Editing Story:ROAD TRIP! (Warhammer High)/Part Two (section)

===Green Light: GO SHOPPING!===

Venus ran her hands over the fine fabric of the shirt on the rack.  “Oooh.  I like,” she said under her breath.  She glanced at the price tag and lifted an eyebrow above her mirrored shades at the cost.  “Cheaper than dirt!  Awesome.”  She lifted the shirt and carried it up to the vendor at the front of the tiny market booth.  “I’ll take it,” she said happily.

“My honor, Princess!” the vendor said.

Venus sighed patiently.  “I mean I’ll buy it,” she said, brandishing a money card like a sword.

“Oh…well, I would be…all right, your total comes to seventeen credits,” the vendor said hesitantly.  Venus swiped the fifty thousand cred card through the reader.

“Thanks,” she said, walking out before the vendor could complain.

“Oh ho, refusing graft, are you, Princess?  How principled,” Remilia joked from the door.

“Bite me,” Venus grumbled.  “Why do I even wear these shades if people can see my eyes through them?  I should just get a bionic visor or something.”

“You best be kidding.  I would kill for those eyes,” Remilia said.

“Eh.  I was.  And it’s my own fault for thinking people wouldn’t recognize me after a speech like the one today,” Venus said.  Freya meandered up from the next booth over, some little icon in her hands.  “What you got there?”

“A ske-run sculpture,” Freya said excitedly.  “Check this out!”  She passed the tiny stone sculpture to her cousin.

“That’s a sa’hrk, not a ske-run,” Venus said.  “It’s for the better, trust me.  Ske-run are what sa’hrk eat.”

“Oh.”  Freya’s face fell.  “Well, that’s good too.”

Venus grinned.  “You want to head back now, or keep shopping?  You appear to have…acquired some lucre already,” she noted, staring at the bulging fanny pack Freya was wearing.

“Let’s head back, actually,” Freya said.  “I feel bad for ditching the boys.  And I want to get this stuff packed.”

“Okay.  You know the way?” Venus asked.

“You’re not coming with?” Remilia asked.

“No.  I want to stay a bit longer and just…talk.  You know?  Find out what my people are like.”  Venus smiled at the processions of people on the street.

“Sure thing.  See you after dinner,” Remilia said.  Both of the paler girls walked back to the castle, a plainclothesman discreetly breaking off to follow.

Venus turned back to the crowds, watching in silence.  A group of merchant trawlers was hawking their wares at the large table in the middle of the market.  As she watched, one swept a pile of goods into a black plastic box and passed it along to family that had paused at their table.

“My Princess?” a voice at her shoulder murmured.  She glanced back to see one of the plainclothesmen standing behind her.  “If you’d like to explore the market, we could have someone send your purchases back to the castle.”

“Thanks.  I think I’m good,” she said.  “I won’t be out too much longer before the dinner.”

“As you wish, your Highness,” the man whispered, disappearing back into the crowds.

Venus turned and walked along the rows of booths along the outer edge of the market.  The beautiful assortment of exotic jewelry in one booth caught her eye.  A natural jeweler herself, she cast her stare over a row of magnificent silver coins.  They were blank in the middle and had tiny sparkles along the edges – diamond dust, maybe.

“Remarkable craftsmanship,” she said softly.

“Thanks, dear,” the fellow behind the counter said.  For a miracle, he seemed not to recognize her.  “I can emboss your picture on one for six hundred credits extra.”

“By hand?” she asked.

“No, no, that takes forever.  I use a press and scrape the details by hand, though.”

“Heh.  I like those too,” she said, gesturing at a coiling silvery necklace on another table.  “Is that electrum?  What’s it’s proportion?”

“Good eye.  It’s electrum, all right.  I hacked the rocks out of a lode my sister sent me.  40-59-1, gold-silver-copper,” the man said.  “Try it on.”

“Really?” she asked.  She ran her finger gingerly over the coiled links.  “Well…” she set her shirt down and lifted the beautiful necklace, holding it over her chest and glancing in a mirror on the cloth wall of the booth.

“It’s gorgeous,” she said quietly.

“It’s yours for forty thousand credits,” the man said.

Venus set it down on the stand again.  “No, thank you, sir.  But…ooh.  Is that a heliotrope ring?” she asked.

“It is.  You know your rocks, dear.”

“I do.”  She lifted the ring.  “The balance is perfect.  How did you balance the set with such an asymmetric rock?” she asked.

“Patience.  Lots of patience.”

“Bloodstone is my birthstone,” Venus said.

“Pardon?”

“I live on Terra.  On Terra, certain gems and rocks correlate with your birth month.  I was born on March 20th, so I’m bloodstone, heliotrope,” Venus said.  “My boyfriend was born on June 29th, so he’s Catseye,” she explained.  “Don’t suppose you’ve got any yellow cymophanes?”

“I just might,” the man said, reaching under the display case and rooting around.  “Hmm…no rings…just a stone,” he said, pulling a gorgeous yellow gem from under the counter.

Venus smiled.  “Name your price, sir, on the ring and the stone.”

“Hmm…the stone is cut, and ready to balance.  I’ll say five thousand six hundred.  The ring was a lot of fun, and you don’t see heliotrope this far from the Dragonspine…I’ll say four thousand five hundred fifty.  Comes to ten thousand, one hundred fifty.  Taxes make it ten thousand, nine hundred sixty eight and eight cents.”

“Sir, please.  The stones aren’t even symmetrical.  I’ll give you ten thousand even for the set,” Venus said.

“Miss, you might be able to haggle with the meatmongers across the way, but I know the value of my wares, and your total is 10,968.08 credits,” the man said patiently.

Venus shrugged.  “I can’t argue with that.”  She swiped her card at the reader and lifted the gems.  “So…where did you study, sir?”

“Under my father.  My family’s been turning chunks of this misbegotten little piece of hell into artworks since you could count the stars within the Imperium with two hands,” the man said, with the quiet pride of a career craftsman.  “My son and one of my grandsons are just as good.”

“Truly?  Good for you,” Venus said.

“Yes…my youngest grandson entered the Salamanders.  He’s a Techmarine now,” the man said with unmistakable delight.

“Wow.  Good on him.  What’s his name?” Venus asked as she slid both jewels into a pouch and tied it shut.

“Hasdreth.  Tech-brother Hasdreth Liun,” the craftsman said.

“Oh yeah!  He studied on Mars, in the Seminary of the Guiding Machine,” Venus said as relevant memories returned.  “I met him once at a dinner party.”

“You…met him?” the old fellow asked, baffled.  “How?”

Venus looked at him over the edge of her mirrored glasses and winked cheerfully.  “I’m a Salamander too.”

“Oh my…Princess Venus, I’m deeply honored,” the man said.  “I…suppose I don’t have to ask where you made all your jewelry, at least,” he joked weakly.

Venus laughed warmly.  “Indeed.  I’m following the family craft as well.  Of course Dad’s creations tend to kill things instead of make them pretty.”

“Present company excepted, I’m sure, your Highness,” the jeweler said.

“You’re too kind.”  She stuck out a hand to shake.  The jeweler hesitantly took it, and Venus shook his hand briskly.  “Thank you, sir.  Good day.”

“I’ll treasure this day, your Highness.  And welcome home,” he said, bowing his head as she left his shop.

Venus glanced back at the sun, high in the sky, and grinned.  “It does feel good,” she said softly.

A loud rattling noise from in front of her drew her attention back down to the surface.  A group of local police – Enforcers, they were called, Venus remembered, like in the Hives back home – were cordoning off a small road bridge between two parts of the market.  She wandered over to take a peek.
“Come on, folks, move along,” one Enforcer said.

“What happened here?” she asked the man next to her.

“Robbery,” the man muttered.  “Nobody got hurt.  Some tourist with a pistol slid in to a booth on the far side, demanded money, and ran for it.”

“Revolting,” Venus said coldly.

“Yeah.  Fucking tourists,” the man grumbled, surprising Venus.  Before she could say a word, he had turned on his heel and walked away, cloak billowing.
Venus stared.  He was more upset about the foreigner than the robbery?  She looked for a detour around the bridge and found one, skirting around the Enforcer quarantine and emerging in a similar section of market, this one focusing more on the essentials; food and housewares predominated.  Venus casually meandered up to the Enforcer line, which was now brimming with locals looking for answers.

A few Enforcers were gingerly guiding a clearly shell-shocked stall owner to a sheltered seat, while some others were examining the booth and asking questions of a witness.  Venus stared.  That sort of crime was all but unheard of in Startseite.  From the reactions of the people around her, it was rare here too.

“Ought to hang the vermin by his balls from the Walls of Hesiod, let him fry,” a woman next to her growled.  “Offworlders don’t know what it’s like trying to hack a living from the crust of hell.”

“Or just don’t care.  I suspect foreign criminals are just as greedy as Nocturnean criminals,” joked the man to whom she was talking.

“Whatever.”

Venus backed up, sensing that her presence would have been unnecessary.  Even as she started to leave, however, the woman who had been robbed glanced to the side and spotted her.  Her eyes flew open.

Venus’ finger shot to her lips, gesturing for quiet.  The woman stared, clearly traumatized, but nodded.  Without a word, Venus turned and slid back across the detour bridge, making for the castle.  Suddenly, she didn’t feel like shopping.

Jake was reading his slate when a knock came on the door.  “Come,” he said, setting it down.

Venus opened the door and walked in.  “Afternoon, Jake.”

“Hey, baby.  You’re back early,” he said.  He stood up and walked into the sitting room.  “Thought you’d be out mingling.”

“I was.  Lost my appetite when I saw a robbery.  I wanted to come back and give you a hug,” she said, squeezing him tight.  He planted a kiss on her forehead.

“Sounds scary.”

“Nobody was injured, but yeah, it was.”

“Well…I sent a message to my parents.  I’ve got the afternoon free if you want to do something else,” he said.

“No, thanks, I need to get dressed for the dinner,” Venus said, dropping her shirt on the couch.  “But…look at this,” she said, pulling the bloodstone ring from her pocket.

“Oh, wow.  It’s pretty,” Jake said, taking the ring.  “What stone is that?”

“It’s bloodstone.  Heliotrope.  My birthstone,” she said.  “I was thinking I might wear it to the dinner if I decide not to wear the gloves.”

“It’s really cool.  Where did you get it?” Jake asked, following her into the bedroom.

“A jeweler’s shop in the market.”  Venus halted when she saw his thermoreflective gear and water pouch on the bed.  “You going spelunking in a lava vent, baby?”

“Yes, it’s called ‘walking outdoors in Hesiod,’” Jake said.  “No offense, Venus, but I nearly had a heart attack on the way back from lunch.  I’m wearing that tomorrow.”

“Oh.”  Venus shrugged.  “Your call.  We’ll just be tourist-ing again.”

“No problem in looking like a tourist if you are one,” Jake said.

“Aye aye.”  Venus grabbed the armor stand and rolled it into the bathroom.  “Be back in a bit.”

As she shut the door, Remilia poked her head in the door to the sitting room.  “Knock knock.”

“Hey, Remilia, come on in,” Jake said.  “You just get back too?”

“No, I’ve been back for a while.  It’s getting close to dinner time, you want to go grab something?” she asked.

“Love to.  I’ll call room service,” Jake said.

“I meant out.  In the city,” Remilia said.

Jake winced.  “Uh…well, I didn’t handle the heat so good today.”

“We’ll take a car.  Come on, my treat,” she said insistently.  Jake gave in, his hunger outweighing his reluctance.

“Sure, let me just tell Venus where I’m going,” he said.  He raised his voice.  “Venus, I’m headed out to dinner with Remilia.”

“Okay, I’ll see you tonight,” Venus’ muffled voice came from the bathroom.