Chapter Five: Shen
Shen awoke. He slowly untucked his head from his wing and looked over the room with young eyes. Everything looked drab—the carved furniture, silk tapestries, and red wood pillars were not exciting. Mellow sunlight had begun to brighten the world outside of the huge, floor to ceiling windows. Shen puffed his bright, snowy feathers, shook his head vigorously, and breathed the fresh spring air. He could hear the gurgle of the sluice as it flowed underneath him.
Shen smiled wide, his grayish beak parting in a joyful and anticipatory expression. Today was a special day. It took all his might not to run and wake his parents that instant. They yelled at him the last time he tried that, so he knew to wait until his maid came to get him. Shen was the son of a royal family of peacocks that stretched back generations. That meant he was tethered to an endless line of things to do, every day, with little time in between. Sometimes he wished that he was with the people outside of the walls of the palace: nothing to do except have fun all day.
But today was different. Shen walked toward the gaping windows that separated his room from the larger world. It was foggy, grey, boring. He couldn't even see the wall that blocked his view of the city, only the channel that he wasn't allowed to swim in and the trees he wasn't allowed to climb. Grey trees, grey water, grey, grey, grey. The sun started to fall on one of the high towers that protected him, coating it in a beautiful, fiery ruby.
Finally, some color.
Today would mark his seventh year, his first day of advanced instruction, and his first adventure into the city that he was supposed to rule one day.
Shen spun and rushed away from the windows, whipping his rear around snappily, pretending he had long tail feathers like his father. He had some time to play before his maid collected him, so he scampered to his gold-inlaid wood table. He tucked his slender legs in, sat, and surveyed the scatter of small trinkets and baubles atop the desk. Some he had gotten as gifts—a spinning top, a ball, a set of dominoes. But the ones he liked best he had collected from around the palace grounds. The palace had plenty of visitors, sometimes dozens a day, and they were constantly dropping things. There was a reel fitted with fraying thread, a few pulleys, something that clicked when he cranked it, and a beautifully carved stick made to look like a tiger that he had found just yesterday.
Shen picked up a curious item with his long white feathers; it was a little metal box missing a top, plain and unadorned. Inside, however, was an assortment of strange metal pieces, so small and intricate that he wondered how anyone made such a thing. Each piece fit perfectly with the next. Toothed circles met others of their ilk, a spirally thing quivered when he touched it, and a big round piece was pocked with bumps. There was something on the outside of the box that he could twist, but nothing happened when he did so. In any case, the complicated trinket was his favorite to mess with.
The front door of his quarters burst open, startling him. Jingfei, his doting peahen maid, jutted her charcoal neck towards him. She cocked her head which sent her crest jiggling.
"Oh dear, Jieru! Bright eyed and on time, are we?" Her assured voice was soothing and warm. She wore a dark, pale reddish robe, typical servant garb. It failed to stand out amongst her feathers, which were sooty and black, rare for a peahen.
"Is it time to get up already?" he yawned, pretending to be sleepy. If he could get a few more minutes in to play...
"Now now, young master Jieru, I have come to rouse you, and rouse you I shall." She was stern like an iron statue. She stepped inside and stroked the front of her robe with both wings, closing the debate.
"Up! Up! It's about time you got dressed," she pipped.
Shen set his treasure down and slouched, not quite ready to start the day. He remembered what joy awaited him later that evening, though, and thus he was willing to comply with Jingfei's demands. She shepherded him toward his wardrobe, fussing about the state of his feathers. She pulled out a white silk robe with red trim, one the servants had cleaned and stored for him yesterday evening.
"Please Jingfei, I can do it by myself," he whined as she tried to dress him.
"Ah, the young lord, growing up already," she sighed with a smile. "Quickly now, or you'll be late for instruction."
He pouted as he fit his arms into the soft fabric. He was nervous about learning in a classroom with other students. Up to this point, he had only seen children his age when he went to the palace temple, once a week. Even then, they stayed away from him. As the two made for the door, Shen took a slight detour to his desk.
"A-a-a now, Jieru, leave your odds and ends behind." She was too late, he had already grabbed the tiger stick, the top and his strange box.
"Jieru," she said strictly, "leave it."
He rolled his eyes and set the top back, making it as obvious as possible. Jingfei grunted with satisfaction and beckoned him to the door. Shen adjusted the loot which he had hidden in his voluminous sleeves and smirked to himself.
He looked to his maid once they were outside.
"When can we see mother?" His juvenile voice echoed off the hidden buildings as they walked. It sounded distant in the deadening fog that still permeated the courtyard.
"You'll have to wait until breakfast."
He frowned at the ground.
Shen missed when he was younger, back when his feathers were all grey and downy. His mother would cradle him in her wings, and he would watch with wide eyes as his father met and talked with strange looking people. He really only saw his parents during meals now, but they would be guiding him around the city tonight. They were supposed to see a play, a story that is special to Gongmen—a tradition.
They arrived at the bath house, which was, of course, steamy and ready for him. Shen took off his robe—by himself—and set it on the slate edge of the dark pool, careful to hide his treasures away in the folds. He couldn't convince Jingfei to let him bathe himself, however. 'You need to wash behind your crest,' she would croon as she ladled water over small his head. Of course, he didn't have his crest yet, but it made him feel good when she pretended that he did.
The sun had cleared away most of the fog by the time Shen had washed. The enormous tower of the palace ripped through the heavens with angry, powerful flanges. He winced as the sun reflected off of the piercing blue sky. Slowly, he fell behind and covered his eyes with his feathers, trying to stay in the shadows of the giant dais. Jingfei glanced back and trotted toward him hastily. Her claws rasped slightly on the coarse stone tiles of the walkway.
"Jieru! Hurry up now. Come along."
"I can't see," he said dolefully, his meek voice quiet beneath the red hem of his sleeves.
She looked at the sky and back to him with worry. "Come now, remember to squint."
He hated squinting. It still made it hard to see, but at least his eyes didn't hurt as much. Shen always wondered why everyone wanted to go outside during the day when it was so bright. Jingfei guided Shen to the banquet hall atop the large palace entrance. He had to hurry to keep up with the old maid's longer strides.
The vestiges of winter had begun to fade from the palace; all around him servants scuttled, clothed in ubiquitous pale crimson servants garb. Most of the servants were geese, but there were a few ibexes and goats. They trimmed the budding branches and hedges, and otherwise tended to the vast gardens surrounding the tower. Everyone who worked at the palace lived in the servants quarters which were on the opposite side from him and his parents housing. He was told not to bother them, but they would speed away when he approached anyway.
The two climbed their way up the steps, with Shen more or less hopping from ledge to ledge. Jingfei pushed open the door for him and he saw his mother in the middle of the long, rectangular table. She was buried in a scroll, and behind her sat an old goat on a cushion. Two of the walls had been opened, through which sunlight streamed and caused the polished stone floor to shimmer. Lanterns washed the flowing crimson curtains, tapestries, and dusky wood beams in a warm red. Servants entered through a door opposite the table with steaming plates that filled the air with rich aromas.
"Mother!" Shen shouted as he took off to see her. He quickly outpaced Jingfei who attempted to wrangle him. Shen's mother looked up and smiled brightly, and she stepped off her stool. In the sunlight, the pearlescent cyan feathers on her breast cast a radiance of their own. Her pink silk robe nearly matched their brilliance, and perfectly complimented the rosy feathers of her head. The intricate and liquid patterns of her robe danced as she opened her wings wide to receive him.
Shen leapt into her clutch.
"Oh, Jieru! Happy birthday little cherry blossom." Her voice was like pure mountain water falling over smooth river stones. He buried his head in her plumage and sighed.
"You're getting too big for me to hold, little one," she said with a bubbly laugh. She beamed down at him with contentment, shielding him from the worries of the future. Jingfei finally met them at the table, holding her robe up to run.
The aging servant lifted a wing up to her head and bowed, panting. "One thousand pardons Lady Shen Yun! I will try many volumes harder to subdue your child in the coming days."
"Subdue Jieru? Impossible. He's much too spirited," Yun said, giving a few curt pats to Shen's head.
"Nonetheless, no need to apologize. It is plain to see that you make a wondrous maid."
Jingfei bowed again, still panting.
Yun tapped Shen's nose with a feather. "Happy birthday, Jieru," she repeated, softer this time.
"Are you excited for the show this evening?"
"Yeah!" Shen grabbed her wing and lifted himself up higher. "I can't wait to go and see the city!"
"Hmm," she confirmed, and looked at Shen with a silly face. "Well, we have to get through a lot of really boring stuff before we can go have fun. Starting with breakfast."
They shared a laugh.
"Jingfei, won't you join us?" Yun asked with sincerity.
The maid inclined her head and faced the ground. "I am touched by your generosity, your grace, but I must respectfully decline. There is a meal waiting for me in the kitchen. It wouldn't be right for a servant to sit at such a prestigious table."
Yun regarded the servant with respect. "As you wish."
Yun adjusted her grip of Shen and turned to address the old goat sitting behind her.
"Soothsayer, do you desire to dine with us?"
"I desire only the truth among lies, Lady Shen," the old goat said with clarity and wit.
The Soothsayer's face was wrinkled and grizzly. Two massive horns curled from the sides of her head. Those and her hunched appearance made her shortness even more apparent. Her wise eyes were affixed on the young Lord.
"Well said as always, Soothsayer," Yun complimented enthusiastically. The Soothsayer raised a hoof to Shen.
"Happy birthday, Shen," she greeted softly, using his surname. A small gesture that nonetheless made him feel older and more capable. Shen leapt from his mother's arms before the goat could react.
"Soothy!" he yelled as he hugged her. She laughed heartily and embraced him back.
Shen ate but hardly tasted his food. It was too difficult to focus on anything when he knew what awaited him. He pulled out the toys which he had hidden from his maid and began to admire them. His mother switched her ink brush out for a pair of chopsticks every so often as she intermittently ate her meal. She was complaining to the soothsayer about a missing confirmation of a shipment. Shen always found the things that adults worried about interesting, confusing, and a bit boring.
"I never received the counting rod from the Northern Province's shipment of saltpeter. How am I supposed to know how many kilograms they were supposed to give us?" Yun agonized, shaking her head.
She glanced over at Shen who was busy playing, and furrowed her brow. "What do you have there, young cherry blossom?"
"Just some things I found," he said absently. He gripped the tiger stick and pretended to make it leap atop his weird box. Yun blinked as she saw the stick.
"The counting rod! You found it!" She looked to Shen with bright eyes.
"Could I have that please?" She asked. Shen tucked it close to his chest.
"But I like it," he said abashedly.
"Please, Jieru. I need it for work. Surely you understand." Shen knew that he should give the rod to her. But he had too few things that were really his. He thought for a moment, and changed his solemn expression to a shrewd smirk.
"You need this you say?" Shen inquired. Yun crossed her wings and leaned back, her interest piqued.
"If I give this to you," he said, brandishing the stick, "what do I get in return?"
Yun closed her eyes and sighed, relaxing further into her chair.
"Clever, Jieru. Very clever." She smiled and faced Shen, eyes sparkling like turquoise.
"You remind me of your father, always interested in fairness and equity." She reached for a small pouch on the table next to her.
"Tell you what, young Master Jieru." At this, Shen dropped his smug look for one of childlike excitement.
"I have here three gold pieces. Would they make a worthy trade for the counting rod that you uncovered for me so valiantly?" she smirked back at him with half-shut eyes.
Shen had never gotten money before. He imagined all the things he could purchase when he went to the city later that day. He gasped, then attempted to calm himself.
"Hmm..." he mused, feigning thoughtfulness.
"I believe this counting rod to be valued at five gold pieces." His mother balked and began to laugh with levity.
"Exactly like the treasurers that give me so much angst," she said, making a poor attempt to hide her laughter, "it's a deal, Master Jieru."
She tied the coins in a bit of paper and slid them over even as Shen relinquished his stick. He gleefully tucked the bundle into his sleeves and beamed at his mother.
After breakfast, Shen said goodbye to Yun and the Soothsayer as Jingfei led him from the banquet hall. His maid fussed about being late, but she was sure to take him through as many shadows as possible to shield him from the bright morning sun. As they approached the hall of instruction at the rear of the palace, Jingfei lectured him on the importance of behavior in school. All of the peacock royalty sent their children to the palace to learn, and Shen had an important mantle to uphold. He wasn't worried about misbehaving, though.
It was Shen's first day in higher classes. He had been privately tutored by Jingfei for the past two years, but he had outpaced his instruction. Under normal circumstances, Shen would join the instruction hall at age nine. He would be the youngest one there.
"Remember to be on time, speak only when spoken to, and obey the instructor at all times!" Jingfei rambled. Shen listened passively.
When they reached the doors of the instruction hall, Jingfei gave him one last inspection, making sure his feathers were in order. Shen drooped his head to the side.
"Oh Jieru." She lifted his chin with a strong wing and looked him in the eye.
"Always remember to be confident, like the Raging Ox!" She shook a feathery fist in the air for emphasis. Shen chuckled reluctantly, embarrassed.
Shen entered the dim school with demure steps. An older peacock wearing circular spectacles sat at a desk in the front of the classroom, urgently scrawling upon a sheet of paper. Only a few candles lit the secluded room. Some of the dozen seated peacocks turned to watch him and set to work whispering among themselves. Many had crests and some even had the beginnings of a train. Shen recognized none of them.
Shen shrunk and tried to keep his head down as he found a stool near the rear of the classroom. All of the peacocks Shen had ever seen were colored in varying shades of blue—he was the only one with white feathers.
"Shen Jieru," the peacock instructor said sternly without looking up. His voice was articulated and cold.
"You're late. I expect the son of the Lord of Gongmen to act like it, and to arrive on time from this moment forward." The teacher glanced up, and his dull blue plumage and vapid eyes appeared to steal the light from the room. He glared at Shen, who sunk deeper into his chair.
"I understand that you are here because your parents can pull strings. But let me be clear: I will judge you as harshly as any other student I have ever taught, which includes your father. Do not expect any accommodations from me. Now, let us begin." Shen stared blankly at the paper in front of him.
"Students. My name is Huang Sho, and I will be teaching you the fundamentals of mathematics, language, and science. Insolence will not be tolerated, nor will disruption, distraction, interruption..."
Shen drifted off and fiddled with the hem of his robe as Huang Sho laid out a selection of characters to memorize. The other peacock students in the classroom stole surreptitious glances back at him. It reminded him of the way the palace servants shied away at his presence.
"Rui. Can you show the class the stroke order of this character, 'wolf?'" Huang Sho asked as he unfurled a large scroll containing the character. Rui, a grayish blue peafowl, stood and made his way to the easel at the front of the class. Rui approximated the character but Shen could see that the form was all wrong.
"Incorrect, Rui. Study harder." Rui shrugged and returned to his seat at the front of the class.
"What about you, Shen Jieru?" The instructor focused on Shen like an archer homing his target. Shen gulped as the entire class turned in their seats to stare at him.
Shen walked to the front of the class and held his head high. He dipped the brush in a pot of ink, careful not to let it drip. He completed the strokes to the best of his knowledge. 'Wolf' wasn't a character he was familiar with, but for him, Chinese writing had a certain intuitive flow to it.
"Well done," Huang Sho praised, seemingly impressed. Shen lifted his head higher and felt some confidence return.
"Freak," Rui took the time to mumble as Shen walked past.
Jingfei met him after instruction had concluded in the mid-afternoon. Class had been easy for Shen; he never had trouble academically. Even Huang Sho had warmed up to him somewhat, but had made a point to tell Shen that 'he cannot thrive off of natural talent alone.' It was his fellow students, some years older than he, that left him uneasy. It was hard to tell if they hated, feared or respected him. Whatever the case, no one deigned to play with him during break.
Shen faced the ground as they walked around the tower.
"Rough day, hmm?" Jingfei guessed as Shen plodded beside her, his wings hanging at his sides.
"Need not to worry, young Jieru, for your future is bright." Shen looked up at her, upset.
"They say I'm a freak. Is it because my feathers are weird?" He tilted his head as he asked. Jingfei grabbed his shoulder and stopped. She raised his head with a gentle black wing.
"Jieru," she said with such tenderness that simply stating his name comforted him.
"Don't ever let anyone make you feel bad about who you are. People are scared of what they don't understand, so make an effort to let them know you. Who you are. I know it seems hard, but I speak from experience." She motioned to her own pitch-like feathers.
Shen leaned his head on her black shoulder, reassured.
A/N
Happy Chinese New Year! I'm glad I was able to post this chapter on such a day; the day before my own birthday no less. It is the year of the Raging Ox, after all. I hope you enjoyed the switch from the present to the past, as well as the shift in perspective to the other main character of this story, Shen Jieru as I have named him.
Speaking of names, I know that their are a few accepted names for Shen and his parents in the fandom. I chose to go with what made the most sense to me: Shen is the family name, so the names I give them are their given names. Shen Yun is actually a travelling Chinese cirque/show type deal, and I thought it had a nice cadence to it. Shen's father will be introduced promptly, along with the name I have given him.
Some characters affectionately refer to Shen as "master" ocasionally. This is not to be confused with the title given to Kung Fu masters, but is merely a loving honorific, common in medieval times.
This chapter was the last one that I have written so far, so expect my release schedule to slow after this one. Sorry! I take time writing these chapters so that they are up to a high standard of quality. Looking forward to seeing you next time.
