"So, wait you have two dads?" Mighty Ray asked.
"Is that a problem banana brain?" Sonia said with a glare.
Dove king put his wing on her shoulder. "Sonia, if he had a problem with us it's fine."
"He can just sleep outside with the rats." Pigeon king added with a mischievous smirk.
"I don't have a problem with it!" Mighty Ray said quickly. "It just took me by surprise! You never talk about your family so I assumed you had a mom and dad."
Mr. No-Hands hit him upside the head with his ponytail. "Mighty Ray what have I told you about assuming?"
"It makes an ass out of you and me." He muttered rubbing his head.
The others laughed except for Autumn. The redhead had kind of a blank look on her face, which the two kings noticed.
"Are you okay?" Eros asked her.
Autumn nodded. "Yeah, I'm just surprised same-sex marriage is a thing here. Everything here seems so… Traditional."
"You don't have a problem with it do you?" Sonia asked.
She laughed. "Of course not! My brother Xander is gay and had been married to his husband for three years."
Lin Chung looked surprised. Autumn had never told him that one of her brothers was gay, let alone married. It made him wonder what other things she hadn't told him.
"Well how about we take you to the palace? We can introduce you to Sonia's other brothers." Agape said.
"Thank you but we can't, we need Shīqùle Hěnjiǔ." Lin Chung said.
"Oh, what for?" Eros asked. "Are you going to Dusk Festival?"
"No, we're heading to the Snow Leopard and Ram Kingdoms to see if they know anything about the missing prince so we can reverse a curse." He explained.
Eros and Agape looked surprised. "You mean the prince is alive?"
Autumn nodded. "He's been sending me visions for a while now."
Eros rubbed his chin. "If Duusuu and Stoic know something I wonder why they never brought it up."
Sonia looked at her father. "Wait, you know them personally?! How come you never motioned it in your letters?!"
"You never asked sweetie," Eros said. "Well, you can ask them tomorrow if you want."
The group looked at him in surprise. "Why tomorrow?" Lady Green asked.
"Because they're coming for the Dusky Festival, as they have done for the past few years."
The two kings lead them to Pigeon Dove Castle where they were met by Sonia's seven other brothers: Pearl (a white dove with turquoise tail feathers, legs, and beak)
Sapphire (a blue pigeon with white legs and a gray beak),
Jasper (a white pigeon with orange wings and tail feathers with yellow legs and beak),
Jade (a yellow and brown pigeon with black legs and beak)
Topaz (a dove who looked exactly like Eros)
Quartz (a black and gray pigeon with black legs and beak)
and Agate (a pure white dove, including the legs and beak)
Sonia's brothers surrounded her in a big hug and began asking her a million questions, leaving the others to watch in amusement. Sonia looked over at Autumn who smirked, knowing what it was like to be smothered by older brothers. Agate broke from the hug and looked at Autumn.
"You must be Autumn Moon," He said.
Sonia's brothers all turned their heads and before Autumn knew it she was being smothered in a big feathery hug and being bombarded with questions.
"Sonia has told us so much about you!"
"Is it true you can use moon magic?"
"Your hair is so pretty! Is it natural?"
"Do some magic please?"
During all the chaos Lin Chung pulled Lady Green aside.
"Okay what are you doing here?" he asked bluntly.
"I heard that the lamprey army was heading upriver so I decided to investigate, but is that what you want to talk about?" she asked as she stepped a bit closer to him.
Lin Chung felt his face heat up as she got closer, his mind feeling hazy again as the smell of her perfume filled his nose. He tried to step away but his legs felt like lead. Lady Green leaned in so her lips were mere millimeters from his, making his heart beat faster. He pushed her away and glared.
"Yes, that is what I want to talk about," He said sternly, but his blush betrayed him.
Lady Green giggled in a flirty. "You're sure about that? Your blush says otherwise."
That statement just made him blush even more.
"Stop that!" He said. "Look, I know we both had feelings for each other but that's over now. I love Autumn, I'm sorry."
Lady Green growled to herself as he ran back to the others. She felt for sure she had him under her spell, only if a little bit. Reaching into her bag the evil redhead pulled out two bottles, one pink and the other a dark red color.
"Sooner or later my dear Lin Chung you'll see that you and I were meant to be."
As they walked through the palace Sonia noted that Autumn looked uncomfortable as she walked behind the group, tugging at her shirt as she walked. The others were too busy listening to Eros about the construction of the palace to pay any attention.
"You okay there Red?" Jasper asked, also noticing that Autumn looked uncomfortable.
Autumn sighed and stopped tugging at her shirt. "I swear this gi fit before we left."
Sonia looked at her friend, noting something was off. Usually, her gi's we very loose, but this one seemed to be a bit more form-fitting than the others.
"Hmm…. Maybe there's something I can do," he said as he examined her outfit. "Father Sonia and I are going to show Autumn to the sewing room."
"Okay, meet us in the garden for lunch when you are done," Eros said.
"Okay." The siblings said as they took Autumn down the hall.
The castle felt like something out of a fairy tale. The floor and walls were made of sleek white marble with gold and ivory making up the molding. The high arched ceilings allowed doves and pigeons to fly in and out of large passageways above them. Through arched windows, Autumn could see all of the Dove and Pigeon kingdom as well as Shīqùle Hěnjiǔ. Along the walls were paintings of Sonia, her brothers and her dads.
"Alright, it's just up here," Sonia said.
Autumn looked up and saw an entryway about twenty feet in the air. Jasper flew up while Autumn and Sonia used Yaksha to get up there. Once up Sonia and Autumn were up he leads them into a large room that was covered head to toe in different rolls of fabric from denim to chiffon. Manikins with either full outfits on or just pieces of cloth pinned to them.
"Alright first things first, I'm going need you to take off your clothes so I can take some measurements. " Jasper said as he grabbed a measuring tape.
Autumn gripped her shirt. "I'm not comfortable with that."
Sonia frowned and put her hand on her shoulder. "Hey, don't worry we won't judge."
Autumn sighed. "Fine…."
Jasper leads her behind a thick velvet curtain to change. Autumn set her bag down and began started taking off her shirt. Tempest decided to pop his head out right at that moment.
"Woah, Autumn, I say this because I love you: you've put on weight." The coyote said.
"Tempest!" Autumn screamed. "Get out!"
The redhead sent a mixture of yellow, red and blue energy at him, sending the coyote flying out from behind the curtain. Tempest landed in a pile of fabric scraps with Jasper and Sonia looking at him.
"AND STAY OUT!" Autumn yelled.
The spirit got up and shook the fabric off of himself. "Geez, I'll never understand why women are so sensitive about their weight."
"Well first off, that was rude, and second you noticed too?" Sonia asked in a hushed tone.
Tempest nodded. "Kind of hard not to. This can't be normal."
"Hardly anything is normal in the Hidden Kingdom," Sonia muttered.
"I hate to ask, but –
"No, she's not pregnant," Tempest said. "But something is off."
"Okay, I'm ready," Autumn said.
Jasper and Sonia went behind the curtain where Autumn stood in her bra and a pair of shorts. Her friend had defiantly put on weight since last night.
Autumn wasn't exactly petite when she had arrived at Big Green, (not to say she was fat, just a bit on the muscular side) but now Autumn was boarder lining on chubby. The red head's hips, thighs, and butt were bigger and softer than last night along with her stomach, which wasn't as bad, just a little round and pudgy. The upper part of her body was more or less the same, but her face did look a bit fuller. With all that said though, she didn't look bad Autumn pulled off the look. At least that's what Sonia thought, and apparently, Jasper did too.
"You look adorable!" the dove said.
The redhead covered her face to hide a bright red blush.
"I look like if Panda King and Samo had a baby." She mumbled.
"No, you don't Autumn," Sonia said as she and Yaksha pushed her towards the mirror.
"Easy for you to say, Sonia, you're perfect," Autumn muttered.
"Hey, even someone as pretty as I have their flaws," The black-haired girl said as Jasper began taking measurements. "You want to tell me why you're so self-conscious about your body?"
Autumn sighed; she didn't want to but telling someone why she felt like this would take the weight off her shoulders.
"Alright fine:
When I was in middle school I…. bloomed early for lack of a better term. The problem was that the summer before eighth grade I put on some weight while visiting my great aunt in Ireland so my new 'curves' were even more noticeable. Girls in my class started teasing me and calling me names like 'Miss Piggy' or 'Fatty Patty'. Even guys wouldn't leave me alone and they would harass me by either poking me in the stomach or stealing my lunch. But there was this one girl Madison who made it her mission to make my life a living hell.
She photo-shopped pictures of my face onto bodies of contestants from 'The Biggest Loser' and posted all over the halls. She even put laxatives in my milk. One time she put too much and I had to go to the hospital. It got so bad that my grandparents, my parents, and my brothers all had a conference with the school and her parents. My grandparents wanted him expelled but the school claimed she 'hadn't done anything wrong and I just had some bad milk'. Madison's mom even said that she was trying to help me because 'I could stand to lose a few'. I started crying I was so embarrassed and my mom punched her and broke her nose.
That summer I went to stay with my dad's dad at a reservation for a while. Granddad helped me build my self-confidence back up before I started high school. And for my first year, I was happy and confident about who I was.
Then I met Dylan. He was my first crush and after a few months, he asked me on a date. We dated until winter break my sophomore year when he asked me if I wanted to be his girlfriend and I said yes. After we started dating, he started commenting about my weight and hitting on my best friend Kai. Kai rejected him but one day she told me she had seen Dylan and Madison making out behind the benches. I didn't believe her so I kept dating him.
Then the spring dance came and he told me to wait behind the bleachers, When I went over to the bleachers, I found him and Madison making out. They stopped and Dylan called me a fat bitch and whale as he hit me in the stomach and other areas while Madison filmed it on her phone. At one point he even hit me in the chest and said "Geeze with all that fat it couldn't have gone to your chest?'. I got so angry that I ended up punching him in the gut and judo flipping him. After that, I ran and hid in the drama classroom as I waited for my brother Cole to pick me up. I was found by him and my art teacher and they took me to the campus police.
The next day I got a call that Dylan and Madison had been arrested for filming an assault and I told them I wanted to press charges. After that, I dedicated my time at my dojo to losing weight and with the help of Sensei Shu and my grandparents I did."
As Autumn finished her story tears rolled down her cheeks. Sonia embraced her squishy friend in a hug as she let cry it out.
"I had no idea what happened to you," Sonia said. "So, you're worried Lin Chung will do the same?"
"I know he will!" Autumn cried. "I look like a pig!"
"No, you don't!" Mighty Ray said from the other side of the curtain.
"I agree!" Tempest added.
"Jumpy agrees!" Jumpy said.
Autumn smiled and wiped the tears from her eyes. "Thank you."
"And if Lin Chung breaks up with you because of that," Tempest said
"Which he won't," Sonia added.
"Then I'll personally castrate him!" Tempest continued.
The young woman smiled. She had only felt love like this from her family, but she hadn't yet realized the First Squad was her family.
"By the way where is Lin Chung?" She asked.
"Looking at paintings," Jumpy said.
They all laughed as Jasper finished his measurements.
"Okay, I can either make you some new clothes or I can let out your old clothes," Jasper said
"Let's go with both, you're going to need something nice for the Dusk Festival," Sonia said as she handed Autumn a larger shirt and pants
"What is Dusk Festival?" Jumpy asked.
"I was wondering the same thing," Autumn asked.
"The Dusk Festival is a celebration of new life and new love as the nocturnal flowers around here bloom for the first time," Jasper explained. "People and animals exchange gifts and there's lots of food and games. It's also said that if a couple kisses during the last few rays of sunlight they'll be together forever."
"How romantic." Autumn sighed.
Mighty Ray and Tempest both made gagging noises, making Yaksha slap them both upside the head.
"A stone as cold as ice,
Seven rose petals, so it feels so nice
Nightshade for a slow death
A lock of my hair so it sets him on my path
A lock of his hair so we are bound
And so no love for her is found"
Lady Green chanted these words as she dropped some of the pink liquid into a cup of tea and walked over to a meditating Lin Chung.
"Rose tea?" She asked.
"No," Lin Chung said without opening his eyes. "Please go away Lady Green."
"Look, I'm sorry for trying to flirt with you. I get it you love Autumn," She admitted. "but I want to be friends."
Lin Chung sighed and opened his eyes. "Only if you don't try flirting with me again."
"Deal." She said as she gave him the tea.
The young man took the tea and took a sip. The flavor hit him like a punch to the face, making him cough. A burning cold sensation started taking over his body, making is brain feel fuzzy, just like when he smelt her perfume. The symbols for death and love appeared on his back as he fell to his knees.
"If didn't have to happen like this my sweet Lin Chung." Lady Green said as she kneeled next to him.
"W-What did you put in that tea?" He gasped.
"A love potion," she said as she leaned in closer. "well, more like a death by love potion. Over the next three days, your heart will turn to ice, in the meantime, you'll fall deeply in love with me. You know Twin Masters wanted me to kill you right away, but this is way more fun."
"Autumn and the others will stop you." He growled.
"Oh I have plans for that fat bitch," She hissed. "I can hear her coming now."
Lady Green pressed her lips against Lin Chung's and wrapped her arms around him, so it looked like they were making out. Although he tried to resist, he found himself kissing back!
"Hey Lin, do you want to squeeze in a quick sparring match be… for…" Autumn said as she stopped. In her tracks.
Autumn froze as she watched her boyfriend kiss another girl. She felt her heartbreak as tears rolled down her face. The redhead took off running from the scene she had just witnessed, passing her friends and Sonia's brothers along the way.