Chapter 17 : A New Friend?

That night

Tigress couldn't sleep. She wasn't comfortable in her new room. Even though, she admitted, her new room was bigger and more luxurious than her previous one, she still doesn't feel at ease. She realized that the same thing happened every time she got to a new place.

The tiger master decided to go to a walk, hoping that the cool night air would help her relax. It was late and no one was around to accompany her as they were all asleep by now. The only ones awake are the gatekeepers who were guarding the palace, but Tigress wasn't interested in talking to them.

As she rounded the corner, she saw a lone peach tree in the middle of the backyard, reminding her of The Jade Palace. Angrily, she tried to push the thought from her mind, vowing never to think about her past again.

Sitting down beneath the tree, she thought about the discussion she was involved in earlier with the emperor and his soldiers.

They will begin their invasion of The Great Valley next week. They had hoped that Tigress would join them, but she stubbornly refused. Although the emperor did not object outright, the other soldiers did judging by the expressions on their faces when she made her intentions clear.

The Emperor .Tigress pondered. Something's wrong with him.She had a feeling that the emperor was hiding something from her, but that something wasn't something that was good. But why is he treating me so nicely?He knew that Tigress would never join them in war, yet he still invited her to the next meeting tomorrow.

"Can't sleep?"

Tigress didn't need to turn around to know who the owner of the voice was.

"What about you?"

A soft chuckle was heard from Prince Yuan Sheng. "Instead of answering, you replied me with another question." He sat down beside Tigress.

"I don't need all night to sleep," replied Tigress coldly. "And shouldn't a prince like you be the same?"

"Possibly."

They stayed silent for a while.

"How did the discussion go?" Yuan Sheng asked again, in attempt to keep the conversation going.

Tigress almost forgot that Yuan Sheng himself wasn't at the meeting. She still had a hard time accepting that as the prince, the Son of the Emperor himself, was not involved in the discussion.

"I thought you said before that you weren't interested in war stuff?"

Yuan Sheng shrugged. "Just curious."

"It's the most boring meeting I've ever had to endure. Trust me, its better that you don't know."

Yuan Sheng gave her a penetrating stare, unsettling and agitating her

"Will you stop looking at me like that?!"

"I realized that you aren't using that name on me anymore."

"What name?"

"Foolish Tiger. Remember that you used to call me that?"

"Oh. That." Tigress herself wasn't sure what made her stop calling him that.

"You're also starting to become more open, especially towards my parents."

"And you're interested in finding out why?"

The prince nodded.

"What can I do? Your parents are amazing."

Yuan Sheng laughed a little. "I know. I can tell that my mother loves you a lot."

"It's because she's a good mother. She's very nice."

"Yes. But it's mostly because she's always wanted a daughter."

Tigress looked at him in surprise. "She never wanted you at birth?!"

"What?! Of course she does." He exclaimed. "But she still prefers a daughter to a son."

"I see." Tigress looked up at the starry sky above. "You know, this place isn't as bad as I first imagined."

"Did I ever say that it is a terrible place?"

Tigress shook her head. "It's only, I've never thought that… that…"

"That this is where you're meant to be?" Yuan Sheng suggested.

She sighed. "Maybe."

"You know, this really is where you belong." Yuan Sheng told her. "If you wanted to, you could even be a part of my family."

"That's because all of you need me," Tigress mumbled. "If not for the legend and the war, none of you here would take notice of me at all."

"I don't think so, but I guess you're most probably right.

"Just like I thought."

"But you know, I'm happy you're here. Not because I need you, but more of… well… I feel like I've just found an accompany."

Tigress laughed bitterly. "You didn't have any?"

"People usually see me as a prince that should be respected and protected rather than as a friend."

Tigress nodded in understanding.

The conversation descended into another awkward silence again.

"You said you would tell me about my parents." Tigress prompted a few minutes later.

"I remembered."

"I'm waiting. What do you know?"

"Very little," he replied. "Only that our parents were friends and that your parents used to live in this palace too. I was only three when you were born."

"That is all?" Tigress asked, disappointed.

"You should ask my father if you want to know more."

Tigress turned away. She didn't want to ask the emperor anything. Sure, he was nice, but Tigress got a bad feeling about him, like he was plotting something in secret against her.

"Why didn't your father take you to the meeting earlier?" Tigress asked, changing the subject.

"You know that I don't like it. He knows it too."

"But no matter what, you're still the prince. You should be present during the meeting," Tigress said. "Your father might be disappointed with you."

"He was, and still is. Even since I was little, he knew that I can never be trusted to lead a war."

"Why not?"

"Because I can't fight at all," As he said that, he pulled up his robe to reveal his legs. Tigress raised her eyebrows at him. Everything was normal, nothing was out of place. His legs were furry orange with black stripes, just like any other tiger.

"Well?"

"Touch them."

Tigress did as he instructed, but recoiled in shock once she did. Her jaw dropped and she spluttered as she tried to find the words to continue. "Your leg—"

Whatever she had just touched wasn't flesh and bone, but just a chunk of wood wrapped in tiger skin and fur.

"Yes, my leg's weak. In fact, it's not even a leg at all."

"How... how did you get that?" She didn't even realize it when she pulled Yuan Sheng out of the Chojiang River.

"The incident twenty years ago," he replied. "I fell from the stairs and broke my leg. My father summoned all the best healers of the land, but no one could do anything about it. Fang Zi said that if it wasn't amputated, my life would be in danger." His face turned somber. "I never had the chance to learn martial arts to protect myself."

For the first time, Tigress pitied him. Never before had she seen him so crestfallen.

"I lost my father's pride ever since. He told me that I would never be able to bring honor to the family. I was a disgraced to him."

"But your father never seemed to care about your leg."

"That's what you and everyone else sees," he went on. "Finding and bringing you back was the only way to prove that I can still make him proud."

Tigress now understood why Yuan Sheng wanted to take her back so badly.

"It's embarrassing, isn't it?" Yuan Sheng added.

"Don't say that," said Tigress. "You'll only embarrass yourself if you keep thinking and acting that way." She was surprised to find herself comforting him, a person she hated. Unless, she doesn't hate him anymore?

Yuan Sheng smiled. "I've never said this to anyone before. But… thank you."

Tigress smiled in return. "Now you don't look like a bad person anymore."

"You don't know me well enough yet. I'm not a bad guy at all."

"Oh yeah?" Tigress replied sarcastically. "I still can't forgive you for what you did earlier about paying the wolves to beat me up."

"Can't you forgive someone's mistake in the past? After all, what I did was for your own good."

"Still, it's not a good thing."

"Okay. I'm sorry."

"You should have done it last night."

"Hey. You think you weren't harsh to me?" He said indignantly. "You're always punching and strangling me back in the Valley of Peace."

"Well—"

"You also threatened to kill me so many times."

"That's because—"

"And this morning, I almost drowned when you pushed me in the Chojiang River."

"But I didn't—"

"So who's the bad guy now?"

Tigress sighed in defeat. "I am."

"What? I can't hear you."

"Okay, I'm sorry. Sorry for doing all those things to you. Happy now?"

"That's what I want to hear." Yuan Sheng replied cheerfully. "You know, I had no idea that a girl could punch so hard."

"I'm not like the other girls." Tigress warned him. "Don't compare me to them."

"I won't." He seriously would not.

The prince paused for a moment. "So, everything's alright between us now? I mean — friends?" Yuan Shen asked.

"I'm not sure."

"You will be soon," he replied with a yawned. "I'm heading back to my room." He stretched and arched his back slightly before standing up.

"I'm staying." She replied.

"Up to you." He gave her another smile before leaving. "Good night, Tigress."

She wasn't accustomed to hear the prince address her by name, but Tigress decided to do the same.

"Good night, Yuan Sheng."