He was drawn to the antique as it glowed in the hands of the storekeeper. The intricacy of the silver was magnificent, and in the very second that he saw it he knew that he should be the only one to give it to her. The locket was fit just perfectly for her, and he knew that, too. So much detail was etched into the tiny piece of silver, but the necklace meant something more.

He wanted to get her something nice for her name day, but he also needed to put food on the table and survive somehow, but there was no way that he would be able to buy himself food and give her this beautiful necklace that was obviously made for her. No, it was too incredibly expensive, even if it would match up to all the gifts she'd receive from her rich family. But he had to get her something, and he didn't know what other choice he really had. He hadn't been able to eat for days, and as his stomach growled, he knew he needed to purchase some food in order to suffice.

"Son, what she look like?" the storekeeper had asked him after seconds of silence had passed and thought traveled through his brain.

"She's the most beautiful woman in the world—long blondehair, perfect curves, and a smile like no other," he easily replied, and as he did, he could picture Elizabeth in a flowing white dress as in the many fantasies he'd even had of her, where she'd happily give her hand to him, no matter of his status. But those could only be fantasies.

"No, son, how do her heart look?" the storekeeper explained.

"Her heart, I presume, is red and beating just like the other hearts in the human body. How else can a heart ever be?" he posed in response, obviously facing a bizarre man.

"Ah, so she stubborn an' selfish like other classmen?"

"Oh, no man, she's as graceful as a bird, and she's incredibly generous. How can one with such beauty in her soul ever have Lucifer's heart?" he quickly countered.

"Her soul pure, then?"

"Of course."

"Ye feel that she is one meant for ye, an' ye for her?"

"I know that she is who I was meant to live for, and that if I was to pass, why it would break her fair heart," he answered proudly.

"Then I let ye in on li'l secret."

The storekeeper leaned in closer to his ear, meaning to whisper only a matter of words in secrecy so that the other invisible wandering customers would not hear the news.

"Necklace forged by Venus. Ye bestow on yer lady, both o' ye favored by Goddess; if ye no wish t'make payment, feel free t'accept no love for eternity."

"But, man, there is no way I can afford such fine artwork, even if handmade by a goddess," he simply, agnostically replied.

There was that silence again, as it was, in turn, the storekeeper's chance to think. Gregory Serche never even believed the man, but as he let the man think, he looked around the store, hoping there would be something else he could buy for Elizabeth. And with one quick glance, he saw nothing that would fit her as well as that locket. Now, he didn't know what to give her for her birthday. And if he couldn't get her anything, then how could he prove himself of anything to her family—he was a man of impression, and God only knows that he'd held high respects for her father—a landlord along the coast of the East Ocean just south of Jamestown.

He put one foot out the door, and before he could completely leave, the storekeeper came up to him with a box.

"No pay. I give for free. Ye are man in need; give t'ye lady."

Inside was the locket, shimmering with a brandy white glow; and for his generosity, Gregory smiled. He knew that his dear Elizabeth would just adore this necklace, especially because it was given to her by him. And her father would be much pleased at the money spent, and her mother jealous of such additional beauty to the only daughter she ever had.

That evening, after finding food, cleaning up as best he could, and having dinner with the Dentons, he presented his gift to Elizabeth.

"Mr. Serche, I don't believe it," Mrs. Denton exasperated. "How on earth could you afford such beautiful jewelry for my dear daughter?"

"It was nothing but a small dent in my income. I assure, it was truly meant for her."

"Well," Mr. Denton began, "put it on her. And let us see if what you say, Mr. Serche, is true."

In the meantime, Elizabeth had been too shocked to ever answer Gregory, but he so much as expected that, for it was a beauty that he was staring at—and her heart was special. In that moment, he wanted her. All of her; everything about her, and he knew that, with small hope, that she would one day be his. So, as he clasped the locket around her neck, he whispered low in her ear, teasingly, too.

"

A devotion of my love, Eliza, for my heart will always be yours."

And Venus was happy that the destinies of the two who would keep true love in the world were finally combined.