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Samuel quickly realized after the first time that Leo had decided to stick around to see how his training went that he wasn't fond of having other people around to watch. Comments, sounds, and movements out of the corner of his eye caused him to get distracted from what he was supposed to be focusing on and cost him additional pain with how Clarice was teaching him.
Clarice of course didn't mind the extra company. After numerous competitions and learning to train in packed places, having other people around never bothered her one bit. In her mind it added to the excitement and in addition to that, she believed that it would help Samuel learn to focus better in future when he might in a situation where he needed to deal with distractions that might affect the way that he could respond and protect himself.
Her only other rule was that if anyone was going to be around to watch that they shouldn't be giving advice on what to do unless they intended to participate in the training. Leo learned to not comment fairly quickly, but only because the one time he did Clarice pulled him into the training which he wasn't that thrilled about.
It had been a good year since he did any training and this made him a touch out of practice. Leo never really felt the need to keep up with it since he never needed to use it in England. No one really knew who he was and thus he never really had to worry about anyone coming after him or seeing him as a valuable person to kidnap or otherwise. Thus, he determined it wasn't necessary to stay on top of the training except for when he felt like it which was hardly ever.
Even though Samuel had asked him to not come back because of the distraction it poised for him, he continued to come anyways because he said it was interesting to watch and it was important to have someone else there as moral support, he didn't want that type of moral support however.
On this particular Tuesday however, Samuel didn't have to worry about training as it was the day that he Lena, and Zane were supposed to be going together to get the rings refitted so that they could start wearing them. Samuel thought that it was a bit odd they were using those before they got married rather than actual engagement rings, he didn't comment though as he wasn't certain if that was another one of the traditions in their family or not.
He had thought that riding with Zane would prove to create an opportunity for more conversation, but he was proven wrong when it turned out that Zane was just as quiet as the princess usually was which just made it more awkward for Samuel who was stuck sitting between them.
He still hadn't taken the time to ask Zane about going to college. He had wanted to do that last week when he knew the older man was at home and he didn't have anything to do after his training with Clarice, but because of the other's mood, he decided to put it off since he believed that there would opportunities in the future for the subject to come up.
Jeff was the one that was driving them to the small jeweler in the city who would be helping to get the rings properly adjusted. Apparently, it was the same place that Zane had some odd twenty years ago gone to originally get the rings crafted. It had been his decision to go back to the same place since he trusted that the person who had made them would be best person to adjust them without causing any damage to the original product.
Compared to the boutique that they had gone to, this place seemed far less upscale and rather like some place based upon the size and collection had only by sheer luck managed to scrape by and stay in business over the past twenty years. Part of that which was never spoken was due to the fact that Zane had paid far above market price value to have the rings made that the owner had enough rent to cover quite a few years without having to worry about how much sales he made each week.
This was of course because to Zane the rings were something that although simply enough to make were priceless to him and thus he didn't mind putting extra money into someone's pocket for going to the trouble to fulfilling the request that he had made.
Zane was the first one to step out when the car stopped, stepping to the side, he left the door open so that Samuel could get after him. He thanked the older man for the action though the other didn't seem to think anything of it.
Once outside of the vehicle Samuel became aware of how different the air was now that Zane was with them than it had just been when it was him and the princess who had gone to the boutique. It really did seem like people were much more aware of who he was than who his daughter was. He paid no heed to it of course and made his way to enter the store. He was really indifferent to whether or not people were paying unnecessary attention to him. He had no business with the common people today and thus didn't really care about how they were reacting to him.
"Is it always like this when you go out together?" Samuel asked Lena in a low voice causing the princess to glance at the people who had stopped to stand around and watch.
"Sometimes. I have gotten used to it though so I don't really pay much attention t to who is around unless there is a reason to." She replied as she followed her father into the store leaving Samuel as the the last person to enter after them.
The man who was in at the counter looked to be in his late sixties. He was dressed in a dark blue polo and black dress pants. He didn't have much hair left and he was bent over slightly as though he was suffering from a touch of arthritis. Perhaps from standing behind the jewel store counter for so many years. His age and pain didn't stop him eyes from becoming bright when he saw who had entered the shop. He knew who Lena was, but he hadn't been anticipating that Zane would be coming with her to get the rings taken care of.
"Sir Zane! It has been quite some time since we last spoke. I knew that your daughter would be paying me a visit, but I never imagined that you would coming as well." The man greeted warmly. Zane offered him a small smile and a handshake in return for his enthusiasm.
"Indeed it has been quite some, that's exactly why I decided to come back here today. What about twenty years now since I last stepped foot in here?" Zane mused as he looked around the store. It seemed rather well stocked still but in a way that said it was regularly replenished rather that business had died down over the years.
"I'm glad to see that you have still managed to stay in business after all these years." He commented to which the man nodded.
"That was all thanks to you though. Without your generous donation I don't think that I would've been able to get past those hard times when the recession hit." The man replied.
Lena was standing patiently behind her father while he caught up with the man, waiting for when he would ask to see the rings and take care of getting them properly fitted.
Samuel on the other hand was taking the opportunity to look around. It was his first time in such a store and he was rather interested in the unique designs and displays that were set up. He didn't really have anything in mind that he was looking for in particular, he just didn't want the opportunity to pass him by if he did happen to see something that he thought might be fitting for them.
Even though they had the wedding rings which he thought were quite beautiful and fitting for them, he still felt that it was wrong to not have another ring. Something to wear while they were engaged. That way they could really save her family's rings for when they got married.
Nothing was sticking out to him though and he was aware that even if he did find something, he would have to ask Zane if he would be willing to put down the money for them. He didn't mind this, but he didn't want to take such a thing for granted since it wasn't his money after all and he and Lena weren't yet officially engaged.
At the same time that something finally did catch his attention, he was called back over my Lena so that the man could see how the ring fit on his finger and see how much he would have to adjust it.
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