There must have been some molecule of luck left in the world, because it turned out she didn't have to answer her question at all.
"Lady Bai Tza!" Tarakudo began, tone scandalized that she would address the Queen so blasé about her warfare, as well as to think about addressing her directly to begin with. Jade tried not to look completely baffled when she inclined her head upwards to her bodyguard, fighting her brows natural urge to perk upwards to gesticulate her surprise.
"—You have spoilt the surprise for our most esteemed Divine Highness for when she is to return home." He huffed, arms folded, a cross look on his face, all theatrics. It threatened to make a smile crack on her face, though she knew the tactic he was pulling all to well. Truthfully, she didn't know exactly how powerful he was, but if the Queen elected him to be the closest a male can get to actual, legitimate power in the matriarchy, then he must have had leaps and bounds of it. Let the demons think she kept him around for his spirited humour and thoroughly underestimate him. It sounded something like out of an action movie plot.
"The Divine Queen has no story to tell or conquest to sweeten your feast for she has yet to receive the report from General Kitaro." Jade made a mental note to self. Cat Ogre's name was Kitaro. "I dare say you were far to eager to spoil that little nugget of information for her and steal away Kitaro's spotlight due to his fleet having once decimated five percent of yours."
Her pristine lips pulled back into a sneer, showing snake-like fangs behind them, though her frigid glare was immediately directed to her snickering brother.
"Five percent!?" Hsi Wu's laugh reminded Jade of a cackling hyena, which she knew was always a dangerous thing to hear, if Animal Planet had anything to tell her about it. "Oh, dear sweet sister! You never told us this riveting battle among all the grandstanding about your so called undefeatable navy!"
Bai Tza's fork twisted deeper in the flesh, and her tone took shades of that demonic rasp she was known for. "Silence yourself, or I will find an appetite for boiled bat wings, little brother."
"Ah, it is not my fault that the domain of the sky remains truly uninhibited except for mine and mine own kind." The Sky demon smugly stated, twirling a wishbone between his claws. He found himself wholly disinterested in keeping up with the hostile banter with his sister, turning his attention towards Jade and letting his gaze roam none too subtly.
"Perhaps our lovely Queen of the Shadowkhan would join me in my own palace so that I may show her the wonders of the sky?"
"Lord Hsi Wu," Once more, before she even had a chance to formulate a response, Tarakudo had spoken for her. Judging by the growing looks among the demonic party, she was becoming increasingly sure that it wasn't a good thing. He was just.. a bodyguard, right? He shouldn't have political opinions, let alone inserting himself in the conversation and succeeding her speech.
"Do not begin to underestimate the Nobusuma. General Gorou has dominated the skies of the east long before you were a wretched egg in the fires of Hell." He chastised. The implication that Hsi Wu was nothing but a child naturally caused his temper to flare, his fist coming down to slam the table and point a claw accusingly at him.
"I AM the Sky, you overgrown, witless tiger! Don't forget your place, you are but a mere yokai—"
"The King of all Oni and her Divine Queen's personal bodyguard," he corrected in pedantry, dipping his gaze very briefly down to Jade and noting her trying her very hardest not to voice out an actual laugh.
His correction only served to make him splutter, no doubt ready to summon a variety of colourful curses, much to the amusement of his siblings that take immediate pleasure to any heat and suffering that was not directed at them. The only one that did not seem to be enjoying it was Shendu, whom stared suspiciously at Tarakudo in a way that challenged him, and the Queen.
"My brother, as artless as he is, does have a point." He interjected calmly, cutting his meat with dignity and sophistication that escaped him when it came to eating his meals alone. He chewed it thoughtfully, tail flicking behind him before the tip curled like a conniving plan had just formed, a serpentine smile snaking it's way across his draconic face.
"You are but a servant. Your Queen certainly allows you much agency." His gaze dropped to Jade, and she froze, grape in hand. "I should think her careful of letting someone speak on her behalf, particularly a man."
Jade had absolutely no idea what in the seven heaven's Shendu was talking about, but she doubted it had anything to do with standing up for women's rights. Simply because she knew the demons did not care about humans at all, unless it was eating them, using them for labour and who knows what else. The way Tarakudo also froze indicated to her that yes, indeed, he should not have been allowed to speak so freely and for her no less.
She had seconds to think of something to say, the time it took for her to thoughtfully pop the grape in her mouth and chew.
"I think it is fitting that servants may converse amongst themselves, do you not agree, yojimbo?" she asked, pointedly avoiding Shendu's gaze and answering his question through her own. She channeled her best hoity-toity royalty tone, letting all the binge watching of period dramas and soaps take over with the crinkle of her nose.
"I do not speak to those considered lesser." God, she could even hear the stuck-up sneer in her voice. She was even a little scared of herself for nailing it so perfectly.
The silence was so deafening she could hear a pin drop. It amalgamated in some heavy pressure in her windpipe and she just knew she screwed up. Whilst she was innocently pouring herself a glass of water from the pitcher (which, wordlessly, Tarakudo took over the task of), she awaited the frying, the painful blasts of dark magic, anything.
She was rewarded with the sound of booming thunderclaps. Jade steadied herself discretely as it sounded like a storm had just centralized into the room, shaking them asunder. It turned out it was bellowed deep from within Tchang Zu's gut.
"She just called you a servant, Shendu!" he pointed out, laughing voraciously at the total snub Shendu received, exasperated by the total look of awe on his face that she had said what she did. Despite the fact her insult extended to all of them, they were quick to torment the dragon more as he had the unfortunate position of initiating it in the first place, their ribbing and gibs filling dinner conversation as they ate.
Jade noticed Tarakudo relaxing a little and she made a note that she probably had to actually address his insubordination. It was even weird to think of that. Hell, she would be more than happy to piece together the pieces from the sidelines from the Tiger Oni's response, but she figured that was a fast track of getting herself dethroned by the sounds of things. He patted her shoulder in appreciation of the save, though she tried to put on her most pointed look, one Jackie used to give her that expressly said 'I'll deal with you or your antics later.'
She'd never seen an oni look sheepish, but she was sure if she ever remembered any of this, she'd tell Tohru that they weren't so scary.
As the banquet began to wind down, opportunity struck for the scheming demons to start making their plans. Hsi Wu considered his attempt utterly thwarted to now, grumbling something in some ancient, heinous tongue about revenge. His full, true form took shape as he stood out at the balcony, making a show of splaying his wings to their full wingspan.
Xiao Fung naturally joined him next, as wind and sky were as synonymous as the earth and sea. Though he slapped his brother hard on the back, making him jolt forward.
"I'm sure if you prance about with colourful feathers and scream like the devil, the Queen of the Shadowkhan will take notice of you." He winked and laughed boisterously at his brother's fussing, especially when he narrowly dodged the swipe of a wing and a grumbled 'shut it.'
Favourable winds brought by the Sky demon's flight helped his own ascent home. Bai Tza did not want to stay a minute longer than she had to, shedding her 'mortal' form into her more serpentine one and disappearing in a whirl of water. Tchang Zu followed suit on his cloud of storms, and it left the few that had said little to nothing in the proceedings. As well as Shendu.
"An adequate feast for your siblings, little brother." Po Kong announced. Jade took careful attention to her. It was not like the Mountain demon to remain silent, especially in front of a tremendous feast. To scale back her.. well.. mountainous size, she had taken the form of an elderly geisha, and it also surprised the young girl to see that she rivalled Bai Tza in beauty. That was .. well, she never would pick Po Kong to fit in that category, but it attested to her magical capabilities.
"Young queen, join me on a walk." Jade did not see a suggestion or a request in there. But seeing as how Shendu was already at the point of fuming, she thought she'd rub his snout further in it by agreeing.
"By all means, Mountain Demon. I would enjoy the Chinese garden at the back of the palace."
An air of total smugness pervaded them both as they walked side by side, Tarakudo trailing behind. Though he too, was put in his place when Po Kong suddenly stopped and thwapped him with her fan. He silently thanked her form did not retain the strength of her physical, real one, though he questioned her with a look of faux-hurt.
"I did not recall inviting you, yokai. Go torture Shendu some more. Far too long he has sat up on his high throne, thinking he is better than us." She huffed, spreading the fan and concealing her face, though Jade could see the smirk she hid from her angle. Tarakudo briefly hesitated, gaze towards the younger before bowing low and deep in a grandiose gesture.
"As you wish, Sorceress of the Mountain." He purred. He gave a slight nod to Jade, whom resumed her walk with Po Kong.
If anyone asked Jade if she would find herself wandering the halls of Shendu's palace with the human form of Po Kong at her side and an obedient oni at her servitude waiting for her like a puppy tied to a pole, she would've ended up crying in laughter. Or maybe just plain crying, because that is now her reality. At the very least, Po Kong was the least scariest of the demons, and her appetite had been solely exaggerated from being locked in the Netherworld for who knows how long.
"I do not hold the extensive vocabulary that my brothers will try to confuse and charm you with, so I will be as I am." The elder told. Jade had a habit of not respecting her elders unless it was Uncle, but something about Po Kong's aura made her want to snap in line. She was surprisingly more articulate than what she would have initially guessed, and somehow she figured that misconception was made about the sorceress many a time.
"They want you for your empire, and your loyalty to any one of them will cause a major shift in balance." She stated plainly, ruby red eyes cutting across the top of her fan to gauge her reaction.
She did not answer until they had reached the garden, with Jade sighing quietly that her feet touched the soft, well kept grass. How she had not developed any sort of pain from walking bare footed, she would never know, but she knew Po Kong did not have limitless patience like her eldest, Tso Lan.
"I don't want to ally myself with any of them." It was difficult trying to maintain the regal tone, as her own vocabulary did not match that of the Queen's standard. "When I learned that Shen – ahem.. the Dragon Emperor intended to invite his family, I figured that it would prove chaotic enough that actual politics wouldn't take place."
"So.. a free meal?" posed Po Kong.
Jade's answer was in the form of a grin, breaking free of some of her tension in her body. She moved towards the small stream that bled into a pond, letting the cool water lap between her toes as she toyed with the blades of grass.
Po Kong did not join her, hovering at her side and humming low in thought.
"Shendu may seem like the biggest threat, as he is actively pursuing you." She closed her fan, tapping her round chin with it. "However you should keep an eye on those closest to you. The former Queen – your late mother – would never have let the oni step out of line like that."
"My mother.." Jade questioned to herself. She kept hearing about the elusive late mother of hers, and she guessed that it didn't mean her actual mother that she remembered from her own reality. Last she checked, her mom wasn't an all powerful sorceress with a hold over the Shadowkhan, or evil for that matter. The Queen before her .. she would have to research as much about her as possible.
If she could squeeze that in between not getting caught out in the living lie that she was perpetuating for survival's sake. It seemed that it was expected that she would have to punish Tarakudo if she wanted things to remain in balance, but really, her punishments didn't exactly fit into the scheme of 'evil tiny tyrant.' Maybe she'd just have him to laundry duty, or something.
"I will deal with my oni appropriately," she brought up suspiciously, squinting up at her from the grass floor. " Besides - aren't you also one of Shendu's siblings who wants to get all the power for themselves?"
Po Kong scoffed, and thwapped her on top of the head with her fan, eliciting a soft 'ow,' from her.
"I have no need for it. I have a kingdom in mountains, that will tower over any empire, and pierce any sky." The demoness proudly boasted. "I find it fun to watch everyone march like ants as they try to claim one anthill after another."
Creepy, but to be expected. She gestured Jade to rise, for which she did, offering her a fan of her own with a symbol of her chi emblazoned on the front. Knowing how much it would anger the other demons to think that she was buddying up with Po Kong, she accepted the gift with glee, opening it and covering her expression. It was perfect for her, and she loved them as weapons.
note: this was going to be a much longer chapter that included shendu and tarakudo, but i've instead moved that scene to be the start of the next chapter. i don't tend to like writing too much into a single chapter, or writing huge paragrahps in general, and i'd like to keep each chapter at least within the 2 - 4k word range if possible. just a personal preference and also not to exhaust myself when it comes to writing.
thanks for the consistent reviews, ZMLS. it always makes me giddy seeing that people are reading my little dust bunny here.
this chapter can be summed up as:
shendu: you're letting a servant speak for you
jade: my servant is speaking to other servants
shendu: *PIKACHU FACE OF SURPRISE*