Here is the next chapter of the story! More happens with this chapter. It was brought to my attention with a review that I should have mentioned this sooner: content from the book 'Lonnie's Warrior Sword' is used in this story. You may be able to understand the story without it, but I suggest reading the book if you can.
Don't forget the small details! They will be important as the story continues.
Three days have passed since Jay had his spar against Lonnie. In that time frame, Lonnie had distance herself from all of her friends and classmates. She didn't participate in any conversation during class and refused to speak to anyone.
Actually, I take that back.
She spoke to the only two people that knew what was going on with her in the school. These two people were none other than her brother Li Shang Jr. and Ben. Ben had been let in on the secret by Li Shang Jr. since Lonnie was forbidden to say anything.
Literally. Lonnie was not allowed to say anything to anyone about her problem. The Imperial Council warned that if she were to specifically say what was going on, she would get punished. It ranged from being kicked out of Auradon Prep to her tongue being cut out. Since she liked the school and her tongue, Lonnie kept her mouth shut. She wasn't exactly sure how the Imperial Council would know if she spoke specifically about the issue, but she decided not to test it.
However, Lonnie did come up with a loophole when talking with Ben.
First, it was just a great relief to be able to tell someone besides her brother about her issue. Since it was her childhood friend, Lonnie felt more understood. She also knew Ben wouldn't get annoyed since he hasn't heard the whole situation yet.
Anyways, the loophole Lonnie came up with was to talk about it indirectly. For example, she and Ben could talk about the problem, but leave out the big and important words. That way, no one could really understand what they were speaking about and Lonnie wouldn't have to worry about her tongue being cut off.
On the fourth day, this conversation took place between the friends.
"Maybe you should talk to a girl about this too." Ben suggested that early morning as they walked the vacant halls. "They may be able to help you more than I can. I'm all out ideas."
"My plan will work," Lonnie insisted, though her voice didn't have much confidence. "Jay will figure out what's going on and save the day—if he actually wants to."
"You still need to some way tell a girl," Ben insisted. "I suggest Mal and Evie since they are good at keeping a secret."
"They are invited . . ." She sighed in annoyance. "I'll figure out some way to tell them today or have them guess it."
"Is there any girl that knows who the jerk is?" Ben wondered. The reason he used the term 'jerk' was because he heard stories about the guy from Lonnie. "They might be able to help you too."
"Jordan," Lonnie determined without a second thought. "She went with me too when I competed in the Auradon Warrior Challenge and seen him. She knows the tricks and schemes he attempted during the competition."
"Then those three are your best option." Ben deduced as they slowed down their pace and lowered their voices as more students started to appear. "I can get them to meet you in your room during first hour."
Lonnie raised a skeptical eyebrow at her childhood friend. "Without getting in trouble or caught by Fairy Godmother?"
"Isn't she invited to the occasion?" Ben questioned. "Won't you be blessed with her wand?"
"Yes, but invitations haven't been sent out yet," Lonnie informed with a sigh. "Sad thing is, I won't know the date until the day before. You'd think I'd know a little more in advance."
"I'm sorry, Lonnie," Ben apologized sincerely. "So, do you want me to set up the meeting?"
She sighed again—she's been doing that a lot recently. "Sure," she agreed. "It's not like anything else could go wrong in my life."
*~Zhēn'ài~*
About twenty minutes later, Lonnie found herself sitting on her bed as Mal and Evie sat in the chairs at her table and Jordan leaned against the bedroom door. No one had said anything in the last ten minutes, which made the mood suspenseful. None of the three girls were eager to head back to class. Mal and Evie had a review test in Remedial Goodness while Jordan hadn't finished her homework for her history class.
Lonnie exhaled a breath she didn't know she was holding. "Okay," she began slowly. "First off, I'm not allowed to say specifically what my problem is. If I do, I have to face unfavorable consequences. So, I'm going to give hints and you'll have to piece it together."
"We can do that," Mal encouraged helpfully. "Just let us know if we are close."
Lonnie nodded in agreement. "So, my parents have a second tale that's not so popular or familiar with people . . ."
"Oh!" Jordan exclaimed as she perked up. "I heard the story before!"
"Good," Lonnie commented. "Then this will be easier. What do you know about it?"
Jordan tried to remember the tale told to her as a child. "Didn't your parents have to escort the Emperor's daughters to a kingdom?"
Lonnie tapped her nose to signal that the genie was close. Evie questioned, "Do we need to know the name of the kingdom?"
Lonnie nodded once, relying more on actions than words in case she would let something slip by accident.
"I think the kingdom's name was Qui Gong?" Jordan guessed.
Lonnie nodded again to confirm that she was right. Mal grabbed her sketch book and wrote the kingdom's name in a random page. "'Qui Gong'," Mal repeated as she dotted the 'I'. She gazed up at Jordan. "Why were they being taken to that kingdom?"
"It was for some kind of peace treaty." Jordan recalled as she began to pace back and forth in the room. "I think they had to be married to the princes—the ruler's son."
"So, is that the next hint?" Evie wondered. "Marriage?"
A tap on the nose provided that they were close.
"It wasn't just a marriage," Jordan corrected after a few seconds of thought. "It was an arranged marriage."
With a nod from Lonnie, Mal wrote the two words into her book as well.
"So, the princesses were married to the princes." Evie shrugged in confusion. "What does this have to do with you, Lonnie?"
"Wait a sec . . ." More of the story seem to make its way into Jordan's mind. "They didn't marry the princes," Jordan recollected a bit more confidently than before. "The three princesses fell in love Mulan and Shang's three soldier friends that went with them. Shang was going to force them to complete the mission, but then a group of bandits came after them. Shang supposedly died when he fell off a bridge to save Mulan."
Another short nod.
"So?" Mal pursued. "What happened next?"
"Mulan decided to complete the mission on her own," Jordan resumed as she stopped her pacing to finish the story. "She lied to the ruler of Qui Gong, saying the princesses had died in a carriage wreck. She offered herself to be married in their place. Right when the ceremony was to be completed, Shang came and saved the day along with Mushu, who pretended to be the Great Golden Dragon of Unity."
Lonnie gave a quick nod.
They sat in silenced for a short time until the pieces finally clicked in Mal's mind. With hesitation, she announced slowly, "You are being married to the ruler's son because your mother's wedding wasn't complete."
A tear dripped down her cheeks as Lonnie sadly nodded.
"Do we know the guy?" Evie questioned.
"Jordan does," Lonnie finally spoke, but with a sob in her tone, wiping away the tear trail. "We first met him during the Auradon Warrior Challenge."
"CHEN!" Jordan shouted angrily without a second thought. "That good-for-nothing cheater is the son of Qui Gong's ruler? And you are being married to him? Doesn't anyone think the age difference is kind of big? You're almost ten years apart! They can't seriously force you to marry a man that's twenty-five when you're only sixteen!"
"It happened all the time over twenty years ago." Lonnie sighed as she flopped back on her bed and pulled out her necklace charm. Staring at it in concentration, Lonnie muttered, "I just hope Jay can figure it out."
"'Jay'?" Jordan repeated in surprise. "What does he have to do with this?"
"Hold on," Evie requested as she looked at the charm. "I've seen a necklace like that before. Jay was wearing a black version yesterday when we were doing homework."
Lonnie groaned in annoyance. "I told him to keep it hidden!"
"It was," Evie reassured. "But he was wearing a loose tank-top. I only saw it when he lent forward for something."
"Isn't that your parents engagement necklaces?" Jordan pointed out. "Your grandparents gave it to them when they continued to contradict each other when people congratulated them on the engagement."
"Bingo!" Lonnie exclaimed in agreement as she sat back up. "Jay doesn't know that these are engagement necklaces. All he knows now is that they used to belong to my parents."
Evie questioned, "Why give it to him of all people? Why not give it to someone else?"
Before Lonnie could explain, Mal figured it out again.
"You want him to stop the wedding by saying you're already engaged to him."
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