I am like WOW! Thank you SO much for all the reviews and favorites and alerts… I am jumping of happiness! So now I'll give you a real chapter, not just a prologue.
My next update will be on Friends Forever. Sorry people, but I can't just leave the story there! But after that it will be Behind The Golden Eyes and then Friends Forever and then Behind The Golden Eyes… Okay, I think you get it now!
Sorry for the late update! I only leave a prologue and then I just run off! I am evil! Sorry!
Forgot this last time: I don't own Kung Fu Panda.
The story takes place after Kung Fu Panda 2
Behind The Golden Eyes, The Servant And His Master
Tigress opened her eyes. She had dozed off into her own little world, away from the valley's noises. She blinked a couple of times, before turning her attention back to the goose.
"I am sorry, Mr. Ping. What were you saying?"
Mr. Ping smiled gently back to her. "Oh, I was just asking if you know when Po will be back again."
"They will probably be back already tonight. Don't worry, Mr. Ping. Po will soon be home again."
The goose opened his mouth to answer, but suddenly disappeared when some new customer entered. Tigress waited patiently while he finished his cooking.
"It must also be good news for you, master Tigress. You must be feeling alone in the palace," he said, returning to her table.
"Master Shifu is still there." Tigress thought about her answer and added, "When he is not meditating. But I am doing fine, Mr. Ping. Being alone doesn't bother me."
Mr. Ping gave her an unsure smile. He started picking up empty plates, before glancing back at the tiger. "I have to ask, Master Tigress. How is your injury?"
His eyes were full of caring, but Tigress avoided them. Her body had tensed at the word injury. She hated that word. She hated the rumors about it. And she hated her body for being weak.
She didn't regret taken the hit for Po. She would never regret saving him and China. It was her duty and she would gladly do it again.
But the pain had been terrible. Like her entire body had been on fire. But Tigress was a fighter. She hadn't showed her pain. She hadn't allowed her body to show it. She could deal with the pain. Or that was what she had thought.
As soon as they returned to the palace, Master Shifu had decided that it was time for training. She hadn't been able to block a kick from Po, and her secret was revealed when her friends saw her lying on the ground, clutching her side.
Master Shifu had demanded her to see the healer, ignoring her protests. To her fear, the healer had said the hated instruction: bed rest. It had been the two longest weeks of her life! She had her pride, so her friends had quickly found out that she didn't want them along when she was in her bed. Uhm, not exactly all of her friends…
Po had blamed himself for her injury. After all, it was him Shen had aimed at. He spent most of his time with her, until Tigress had gotten enough, and asked, as gently as she could, him to leave. The days had been boring without her friends, but it was better than their sympathetic looks.
It was five days since she was allowed to train again. She had been so happy, but of course she only showed calm; she was still Tigress. But the happiness disappeared when the others were sent on a mission. A mission without her.
Master Shifu hadn't allowed her, because of her injury. She had been furious, but Shifu had been stubborn. She must not join the others, but instead staying home.
Tigress had to admit that she was worried about her friends. She knew that it wasn't a big mission; just some bandits that were ravaging a village. Her friends could easily defeat them, but Tigress wished that she was with them. She was their leader and she didn't like when she couldn't control things.
They had been gone for two days now, mainly because of the distance between the Valley of Peace and the attacked village. But they were coming home tonight and Tigress was looking forward to it.
Master Shifu hadn't been the most social person. After finding inner peace, he spent most of the time meditating in the Dragon Grotto. Tigress never disturbed him; she would only do that if there was big trouble. So she had mostly spent the days alone.
Today she had decided to go a walk in the village, just to get out of the training hall. It had been lunchtime, so it was good opportunity to visit Mr. Ping. But now, she kind of wished that she just had stayed home.
Tigress stood up so suddenly, that Mr. Ping took a few steps back.
"I am fine, Mr. Ping," she said in a low voice. "Please excuse me; I have to get back to training."
With that, she left the noodle shop in a hurry. The old goose stared from where she disappeared, back to the only half empty bowl of noodles.
"But… But…" He sighed and picked up the coins Tigress had left on the table.
They had gotten many stares at their journey. But he was supposed to get used to it now. People always became scared when they saw him; the mighty gorilla. But that was only until they found out that he was a servant.
They didn't fear his master. They actually nearly adored her. He understood them very well. Who could resist her beauty?
People that never had seen a tiger in their life before had gotten a shock. Stories had told that tigers were merciless killers. But when they saw her, they became confused. There was no way that she could be a killer.
"Mommy, who is that?" A little bunny tugged at his mother's sleeve, while pointing at the strangers. The big gorilla turned to him, making the bunny to hide behind his mother. The gorilla glared angrily at him, before hoisting the suitcase back onto his massive back.
"What are you looking at?" he asked angry, while advancing on the bunny and his mother.
Suddenly, he was pushed away by an elegant figure with ease.
"Oh, don't bother him. He is just my servant. He doesn't really know any manners. I apologize if he scared you."
The tiger had leaned down, so she could look the child in his eyes. The bunny was first scared by the sight of her sharp fangs, but the warm voice and the golden eyes, sparkling of happiness, made him to trust her.
She wasn't the first tiger that he had seen; Master Tigress was also living in the Valley of Peace, just not in the village like him, but in the Jade Palace.
This tiger actually looked a lot like Master Tigress. He was nearly sure that they had the same stripe-pattern, but this mysterious tiger's fur was darker. This tiger looked a lot older then master Tigress. Not as old as Master Shifu, but much older than Master Tigress. Even though this tiger was older, she was still looking young. The bunny simply couldn't decide how old she was.
"Apologize accepted. Is there any way we can help you, Mrs.?" the bunny's mother asked.
"This is the Valley of Peace, isn't it?" the tiger said with a soft voice.
Before the mother could answer, the child asked, excited, "Yes! Are you going to visit the Furious Five and the Dragon Warrior? Are you a kung fu master too?"
The tiger chuckled, causing the little bunny to blush. "I guess you can call me that. I have to go now, but thanks for your help."
The tiger started to walk towards the steps that led to the palace. The gorilla walked silently behind her.
When they reached the stairs, they stopped shortly. The gorilla ogled at the stairs before him, stunned by how many there were.
"Well," the tiger encouraged. The giant ape's jaw nearly hit the floor.
"Do I have to climb all these with this extra weight, your highness?" the servant said. The tiger merely chuckled and started to climb them. Her training made challenges like this easy, so the many stairs weren't a big problem for her. But it certainly was for the gorilla.
"There's got to be like nine-hundred there," he continued.
"One-thousand and two, just to be precise," the tigress corrected as she grew further and further away from the ape at the bottom of the steps. The ape growled and started his way up the mammoth staircase.
He only made it up ten steps before tripping, smashing his head down first. The huge suitcase forced the air out of him. While struggling to get up, the tiger sent him an impatiently glance.
"I don't have time enough to wait for you. I'll go ahead. Oh, and please don't drop my stuff."
The poor gorilla sighed, while the tiger made her way towards the palace.
Tigress jumped away, dodging the swinging club's powerful blow. Her opponents gave her no time to think of anything else than how to defeat them. Tigress had to make sure that she didn't trip on the twirling ground, that she didn't get hit by the heavy wood and to figure out how to win this fight.
But somehow, Tigress' thoughts managed to slip away from her concentration. The training hall sounded so empty, when she was the only one training. She remembered all those times she had sneaked down here in the night in her hope of getting even better to kung fu. Unfortunately, her night trips often gave her punishment from Shifu. He had strictly told her that nights were meant for sleep, not training.
That time it hadn't been a problem to be alone. But now I was more difficult. Tigress didn't exactly know how it had happened, but she had changed. Things like being alone had never bothered her before. It had just been some parts of her life. But now it meant something.
Maybe it was because of Po. After he arrived everything had just been different. Different, but in a good way. The panda was a good friend. Tigress had never felt so close with anyone before. But he had left her, just like the others.
Tigress knew that she couldn't blame them; they were just following their master's orders. It was their duty to save China, and Tigress knew that better than anybody. But being left behind just hurt…
WHAM!
A sharp pain came in her left arm, when a club hit her hard. Luckily for her, it was the wooden side, so no metal spikes hit her. Tigress growled, not at the clubs, but at herself. She should have been more focused. She rubbed her arm, making sure that it wasn't a serious injure. It was only a bruise; it hurt, but she could handle it.
Suddenly, the door opened. One glance told Tigress that it wasn't her master or her friends. In a second, Tigress had jumped of the obstacle course and landed in front of the intruder.
"Who are you?" Tigress growled, but didn't attack yet. She took a better look at the stranger and became surprised. It was a tiger! Tigress had never seen another tiger before.
This tiger was also a female. She was older than her; Tigress guessed that she must be around the forty or fifty years. But even though her age, she somehow still seemed young. Maybe it was because her face was showing innocence; an unsure smile and sparkling eyes.
She was wearing a black vest and pants in the same color. A golden and red pattern covered the vest; flowers, dragons and symbols that Tigress couldn't understand.
The tiger bowed to the stunned Tigress. "I apologize if I disturbed anything. I am Master Mei-Hua."
Tigress blinked a couple of times, before bowing back. "I am Master Tigress."
"It's a pleasure to meet you, Master Tigress. I am sorry for my unannounced arrival, but when my travel led me closer to the Valley of Peace than I had expected. Then I realized that it was a good opportunity to visit the Jade Palace."
"You're a friend of Master Shifu?" Tigress asked curiously. She couldn't remember a time where her master had mentioned Master Mei-Hua.
"We have met," she said shortly with a warm voice. "So, Master Tigress, are you all on your own in the palace?"
"The others are on a mission and Master Shifu is meditating. I can get him if you want."
"No, no. I don't want to disturb him. I'll just wait with you, if you don't mind."
"Sure. Do you want me to show you the palace?" Tigress hated to ask; she didn't like being a guide. But honestly, she didn't know what to do with this strange master.
"It would be an honor. I have actually never been in the Jade Palace before, but I have heard a lot about it," Mei-Hua said with a soft smile. "So this is the training hall? Impressive! I have a feeling that you spent most of your time here."
"Kung fu is my life," Tigress said seriously.
"That's something we have in common. You remind me a lot about myself."
Tigress didn't really know an answer to that. Who was this tiger? She didn't feel like she had found out yet. She would wait and see what her master would think about their guest.
Mei-Hua smiled so warmly at her that Tigress had to stare at the ground. "Let's go outside."
She followed obediently. Tigress wondered how she could be a warrior. She just seemed too innocent and nice to be one. But Tigress knew that not all female-warrior was like herself. Viper, for example. She was way more girly than Tigress.
They had only been outside in two minutes, before Tigress heard a panting noise. She turned around, only to see a gorilla finally reaching the top of the stairs. Following her instincts, Tigress immediately leapt at the enemy.
She growled, her fist ready to punch the gorilla all the way down of the stairs, when suddenly… He was gone. Tigress looked around, confused. Where did he go? And… And where was the stairs?! What had just happened?
"I apologize, Master Tigress, but I had to stop you."
Mei-Hua's voice came from behind Tigress. She spun around the see the tiger standing near the gorilla, with a little smile on her face.
"You…" Then Tigress realized it. Master Mei-Hua had somehow stopped her attack by swirling her around, sending her meters the opposite way. But what amazed Tigress most was that she hadn't felt anything. Mei-Hua had been too quick for her. Tigress could feel how her respect for the master grew.
"Master Tigress, I want you to meet my servant Kang. I understand you mistake, but don't worry, he's completely harmless."
Tigress just stared at the gorilla. She had been fighting gorillas before; they were strong and powerful enemies. Seeing one as a servant was just, in lack of a better word, weird. If Mei-Hua had such a servant she must be even more powerful.
She felt kind of sorry for the giant ape; being forced to carry a suitcase all the way to the top of thousand stairs and then being called harmless was not something that could make your day perfect. She understood his angry face.
The gorilla put down the suitcase and stared challenging back.
"Kang." Mei-Hua's voice was melodic, but in the same time threatening.
The servant immediately bowed for Tigress. She was about to bow back, when Mei-Hua suddenly led her away from him. Tigress, who was a little stunned, just followed.
"So, Master Tigress, have you always been living in the palace?" Mei-Hua asked curiously, trying to start a conversation.
"No, I… I grew up on an orphanage. I never knew my parents. Master Shifu heard of me when I was five and I ended up as his student. I have been here since," Tigress said in a low voice. It wasn't hard to tell Mei-Hua the story about her past, though she didn't tell her how awful her life in the orphanage had been.
"I am sorry to hear that."
"Don't be. It is not your fault." Tigress hated when people felt pity for her. The life in the orphanage was a part in her past that just needed to be forgotten.
"I guess you are right. I know how you must have felt; also I grew up without my parents," Mei-Hua said, while staring at the sky.
Tigress looked surprised at her. What was it with tigers being bad parents? Did all tigers just leave their children?
She would have asked the older tiger more about it, but then she heard the sound of voices. And sure enough, soon Tigress' friends came into sight. They were laughing and talking, probably about their finished mission.
"Tigress!" Viper was the first to spot her. The others were already running towards the tiger, ready to greet her. But they stopped dead in their tracks when they saw the guests.
"Uhm… Who are you?" Crane asked, looking curiously at the strangers.
"This is…" Tigress was about to present Mei-Hua, when Po interrupted.
"Is that your mother?" he asked excited, happy to see that his friend had found a lost family member. Or that was what he thought. The Furious Five sent him warning glances, making him realize that he was talking about a forbidden subject. They all knew Tigress' past, but they never spoke of it. Tigress didn't allow them to do it.
"Uhm… Sorry… I just… You look a lot like each other! With all the stripes and… I'll just stop talking now," Po said, when Tigress growled at him.
She sighed and tried again. "This is Master Mei-Hua, a friend of Master Shifu."
The older tiger bowed to them. "It's an honor to meet you all."
They bowed back, returning her smile.
"And who is he?" Mantis asked, while pointing at the gorilla.
"This is Kang, my servant."
"You own a monkey?" Po asked awe. But he was answered by a hit by Monkey. He didn't really like Po's sentence. "Ouch! Sorry Monkey! I mean; you own a big monkey? Ouch! Monkey, stop hitting me!"
Tigress shook her head at him. Mei-Hua just smiled at him. And Kang just looked angry as always.
"I see that you are back from your mission. I… Master Mei-Hua!"
"Hello, Master Shifu. It is nice to see you again," the tiger said, bowing to the red panda. He seemed confused; he had just arrived and had obviously not been expecting the guests.
He pulled himself together and bowed back. "I am also glad to see you. Forgive me if I am rude, but why are you here? I hope that there are no problems."
"No, everything is fine. I was just nearby and couldn't resist visiting the palace. I hope that I am welcome here in a couple of days."
"Of course. We will make a room ready for you. Both of you," he corrected after seeing the gorilla.
"We would appreciate that. Thank you."
There was a frustrating silence before Po finally said,
"So… Who wants dinner?"