Arrows of Emotions
It would be a while for Lee and Mai to come to the Jade Palace. I would have to make sure that everything was prepared. I was sweeping the floors of the Jade Palace (the Hall of Heroes, rather) as is one of my jobs. Then Master Shifu came inside with the Furious Five, Krystal, and Po. "That is okay, Master Lion. The place looks very nice," Shifu said. I bowed as he left me with the others. They all stood quietly there.
"Okay, why are you all here," I asked.
"Well, we were wondering if you could tell us another legend," Po said excitedly. I looked at everyone.
"Is this the same for all of you," I asked. They all nodded. Just then, Zeng came in dusting the ancient relics of the hall. "Fine, I will tell you about the tale of Dead Shot Duck." I saw in the corner of my eye that Zeng's head popped up. "Listen closely as I tell you the tale." They all sat down and Zeng continued dusting...the same item. "It was years ago in the Emperor Yao's army. There were seven fine men that were the best of the best. One of them was an extraordinary archer. His real name is not known, but he was the best long-range, short-range, hand-to-hand combat fighter. It was said that he could shoot a fly from 100 yards away without killing it. He was one of the best assassins ever. His arrows never missed. It was believed that he could never run out of weapons." I heard Zeng scoffing in the background. "He and the rest of his crew were the Emperor's best men. His reputation was legendary, but it did get him in some trouble. His partners grew increasingly jealous of his praise and appreciation from the crowd, even though they've been saved by Dead Shot Duck many times. Their jealousy grew into a violent head when they decided to kill Dead Shot Duck's wife of just five months. They decided to burn her alive in the house they lived in. Dead Shot was supposed to be on a mission, but it was cancelled. So when he got to the house, he was just in time to see it start to burn. He rushed inside to get his wife out of the burning house. She was tied up and gagged when he found her. When they were both outside, Dead Shot's wife told him who did it. In a vengeful rage, Dead Shot killed and assassinated all of the six other partners. Ever since then, he has gone by the nickname Dead Shot Duck. He wears a black eye mask, black painted straw hat, and a black plain outfit. Some look at him as an outlaw, others look at him as a hero. Whatever the case, he is simply known as Dead Shot Duck." They all sat with amazed and marveled looks.
"The legend is wrong," Zeng said ominously. This brought everyone's attention to him as he came to us. "They did try to burn down the house and they did try to kill the wife. But the partners saw him get out with his wife. Before..." Zeng stopped for a moment shivering at the thought. "By the time he found them, they had already committed suicide." The room was silent. "If the wife had told the Emperor, it would be a shameful sentence. They didn't want to lose their title, so they gave up their lives." Everyone had shocked and horrified faces. I was genuinely surprised. I never really dove into the origin of Dead Shot Duck, but this was heartbreaking. These were some of Dead Shot's best friends, and now they were gone. "I guess the real lesson is...excellence has a price," Zeng finished.
"Wow," Po said silently, "I never saw it like that." He sat the rest of the time in quiet thinking. I clapped my hands.
"Well, thanks Zeng for that clarification. Now go, everyone. I need to make sure everything is in place before I do my next chore." As they others filed out, I turned to Zeng, who was still dusting the item. I think it was a vase or something. I walked up to him and placed my hand on his shoulder. "I'm so sorry," I said softly.
"What do you mean," He asked not looking me in the eye.
"Zeng, I know that you're Dead Shot Duck," I stated bluntly. He looked at me with a smirk. It was weird. I've never SEEN Zeng smirk cockily.
"So is that why you've been trying to kill me with those arrows you keep missing? For a Lion Warrior, you don't have very good aim."
"Okay, I'm sorry about that. I didn't mean to try and kill you. I was just wondering if you were really Dead Shot. Don't worry, I won't tell anyone," I winked. He shrugged nonchalantly.
"It doesn't really matter. First, they probably won't believe you. Second, I've hid the secret so long that it really doesn't matter. My fighting and shooting have bound to be lost over the years."
"It hasn't been that long, has it?"
"In that story, it would be twenty years today that it happened. I was 23 at the time."
"Wait! You're forty! Man, you're old! "
"Hey, hey, hey! I can still kill you. Don't think that since you're the Lion Warrior I can't put an arrow right between your eyes," He shot back, poking my forehead with his winged finger. I laughed.
"Well, I'm sorry for what happened to you."
"It's okay."
"Could you teach me some of your bow and arrow techniques," I asked, pleading.
"What? You want to be able to kill Tigress if the need arises," He asked rolling his eyes. "Just keep your eyes on the target, take the shot, and trust yourself."
"Really? That's all you got?"
"That's all you're getting," He said. "Now, don't you have another chore?" I grumbled, but I soon left. I wrote him with a bit too much smart-aleck-ness. Not that I didn't like it. It was funny.
The rest of the day didn't go out with much to write about. However, I got into a conversation with the Furious Five and Po at lunch. Out of the blue, I'll get these conversation topics. This time was no different. "It is okay to show emotions," I said in the silence. The others looked at each other with bewildered looks and unknowing shrugs.
"O...kay," Po answered slowly.
"Emotions are what they maybe. It is good to be able to control these emotions. One shouldn't openly express certain emotions at certain times. There are basic emotions: Anger, sadness, excitement, gladness, fear, and infatuation. These emotions will come and they will go. The important thing is that we must control how they affect us and the people around us. No one MAKES us angry or glad. We choose to do so." I paused for a moment before I got up and started walking around. "That's not to say that we should just deny our feelings and emotions. We must control our emotions, not act as if we don't have any. If we do, we will often have feelings of grief, of sadness, we will be angered easily, and we will not be able to help people where they need it the most. Which is of the heart. People don't need just physical help, they need emotional and mental help. However, there are benefits to keeping one's guard up. You're hurt less, no one takes advantage of you, and you're free of attachments."
"So you're saying it's good to deny having emotions," Tigress said, showing agreement. I shook my head.
"Putting up this guard also can hurt those who truly care, who would never take advantage of you and if there are no attachments, then there is no bond and the individual is just that, single lone person to rely on no one when he or she is down. Yes, there is a vulnerability to lowering one's guard, but it is this lowering that allows for a psycho- I mean...a mental bond, an emotional bond, a closer bond. And until that happens, friends and family have no ties." I sat down, drank some water, growled, clearing my throat. "Sorry about that lecture. I sometimes get like that."
"Is it some kind of condition," Viper asked.
"Not one that I want to fix," I replied. "Is not everything I say true?" Everyone nodded, even Tigress who nodded quite reluctantly. "Well, I'm off to bed."
"Wait," Po stopped me. "So, what do we do about it?" That was a weird question. First, I was expecting something like that from Tigress. Second, which was my answer to him,
"What can be done? It is to each individual to decide who to let in and who to keep out. Time is the best way to figure out the true motives of any person." They were all silent. "I'm out." So I went to my room, where Krystal was sleeping on the mat. I smiled. It was always nice to see her so peaceful. I readied myself to bed and went to sleep on the floor, only to be rudely awakened by Krystal who tackled me down. "KRYSTAL!" I exclaimed. "Why do you keep doing that?"
"I don't know, it's fun!" She said brightly. I shook my head. "Oh come on don't tell me you don't enjoy it," She smirked. I grumbled lowly. She was right, I didn't necessarily dislike her playfulness. And I did begin to like the...physical closeness it brought us. I just wish I could get used to the roughness of her tackling me.
"I do like it," I answered, "But my bones aren't going to last if you keep stalking me like prey." She looked at me quizzically.
"You mean 'pray'? Like prayer?"
"No, I mean like...wait, you guys here don't have a predator/prey complex, do you?"
"No, not that I would know what that means. Is this something on your world," Krystal asked excitedly.
"Yes, but I don't think you'll like it. In my world, bigger animals eat smaller animals. The ones that eat the others are the predators and the ones being eaten or chased are the prey."
"That's horrible," she said horrified.
"Well, yeah. I guess it really is. But they have to eat," I said.
"But why don't they just eat grass or plants like we do?" I shook my head.
"There are some that do but most are carnivores and they work on instincts," I explained. Krystal looked like she was about to burst into tears. "Don't worry, prey gets away sometimes to live another day. But they don't reason like you and I do."
"I guess that's something that you'd have to get used to, huh?" I shrugged. Then I thought of something.
"Krystal? Do you like being this close to me? Is that why you like pouncing on me," I asked. She looked immensely embarrassed as she got off of me and stood up.
"Um...kind of, I guess. You're just...I guess you have an attractive personality, hehe," She laughed nervously. I smiled.
"Don't be embarrassed. I like being close to you, too. After all, you are my wife, right? Not that it's been a pleasure really." She started to weakly kick me on the ground while I was laughing. "I'm kidding!" I said as I stood up. "I like having you around. I like having someone to talk to about these things. Thanks."
"You're welcome," She smirked. I went over to the desk and wrote everything that happened in the book. "What would happen if the others saw that book," Krystal asked. I scratched my thick mane.
"It wouldn't matter. I've written this thing in Eng- I mean my world's language. They would have to ask me about it before they could understand it." I looked at her with a mistrustful look. "Why do you ask?" She rolled her eyes.
"Don't worry, I wasn't going to show anyone. It's pointless now." I was still cautious until I went to bed. Benjamin Franklin was right about marriage. 'Keep both eyes open while courting and one eye half open while married.' I'm, of course, paraphrasing here.
to be continued.