The Suspicious Jeweler (Page 33)

We exit the inn with our money hidden away. Most people point us to the same guy that has poor craftsmanship. This isn't working how I thought, but some wealthy-looking people pointed us to a man on the outside of town. He works for favors and not money. If this works out, we can save our hard-earned coin if we need to pay for a wedding.

I'm hand in hand with Ciri as we're walking to the location. "Do you think this guy is legit? Seems like a guy that has a share of problems hiding out here..." We cross a bridge and follow the path as the instructions indicate.

She makes her lovely smile appear, and she bumps my shoulder. "I think this is a turn for the better... After this, we can spend the day together..." I love that idea. We can also look into Jaskier. If we find him soon, we can start using his connections to help Ciri with her magic item. Tomorrow, while we wait, we can ask a mage or sorcerer about our possible child from our recklessness. "I think that's the house right there. It has the stained glass windows just like that woman said." I look to where she's pointing and see the house. Pretty inconspicuous if it didn't have the beautiful windows. I can tell the man is an artist.

We walk up, and I knock at the door. A man yells to us. "Who's there!?" Doesn't sound too old by his voice, sounds like the guy could be reasonable.

I yell through the door to answer his question. "We heard that you're an amazing Jeweler!! We were hoping that you could do a job for us!?" We don't hear anything for a few seconds. We hear footsteps approach the door, and he opens it and looks at us.

He gives us a stupid look. "Never seen such beautiful people before..." He speaks under his breath. I guess he's right. You could consider us a beautiful couple. I don't know if I should be worried about what others would think. We did get strange looks walking around together. The men had given me looks of jealousy. "Alright, you two, come on in, we can talk." We both enter the house and look around. There are a bunch of custom statues and pieces of art. He's a maestro of the finer things in life, it seems. "Where did you hear that?" Only the people with means and money come to him for custom jobs.

I turn to him with a smile. "A very nice lady told us about you. She even gave me directions." I suddenly feel a shiver go up my spine, and I look over to see Ciri having an upset look.

The man chuckles and looks between us. "You still have a lot to learn about women, kid. What're your guy's names anyway?" We never did introduce ourselves. I look over to Ciri. I suddenly have an overwhelming need to ask for her permission right now. I don't know why though, the feeling from early is still there.

She relaxes and waves her hands for me to continue. "I'm Cera Dorren. I'm a hunter of creatures and people. The pretty snowflake over there is Cirilla Fiona Ellen Riannon. My name is as long as hers, but I keep it short. We're looking to get rings made for our engagement." I know that the people that sent us here were wealthy by the extravagant things they wore. Hope we can get work done by him.

He looks hard at me for some reason, like he knows me or something. He looks to Ciri and spends way less time looking at her than me. "I'm Brennen Novick. As you can see, I'm an artist. I won't turn you guy's away, but I don't charge money for my services. I ask for favors that'll be fulfilled later." That sounds all too familiar to me... Kind of makes me apprehensive about continuing, but this is for our rings. A symbol of our matrimony, our love that will endure until the end of time.

I steel myself and prepare for whatever he'll want. "I can deal with that. We don't have the same money as nobles or kings. We can solve problems pretty well, though." I should keep this to the best abilities I have. I may have money, but that doesn't mean I have enough for his work.

He rocks back in forth in his rocking chair. "I have uses for people like the two of you... When I need your services, I'll contact you... Where are you staying currently?" We don't have a permanent residence right now. I can tell him the inn we're currently staying in, though. I write the location on paper and hand it to him. "That'll do fine. Please inform me if you change locations." I'm relieved he's satisfied.

He gets up and asks us to follow him. We enter a room with all his equipment. There are so many cool things in here. I look towards a chest and see a bunch of high-quality gems. He goes to his workbench and hands us a big book. "Look through that book and tell me what you like. I'll have it done by the end of the week." That gives us plenty of time to look for Jaskier and get allies.

I take the book and open it for Ciri and me. They're absolutely beautiful. He painted what it looks like instead of sketching them. That explains why the book is so big. The look Ciri has on her makes my heart jump in joy. Guess it did work out just like she said. "These are all amazing, Brennen. I'm surprised that you have so many designs... You seem to have a hand in every imaginable art there is..." The man is truly exceptional when it comes to the arts. I wonder if he writes as well.

He gives a light chuckle as we continue to search through the book. Ciri finds one she loves. She has great taste in my future ring. Now, it's time to pick one out for her. I search longer than she did, but I find the perfect one. The gems match her lovely eyes. "How do you like this one, Ciri? Is it to your liking?" She looks at it and gives a bright smile. That's a good sign.

She gives me a devious look. "Tell me why you think it's perfect for me, Cera... I want to know why you want me to wear this one..." She's looking for more ammo about the whole waiting thing. This is also a trap. If I don't answer, I'm in trouble. If I do answer, she'll have more reason to pounce me, and she knows that.

I smile at her. I might as well be honest. "They match your beautiful eyes, Ciri... When I look at the ring, it's like looking in your eyes... It brings out the radiant angel that I see in you..." She stays silent for a few seconds. She looks away with a red face. What was she expecting? I don't do things without reason behind them. She turns to me quickly and catches my lips, and kisses me a little longer than necessary. We hear Brennen cough in annoyance. This isn't the place for that, but I'm not mad. She releases me when the man coughed.

She looks away again in slight shame. "I'm sorry... I'll have more control over myself..." That's very cute. She changes her personality so fast. I wonder if I'll be in any danger if I'm not careful with myself and my habit for life-threatening wounds. We thank the man and head out the door back to Novigrad. We're going to spend the rest of the day together having fun and working to find Jaskier.

~~~(POV: Brennen Novick)~~~

I knew those two were special when they walked into my house. That Cirilla girl is a princess and queen to more thrones than I care to count. However, that young man, Cera Dorren. I know his full name is Cera Riannon Dorren Amavet. He may not know it, but he has claims too. He'll soon find out. My friends in Aen Elle would want me to contact them. I won't, though. Those people aren't interested in the birthright he carries. Only the power in his blood.

I can't help but laugh at the fact that destiny brought those two together. They really love one another as well. I can't see a better two to be together. The world has been changing so much. I no longer consider the Aen Elle allies in these times. They won't protect me from my enemies, but those two can. They're better allies to have instead of enemies. Now I have rings to make, don't I? Time to get to work.