The Kingdom of a Hundred Flowers certainly lived up to its name. There were flowers everywhere.
Gardens upon gardens of them covered the hillsides surrounding the central town, and even the shops and homes were being used to grow flowering vines. It had been many centuries since Monkey had experienced so much pollen in the air, and sneezed repeatedly upon entering the town – and his three companions followed suit.
They were forced to cover their noses, Tripitaka and Monkey using their scarves while Pigsy and Sandy had to fashion their own.
"There'd better be some good honey around here," said Pigsy, observing all the bees flying around.
The last time Monkey had visited the Kingdom properly (actually stopping instead of just flying over), the Kingdom's people were a lot like Mycelia; happy and smiley with a green thumb. And while they were still clearly the last part, happy and smiley they were not. People were hurrying back and forwards like they were afraid to be outside, and most were carrying some form of weapon on them. Added to that, no one greeted the four travellers and went out of their way to avoid them.
Sandy hit the metaphorical nail on the head. "You'd think being surrounded by beauty, they'd all be happy."
"I think I know why." Monkey pointed with his staff to the palace up ahead; large and grand as it had always been, but what was different from the last time was the sheer number of well-armed guards that surrounded it. "The King has guards stationed around his palace, but not around the town itself. Leaving the people vulnerable to demon attacks."
"But… These are his people," said Tripitaka. "He should be defending them."
Pigsy winced. "I'm guessing you've read way too many storybooks about just and noble Kings. They exist in the real world, but they're in short supply these days."
"Things never used to be like this," said Monkey.
"They could just be protecting the scroll," Sandy suggested.
But Monkey had a feeling the safety of the scroll had nothing to do with it.
They walked up to the palace gate and were immediately stopped by one of the guards. "Halt. No one is permitted to see King Rajesh unless invited."
Monkey put on his best charming smile and said, "He'll want to see us. I'm the Monkey King, Slayer of Demons, Sage Equal to-"
The guard interrupted him with a scoff. "Yeah, and I'm the King of Hell. Look buddy, you're the twenty-second Monkey King this week that's shown up here demanding to see the King. And while I'll admit you've got the best hair out of all of them…"
Monkey preened over his hair, ignoring how Tripitaka, Pigsy and Sandy all rolled their eyes at him. "Thank you."
"There's no way on Earth you're the real deal," the guard continued. "So move along."
He always pitied humans who didn't believe. But it made things more entertaining for him. Without breaking eye-contact with the guard, Monkey raised his hand in the air before he whistled and clicked for his cloud.
Of course, he realised, it would be just typical if the cloud chose now to be fickle and not appear, but luck appeared to be on his side. The cloud appeared right in front of the guard's face, causing him to jump backwards in shock with a high-pitched scream. The guards around him also jumped in surprise, but they were more mesmerised by the divine proof that the Monkey King stood before them.
"Good Cloud." Monkey patted it like a dog before sending it away with another whistle. "Now, kind guard person, may we see the King?"
The guard stuttered before nodding his head. "Y-Yes. I'll announce your presence right away. Follow me."
He signalled for the guards above him to open the gate, and soon the quartet were being led inside the vast marble palace filled with beautiful artwork depicting all kinds of flowers. Out of the corner of his eye, Monkey noticed Tripitaka nearly tripping over her own feet while looking up at the paintings on the ceiling.
They were led into a large throne room filled with both guards and a number of well-dressed people. Nobles, more likely. The guard bowed upon entering the room. "Your Majesty, I present to you the Monkey King and his disciples."
"Pretty sure we're Tripitaka's disciples," Pigsy whispered to Sandy. Monkey quickly slapped him on the shoulder.
As they crossed the room, Monkey could see a man at the far end slumped on a throne which looked to be made of gold. His hair and beard were dark, his skin light brown. He wore red and purple robes which were so intricate they looked like they'd taken months to sew, and a golden crown sat precariously on his head. He was nothing like the Kings of old, who always appeared very modest and welcoming.
When they finally reached the throne and bowed in respect, the King – Rajesh, from what Monkey had heard at the gate – beamed at them. "Greetings, from one King to another! To what do I owe this great honour, Monkey King?"
"My companions and I are gathering the Seven Sacred Scrolls so that we may deliver them to the Gods' Resistance in the Western Mountains," Monkey explained. "When I scattered the scrolls across the seven continents five hundred years ago, I dropped on of them in front of your palace, so that your family may keep it safe. With your respect, I have come to collect it."
"Oh." The King slumped further into his throne. "If only you had come sooner. The scroll has been taken… along with my daughter."
Monkey tried not to let his annoyance show. He really should have known it wouldn't be easy, collecting this scroll. And adding a missing Princess to the mix just complicated things even more.
"Your daughter?" Tripitaka spoke up. "Who took her?"
King Rajesh didn't look impressed and raised a finger towards her. "Did I address you, little boy?"
Tripitaka was taken aback, and Monkey used every ounce of the little self-control he had to stop himself from snapping at the King. He was able to compose himself and said, "Who is responsible for this?"
"A demon," said the King. "He was such a monstrous, vile creature. He took my beloved daughter, Princess Peony, and the scroll too. From what I heard, the demon forced her to marry him. She must be so frightened, and I cannot send out a rescue party without leaving my palace defenceless."
Monkey looked around at all the guards. He couldn't spare even one or two?
When he saw the expression on Tripitaka's face, he knew that she wanted to tell this King that the safety of his daughter (and the scroll) should be more important than the safety of his palace. But probably considering how the King had already reacted to her, she decided not to say anything.
"This demon will be nothing but ash when I'm through with him," said Monkey with a grin. Already his excitement was building; he planned on taking his time slaying this demon and enjoy every minute of it. "Do you pay tribute to this demon? Did he take you daughter because you couldn't pay it?"
"Oh, no!" King Rajesh shook his head. "This is a completely different demon. A newcomer. The demon lords I pay tribute to are perfectly fine. The Horned Brothers, they're called. Gold and his younger brother, Silver. They already tried to get the scrolls and my daughter back for me, but the demon proved too powerful for them."
Hearing this surprised Monkey. It wasn't every day he met humans who appeared to be happy with demon rulers, though observing the considerable wealth the King had acquired, Monkey could make a guess as to why. This stopped him from offering to kill the other demons, too.
He would still do it, of course. It was hard to keep the Monkey King away from any opportunity to slay a demon. He just wouldn't tell the King he was doing it. "I will return your daughter to you. You have my word as a God."
It wasn't until they were outside the palace gates that Pigsy said what the others were all thinking. "Just so we're clear, we're totally gonna slay those other two demons, right?"
"Pigsy," said Monkey, "that's like asking you if you're gonna eat, or Sandy if she's gonna write another poem about our adventures."
The River Goddess already had her notebook and pencil out, and was writing down her thoughts. "I've written forty-three now. What can I say? This quest is the ultimate muse."
"The Horned Brothers can wait," said Tripitaka. "Right now, our priority is rescuing Princess Peony and getting the Scroll of Love. We can worry about the other demons afterwards."
Monkey pouted and hit his staff into the ground in frustration. He hated waiting. "Fine."
"But we're still gonna slay the demon holding the Princess captive," she reminded him.
He immediately brightened up.