LOOK WHO'S BACK! I got inspired to write the sequal to Shen Again, so here you go! I solomly swear that this story will take A LOT longer than Shen Again. I have painfully hard classes this semester and these chapters will take a long time. Believe me, it hurts me as much as it hurts you (if not more XD). lol So... I'm SSSSSOOOOOOOOOOOOOO glad you guys liked the first one and I want to thank all of you for reading it. REVIEWS MAKE ME SO HAPPY (and sometimes make chapters come out faster, because I know you have read the chapter ;))!

Disclaimer: Once again, I know that peahens, in real life (Gasp! Real life? In fan fiction? NEVER!), DO NOT have a fan tail like the males. It's just more fun for Lien-Hua's style if she has a fan tail. Thank you!

Anyway... Enough of this stuff. READ AND ENJOY! XD


Sacred Flame

Chapter 1

Class

"So you jump high and…" I jumped flat footed off the grass, and preformed a body roll with my staff held in front of me above my head. At the last minute I threw it point-first into the ground and perched on the top. I reached down and preformed a cartwheel fanning my tail for effect and landing with my staff stretched in front of me.

"Ooh!" My students cooed from their seats in front of me. I had started a school of Kung Fu in Gongmen City. Five times a week we met at, what was now, my old rice farm and practiced techniques. Some days we ran, some we hiked, others we tested our skills. But every Friday I promised them a show of my talents that I had learned from the Jade Palace after the lesson.

"Show us again! Show us again!" A little gazelle girl clapped and jumped up and down as she shouted above her friends cheers. I chuckled and smiled at their joy filled faces. Skillfully I spun my staff around and readied myself for another move, when the spinning was stopped and my wings were held above me. I whirled around and came face to face with the warm brown eyes of Prince Shen.

"Showing off again I see." He crooned, bringing his wings down so that the only thing that separated us was the bladed staff. The children cooed, and some of the girls giggled.

"Some would call it teaching." I replied softly. We both chuckled.

"How about we give them a real show?" Shen suggested kissing me quickly.

"Can you handle it?" With added emphasis on the last word, I shoved him back and we stood ready to spar.

"The question, my dear, is, can you?" The students oohed again as I glared at my fiancé.

"Seems you can talk the talk, peacock; but can you strut those words?" I tossed my staff aside and glided forward. The prince met me in mid-flight and so the play-fight began.

Three years had passed since Prince Shen had returned to Gongmen City and vowed to rebuild every brick that Lord Shen had destroyed. It had also been three years since the people had forgiven him and accepted him as their prince. I had tried to tell him that he needed to have a coronation, but the white peacock had refused. He told me that he couldn't be made king without his queen by his side.

I, Lien-Hua, had saved the long imprisoned prince and liberated Gongmen City from the evil reign of Lord Shen. Well I guess I had some, ok a lot, of help from the Furious Five, the Dragon Warrior, Master Shifu, Storming Ox, and Croc. A long list? Yes. But are all of them credited for the peace in China today? Also a yes.

Over those years we, Shen, I, and the people of Gongmen, had been reconstructing the great city. We toiled night and day, rarely pausing, but always dreaming of our city returned to its former glory. At two years, all of the houses, bridges, and the docks had been restored. The palace and Tower of Sacred Flame had been nearly finished and only had three more stories to go.

But today, this day of glory, everything was finished. The last bricks and metal works had been set in place. The wood-worked wings on every tier of the Tower gleamed with their new polish. The courtyard was re-paved with cobblestones, and the gardens out-shined the former ones tenfold. Silk flags with Shen and I's new seal, a lotus within a rising sun, adorned every tower on the walls and lined the streets.

The people were so excited of their accomplishment. They were proud to have rebuilt their city, and not a single soul could hold it in. Nearly every night there was a small firework show to brighten everyone's spirits and keep hope alive for this day. Tonight we had planned a huge celebration to let everyone into the palace to see their finished work.

Wait, I completely forgot about the class! Shen and I were sparring, and showing off quite a lot. We never touched each other, just made it look that way. I spun and used my tail in a tripping maneuver and he jumped, then he kicked high and I pretended to take it to the jaw by throwing my head back and falling over.

"Still think I can't take it?" Shen panted standing over me.

"Think was never part of the equation, love." I replied and jumped into the sky. Using my incredible speed I hid in a cherry tree, and waited for Shen to follow.

"Come now Lien. You think you can hide from me?" Shen strutted towards the tree with a devilish smile on his face. He came closer and I used a short teleportation to appear right behind him. My students giggled but I raised a feather to my beak to shush them.

Silently I leaned in right by Shen's ear, and said loudly, "What are you looking at?"

"AHHHH!" He shrieked and jumped into the little cherry tree. His wings were pinned back and his tail was half-fanned beneath him, as his legs stuck out from under his white silk robe. The little light pink flower petals settled on his head and decorated his robe. Immediately, the children burst out laughing and began to roll around in the grass. I was laughing pretty hard myself as I helped my fiancé out of the plethora of pink petals.

"You look…stunning, Shen." I choked through the giggles. He just glared at me and swept the petals off his robe. Then a foxy smile came to his beak, and he collected a wingfull of the petals. My eyes got wide and I stepped back.

"Oh no. No no no. Shen…" I spread my wings in front of me and waved a pointer feather at him.

"This is payback not only for the tree, but for the meeting the other day with the Masters Council as well." Then he threw the petals at me.

I glared and my students took up their stances behind me. "You forget Shen, I have a whole army behind me." I fanned my tail and put on a vixin look. Shen's eyes got wide and he stepped back. "ATTACK!" I crowed and the children charged forward.

"Nooooooooooo!" The prince cried as they piled on top of him. I couldn' t help but laugh as my poor peacock was buried by my little Kung Fu warriors.

"Careful now! You don't want to kill him!" I was still laughing as Shen started to thrash around, trying to dislodge my students.

"Owww!" He yelped as one child tore out a few feathers.

"Hey now! No pulling on the feathers!" I scolded and shooed them off of my squished prince. "Come on; off with you!" Then I chuckled as they left Shen like an over-played-with toy and circled around me.

"Did we do good, Master Lien?" The children chorused.

"Yes!" I beamed. "You all acted bravely, the way a real warrior of Kung Fu would. As a reward you're all dismissed early. Go home and help your families prepare for the festival tonight!" They cheered and took off, racing back to the city. I watched them until they were out of earshot, then turned to my ill-fated fiancé. Shen was stretched out on the grass still recovering from the surprise attack. I smiled and shook my head as I strided over and lay down next to him.

"Sorry about that." I apologized.

"Oh no! I apologize for interrupting your class. NEVER again!" He panted and rolled over to face me.

"You always do like to live dangerously." I cooed and stroked his face with my wing. Those deep brown eyes became pools of caring and Shen scooted closer so our beaks touched.

"I am engaged to a master of a dangerous art." We laughed. "That has to count for something."

"It does." I pulled him closer and kissed him. The ardency of the kiss made my stomach feel warm and my heart sing. Yet the very outer sense in my brain still had my hearing tuned to the outside world, and I heard a droning howl. I pulled back. "Did you hear that?" I murmured.

"Hear what?" Shen breathed and leaned forward for another kiss. Then the howl sounded again.

"That." I snapped into a sitting position and listened hard. I could hear them in the outer fields, by the peach grove. The white peacock sat up next to me, oblivious to the wolves on the edge of my rice farm, and kissed my neck a few times.

"I didn't hear anything." He lied using a seductive tone.

"Of course you did silly. Come on! We have to go stop them." I stood and took off.