8 The Pendant

Instinctively, Vy held on tight to the dragon pendant.

"My apologies. I do not mean to be rude. It seems like this pendant means a lot to you. Perhaps, a keepsake from someone special?"

"Miss Coco! I must say it is rare for you to pry into the matter of others. This necklace that Miss Vyrena has must have really piqued your interest! Could it be that it has magical properties?"

Coco let out a laugh and so did Rodrick, leaving only Vy standing there confused by what was going on.

"Magical properties?"

-Could she know something about the necklace that I do not know of? Not that I know much either.-

Vy took off her necklace and handed it to Coco, "If you do not mind having a look, I would greatly appreciate it."

Coco was surprised but she happily obliged. She examined the dragon pendant in great detail. It had been quite a while since she had last seen something so unique and special. It took her quite a while to recall when she had last seen a similar pendant. It emanated an aura of magic that she had only seen a few times before. And that was years ago to be sure.

"This pendant of yours, how did you obtain it," Coco asked as she continued to examine the pendant.

Vy thought for a moment and replied, "It is difficult for me to explain, but I have had it for as long as I can remember."

Coco simply nodded and went on to say, "This pendant does have magical properties, it contains magic from beyond this kingdom, I might dare say beyond this world. And I am most intrigued about one other thing."

"And what would that be, Miss Coco," Rodrick asked, his was intrigued too.

"Well, this pendant interlocks with another, this is only half of it."

Vy and Rodrick were stunned. "Did you know about that Miss Vyrena?"

Vy shook her head, "I do feel as if something is missing, but I would never have guessed… Miss Coco, did you say that there is another part to this pendant? Does this mean you have seen the other half that fits together with it?"

"I can't say that I have I'm afraid. If you must know, I have lived for a very long time and the memories of the past tend to shrouded in a fog as the years go by."

"How long have you lived for? You don't look a day over thirty," Vy exclaimed in disbelieve.

Coco and Rodrick looked at each other and burst out in laughter.

"You flatter me, Vyrena. You see, I am not human to be fair, I am a mage. And Mages live for centuries."

Vy was surprised.

"Centuries?!"

Seeing the expression on both their faces, Vy realised that she had exclaimed out loud. Her cheeks turned bright pink. She thought she had said that to herself in her mind.

"Which rock have you been living under? All humans can use a little magic, just that some are more gifted than others. But mages were born with great potential for magical abilities," Rodrck explained, "and a mage's abilities differ from one another, and can cover several areas. So it really depends."

Coco went on to explain that she was a mage who specialised in crafting and imbuing objects with magic and powers. That was why she was greatly intrigued by Vyrena's necklace when she first saw it. Vy was now keen on finding out what Coco might be able to find out about her past from looking through her items. But before their conversation could continue, Coco had to leave as she had other matters to attend to. She did not live in the town and was only here for a short trip to stock up supplies.

"Where are you staying in the town? Would it be alright if I come by to look for you later in the day or tomorrow? I have some questions, I hope you don't mind me asking."

"Gladly, I have a stall in the market actually, you can come and look for me there. You won't miss it, it's the only dark purple tent after all. But I'm sure you won't miss me, that's for sure."

With that, Coco handed back Vy's necklace, collected her items from Rodrick and bid them farewell. After sending her off, Rodrick went to check on the work that Vy had completed.

"I must say, I am quite impressed. Would you like to come back and help me again tomorrow? If you don't mind working from say," Rodrick took a quick look at the old grandfather clock that stood hidden next to the bookshelf on his left, "Nine in the morning till four in the afternoon?"

"That's alright with me. How much would pay be then?"

"Hmm, let's see, How about a silver a day," Rodrick asked.

Vy nodded, "That sounds good enough for me, it's a deal."

Rodrick smiled and shook hands on their deal. He also paid Vy ten coppers for her work for the day and bid her farewell. Vy waved goodbye to him and went down the street. She made a mental note of the book store's location and went back towards the market, hoping to find some food to fill her hungry stomach before heading back to the inn to rest.

It was now closer to noon, the town square was livelier as merchants have begun to set up their stores in preparation for the crowds. Although it was slow progress, you can see that most of them knew one another despite coming from different places.

Vy found a small stall in the food street that was set up as an open-air restaurant and took a seat. She has seen the storekeeper frying rice on a wok the day before and she had been wanting to give it a try.