Hey. This story is just a little bit of speculation about what could have been. If Sucker Punch hadn't made Tsao so arrogant and heartless or Jing such an ambiguously powerless character, perhaps there could have been a third canon Sly Cooper pairing.

I mean, Jing King was not like other characters who find themselves stuck in similar situations. She begged to come out, not to be left alone. Anyways, this story takes place during the Cooper Gang infiltration. I mean, it still took them more than a day to save her. Enjoy.

Stockholm Syndrome

Tsao snapped his head towards Jing King's room. "No! You can not come out yet, my blossom!"

"But, please. My father will be so worried. Just let me tell him I am all right." Jing King leaned against the thin wall of her room. "I beg of you, Tsao, let me out of this prison! Is this the way you woo you wife? You have shown me nothing but cruelty. I am so unhappy." She could feel the tears sting the edges of her eyes.

Tsao, however, went back to his planning. As far as Jing could tell, a wedding planner was speaking to him, and things were not sounding to be well.

Jing King slumped a little. She walked over to her bed and laid down. She blinked around the room. To be honest, cruelty may have been too harsh a word. Pillows and sheets of the finest quality were sprawled around her bed and couch. Clothes of cuts far beyond what she ever expected to wear filled her closet. Even the food she received tasted far better than what she was accustomed to.

The young Panda sat up in her bed. She was still crying, but with no more needless sobbing. She hugged a pillow close to herself. No! Tsao has been cruel to me. Does he not care for me at all?

Jing could never place a face to Tsao, for she had never seen it. She only knew the captivity of the guards. From the time she had been captured to even now, all she had seen was his silhouette. He was always too busy planning the wedding to even speak with her.

Jing dabbed the last of her tears away with the pillow she held and threw the pitiful comfort away. "I do not ask for much." She folded her arms in her lap. "Ten minutes. Five. One? Just some simple memory of at least speaking with him. A poem a day. A late night whisper. A touch. An embrace. Anything to at least signify some shred of love."

She leaned her chest forward and laid her hands on her breasts. They were modestly sized at best, but they stood out prominently, especially with how her dresses were cut. She let her hands run down her body. Even if Tsao lusted for her instead of loved, perhaps she could at least learn to lust for him too. Without ever seeing him directly, she could tell he was tall and strong and most likely very distinguished.

Even if it was just to come in to insult her. Not for being a woman, but to insult her. Anything he wished to change. Her hair, her choice in clothes, the makeup she wore.

She stood up and walked over to the door again. "Please, Tsao, is there a reason you do not wish to speak with me? Do you despise how I dress? The makeup I wear? Am I too fat? Are my breasts too small for your liking? Should I cut my hair?"

Tsao did not pay heed to these inquiries. He was now speaking with some world-famous photographer about the wedding.

Yes, the wedding. Jing slumped to the floor, feeling tears sting her eyes again. It is always about the wedding. But why would he wish to marry me, if he does not see me? Please, Tsao. A compliment on my voice. A sparing glance of interest. A storm of insults. Something to show that you care about more than my father's name.

Tsao had stopped speaking, and the photographer apparently left. The unknown groom walked over to his bride in question.

Jing King's eyes widened. She clapped her hands together. He stood there for what felt like quite a while. Maybe he was finally going to open the door?

Tsao turned his head. "I thought you should know, Jing King, we have an established photographer for our wedding." He turned and walked off. "However, there is still much of the wedding to plan."

Jing King watched with horror as the silhouette disappeared from her wall. She banged her small fists against the paper wall. "Please, Tsao, let me out! For a minute, at least. If not to see my father, then to at least see what it is like outside. It has been so long. Even if you choose to shackle me, let us share a meal. Or at least a brief conversation before the wedding?"

There was no reply. The general did not come back. All that was in the hall was silence.

Jing King stood up slowly and walked back to her bed. "Stupid General Tsao." She laid down. "Why could he not hire the wedding planner. If not to plan the whole wedding, at least to spare some more time in the day for me." She curled up beneath a blanket.

Many called General Tsao cruel, and that many would be correct. However, it was not physical or verbal maliciousness that made him cruel. It was not a lack of generosity that proved him mean, or a warrior's ferocity. No, there was something much more cruel to him than that.

It was neglect.

---

Okay. Seriously! Who wants to be neglected? It's like when a child misbehaves at a party. They don't want to get in trouble as much as just to get some form of attention.

Anyways, I hope this sounded at least halfway decent. I was a little unsure. This story came to me just as I was going to sleep.

Please, enjoy and review.