After spending the rest of the afternoon in the library reading through several selves of energy cultivation, she began to understand why the nation put so much importance on energy cultivation. It was a nation that pitted the strong against the strong and the weak suffered. As the sun started to set, Julianna felt the presence of Pop pop slowly approach her from behind and felt a light touch on her left shoulder. Turning around Pop pop rubbed his stomach as if he was hungry and pointed towards the door. Understanding what he wanted Julianna nods and follows him out of the room and down the stairs as they head off to the dining room where a man with dark brown hair and sharp features sat at the head of the table waiting for them. As they sat down, in their respective seats, her Uncle did not greet nor did he acknowledge them. His cold personally towards them told Julianna how mad he was with her. Julianna wouldn't of minded eating in silence, however there was an uncomfortable stuffy feeling next to her chest that did not disappear. Not wanting to go through dinner in this state, Julianna searched through her memories with her Uncle to see how she could thaw his cold demeanor.

Her Uncle Jude had always doted on Jemma. Giving into her every whim and desires. From the time she moved into the wing from the main house, Uncle Jude had watched out for her and protected her. Slowly, but surly, Uncle Jude became more of a father to her than her own biological father. She knew if she explain to Uncle Jude her feelings, he would forgive her for her past mistakes.

"Uncle," Julianna said quietly, "How was your day today?"

"My day? I was coming up with many plans on how to kill that young Prince of yours. I couldn't decide if I should kill him before he marries my other niece or should I kill him after the wedding and make her a widow."

Julianna, who was not expecting her Uncle to go to this extreme, stopped eating and started choking on the food in her mouth. Her Uncle sighs and starts to pat her back. Once the food passed through her mouth Julianna looks at her Uncle and starts laughing.

"So how are we going to do it? Are we going to kill him nice and slow or hard and fast?" Julianna grins. "Any thing that makes my Uncle less displeased would make amends for all the wrong he made you feel."

"All the wrong that he made me feel? Don't you mean yourself?"

"No," Julianna shakes her head from side to side. "Truthfully, I'm quite happy for the rescind marriage agreement. It made me feel relieved when he announced it last night."

"But didn't you love him?" Her Uncle questioned her. "Just last week, all you ever talked about was Prince Ivan and how perfect he was. What changed from then until now?"

"How did you guys ever lived with me if all I talked about was how perfect Prince Ivan was?" Julianna said under her breath. Pop pop snorted and looked at Julianna shaking his head.

"What's changed?" Her Uncle asked her again. "What happened that made you change your mind about him?"

"I don't know when it started," Julianna said slowly searching Jemma's memories. "But I slowly started noticing some things about him that made me feel as if he wasn't worthy of me. It started with some statements he made about people, then it slowly progressed to how he acted and treated them, then slowly he started changing when he was around me. He did not treat me like how he used to. He started to lose interest in me and then Maria would show up every time we met up. I did not think anything of it at the time because Maria was my sister and Prince Ivan was my fiancée. I did not think that Prince Ivan would betray the arranged marriage agreement and engage himself to Maria."

"I'm sorry, Jemma. I'm sorry you have to go through this."

"Don't be Uncle. It's a lesson learned and besides, isn't there a saying about if it doesn't kill you, it makes you stronger, right?"

Her Uncle stares at her for a long time and nods, his once stone faced face and unhappy demeanor lightens and he smiles a devastating smile that could make everyone stop what they were doing just to look at him.

"I don't know who gave Prince Ivan the title of most handsome in the 4 Kingdoms, but I'm guessing they have never seen Uncle Jude and your smile once in their lives."

Uncle Jude laughs heartedly as he throws his head back and his shoulders shake. "Niece, where did you learn how to complement someone?"

"Uncle should laugh more, I like to see your smiling face.  I bet all the ladies use to flock to you as if you were honey and they were bees."

Pop pop nods and laughs as well.

"Who told you that?" Uncle pouts.

"No one needs to tell me anything. My eyes can see and my eyes do not tell lies."

-------------

After dinner they made their way to the living room where Pop pop heads towards the corner of the room that had a huge pile of books.  It looked like, it would be the best spot to build a book fort for a child.  Instead, Pop pop surrounded himself in the pile of books and opens 10 books  and starts to flip through them.  While Uncle walks to the desk and starts to flip through the mail.  Julianna sits on the couch as Zeze serves her tea. 

"Uncle" Julianna said nonchalantly. "What if I was to tell you I could help heal your injuries and help you walk again, what would you say?"

The already quiet room turned still, the sound of the cracking fire was the only thing that could be heard in the room.

"What do you mean?" Uncle Jude asked.

"I mean what I said. What if I can help heal your injuries and help you walk again."

"Julianna, you already know that your grandfather and I have sought out all the famous doctors and healers within the 4 Kingdoms to help me. None of them were able to. They all diagnosed me with the same systems and all agreed that I would not walk again. You have no medical knowledge nor any medical skills, darling, what makes you think that you can help me?"

Julianna sat her tea cup down and looked at her Uncle to make sure he knew how serious she was before speaking to him.

"Uncle, I have not been truthful to you and Pop pop. I have been keeping secrets from both of you." Julianna said slowly and quietly as she searched Jemma's memories.

Before Jemma died, she saved an old man in the woods. She was on her way to the temple with Zeze when they chanced upon an old man propped up against a tree. His low moan was what drew her closer to the body which notified her that he was still alive. Sending Zeze to the temple first to get help, Julianna sat by the old man and fed him some water and used the rest of the water to clean and bind his wounds with the extra set of clothes that she brought with her. She then held pressure down on the worst wound with both hands all the while praying that Zeze brought help sooner rather than later. All the while she was calling for him to stay awake and told him things about herself to him to keep him awake until help arrived. It became evident that the more she talked, the more his eyes became less bury and the more focused he became. After awhile she ran out of things to tell him about herself so instead she berated him for getting himself injured and putting himself in dangerous situations which then led him to his current state. She lectured him on how worried his family would be should something happen to him and told him that under no circumstance is he allowed to die in front of her because she was too young and innocent to see death. It was then that helped arrived and they brought him to the temple where he was cared for by monks. Jemma's stay at the temple was to pray for her Uncle and Pop pop for a healthy long life in the new year. For three days and three nights she diligently prayed for her Uncle and grandfather as well as the old man she saved in the woods. Once her prayers were finished she visited the old man and learned that although he was still alive, he had a fever that caused him to be unconscious for the past three days. Jemma bid the old man farewell and left the temple thinking that would be the last time she saw him.

To her surprise, three months later while she was shopping in the market with Zeze, she met the old man again and learned that his name was Doku. After their chance encounter she met up with Doku twice a week to chat at the cafe in the market. After another three months passed did Doku asked her to be his apprentice. Doku turned out to be a herbalist expert. Jemma, with a curious mind and a thirst for knowledge agreed readily and he soon became her teacher. They would meet at his residence three times a week where she would comb through his extensive medical library and read through all his journals about his travels around the 4 Kingdoms. It was during one of her scheduled visit that she met another apprentice of Doku that she finally found out how famous and sought after he was. However with his particularly eccentric demeanor, he only helped those that he wanted to and even then he had to be in a good mood as well. She would also spend her days taking care of his herbal garden and organizing his dried herbs in storage learning every single plant and its use while Doku stood by her side teaching her. It has been four years since she became an apprentice of Doku under the alias Aku Kimko.

Julianna hesitated before continuing on, "For the past four years I have been an apprentice to a mighty Master. He has taught me a lot about healing and herbs. I have accepted him as my Master with the intentions to heal Uncle and Pop pop. Now with the knowledge he has bestowed on to me, I believe with my current knowledge and expertise, I will be able to heal Uncle as soon as possible"

"Who is this Master that you speak of?" Uncle Jude questioned her. "And how did you meet this Master?"

"Uncle Jude, if its okay, is it okay if I don't tell you my Master's name? He is very strict about people knowing his identity. My Master treats me well and teaches me everything that he knows. He is not someone who seeks our Brooks name and connections. In fact, he hates fame and glory. What he wants most in life is to study herbs. And how I met him was because I saved his life once and to repay my kindness, he took me as an apprentice. "

"Four years?" Pop pop asked while still reading his books.

"Yes, its been four years since I became his apprentice and him my Master. "

"How did you keep secret?" Pop pop mumbled.

" You know how I told you guys I was volunteering at the orphanage? Truthfully, I only volunteer two times a week while I studied and trained from my master three times a week. Sometimes when I said I would be staying late at the orphanage to help out, in actuality after volunteering, I go straight to my Master's home to study more."

Uncle Jude sighs loudly and turns his wheelchair around to look out at the window.

"So for four years you have been lying to us." Uncle Jude sighed again.

It became quiet again and stayed quiet for a long time. Julianna did not like the stuffy feeling she was having in her left chest. But she held her feelings in, although her chest felt like bursting.

"What can we do? " Uncle Jude said as he looked out into the garden. "If I didn't get into that accident all those years ago and become a cripple, you would not have to suffer so much and feel as if you have to lie to Grandpa and I about your Master and training. "

"Uncle-"

"Let me finish, Julianna," Uncle Jude interjected. "I don't like the fact that you have been lying to us for the past four years. I don't like the fact that I do not know who your Master is and where he lives. I do not like the fact that you have been sneaking out to his home to study and train with him. I do not like the fact that it took you this long to tell us the truth. I do not like the fact that I am now thinking about what else you have been hiding from us and what else have you lied about. But, with that being said, I can look past that fact that you lied to learn something useful to help Uncle and Grandpa. With that in mind, if you say that you want to try to heal Uncle and help Uncle walk again, then there is nothing Uncle can do about it, except accept your offer. For if I declined, all your hard work for the past four years would be in vain and go to waste."

"Uncle..."

"But, you must bear in mind that Uncle and Grandpa has searched through all 4 kingdoms to heal myself and there was no hope. So if you do not succeed, then please do not be so hard on yourself."

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

Sorry for the long wait and sorry for the long chapter. It was either a long and complete chapter or a short and useless chapter. With that being said, I am back and want to commit to publishing at least 2 stories a week. If it's a good week for me, then I will publish more chapters. In the mean time, please be patient with Jewels development with herself and her revenge story. Thanks!