"Hehe, I promise i'll make up for a days work for you.. now go, you should be with your siblings right now.."
Dee returned to the marketplace the following week to pick up the scarf. Virgil's scarf. The shopkeeper presented the finished gift in trembling hands and lowered her head. "I hope it is to your liking, my lord." He smiled as he took the shimmering length of silk from her hands. She’d married together long strips of gold and purple silk with nearly invisible stitches. The seams were smooth and unobtrusive, each panel flowing from one to the other. Tiny, spiraling decorative stitches in gold thread adorned the edges, glimmering and catching the light. Dee removed one glove and pulled the scarf through his hands. It slipped through his fingers like water, cool, smooth, and fluid.
She peeked at his face. "Does it please you?"
DAMN. Anyways...
The shops lining the path to Virgil's storefront were beginning to close, the shopkeepers wrapping up their wares, stacking pots, and lashing down heavy awnings to protect their goods from the elements and from any pilferage in the night.
Dee was dismayed to see that Virgil had already completed his closing tasks, a heavy canvas cover battened down over his stand. Pulling his cloak tighter around himself, he turned away from the storefront. As he did, though, his eye caught sudden movement next to the closed fishmonger’s stand. He spied shifting shadows, three large shapes surrounding a smaller form. Creeping closer, Dee peered around the corner and saw three tall men surrounding the thin shopkeeper, striking him and pulling at his satchel.