Chalice did her best to restrain herself from shrieking out loud. Aside from it being extremely unladylike, it might even scare her precious kitty who have just led her to a bottomless treasure chest. However, despite her best efforts she still couldn't contain herself and ended up pouncing on the lion and hugging its uninjured limb. Talk about a non-existent self-restraint.
She immediately let go after realizing what she had done. Her heart pounding in her ears in fear. Nonetheless, the lion was complacent about it which made here breathe out in relief. Chalice inspected the slab of rock the lion presented to her. She was even more sure now that it was jade, and it was the glass type even. The bright translucence it was giving off and the rich, uniform green color signified that it was of the highest of class.
One must know that Imperial Jade is the rarest type and the best specimen may cost more per carat than high-quality diamonds. On Earth, jade deposits have become scarcer than ever. The one in front of her presented an undeniable possibility. Chalice was in standing in a jade vein. An untouched mine of high quality jadeite.
A boiling rush of excitement coursed through her. This world did not know of jade, she was sure of that. Even the Amaranth House especializing in gems and precious stones did not know what it was. Basically, in this world it was an untouched fountain of wealth. Having a jade mine could take her ducal house to unprecedented heights.
'Okay, Chalice. Be sensible and stop getting ahead of yourself. Remember an innocent man treasuring a jade becomes a criminal. Though in this case, it is literally jade and I'm far from being poor. But the principles apply nonetheless, I can't take this lightly.'
Chalice firmly comply with the laws of power. And the very first is that one must never outshine the master. In the entire Idalia, only the royal family exceeded House Amaranth. Her discovery of this jade mine puts them right under the sword of Damocles*. The added wealth would place Amaranth on par with the royal family, which would also automatically shoot them up at first place in the emperor's suspicious people list. That does not paint a pretty picture.
'Ugh, politics sure is troublesome.'
Then an idea abruptly flashed in Chalice cunning mind. She smiled wickedly while eyeing the rough jade in front of her. A plan had brewed and assembled itself in her brain.
Upon reaching an epiphany, Chalice tried to lift up the jade rock. Her plan relied on her taking the rock back to Luke. But the slab was too big for her to carry. She sighed loudly and circled the rock while trying to find a solution.
Perhaps feeling her quandary, the lion who was watching Chalice by the side pushed her lightly to a corner. After which it once again cut the rock cleanly into a smaller piece with its claws. How it did that she didn't want to know.
She happily skipped back to where the lion was and took a fist-sized piece of the jadeite. Chalice looked at the lion with eyes glowing happily.
"Thank you again, big guy. You've given me such a huge gift. I'll be taking this. We need to go on our seperate ways now."
Chalice heard a soft whine from the animal. She just smiled at it and walked towards where she came from, whistling while playing the jade rock in her good hand. She thought of how her situation became a perfect example of fortune favoring the brave. If she didn't courageously help the lion, she might not have found the mine and instead directly go back empty-handed.
When Chalice reached the entrance of the outer cave, she abruptly stopped. However, she almost stumbled out after a huge force shoved her from behind. She turned around almost instantaneously and was dumbfounded to see the big kitty who had followed her.
She frowned unable to figure out what's up with the kitty.
"Why are you following me?"
Chalice asked. Much to her surprise, the lion suddenly bowed down to her. Her jaw fell open wide in shock. She wouldn't doubt if an egg would be able to fit in it.
"Y-y-you want me to be your master?"
The lion stood up and licked her face as an answer. Chalice was petrified in disbelief. The poor, innocent kitty had just given her a dilemma. She will be inspecting the fief incognito. Having a huge lion following her around as pet does not exactly conform to that word. She sighed. Still, her conscience couldn't bear to leave the beast all alone in that cave. And thus she conceded.
In the future, Chalice would think of how she made the right decision taking in the big kitty. For it had become her protection and savior, allowing her to escape what should have been the greatest calamity of her life.
"Alright. If you're going with me then I can't possibly call you big guy all the time. Hmm. Aslan. I'll call you Aslan. Would that be alright?"
Aslan growled and swished his tail happily which made Chalice chuckle.
"Now, Aslan, the fog has thinned down. Seems like it's already dawn. We should get going. My squad is surely frantic by now. Wonder how they are coping up? Do you know the way out of here?"
Aslan replied with a faint growl. Chalice smiled and was about to walk when she saw him bend down on all fours and turned his big head to her then to his back.
"You want me to ride on your back?"
She asked incredulously. A growl sounded out. Chalice took that as an agreement and promptly propelled herself up in Aslan's back. She couldn't help but marvel on how silky and smooth Aslan's golden mane is. She held tight on his neck as the lion started running forward. Chalice chose to trust the big kitty. She knows he understood that she wanted to go out of Cloud Forest. It was also a good thing for her since she could save her energy by riding on him.
As they passed by the trees in a blur, Chalice inwardly took note of the necessity to plug her ears a few seconds after Aslan runs. Because if she doesn't she'll turn deaf. Why do think she said this? Well, obviously because about 15 seconds after they had taken off, Aslan let out a roar that reverberated in the entire forest. Her, being in proximity bore the brunt of the impact. Chalice was surprised that she did not fall off after that.
They rode fast for a good 20 minutes. Though after a while, Chalice asked Aslan to slow down to leisurely pace because she was starting to get dizzy.
The lady and lion tandem had just entered a small clearing when Chalice heard a girl's shrill call for help.