Auction House
One Week Later
As Jewels predicted, one of the servants did betray the Brooks household and Estate. Jacob, with the easy smile and jovial demeanor, did not believe Jewels when she told them about the Betrayal's Death pill. He was sent on an errand into the city to purchase more wood and to arrange the delivery to the Brooks Estate the very same day. He accomplished his task and decided to visit his old neighborhood bar to brag. He started bragging about where he lived and how good he was living, how easy the work was and how much he was getting paid. When he did not die like Jewels told him, he thought she was just lying, so when he wanted to tell them about Jewels's animal to call, the first two words he said out loud was lost in his throat. His lips moved but no words came out. He grabbed his neck, gasping for air while the people around him panicked and one friend ran to go get a doctor for help. Jacob's lips turned blue and the poison released into his brain and he lost all knowledge of what was happening, except the fact that he couldn't breathe. In his panic state, the poison hit his dantians and all the energy he cultivated in his body turned black with poison, crushing all three dantians and vein in his body. Jacob slowly died, not knowing who he was, where he was and why he was dying, he died knowing that he was suffocating to death.
Jacob's body was brought to Brooks Estate after the doctor declared him dead. The doctor told Jewels and Uncle Jude that he died of poisoning that caused him to suffocate. Jewels thanked the doctor and paid him for his services. She presented Jacobs body to everyone, letting them see how serious she was about Betrayal's Death and how horrible their death would be if they betrayed the Brooks household.
"This is the result if you betray us." Jewels warns them. "If you thought I was joking, or telling a lie about the Betrayal's Death pill, here is your proof. I have no use for those who will betray this household, nor do I care about why you thought you had to do it. I said it once and I'll say it again right now. If you are in trouble, come to me or Uncle Jude and we will help solve your problem together. Betray us and die, that is simple."
"What shall we do with the body." Thomas asked.
"If he has family, give them the wages that we owe him for his days of work, but no more for he had not been a servant for this household for us to feel as if we are responsible to take care of his family. Give him a decent coffin and funeral if he has family. If he doesn't have a family, a nice coffin will suffice and bury in any cemetery under the name Jacob Oath Breaker.
Thomas tasked Liam and Aiden in the task. When they found out he had a young wife and child, they gave let her know of his misfortune and gave her his wages. They told her that the Brooks Estate would pay for every funeral expense so she did not have to worry about it. Feeling sad but thankful, the funeral and burial was held the same day.
Jacob had a lot of enemies due to his charm and looks. Many husbands and fathers were angry at him for his wandering ways tempting their wives and daughters into his bed. So when word spread that he died because of poisoning, no one was surprised. It could have been a jealous husband, an angry father, or a jilted lover. It didn't matter to them who it was, he was dead and their lives would be a lot easier if he stayed dead.
His young wife was also glad he was dead. She fell in love with him, but all he did was break her heart. He was infatuated with her for two weeks and then he left her alone in the house by herself. When she found out she was pregnant, he stayed away from the house even more and let her raise the child by herself. By the time he got the job at the Brooks Estate, she was carrying on an affair with the neighbor who truly loved her and wanted to have a family with her. With Jacob's wages, she was able to start a new life with her new husband.
Word of the Brooks treatment of their servants spread like wildfire. A servant, who barely worked at the estate, had the whole funeral paid for and his wages for the time he worked went to his widow. Jewels's reputation spread even further, of how big and giving her heart is. Their loyalty towards the Princess Consort soared.
-----------------
One week later
When the Daylight Star herb in her garden finally matured, Jewels took her time harvesting the herb. The five herbs she found in Sky Ship, she was able to plant in her garden and from there harvested the plant and its seeds. She planted the seeds in her garden and watched as they sprout. The Daylight Star herb was one of the five plants she found on Sky Ship. Although it had mature, the longer she left the herb, the more potent it will become. However with the need to temporary cure Pop pop, she dug up the plant. To make the Unbinding Tonic, she needed one stalk of Daylight Star. a root of the Raven's Wood, three tear drops from a phoenix, and two common types of herbs, the Red Vine and five hand fulls of watercress.
It took a while for Jewels to convince Fenghuang into giving her three teardrops to her. She was reluctant, because it took a lot for her to cry. It was a matter of pride because the last time she cried was when she was born into the world the first time. That was too many centuries ago and she did not have it in her to cry let alone one tear, but three? It was out of the question. But Jewels guilt tripped her into agreeing because Fenghuang never did apologize for her wrongdoings and never thanked her for rescuing her from the ice crystal and she did not thank her for reuniting her with Roc. With Jewel's argument, Jewels finally won three teardrops from Fenghuang.
"Never bring up those arguments ever again!" Fenghuang said. "We are even!"
"Totally square!" Jewels promised excitedly, now all she had to do was find a nice cauldron in the city and put it in her grey space so she could make her healing and poison remedies. Cauldrons were made of a special stone only found in Mulberry. The Rowen's Clan owns the mountain that the stone is found in and owns the market that sells the cauldrons. She made a cauldron in her grey space, it would not be the same, it would be of lesser quality and Jewels did not want to compromise on her potions, poisons, and tonics.
When she woke up it was past breakfast and Raiden had already left. The past two weeks, Raiden had come over every night to sleep in the same bed as her and spent the breakfast time with her and her family. He was a regular guest in the Brooks Estate that the servants no longer kept staring at him and were able to work within his presence. Raiden also took the time to look and give input of the guardhouse and talked to the architect, the contractor and the construction workers.
Jewels got up and got ready for the day, her mission was to put three 1000 year old ginseng up for auction and see if the auction house has a nice cauldron for sell, if not she would have to go to the shops to buy a new cauldron of lesser quality. Zeze saved her a plate of food and set the plate in front of her as she sat down for her breakfast, Pop pop was in the sitting room reading through more books she had already read through in the grey space and brought it out for Pop pop to read. So far the books she read were all history books and weapons books. The weapons books excited Pop pop the most and he requested a place to be built for his blacksmith workshop.
Uncle Jude immediately agreed and plans for his blacksmith workshop would be built next to Jewel's work and training room. The extension of the house would have to be last, for Uncle Jude wanted the three outer buildings to be built first. Everyday for the past two weeks, Jewels slowly put more gold coins into the Brooks account in the bank. She increased their bank account daily causing Uncle Jude to be alarmed and told her to stop for a while before their actions become suspicious. Uncle Jude held a book of blank notes and Jewels held the other blank notes. On her blank note was Uncle Jude's emblem along with her emblem which was of the profile of a gold lion, on top of the gold lion is the profile of a red phoenix and next to the red phoenix was the profile of a black raptor. The profile of the animals laid one on top of the other. Underneath the emblem carried the Brooks motto, Fortitudo.
Jewels took three of the 1000 year old ginseng and placed them in a nice redwood box lined with dry moss. The box had a clear, glass cover for better viewing and appearance. She wrapped the three boxes in gold colored silks and gave two to Gina to carry as she carried one. Jewels took Roku and Gina with her to the auction house. As they road in the carriage, instead of a talkative Roku, he was quiet. Gina with her striking silvery looks attracted attention where ever she went. When they reached the auction house, the owner of the house recognized the Jude's emblem that was on the side of the carriage. He personally came out and to greet them. When first Roku stepped out, the owner knew who it was immediately. It was the Princess Consort. She has been seen around the city every now and then and with every interaction she made, she caused a scene and her legend grew.
On one such rare occasion that she went into the city to buy white hemp cloth, a boy who have been playing with the other children, he was not paying attention and ran into her. Although the Princess Consort was not injured, the the mere fact that the child touched the Princess Consort was cause enough for death. Instead of getting mad, she helped the boy up and dusted him off. When the boy finally saw that the beautiful lady was an important lady, he started to beg for forgiveness. The Princess Consort, wiped way his tears and sternly told him to be careful when he was playing and bought him and the other children sugar candies from the stall outside the fabric shop. She bought all the sugar candies that the man had that day, with the promise that if anyone wanted sugar candy, he was to give it to them for free, for she bought all of them already. The man selling the candy agreed and when she left, all his sugar candies were gone within minutes. The man selling the candies, from that day on, always sold out the candies he prepared. And she was then known for her love of children and her giving ways towards the citizen of Redbane.
The owner of the auction house had to still his heart when he saw the Princess Consort. The tales singing her praises of her beauty did not do her justice. Her heart-shaped face was framed by her long hair that blew with the wind. Her almond eyes shown blue violet eyes that were clear and bright. She had delicate eyebrows that made her look innocent. She had a small straight nose that lead to her full pink lips. Her best feature was her unblemished milky skin. It looked so smooth and soft. She wore a dark blue dress that was fashionable, but modest. Although the neckline was 'V' shaped, she did not show any cleavage. She wore a black meteorite chain that tucked into the valley of her breast. The dress was long sleeved, but it hugged her in the right places, showing off her curves, but having enough fabric for it to flow. A dark brown belt was wrapped twice around her thin waist, before it buckled to the side where her short sword hung in its dark brown sheath. The dress stopped right above her knees, where it was longer in the back and shorter in the front. She wore thin tight dark brown pants underneath her dress and dark brown boots with two daggers inside the side of her boots. She wore the Osamu insignia ring on her left hand that completed her look.
The smile on her face, caused his mind to blank and she approached him. Instead of greeting her first like he wanted to, she instead took the in initiative to talk first.
"Hello, are you the owner of this auction house?"
"Ah, yes, yes, yes. I am." He said getting his barrings back. "My name is Kei Fujiwara and I am this owner of Fujiwara Auction house. How may I help the esteemed Princess Consort today?" Bowing at her as he talked.
"Please do not stand on ceremony, let us proceed inside so we can talk business."
Kei showed Jewels inside and brought her to his office in the back. Everyone who saw Jewels was in awe of her as they stopped working. Once inside his office, Jewels got straight to the point.
"Mr. Fujiwara, I have some treasures I would like to auction off. Jewels placed the bundle she was holding in front of Kei while Gina placed the other two down on the desk. Jewels unwraps the bundle and when it opened, Kei's eyes bulge out from his eyes. Gina unwraps the other two to show him the other ginseng in the boxes and Kei fell back into his chair leaning back looking at the Princess Consort.
"Please sell these three 1000 year old ginseng. I would like my name to be left out on the sale. Starting price for one 1000 year old ginseng is 700,000 gold coins."
Kei too speechless to say anything nods his head yes to agree with her.
"By chance, do you have high quality cauldrons that you are auctioning off?" Jewels asked.
"Yes, we do, in three days time, there is a cauldron used by the late great healer Kazuki Hata. If he had lived during the great war, he would be 80 years old, but he died in the great war. His grandson, though not as good as his grandfather, is selling his grandfather's cauldrons. He is selling each cauldron separately to make more money."
"What is he selling it for?"
"The smallest one, is as big as a soup pot, that one is estimated at 50,000 gold coins. The second one, is as big as wine barrel, and is estimated at 75,000 gold coins. While the biggest cauldron, its size is as big as a bathtub, is estimated at 120,000 gold coins."
"Are you able to put word out about the 1000 year old ginseng and sell it on the same day?"
"Of course, the auction in 3 days is invitation only. Not an open door auction."
"I would like an invitation with the best seat in the house." Jewels told him.
"Of course, that can be arranged." Kei quickly pulled out the invitation from his desk and gave it to her maid.
"Is there a booklet of what else you will be selling that day?" Jewels asked.
"My apologies," Kei said as his flustered hand took the booklet out from his desk and gave it to her maid. "Anything else I can help you with?"
"No thank you. Please send word should there be any changes and you must remember, the identity of the owner of the 1000 year old ginseng must be kept a secret."
"Of course, of course." Kei said as he bowed. He quickly tied the ginseng up again and placed them in his vault.
Kei walked Jewels out and bowed as she left. With the appearance of the Princess Consort at his auction house, word spread that she would be attending the private auction in three days time. Nobles, royals, and rich merchants who threw away the invitation searched their whole house to try to find it. Suddenly there were invitations to the private auction being sold on the black market. Anyone who is anyone and anyone who wanted to be someone decided to go to the auction, with one word of Princess Consort Jewels attendance.
---------------
Three days later
Jewels was one of the last people to show up at the auction house. She had heard of the rumors of it being a full house due to her attendance. So she took care of her appearance that morning. She took her time in the bath, soaking in scented rose water. Zeze washed her hair and dried it while Chieko went to her closet to grab her clothes for the day. Chieko decided on a white, long sleeved dress that showed her delicate shoulders, the bodice was tight on her top half, but the bottom flowed layers upon layers of white see through fabric and lace. The many layers of see through fabric and lace became solid in some part but when she moved, it caused an illusion of nakedness. There was a slit on the right side of the dress that came up to her thigh. She kept her black meteorite chain necklace on, tucking the pendant down between her breast. Zeze dried her hair completely and styled it as she pinned it up, showing off her long graceful neck. She wore the Osamu insignia ring and a black meteorite chain earring with a big diamond tear drop at the end. Chieko put a light dusting of make up on her face and traced her eyes with kohl. The kohl enhanced her blue violet eyes and made it seem larger. Her lips were tinted with crushed rose petals mixed with beeswax and oil.
When Jewels walked in, the whole crowd quieted down. One by one, they all stopped talking and stared at the vision in front of them. Jewels looked around and saw Raiden in their booth already. When she stepped forward to go to the booth, Raiden had already walked half way down the stairs, as she walked, the illusion of her naked legs could be seen, with the slit she was able to let them have a glimpse her nice curvy leg. Raiden's eyes burned into Jewels as he watched her walk towards him. His eyes devouring her every move. He wanted to take her home and take the dress off of her slowly and make love to her until she cried out his name. The dress was a total tease to the eyes and it heated his blood, making it boil.
She met him at the bottom of the stairs and before she could give him a greeting, Raiden had already taken her in his arms and crushed her lips on to his. He kisses her passionately, trying not to ruin her hair. When he pulls away, Jewels has a distant look to her face and Raiden smile inwardly as that was the reaction he wanted. Strands of her hair had already fallen thanks to his fingers. Raiden takes her left hand and kisses the back of her hand before leading her up the stairs and in to their private booth.
Everyone looked on in awe at the Princess Consort's beauty. She was a pure vision in the crowd of beauties. She made everyone who stood near her plain. But when Prince Raiden kissed her in front of everyone, he was letting them know, that she was his. That she belonged to him. Together, they made a pair of a sexy innocence and a cold handsomeness that no one could look away from.
When Jewels sat down, she could see that everyone dressed up to the private auction. What she wore was not more or less than what other people wore. Raiden wore a all black suit and was tailored to perfection, enhancing his wide shoulders and showing off his muscled arms. Jewels couldn't wait to take the suit off of him.
When the auction finally started, Raiden had his hand on her leg where the slit was located, at first it was resting on her leg then over time his thumb started drawing circles on her leg. His hand would squeeze her thigh and his fingers would caress her skin where he squeezed. He was driving her crazy, but she kept her attention on the auction and pressed down her desire.
"And the fifth lot up for sale is the first of the three cauldrons on sale today." The auctioneer said. "From the late great healer Kazuki Hata, this cauldron is made of the Stardust Stone collected in Mulberry Kingdom, there are only 20 Stardust Stone Cauldrons ever to be made and this is the first of the three that would be sold here today. Starting bid for this small Stardust Stone Cauldron is 55,000 gold coins."
Jewels raised her hand.
"We have 55,000, do I hear 60,000?"
Another hand was raised in one of the floor seating area. Jewels could only see his side profile. He had black hair and wore a white suit. As the bidding war went on between Jewels and the man in white, it reached up to 120,000 in Jewel's favor. The man in white did not bid after that and Jewels won the first of the cauldron.
When the second cauldron was introduced, Jewels was again in a bidding war with the man in the white suit, the bid went all the way up to 200,000 gold coins and Jewels also won the second cauldron. By this time, the man in white was infuriated. He kept staring Jewels down with hatred in his eyes, but Jewels paid him no mind.
When the third cauldron was auctioned off, there were three people in the bidding war. Jewels, the man in white and a woman in a red dress. Soon the man in white could not compete so he bowed out of the competition, while Jewels and the lady in red raised the price of the last cauldron to 400,000 gold coins.
"400,000" Jewels said as she got tired of playing games with the lady in red. The price before Jewels called 400,000 was only 200,000. Jewels doubled the price in hopes to kill the competition. The whole room was quiet. 400,000 for a cauldron? They didn't understand it, but to have the Princess Consort bid so heavily, must mean she meant business.
The lady in red, stood up quickly, but was pulled down by an older women who looked to be her mother. Her red dress was tight on her and had a slit so high on her left leg that it almost reached her waist. She wore nothing underneath and left little to the imagination. Her black hair was swept to the side and curled in waves. The diamonds on her wrist, finger, neck and ears showed off how rich she is. But to not to be able to spend 400,000 gold coins means that she was on a budget.
When Jewels was declared the winner of all three cauldrons, the room was a buzz with talk about why she needed all three cauldrons. In the end Jewels spent 720,000 gold coins on all three cauldrons. Considering she was willing to spend one million gold coins, she did not mind.
Jewels and Raiden spent the rest of the auction watching and whispering to each other. To others that watched their interaction, they knew the Prince Raiden was possessive of the Princess Consort. His hand stayed on her lap the whole time, he would lean in close to her when she spoke to him and stared down anyone who looked at the Princess Consort for too long.
When the announcement for the first 1000 year old ginseng came up, the auction house exploded with talk and activity. The first ginseng was sold for 1 million gold coins, while the second ginseng was sold for 1.5 million gold coins. The last of the ginseng caused a heated bidding war between the lady in red and an man in grey. The price for the last ginseng was sold at 2.3 million gold coins and the end of the successful auction ended. The three people who bought the ginseng first took off to go pay for them so they can take the ginseng home safely, while Jewels had to wait because Raiden got bombarded by royals and nobels who wanted to greet him and have a chance to be introduced to the Princess Consort.
When no one had any luck with introductions, the crowd started thinning, and Jewels stood quietly by Raiden's side the whole time. Raiden excused the both of them with the excuse of paying for Jewels's winnings, they left the booth and made their way to the Kei's office. By the time, the both of them entered his office, Jewels was the last winner to pay for her winnings.
"Please take 720,000 gold coins from the sale of the ginseng." Jewels told Kei.
"The total for the sale of the three ginseng are 4.8 million dollars. if we subtract 720,000 the new total would be 4,080,000 gold coins. With the 15% commission to the house, which comes out to 612,000 gold coins as our commission, your new total will be 3,468,000 gold coins." Kei told them as he wrote the amount on a blank note with the auction house emblem on it and signed it.
"Are you able to deliver?" Jewels asked.
"Of course, we can deliver it. Free of charge considering how successful our night was thanks to you."
"Thank you." Jewels said as she took the blank note from him and tucked it between her dress and breast. When she pretended to tuck it in, she actuality placed it in the grey space. They bid Kei farewell and with all haste from Raiden, the carriage went to the palace where he had his way with her for the rest of the day.