Sea Of Fire
The guards stop in their tracks and look back at their Master trying to see what they should do next. They looked back a Jewels and she had a cold smirk on her face as her blue violet eyes flashed with fire. The air suddenly became hot, so hot that everyone started sweating. Their throats dried up and women started fanning themselves with their hands. The guards looked back to their Master and all he did was place his finger between the collar of his shirt and pulled it forward as he swallowed his saliva with a big gulp.
Aiden's surprise face looked at his Mistress. He came out thinking that she would give him to the crowd. That the words, spoken on the first day about helping each other were just words to make them be loyal towards the Brooks household. But her last words she said meant that she had no intention to give him to the mob. His heart swelled with hope, respect and admiration.
"Aiden, did your father die this morning?" Jewels asked slowly.
"Yes, Mistress he did."
"Did you go to the Ando Manor this morning as well?"
"Yes, Mistress."
"Were you able to say goodbye to your father?"
"Yes, Mistress. I arrived just in time to say my goodbyes."
"Did you take anything form the Ando household that did not belong to you?" Jewels asked looking at Charles the whole time.
"No, Mistress, I did not."
"My servant says he did not take anything that did not belong to him and I believe him."
"We have witnesses! They are all behind me, ask them and they'll tell you." Charles yelled as he pulled an elderly gentleman forward. "Tell her!"
"This servant saw it all. When the Master died. Aiden was sitting by his bed and leaned over and took the Ando ring off his finger. When we confronted him about it he ran away." The old man said while shaking.
The hot oppressive air became stifling hot.
"That's not true!" Aiden yelled. "He gave it to me on his death bed, said he wanted to give me his ring to make up for all his past sins against me and to make up for the sins his family has made against me. He told me he wanted a clear conscious before he died. He handed the ring to me himself. I told him I forgave him and that is when he died. He was able to die because I forgave him."
"There! He admits it he has my father's ring!" Charles yelled back.
"Yes, he has the ring. The ring his father gave him. The ring that belongs to him now. He did not steal anything the belonged to the Ando Household. He brought back with him the ring his dying father gave to him. There's a difference."
"Its his words against ours!"
"You mean its his words against the old man's" Jewels corrected.
"What do you mean?"
"You say your servants are witnesses. Who else here saw the alleged theft happen?"
When no one stepped forward, Jewels knew the old man was lying.
"And these witnesses that you brought here, other than the old man there, why are they here if they did not see what happened?"
"They--" Charles started to say.
"They are here to cause a scene and make noise in front of my home." Jewels said calmly. "My servant made it very clear that his father gave him the ring on his death bed and asked for my servant's forgiveness. I say that I believe him. I say the rest of the people behind you were brought to cause a scene and disturb my people and my neighbors, when they did not even see the allege theft happening. I say its the old man's word against my servant's. I say that you and your people have wronged me and you will pay the price! Now kneel!"
The hot oppressive air increased ten fold and everyone's knees buckled. Even her servants, her guards, and Roku who stood silently beside her knelt. Everyone who came out to watch the scene in front of the Brooks Estate knelt. Everyone was forced to their knees by Jewels and her hot, suffocating killing intent.
"You and your people have wronged me and my people on this day. Charles Ando of the Ando Clan. You have brought people to my door, accusing my servant of stealing when you have no proof. You brought people to my door, to yell and shout, causing a mob, a scene, disturbing my house and my neighbors. You and your people, have come to my door under false claims and ask for false justice. And the biggest offense of all, is that you and your people have come to my door, you and your people did not bow to this Princess Consort when you have seen this Princess Consort get off the carriage. You did not show proper respect to this Princess Consort and now you and your people shall now reap what you sow."
From thin air, ten large fireballs formed and they all flew towards the ten people who stood behind Charles. The fireballs hit the people and caught fire, their screams for help could be heard, but with everyone kneeling, not one could help. They couldn't even help themselves. They were stuck there, in horror, watching as the ten servants and bodyguards burned to their deaths. Their cries and pleading for mercy were embedded into the memories of everyone there.
The only one left was Charles as he did not see his servants die, but he felt the heat of the fire and he heard the cries of the dying. Tears runs down his eyes as he already wet himself. Living a pamper life, he has never gone out of the capital city before. He never killed anything before nor has he seen anyone kill in front of him. He wanted his father's ring, that was all he wanted. When he found out that his father gave it to Aiden, he became so jealous and angry that he gathered his servants to accuse Aiden of stealing it from his dead father. His father was dead, his father couldn't speak the truth. The only person who saw his father give the ring to Aiden was Old man Tuski and with enough gold coins Old man Tuski would say anything you like. Usually in the past when he caused trouble for Aiden, the Master or Mistress would just throw Aiden out. He thought that, this time it would happen the same way, but now he knew he made a mistake and this mistake was going to kill him. She was not going to let him go.
"Now that you know your crime, you shall pay for it. You said truth will always prevail and justice will always win in the end. And you're right. The truth is this Princess Consort believes Princess Consort's servant when he says he did not steal anything from Ando Clan, that his father gave that ring to him on his death bed. The truth is, you and your people did not bow to this Princess Consort and show this Princess Consort proper respect. And now, justice will win in the end, for you and your people will pay for the price of this offense towards this Princess Consort."
An even larger ball of fire appeared from the air and flew towards him. It hit him straight in the face and engulfed his body. His burning body lit on fire and every one could hear his scream. His piercing scream brought them to tears. They just wanted the scene in front of them to stop. They regretted the fact that they came out of their homes to watch what they thought would be a nice gossip information about the Princess Consort and her family. They never thought they would witness such brutality and ruthlessness from her. They thought they would not be subject to such horror and nightmare. The screams would haunt them and the smell of burning flesh would stay with them forever.
Jewels takes in a breath or air and lets it go. With her breath, she releases everyone and the hot oppressive air disappears completely. They were able to breath again and when they were able to stand up, everyone who came out to watch the show in front of their house, suddenly had something very important to do and they leave the scene. Some of them didn't even hide the fact that they were scared, they ran back into their homes, back to safety.
"Thomas," Jewels said as she looked down at the burnt corpses on the ground.
"Yes, my Lady." Thomas said as he came forward.
"Have four people help you to gather these corpses and place them on a cart. Send them back to the Ando Manor. Tell the master or mistress of the house what happened here and state to them the offense made to this Princess Consort and the consequences of offending this Princess Consort. If think they deserve a gift of appeasement, remind them that I wear the ring of Osamu on my left hand. Shall they want to seek justice, they must bring it up to my fiancee Prince Raiden.'
"Yes, my lady." Thomas said as he motioned Liam, Ethan, Dane and Blake to help him with the bodies. He looked at Zeze and she knew he wanted her to go get the diver to bring the cart around, so she quickly ran to the back of the property to tell him. "Anything else, my lady."
"Take 6 guards with you when you go to Ando Manor. Report back to me what happens." Jewels told him.
Thomas bows and leaves to do the request Jewels ordered him to do. Aiden was still kneeling next to Jewels not believing that his Mistress, actually took care of the situation like she said she would. He watched a horror show, but she killed for him. She killed to save him. When Jewels was just about to bend down and help him up, Aiden places his head on the ground and submits to her.
"This servant thanks Princess Consort for everything that Princess Consort said and did for this lowly servant. This lowly servant will be forever in your debt. This lowly servant will be loyal to the Brooks household until this servants last breath!"
"Remember your words, Aiden Ando of the Ando Clan, for this Princess Consort will remember it too. Now stand." Jewels stated.
Aiden quickly stands and as Jewels turned around to go into Brooks Estate, Jewels could see all the guards stand up straighter, their shoulders back and their chest puffed forward. The respect they held in their eyes of Jewels shown without saying a word.
"Back to your stations." Jewels told them as she passed by them. When she was a couple of steps away, she could hear one guard whispered to the next.
"General Brooks was right, she will break us!"
"She is a Brooks after all." Whispered another guard.
Aiden followed her into the house and she dismisses him for the day.
"I'm sorry for your lost, Aiden. I'm sorry you had to go through all that on the day that your father died. Take the rest of today and the next couple of days to grieve and heal. Do not worry about your work in this house it will be done by someone else."
Aiden bows low to Jewels before answering.
"My Lady. I thank my Lady for being so caring and generous, but this servant will only take today off. This servant will be back tomorrow for work. It is this servants wish."
"Very well." Jewels tells him. "You are dismissed."
Aiden goes back to his room in the servants quarters while Jewels goes into the dining room for dinner.
"Chieko, where is my Uncle and Pop pop?"
Chieko steps forward from the side of the room where she was standing and tells her.
"My Lady, Master Jude and Master Jordan has gone into town."
"Did they say when they would be back?"
"No, my Lady."
"Did they say why they were going into town?"
"No, my Lady."
"Did they bring any guards with them when they left?"
"Yes, my Lady."
Jewels need time to herself to think. "Bring my dinner to my room. I will eat there alone."
"Yes, my Lady."
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It was very late at night and Raiden, her Uncle and Pop pop have not returned to Brooks Estate. Jewels has been walking around in circles around the dining room to the sitting room and back. Circling around and around for hours. No word has been sent to Jewels and she had a bad feeling in the pit of her stomach.
Earlier that evening when Thomas came back, he told her that the Ando's did not say anything and just took the corpse from them. Their actions worried Jewels, but she would deal with them if they tried anything. But right now, her family was not home and Raiden did not send word to her at all. She hated worrying.
"Roku, is it just you or is there someone else watching me from the shadows?"
"There is someone else." Roku answered her truthfully.
"Send that person to the palace to check in on Raiden, I want to know if he is okay. I am worried and cannot leave here to check in on him when there is a possibility that Uncle Jude and Pop pop might come home while I am away."
"As my Lady commands." Roku said as he left through the glass door to talk to the other bodyguard in the shadows. Roku came back shortly and told her that her command has been followed through.
"Thomas," Jewels asked for him next. "Go to the guard house and request the top three highest ranking officer there to come here. I have something to ask them."
Thomas bows once and makes his way to the guardhouse. Jewels waits impatiently and walks around in circle faster. When Thomas brings in Major General David Lucker, Lieutenant Colonel Jane Donner and Major Anderson Peters, Jewels walks straight towards them with a mission to make them tell her where her Uncle and Pop pop went.
"Where did my Uncle and Pop pop go?" Jewels demanded.
David hesitates, but seeing what the young miss could do to a person, he did not want to be the next person to burn alive so he answered her.
"They went to go meet a informant who said could help with the mission. General Jude and the three guards where brought to help assist."
"And Pop pop?"
"He demanded to go, said he wasn't going to let General do it alone."
"When and where is the meet suppose to take place?" Jewels asked.
"The meeting was set at noon at the forest to the east of the city. There is a small fishing village there and north of the fishing village is a hunter's hut. The meeting was suppose to be held there."
"That was well over 12 hours ago. Have you sent men to go look into the disappearance of my Uncle, Pop pop and the other men?"
"Yes, they have not come back either."
Alarms started blaring into her head, ringing loudly in her skull. A heat wave filled the air and David swallows his fear. "My Uncle told you not to tell me, right?"
"Yes, my Lady."
"Then I can forgive you this time." Jewels said, she then turns towards Roku to address him. "Roku do you know of this hut?"
"I do."
"Good. We will leave when we receive word of Raiden."
"Are you sure you just want to take one person? Jane asked. "We can come to."
"No, we can not leave the estate empty. Make sure patrols are tight, no one gets in and no one goes out after I leave. I'll be taking Roku and my shadow will follow."
"You're shadow?"
"Hidden bodyguard, courtesy of my fiancee."
Jane and Anderson nod their heads in understanding. The shadow appears from thin air and reports his finding. It is San who has been her shadow for that day.
"San reporting to Princess Consorts request. Prince Raiden sends his regard and thanks Princess Consort for Princess Consort's concern. Prince Raiden is stuck in a meeting and sends his regrets of not being able to attend Princess Consort tonight. Prince Raiden has given this servant a written message to pass along to Princess Consort."
Jewels takes the letter and turns her back to everyone as she reads it.
My heart,
I am in an important meeting and unable to be with you tonight. Though my body is not with you, know that my mind and soul is. It warms my heart to know you think about me and worry about me. I am well. Sleep well and I will see you tomorrow.
Always yours
Jewels folds the paper and pretend to put it in her pocket. But she sends it to her grey space instead.
"Roku, San, let us fly." Jewels tells them as she walks outside. Roku and San were about to leap up into the air when they were stopped by Jewels.
"Not that kind of flying," Jewels said as she called out Roc. "Roc!"
Roc appears in front of them from thin air. All the soldiers who were watching, cry out in surprise. The humongous silver and black raptor looks menacing as Jewels flies on its back, straddling it.
"Come, Roku, San, sit behind me. Riding on Roc will be faster."
Roku and San looked at each other then flew to sit behind Jewels. Roc spreads his massive wings and takes off. Everyone below was in awe. They had to close their eyes, for the wind was so harsh that the dirt flew, it would get into their eyes. When the raptor was far away it was Jane who spoke first.
"She definitely is a Brooks. Worthy of her name."
"She is." Thomas said as he looked at his comrades. "She has two other animals that she can call too."
David whipped his head to look at Thomas questioningly. "Three?"
"Yes, a huge golden lion named Nemean and a red phoenix named Fenghuang."
"Somethings just isn't fair."
"Yes, well, if you lived the life she had to endure, having three animals to call still isn't enough." Thomas said.
"What do you mean?" Jane asks.
"It's not my story to tell. If you're lucky enough for her to tell you, you wouldn't believe it either. The only reason I believe it, is because I've been here the whole time and watched it with my own eyes."
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Roc flew the three of them towards the direction of the hunter's hut, there were no lights near the hut, but Jewels told San to go check it out. San flew off Roc's back as Jewel, Roku and Roc watch from afar. When San got close to the door, he was attacked by the shadows. Jewels took off immediately towards the hut. Torpedoing down towards the fight. Ten fireballs flew in the direction of the shadows and caught five of them unaware, burning them as they drop down to rub the fire out. Her fireballs were not regular fireballs, they were energy fireballs, they could not be rubbed out by the ground or distinguished by water. They burned its victims from the inside out. Jewels sent more fireballs out to the moving shadows as they flew up to attack Jewels in the sky. Some of them were able to dodge, but others were not so lucky.
Roku who was behind her, suddenly appeared next to San, helping him fight off the shadows that surround him. Jewels called forth Nemean and Fenghuang for help while Roc flew around in a circle above everyone gathering his strength. Nemean came out and landed on the ground near San and Roku. Nemean roared and as he roared, he breathed out fire onto the hundreds of dark shadows that kept attacking them. Fenghuang lit the sky on fire. The shadows that came up to fight Jewels, were easily burnt with her phoenix fire. The phoenix fire burnt one shadow and spread to the next, catching the next one on fire like a game of pass it on. From the sky, all the way down to the ground, they caught fire and made a ring around the whole hut.
Jewels flew towards the ground sending her fireballs towards anything dark that moved. The fire that Jewels, Nemean and Fenghuang brought forth, started a forest fire and lit the ground. Every bush, weed and tree caught fire and started burning, Jewels ran towards the hut and opened it. Her Uncle, Pop pop and ten guards where all tied up, beaten and poisoned. Jewels did not have the time to treat the poison yet and she did not have time to untie them, in their unconscious state, Jewels waved the Infinite Galaxy over them and placed them into her grey space.
The hut was burning around her as she ran out, San and Roku killed the last remaining shadows that were around them as Fenghuang flew across the sky, back and forth, blowing her phoenix fire on to the moving shadows that wanted to hide from the light. The fire spread in the forest, burning the ground hot, Nemean transformed into his human form and took San and Roku to follow Jewels as she flew up and away from the ground. Fenghuang warned them that Roc was ready to strike and to follow her. The four of them flew further away, following Fenghuang as they watched the forest burn. And from the sky, the cloudless dark sky, suddenly formed a circling cloud. In the cloud, it flashed lightning and struck the ground. Like a lightning chain, it struck a shadow and chained it into place. The lightening moved underground finding its target when they touched the ground and when they did, the lightning chain would latch on to them and bind them in their place. Within a matter of moments, all the hidden shadows in the forest were chained to the ground and the phoenix fire was lighting them on fire.
The fishing village saw the redden sky from their houses and heard the cries. They say it was the cries of the burning trees. Little did they know it was the cries of demon spies.
"Fenghuang, save one to question." Jewels told Fenghuang before the last few shadows could die.
"Build a solid silver cage in your space and I'll bring the shadow to you. Place the shadow in the silver cage."
Jewels nodded as Fenghuang flew down and swooped down grabbing one shadow by its head and flung it to Jewels. Jewels swiped her bracer in front of the shadow and it disappeared into the grey space. Fenghuang had already flung another shadow at Jewels when the first one went in and Jewels had to act fast to make another silver cage for the next shadow coming her way. In the end they captured 10 shadows as they watched the shadows below them drown in the red sea of fire.
When the last of the shadow burned into ashes, Fenghuang flew around the forest making sure they killed all the shadows, when she was positive, she breathed the fire back into her and slowly put the fire out.
They all flew back to Brooks Estate, her animals to call in their human forms flew back with them. The six of them flew towards Jewels's work building as everyone stood outside waiting for their return. When the six of them landed, David stepped forward wanting to ask questions, but Jewels took charge and started ordering people around.
"Zeze, Chieko, Leiko, and Gina go into my workroom and fill up the cauldrons with water about half way. Claire, Teresa, Ethan, and Blake, go into city and buy as much gauze you can and bring them here as fast as you can. Chad, Anderson go with them and be their guards. Here's some gold coins,"Jewels said as she threw a small purse of coins to Teresa. "Go now and quickly come back, split up into two groups, hurry! Eve, Jade, Chad and Dane go into the my workhouse and take out all the gauze out and lay them out. David you and your men, go into the guard house and take out ten beds and bring them into my work house, do it now everyone, now!"
Jewels marched into her workroom as everyone went to go do what she ordered. In the middle of the room, Jewel waved her hand a brought everyone out of her grey space.
"Thomas help me untie them, quickly."
Thomas took the dagger that Jewels offered to him and they start to cut through the rope.
Roku, San, Nemean, Fenghuang, and Roc join Jewels and put the injured people into an open bed. They were all unconscious and their skin pale. The tips of their finger were stiff and started changing colors. Jewels gave her dagger to Roc to replace her as she took out the acupuncture needles out from a drawer.
The poison was spreading and there were too many people for her to look after at the same time, she had to slow the poison in each body first.
"David," Jewels yelled as she saw him. "Show me who went with Uncle first."
Jewels went her Uncle and placed seven needles into his body, one right above each dantian, one on both sides of the shoulders and one on each side of the hips. Making sure that the needle hits the cultivation vein. After Uncle, she moved on to Pop pop and after Pop pop she moved on to the soldiers that first went with Uncle Jude as bodyguards. Then she moved on to the soldiers that were sent to save them.
Jewels just hoped that they lived long enough for Jewels to make the cure for the poison.