He shook in place. There's plenty of time, he just got it. With effort, James continued forward, and put the covered amulet in his pocket. Just as he expected, his family stood around the other corner. Both his mother and daughter were on their phones. James's father stood with his arms crossed, watching the folk go about their day, buying corn, potatoes, and other things. He nodded a friendly nod as he spotted his son walking towards them.
"Find something for yourself?" he asked loudly as James approached. James nodded, unable to be heard over the market noise. His dad nodded again and got the attention of his wife and daughter. They looked up at the same time to see James nodding at his father. Smiling, they both turned toward the direction of the family van and began walking.
"Man, they really didn't want to be here." James said, catching up. His dad chuckled as they walked along.
"Nope." He said simply, "You're sister gave up when she couldn't find any jewelry stands, and you know your mother." James nodded once more. Before long, they were at the vehicle, and James's father fished for his keys.
"So," he said idly, "what did you get?" James responded by taking the amulet back out, and revealed the ruby portion, without the two figures and inscription visible. "Wow. Normally I wouldn't consider you an accessories type person, but I can see the resale value." His father said, hoisting himself into the driver's seat. The sentiment came off as unexpected to him. Sell it?
He wondered about the resale value of the amulet as he sat down in the seat behind his father. To his left, his sister was already back into her phone, texting away. The entire car was silent, excluding the weak radio signal as the van travelled down the rural and loosely paved road. Taking the opportunity, he unfolded the detailed cloth from around the amulet. The chain rattled as it was freed from its clothing.
Inspecting it, James got an eyeful of the amulet. The chain itself appeared copper from the way it tarnished, however the metal ring and apparatus binding the ruby to the ring remained mysteriously unaffected by the chain's impurity. The entire amulet was no bigger and no thicker than a tea-candle. Looking closely at the ruby, James could make out the vaguest shape of a heart. It's extremely rounded appearance made it difficult to notice at first, but it indeed dipped slightly on top of the gemstone, while also jutting ever so slightly on the bottom of it. The loop to hold the chain rested slightly off-center from the Ruby's dip, leaving the gem and it's carving of dragon and man dragon creature tilting slightly to the right. The impurity didn't really bother James. He thought it gave it some personality.
The bumpy road gave the chain all the excuse it needed to rattle, as it hung out of Jame's hand. The noise only helped James focus on the peculiar item itself, grabbing his attention like nothing ever had before. The depiction on the front of the ruby seemed really archaic to James. While cleanly drawn, the picture of the man with a head of a dragon and a tail appeared very ornate. It's horns curled to the left, displaying both, with the head having a profile, displaying the very dragon-like maw of the upright figure. In the same way, its tail curled to the left side of the ruby, terminating before it became to spindly. On the opposite side, a full dragon took up what free space exist on the right half of the heart shaped ruby. Also in a profile side, the dragon had its maw open enough to allow a small hear appear between its jaws, as if it were speaking. Jeff smiled at the notion. Its tail curled the same way as the man's, lasting longer before terminating, taking up the entire upper right corner.
Jeff read the insignia wrapping around the outer-ring holding the ruby in place again to himself. 'The one who puts on the amulet will forever be the sire, and those he comes in contact with in his life will be the dam for his children of fire.' He scoffed at the description. It sounded like a good luck charm when it came to passionate love and relationships. It made sense, he supposed, given the theme of the necklace. The detail put into each letter was on par with a wedding ring, which impressed Jeff. He lifted the amulet close to his face to get a more detailed look at the letters.
"Hey, is that a necklace?" James heard to his left. Startled, he quickly looked to find his sister leaning against the window, looking at him. Her phone must be dead, he thought. Sure enough it was on the ground, charging. "Yeah, it is." James said plainly, as he felt oddly defensive about his purchase. "Can I try it on? I love the design, and I'm still looking for a necklace to wear at the wedding." She reached for it as she said this, which prompted James to pull it back, out of reach.
"I haven't even gotten to wear it!" James said indignantly. "Who cares? It looks like lady Jewelry anyway!" She said mockingly towards her brother. "I don't care." is all he could say before she reached for it again. Before long, a shoving match broke out in the back seat.
"Hey! Stop!" their Father said, swerving the car enough to get their attention on the empty road. "Danielle, jesus, it's his stuff, and he just bought it. Leave him alone." James's father commanded his sister. With a huff, she leaned back in her chair, and checked the charge on her phone.
"Fine," she conceded, , "wear it first or whatever. Just let me try it on before the wedding." She dropped her charging phone back onto the van's floor and leaned against the window on her side, looking out.
James wondered what that was about. He wasn't the closest with his sister either, but she usually left him well enough alone, being twenty-five. He grabbed the amulet by it's tarnished chain, prepared to put it on. Once again, the feeling of intensity washes over him. It's the exact same mysterious feeling from the market. Maybe he should let his sister wear it, he thought. Then again, it was his. Then again, he realized, this mixed feeling of happiness and excitement comes over me whenever I put it on. Should James wait until the motel?