Chapter 2: New Student
"I am sorry I wrote you so late," Aidan said frowning.
"It is okay sweetie. What did you need?" Po asked smiling at her.
"Po, I am ready," she said.
"Are you sure?" Po asked.
"Yes, I want to be a part of your village and try to fit in. I am tired of hiding in the shadows and I would feel even safer if I was closer to you," Aidan said blushing. She hated to admit it but in most ways Po was like her father. He would come whenever she needed him and brought her food and clothes. Until, she was old enough to take care of herself. He taught her how to read and write so she could be able to identify trouble and know how to get out of things and taught her about money. Now it was time to teach her to be part of a community. Aidan heard so many fun tales about the Valley of Peace and she knew this place was good. For Po, came from this place and she wanted to be part of his world.
"Alright sweetie if this is what you want then I will be more than happy to bring you to the Jade Palace. I can teach you some Kung Fu moves so you can protect yourself better. Get whatever stuff you have and I will take you to the Jade Palace tomorrow. Right now it is too late to be going without raising questions so can you wait until tomorrow", Po said.
"Okay see you tomorrow Daddy Po," Aidan said and hugged him tightly.
"Remember Aidan sweetie, I am just Po now if you call me Daddy Po well some people may get the wrong impression so please just call me Po," Po told her.
"Okay Da-um I mean Po," Aidan said quickly. She went back to the cave and Po went back towards the Jade Palace. Tigress wanted answers but that would have to wait. She ran as fast as she could back to the Jade Palace before Po and crawled back into her bed just as she heard her bedroom door opening. She felt Po crawl in to the other side and wrapping his arms around her waist. Po was soon fast asleep but Tigress's mind was buzzing with questions over this Aidan girl and would keep a close eye on her. For she knew that her and Po, were hiding something and Tigress was determined to find out what. The next morning Tigress awoke to the smell of bacon and eggs as her eyes opened. She looked around to see Po was gone and memories of last night returned for today she would meet Aidan again. Getting up she saw that everyone was at the breakfast table except Po.
"Where is Po?" Tigress asked sitting down and eating some eggs.
"He just made breakfast and said he had to go somewhere and he would be right back," Viper said.
"I wonder what was so important that Po would skip breakfast. I mean, I never once seen that panda turn down food," Mantis stated scarfing down a strip of bacon. Tigress knew but was keeping her mouth shut until she knew 100% of what was really going on. An hour later Po came through the palace doors with a big smile.
"Hey everyone I am back and I have a friend here with me," Po called out. The Five and Shifu stood before Po as he led in young red teenage female lioness. Her eyes were a light orange and she was wearing a black tunic. Around her shoulders was a black cloak and she held a staff in her paws. She was a little curvy for her age and when she got older she would be a lovely sight for some boys. The young lioness was holding a small pack and looked cautiously at the Five and stuck real close to Po. "Everyone this is my friend Aidan," Po said motioning to the lioness.
"Please to meet you all," Aidan said softly bowing to them.
"Please, to meet you my dear. What brings you here to the Jade Palace?" Shifu asked politely looking at the young girl with a smile.
"Po said he could teach me some Kung Fu moves so I can protect myself better," Aidan said as she held onto Po's paw.
"I see um not meaning to pry my dear but where are your parents? You look much too young to be on your own?" Shifu said softly.
"I am never alone my friends and Po take care of me", Aidan said firmly.
"Um Master what Aidan means is she is an orphan and I take care of her. The friends she is referring to are some forest creatures that she talked to in the woods. You see I found her when she was about nine and she didn't trust people so I took care of her. Taught her how to survive and now she wants to learn Kung Fu. Right Aidan," Po said to her. Aidan just nodded but Tigress could tell by the lioness's eyes there was much more to this story.
"I see that is a sad tale but Po why didn't you send her to an orphanage? Surely she would have been adopted?" Shifu asked.
"Sorry Master I promised to take care of her and Aidan didn't want to be adopted but wanted to be left alone and I respected that. If I took her to an orphanage I would have abused her trust and she would never trust anyone again," Po said calmly.
"I see well my dear; I will teach you some moves to protect yourself better. But learning Kung Fu will be hard are you ready to handle such a challenge?" Shifu asked.
"Let's just say I am used to hard and challenges. If you can teach me I will learn I assure you," Aidan said.
"Very well then since you are close to Po you can stay in the room next to his. Your training will begin first thing tomorrow since you need time to settle in," Shifu said. "Alright students today you may have the day off but tomorrow there will be training," Shifu said firmly.
"Yes, Master", the Five and Po said together bowing. Aidan copied Po and bowed too as Shifu smiled at the young girl and left to go meditate. The Five went up to Aidan to welcome her to the Jade Palace.
"Hello Aidan my name is Mantis. Welcome to the Jade Palace," Mantis said jumping on her shoulder.
"Please to meet you," Aidan said softly.
"You will love it here. My name is Monkey by the way," Monkey said smiling. Aidan smiled back as she was greeted by Crane.
"If you need to talk about anything I am a very good listener," Crane said trying to sound friendly. They all knew how scary being in a new place could be so they were trying to make her feel welcome.
"I will remember that thank you," Aidan said gently.
"If you ever need to shop for girl stuff or need questions about boys you just talk to me sweetie," Viper said winking. Aidan blushed for she had no idea what Viper meant but could tell the snake was trying to be nice so she just nodded her head. Then Tigress walked up to her and Aidan could just feel her golden eyes stare at her. Like they could see right through her and Aidan was afraid her secret would be revealed.
"I hope you enjoy your stay at the Jade Palace," Tigress said holding out her paw.
Aidan shook it and said", Thank you I am sure I will". Once they touched paws Tigress felt an unnatural heat coming from Aidan's paw but it went away as soon as Aidan released her paw from Tigress's paw. Aidan returned to Po's side and looked at him as if to see if she did good saying hello to the Five.
"Come on Aidan let's get you settled and since you will be staying here we need to buy you some more clothes," Po said taking her bag.
"Okay Po, if you think that is best," Aidan said and quietly followed him. The boys went off to eat some leftover dumplings as Viper and Tigress remained in the hallway.
"She is hiding something," Tigress said firmly crossing her arms.
"Oh Tigress you say that about every new person we meet. She is just a child what could she possibly be hiding?" Viper asked.
"I don't know but she is hiding something", Tigress said.
"Well I think she is nice. You know you really shouldn't be so suspicious of people. Just try and be nice to her," Viper said as she slithered away to go practice her ribbon dancing. Tigress looked back at her paw and concluded one thing about Aidan. That red lioness was not normal, almost supernatural and Tigress was going to keep an eye on her.
Author's Note: Hope you all enjoyed this chapter and please review.