Badge Of Honor

A roar like thunder rang out stopping everyone. Fear ran through everyone's body as a thick, oppressive feeling fell on everyone. From the forest, red eyes came into view and a huge shadow came forward. The golden lion made its appearance, roaring once before pouncing on the men in front of Jewels. The remaining men scattered running for their lives. With his guard still up Ichi made his way to Roku and Jewels. However the closer he came to Jewels, the louder the golden lion growled. Unable to stand on her own anymore, Jewels fell forward onto the ground losing conscience. The golden lion picked her up in his mouth and ran off into the forest. Ichi, too weak to follow the lion, threw an energy tracking dart that hit the lion before he disappeared.

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Coming to her sense, Jewels stared at the stars shining. Lifting her head, her aching body slowly listened to her and sat up. Groaning, she looked around her and saw red eyes stare back at her. Jewels looked down at her body examining the injuries she sustained. They were red and healing, there was no open wounds bleeding. The lion stood up and walked to Jewels. She shrank back, not knowing what to expect and the lion opened its large mouth. She braced herself for its teeth to meet her skin, however the lion licked her instead. The wounds that were red turned white, then slowly disappeared with each lick. When she saw that the lion's saliva held healing properties she sat still as the lion bathed her. Nudging her to stand up, the lion licked her thigh and once that was healed, he licked her back. When the lion finished, he sat down next to her, waiting for her to make a move. Looking around she had no idea where she was or how long she's been unconscious. She was still too weak to move, so instead she sat down next to the lion.

"Watch over me as I rest." Jewels told the lion. "Thank you for saving me and my men."

She fell asleep next to the lion. When she woke up, it was to the lion growling and her name being called. Her eyes met Raiden's but above her was golden fur.
When Jewels moved, the lion roared, prompting her to stop moving. She looked at Raiden and saw that he brought his griffin with him. The majestic monster caught her eye and she stared at it not listening to what Raiden was telling her. When Raiden yelled her name again she came out of her daze and looked around her. All of Raiden's guards were there. Roku and Ichi were there too although they looked like they were still injured themselves.

Not wanting for anyone to get hurt, Jewels slowly reached out and touched the lions stomach. The lion stopped growling and roaring to look down at Jewels.

"Friends." She said. "They're friends."

The lion roared again before sitting down next to her. Jewels got up slowly and stood up. When she took a step away from the lion, he stood back up on all fours. When she took one step so did the lion. When she stopped it did as well. Turning around to look at the lion, he leaned his head inward, his forehead touched hers. Suddenly in her mind, she saw flashes of the lion's life and in exchange, the lion saw hers. Too overwhelmed with the memories, her knees buckled and she fell forward, hugging the lion to her. She felt his breath on her shoulder and heard him speak to her.

"Steady little traveler. You have come a long way here and do not know our ways. Rest before you return to your friends. You have many names, what name shall I call you?" The lion asked.

"Jewels. My name is Jewels. What are you called?"

"I don't have a name, just lion."

"You're name shall be Nemean. Nemean the lion. In one of my life times, Nemean lion had golden fur so thick and tough that no knife or sword could cut through it. It's claws so sharp that it can cut through swords and armor. "

Liking the name, he purred.

"Now I am your animal to call. Your bracer that you wear is enchanted. It can carry me in it and I will be with you until your last breath. When you need me, call my name and I will protect you."

"This bracer, do you know what it is?"

"I do not know what it's called, I only know that I can stay in it and be with you."

"Why? Why did you tie yourself to me?" Jewels asked. "You were free. Don't you want to be free?"

"I have been alone long enough. The forest is getting smaller with each century and the humans have been attacking me constantly for the past two weeks, I need rest. You are the first human that did not attack me. You helped me when I was at my weakest. A lifetime with you is a blimp in my lifetime."

With the help of Nemean, Jewels stood back up. They stared into each other's eyes then suddenly Nemean disappeared in front of everyone.  The second Nemean disappeared, Raiden held her in his arms.  She could feel his heart beating fast and he squeezed her tighter.  They held each other not saying a word.  The bodyguards looked on as the Prince of Redbane held Lady Jewels.  This was the first time they have seen him show worry and affection towards someone.  They wondered if Lady Jewels would be the one who could love their Demon Prince.

"Is Ichi and Roku okay?" Jewels asked Raiden. 

"Yes." He answered her. "Are you okay?"

"Yes."

Raiden held her at arms length and looked her over. 

"Ichi and Roku said you were injured."

Turning her around he checked over her tattered clothes.  Not seeing any wounds, he takes off his shirt and and covers her with it. 

"Come, it's time to leave."  Raiden said as he flew up with her in his arms.  They all flew to the nearest town.  Raiden had already rented the whole inn.  When they arrived, Sunny informed them that the bath had already been drawn and is ready for them. 

Carrying Jewels in his arms the whole way to the bedroom, he put her down long enough to strip her of her tattered clothing and scooped her up again and brought her to the bathroom. He set her gently in the bath tub then quickly took the rest of his clothes off.  He got in behind her, his arms wrapping around her waist, bring her closer to him.  Jewels laid back into his arms and tried her best not to fall asleep.  For awhile, she pushed through wanting to be next to him in his arms again after so long.  Raiden also wanted to stay in the steaming  water with her, however he knew she was getting sleepy.  So instead, he took the soap to wash her body and hair.  Once she was clean, he got up first and towel dried her body and wrapped her hair in a dry towel.  Scooping her up again like a princess, he placed her in bed. Jewels did not care about her wet hair,  the moment her head hit the pillow, she fell asleep. 

Raiden watched Jewels for a long time calming his heart.  Thinking back, when he received Roku's paper crane calling for help, his heart stopped beating. He had a bad feeling the whole day but kept brushing it off as if he was anxious for her return.  Raiden immediately set off to rescue Jewels and his men not caring to inform anyone why or where he left. 

He was able to reach Parker Forest within two hours and found his men heavily injured and barely conscious.  As they patched  Ichi and Roku up and fed them rejuvenation pills, Ichi retold Raiden about the ambush and when he told Raiden that Jewels was taken by the golden lion beast living in Parker Forest, the self control Raiden held on to broke as the fire within his veins rage forth.  He called Gekido for the first time in a long time.  The half eagle, half lion's roar could be heard from afar.  It flew above them in a circle a couple of times before he landed.  Gekido lowered himself down so Raiden could get on him.  Raiden gave the engery tracker to Gekido to follow and they flew west towards the golden lion and Jewels.  The whole time, he prayed to the Goddess that she would be okay.  He prayed that he'll settle for Jewels to still be alive and breathing when he got to her even if she was heavily injured.  As long as there was breath in her body, he was certain he could save her. 

The night grew darker as they followed the energy tracker.  When Raiden saw the lion and Jewels did his heart lurch to his throat.  She was alive, but the lion sat beside her.  Not knowing if the lion was there to guard her or kill her,  they slowly approached her, but the lion growled and roared for them stop or it'll attack.  Instead Raiden called out to Jewels several times before she woke up.  

Now that she lied in bed, safe and sound, he could finally calm down a bit.  The lion tied himself to her.  Now he didn't have to worry so much about her.  He watched over her for a long time before the knock on the door disturbed his peace. 

"Prince Raiden,  we have gathered the perpetrators."

He looked a Jewels once more before he got up to leave.  Closing the door silently he gave orders for Ni and Sunny to watch over Jewels. 

He left the inn and Raiden and his bodyguards headed out of town.  They traveled through the thick forest that surrounds the town and arrived to a hut.  10 guards along with the police chief and his son were all tied up and kneeling. 

"Who are you people?" Chief Taylor asked. 

"Who this Prince is, you have no right to ask.  This Prince has come to pay back your evil deeds.  You dare hurt this Prince's golden gift?" 

Not knowing who held them captive, Chief Taylor knew that he made a big mistake sending men after the Lady from the inn.  All he could find out about her was that she was heading to Parker Forest.  The loss of face that she caused him and his son was too much for him to bare that he couldn't sleep at night.  So to pacify himself he sent men to wait and ambush them at Parker Forest and their death would not be traced back to him, for everyone knows how dangerous Parker Forest is. 

"I would never hurt your golden gift!" He answered.  "I don't even know who is your golden gift!"

Roku and Ichi stepped forward and Chief Taylor immediately recognized them.  Without another word, Raiden, Ichi and Roku attacked at the same time.  Raiden personally killed he Chief and his son, while Ichi and Roku took care of the rest.  It a matter of moments,  every captive have been killed and Raiden and his men disappeared, leaving the bodies for wild animals. 

When Jewels woke up, the heat that pressed on her back and and the arm around her waist brought comfort to her.  It made her feel safe. Turning to face him, she saw that he was not asleep. They stared at each other, trying to memorize the contours of each other's face. Smiling Jewels snuggles right into the corner of Raiden's shoulder and neck breathing him in.  She missed his smell the most when she was in Parker Forest.

"Sleep enough?" Raiden asked.

"Hmmmm." Jewels said.

"Hungry?"

"Hmmmm, let's lay here for a while longer."

Raiden kissed her softly reminding himself her her lips again. He nibbled, licked, and sucked her lips until they were swollen. Sighing contently she closed her eyes and fell asleep again.

When Jewels woke up, Raiden was still there beside her. This time it was his turn to sleep while she laid awake. When Raiden came to and Jewels was not there next to him, he panicked. Quickly getting up he searched the room and the bathroom before making his way out. Looking over the railing, he sees her laughing with his bodyguards drinking wine. His right hand came out and scrunch his shirt over his left chest. Calming himself, he regulated his breathing and before turning back to his room and changed his clothing.

When he met Jewels and his bodyguards, they all stood up to greet him. Instead of sitting down in the open seat, he sits on Jewels seat and pulls her down on to his lap. Wrapping his arms around her, he commands her to feed him seeing that they had snacks while drinking wine while he slept.

The cheerful demeanor became serious and Sunny ordered dinner for Prince Raiden. The guards slowly found excuses to retreat and left Jewels alone with Raiden.

"Prince Raiden is too scary. Scaring all your men away!"  Jewels teased as she fed him some snacks. 

Grumbling under his breath he bites into the snack and chews slowly. Secretly happy that Jewels was feeding him.  

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When they retired back to their room, instead of taking advantage of Jewels weak state, Raiden holds her through out the night.  Jewels was frustrated to say the very least, when she took initiative to be intimate with him,  he would put her hand to her side and hold her closer and tighter. Resigning herself to her fate,  she fell asleep. 

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The next morning they made their way back to Brooks Manor,  instead of going back by carriage, they flew back. Jewels being only level 5 was not able to fly.  Only when you are level 8 are you able to cultivate enough energy to fly.  Jewels was brought back in Raiden's arms like a new bride. 

Seeing eight people flying in a group, is a rare and fearsome sight to behold that everyone stopped what they were doing to point and stare.  When the group landed in the Brooks courtyard, Harvey and 10 of his men were standing in the courtyard.  They came out because from afar Raiden and his group looked threatening so they prepared themselves for a fight.  When the group got closer and they saw that it was Raiden and the Youngest Miss, everyone breathed a sigh of relief.  Most of the Brooks guards are level 7 and knew that even if they had the advantage in numbers, they would surely lose in a fight with eight level 8 fighters.

When Raiden and his men landed they all bowed to Raiden.  And instead of excusing them, he walked straight into the left wing.  Pop pop and Uncle Jude were already waiting for them inside. When they saw Jewels being carried in they became worried. 

"Jewels what happened?  Are you hurt?"  Uncle Jude asked. 

"No, I'm fine.  Perfectly fine!" Jewels said as she tried to wiggle out of Raiden's arms.  When she threw Raiden a warning look, Raiden finally let her go.
Standing up she went to go hug her Uncle and Pop pop. 

"How many soul stones did you get?"  Uncle Jude asked. 

"My soul stones!"  Jewels exclaimed.  Turning around to look at Ichi and Roku, they both shook their head at Raiden.  Looking at Raiden, she looked at him expectantly.  Raiden smirked and handed over her soul stones she collected over the two months. 
"I was wondering when you were going remember about them. Lucky for you Ichi picked them up and gave them to me to hold on to." 

"Thank you."  Jewels said excitedly as she held on to the bag in a tight fist. 

They walked into the sitting room and Jewels told them of her time in Parker Forest.  Raiden was called way back to the palace for peace talks and negotiations.  When he left, Uncle Jude told her about his progress and since nothing exciting happened at Brooks Manor, Jewels was satisfied.  Thomas created a sound barrier and casted a mirage of an empty room.  When he finished, Uncle Jude stood up and showed Jewels how much he improved.  With a smile on her face she stood up and hugged him excitedly. 

"Have you been sparring with Thomas?"  Jewels asked him. 

Looking guilty he admitted to lightly sparing as a warm up. 

"Just don't over do it please."  Jewels told him. 

"Yes niece."  Uncle Jude said.  "Why didn't you use the soul stones to help you breakthrough to your next level while you were in Parker Forest?"

"Because I plan on saving three of these to help cure Pop pop and three of them are to help your legs get stronger, faster . And the last four are for me.  When I use the soul stones, I want to be in a safe place and not in the forest where anything could happen.  

Both Jude and Pop pop were surprised by her remark.  Soul stone can help cure people?  They only thought that soul stones were used only for cultivation. 

"Let's heal Uncle right now."  Jewels exclaimed. 

Everyone made their way to Jude's bedroom.  Jewels orders Uncle Jude to lay down in bed face up.  Standing next to Uncle Jude, Jewels place three stones on top of his body where his dantians was located.  One on his forehead, one between his chest, and the last one on his stomach.  Holding her palms, one on top of the other, she hovered her hands over the first soul stone on his forehead.  Pushing her energy into the soul stone, she gathered all the energy in the soul stone and pushed it into Uncle Jude's dantian.  Her fire based energy, cleaned and cleared any residual poison that stuck to his dantian like a stain.  The energy from the soul stone replace the poison and increased Uncle Jude's cultivation.  One by one, Jewels cleaned and and cleared all three dantians and Uncle Jude felt a comfortable warmth to his body.  From top to bottom, he could feel the warmth travel through his veins, connecting his dantians together, making them stronger.   When the warm energy flowed to his legs, instead of a warm feeling, he felt the warmth turn into fire instead.  The fire burned from within and although he wanted to scream, he bit the side of his cheek instead.  More black-like tar substance seeped out the pores of his legs and stained his pants, turning it from white to black in a matter of seconds.  When the fire in his veins subsided, his whole body was drenched in sweat.  His hair clung to his face and his once bright face looked tired.  As he closed his eyes, he quickly fell asleep. 

"Draw a hot bath for Uncle Jude, Thomas.  Make sure it's steaming hot, it'll help relax his body.  And don't scent the water.   It'll ruin his body if any scent or oil gets into his body." 

Thomas bows and leaves the room to do Jewels bidding. 

"Zeze, go prepare new sheets and change these dirty ones and make sure to burn the dirty sheets, don't wash them, they are poisoned."  Jewel told her.  Zeze bowed and turned around and as she opened the door, Roku stood outside with his ear up against the door.  Caught red handed, there was nothing he could do but scratch his head and laugh awkwardly.  With the sound barrier up, he wasn't able to break through and hear their conversation.  However when Zeze opened the door, he did see Jude in his bed with the black stained sheets and made conclusions of the situation.

Raising her eye brows Zeze attacks Roku's footing and pushes him to the ground.  With the dagger that she keeps on her body, she presses it to his throat. 

"I'm sure your loyalties lie with Prince Raiden, but let me remind you that if any word gets out to anyone before Master Jude is fully healed, your life will be forfeit."  Zeze's killing intent showing through for the first time in a long time.  Her force overwhelmed Roku, however it was tolerable.  Smiling up at Zeze, Roku said.

"I have always thought you were pretty, but I never knew you could be so charming until this moment."

Disgusted with his remark, Zeze  punches him by infusing energy into her strike that it knocks him unconscious.  Zeze gets up from him and kicks him to the side. 

When Jewels did not say anything, Zeze knew that Jewels did not mind her reminding Roku in his place.  By pushing through the mirage and leaning against the sound barrier, he was purposely secretly investing them. If Jewels or any other master of the house wanted Prince Raiden to know what is going on within the house they would have told Prince Raiden.

After getting the sheets, she closes the door tightly, locking it. By this time, Thomas had already carried Jude into the bathroom for a bath and took it upon herself to help Zeze change the bedding. Zeze complained the whole time.

"Is not ladylike for you to do my chores for me." 

"It's already half done, so let's just quickly finish this task."  Jewels stated as she helped put the new bed sheet over the bed.  Zeze collected the poisoned sheet and clothes and brought it out to burn in the fire pit located at the back of the manor. 

When she came back, Roku held the side of his face and was able to sit up. 

"There is a reason for everything,  do not go seeking things that you should not be knowing.  If any of the masters want you or Prince Raiden to know about their business, the Masters will tell him.  Let this be a lesson learned."

Walking to the door again Zeze opened the door wide enough for her to slip through and quickly close it again.  A locking sound resonated through the quiet study.  Shaking his head side to side to get his bearings back, Roku took his time to get up and walk away from the study.  What Zeze did not know was that the moment Zeze held her dagger to his neck Roku fell in love with her and her ferocious loyalty.  Whistling to himself with a smile on his face, he showed off his shinny new bruised eye like a badge of honor. 

When Uncle Jude came out from the bathroom, he came out walking instead of being carried by Thomas.  Pop pop rejoiced by jumping up and down then launching himself into Uncle Jude's body.  Hugging each other tears of joy run down their face and they grip harder to each other.  The struggles, pain and injustice that they felt over the years were wiped away with the help of there most beloved niece and granddaughter. 

Jewels chest started hurting again and her eyes watered without her knowing.  The only reason she found out was because Zeze took the effort to wipe Jewels tears with an embroidered handkerchief.  With Jewels surprised face, she looked at Zeze and Thomas and they too, had tears running down their face.

They must of struggled too.  Felt pain and injustices too, Jewels thought.

Sighing heavily, Jewels embraced Zeze and when she did Zeze cried even louder.  She wailed as if someone just died.

"This is a happy occasion, stop crying as if one of us died!"

Hiccuping as she dried her tears with the same embroidered handkerchief, she blew her nose loudly and hiccuped again.

"Remember don't over do yourself!"  Jewels reminded Uncle Jude.  Nodding his head, he walks over with Pop pop and the three of them hug. Being held in their arms gave her chest a warm feeling. This warm feeling Jewels thought she could get use to it.  Especially if it came from Uncle Jude and Pop pop. 

"You're next Pop pop.  We can start tomorrow."  Jewels told him. 

Shaking his head no, he said.  "After tournament, after peace talk.  After we move. You, now, concentrate on tournament." 

"Okay." Jewels agreed as she hugged him again.  "We'll talk again after tournament and I'll definitely cure you after we move to Redbane."  Jewels promised. 

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Sorry for the late post, I was struggling  with my last chapter and this one as well.  I hope you guys enjoy it and as always thanks for all the love and support!  -ptd
(Oh and sorry for any grammar mistakes, I'll go back and edit when I can)