with someone no one has seen me with before it would be obvious that i was only using you to save face." she said causing nicks face to twitch slightly. 'i knew there was something wrong with that deal looks like i got played by a girl once again.' nick thought self depreciatingly.

Bellania giggled "no need to look so upset its not like I'm asking you to kill someone you just need to accompany me every now and then to maintain the façade." she said calmly. nick sighed "you're right it's not an issue just don't ask for anything beyond hand holding." nick said calmly. bellania nodded "that's fine no more than that is likely needed so i wouldn't ask anyway." she said honestly. having said that she holds out her hand daintily "shall we go then?" she asked with a grin. nick took her hand "by your lead milady." he said with a chuckle. the two walked towards wherever bellania decided hand in hand drawing some attention which would have normally bothered nick but since this was actually the point he was fine with it. the two quickly found themselves in the shopping district of the capital where the buildings were mostly shops with only a few being empty while in the gaps between the buildings little stalls were set up selling various things from produce to jewelry. bellania dragged nick over to a stall that was selling meat skewers in an herb sauce were the bought two each.

The skewers were actually quite tasty for mortal food which surprised nick slightly as they had a delicious savory flavor with just a hint of spice while the meat was so tender it barely took any effort at all to pull it off the skewer. having eaten bellania dragged nick into a clothing store that obviously tailored to women exclusively causing nick to blush slightly from embarrassment. from the look on bellania's face it was clear that she did this on purpose as she had nick sit down in front of a changing room as she tried on different clothes before leaving the room and asking for his opinion on how she looked in different clothes. nick stayed professional with his answers refusing to let bellania win her little game which seemed to spark her competitive streak as she started changing into more revealing clothes. by the end of it nick was sweating fiercely but had still managed to emerge victorious as even with the temptation scratching at the back of his mind nick held strong.