Jahrra thought so too.
They made their way back to Tynne Alley, sampling a few more stores along the way, the last being a shop that mixed strange perfumes.
The sunlight had begun to lengthen and fade, spilling around the slightly circular courtyard sprawled out in front of them. Jahrra glanced over at the crooked fountain bubbling water, making note of the archaic clock perched atop its highest tier.
“Is it that late already?” she queried, trying desperately to escape the cloud of scent that had followed her and Torrell from the open door of the perfume shop.
“Guess we had better go get your ring.”
Torrell had moved to the fountain where she was scooping up the cold water in an attempt to scrub scented oil from her skin.
“Ugh, I like perfume just as much as any other girl, but to lather the stuff on me? Honestly!”
Jahrra stifled a giggle. The owner of the perfume shop seemed overly eager with her insistence that they sample everything. If Jahrra didn’t know any better she would have said the woman charmed her scents, making them last longer.
They skirted the fountain and pots holding evergreen plants and moved farther down the street. The jeweler’s daughter greeted them with a brilliant smile when they entered the store.
“Just wait until you see the stone Miss, it is one of the most beautiful I’ve seen.”
Jahrra blinked in surprise, returning a nervous grin. She felt suddenly uneasy again. She couldn’t wait to see the results of their hard work but that inkling of doubt crept through her again. What if Jaax doesn’t like it?
The elvin girl disappeared into the recesses of the shop to fetch her father. Torrell and Jahrra waited no more than two minutes, Jahrra silent and Torrell absently rubbing at the place where the perfumed oil still lingered. When the jeweler finally emerged from behind the beaded curtain, Jahrra went rigid. He carried a large wooden box carved with vines and what looked like roses. The box clunked loudly as he placed it upon the front counter and Jahrra felt herself moving forward in curiosity.
“Are you ready to see your stone and ring young lady?”
Jahrra swallowed hard and nodded. With a snap and a creak, the elf unlatched the lock and pulled the box open. Jahrra didn’t see much at first, save for the black velvet that lined the box, but as she crept closer and peeked in, her breath caught in her throat. The ring had to be big enough to fit over her closed fist and hang like a loose bangle on her wrist. The augrim, Jahrra decided immediately, was a rather excellent choice. Its silvery-gold luster shown like the glassy stillness of the sea against the dark velvet. The etched dragon figures were even more realistic than she had first imagined them. She even noticed a few extra details the family had added, such as the tiny scales that covered the giant reptiles’ skin.
But it was the stone that had her staring, as if caught in the deadly glare of the sun. It was huge, slightly oval in shape but many-faceted. If Jahrra were asked to describe the color, she wouldn’t be able to say for sure. It was somewhere between green, turquoise, aqua and brilliant blue, with a few flecks of pale orange and golden yellow as well. All of the colors intermingled, complimenting one another and setting one another off. Jahrra’s eyes roamed over the jewel, her hand itching to touch it.
She reached out tentatively when she noticed an anomaly. To one side of the stone, not quite in the center, and buried well below the surface, was a fleck of deep red. This one color was larger and richer than the other random flecks, as if someone had taken a small ruby and embedded it into the center of her stone.
Jahrra placed one finger above the red blotch and looked up. “Why does the red accumulate here?”
The elf smiled brightly. “That is the heart speck. It shows up in all spirit stones but it just happens to be a little more obvious in yours, since your stone needed to be big enough to fit a dragon and the color surrounding it is so different. Also, since you offered blood, it is richer in color and bigger in size. It represents a little piece of the donor’s heart, in this case, your heart.”
Jahrra pulled her finger back. She thought that was a bit odd. How could a piece of her heart end up in a stone? She had only given a small drop of her blood. Magic perhaps? She turned to look at Torrell.
Torrell pulled her own gem from beneath her shirt.
“My spirit stone is mostly red all the way through, but if you hold it up and place a light behind it, you can sometimes see a small dark speck in there.”
The other girl mimicked the act of seeking out the heart speck and Jahrra smiled. She was still amazed at how much she had to learn about this magical world she lived in.
“Very well,” Jahrra sighed as she turned back to the jeweler. “You and your family are very gifted. I hope Jaax appreciates this gift as much as I do.”
“Oh, no doubt he will,” the elf assured her.
Jahrra screwed up her nose. “He can be hard to please sometimes.”
“Ah, but this manner of gift coming from you, the human destined to save Ethoes? He will cherish it.”
Jahrra grimaced at the mention of her humanness, but wondered what the shop owner meant by his comment. She shrugged. Just a business man flattering a buyer with kind words.
The jeweler’s wife emerged from the back of the store with a beautifully embroidered bag for Jahrra to carry the box in. She counted out the amount they had agreed upon, and once again feeling as if she were getting something for free, Jahrra insisted in giving them a little more for the bag and the extra attention to detail they spent on the dragons on the ring.
Stepping from the store, Jahrra and Torrell shivered, pulling their coats a little tighter. It was still late autumn, what with Sobledthe having passed just last weekend, but winter was upon them and the air was beginning to chill, especially just around sundown.
“I think we should pay the extra coin and hail a carriage once we get out of this alley,” Torrell suggested as they made their way down the narrow lane back onto the larger street.
Their boot heels clicked loudly against the cobbles and the gentle tinkle of the fountain played in their ears as they quickened their pace into a brisk walk. The busy streets had emptied but still contained a good number of people out for some last minute shopping or visiting the local restaurants for dinner. Once free of the enchanted alley and its unusual stores, the girls managed to hire a driver who would take them home.
Jahrra clutched the embroidered bag close, the box inside large enough to hold some of the silk slippers she had back at home. She wondered how she would get this inside without Jaax noticing and thus questioning her about it. He was surely to be home by now. She pulled open her bag and tried to shove the box in. It barely fit, making her pack look squarish and awkward, but Jahrra breathed a sigh of relief regardless. If Jaax asked her about it she would be able to claim it was only a Solsticetide gift without worrying about further inquiry.
As the small carriage made its way through the wide streets of Lidien, Jahrra gazed out over the bay. The far hills that acted as a sort of sentry gate at the entrance of the great inlet stood dark against the crimson sky.
All around them small groups of people mingled and chatted, still speaking about the splendid Sobledthe festival or discussing their plans for Solsticetide, their words lost as the carriage clattered past. Several young boys moved around on stilts, lighting the lamps along the streets and bringing the city back to life as the light of the sun waned. Jahrra leaned back into the carriage and smiled. No one seemed frightened or unhappy in this city.
The carriage began its ascent into the hills and Jahrra turned to glance back over the scene below her. It looked like a display of magic, all gold and cream and glittering with small lights. She had fought coming here, she remembered bitterly; fought against Jaax and even Hroombra. The buried memory stung sharply like the prick of a nettle. She pushed it aside. She would not think of the final hateful words she had spoken to her beloved mentor just before he died. She hadn’t thought of them in months and she wouldn’t start up again now. But the memory still lingered, and Jahrra had to turn around to keep the tears from forming and falling down her cheeks.