Chocolate Rewards: The Sweetness of Two Worlds Colliding Together (8 page)

“
But
what if I never get things right?” Amber was picturing herself
carrying buckets of water to the cocoa plants all day long. What if
she stumbled and fell?

Would he
beat her for something like that?

How could
she be someone's slave? Things like that didn't happen anymore. The
world had changed; this wasn't a worry that she had ever had. Now she
was being punished for not behaving, as her master wanted her to. And
her master was an overgrown red hulk.

Amber's
feet gave way under her. Too much was crashing down on her at once.
Her mind needed to shut off.

Rokai saw
that as well. He leapt forward and caught her in his arms before she
fell tot he floor. He brought her back to the bed and sat down with
her on his lap. He rocked her back and forth and hummed to her. Of
all the creatures in the universe his kind was considered to be
special because they could get their voices to vibrate.

He wanted
Amber to think that he was special, and, perhaps, she could start to
like him.

Amber
shook in his arms, she wasn't sure what to think. He was being nice
to her right now, but would that stop the second that she stopped
crying?

She let
everything run through her head. His humming was making her tired.
She snuggled into his broad chest, laying a hand over his heart,
which was beating strong and regular.

His
humming combined with his heartbeat was making her drowsy. Her eyes
grew heavy and she snuggled in closer to him, making sure that her
ear was over his heart.

She
thought of nothing, just the constant beat, letting it lull her to
sleep.

Planet
Lokiun

Amber
took a deep breath. She was slowly waking up. Never, in all of her
life had she ever slept better.

She
stretched, taking another deep breath. She smelt him. He smelt like
Christmas, more precisely, like cinnamon. That used to be one of her
favorite smells. Now she wasn't so sure.

Surrounding
her body was his warm skin. She opened her eyes and looked up at him,
wondering and worrying what would happen now. The lack of control was
the worst thing about being a slave. She couldn't make a game plan;
everything was up in the air.

Rokai
stopped walking and looked down at the woman in his arms. She was so
beautiful as she slept, but now looking down into her pretty brown
eyes he had to think that she was most gorgeous when she was awake.
His heart was melting as he looked into her eyes.

“
Hello,
precious Amber. Did you sleep well?” The love he felt for her was a
real force, making his heart grow. It felt so tight in his chest. He
was sighing as he looked at her.

Amber
tried to sit up, but he was holding her cradled in his arms, as if
she were a baby. She stopped trying to get into an upright position
and stared back at him. Could she admit that she had rested well in
her master's arms? Just the thought of that was sickening her.

“
I want
to go home.” A tear rolled down her face.

Rokai
hated to see her sad. “I am going to take you home with me. The
king was very generous with us. You will like your new home.” When
he saw that she was still crestfallen he added, “I promise.”

“
You
can't promise something like that. No one can.”

He
nodded. She was right, of course. This was one of the reasons that
men took their women with them wherever they went. Women saw things
from their own prospective. A wise man listened to his woman's
opinion before he made any decision.

“
I
promise, that I will try to make you happy. I will never stop trying.
That, I can promise.”

Amber's
mouth gaped open in surprise. He meant what he was saying. It was
written on his face. This was something that was important to him.

She was
important.

Although,
it didn't make sense to her why he would want her to be happy. A
master didn't strive to put his slave in good spirits.

His words
and promises were probably just things that he meant now. Later, once
things had settled into place, he would only notice her when she did
something wrong.

Amber
looked away from his eyes. When he stopped looking at her like that,
it would hurt.

She had
to give herself a mental shake. What was wrong with her? She was
acting like a lovesick fool, like a young girl in puppy love with her
math teacher.

“
I want
to show you something. We are descending. Look, this is going to be
our home planet.”

“
But it
is so small.” The planet under them, which was steadily coming
closer, reminded her of the planet that the Little Prince lived on.

“
It's
bigger than you think, but we need something that is very secluded,
because of the chocolate.”

The
words,
Nobody ever goes in, and nobody ever comes out
were
going through her head. He was acting like Mr. Wonka, in
Charlie
and the Chocolate Factory.
She guessed that made her an
Oompa
Loompa.

“
Everyone
is going to want our chocolates. The King gave us this planet so we
are well hidden. A defense system is also going to be put into place.
When everything is finished we will be as safe as the Royal family.
That is going to mean a lot of work, but if I can help men have
happier homes then I will do that.” Rokai realized that he was
babbling on and on. He didn't want to tell her that it had always
made him sad to see women being punished. If men could give their
women chocolates, and increase their good behavior that way, then,
maybe, the men could give fewer punishments.

Naturally,
they had to be given from time to time, but if this chocolate could
lessen punishments and bring men and women closer together, then he
would feel like he was doing a very important job.

Jamko was
carefully landing the ship. “The computer is telling me that there
are two mansions on the planet. It used to be inhabited by Grintis.
They left the planet because of its size and because it was too
secluded. It really is perfect.”

“
What
are Grintis?” Amber asked.

“
The
Grintis is a family that controls several planets. They used to be
warriors but now they are traders. Most of the treasures in the
universe had at one time been owned by a Grintis.”

“
Incoming
message from King Aideyoung,” the computer announced. “Workers
will be arriving today yet. One hundred Emkos.”

Jamko's
jaw dropped. “The King is sending us one hundred Emkos.” Jamko
said, excitedly, looking at Rokai. “Did you hear that? Emkos.”

“
What's
an Emko?” Amber asked.

“
Only
the best workers in the universe. They are incredibly smart, fast and
tiny. They need to work to be happy. Emkos sleep outside, so they can
protect the plants and they hardly eat anything. They are the most
effective workers the galaxy has to offer,” Jamko informed her. She
could see how pleased and excited he was.

Amber
looked up at Rokai who was staring over at Jamko. “This means that
we really discovered something very important. We are going to be
famous.” Rokai was getting very excited.

“
And we
won't have to work ourselves to death. I should have brought along a
woman, too.” If Jamko had known that he would have.

Amber
listened to the two and waited for what was going to come next. The
men both looked at a computer screen that was an entire rounded wall.
She was still in Rokai's arms. Had he held her the entire time while
she slept? Like she was a baby?

The men
were discussing who should get which house. The houses were similar
but the locations were different. One was by the water and the other
wasn't.

“
If we
can't decide then maybe your slave can. Amber, you be the
tiebreaker.” Jamko looked at her waiting for her answer.

Amber had
stopped listening to them a while ago, but she had been looking at
the pictures on the computer screen. She looked up at Rokai, who was
waiting for her answer. They were going to let her decide something
as important as this? “The house by the water.”

Jamko
nodded and they went on to divide up the land. They spoke of working
together but that each should have their own plantation. They joked
that one day their children might fall in love and own the planet.

The
computer spoke over the intercom again. “Decompression is finished.
The air on the planet is suitable for all three occupants of this
aircraft, as well as for the plant life.”

The men
traded looks with one another. “Here we go, on our way to fame and
fortune.”

The door
opened and they walked out of the craft.

Amber
felt like a new bride being carried over the threshold. She peeked
around Rokai so she could see where she would be slaving away. At
least, she would have help from the Emkos. Would they be nice to her?
She was picturing them playing tricks on her to get her into trouble.

Before
her lay green fields as far as the eye could see. She was glad to see
that they were green. The grass looked so soft. She longed to touch
it and see if it was just like the grass they had back home. Maybe it
was even softer, like the clothes the men wore and the bedding.

She was
once again aware of her nakedness. She wished that he had let her
keep the sheet. It had looked so nice on her.

This was
a point that they were going to argue about until she won. She would
not go walking around naked in the fields. This was something that
she wasn't going to back down on.

“
Our
home is this way.” Rokai said to her still carrying her in his
arms. Jamko took off in the other direction. “The house has been
unoccupied for several years. It will need lots of work done to it,
but with the Emkos helping you things should go quickly.”

Their
help would most likely come in the form of them telling her what to
do and that she should hurry up.

Rokai
walked for over half an hour before they spotted the house. Just like
in the picture that she had seen on the spacecraft it had a brook
next to it. It sounded just like she hoped.

She
needed to hear water when she slept. Their house had a view of the
ocean. When she slept at her friends' house she missed that. She just
couldn't get proper rest without the sound of moving water.

That
wasn't quite true. She had slept well in his arms. Her fingers went
to her ear. Was the thing that they shot in her ear also giving her
some sort of sleep medicine? Was that why she had slept so deeply? It
was a theory. She would watch things closely. She wanted to know what
he was doing with her.

Amber
looked at the house that she was going to be fixing up. It was made
out of sand colored stone with huge windows cut out for light. The
windows had no glass. Any plant could just grow inside, pushing its
way through the open window. Any animal could just leap inside, too.
The walls were high and this reminded her of a castle

“
Are
there dangerous animals on the planet, snakes, bugs and all of that
sort of thing,” she asked him as he leapt over the brook with ease.

“
I'll
check with the in house computer. Don't worry, I'll keep you safe.”

“
Why
thank you so much Superman,” she answered, sarcastically.

Rokai
looked down at her and frowned. Why was she acting like that? It was
clear that she didn't believe him. He could have made her walk, but
instead he carried her, to protect her soft tiny feet. He could have
had his way with her on the ship, but he wanted their first time to
be something special. Couldn't she see that he was trying very hard
to be good to her?