Princess Fei let a loud sigh and collapsed on her soft pillows, made of fine silk and stuffed with the softest sheep wool. They were one of the few things she had managed to bring with her from Xingfu and reminded her of her motherland unbearably much. Perching, she softly placed her head on her back and closed her eyes, only to open them again. Out of her balcony, the beautiful night sky was once again clean and starry. This had been a very long night for her and taking in mind she had not slept for approximately three days now, she was feeling extremely tired. Fei's long lashes touched her lower lid and the stars formed weird and mystical shapes inside her head. One was an ox, another had the three heads of the dragon and the third was...

A rustle brought her back to reality. Still dizzy and sleepy, Fei opened her eyes and slowly raised her head to look behind. Nothing. Mind games... She thought then yawned again. But when she turned her head back around her abdomen, a shadow appeared in front of her. The Princess gasped and jumped back, unfolding her wings and legs. The shadow stepped aside and the pale moonlight hit it making him seem even paler.

"What on earth are you doing here?" Princess Fei yelled, not so much out of frustration, as in hopes someone could hear her.

"Don't you raise your voice at me!" came the intense answer. Shen moved further to the side, so he was standing exactly at the point where the moonlight would draw a shadow below his eyebrows, adding some drama to their moves. He then kept a straight face and examined her frightened eyes.

"You...have no right to be in here," Fei finally managed to get a grip on herself. "This is invading my privacy!"

"Since you're so pored over personal rights, Princess, consider this; my right to the throne." His wing turned into a fist as he heaved above her. His movement made her gasp, something he noticed with pleasure. Princess Fei turned away and considered all available defense methods she could use.

"A place which you promised to return!" The peacock continued infuriated.

"Since you lost it out of your own foolishness," she backed away, "I don't see where I can help you." Tactless move, she heard her coincidence mumble.

"It was self-defense!" Shen rolled his eyes and produced a low groan of exasperation. "Anyway, I will not repeat myself, I want my reward."

"Fair enough," she crossed her gray wings inside her long sleeves, then begun to pace toward him in a manner that made Shen want to tumble. Peahens had one great advantage over the males; they had the option to choose whether they would approve or disprove of a peacock and it had become a natural instincts of the males to fear rejection. Shen, of course, was not the type to pay attention to this things, yet there was something about the way she showed off her colorful neck that made her seem beyond reach and gave him a slight flutter. "What reward?"

"You're being deliberately slow." he raised a brow, avoiding her intense stare. The way she circled him as if she was testing something triggered an unreasonable anxiety inside him. Shen hushed his inner turmoil when he reminded himself of his secret weapon; the magic stone.

"Far from that. I am being overly generous." she mocked, a reply that was supposed to leave him speechless.

"Don't play the fool. You made a promise and ought to keep it." He talked back, not nastily, but in the manner of a father taunting his child. The peahen chuckled and kept pacing pompously around him.

"Or what? You will kill me?" she mocked again, her look becoming even more impertinent.

"I probably should, but not yet," he smiled then followed her movement with two ruby orbs.

"Huh, you can't force me, you know." She softly caressed the sleeve of his robe with the tips of her wings. Silk being a soft material, it made the touch much more heightened that it actually was.

"I shall disagree," he placed his other wing inside the robe and drew the small crimson stone out.

"Bribe? Ridiculous," she mocked then turned away, heading back to her soft pillows. Her flounce was intoxicating to watch but Shen had a stronger will than to allow himself to be carried away.

"This," he lifted the stone higher, holding it between two feathers, the moonlight piercing through it and creating a dark shadow on the floor, "is a scale of Dragon Yenn. When used wisely, it can bestow tremendous power, but also summon Yenn himself."

The Princess blinked. Her mind started to fill with doubt, she had had too much thrill to tolerate more.

"I don't believe you," she said in a challenging voice. The peacock left a mocking chuckle.

"Should I try it, then?"

Fei spontaneously widened her eyes, the green pupils taking the size of a pinhead. Shen squeezed the stone between his feathers, bringing it closer to the light, so that the red glow was shed upon him.

"How do you know?" The peahen asked suspiciously, yet convinced enough to feel fear.

"I was lucky enough to stumble upon Soothsayer on my way here. She was more than willing to tell me if it meant I would get rid of it..." he laughed to himself, gazing at the stone in amazement. Princess Fei had a bewildered frown stuck on her beak.

"But you didn't. How unexpected..." she mocked yet immediately reconsidered it -mocking touchy people holding lethal weapons was not wise after all- and continued in a more polite way, "What do you want me to do, in order for you to never use this thing?" she asked, mostly because she was hoping to gain sometime and come up with something.

"Have I not made it obvious? I want you to do as you promised and espouse me."

"I cannot spend the rest of my life in misery." she bitterly stated.

"Oh, don't worry. After your part is done, you won't have a life to spend." he promised in a menacing look. Princess Fei stepped backwards and lowered her proud crest fearfully. Shen cleared his throat and put the stone back inside his robe. "Tomorrow, after the grant feast to honor the Dragon Warrior," he repeated her words in a mocking way, "you will announce our engagement." he said that in a way that was everything but romancing. The peahen felt her throat dry but made no effort to wet it, since her tongue was stuck on her palate and wouldn't move. "I hope I made myself clear," Shen said and crossed his wings inside his sleeves as he walked past her, his ruby eyes fixed on hers while Fei felt her feet numb. It would be implicit to point out how she did not close her eyes for a minute that night.

The next morning was full of electricity and enthusiasm for Gongmen. Sheep would wander around the streets carrying heavy disks full that gave the air a sweet taste of noodles, housewives would decorate their yards and balconies with paper lamps, janitors sent from the palace would sweep the pavements and roads, with the help of willing citizens. The preparations filled every heart with zest, except for one; Shen. In his pale white robe he wandered around the palace courtyard, ignoring the smiles and cheers of citizens and personnel that were helping decorate it. He only stopped to throw a dismissive glare at some wolves rebuilding the firework stance.

Meanwhile Po was down in the palace kitchen, helping the finest chefs of Gogmem cook for the grant feast. The Furious Five were practicing in the backyards with Master Ox and Croc, while the son of Thundering Rhino, Master Rhino the second, was warming up to join them. The Soothsayer would draw colorful circles of ash in the palace courtyard, symbols that were said to bring well-being and health.

In the palace halls, Princess Fei was pacing nervously, on her way to inspect various preparations and rehearsing her fake elation on every available mirror she stumbled upon. Despite it being extremely hard to ignore her inner turmoil, the Princess managed since she had been raised a royalty and knew she was obliged to encourage and be fervent. In fact before the traumatic experiences of these past months, she used to be extremely ardent and zealous, creative and zany...Fei admitted the change in her character to herself, which was the first and most important step to restore her happiness.

One of the places she was obliged to visit was the kitchen. The smell of food caused her relatively empty stomach to complain but she did not have the time for meals. Fei watched Po and another ten master chefs cooking at the speed of light, chopping lettuce and boiling rise while engaging in a graceful dance that to her resembled the dancers of the Festival Of Fire, a local celebration that had been going on in Xingfu for many years and she attended with great pleasure. I bet I could have something like that here, too... she toyed the idea for a second, then proceeded to the exit.

"Leaving so soon, Princess?" It was Po talking while sliding a chopping board on his arm and letting it slip in front of a bunny that hastily turned around and threw some beats on it.

"Well, there's nothing to comment here. Keep up the good work," she spoke in a manner that indicated she was not sharing their enthusiasm and made a typical encouraging remark pro forma. Fei turned around blankly, then made her way out the door.

The panda stopped slicing for a minute and turned to look curiously at her as she exited.

"Pretty cold, isn't she?" the bunny next to him said while chopping the beats to equal pieces, two at a time.

Po shrugged. "Maybe she's just beat from last night..." The two chefs exchanged a questioning look when they noticed the expression Po had used and the chopped beats on the board.

Sometime past midday, the Masters retired to their quarters to rest and prepare for the celebration. So did the Five, after reuniting with Po who had just finished his cooking and was tasting some of the dishes, while the table was being set.

"Has anyone seen Shen?" It was the young Master Rhino, holding the hammer he had inherited from his father. They all shook their heads. "I don't want him wandering here without supervision. Could anyone go check on him?"

No one offered and seeing this, Po was kind enough to raise his hand.

"Thank you, Dragon Warrior," the Master performed a slight bow and headed to his quarters as well. The panda exchanged a look with his friends, who were all either speechless or, in Tigress' case, frustrated.

"Why do you keep going around him?" she asked, a frown carved on her lips.

"Well he asked for someone and..."

"...and you offered." Tigress raised both arms in the air as if to state she was giving up and turned around to leave angrily.

"She's just worried about you..." Viper started. Po frowned.

"Yeah..."

Afternoon came and went like the warm summer breeze, then night shed her beautiful starry veil upon the city and the feast begun with an ornate firework show, which was relatively short due to the short time during which it had been prepared. The lamps were lit and people gathered inside the courtyard and around the palace to have their plates filled with all kinds of scented goodies the chefs had prepared. There were lights, color, enthusiasm, and a family atmosphere that helped create a bond between the governors and citizens. Princess Fei, in a sapphire colored robe and wearing some subtle jewels, would wander in the crowd, apportioning plates with the help of some wolves, who were all dressed in black and white and had been made to look classy -something that required many hours of their brushing each others tail and tying bow ties.

In the meantime, Po had ran through the whole tower looking for Shen and found him lingering on a balcony that viewed to the opposite side of the courtyard.

"Um...the festival has begun you know...and you...well, you're missing out."

The peacock flourished dismissively. "I am not interested."

The panda rolled his eyes. Why do I even try? He thought. But then again, when Shen returned with the Fenghuang and helped the city, Po thought differently about him. For some indefinite reason he wanted to see Shen change his ways and improve.

"Go away," the peacock said, obviously annoyed by his presence.

"Shen I...why don't you come check it out, and if you don't like it you can always..."

"I SAID GO AWAY!" Po saw the shiny knives coming at him and was able to avoid them at the last minute. Shen, with his wing still raised, breathed out in frustration. The panda rolled his eyes and sighed, then made his way back out of the tower and into the crowded courtyard. There, the vast table for the Master's dinner had already been set and citizens were gradually leaving the place. The festival, however, would not stop there, since entertainers and jugglers were awaiting them in the city squares to display some of the most challenging and thrilling shows. The Masters all took their places on each side of the table, leaving the head seat open for Po, who sat down and then back up when he noticed none of the others had yet sat down. Master Croc and Ox regarded his insensitivity amusing and smiled. They finally sat and begun to enjoy the many available treats. Po had put some of his best work in the soups, which were favored by almost everyone -except for Master Ox whose taste was extremely hard to match. While they were dinning, the white peacock Shen stepped inside the courtyard and silently took his place next to Princess Fei – a seat they had reserved because no one else wanted to sit next to him. The Princess avoided eye contact and fixed her green gaze on her sushi, though she had barely touched her food.

"Not hungry, Princess?" Po said with a full mouth. Viper rolled her eyes and whispered to him not to talk with food in his mouth.

"No, it's great." Fei faked with a smile that did not convince anyone. Po shrugged and returned to his food, and so did the others. The atmosphere, especially after Shen's arrival, was cold and awkward, and only Po seemed to enjoy this dinner in some way -it was food after all. When all sticks and spoons had been placed back on the table, Princess Fei cleared her throat and stood up.

"Um...If you are all finished, there is an announcement I would like to make."

The Masters turned their gaze at her, as well as the rest of the guests.

"I...um..." she startled not knowing how to begin. For one thing she had an agile mind, for another she was a terrible liar. "After a lot of consideration, based on what I believe would lead to my personal..." she hesitated, "...happiness, as well as the safekeeping of the governmental place I currently hold, I would like to announce my..." another deep sigh. But there was no going back now, she could see Shen toying Yenn's stone between his feathers, "marriage to Master Shen."