Ten – Shēnghuó
Autumn had begun to fully take effect over China, the land lost its life and luscious colours, and like the bear, seemed to go into a slumber as it prepared for winter. The nights became longer, the trees turned bare and imposing, the flowers all shrank away and disappeared. Even among the wealth and privileges at the Tower of the Sacred Flame, the gardens became bare other than for the green of grass. As the days became colder, Shen found his patience becoming thinner, having to wrap up warm to keep away the chill, his slight issue with catching diseases enough to make him take every precaution. It didn't even bother him to think that were it not for mandatory engagements due to his position as heir to the throne of the city, he would happily lock himself away in the warmth and comfort of the tower for the whole of winter.
It had only been two weeks since the Moon Festival, and Shen was beginning to tire of his now constant puzzle: how to make Lianne his. The simple answer, would be to go to his parents and confess his feelings and desires for the swan, and demand they make the arrangements with Lord Chang. Yet his parents might insist on sticking to the original agreement and wait to see if Lianne felt the same way. Another option was for Shen to write directly to Chang himself and inform him of the situation and bribe, persuade and lie if he must in order to get the Lord's agreement. If from what Lianne had told him was true, Shen thought it wouldn't be that difficult to convince the Lord Swan or sell her off if Shen offered the right price. Knowing how desperately Chang wanted a dynasty, perhaps offering him a grandson to tutor himself might be enough? A second son of course, Shen would only settle for that, seeing as the firstborn son would inherit Gongmen City after Shen; and Shen knew that Lianne would be the type of mother who couldn't be separated from her offspring for too long, so perhaps over the summer he would send the child to the grandfather? That seemed reasonable.
Yet, before Shen could carry this thought away with itself and begin the plans – for it was all too tempting considering how easy it would be – he had to stop himself and think of Lianne. He didn't know how she felt. He knew that she felt some affection for him, but was it just for a friend or a brother? Or was it even slightly in the depth of want that he felt for her? Shen had never felt any romantic attachment to anyone before, and it confused on how he should proceed, and that made him angry to not know how to handle a situation. He was always in control, always knew what to do, and to suddenly not was most infuriating. So what could he do? Go to Lianne and confess everything he felt for her, all his wishes and longings, and hope she returned them? How ludicrous! What if she rejected him? Or worse, what if she pitied him? If she refused, he would be devastated, enraged, and would loath the very thought of such emotion again, lest they leave him vulnerable to another attack. So then, if he wanted her so badly, why not make it so she couldn't refuse and go ahead with his first plan to contact her father and arrange the marriage? But Shen wondered what Lianne would do: would she rage and refuse him, scorn him? Would she have no choice and simply go ahead and resent him for taking that choice from her? Or would she simply settle for him, knowing that they got along perfectly well, but didn't return his feelings, marrying him more out of convenience? Shen felt sickened by the idea of a loveless marriage, it would drive him insane to know that he wanted her but she never saw him that way, that she never could. She would never be with him as he wanted: as husband and wife, never give him chicks, never look upon him the way his mother looked at his father. There would always be doubt in his mind: could they have been more? Could he have found someone else? Could she? Did she want something else, someone else?
So now he was back to the beginning of the problem. He didn't want to tell her until he was absolutely sure of what she felt. He didn't want to commit to this if his heart was only going to be broken; if he wasn't fully involved with her, he might be able to salvage something from this mess and move on. And the acknowledgement of that weakness was enough to make him want to kill something with his throwing knives.
But what to do about it?
"Shen!"
Turning to look up from his work station in his laboratory, Shen saw how Lianne came sweeping into his area, not a feather brushing his precious experiments, her eyes not even glancing at the instruments on the benches, only looking at him. Shen had to wonder for a moment when he had allowed such behaviour, normally no one – not even Ah-Ma or his parents – was allowed into his laboratory without his permission and supervision, yet Lianne now came in to see him and talk with him. She never once touched his things, nor bothered him purposefully when he was hard at work, as if she somehow sensed the danger there. Shen had a very short temper when it came to others messing up his work. Right now, he was so close to perfecting his firework shooter, just a few minor details to work out… but despite the fact that he seemed to be concentrating, Lianne came right up to him with a sense of urgency in her voice.
"Shen!" she said, her voice cutting through his concentration in a wonderful yet frustratingly distracting way, but still Shen focused on his work, as if she might get the hint that he was busy. "Shen, I've received a letter,"
"Yes?" he made a faint response as he looked through a magnifying glass to inspect the folded steel he held, examining the grains in the metal to check for structural weaknesses in the rounded metal. He didn't see why Lianne should bother him with this, he knew of her letters, she'd told him of them though he'd never told her that he knew almost from the very beginning.
"Shen…" she murmured with a hint of pleading in her voice. "It's from Shēnghuó... It's from my father," she whispered.
Shen paused in his work, and looked at her over his shoulder, a look passing between them, one of confusion, the other of apprehension. Lord Chang had not contacted his daughter even once since he had sent her away to live with Shen and his family in Gongmen City, not even to see if she was alright or even to see if the deal was working. Lianne and her father were not exactly close, and since their argument which had caused Chang to send her away, they were more like strangers to each other than family; Chang was furious at Lianne's uncooperative nature to help him secure a family legacy, and Lianne still resented her father for separating her from her mother. So why would he contact her now?
"Shen…" she whispered, a slight shake in her wings as she held the open letter in her feathers tightly. "It's my mother…. I-I… I'm going back to Shēnghuó,"
Shen leapt out of his seat, and furiously snatched the letter right out of her grasp. She was too much in shock from whatever the letter said to notice him as he held the letter in front of his beak and began to read it in earnest. A possessive anger filled him until he wanted to rip the letter into a thousand tiny pieces and scatter it to the winds, Chang couldn't take Lianne from him now, the yearlong period had not expired yet! But as he read the letter, Shen found his anger subsiding and only confusion taking its place, until he had to read the letter again just to be sure.
To Lady Lianne, daughter of Lord Chang of the Shēnghuó province,
In recent weeks, your Mother, the Lady Amelia and wife of Lord Chang, has fallen very ill. She is bedridden and is now demanding to see you. She hopes to see you within the coming weeks, in the case that the doctors cannot find a permanent cure for her ailment.
We await your reply.
Lord Chang of the Shan Palace.
"Shen…" Lianne's voice brought him away from the paper to look into her blue eyes that were swimming with panic. "Please… I need to go home, I need to see my mother!"
For once, Shen was at a loss for an immediate impulsive answer. Lianne was begging him to allow her to leave, to return to her home in the Shēnghuó province, to return to her family to see her mother. He could almost understand her desperation, Lady Amelia was the one Lianne was the closest to in all the world, of course she would panic about the news of her mother becoming ill, especially if it sounded as dire as it was implied in the letter. So why hadn't she gone to Goa and Jing in order to have them give her permission to leave? They were the Lord and Lady of the city, and they would definitely have sympathised with her and allowed her to go in the same hour. Yet she had come to him, was asking him, because she cared about if he wanted her to stay? The blast of hope that sliced through him was both intoxicating and infuriating. He squashed it down with the realisation that she was probably asking for his permission because he was the one more likely to kick up a fuss if she didn't, like a child having a tantrum if she kept a secret from him.
The comparison was not something to put him in the best of moods.
He didn't want her to go, there was the temptation to come up with some excuse as to why she couldn't leave the City, but he knew that would only make her angry with him and more likely to rebel against his wishes and go anyway. But if he let her leave, she might chose to stay at the Shan palace until her mother was well again, which might not be for a while, she might stay until the next spring came, when Shen's time with her would be over and then she wouldn't be allowed to return back to him. And what if something happened whilst he wasn't there? Shen still had this rather consuming paranoia that Lianne would be vulnerable without him there.
"I'm coming with you," he said quickly before he could think better of that impulsive idea.
"What?" Lianne blinked at him in surprise.
"I shall accompany you to Shēnghuó," he clarified, taking on an air as if it were the most obvious thing in the world.
"But why?" she asked, eyes wide as she stared at him.
"It is clear that this news upsets you," he said nonchalantly, as if he were trying to pass it off as nothing. "And I would rather make sure that you arrived there safely, I do not trust any other imbecilic goose guard your father might send to retrieve you."
"But… your work, your duties –"
"All of which can wait, at least for the immediate time being," Shen said dismissively. "Do you not wish me to come then?" he asked pointedly.
"No, it's not that!" she said quickly. "I just… thank you," she sighed in defeat, bowing to him slightly. "I didn't expect…"
"You are my responsibility Lianne," Shen had to control the impulse to say that she was 'his', lest he scare her away from him. "I will not take that lightly,"
"So when do we leave?" she asked.
"Tomorrow morning," came a voice, and both turned to see the Soothsayer standing in the doorway to the laboratory.
"What do you want, you old goat?" Shen muttered irritably.
"I'm coming with you," she smiled in amusement as Shen jumped in surprise.
"What?!" he squawked. "Why?!"
"To make sure you do not do something foolish," she winked at him.
They spent almost two weeks on the road travelling across China to the west, until they almost approached the borders. Shen had not been in the best of moods for the journey, Lianne could tell, and she tried her best to cheer him up. He was civil, not snappy with her, but his foul mood hung over the group like a storm, always bubbling away and raining on their spirits as they travelled further west. Lianne and Shen and the Soothsayer were all in the sedan, with a small troupe of wolf guards surrounding them, led by Zhan. Shen was paranoid about bandits and thieves who might attack them, and although they almost saw no one on the roads, Lianne couldn't help but feel a little uneasy as Shen continued to be on edge as they travelled. She had the suspicion that he didn't travel far from Gongmen City, so this must be new and unnerving to him, she realised. But his constant worry made her nervous, and she constantly kept a firm grip on her metal fan in her feathers in the case that she should need it if a surprise attack came.
But then, one morning, Lianne stuck her head out of the side of the sedan, and beamed as a familiar sight warmed the very centre of her heart, radiating out from her like a fire.
Upon the closest mountain, the province of Shēnghuó could be seen. At the bottom of the mountain in the valley below, were many farms with fields of green and gold and brown, with a river the flowed from the mountain and ran along the southern border of the province. As they passed the farms, small houses and establishments began to appear on the foot of the mountain and grew up the side until a small city was dotted on the slope of the mountain's great side. They passed through the streets, all clean, teaming with life and with trees and flowers and fountains on every street. What was the pride of Shēnghuó, was that it was one with nature, it grew in the very heart of the city, and was on every street, in every home, it was not a fight with nature, but more living as one with it. The people all stared at the sedan as it passed, and upon seeing Lianne, some recognised her and cheered and bowed, and then whispered to their neighbours to tell them who she was. But then they would see Shen and stop and stare, causing the peacock to glare at the road ahead with barely suppressed hate. Lianne pitied him, but could stop the joy she felt at seeing the loving faces of her people. Soon children were running beside the sedan, following it, despite the wolves irritably snapping at them. The went through the city, not stopping once – even though Lianne wanted to at one point – until they reach the steps of heaven. Like the thousand steps that lead to the Jade Palace – like what Master Rhino had described to Lianne – a long staircase led up towards their destination: The Shan Palace.
It was exactly as Lianne remembered it. Above the city, upon the mountain side, seeming to be carved from the very rock of the mountain itself, stood a great palace surrounded by dense fog, huge trees growing from the courtyards surrounding it, pools and streams flowing around it in order to collect into a large lake to the east of the palace. As they drew closer to the golden gates, Lianne felt her heart swell with excitement: she was here, after so many months, she was home! But then… an icy dread formed in the pit of her stomach, the reason for her being here coming to strike her heart viciously. The guards came to escort her and Shen to the throne room – with Zhan following as both he and Shen refused to leave all the wolves behind in the barracks. And as they made their way through the long halls, Lianne cast a secret look at Shen, seeing his rather silent expression, making sure that no one could read his thoughts on his face, he simply stood proudly and regally, as if there were nothing wrong in all the world. Lianne smiled, grateful to have him by her side, and resisted the urge to reach out and touch his wing, even if only to give herself a bit of the great strength she saw in him.
The entered the throne room, a large and long hall decorated with jade floors with a path of moonstone leading directly up to the throne. The walls were painted in gold, dragons coiling and soaring around the room upon the walls, a large yin and yang symbol painted upon the ceiling. At the end of the room on a raised dais, was a throne made of solid gold, carved and expertly crafted to have the back resemble a pair of great bird's wings, the arms rests embedded with diamonds. And upon the throne, sat the very cause of all of Lianne's torment, and her heart skipped a beat with fear as she beheld the sight of her father. An older, regal looking and proud swan, Lord Chang was large and imposing, seeming to dwarf everything around him with his air of dominance that he displayed. His long neck was perfectly arched and thick, his wings broad and feathers perfectly groomed yet wiry. He wore long robes of gold, matching the patch of yellow on the top of his head, the same as Lianne's, as if he had been touched by the sun itself. He watched Lianne, never taking his black eyes off of her as he followed her with his gaze until she stood before him with Shen by her side. Lianne wanted to meet his stare, after everything he had done to her she wanted to defy him; but knew that she wouldn't win, the teachings he had installed on her as a young cygnet coming to haunt her, oppressing her as it weighed her down and she looked at the floor as she bowed.
"My Lord Father," she murmured formally.
"Rise, my daughter," Chang said in his gruff yet formal voice. "You received my summons then?"
"Yes," she said.
"You speak to your father and lord," he snapped at her quickly.
"Yes my lord father," Lianne bit the words as she bowed her head. She tried to ignore how Shen was looking from her to her father suspiciously. "My Lord Father, this is Lord Shen of Gongmen City, son of Lord Goa and Lady Jing," she introduced, her tone stiff from such formalities, the coldness and need for proper etiquette was beginning to frighten her, as if she were a stranger in her own home.
Chang turned his gaze onto Shen for the first time, and stared hard at the peacock before him, assessing him as if he were an insect, from his red eyes to his black and red eye spots. A look of disdain crossed the old swan's features as he openly sneered at the bird.
"So this is the peacock misfit?" he grunted. "A peculiar little sap isn't he…"
"Chang," Shen muttered as his eyes went beady small yet he seemed to have an air of deadly calm about him.
"And it appears that the arrogance of peacocks has breached their sense of manners," Chang fixed Shen with a hard look. "Well, boy?" he pronounced the word harshly as he watched for Shen's reaction. "Are you not going to address me as I am owed?"
"Oh, forgive me, I never realised that I was indebted to you for anything," Shen said dryly.
"I am willing to give you my daughter, insolent chick!" Chang barked, causing Zhan to growl softly from where he stood behind Shen, though was silenced with a look from his master. "A plan which has evidently failed, seeing as I have received no word to say that you two would wish to wed,"
"You do not know –" Shen went to say but was interrupted when Chang rose from his throne to his full, impressive height, looking down his dark beak at Shen as he spoke.
"I know my daughter," he said icily, causing Lianne to glare at him, he didn't know her at all, he never took the time to know her! "If she has not decided on something by now, then she will not change her mind,"
Lianne thought she saw a twitch in Shen's eye as he glared at Chang, who descended the stairs and dismissively turned away from Shen as if he ceased to exist. He approached Lianne, his eyes studying her as he came to stand over her, his head stretching on his long neck to be over her, and Lianne instinctively lowered hers to the more dominant animal before her.
"I have made my decision," he told her matter-of-factly. "You will return to live here,"
"What?!" both Shen and Lianne spoke at exactly the same time, Lianne's eyes meeting her father's as a flood of panic coursed through her, though she didn't understand why.
"It is clear that you are not going to bend to the agreement," he said a little sternly. "So therefore I am forced to take matters into my own hands. You are beautiful Lianne, but you grow older with each passing year. I fear that soon you might become an old maid with no family of your own,"
Lianne wanted to come back with an icy reply, but her mental conditioning kept her in place, the shackles that told her that this was her father, and to never disrespect him, not ever. But it hurt to hear the words come from him all the same.
"So I have a final plan," Chang continued, seemingly oblivious to his daughter's wounded pride. "I have summoned three other suitors for you to pick from, they are here in order to court you."
"What?!" Lianne couldn't contain the outburst as it was ripped from her throat with a furious shriek, and she tried to ignore the way she heard Shen's metal claws scrape against the jade floor, and why she felt something flare inside of her at the noise. "I am here because my mother is sick!"
"Something I am willing to take advantage of," Chang replied calmly. "All things are trivial sacrifices in the name of furthering this family's legacy. And whether you like it or not, you must –"
"But father –"
"Don't speak over me." he snapped at her, causing her to automatically shut her beak and look at the floor, feeling her cheeks burn with shame. "These suitors are from suitable families and good breeding and manners, and I expect you to at least tolerate them, test them, until they pass your expectations. I have exhausted every avenue open to me, you must now choose the road you wish to follow."
"Yes father," she whispered with no attempt to hide the scorn in her voice, though she felt Shen's eyes burning into her from what felt like to be across the room. As if also sensing his gaze, Chang then turned and looked down his beak at Shen.
"You are dismissed from my court." He said, waving a wing at him as if to shoo away an irritating fly. "Return to your tower boy and let the big birds play,"
"How dare –" Shen hissed, but Lianne quickly jumped in ahead of him in order to prevent him from doing something he might regret.
"Shen is here because of me, father, he has treated me well and kept me safe, and we are good friends." She said, her eyes imploring with the older swan. "I wish for him to stay as my honoured guest in this household."
"Very well then," Chang sighed, and dismissed them both as he walked out of the room.
Shen was absolutely livid!
Not only was he insulted and ridiculed to his face by a complete stranger, whom Shen would have thought would have had the decency and manners of the Lordship he claimed to be; but then he had to watch as Lianne was placed down and then told that she was no longer available to Shen and had to pick her husband from new suitors whether she liked it or not. It had been most outrageous to Shen to see his Lianne vanish before his eyes and be replaced by a docile and obedient creature. She had been treated like a stranger in her own house, and Shen had felt something possessive slice through him when he had heard Chang tell Lianne of the suitors he had lined up for her, and that she would have to pick one. And yet, what stung even more, was how Lianne simply agreed. He had seen the fight in her eyes, that independent and strong spirit he had come to know from her, if someone had told him a month ago that Lianne would react so compliantly to such news, he would have laughed in their face and told them that they didn't know Lianne at all if they thought she would simply lie down and let herself be beaten like a mongrel.
And now, Shen was forced to witness as three other men tried to woo Lianne. They were sitting down to dinner, Chang excusing himself from such an affair in order to have an audience with several guards and his brother, Lianne's uncle. Lianne sat at the head of the table in her father's absence, with Shen sitting on her right, as a place of honour for her 'guest'. To her left however, sat a monkey known as Ling, son of the monkey lord of the southern forest; he had a large moustache that he twirled around a finger, his black fur and long tail glistening in the soft light. On Ling's other side was a young bull perhaps a year or so younger then Lianne, named Fu, son of the bull lord to the lands north of Gongmen. And on Shen's other side was a quiet, nervous looking owl with brown and grey feathers and large amber eyes that looked around the room cautiously; his name was Xiao of the owls of the northern mountains.
Shen would have laughed at how ludicrous this line up of potential husbands was, if he didn't feel absolute hatred sparking through him as he subtly glared at each of the other males on the table. How could Chang hope for Lianne to pick from these idiots? The bull was too stupid, Lianne needed someone who could challenge her mentally as well as physically. The owl was too nervous and hesitant and quiet, Lianne needed someone strong. And the monkey kept giving sidelong glances at Lianne, his greedy haze drinking her in as if she were a prize fruit ready for him to pluck. Shen hated him most of all.
Chang's words still echoed in Shen's mind, serving only to build his growing anger until it was like a storm inside of him, and he was just itching to reach for his knives hidden amongst his feathers. If she has not decided on something by now, then she will not change her mind. Was that true? Were all of Shen's hopes to be dashed by the fact that he had realised the truth too late and now Lianne would forever be closed off to him? Did she really see something in these three buffoons?
Yet Shen saw how the suitors were trying to catch her attention, either with smiles, pretty words or conversation. But Lianne acted cold and indifferent with them, answering them bluntly and seemingly uninterested in them at all, exactly as she had been when she first came to the Tower, Shen remembered. He realised that when not around her father, Lianne could be herself, defiant of her father's wishes and rebelling against him in any way she could without openly going against his instructions. Shen did not dare himself to hope… could he still have a chance?
Well, perhaps it was not a totally ridiculous thought to make his mark on the female in question. Just so these fools knew who they were dealing with. He never accepted failure, and he wasn't about to start now.
"We Ox are a proud and strong people," the bull, Fu, was saying in his deep rumbling voice. "Our strength cannot be matched by any,"
"Of course," Lianne said dully, keeping her eyes on her food as she used her chopsticks to stir her noodle soup in a bored fashion.
"Strength is only a small factor," Shen said, speaking for the first time since the dinner began, he held himself straight and proudly as Fu looked over at him with a frown. "Victory most often comes when you put your opponents own strength against him. It is far better to forgo strength for cunning,"
"It is tradition for the Oxen clan to test our strength against one another in a glorious festival," Fu said somewhat defensively. "To know that we are the mightiest –"
"Tradition counts for nothing when you're broken and bleeding on the floor," Shen said darkly as he allowed his eyes to glint with malicious excitement as he fixed Fu with a beady stare, making the larger warrior pause as swallowed loudly.
"I shall never let an enemy do so to me," Fu continued bravely, though not with the same conviction as he eyed Shen warily. "I shall crush him before he tries." Shen couldn't help but bark with laughter at the statement; he could have almost seen such a clichéd line coming.
"Do you actually believe that brute force will get you anything?" he chuckled, though tried to ignore the way that Lianne was now looking at him suspiciously. "Your brute strength would be handy for demolition work, but I'm afraid little else. Your size would slow you down in combat, you have no agility and apparently little brains," he muttered as he took a sip of wine.
"It is easy for politicians to criticise the ways of battle," The monkey, Ling, replied haughtily. "They spend too much time at a desk reading papers then they do with truly honourable occupations,"
"Oh, I can vouch for that," Shen agreed with a smug smirk, knowing that that comment was meant to be aimed towards him, but couldn't keep from smiling as he thought of how wrong this rival was. "Several of my father's councillors do not know a thing about wielding a blade, they would be easy targets for an attack. Lianne was too, until I taught her how to defend herself,"
"Shen." Lianne snapped at him in such a quiet voice that only he heard her, her eyes piercing into him though he ignored her.
"You know Kung fu?" The Ox blinked in surprised as he lifted an apple from a fruit bowl in the middle of the table.
"Kung Fu is over rated artistry," Shen muttered bitterly. "There are many other ways that one can defend oneself,"
Shen pulled out an obvious knife from his belt, and without even looking, he flung the knife at Fu, who yelped and tried to scramble out of the way. The knife sang as it flew through the air, impaling the apple in the Ox's hooves, ripping it from his grip and pinning it to the wall. Fu squealed as he almost fell out of his seat, looking rather pale as he stared in horror from Shen to the knife and apple in the wall and back again. Shen smirked again in satisfaction at the Ox's reaction. Even Ling was looking slightly taken aback, the owl, Xiao, looked petrified as he stared at the knife uneasily; Lianne continued to glare at Shen, before muttering something under her breath with a shake of her head, and returned to her meal, seeming to be ignoring him.
"But surely a Lord such as yourself has no need of such… bloody tactics," Xiao murmured shakily with large amber eyes turning to Shen.
"Indeed, I heard that peacocks usually use many intimidation games in order to settle disputes amongst themselves." Ling added. Fu just remained silent at the table, looking pointedly at his food and not making eye contact with anyone. Good, Shen though, One down: two to go.
"That we do, the most famous and effective, being the tail fan." Shen replied with a look at Ling.
And with a snap, Shen unleashed his train, the feathers standing up behind him in a brilliant display of snow white and blood red, broken by spots of night black. Ling seemed a little surprised at the display, and Xiao actually jumped back a little as he gazed at the intimidating display. Shen looked over at him, glaring with an evil smile as he purposefully placed his hand over Lianne's where it was resting on the table. His feathers brushed her in a seemingly comforting manner, and to her it would only seem like friendly touch, yet his eyes let the others know that it was much more than that. Fu was already out of the picture, and Xiao didn't need much convincing as he stared fearfully at Shen as his tail feathers slowly folded and rested.
"Impressive. Though I do pity you, Shen," Ling said, drawing Shen's gaze to him with an impatient glare. "Peacocks are usually so brightly coloured, to make others instinctively back away… I must wonder… what happened to make you so… bland?" the monkey's eyes lit up, and Shen's glare turned into fiery orbs of hate, his metal talons clenching as if he were throttling his enemy right now. Ling seemed to sense his anger, and his smile grew wider. "Did the doctors ever find out? Was it a genetic mutation perhaps? Maybe something went wrong during incubation? I only wonder as to what could make you so peculiar."
"Master Ling," Lianne snapped as she fixed the monkey with an icy look before Shen could respond. "You will watch your words when addressing my guest. Am I understood?"
"Forgive me, great lady," Ling gave her a crestfallen look, his eyes large and swimming with false apologies. He placed his hand on her wing in an affectionate manner, and Shen felt his insides boil with rage."I meant no disrespect. Sometimes my curiosity over-rides my manners. May I have a word in private, Lord Shen?" Ling looked at Shen with an arched eyebrow. "Just to give you my most sincere apologies,"
Lianne looked over at Shen, almost uneasily. Shen looked at her, meeting the warning that was in her eyes with a cold look of his own. He nodded and he and Ling silently stood up and walked from the table, Ling leading the way out of the room as he walked into the hall. Only once they were surely out of earshot of the others at the table, did Ling stop and turn to Shen.
"I do not know what you –"
He didn't get another word out as Shen twirled around, fanning his train as he knocked the monkey lord's feet out from under him, and unleashing his iron claws: one foot stamping on Ling's tail to stop it from taking him off guard, the other was placed on Ling's chest. Shen pushed him into the floor, pushing his head against the back wall. Ling struggled and wriggled, his cried coming out as choked coughs from Shen's force of weight against his chest, but his struggles ceased when Shen pressed the sharp end of a talon against the monkey's throat.
"What are you doing?!" Ling choked out hoarsely, and Shen resisted the urge to push harder on his throat. "You're insane!"
"I am only going to say this once, so listen well," Shen growled out quietly in a dangerous voice. "Your behaviour will not be tolerated. You will treat both myself and Lady Lianne with the respect that we deserve. If you do not, then I will have no issue with reminding you of your betters,"
Shen pushed down on Ling's throat, earning him a strangled sound. A memory floated back to the peacock in that moment: of him down in the dungeon, slicing apart a piece of scum and watching him bleed. He remembered feeling a dark glee as the creature howled with pain, pain that Shen had caused. It had made him feel powerful, and back in the present, Shen realised that he wanted to feel that sense of power, that domination over this fool who dared to oppose him. Shen took the tip of his claws and slowly scraped them down Ling's collarbone, not enough to fatally injure him, but enough to make the monkey try to screech with pain, though only a cough came out as Shen refused to relent the force her pushing down on his prey's chest. Shen felt a small smile upturn his beak, his eyes lighting up like the embers of a fire, as he felt that giddiness well up inside of him. He only relented when he though Ling might pass out, and so eased his grip, allowing the monkey to take in a deep breath as the peacock prince leaned down to glare into the prey's eyes.
"And also…" he growled out with deadly calm. "You do not touch what is MINE."
"Shen!" came a shout, and Shen quickly stood up straight and looked down the hall to see Lianne standing at the archway to the dining room, her eyes practically shining as she glared at him. Shen sighed in exasperation as he slowly stepped away from Ling, who curled up into a ball, cradling his throat in one hand as he coughed pathetically. Lianne marched up to them, a look of furious cold thunder in her eyes though she seemed to have that air of indifference and deadly calm about her, which were not good signs in Shen's experience. "Leave us," she snapped at Ling, though she didn't take her eyes off of Shen. Ling nodded vigorously, before scrambling to his feet and hurrying down the hall and out of sight.
Lianne just glared at Shen for what seemed to be the longest time in silence. Shen just waited with a bored expression for the tirade he knew was about to come, folding his wings into his large sleeves as he looked back at her unflinchingly.
"I expected better of you Shen," Lianne muttered icily at last.
"What?" Shen blinked, looking at her as if she had suddenly spoken a different language.
"I thought you would be an adult, able to simply ignore petty comments," she said. "Yet I find you performing childish demonstrations and bullying others behind my back!"
"You are angry with me for this?" he asked incredulously.
"Of course I'm angry at you!" she snapped, her eyes sparking with fury as she desperately tried to keep her emotions contained within that cool and indifferent façade. "Your behaviour risks the only peace I now have with my father!"
"You call that peace?!" he shot back angrily. "Forcing you to choose one of those idiots?!"
"With my father, that is the most anyone can have," she muttered bitterly.
"He speaks to you like a servant rather than his daughter!"
"He doesn't know how to have a daughter! Here, my father is lord and master, I have no choice. It is my place…" she trailed off with a broken whisper. But this break in her own self confidence only drove to infuriate Shen further.
"He is undeserving of you! As are those insolent worms!" he raged. "You deserve better,"
"Watch your tongue Shen!" she hissed at him. "If you value the friendship we have, then you will remember that he is my father! If he wishes it, I could be outcast from my home, renounced and shamed and left with nowhere to go!"
"You think he would do that?" Shen asked seriously.
"I don't know!" shouted passionately. And then, something inside of her seemed to break, a sob suddenly escaping her as tears welled in her eyes, and her breathing suddenly became broken as she quietly tried not to weep, ducking her head and staring at the floor so that he wouldn't see her tears. "I… I don't know… Shen, all my life, my father has tried to mould me into something I'm not just to appease his need for a dynasty. His idea of love and affection is to set up my future no matter how ruthlessly he must do so. Right now, I am standing on the line between his acceptance and his scorn, one wrong move and I'll lose him forever – not that I ever had him in the first place. My mother is ill, and I haven't even seen her yet and I don't know how grave it is because no one will tell me! I don't need you to undermine me as well…"
Shen watched her, the anger in him hissing and bubbling until it slowly evaporated from him, suddenly having no outlet to focus on. He saw her tears and instantly couldn't fight the pity, even though he knew he should be mad with her for being mad at him. Yet, he remembered when he read one of her letters, how he had seen a scared child yearning for someone, anyone to show her that she was wanted. He saw that child now, and realised where such a need could come from. Hesitantly, every cell in his body demanding he must, but still that worry of rejection filled him, but he slowly stepped forward and awkwardly place his wings on her shoulders. He gently pulled her towards him, and she willingly came to him, burying herself in his shoulder as she embraced him, quietly trying to regain her self-composure as she burrowed his strength. Shen held her against him, fighting an inappropriate smug smirk at having her in his arms, leaning against him as if she were already his.
"Lianne," he murmured softly to her. "I would do nothing in the world to jeopardise our friendship. I only live to see you happy and safe, and it made me upset to see your father and those fops treat you lower then you are." He stroked the back of her neck affectionately, fantasising when he might be able to do so without the need for secret thoughts behind seemingly innocent touches, when he could do so just because she was his and his alone. "I vow to you to never endanger that love again," it was as close to the truth as he was willing to admit.
"Thank you," she whispered, and did he imagine her burying herself closer to him? "Would you accompany me to the infirmary to see my mother?" she asked as she pulled back to look up at him, her large eyes swallowing his gaze so that they were all he could see. "I fear… I don't know what awaits me there. It would mean a lot to me if you were there,"
"Of course," he murmured to her softly.
Lianne led him silently through the winding corridors and up many grand and beautiful staircases, until they reached the northern wing and the infirmary. As they entered, the nurses and doctors bowed to them and one quickly showed them to the back of the room, where they entered a small room filled with incense candles, and many charms and idols. A large window was opened that overlooked the mountains and forests, a large bed was below it, and in it was the patient they need to see.
Shen felt his insides freeze with shock, and he heard Lianne gasp as she tried to stifle a choked sob, her wing falling to his in order to squeeze his feathers in hers desperately. Shen looked at his hand and then to her, before looking back to the occupant of the bed.
The swan who lay there must have once been very beautiful, despite her odd plumage. Her black feathers would have once glistened like polished ebony, her red beak a brilliant flash of fire. She would have been tall and absolutely breathtakingly beautiful, though a beauty that came with age, not a young and lasting beauty like that of her daughter's – at least, in Shen's opinion. But that was not this swan; Shen had seen portraits of the Lady Amelia before after Lianne had told him about her mother, she had been a truly stunning creature to behold, even more so for her odd colouring. But now, Amelia lay with dull and lifeless feathers as if they were ready to fall from her body at the slightest movement, her beak was a more faded and wilting red then something of vibrant colour. She lay asleep on the bed, but her breathing was loud and raspy, as if something was rattling around inside of her lungs; she was unnaturally thin, as if the vitality in her had been drained from her body. Shen looked back at Lianne, and saw how panicked and grief stricken she looked. Shen could only sympathise with her and the fallen Lady. He wondered if this was what his parents had been like when he was born; apparently he had hatched as a very weak and sickly creature with very poor health. The doctors had been adamant that he wouldn't live long enough to take his first steps. But Shen had been full of determination, the will to live, and had become strong and healthy despite everyone believing he would die. But Amelia… he wasn't so sure that she had any fight left in her by the looks of her.
He gave Lianne's feathers a small squeeze, giving her a reassuring smile as she looked back at him. He knew that what she needed right now was hope, the loss of that was more than likely to kill Amelia then any disease. Lianne gave him a brave smile back, shakily leaving him as she slowly made her way towards the bed, sitting down beside the black swan as she slowly gripped her mother's wing which lay limply by her side.
"Mother?" Lianne said tentatively, as if not wanting to disturb the sleeping female. "Mother?" she said again, a little louder.
Amelia's eyes slowly opened as her breathing hitched and she tried to stifle a cough that hacked through her chest. Shen noticed immediately the brilliant blue eyes in Amelia's head, ones that were not too dissimilar from Lianne's, the matching gaze meeting as Amelia turned her head towards the one who spoke. Recognition slowly dawned on her features, and a beaming smile broke across her red beak as her eyes filled with tears of joy.
"Lianne?" she asked in a croaking, hoarse voice. "You're here? My little snowflake!" and with more energy than Shen would have thought her to possess, Amelia threw her wings around her daughter, almost falling out of the bed as she wrapped her wings around her child, who almost broke down in tears as she returned her mother's fierce embrace.
"Mother!" she sobbed quietly as they held each other for the longest time. When they finally parted, Amelia reluctantly withdrew from her daughter, and Shen noticed the hint of exhaustion that clouded her eyes as she settled back into the bed, though keeping one wing on her daughter's, as if she might disappear if she let go.
"I thought I'd have to wait all winter just to see you… my little snow…" Shen noticed how Amelia's voice had a slight accent, probably from her western heritage, but he found it interesting how Lianne had no such thing. Amelia reached up with her wing to cup her feathers around her daughter's cheek.
"Of course I'm here mother, how could I not be?" Lianne smiled down at her mother as she leaned into her touched affectionately.
"Look at you… You leave my sight for just a moment and you're all grown up… You're so beautiful my darling –" Amelia suddenly convulsed as a bout of coughing raked through her body, the noise horrid and deathly sounding, even to Shen as he heard her lungs quake.
"Why wasn't I told you were ill?! I should have been here all along!" Lianne said furiously, desperately as her mother settled back onto her pillows as she gulped in air.
"It would not have made any difference. I knew your father would send for you if it was serious. No point in hauling you back here if it was just a common –" she couldn't continue as she succumbed to another coughing fit, lifting a wing to her beak in an effort to muffle the sound. Unable to stand Lianne's helpless look, Shen strode over to the bedside table and poured a cup of cool water from a jug, and handed it to Lianne who quickly stood over her mother as she held one wing behind Amelia's head, lifting her up as she poured the water into her beak. Amelia drank quietly, manners still perfect even when obviously very sick, sighing in relief when she finished the cup.
"Has he been to see you at all?" Lianne asked quietly.
"He was, every day when I was first bedridden," Amelia explained quietly, unable to look her daughter in the eye. "Though… he stopped after the doctors told him that they needed to start looking for more… drastic medicines."
"How dare he?!" Lianne whispered furiously, clenching her feathers into fists as she glared at the bed sheet below her wings. She only looked up when Amelia placed a delicate feather beneath her chin and lifted her head to meet her gaze.
"Now you listen to me, young lady," the sick swan said sternly but affectionately. "Your father is the strongest and most faithful man I know. I do not believe for one instant that there is nothing he wouldn't do for either you or me. He has faced many challenges in his life, and he has overcome every single one of them." She had to pause in order to take in a rattling breath, before fixing her daughter with an unyielding look once again. "But for the first time… he has met a challenge that he cannot overcome or doesn't know how. He doesn't how to deal with that. And it's eating him alive because of it. So don't you doubt for one minute that if he could be here, then he would."
Lianne was stunned into silence and looked at the floor with shame. Shen automatically placed a comforting wing on her shoulder. Amelia noticed this however, and for the first time her eyes met his as she looked at him.
"And who are you?" she asked with a croak.
"Mother," Lianne said softly. "This is Shen, he has come with me to let me see you,"
"So you're the famous Shen I've heard so much about," Amelia said thoughtfully with a glance at her daughter, and Shen didn't know why he suddenly felt nervous around this swan, as if he had something to prove to her.
"Yes, your ladyship," he murmured formally with a bow of his head. Shen expected scorn, or suspicion, some way that Amelia would test him or reject him just like Chang had, but instead, she said:
"You're taller than I thought you'd be," she murmured as she looked at him with approval in her eyes.
Shen was so shocked that he openly stared at the black swan, his beak falling open in astonishment, before he saw her amused eyes and quickly shut his mouth with a shake of his head. Amelia chuckled warmly, the sound endearing and hopeful to Shen, despite how awful it sounded with her hoarse voice. But then, the merriment was cut off as Amelia suddenly erupted in a fit of coughs, this one worse than all the others so far. She doubled over, the coughs hacking at her lungs and throat as she tried to regain her breathing, desperate to take in a lungful of air. Lianne and Shen went to either side of her, Lianne helping to sit her up and support her as she patted her back gently, Shen helping to support the sick bird as she reached for the bedside table and snatched up a clean rag and held it over her beak to muffle the sound. She heaved and coughed and spat into the rag, her breathing slowly evening as she desperately tried to breathe as if she were drowning. She quickly and subtly tried to stuff the rag under her pillow on the opposite side from Lianne so that her daughter wouldn't see it… but Shen saw it, the sight making his blood turn cold.
The rag was splattered with blood.
Author's Note: So I hope this chapter was worth the wait! though I apologise for any and all mistakes... I'm a little rundown with a cough and stuffy head :/
But please tell me what you think! Would love to hear your thoughts on: Shen wondering what to do? Going to the Shan Palace? Lord Chang? Lianne's suitors? Shen and Lianne's conversation? Lianne's mother? I am thankful to any and all reviews!