Guardian

viii. foreshadow

"Hey, man," Rick greets his friend as he comes into his shop. Austin grins, and they bring their hands together to do their handshake while he was behind the counter. "What brings you here? Getting something neat for your woman?"

Rick ran a jewelry shop; the only one in the village. He found his own gold and diamonds and whatever else himself and was also great at creating the actual jewelry. He was also friendly with everyone, so it was a good business.

"Yeah, a ring," Austin laughs a bit nervously, scratching the back of his head. "You know, like an engagement ring?"

"Oh," Rick teases, going under the counter. He grabs a box and places it on the counter before looking at Austin with a smirk. "You're going to propose after staring at her for all of your life. Literally."

Austin rolls his eyes before chuckling. "Actually, she sort of proposed to me the other night. It was hilarious because she didn't know how, but we got there. We don't have a ring, so my mom demanded I not see Ally until I've gotten a ring."

Rick laughs as he opens the box. "You two have always been--- what the hell!"

Austin raises an eyebrow and looks over the counter to look on the box. Sure enough, it was empty. Austin face hardens and he groans, throwing his head back. "We've gotta figure out who's doing this."

Rick runs a hand through his silk hair before leaning down and checking his other boxes. There were stuff insidr, but most of the expensive looking jewelry was gone. He sighs and pitches the bridge of his nose. "Damn right we do," he murmurs, looking frustrated and devastated. "Sorry, man. I didn't even realize---"

"It's fine," Austin shrugs him off. He digs the money he was going to use for the ring out of his pocket and hands it to him. "You need this more than I do."

"Thanks," the man smiles sadly, taking the money. "I think I'm going to close for the day to check if there's any more missing jewelry."

Austin nods and places a hand on his shoulder. "Hey, the princess sort of has a crush on me. If you need any funds, I'm sure I could make it happen."

"I'll get back to you on that." Rick laughs, smiling appreciatively.

Austin starts to leave, but he throws over his shoulder. "Oh, and stop by the castle to give a statement or something soon. Ally, I, and some others are traveling through the forest."

"Your girlfriend--- or, excuse me, soon to be wife, is really a help," Rick jokes yet says sincerely at him. "I'll stop by later."

Austin laughs and nods before he's out the shop and on his way.

-----

"Oh, hey, Austin!" A familiar voice calls while he's more on the other side of the village, wandering around.

He turns to see a woman running up to him with a small smile on her face. Austin turns her way and returns the smile. "Hey, what's up?"

"Well, I heard you were well with fixing things?" She says, now a bit nervous. She plays with a loose thread on her skirt, sighing.

"Yeah, what do you need?"

The woman smile a bit again and says softly, "Well, I've been trying to fix things in my house before the fall comes, but I think I'm making it worse. Would mind helping me with a few things? There's just a leak in the roof and a few missing bricks in the back."

Austin grins and nods, thinking she was quite cute. "Sure. Do you have some supplies?"

"Not the right kind," the woman sighs, frowning. "Everyone out here isn't great with the money, as you can see." She gestures to all of the small homes with not as happy as a setting like the inner town.