A/N: And I am back. Sorry for the long wait; I just had problems with writing. I know what I wanted to write, but when I sat in front of my computer the words just couldn't get out. So annoying!
To anyone who wants to know it; I will be updating 'Shadows Of The Past' soon. I think I have gotten the rhythm *two chapters to 'Behind the Golden Eyes, one to 'Shadows Of The Past'… And we continue…
Again, THANK YOU for your reviews!
And I left (not 'leaved', I have improved! Thank you for your advices!) you with a cliffhanger! Evil me…
Behind The Golden Eyes, The Shadow Warriors
Before Tigress could open her eyes, it was only her thoughts she could focus on. It was like someone was ripping an old wound open; she kept seeing what had happened since she had left the Jade Palace. Again and again she heard Lu Chu's words, the horrible feeling when she realized who her mother was.
Tigress started to be able to feel her body again, but her head still felt like it was full of mist. Finally, she remembered where she was; in the hands of the Shadow Warriors. She quickly opened her eyes, only to see nothing. Keeping herself calm, Tigress realized that she was blindfolded; she could feel the fabric against her eyelids.
Her arms were behind her, robe binding her paws together. The robe was tied to something so she couldn't move, making her even more helpless. After some time, Tigress stopped struggling and started listening instead. They had to be here. They couldn't just have left her like this.
The tiger felt the cold wind on her body, telling her that she still was outside. Though, she still had her cloak, a small comfort in this weather. Tigress then realized that she wasn't wearing her bag. It had been on her back when she had tried to escape, but the Shadow Warriors must have removed it while she was out. Her maps had been in there. Without them it would be a miracle if she made it home to the Jade Palace.
Tigress lowered her head in defeat. If someone didn't cut her lose, then she would end up dead; the cold and the hunger would kill her. She briefly wondered if she should say anything, if she should try and yell for help. But she had her pride. The great Master Tigress tied up, left for dead. A sight that nobody ever would expect would happen. But here she was, sitting helpless in the cold.
If she just had chosen the Jade Palace… The thought was mocking her, telling her that she again had failed. It was her own fault that she was in this situation. If… If she had stayed with her friends, then what would have happened? Would her future then have been happy? The questions were haunting her, taking the last energy she had left.
The thought of dying had never really bothered Tigress. She knew that it was going to happen someday, but she had always thought that it would be in a battle. That she would give her life for kung fu. But dying here, alone, with nobody knowing where she was, was scaring her. What would Master Shifu and the others in the Jade Palace do? They had to find out that she was missing some day. Mei-Hua was probably in the Valley of Peace now, believing that she was hiding there. What would her mother do when she realized that she wasn't there?
The sound of footsteps brought her away from her thoughts. As the sound became stronger, Tigress pulled her lips back into a snarl. She kind of hoped that it was the Shadows Warrior, so she didn't scared a possible rescuer away. But soon, she could feel cold steel under her chin, a knife, forcing her to look up. Though, the blindfold wasn't removed.
"Your name?" A rough voice asked her. Tigress, feeling the unsaid threat, searched through her brain. A memory came. Enlai asking her what her name was…
"Lu Chu." Tigress answered quickly, not believing that they actually knew Lu Chu, the maid that was working in the Dragon Palace.
Tigress heard the Shadow Warrior chuckle, but when she tried to move the knife stopped her. "Well, why don't you just tell us when Master Tigress changed her name? We all want to hear that."
His words stunned Tigress, taking away her ability to speak. They knew who she was. But how much did they know? Tigress closed her mouth again, deciding not to talk before they would ask her a question again.
"Nothing to say, huh?" He continued to mock her. "Do you know what we took from you while you were sleeping?"
Tigress was still not saying anything. She knew that he was trying to humiliate her, but she wasn't going to let him do it.
"Can you tell us where you have gotten the map to our mountain?" He pressed the knife closer, demanding an answer this time. Tigress then realized that dying here would be foolish if she actually had a chance to trick them. If her father was their leader… Then they maybe could lead her to him. She just needed to say the right things.
"I stole it." Tigress replied, telling them the truth. The tiger had been sensing that there was more than one Shadow Warrior in front of her, and her feeling was confirmed when she heard another voice speak.
"Why don't we just go straight to the point?" The new voice barked.
The warrior that was holding the knife sighed. "Jie."
"Did Mei-Hua send you?" Jie asked again, but Tigress didn't as much as open her mouth. A part of her already hated this Jie. Apparently, Tigress wasn't the only one who was tired of him.
"Jie." The still un-named warrior sighed again and removed the knife from Tigress' throat.
"Are you here to spy?"
"Jie! Can you please shut up?" It worked, and Jie became silent. Only some growls could be heard. Before the person that Tigress believed was the leader could speak again, Tigress did it.
"I can't see, but I know who you are." She said with a steady voice, showing them that she wasn't scared of them. "You are the Shadow Warriors."
There was a shocked mumbling, and Tigress realized that all the masked warriors she had seen before they had sedated her, was now staring at her. She growled again, telling them to keep a distance.
"And I know who you are." The leader began. "But what I don't know is why the great Master Tigress is on our mountain only carrying a blanket, two maps and a doll." Tigress could nearly see him smirk at the last part.
When Tigress had left the Dragon Palace she had brought the little figure that Enlai had made to her with her. No one knew about it; Tigress had managed to get it in her bag without Lu Chu noticing it. It would just be too painful if she had to let go of the gift Enlai had given her.
Tigress could feel her cheeks burn when she heard one of the Shadow Warriors laugh. "Now, tell me why you are here." The leader told her again.
"I have a message for Jiao-Long." Tigress replied. The forest became as silent as dead. Then a voice she recognized as Jie's barked at her. "Liar!"
"Calm down, Jie, and let her explain herself."
"The only message she could have is a message from Mei-Hua. She is her student, Wang. What else should she…?"
Tigress caught him off. "I am not her student! Not anymore…" She trailed off, the memories overwhelming her. Suddenly, the blindfold was taken away from her eyes and Tigress was able to see again. Though there wasn't the big different; it was night, and Tigress' eyes still hadn't gotten used to the freedom they had gotten back.
When she finally was able to see details, she could see the felines' eyes staring at her, some angrily, others confused. Tigress returned their glances with cold eyes. She noticed that some of them were holding her things; the nearly empty bag, the maps and the sculpture.
Tigress then focused on Wang, the leader that was closest to her. He looked like he was in deep thoughts. Another Shadow Warrior was standing a little behind him, glaring daggers at her. Tigress guessed that he was Jie. And when he started to talk, there was no doubt about it.
"You do not seriously believe her, do you?" He asked Wang, leaving Tigress out of the conversation.
"We haven't heard anything from the Dragon Palace in a while now. Many things could have happened without our notice." Wang calmly said.
But Jie wasn't convinced. "Why isn't she just lying? She is probably just as good liar as her master."
Wang was about to answer when another warrior spoke. "Uhm, Wang? You might want to have a look at this." He said, holding up the figure. Tigress growled at him. If he dropped the gift, then she would make him wish that he hadn't as much as touched it.
"Not now." Wang said shortly, then returning back to Jie. "And if she isn't lying, then Master is going to kill us. We have to wait before taking any conclusions, Jie."
"Wang, you seriously should see this." The warrior said again, sounding a little nervous. The leader finally stopped talking with Jie, and turned his attention towards the warrior, who threw the figure to him. Wang easily caught it with his paws, and looked it over. After some seconds, his eyes widened.
"Enlai is going to kill you." The warrior said, sitting on a rock with some others who all were wearing serious faces.
Tigress froze when they mention her friend's name. Enlai? How did they know him? No… No! This was too much for her brain. Finding out that Mei-Hua was her mother had been hard enough. But finding out that Enlai was a Shadow Warrior? Why couldn't anyone just be who she thought they were?
Wang seemed shocked too. While staring at her, he silently handed the tree figure to Jie. After studied it, he nodded to the others. "Enlai definitely made this." He declared, throwing the figure to a random Shadow Warrior.
"You are so dead when Enlai finds out that you have captured his girl." The warrior said, smirking.
"You were the one who sedated her." A feline pointed out, causing the smile on the warrior's face to disappear. They all glanced at Wang, unsure of what to do.
Hesitating a little, he walked closer to the tied up Tigress and kneeled down on her level. "Enlai sent you?"
Tigress nodded, too stunned to say anything. The words 'his girl' had just been too much. She was sure that she was blushing, even though she would do anything to hide it.
"Wait a minute." Jie said, walking closer to her. "Prove to us that you aren't lying. Describe Enlai."
It didn't take Tigress long time to remember her friend. Now it was just about saying the right things. "Enlai is the tiger who works at the gardener in the Dragon Palace. He has brown golden eyes and a sharp tongue. He can be charming if he wants, but mostly he is just painfully annoying."
Tigress turned her head, when she heard a warrior chuckle. "That's Enlai. No doubts at all."
As Wang looked her into her eyes again, Tigress didn't look away. After some time Wand was convinced. He held up his knife again, but this time he didn't threatened her. "If I cut you lose, would you then punch me in my face?"
Tigress snorted. "Probably not, but I can't promise that I won't touch the idiot over there." She glanced at Jie who answered with a growl.
One of the Shadow Warriors laughed. "Please hit him, girl. Maybe then he can learn some manners." Jie gave him a dead stare, telling everyone to shut up.
Wang seemed to trust her and cut off the robe that was holding her. Tigress rubbed her wrists, while keeping an eye on Wang, making sure that he wasn't going to attack her again. "Can I have my stuff back now?"
A warrior gave Tigress her bag, and when she checked it she saw that all her things were lying in it. Satisfied, she placed it on her back again.
But Jie wasn't finished with her. "And what is this important message that you have?" He asked her, arms crossed in front of his chest. His green eyes were looking directly into hers.
"I didn't say that it was for you to hear, did I? The message is for Jiao-Long, not you." Tigress sneered. "And now I must be going." She started leave, but was stopped when Wang stepped in front of her.
"You aren't going anywhere. We will lead you to Master Jiao-Long, but right now we will rest. Tomorrow we can start out travel." He said with a steady voice.
"And when will I be able to meet Jiao-Long?" Tigress asked him.
"Tomorrow night I guess. Now sleep." He demanded.
Tigress did what she was told and found her blanket. It would be much easier when they were showing the way to her father. Again the thought sneaked up on her; what would he say when he met her? She shivered slightly; Tigress didn't know if it was because of the wind or the fear or being rejected. Before she drifted into sleep, she noticing that Jie and another Shadow Warrior still was up. They were probably standing guard; making sure that nobody else was entering or leaving their camp.
The tiger hoped that her friends were safe. She couldn't help but wonder where Enlai was now. Tigress tried to forget the fact that he was a Shadow Warrior. She was just so angry at him for not telling her the truth. He had been her friend and she had trusted him.
Closing her eyes, Tigress tried to fall asleep. But the thoughts kept haunting her and there went long time before she actually could rest. And when she finally was sleeping, she was having a dream about shadows, tigers and palaces.
A/N: Okay, who of you thought that Enlai actually just was a gardener? Was it a surprise? Are you excited to see how Jiao-Long will react when he sees his daughter? Are you annoyed of me because I keep asking questions?