Hi, sorry for the long wait. Chapter became a little longer...

22. Glass-clad Facade

"And then she did that – unusual shining thing – very strange. And then – you woke up."

Po finished his long story and looked around with excitement. He stood in the kitchen, not far away from the new alive Sheng, who sat at a table where Mr. Ping took away the empty soup bowl which the young peacock had emptied. Sheng had listened to him very carefully. It was in the middle of the night, but nobody seemed to be tired. Even not Shen, who had left them all so suddenly without explanation.

Po and Mr. Ping took the task to lead the young peacock into the kitchen. Then Po started his story. First, he talked about how he had met Shen and what happened all in Gongmen City, but he avoided talking about details in Shen's murder case. Then he continued with what happened after the battle and so on and so on, until what Xinxin had told about his mother and all. Sheng said nothing while Po was talking. Even not if Po talked about what had happened in King Wang's castle. He asked no questions about his mother or sister. But when Po had finished, he folded together his blue-green wings and stared at the table surface deep in thought, nobody knew about what.

Po watched him in disillusionment. He put his fingertips together and waited for a reaction. But Sheng looked like he would feel nothing. At least not at the moment. Then he lifted his eyes, directed them at the Dragon Warrior and asked with firm, calm voice: "Any suggestions or plans to get them out?"

Po looked at the young man in surprise. He had expected tears or questions about his mother, but he was more than neutral.

"Eeeeehhhhhh…. Not yet," Po brought himself to say. "Not yet, at the moment."

Po flinched when the peacock slammed his wings on the table. "In this case, I have to take matters in hand myself!"

With that, he got up, bowed at Mr. Ping, thanked for the meal, then he left the room. The gander and the panda looked after him with confusion. For more than 10 seconds, Po didn't know what to say. That boy was the opposite of his sister and so – neutral.

"Don't mind," a female voice said and Xinxin appeared in the kitchen. "It's not because of you," the vixen said. "But you have to know, Xiang trained him very hard to hide feelings. He should never show such kind of things." She paused. "With success." With a deep sigh, she wiped over her head. "But I only want to say, that she came to herself again."

"Who?" Po asked.

"Soothsayer."

"Oh, can I go to her?"

The maid shrugged her shoulders gently. "Well, Lord Shen is with her."

Her breaths became stronger again. The peacock watched her with watchful eyes. For over one hour, he stood next to her sleeping place in one of the houses. Her big brother-in-law took a look at her from time to time. The peacock held his breath when she opened her eyes.

First, she seemed to be exhausted, but then she smiled at him. Shen forced a little smile back, but he wasn't very successful with that gesture.

"That's the first time that I have to wait for your awaking," he said quietly.

She sighed cheerily. "How is he?"

"He is fine again," he answered.

A new sigh and she leaned back on her pillow. He craned his neck, just to be sure that she didn't drift in a new faint. But her breathing was normal and he kept calm.

"Well, I only wanted to see whether you are okay."

He turned around, but her voice let him wince.

"Tell me the reason."

He stopped. "The reason for what?"

"I heard about what happened between him and you." She opened her eyes completely. "Why?"

The peacock looked at her and narrowed his eyes in confusion. "What should I have done instead?"

"You know what I mean," she whispered gently. "It's because of your father, isn't it?"

"How…" But Shen stopped himself and lowered his face. "That… wasn't…"

"Why didn't you give him an embrace after you embraced him on his bed?"

The white lord bit on his underlip. "I couldn't…" He took a deep breath. "And I can't."

For a moment there was silence, until the goat tried a new start. "I remember how your father hugged you when you were a little child."

She couldn't see it, but Shen tensed his wings a little. "You know nothing."

She sighed loudly, but she continued. "You were always happy when he hugged you. The state business occupied a lot of time. But you and he had your family times somehow."

The peacock swung around. He didn't want to look at her.

She let time elapse away before she dared to interrupt the silence. "It hurt you that he repudiated you. Is that how it was?"

The peacock stood there without saying a word. Usually, he didn't talk about such things, but he had no inhibitions to her to say what he thought.

"When he told me, I should leave my home," he muttered. "I thought, his father role was just facade." There was a bitter undertone in his voice. "I never wanted to feel that again." He paused, then he looked back to her. "Satisfies that your question?"

She watched him silently and his narrowing eyes finished the dialog. Suddenly, he jumped forward to the door and opened it with a harsh movement. When Po's eyes met his ones, the panda fell almost backwards.

"Uh, I… didn't… I was going to knock against the door," the panda apologized quickly.

Shen growled. "Is there no time when I can escape from your eyes?!"

Po smiled nervously and waved to Soothsayer. "Hi, nice to see you awaken."

Shen lifted his head and walked away. "I let you alone now."

Po looked after him crestfallen. "Is he angry about me?"

The goat lifted her hoof in a calm way. "It was a hard day for all of us."

"Uh, yes."

"Now?" She bent forward. "What is it, big warrior?"

"What… oh, oh, yes, yes. Sorry." Po chuckled and came closer. "I only came… well, I also wanted to see whether you are fine or not… and… I- I only… well… I wanted to ask…what was that?"

She petted over her chin. "You mean what, strong warrior?"

"That shining flying thing." With that Po swung his paws.

The old goat smiled. "Chi."

"Chi?" Po had no explanation about that. "What's Chi? Can I learn that?"

The soothsayer smirked. "Dragon Warrior. There will be a time when it will reveal to you."

Po let sink his shoulders in disappointment. "Why don't you want to tell me now?"

But the goat waved her hooves gently. "Exercise patience, big warrior. Your time will come. But until then, I think you have to do more important things at the moment."

"Shen? Sheng?" Po walked between the houses, always calling the names. It was still a cold night, but the snowing had stopped. "Oh dear, I hope I don't confound their names somehow."

He stopped when he almost bounced against a green-blue peacock.

"Oh, sorry, sorry, sorry. I didn't see you."

Slowly, Sheng turned around and looked at him indifferently. "Doesn't matter." And looked ahead again. Po looked over his shoulder and saw how Shen stood not far away and had turned his back on them. He stood in an old abandoned house at the end of the village, maybe a kind of shed, on a wooden beam where he watched the moon.

Sheng stood in the entrance of the house and looked up at him silently. Po didn't know what he should say about that scenario. "Can I do anything…?"

Sheng lifted his wing. Po choked on the word. His eyes wandered between the two birds. He was going to ask Shen, but deemed it the best to say nothing anymore. Wordlessly, he removed himself, went a few meters away where he found a dry place under a porch roof. He took a blanket, wrapped it around himself and watched them from a distance. He watched and watched, nobody of them talked, until his eyes closed.

The sun colored the morning sky with a light-dark blue. It was very early, when Po opened his blinking eyes and yawned loudly. He stretched his body, then he looked where he had seen the two peacocks last night. His eyes grew big. Nothing had changed. Both peacocks stood in the same position like last night. He took the blanket aside and walked over to Sheng, who was still watching the older peacock on the wooden beam.

"Did you stand here the rest of the night?" Po asked in disbelief.

But Sheng didn't speak. His glance was only focused on the peacock who was still sitting on the wooden beam.

Po watched him, until his stomach rumbled. "Well, I think I should look for the breakfast."

With that, the panda left them and walked to the house where Mr. Ping housed. Sheng didn't pay attention to him and kept his stare at Shen. It seemed the time would stand still around them.

The young peacock winced. Shen had moved. With closed eyes, he put a wing over his forehead gently. Finally, he looked back so that their eyes met.

"What do you want?"

The younger prince lowered his face.

"Excuse me my behavior," he began. "Your appearance came as a surprise for me."

Shen made a jump and glided down on the floor where he landed two meters in front of the other peacock. Then the white peacock came closer slowly, and he didn't break the eye contact. Then he stopped.

"And?" he asked. "You want answers? I can't give you."

"No," Sheng said with a firm voice, but his undertone sounded confused. For the first time he seemed to cave in somehow deep inside his soul. "I… I wanted to ask you to get out my family."

Shen raised his eyebrows in surprise. "You had escaped death a few hours ago, and talk about such things?" Suddenly, he smirked. "You have a strong will."

He circled around his son and eyed him. "And at least, you've got a good education, I guess."

When he stood behind him, Sheng turned around and look into his face again. Shen was a little confused. The eyes of the young man spoke a harsh language.

"I have to apologize for my timidity, which I showed you," the younger one said. "It was a mistake. It will never happen anymore."

He stood firmly and stiffly. Shen couldn't explain that tone. "What are you talking about?"

"I hadn't been master of the situation and I apologize for that."

"How do you mean it?"

"A soldier always has to stand and shows no weakness. And I was weak."

Shen chuckled, but then he became serious. "I see you had a military education, hadn't you?"

Sheng lifted his head. "The best one. Xiang trained me personally."

The white peacock nodded. Then he averted and walked outside. Sheng followed him.

"Well," Shen began. "What does your mother say? Did she go along with that?"

"What should she say about that?" Sheng sounded surprised.

Shen stopped and looked back at him. "She is your mother."

The young bird shrugged his shoulders. "So what? She has no understanding of war fighting."

Shen hesitated with a reply. His eyes narrowed a little. "How do you have the audacity to talk about your mother in this way?"

The young bird lifted his head very high. "How can you dare to talk about that?"

"I'm your father, and I don't allow you to talk about your mother like that."

"Yesterday you wanted to kill her."

Shen hissed. "How do you know?!"

"Dragon Warrior told me."

"That's how you call him?"

"How shall I call him instead?"

But Shen didn't answer and turned around. "Never mind."

He continued his walk, but Sheng didn't want to end their talk this way.

"What's wrong with you?" he asked loudly. "What are you thinking about mother?"

But Shen avoided his eyes. "Maybe I was wrong," he muttered quietly and more to himself.

"Wrong about what?"

But anew Shen avoided an answer. "Let's talk about something different things."

Suddenly, the blue-green bird jumped forward and blockaded the way. "No, you give me an answer, right here, right now!"

Shen flinched and took a fight position. Sheng made the same and shortly after, both birds were opposing each other stared firmly into the eyes of the other. Everyone watched the movement of the person opposite.

They kept their tensed wings, until a very little soft smile crossed the white lord's beak lips. "Tz. Maybe she was right."

Sheng raised his eyebrows skeptically. "Who?"

"Your sister. We are really very similar."

The tension of both dwindled away slowly. Finally, Shen put his wings together and made a few steps aside. "Your mother was a nice person. That's all what I want to say about her."

Sheng snorted. "Yes, you met her coincidentally. And after 17 years we know that nothing was like it was."

Shen lowered his face a little. "Your mother couldn't tell you maybe."

"That's not an excuse," the young peacock said harshly.

Shen looked at him from the side. "You were angry about her."

His son glared back.

The older bird smirked. "Very emotional."

"No!" Again Sheng took a strong position. "It was just a justified outrage."

"She will have a reason for her behavior."

"Why do you defend her now?!" Sheng blocked his way again. "Now you are emotional!"

Shen's face became darker. "I saw much more things in my life than you."

"But you don't know me."

"Nobody had told me about you."

It was enough for Sheng and raised his wings. "Alright, we turn around in a circle without aim."

Shen sighed. "Well then, let's leave that."

Silently, they walked side by side in the snow landscape, until Shen dared to break the silence. "Well, you want to get them out, right?"

Sheng nodded at him. "Yes."

"So, how do you want to do it? Storming the fortress?"

Sheng lifted his head defiantly. "That will be impossible without an army. But there must be a way. All can be desired."

Shen snorted in disgust. "Is that also one of Xiang's wisdoms? Did he ever lead a war?"

The young peacock didn't speak and Shen got his answer.

The lord averted his glance. "But I did."

"And you lost."

Shen froze when his son uttered these words.

"We have heard reports about the battle," Sheng continued. Coldness lay in his words. "Xiang said, your strategy was more than sloppy."

A light flashed in the sun, but Sheng didn't flee. With a firm glance he stared at the feather formed knife which almost touched his beak. Both birds stared at each other. Nobody hovered over. For a while, they stood there, finally Shen put away his knife and went away wordlessly and gave his son no last glance.

Quietly, Po supped his soup. He had watched the birds for a while and had heard everything. Now he saw how the birds went apart. And it wasn't a positive goodbye.

Deep in thought, Po went to a bench and spooned up his soup next to a house. After he had emptied the bowl, he watched the snow silently which glittered in the morning sun.

Basically, both were right. They couldn't abandon them. That's what they had forgotten after the fuss about Yin-Yu's letter and Sheng's nearly decease. But otherwise, Shen wasn't very wrong about his doubt to come into the castle of the Huns.

Suddenly, he heard a loud panting. Somebody was running up the hill in his direction.

"I had guessed that you would be here," a familiar person gasped.

With big eyes, Po looked at the merchant sheep Hangfan, who had brought them over the border.

"What are you doing here?" Po asked, still very confused. "What about the others?"

The sheep stopped and panted heavily. "Oh, I don't know whether there are good news or not so good news for your ears."

"You mean, bad news, don't you?"

"Well, bad news would be more if something bad happens. But maybe it's just less bad."

"Yes, yes, okay, okay." Po became nervous. "I've got it. But what happened?"

"Well, after all what I had heard," the sheep began. "At least the soldiers told, that Xiang was arrested. He had broken out after we went into the castle. Nobody knows how he managed that."

"What about Xia and her mother?" Po asked impatiently.

"For all I know is, that she is in the main building of the castle. They seemed to be fine, but they were confined in a room. And… and… I heard a rumor that King Wang is going to marry Yin-Yu."

"Uh?" Was all what Po managed to say.

With slow movements, the peahen stroke over her feathers to smooth them down. She sat in front of a mirror and gave her daughter a look from time to time who watched her from behind. Together they shared a room where Yin-Yu had spent the last few days in King Wang's rooms. It was a not bad designed room. Tables, chairs and nice decorations gave the impression for a woman's room. But all that couldn't cheer them up.

With guilty, Xia dropped her gaze. "I'm so sorry, mother. I made so many things worse. I only wanted to see you happier."

Slowly, her mother turned around. Her face was tired and sad, but her silver eyes showed that there was still life in her. She forced a smile at her. "I know."

But that didn't calm her daughter. "I had never thought that he would do something like that."

The older peahen dropped her eyes before she stood up and put her wings on Xia's shoulders. "That's okay, that's okay." Her voice sounded weak, but she tried to stay firm. "Never mind. It was good to see him that he is fine."

She sank her face and whispered. "At least I could see him for the last time again." A gentle smile crossed her beak. "He had always a fierce temper."

She lifted her face and looked at her daughter. "But the main point is that you and your brother keep alive."

Xia forced a very bitter smile when she was thinking about Sheng's bad condition. But she couldn't tell the truth. Her mother should live with that thought.

The grab of Yin-Yu around her daughter became tighter. "All the other things are unimportant."

"You aren't unimportant!" Xia accented. "We need you."

Suddenly, a loud knocking knocked against the door.

She released her. "They are coming."

For the last time, she stroked over her feathers.

"You don't have to do that!" Xia cried, avoiding her that she reached the door. "Please, don't agree with his deal."

But her mother took her wing firmly and pushed her away gently.

"Never mind." She smiled. "It's not my first forced wedding."

With that, she opened the door where ox soldiers were waiting for her. Then the door was closed again and her daughter was left alone in the room. Suddenly, the young girl ran to the door and struck against it like mad. "MOTHER!"

To be continued...