Chapter 1 : Necklace

"Clang clang clang"

In a small village called Aindall. A sound echoes through the fields as it announces the sun's departure and welcomes the arrival of its twilight. One of it's last rays pierced through the gaps of an old barn, making a delicate atmosphere.

Inside, a young teenage man with yellow hair dressed in his usual farmer's clothing heard the repeating sound of bells and immediately gathered up and cleaned the tools he used from the clean water inside the barn.

After finishing, he checked whether he missed something. "Alright!" He said with confirmation.

As he opened the door, his bluish eyes saw the wide farm surrounded by forest, and on the horizon is the tall peaks of the Rajian Mountain range.

The farm is filled with crops which are ready for harvest, all possible because of the hard work by his peers.

He walked towards the line of people and joined them in waiting for their names to be called. As the tall bulky man with black-colored hair in the center shouted for the names despite them being already in front of him.

'It's payday today' the young man said to himself.

'I can finally buy that necklace for my mother! I wonder how surprised she'll be!' As he came last in line to wait.

He noticed what the tall bulky man in front was doing. Familiar with this behaviour, he said to him.

"Uncle Jack is having his weird humour again. He always does this whenever it's pay day."

The young man continued with his thoughts.

'The workers had no choice but to go with his act. No one can argue with him, especially with his appearance alone with bulging muscles and his terrifying aura, despite him being a friendly person. He always insists on the reason. He says it's to keep the workers alert. What a bad excuse to keep his weirdness.'

Suddenly, behind him, a small yet delicate cheerful voice whispered into his ear while patting his back gently.

"Rhazi~" the young woman wearing a green dress and her hair tied up at the back of her hair like a pony tail said gently.

It made him feel comfortable and relaxed just from the voice alone, Although he already knew that she was behind his back, so he wasn't very much surprised.

She was Elena, Rahzi's childhood friend. After enjoying the patting, he turned around to greet her.

She looked beautiful in plain sight. Long black hair with some little curls and a chubby-innocent-like face with brown-colored eyes. A shining gem and behind her was the grace of the sun setting down shrouding darkness which only made her shine more brightly in his eyes. Rahzi stared at Elena's eyes and said,

"Evening, Elena—" He smiled at her, failing to notice Elena's uncle rushing over,

"Hey Razh!" He said, after slapping Rahzi's back hard which pushed him towards Elena. Luckily, he stopped before their faces touched.

Elena, shocked and became red for a moment as their faces almost touched and, in a short time, made her ponder about the thoughts of being with the person in front of her. Noticing it was unbecoming of her, she immediately regained consciousness.

"Hey! Dont-" as Elena became outraged by her uncle's action she suddenly slipped, forgetting how to balance herself.

Almost falling, Rahzi immediately caught her, making them take an embarrassing posture. It was a crying sight and Rahzi could feel the gaze of Elena's uncle, Jack, staring at them while having a weird smile on his face. He acted like he was mad, but it was actually planned on his side.

(Rahzi's POV)

After the incident, Uncle Jack turned around and continued giving out the wages to the workers.

Although his eyes are still locked on me and Elena.

'I can clearly see you, Uncle Jack! You did that on purpose!!' as I tried to fix the misunderstanding in my mind, I could feel myself mentally crying from the embarrassment. Everyone is still staring at both of us.

Without further ado, I immediately asked with worry as I put my eyes on the woman I held in my arms.

"Are you okay?"

I don't know if she's mad or embarrassed but she's so red, I can feel her neck's warmth.

"I..li...lo..thank you!" Elena said, stuttering, as she thanked me.

I heaved a sigh of relief as I tried to help her get up but abruptly,

"Rhazi! You rascal!" A loud voice screamed, calling my name, making me lose focus and unconsciously let go of Elena, causing her to fall on the ground.

The source of the voice was Uncle Jack as he walked towards the two of us oblivious to the situation. I focused my attention on Elena first helping her get up.

"Thanks again..Rhazi" she said as she cleaned herself up as her Uncle came closer to us. 'Ahh! Uncle, you're clearly just acting! Stop!' I thought to myself while my eyes were filled with hopelessness, staring at uncle Jack running towards us. I looked at Elena behind me, she was covering her face, hiding herself from embarrassment as her Uncle came closer

I looked back at uncle jack again. He's so close already, so I decided to greet him with open arms. Uncle Jack immediately closed in on me, entraping his neck into his arms while he put his fist into my head as he shook it, making Rhazi's sunny yellow hair messy.

"Oh! Rhazi you bastard! You're already taking Elena away from me!" Uncle Jack said emotionally, with a grin that was hard to notice, as he continued to shake his fist into my head.

"Uncl-e arrgh! Jack! That hur-ts! Let go! You're the one who pushed me and now you're blaming me!!" Feeling his strength increase, I instinctively stepped at Uncle Jack's foot with all my might, making him let go of me. Taking this opportunity, I used my elbow to strike his body and withdrew in a fighting posture.

I saw Uncle Jack holding his abdomen as he fell onto his knee. I realized what I had done. Elena immediately went to Uncle Jack's side. I followed beside her. I wanted to say something but Uncle Jack broke the silence with his laugh,

"HAHAHA!! Rhazi, that was strong! If it weren't me, a normal man could've suffered an injury. Where did you learn those techniques?"

' Damn you rotten Uncle, Acting like you've got nothing to do with it all.' I thought, while crying inside.

Feeling relieved that Uncle Jack was fine as he didn't seem to mind what I had done.

"I'm sorry, Uncle Jack. I learned it from my grandfather. He says that I should learn how to protect myself." I said shyly while speaking in a low voice. Reminiscing about the training my grandfather did to me, I mentally shrieked inside.

Jack nodded and stood up and said wryly speaking in his voice.

"It's alright Rhazi. I can clearly see now that I don't have to worry anymore now that Elena already has a strong boyfriend to protect herself by her side." He said. I can clearly see his grin.

His eyes pulled their attention to Elena and said "You found yourself a good man, Lil Niece." while making a thumbs up as he smiled, showing his teeth shining for a distant moment.

Confused by what Jack said, Elena and I spoke in unison "WHAT!?" Elena made a funny face while I couldn't help but blush at what he said. I simply made an awkward laugh as I scratched my head.

Elena quickly added "We're just friends! It was just an accident earlier! Stop joking around, Uncle! It's not funny!" Her face blushed red as she held a part of her dress tightly.

I also followed right after, hoping to disappoint him.

"Yeah! That's right!"

"Sure sure whatever you guys say haha" Uncle Jack said ironically as he rolled his eyes while smiling. He soon reached out to his side and took out a pouch full of copper coins.

The coins bulging from the quantity, one could clearly see that this was above average. Staying true to his words from the promise he made to me last year.

He handed the pouch of money to me as he said in his usual tone of voice.

"It's your mother's birthday, right? I added extra and Elena had her share too. Just like I promised", he said with a wink on his face, and added

"Oh, and tell your mom we said happy birthday, you did a good job, kid." While patting my head.

I looked at them flabbergasted as I impulsively opened the pouch to see its contents. I'm filled with excitement as now I have enough money to buy the necklace.

I immediately thanked Uncle Jack and Elena, holding the pouch in one of my arms and waving them goodbye, as I left the farm running towards my next destination. The antique store!

(General POV)

The sun had set and the moon had risen. The surroundings became cold as the temperature began to decrease. Two figures were standing on the farm, a tall bulky man and beside her a girl half his size. Her brown-colored eyes watched as the yellow-haired boy ran as fast as the wind away from the farm.

"You know you should confess." The tall bulky figure said, teasing her niece beside her.

"What are you saying Uncle!" Elena said shyly while pouting as she also gathered her belongings, preparing to go home.

"HAHAHA oh youth" Jack simply joked it off as his niece also left the farm.

Alone on the farm, Jack headed to his house beside the barn while his eyes explored the farm. The animals now in their respected cages inside the barn making a viscous number of sounds as though they were still hungry, and the grape farm that they work hard for as the cold breezy winds scattered throughout the field, making a satisfying scenery. Reaching the doorknob, he stopped for a moment and considered sitting in the chair near the door.

Relaxing himself while sitting in the chair as he watched the beautiful scenery of the starry skies unfold before his eyes.

"Everything looks so beautiful tonight," Jack said with a tired voice. His eyes are looking emotional as he thinks of the past.

(Rahzi's POV)

Running tirelessly, I saw the antique store just a few blocks away. There were fewer people now outside as night time struck. Most were in their homes. During this time, only village guards can be seen at night as they patrol the surroundings to keep danger out.

Holding their torches with them and rusty swords in their sheaths beside them, I greeted them one by one. The villagers relied on candles and torches as their source of light at night. But sadly, we're running out of stock. The village's situation is grim.

He finally reached the door of the antique store and gently opened it. Bell chimes quickly followed as the door was opened.

Entering the shop, it gave an antiquarian atmosphere of uniqueness from ancient times. The shop was just new, no more than a year or so, and yet it already felt old. It was full of old preserved things, such as undescribable, intricate-looking gears, a small rectangular box with a stick sticking out from it's top and a button that seemed to rotate, but the owner doesn't sell this stuff, they're just for decorations.

When asked about them, the owner simply said that it came from a distant time while laughing hoarsely, making us confused, but we didn't delve further.

He mostly sold other things such as staffs, old books, and rusty swords. Although these were all his collections throughout his life, he was generous enough to sell them to us in copper or even for free! And the most eye-pleasing of them all was the shining jewel just right at the bottom of the owner's desk as a transparent glass reflected its contents.

The designs were beautiful and three of them were displayed emerald green, ruby red and the most beautiful of them all was the blue sapphire necklace portraying itself. At the center of its bluish hue, two other small sapphire gems are embedded around it, creating the wings of a beautiful blue butterfly. It really shows it's high quality and how careful the artisan was in making this jewelry. It made me wonder about the owner's past.

The prices are high considering they are jewelry, but the owner was kind enough to lower the prices for copper.

The owner was the most respected man in the village albeit he just came a year ago and decided to stay. He was a great help to the village. He even educated the children with his knowledge. He really is a kind person and the village owes a huge debt to him.

The owner looked at me with his antique glasses and messy white hair, his face timeworn from age. The same can be said of his body, greeting the customer that protruded from his small humble shop.

'My grandfather is probably older but he looks young HAHAHA!'

"Good evening, Rhazi. Are you here to purchase the necklace?" The owner said with his weak voice.

The owner was old and at the age of 71 his body had wrinkled over time, despite that he still had the vigour of a man in his 30's. Although he had a weak voice, it gave a feeling of sincerity.

The village calls him by his notable name as he first introduced himself, carrying his carriage with him when he first came, Old Neil. We've been in touch ever since he came to the village. It's likely we have already formed a bond like that of a grandpa and grandson as he mostly treats everyone here as his own, even my grandfather, the village chief who's age is the same as his. 'probably'

"Good evening, Old Neil." I greeted Old Neil standing at the counter with a warm welcoming air.

"Yes, I have come to claim my prize!" I said as I excitedly lifted the pouch of money I had upwards with my hand, expressing that I finally had the money to buy the necklace.

Old Neil, fixing his glasses, looked closely and said "Ooh, well done Rhazi." Old Neil praised me and clapped his hands, giggling slightly, as he took the sapphire blue necklace and put it in a box to preserve it's beauty while placing it in his desk, indicating that it's already now in my possession.

I put the pouch of money on the counter as I held the box containing the blue sapphire necklace. I opened it slightly to peek at the necklace. 'It's color really exactly matches my mother's eyes'.

Feeling proud, I teared up a little and had a joyful smile, realising that this wasn't a dream and all my hard work had finally been rewarded. I jumped out of excitement and did myself a favor as I shouted from the bottom of my lungs.

"YESS! FINALLY!" 'I can't believe it! It's now mine!' I faced Old Neil and was about to thank him when he suddenly said,

"On second thought, I don't need the money. You can have it for free." He said with his weak voice, his eyes still warm as ever as he pushed the pouch of money on the counter towards me.