He was accomplished in a lot of things.
It turned out that choosing a present for his sister was not one of them.
Mikhail ran his hand through his hair with a sigh, eyes skimming over the array of jewelry laid out in front of him. Pendants, rings, bracelets- they all glinted prettily, but none of them seemed quite right.
"I'm sorry," he said, shaking his head at the shopkeeper. The poor man had shown him three different selections already and he hadn't found anything suitable in any of them. "I just don't think..." He waved his hand airily and gave a sheepish sort of shrug.
The shopkeeper sort of bit back a sigh, then quickly forced a smile. "I understand, sir. You just wait right here, I'll be back with some more options." He bustled off into what Mikhail assumed was some sort of back storeroom.
The young nobleman sighed and shook his head, taking a step back to look around the small store. He didn't have anything better to do while he waited for the shopkeeper, so he wandered to the back wall, which had a few antiques and things like hand crafted jewelry boxes.
Perhaps something like this... Reina liked things with "character"- maybe one of these little baubles would appeal to her more than the latest in high fashion. His fingers skimmed lightly over an gold choker set with rubies and garnets. No, too showy. Maybe one of the jewelry boxes.
For some reason, he found his eyes drawn to a simple little wooden box, carved with roses and hand painted. He picked it up, turning it over in his hands, and smiled. Yes, this seemed like something Reina would like. He returned to the counter just as the shopkeeper returned with another armful of jewels. "Now, these here, sir-"
"Forgive me," Mikhail cut across him, "but actually I believe I've found what I'm looking for." He held up the box.
The man was reluctant to let such an obviously affluent customer go with only a simple jewelry box, but after a few moments of trying to convince him to buy some things to fill it he simple excepted Mikhail's payment and waved him out the door with a polite smile.
Mikhail started off down the street, strolling nonchalantly back in the direction of home. He moved to tuck the box away in his jacket- then suddenly paused. Was something...rattling around in there? He paused, holding the box close to his face and flicking the catch with his thumb so the lid popped open.
He blinked. "Oh..." A silver ring set with a dark sapphire winked back at him. He frowned, reaching in to pick up the small piece of jewelry. He had noticed anything in the box before. Strange. He turned it over in his fingers, examining it closely.
He really should bring it back to the jeweler. He knew he should, and he had every intention of doing so- but for some reason he found himself staring at the stone, watching the light glint off of it. In a minute. He'd take it back in a minute.
