Chapter 8: Final Trust
Tigress awoke to cell bars and a few eyes gleaming in the semi-darkness. "She's awake," said one.
"Light more torches then. Let her see who we are," said another, older voice.
More torches were lit and the elder approached, a staff aiding his stride. "Master Tigress, I am Lang. Welcome to our home." He stood before the bars now beside the first one who had spoken. "This is my son, Ling." Ling merely stared.
"Why am I here?" asked Tigress.
"Isn't it obvious? You're a tiger, we're wolves. You are beloved and respected, we are hated and we are outcasts. Do you understand? We are both ferocious creatures that could survive at the top of the chain, yet here we are: tigers receive so many… points, it seems, for what you are, just as wolves get put down for what we are," said Lang.
"Well, you certainly aren't helping improve your status," said Tigress.
Lang laughed. "That would be something my daughter would say. Then, I would tell her that it is not our fault for our continual suffering. All around China, there are so many people that others look up to for strength, guidance. If you ask someone who is not a wolf to come up with a wolf's name, it will not occur. Despite the many good impacts we have had on China, we are only remembered for the bad ones since those are the ones that seem to be the most popular." He spat at the last word.
"Look, I know what it's like to be hated. Really, I do," said Tigress.
"You don't!" He slammed against the bars forcefully. "We know your story, Master Tigress. Orphaned at a young age, no one accepted you, no one wanted you. When you were adopted, by a revered figure of China, I might add, you had to be respected. They might have feared you, they might have felt an envy for your position, but there was never hate for what you were. Tigers are the most revered creatures in all of China. No matter what any individual does, they will always be respected. Wolves, on the other hand, no matter how hard we all work to redeem ourselves, it will always be the actions of the individual that destroy us."
"And now you have brought that judgement down on your daughter. I mean, unless you wanted…" Upon looking at Lang closely, she knew it was true. "You wanted her to be hated."
"You wouldn't understand how our family works, Master Tigress."
"If you really want her back, this is not the way."
"She will never be truly accepted."
"Father?" came a voice.
Lang turned. "Daiyu," he said.
"You just cannot bring yourself to suffer alone. You have to bring your whole family down with you," said Dai.
"Don't start this again. It is not my fault she's gone."
"She wanted to be free, Dad. She tried everything in her power to make us the best of ourselves so that we could live."
"We are living, Daiyu. We are living as a family, if you'll allow it."
"We're not living, Dad! We're just not dying." She was in tears now. "I can't believe what you do to your own pack. We can't talk to anyone else, because everyone else hates us… and it's all because of you."
"Daiyu…be careful with what you say to me."
"I'm done, Dad. I will always love you and I will always love our pack… but I will never go back to running from life because of hate. I want to live, Dad. Please. Stop this. We can get through this. We can be a family. Please."
Her father turned from her and her brother, Ling, seemed to be caught in the middle. "If that is your choice, then you are no longer a part of this pack. Look to see us no longer." He began walking away to a further part of the cave.
"Father? Father! Dad, please! I can't… please… I just can't."
"Dai?" asked Po.
"I'm okay…" she told Po. "Ling? Please. This has to stop."
"You're just like Mom. She always got in our way," said Ling.
"No, Ling, she stood up for what was right. She wanted us to be equals with all other species. She didn't want us to keep being hated. The only thing that makes people hate us is us," said Dai.
Ling sighed. "I have to go. Dad already lost two family members. I don't want him to lose one more." He walked away, but not before leaving a small set of keys on a nearby hook.
Dai noticed what he did and gave a small smile. She grabbed the keys and went up to Tigress. "You can hate my father if you want to. He brings it upon himself… but stop hating those of us who actually try. Not any one group of people is any better or worse than another. We are equals," said Dai. She opened the cell door and Tigress walked out.
"I'm sorry, Daiyu. I just…" Tigress sighed. "Anyone with honor should be able to see people the way you see them, Dai. We are all equals… I should have been able to put prejudice aside."
"Yeah, you weren't exactly a great example to the villagers," Dai replied with a sly wink. "Look, people look up to you guys as kung fu masters and, as such, you need to set the best example you can."
"I promise, from now on, that's what we'll do." Tigress put out a hand and Dai took it and shook it.
"Come on, you guys, we better get out of here before they find out you've escaped," said Po. They both nodded and they left.
On the way back, they ran into the rest of the Furious Five and Master Shifu. Tigress stood in front of Dai, as did Po. Then, Tigress approached Master Shifu and told him what happened.
Shifu sighed. "Daiyu," he beckoned her forward. She stepped forward and gave a small bow. "Thank you for saving Tigress. It means a lot… and… on behalf of the Jade Palace, I apologize for the disrespect that you've been receiving. It's time we show the villagers who you really are… and not who your kind is."
Dai knelt down and seized the small master in a hug. "Thank you. That's all I could ask for," she said. She let him go and smiled before getting to her feet again. "Well, I better get going."
"What?" asked Po. "Where? Aren't you coming back with us?"
"It wouldn't be fair," she said.
"No, what wouldn't be fair would be to let you go when you have nowhere to go."
"If you'll have me, then I will go with you… but there's something I have to take care of first."
That's all for now. Sorry for the slow updates. I am going to try to get at least one chapter posted for each of my stories each month. I started this and I will finish it, so don't worry ;)
Please keep reading and reviewing until then. Thank you! :)