Chapter 7 Desire

Jade Gold closed the door after her, trying not to be daunted by the pounding in her chest. This man she claimed to detest so much turned out to have that impact on her. But why him?

Sitting cross-legged on her wooden bed, she calmed herself and attempted to sift through the confusing emotions in her mind. She was Jade Gold, future Imperial Advisor and currently the only female Imperial Guard.

She couldn’t allow her emotions to take over her like that! He was that boorish mercenary Roc Chadwick! Even when Jade encountered colleagues of the opposite sex daily, to the extent that she went through some accidental touching, she hadn’t reacted like that!

The problem probably lay in Roc Chadwick. And after the mission, she had to get him out of her life, or he would mess it up! 

‘Jade, don’t fret. You have your engagement with Levi Stanson,’ she reminded herself. This Levi was indeed a mystery. She hoped he was how she had imagined him to be: sexy, muscular and appetising to the eye. They would be married soon enough, as Jade had already passed her eighteenth birthday. They had delayed their engagement as she was in another city on the island doing her further education and had returned recently. Levi was away from home right now as he was visiting his grandparents.

It would all fall together nicely. Jade brushed the thoughts from her mind of her in Roc Chadwick’s arms and visualised herself in a red bridal gown, carried in Levi’s strong arms into their sacred chamber. Although she was inexperienced and knew nothing about how it felt for the first time, she was looking forward to that moment.

It would just be the two of them, alone in that room, her lips brushing against his as they became one. She sensed the redness come over her cheeks, accompanied by heat in her chest. 

While it was ordinary for women to have needs, it was taboo for unmarried women to talk about their desire to pleasure themselves. She had told no one, but her needs were getting out of hand. She had just turned nineteen. It had started some weeks after she returned home about three months ago from a task. She couldn’t remember what had happened, but she learned she was apprehending a villain and had suffered some injuries in the meantime.

She had encountered a hard blow to her head and some trivial wounds, but nothing too serious. During that time, she underwent medication, and they put her on a brief break from her duties. Yet, why had she felt something wiped her memories of the incident? She couldn’t be suffering from amnesia like Sky Yale, could she?

When she returned from the mission, she decided she would pay a trip to the Mystic Physician and the shaman. Since she was ten, she had experienced some wild dreams, of which she had never received an explanation before.

And now, her heightened sensuality would  be big trouble down the road. She didn’t remember Levi Stanson, only that she had seen him once as a child. Even that memory of him was fuzzy. The thought of whether he would do good in bed plagued her.

Despite being a girl, Jade had never adhered tightly to the rules and silently broke them. She read adult books black market traders secretly sold in a corner on the city outskirts where illegal traders sold various items, from aphrodisiacs to sexy underclothes and even pills to prevent pregnancy. In her mind, some rules were meant to be broken.

What if Levi judged her for her wildest thoughts and her sexuality? Jade felt deterred. In that case, was she going to divorce him? But contemplating that, given her and their families had decided on their union, she knew it would only bring her family a bad name. Maybe they could work on a consensus. After all, lust was not uncommon among women. Her married female neighbour back home would often make loud irritating noises in the depth of night but act innocent when she saw her later.

After some thought, Jade decided it wasn’t worth her time poring over whether Levi would accept her for who she was. She headed to her bed and stripped off her outer layers of clothing, leaving only her undergarments. That burning sensation in her body often remained close to an hour, and she didn’t want to overheat in her thick clothing. Instead of a chilly night, it was scorching hot to her.

That night was going to be arduous for her to get to sleep. After twisting and turning for hours, she sneaked out for a bath to cool herself. By now, everyone would be asleep and she would have her chance. 

Instead of putting on all the layers covering her body, she pulled her cloak over a thin robe and hurried to the shared bath chamber with her clothes slung over her arm. As the daredevil she was, it barely mattered if anyone saw her; she would take risks. But she knew she was swift enough to make her escape if anything happened.

The bath chamber was a separate structure of its own and consisted of a large room equipped with showering materials and a gigantic square tub. It was far from her chamber and just passer the mercenaries’ quarters and overlooking the barracks. If she slipped up, the worst case was that silly junior with a crush on her, catching sight of her assets. 

She knew he was the one who was often staying up to burn the midnight oil to study, while the others needed many hours of sleep to function. And as for the mercenaries, she didn’t expect them to be daring enough to roam the facilities late at night since King Greyson would arrive the next day and had expected their presence.

She opened the door to the bath chamber and surveyed the premises. It seemed vacant so far, but it wasn’t a bright place to begin with, which created a calming and peaceful ambience for anyone who wished to have a soak. The water had rejuvenating properties.

Anyone would seek healing by taking a bath or dunking their nude bodies inside the water to alleviate injuries incurred during their daily tasks or training.

In addition, there were some invigorating herbs that Jade would add to the water when taking her dip. Closing the doors noiselessly behind her, she bolted the doors shut. Then Jade hung her clothes on a bench nearby and quickly slipped off her gown. Her floral silk undergarments followed until she was stark naked in the dimness of the hall.

A large tub filled with magical water appeared inviting to her eyes. She dropped the herbs and a blade of lavender grass into the water and crept inside the tub.

Such a heavenly combination. Jade took in a whiff of the aroma, closing her eyes and allowing herself to sink fully into the water, paddling towards the centre of the tub. She visualised herself swimming in a lake and felt tension lift from her stiff body. The resulting magic eliminated any aches that lingered around her.

Suddenly, she saw a vision right before her eyes. She witnessed people running around and screaming, followed by several green-coloured creatures of about a third of an adult’s height. They had short reddish tongues that jutted out from their mouths. Pursued by these monsters, they met with untimely deaths. Blood painted the scene a horrid red.

She screamed, panicking at what she had just seen. Preposterously, she had moved too fast and reached the far end of the tub. The worst was the bottom of the tub inclined downwards in a manner that made it increase in depth towards the end. It was far too late to realise she was about to drown, and she hollered madly for help.

But there was no use. The bath hall was far from the other structures, and even if someone heard her screams, they wouldn’t be able to rescue her because she had locked the doors. 

Water gushed down her throat, and her vision gradually faltered.