A Glutton For Punishment

Doku quickly wrote all the ingredients down on a piece of paper and handed it to Jewels.

"Take this, most of the herbs are readily available. However there are three herbs on that list that will take time for you to find. Luckily I have one of those three herbs that you need, I'll give it to you, but under a condition." Doku told her.

Knowing that Doku would not give any herbs for free, she didn't even try to ask him to give it to her just because she was his disciple. He was someone who believed in working hard to get what they want.

"Which herb do you have and what is the condition?" Jewels asked.

"I have the Greenbells herbs, stored in my room. When you need it all you have to do is ask for it and I'll give it to you. My condition is the Madewell tournament. It is in two and a half months. If I give you the herb, I want you to enter the competition. It doesn't matter if you win."

"That's it?"

"Yes, but I want you to try your best. I don't want you to lose on purpose, that would be shameful. You don't have to win the tournament. Just be in the top 5 in your level group and I will be a happy Master."

"Okay." Jewels agreed.

Madewell Tournament is held every 3 years. It is open to Madewell subjects over the age of 14. The rules to the tournament is simple. Defeat your opponent and win. Each participant are put into different groups. Depending on what your cultivation level is, you'll be facing off with other participants that are in the same cultivation level. So level 3-level 5 will be a group and be pitted against each other. Level 6-level 8 will be a group together, then you have level 9-level 10 fighting each other. Someone who is level 3 will not fight someone who is level 10, the difference in skills would be too great and would seem like bullying. The top 5 from each group will be awarded with the opportunity to board the Sky Ship and explore for 5 days. Any valuable item that you find on the ship, you can keep. The only down side to Sky Ship is that there are monsters living on the ship. The possibility of death is high, however the valuable items found would cost more money that one can spend in a life time.

Giving Jewels direction to the areas that she could find the two herbs, Doku dismisses her quickly to find them. Walking to the outside courtyard, she could see Fudo and Roku in a heated private discussion. She could feel the soundless barrier's powers pushing her body. As if it was encouraging her to turn around and walk away. Fudo stood straight with his arms crossed over his chest as Roku had his arms resting on his hips. Fudo' usual congenial personality was gone and replaced with a stone face frown. Not wanting to disturb their conversation Jewels makes her way out to the carriage and gives the driver direction to Mirror Lake.

To get to Mirror Lake, Jewels traveled half a day and pass by four villages before reaching her destination. The sun had already set as they reached the lake. She instructed the driver to stay and watch the horse and carriage as she made her way to the lake. When Jewels reached the shore she follows it until the shoreline met with a dense forest. Within the dense forest, Jewels took off the outerwear of her clothes and folded them before placing them by a tree. She made her way back to the lake and starts to walk in. Once she was deep enough to start swimming, she swim to the center of the lake. Guessing that she was close to the destination, taking a deep breath, Jewels dives down. Swimming down deeper and deeper, everything became darker and darker. Not knowing when she would hit the bottom of the lake, all she could do is keep swimming.

Jewels hand grasped the tip of what felt like a submerged plant growing in the lake. Kicking her legs she drove deeper until her hand felt around and held on to a large rock. Feeling her way around the ground and moving the plants around she felt her lungs tightening. Knowing she had to swim back to the surface soon, she quickly turned around and kicked the ground pushing her body towards what she hoped was the surface.

When she reach the surface, the deep breath she took gave way to her swallowing some water causing her to choke and cough. Knowing she couldn't leave without getting the Valewort herb, she tried again and again. Knowing full well, that trying to find the herb without the use of light, it was like trying to find a needle in a haystack. Too stubborn to give up quickly she tried and tried again and again until her body tired and the night grew darker and darker. The moonlight gave her enough lighting to hit the surface, but couldn't penetrate to the depths of the lake where she needed to look. Cursing the lack of advanced technology in this new world, she wished for a waterproof flashlight that would come in handy in this situation.

Jewels knew she would only be able to dive two more times before she lost all of her energy to safety swim back to the shore. She took a deep breath and dived again. Jewels was searching blind and she knew it. But knowing that the Valewort herb can help her, it renewed her determination to keep her hope alive that she would be able to find it.

All the submerged plants felt the same when she touched them, they felt smooth and silky. Her hands kept searching the ground floor until her hand touched something hard. Grasping onto the object , Jewels tries to pull it up, however it felt as if it was buried deep into the ground. Her hands starts to dig into the ground, pulling plants and moving rocks away from the object. Deeper and deeper she dug until the object came out. When she was able to pull the object out, she swam towards the surface not knowing what she dug up. Hitting the surface, instead of looking at her the circular item in her hand, she turns around in the lake to see if she could see the light coming from the carriage. Finding the light she swims towards it. Her limbs getting tired the closer she got to safety however she couldn't give up. She wouldn't let herself give up.

In her state of fatigue, she did not notice that on the shore there were seven figures standing in the dark watching her swim towards them. When she reached the shore and walked towards the dense forest to retrieve her clothes, six of the figures lit torches and surrounded her. Stopping suddenly, she saw standing in front of her was Raiden. His cold demeanor made Jewels shiver even though it was the height of a heat wave. His oppressive energy held her down, holding her body still. Her breathing came in fast and short breaths as if the air was running out. She was too tired to say anything so instead they all stood there quietly and waited until Raiden was ready to make his move. When he didn't say or do anything the oppressive atmosphere became too much for her and her tired, shaking legs gave out. Landing on her knees, her hands caught her fall and she rolled her body over and sat down. Her back was to Raiden as she concentrated on her breathing. The hard object in her hand reminded her of her find and with the help of the torches, she could finally see what she brought back with her.

Although still covered in dirt, Jewels could make out a metal bracer. Wiping away the dirt, she could see thin swirling gold designs come through. Standing up quickly she made her way back to the shore to wash the dirt away from the bracer. She took two steps before she felt a heavy hand on her shoulders. Without turning around she knew it was Raiden's hand stopping her.

"It's dirty." Jewels said, showing him the bracer. "I need to clean it."

The hand on her shoulder squeezed tightly before releasing her. Bending down to clean the bracer, Raiden's quiet presence crouched next to her.

"Look," Jewels said as the bracer was clean. "Look at what I found."

The bracer's metal did not rust like usual metals. It looked as if it was something newly made. The gold swirling designed did not look like any writing she could recognize. The design looked like a continuous curling vine through out the bracer. Tracing the gold design she suddenly felt a blanket placed over her shoulders. Looking up at Raiden, she could no longer feel the oppressive atmosphere that he exuded. Raiden swept her in his arms and carried her towards the carriage. Her driver was unharmed but he looked guilty, as if he did something wrong. Too tired to struggle out of his arms, she resigned herself to accept her current predicament.

"Where are you taking me?" Jewels asked.

Instead of answering, he carries her into the carriage and without saying anything to the driver, it leaves Mirror Lake and head towards their destination.

Wrapped up in the blanket and sitting on his lap, Jewels tried to move off his lap when his arms wrapped tighter around her.

"Can you let me go so I can sit on the other side of the carriage? I'm dripping wet and I'll get your clothes wet."

Instead of his arms loosing and letting her go, he tightens his arms even more, squeezing her tighter in his arms, pressing her into his body as if he wanted to fuse their bodies together.

"I can't breathe," Jewels whispered. His arms loosened enough for her to breathe. Her head leaned against his left chest, listening to his heartbeat beating faster then normal.

"My clothes." Jewels remembers. Lifting her head to look at him.

"Roku has it." Raiden grunted.

"How did you find me?" She asked.

"Doku."

"I hope you didn't give my Master too much trouble or else I'll be hearing about it later when I visit him." Jewels warned. "Is Roku in trouble?"

"Yes."

"Is he going to be punished?" Jewels wondered.

"Yes."

"What's the punishment?"

"30 lashes."

"If I may?" Jewels said. "Roku didn't do anything wrong. I was the one who left him at Doku's house. I was the one who came here by myself without telling him."

"He is your shield and sword, he is supposed to be your shadow. He lost sight of you and didn't know where you went. He failed his duty."

"But, I'm still alive and breathing. I'm not hurt or anything---"

"You will also be punished as well." Raiden interrupted

"Why? For what?"

"Have you forgotten that you now belong to me?"

"I haven't, however its not like I put myself in harms way. I just came out here for a nice swim and found a treasure on the way."

"Swimming and treasure hunting?" Raiden questioned with one of the eyebrows lifting up and a slight curve on his lips.

"And I plan on doing it again tomorrow." Jewels challenged him. "So don't give Roku his punishment yet, I plan to use him to help me find my treasure. He can't help me, if he's injured. And whats the use of a shadowed shield and sword if I can't use it whenever I need or want it?"

"Hmm." Raiden grunted.

"Where are we going?" Jewels asked again as she yawned.

"Sleep." Raiden ordered as he held her head again his chest again. "I'll wake you up when we get there."

------

Jewels woke up to the sunlight hitting her eyes. Something hard was behind her and something heavy held her waist down. Coming to her senses, she could hardly feel the calm and soft breathing on the back of her neck. Already knowing who it was, she laid there stiffly controlling her breathing.

The last man that held her this way betrayed her. Their relationship was a bond built over time and became comfortable. And that is how she died. Unsure about how to process feelings, she laid in bed and cultivated instead. The energy flowed through her veins, growing stronger and stronger. Her dantians, swirled in circles, growing with the energy moving through out her body. Her body's temperature started heating up, however she did not feel the heat. The body that slept next to her felt it instead.

"Why are you so hot?" Raiden asked as he put his hand over her forehead. "Did you catch a cold?"

When Jewels did not answer him, he became concerned and turned her body so she laid on her back. Seeing that her eyes were closed and how peaceful she looked, he finally understood what she was doing.

"Your energy must be fire based," Raiden said out loud. Laying down again next to her, he stared at her and waited until she finished cultivating. Looking over her features, he finally had the time to memorize them. Tracing her eye brows from one side to the next with his forefinger, he then traced her nose and her lips. Jewels eyes fluttered a couple of times and Raiden smiled. He knew if he kept on distracting her, she wouldn't be able to concentrate and wake up. Tracing her lips again with his finger, he led the finger trace her jaw line and follow down her neck down to her shoulder. Crossing the top of her chest towards his body, he stopped in the middle and traced down between the valley of her breast, slowly moving his finger further downward. Once his finger, traced past her bellybutton, Jewels hand shot out to stop his wandering hand.

"Want to die?" Jewels asked him as she glared at him.

"And how would you kill me?" Raiden teased.

"Why take all the fun out of it by telling you. When I kill you, you wouldn't see it coming." Jewels said as she flung his hand away from her body.

Raiden just laughs and brings his arm back to her waist again. Trying to unclasp his hand from her waist, she knew she was still too weak to really do any physical damage. Raiden is a high level 9 cultivator and fighter. Jewels is still at a measly low level 2. If Raiden wanted to squeeze her neck and break it, he could do it with just a little pressure, and she would break like a twig.

"Give up?" Raiden said smugly.

Swallowing her anger again she took deep breaths to calm her frustration.

"Never." Jewels said. "Even if it takes me my whole life, I'll never give up."

Raiden stares at Jewels, knowing what she said was true. Feeling proud, he lays his head on her chest and throws his leg over her body, pinning her down even more.

"What are you doing?" Jewels asked between her teeth, fuming even more.

"You belong to me." Raiden said as if that would answer any and all questions why he held her this way.

"So?" Jewels questioned. "Just because I belong to you, does not mean that I do not have any rights or freedom to do what I want to do."

"True," Raiden said. "However, until you can get stronger to fight me off and kill me as you say. You will have to suffer the consequences of being weak until then."

"You're just bullying me." Jewels told him.

"Yes."

"You think this is fun?"

"Yes."

"Is this my punishment?" Jewels reminded him.

"No," Raiden said as he lifted his head. "This is."

Leaning over her, she already knew what he wanted to do. Fine, she thought, if he wanted to play with fire, so could she. She was going to give it just as good as she got it. Their lips touched softly at first. Light and teasing. It was as if they were testing each other to see who was going to be the first to challenge the other. His hand that held her waist, caressed her side coming closer and closer to her breast then back down to her hips. Jewels hand wraps around his shoulders, bring him closer to her. Her hands running through his hair and down his arm. When she pulled his hair, he lost his control. His lips crushed hers and took over. Groaning, Jewels fingers dug into his shoulders, pressing closer to him. Their mingling breaths becoming shorter and shorter. Moaning, Raiden pulls away and leans his forehead to hers. Their eyes closed as they catch their breaths.

"With this kind of punishment, I should get in trouble more." Jewels said teasingly.

Surprised at her immodest statement, Raiden's usual stoic face lit up and light showed through his eyes, crinkling at the corners. His lips curls up before opening and Jewels, for the first time, hears Raiden's deep, unrestrained, boisterous laugh.

From the outside, his bodyguards and attendants heard his laugh for the first time in a very long time. The last time they heard him laugh this way, he was still a very young child. After his close to death, drowning experience, he stopped laughing and became a serious child. They all thought that if the Young Lady Jemma Jewels Brooks could make their Master laugh again, then they would do anything to help him keep her by his side.

Raiden, who couldn't hold his laughter back, tucked his head between her neck and shoulder and laughed harder. Jewels heart skipped seeing his already handsome face become even more beautiful. His body shook with laughter and pressed her down even more into the bed. To calm him down, she rubs his back in circles.

"Jewels, if it's punishment that you want, you can have them when ever you want them."

"It's my type of punishment!" Jewels sighed.

They lay there for a while longer not talking, just enjoying each other's company. After awhile, Jewels remembers her treasure that she found at Mirror Lake.

"My treasure!" Jewels asks.

Lifting his head, he stares at Jewels annoyingly and reaches over her head to grab her treasure off the side table. Jewels quickly grabs it out of his hand and takes a look at it again. Seeing her treasure in the light made her fall in love with it even more. The bracer was now shiny and new. It looked delicate yet impenetrable. Tracing the intricate gold details she became more hypnotized by it.

"You like it that much?" Raiden asks.

"Yea," Jewels nods, "I do."

"Its beautiful. Just like it's owner."

"No," Jewels disagreed. "Its even more beautiful then I can ever be. This bracer will never grow old, have scars, or die, but I will one day."

"Yes, you will grow old one day and die and you might have scars in the future, but you'll always belong to me, just like this bracer will belong to you."

Ruining the moment, Jewels looks annoyingly at Raiden then back at her bracer.

"You keep saying I belong to you, but what does that entail?" Jewels asks, her concentration still on her bracer.

"You are my people now. I protect whats mine. That simple." Raiden stated.

Nodding she looks at Raiden. His black hair was messy, flapping to the side. A shadow of a beard could be seen. His black eyes still held a light that she never seen before and his lips still curled up.

"Did Roku get his punishment yet?" Jewels asks.

Raiden's smile suddenly disappears.

"Why are you talking about another man in our bed?"

"Our bed? Since when has this bed become "ours"? I never agreed that we share a bed." Jewels said.

"No matter what bed we are on, it will become "our bed". " He stated.

"I did not agree to this."

"Are you not my golden gift that I chosen?" Raiden questioned.

"Yes."

"Did I not say that you belong to me now? That you are now my people?"

"Yes. But what does that have to do with agreeing to share the same bed?"

"You will sleep where I sleep from now on. I protect whats mine and being next to me is the safest place. You don't agree? However where ever you chose to sleep, I will be there as well, next to you. You cannot escape this." Raiden declared sternly.

Staring at the ceiling, praying for patience, she controls her breathing to curve her anger.

"You're bullying me again." Jewels told him.

"Yes, I am." He agreed.

"I don't like to be bullied." She stated.

"Only I can bully you."

Not liking the situation, Jewels tries to get up, but is held down by his body on top of hers.

"Half the day is already gone and since you don't like me talking about other "men" in bed. Let me up so we can talk."

"No." Raiden denied.

"Why are you being this way?" Jewels asks. "If you don't let me up, I'll talk about other "men" and you'll get angry."

"No."

Sighing in frustration, Jewels tries again to get up, but his hand hold her immobile.

"I'm hungry." Jewels announced out loud.

It was Raiden's turn to sigh as he squeezes her tightly again before letting her go.

"You never told me where we are." Jewels said as she sat up, her legs dangling off the side of the bed.

"We're at my Uncle's residence." Raiden told her. "My Uncle from my mother's side."

"What's his name?"

"My Uncle's name is Posha."

"Posha the poet?" Jewels asked excitedly.

Raiden sits up quickly and pulls her into his body again as he rests his head on her shoulder and pouts. "You're talking about another man in our bed."

"That "man" is your Uncle!" Jewels told him. "Don't be so unreasonable!"

Holding on to her tighter, both of his legs comes out from behind her and rests next to hers. His whole body pressed to her back. Both of his arms are wrapped around her waist, holding her in a tight embrace. A stuffy feeling began building in her chest again and remembering her Master's word, she began to think about the stuffy feeling in her chest. Why is she feeling this way? What did he do to make her have the stuffy feeling in her chest? She still did not understand why she felt this way so instead she reminded him that she was hungry.

"Stop trying to escape." Raiden mumbled in her shoulder. "Just give me another moment to stay like this."

Jewels stops trying to move out of his grasp and stills her body, giving into him.

"A moment," Jewels tried to tell him in a determined voice. The stuffy feeling started growing stronger.

"Just a moment." He whispered.

****************

Awe! What a lovely moment they just had! I was squealing along with you when I wrote this chapter. I'll publish now, so we can all feel the feels a long with them and proof later with fresh eyes. (its almost 3am for me right now) Let me know if me know if this is okay or would you rather I proof read everything before publishing. But that would mean that it'll take a longer publishing time for you guys, but you'll mostly read an grammatically correct, edited chapter. (I say, "Mostly" because I'm not an English major and English is my second language, so please bare with me)

Chapters will be long, sooooo I'm not going to say "sorry" for it anymore. Chapters will end when I feel like its a complete chapter, one with character development and growth. I haven't decided how long the book will be, I'm just writing as I go and with more love and support, I'll try my best to write everyday to give you guys something great to read.

I rated this book "Mature" but I don't know yet how mature this book will be. For sure there will be blood, death and killings galore. For sure there will be sex in this book. For sure this will happen if you keep reading. Its a slow development for now because Jewels is still growing and maturing. So I'm telling you now because I will not warn you about trigger words or scenes before each chapter. Anyways, thanks again for the love and support. -ptd :D