A/N: *falling down from my chair* WOW! Just WOW! Like really WOW! Remember my last chapter where I said WOW? Well, this is like double WOW! Thank you SO much for all your reviews! THANK YOU!

I will just make it clear now; this story is long from finished! *evil laughter* And to all of you who thought that everything would be happiness after the last chapter; well, there is still long time before happily ever after comes (if it even does; I do not reveal anything).

Oh, and there will be some time-shifts in this story. But hopefully you will understand it.

Nope, I do not own Kung Fu Panda. You should know it now; this is my thirteenth chapter!

Behind The Golden Eyes, By The Campfire

Looking into the flames, Tigress thought her plan over again. The idea itself was crazy, many thinks could go wrong. Again, Tigress asked herself why she just couldn't have stick to the originally idea. Escaping to the Jade Palace, back to her friends again. But instead she was now sitting in a dark forest, freezing in the cold night.

After getting out of the Dragon Palace, everything had gone pretty easily. None of the masters had been fast enough to follow her, and when Tigress had reached the end of the town she had just taken out the guards and had disappeared into the forest that surrounded the most of the city.

Now Tigress had been on the run for three days. She hadn't seen a single living soul since she had left the city. And now it was starting to bug her.

A lot.

She remembered the time just before Master Mei-Hua had arrived. She had been feeling alone with the others away on a mission, Master Shifu meditating and herself being left behind in the Jade Palace. But now, she would have done anything to be back at that time.

Being alone in a forest she didn't even know, being chased by her mother (Tigress was trying to get used to the thought) and trying to find her father with an imprecise map, was much worse than being alone in some days in her own home.

Taken out the map from her bag, Tigress studied it again. "There." She murmured for herself, pointing on a place on the map with her claw. "Mountain of the Shadow Warriors." That was where she was going. Not to the Jade Palace, not to her home. No, she was following the weak hope of finding out the when, no, if she found her father it would bring her some sort of satisfaction. After all, he couldn't be worse than Mei-Hua, could he?

Tigress wanted to know how she had ended up in the orphanage. And she could not get the answers from Mei-Hua. The older tiger would just take her home by force without even listening to her. Tigress promised herself that she would never do what the older tiger told her, no matter what. She would not let those golden eyes control her again.

The lone tiger shivered when the cold wind came back, stronger than ever. She knew that it was foolish and that her plan could easily go wrong. Very easily. She didn't know these forests or who that was living in them. And just the fact that she alone was going to climb a mountain, looking for a person that was hiding in a place that no one was completely sure where, was crazy. And Tigress had to admit that she didn't even know how her father would react when, no, if he saw her. Maybe he would reject her.

Tigress tried not to think much about her. She comforted herself with the thought that Master Mei-Hua probably was heading toward the Jade Palace as it was the place that it was most likely that she would go to. She wondered what Master Shifu would do when she heard that she had run off.

Finding the blanket that Lu Chu had been smart enough to put in her bag, Tigress made herself ready for sleep. Staring into the orange flames, she couldn't help but sigh. How she wished to be back at the Jade Palace right now. But she had only herself to blame for not being there.

"He's here now." Piao said as he ran towards the maid.

Lu Chu was confused. "Who?" She asked him.

The antelope looked annoyed at her. "The gardener!" He said, giving her a blaming glance for not remembering their earlier conversation.

His words worked and Lu Chu widened her eyes when she realized what he was talking about. Then she turned around and stormed down of the stairs. "Be careful! You never know which side he is on!" Piao yelled after her.

The two servants had been pretty lucky. After Tigress' escape everybody had been too busy with going after her, than try and find out how she had done it. Though, Mei-Hua eyes had told them that she knew that they had something to do with the escape. But she hadn't done anything, only making herself and some servants ready for the travel to follow Tigress.

Lu Chu had seen Mei-Hua and some of the others master searching through the strategy room and had found out that the map to the Valley of Peace was missing. After that had Mei-Hua made a boat ready that could bring her closer to the valley and on the same time catching up with Tigress.

While the two tigers were going towards the Jade Palace, Lu Chu and Piao had to stay here. The other masters, except Master Lynx that was with Mei-Hua, were still in the Dragon Palace and the servants had enough to do. But after some secret talk about what they could do to help Tigress now, Lu Chu remembered that Enlai was coming home. Maybe the male tiger could help Tigress.

She saw him when he just walked out of a room; he had probably giving the herbs to Master Fox. "Gardener! Uhm… Enlai!" The mountain cat yelled, still a little unsure of remembering his name. 'Gardener' was just the thing they used to call him.

"Well, isn't it the real Lu Chu." He said as he walked towards her. "Can you lead me to Master Tigress? I assume that she would like to see me." Enlai said, chuckling a bit at the last part.

"But that's the thing, Enlai. Master Tigress isn't here!"

The smile disappeared from the male tiger's face. "Well, where is she then?"

"She's on her way to the Valley of Peace. She left six days ago, after she found out that…" Lu Chu trailed off.

"Found out what?" Enlai demanded.

Lu Chu leaned closer to him and whispered, "Not here. Follow me." She scanned the room around her with her eyes, making sure that no one had heard them. When she saw that they had been alone, she started to lead the tiger to Tigress' room. Or what now was Tigress' old room.

Enlai followed without a word. A part of him was full of fear for his friend's life, then he was angry at her for not just staying out of trouble and he was irritated on the maid for not just telling him what was going on now. Doing his best to stay calm, he continued walking until Lu Chu stopped in front of a room he had never been in before.

They walked in, and Enlai widened his eyes when he saw a big pile of pieces of wood lying on the floor. His curiosity taken over, he kneeled down and studied it. It only took him seconds to find out that all this once had been a closet.

"Tigress' room." He murmured to himself, realizing where he was. Tigress had never allowed him to come and visit her here; it would just seem wrong.

Lu Chu sat herself on the bed like she had done when she had talked with Tigress, but after some time waiting she understood that Enlai would remain standing. He looked at her with a frown in his face, arms crossed over his chest.

"We are alone now. Tell me what happened."

The mountain cat sighed. "It is a long story, but…"

"Tell me, and don't forget a single detail!" Enlai growled, not able to control his temper anymore.

Lu Chu eyes widened in surprise, but she didn't really felt scared. She knew that the tiger only was worried about Tigress. Giving him a calming smile that he didn't return, she cleared her throat and started to tell him what happened. "You must have noticed that Master Tigress didn't have many memories of her old life."

"The Dragon Queen's fault I assume?"

"We believe so. But then the goose from the Jade Palace came with a letter, but Master Mei-Hua took it before Tigress could get it. Of course she wanted it back, but Master Mei-Hua wasn't pleased with her and locked the door to her room."

"And the letter?" Enlai asked.

"I saw Master Mei-Hua burn it. But then I went to talk with Master Tigress and she wanted to know what was going on, so I told her about Jiao-Long…" Lu Chu immediately covered her mouth with her paws. She shouldn't have said that name. It was forbidden and…

"And Tigress then figured out who her parents are." Enlai finished for her. He looked like he was in deep thoughts.

"How… How do you know that?" Lu Chu whispered, stunned by the gardener's knowledge. He had just arrived to the Dragon Palace so how could he know about something that happened over twenty-five years ago.

Enlai shrugged. "Isn't it obvious? You cannot say that the Dragon Queen and Tigress doesn't look like each other. "

"But how do you know about Jiao-Long?"

"I know a lot of things." Enlai said shortly. "Now, continue."

Lu Chu, still a little stunned, did what she was told. "Then Master Tigress made a plan about how she could get out of the Dragon Palace and Piao told us where the maps where and gave us the key."

"Slow down! Maps? Keys?"

"You see, Master Tigress didn't know how to get back to the Valley of Peace, so she needed a map. Piao told us that the masters where keeping them in the strategy room, so he gave us the key so we could open the door. We found the map, but…."

Again, Enlai lost his patience. "But what?"

"I think she took another map with her. I found it while searching for the one that could lead her home. It showed where they had been and then there was a place where they had written that Jiao-Long was hiding." Lu Chu told him, thinking about what had happened.

"And Tigress brought it with her?" Enlai was answered with a nod from Lu Chu. Then he turned around and smashed his fist onto the wall. "Foolish girl!" He sneered. The gardener cursed inside. Why was she making his job so much harder?

Lu Chu stared at him, her green eyes widened in shock. A part of her feared that he was talking about her! But she sensed that it was a certain tiger he was talking about. But why she was foolish, Lu Chu didn't know.

Enlai turned to the maid again. "She went to the Jade Palace, right?" Lu Chu nodded. "And Mei-Hua is following her?"

"Yes, with some servants, Master Lynx and…. And guards, I believe." The maid told him.

The male tiger rubbed his neck. "If I leave now, then I maybe can catch up with them." He started to leave the room, and Lu Chu jumped away from the bed to follow him.

"Wait, I can help you. You will need food and…"

"No thanks. I have what I need." Enlai said roughly to Lu Chu. Before he disappeared out of the door, Lu Chu heard him say, "But if you would do me a favor, then tell the masters of the Dragon Palace that they need to find a new gardener."

"Where is she?" Mei-Hua growled directly into Shifu's face.

The red panda remained calm. "I believe there has been a mistake."

Master Mei-Hua looked insulted. "Don't lie to me, Shifu. I know she is here." She sneered again, impatient. Now she had been travelled in nearly two weeks, trying to find her student. But still, she had not even seen a glimpse of Tigress.

"She is not here!" Shifu told her again, jumping away from the tiger. It was obvious that Mei-Hua was furious, and Shifu didn't want to fight her. But in the end it could be necessary.

The tiger snorted. "Where else should she be? Don't believe that I don't know my student, Shifu."

"I haven't seen Master Tigress since she left the Jade Palace, and neither has my students." Shifu eyed her. "And could you please tell me the reasons the why Master Tigress isn't in the Dragon-City?"

"Like you said, Master Shifu, there have happened some mistakes, and now I need to find her. And don't you dare keeping her away from me!" She hissed again.

The red panda pounded the end of his staff on the ground. "Enough! I will help you searching for Tigress, not for your fault, but for hers." Shifu said, concerned for his earlier student's well-being. His mind wondered where she could be. On her way to the Valley of Peace or somewhere else? Was she lost, injured…?

Mei-Hua leaned down in his level, looking him straight into the eyes. "I don't need you to search; I need you tell me where she is." She pulled her lips back into a snarl, giving him a full sight of her sharp fangs. "You have absolutely no right to keep a daughter away from her mother!"

Shifu saw that Tigress hadn't got her anger from nothing. Forcing himself to act calm, he met Mei-Hua's eyes. "I am fully aware of that. If not, I would not have let her go with you."

"Uhm… What's going on out here?"

The two masters turned around to see Shifu's students reaching the top of the many stairs that led to the Jade Palace. They were all staring at them with big eyes. Mei-Hua gave them a cold glance and put up her emotionless face. Turning away from them, she walked towards the servants that just had come out from the palace.

One of them bowed to her. "Your highness, we have searched everywhere. I don't think she is here."

Growling, Mei-Hua turned away from him, and walked towards Master Lynx that had been standing in the shadow. "You know, maybe she just hadn't arrived here yet." He said told her, only to get some furious eyes staring him down.

"Tigress isn't stupid. She knows she had to be here before us." Mei-Hua looked over the valley. Where could she be? "Was anything else gone from the strategy room?" She turned back to the lynx. He had been the one who had searching in the room, and had brought her the news about the missing map that led to this valley.

"Well, yes, but I don't believe it's important." He said a little unsure.

"I am the one who decides what's important or not. Now, tell me what's missing."

"Just an old map about the Shadows Warriors. Like I said, it's not…"

"You fool!" Mei-Hua sneered, furious. "Can't you see this change everything?" Master Lynx backed away, but still couldn't follow her thoughts. Suddenly, the tiger became calm again. "Never mind. Now I know where she is going."

Tigress couldn't help but widened her eyes when she first saw the light. She had been traveling for two weeks now and had finally reached the Mountain of the Shadows Warriors, and in all that time she hadn't met a single person. Well, she had been avoiding villages; who knew if they would tell Mei-Hua? It was getting colder and colder, the little blanket Tigress was using couldn't fight the cold anymore. That was why she automatically started walking towards the light that Tigress guessed came from a campfire; her body needed the warmth. But who was making a camp near a mountain in this weather?

Silently walking closer, she started to hear voices. The words that they were saying were gone, taken by the wind. The camp where shield by a big rock that Tigress used to remain unseen. She kept standing there unsure of if she should go closer.

"Who are you?"

Tigress immediately spun around, only to see a figure standing in front of her. By one look she could tell that it was a feline, though it was hard to see which kind because the most of his body was covered in black fabric. Only the eyes were visible in his face. The voice told her that it was a male, and he definitely didn't seemed friendly.

Growling, Tigress took her fighting stance. The feline did the same, obviously knowing kung fu. When he jumped towards her, Tigress backed away, only to find herself in the middle of the camp. At least ten couples of eyes were now staring at her, all belonging to masked felines. They quickly got up, surrounding the intruder.

Tigress could see that she couldn't take them all down, and did the only thing that she could; she ran. Jumping past some felines, kicking one in the stomach while doing it, Tigress disappeared between the trees. But she knew that they were following her; she could hear their paws on the ground.

Running in the cold all day, didn't help Tigress' condition to fight. She was tired and with so many of them she didn't had a chance. That was why she prayed that she was faster than them. While trying to get away, Tigress started wondering who they were. And the answer suddenly hit her. She was on the Mountain of the Shadow Warriors. Who else could they be?

She couldn't think further before she felt a sharp pain on her shoulder. Shortly moving her focus from not hitting any trees, she saw that a dart had hit her. The drowsiness came quickly. Tigress knew that there wouldn't go long time before she would be sleeping. The Shadow Warriors were catching up with her, and Tigress decided to meet them.

Stopping her running, she turned around and growled at them. They slowly surrounded her, but didn't do anything else. They were just waiting for her to become harmless. But Tigress wouldn't just lie down. She continued standing on shaking legs, still growling to tell them not to go any closer.

Tigress' eyelids became heavy and then everything went black.

A/N: And how I love writing cliffhangers. Yes, I know this chapter isn't the most exciting (the end is, maybe), but there was some information that I had to give you. So I hope, this chapter caught your interest, there was many things you didn't know, huh. And there are still a lot of things we need answers on, and they will come in later chapters.

Oh, and to all of you who reads my other story 'Shadows Of The Past': I will just tell you that chapter three has been out in some days. It is just because I haven't got any reviews on that chapter (I usually at least get one), so I didn't know if you hadn't noticed it.

Thank you for reading and thanks to all of you who have reviewed.