Honey : The Empire's Treasure 150 What's For Dinner?...

"Smells good."

Braeden grabbed the lid and peeked into the pot. A delicious vegetable buzzard stew was cooking.

"Ow!" Saavi smacked Braeden's hand off of the lid.

"Don't you have any manners, how can you invite yourself to our dinner? and even lift the lid!" Saavi had her hands on her hips while she criticizes Braeden for his actions.

"Did you just smack my hand? My hand... General Gilwenys' hand!?" Braeden stood up from his seat on the log.

"Yes. You touch my pot, I'll smack your hand!"

Braeden turned to confront Saavi face to face. Raising an eyebrow, he reached out his hand slowly and touched the lid's handle again.

*Smack!*

Saavi had raised her hand just as slowly as he had done and slaps his hand away.

Braeden tries three more times to open the lid, but it all results in Saavi slapping his hand away.

*Smack*...*Smack*....*Smack!*

"Woman!" Braeden bellowed, he couldn't believe this young maid has the nerve to hit his hand away.

"Do you know that this hand.." Braeden held up the hand Saavi has been slapping away, in front of her face. "....has killed many? It has protected the kingdom for years! And you dare to hit it away?"

Very carefully, she examines his hand. Braeden thought she finally was showing some respect towards him.

"I think there is something wrong with your hand?" Saavi said, pointing to his open palm.

Turning his palm around, Braeden looked down and didn't see anything out of the ordinary.

"There nothing wrong with it...your mistaken."

"No, really I see a dark spot..." Saavi points her index finger to the middle of Braeden's palm. "...right there, you don't see it?"

Choosing to entertain her, he pulls his hand out of Saavi hold and lifts up it up towards his face.

"I still see nothin-*Smack*!"

Saavi pushes his hand to hit his own face.

*Pttf!*

Jonas and Kaze could barely hold in their laughter.

"Ah! The mighty hand strikes again, protecting its kingdom's citizens from hungry thieves."

Rubbing his sore nose, Braeden looked down at the smirking on Saavi's face.

This is the second time he has never been made a fool by a girl.

Twisting around, Braeden looked at the red-face Kaze and Jonas. "Are they always like this?"

Looking away from Braeden's fierce stare, Jonas and Kaze didn't say a word, minding their own business. Saavi had already told them off once tonight for their clumsy actions, they didn't want to get on Saavi's bad side again. Braeden was on his own.

Seeing he was getting nowhere with Jonas and Kaze, Braeden had no choice but to talk to Saavi.

"Is it so hard to give me a little bit of stew..? We are escorting you guys all the way back to the Udava clan, isn't this the least you can do for me!?"

*Sigh*

"You're right. We are thankful that you guys are escorting our young miss back to the Udava clan. Here allow me to serve you..."

Grabbing a bowl, Saavi takes the lid off and scoops up a spoonful of stew. Placing the cover back over the pot, Saavi turns around and gives Braeden the bowl.

"Please, enjoy."

Satisfy that he got his way, Braeden showed Saavi a big wide smile.

That was until he looked down into the bowl in his hands.

"What is this?" The stew didn't even fill the bowl halfway. It was literally a spoonful of stew.

"Stew."

"Why am I getting so little?"

"You asked for a little bit."

"...."

"Please eat, General Gliwenys."

Braeden put the bowl to his lips and drank the stew in one gulp.

"Done already?" Saavi asked.

Wiping the liquid from his mouth, he stood up placed the bowl on the log and walked to the door.

"Goodnight, General."

Braeden stopped at the tent's flaps and looked back at Saavi before leaving.

"Saavi, I don't think you should have done that..."Jonas voice out after Braeden left.

Saavi stared at Jonas, "You don't want dinner?"

Startled, Jonas looked at Kaze, who looked away from him and kept quiet. They have been traveling non-stop and could hardly get a good meal into their stomachs, he couldn't pa.s.s up Saavi's stew to help Jonas.

Realizing he was by himself on this, Jonas gave in to his hunger.

"That General deserves it!" Jonas quickly changed his tune.

"En.." Pleasing they understand the pecking order between them, Saavi pa.s.sed out the bowls of stew.

As things were going on inside the tent, Ailwin had been watching Mika lying in the gra.s.s.

She was as still as can be, if it were for the charms surrounding her, Ailwin would have thought she fell asleep.

He wanted to wait for her to come out of her meditative state on her own, but when the sun sunk into the horizon and the moon illuminated the night sky; Ailwin began to worry for her safety.

When he moved within twenty feet of her charms, Mika immediately sensed someone was nearby. Leaving Drako behind, Mika opened her eyes and stared straight at Ailwin.

"It late, you should head back to camp." Looking up at the night sky, she was surprised at how much time had pa.s.sed.

"En.."

Dusting her body off, Mika picked up her charms and followed Ailwin back to camp.

"I remember you saying that you are thirteen...your gifts must have just awoken. Were you doing meditative exercises to train your powers?"

Thinking this was the best coverup to why she was out here like that, Mika nodded her head yes.

"En."

"If you need help, let me know. I can teach you some breathing exercises that can help you...By the way, we should arrive at the Udava clan by the day after tomorrow."

"I thought we would be able to reach there by the third day...?"

"That's what I came to talk to you about, the shuttles we took from the Vlacca aren't fully equipped, I hoped we would be able to make it there before they fell apart, but we're not that lucky."

*Sigh*

"We can still use them, but we will have to slow down our pace a bit."

"That's okay, as long as we get there."