Chapter 12
"Well that was a grande sized mess!" Ron shook off the cold water like a wet dog as he clambered out of the river. Behind him, in order: three shaken princesses along with their escorts, a soaked General, a shivering woman warrior, and a teen hero who (surprisingly) didn't know how to solve any of this.
The reason for all this: the carriage had run off a cliff into a river. The princesses had narrowly escaped death, thanks to their three escorts knowing how to swim and Kim having been trained as a lifeguard.
One thing was for certain: nobody was happy.
***
"And so, dear father, I am unable to complete this mission. I have discovered that my duty is to my heart."
Mei's perfectly manicured fingers clenched the calligraphy brush, making her normally impeccable writing a bit messy. She read her letter in a hushed tone, knowing she was forsaking her duty to the Emperor and to China. It was the hardest decision the middle princess had ever made, but the Hero of China herself had approved of it - or did she? It didn't matter now...
"Mei!" The clear alto of her eldest sister, Ting-Ting, rang through the tent like a warning bell. "What are you doing?"
Su, the youngest, walked up, almost tripping over her long yellow dress in her haste. She grabbed the letter and gasped. "She's running away!" she exclaimed in her
"Um… Your Highnesses?" A new voice joined the conversation. The three princesses turned around and saw Kim.
"Oh. Raging Fire - I mean, Kim." Mei made a slight bow to the teen hero. "Can you help?"
Ting-Ting tried to discourage Mei. "Kim, you don't want to know…"
At this point, Kim's heart went out to the princesses. "Your Highness…" She held out a duffel bag. "I have something for you."
Curiosity got the better of Su, Mei, and even Ting-Ting. They opened it and took out the contents: three outfits of some sort. The top was a fitted long sleeved jacket with a high, royal purple with scarlet and gold stripes on the sleeves and neckline. The flare-leg pants were the same color scheme, purple with a scarlet and gold stripe down the sides. "What are these?" they asked all at once.
"These are practice uniforms for cheerleading." explained Kim.
"What's cheerleading?" asked Mei, suddenly interested.
"Well…" Kim tried to explain. "It's a sport that the girls play where I come from."
"Girls can play sports?" Ting-Ting looked scandalized, but her voice belied it - she sounded intrigued by the concept.
"Yes. It's like a mix between dancing and acrobatics. We do it at games to lift spirits." She added, "And it seems like you could use some of that."
"Can you teach us?" asked Mei, who was already slipping out of her dress and putting on the uniform. "This is something Mulan might wear!" She looked in a full-body mirror, pivoting around. Su was quick to do the same. "I can actually move!"
The two younger princesses began to plead with Ting-Ting. As usual, she was resisting this bordering-on-revolutionary development. Kim was secretly enjoying this scene. She mouthed to the other two, "Puppy dog pout!" - it worked. Ting-Ting sighed at her sisters' pathetic expressions, and put on the last uniform.
"Hmm, this is rather comfortable…" mused Ting-Ting. "Kim, is there a dance you can teach us?"
"Yes, as a matter of… wait, can you do eight-counts?"
"We can count to eight." said Su.
Kim realized she had to translate and demonstrate. "Eight counts are a way of keeping time as you dance." To demonstrate, she did a simple dance. "Ready!" she called, putting her hands on her hips. "One, two!" On one, she opened her hands and stepped to the left. On two, she clapped and stepped to the right. "Three, four!" She repeated the previous motions. "Five, six!" She stepped back to the center, put her feet together, and clapped. "Seven, eight!" She put her left hand up with her hand in a fist, then her right hand up with her hand in a fist, making a high-V. "Now you try it. I'll be in front so you can follow along."
"Ready!" called Kim, the princesses put their fists on their hips at the same time Kim did. Ten Kim got them used to the beat, clapping her hands on each count: "Five, six! Seven, eight!" Then they repeated the dance. "One, two! Three, four! Five, six! Seven, eight!"
"That was fun!" Mei cheered. They did this a few more times, and got Mei and Su both smiling. Even Ting-Ting's normally serious face had a light smile on it.
"I think you're ready for a faster dance." said Kim. She called "Ready!" again, and put her fists on her hips. "One and two!" On one, she clapped. On two, she made a high-V. "And three and four!" On three, she clapped. On four, she put her arms down in a low-V. "Kick, five, six!" On kick, she put her arms in a high-V, put one foot behind the other, and swung the back foot up in a high kick. On five, she held the kick. On six, she put her foot down. "Seven, eight!" On seven, she put her feet together. On eight, she jumped into a left forward lunge, with her fists in a high-V.
"I don't think I can kick that high…" Ting-Ting's voice trailed off.
"We're not trained fighters like you and Mulan!" added Mei.
Su was the only one who dissented: "Well, I think I can do it! And if I can do it so can you!"
"That's the spirit!" Kim beamed. "Now on the last count, we'll shout YEAH!"
"Princesses don't shout!" Ting-Ting automatically objected. But the other two pulled the puppy dog pout again. Kim was beginning to think she'd regret teaching the princesses the puppy dog pout, but too late now. Ting-Ting groaned, "Fine… but only a little shout!"
Kim demonstrated again, this time with the shouted last count. "Ready! Five, six, seven, eight!" One and two and three and four! Kick, five, six, seven, YEAH!"
"Get behind me again, we can do this!" Kim encouraged. The princesses followed again. Each princess surprised the other - and themselves. Mei had a big grin on her face for the first time in days. Su kicked almost as high as Kim. Ting-Ting, despite her earlier protests, shouted the loudest of all.
"We did it!" The three hugged each other and cheered. Kim's cheerleading had brought a happiness they hadn't expressed or felt since early childhood.
"Kim?" Mei interrupted the celebration.
"We've never had a lot of friends, and we never really got to play as children."
"Your Highness…"
"Please, call me Mei." Su and Ting-Ting echoed this sentiment.
"Mei, Su, Ting-Ting..." Kim came closer to comfort the princesses. "I'm so sorry. I can't imagine what that was like for you."
"It's all right now, Kim." said Ting-Ting, speaking for her sisters and for herself.
"You showed us how to have fun again." said Su. "I can't remember being this happy. Ever. But when I was cheerleading with you… I was truly, really happy!"
Ting-Ting chimed in. "We had to follow all these rules and restrictions, and as the eldest, I was expected to enforce them. But now I feel what it's like to be free of all that - and I like it."
"And most importantly…" added Mei, "...Kim, we consider you a friend."
TO BE CONTINUED...
