Pet of the Peacock Prince
By Princess Thil Galel
I DO NOT OWN
Thank you
R&R
Please enjoy!
Hello my dear readers, I'd like to announce that Autobot NightFury is the special winner who correctly guessed what Amalthea is! Her OC will soon make her way into the story. And now for the 'thank you's: Autobot NightFury, Trunksymia, jozs001, eld mcm, and the critic! Thank you all for your wonder words and thoughts!
Shadows and Secrets
Amalthea stood on the lonely balcony overlooking the city. The events in the throne room playing over and over in her mind. After she'd been thrown to the floor by the king and Oogway had openly claimed her, the peacock's once friendly and warm onyx eyes turned almost wrathful as he ordered she be escorted from the room and taken to Shen's chambers. Luckily for her, the huge gorilla was by all means a 'gentle giant' and had carefully placed his massive hand on her shoulder to lead her away. Despite his great size and strength, he was a real sweetheart. As it turned out, Qiang-the gorilla, was one of Shen's personally servants.
Shen, of course, had to remain behind, along with the Soothsayer. That left her alone for the first time since she'd been captured, and in all honesty, she didn't like it as much as she thought she would. The human's eyes wandered aimlessly over the brightly lit city, the hundreds of red, yellow, and orange lanterns bathing it in a fire-like glow. She shook her head to rid herself of such a thought. Fire was one of the last things she wanted to think about. But that task was nearly impossible in a place called the Tower of Sacred Flame, especially when it's inhabitants made fireworks.
She turned to lean her side against the railing, and faced the deep harbor. The almost full moon hung just above the blue-black waters, turning the white foam crested waves silver under it's eternal gaze. The sea looked as cold as she felt inside, it's tossing waves like her anxiousness-nervous and unsettling. A breathy sigh turned into a puff of steam and slowly trailed upwards as she turned to rest her elbows on the railing.
A shadowed silhouette stood on the far end of the balcony, it's golden eyes glowing in the darkness. It's gaze locked onto the unsuspecting human as she was completely lost in thought, the perfect time to act. Balancing on the slim railing, the figure stalked closer. It stopped only inches from where she stood, crouching low over the beam under it's feet, it's muscles tensed like coiled springs.
Something flicked out of the corner of Amalthea's eyes, she cast it a brief sideways glance thinking it must have been an insect, only to do a double-take at the dark mass sitting mere inches away. She stumbled back with a gasp, her back bumping against another scetion of railing, and her hand flew to her chest. The shaded being straightened with a deep chuckle and stepped into the light. The gold rosette spotted stone-gray fur, white muscular chest, and golden eyes announced him as clearly as a bell.
He gave a lopsided smirk "Did I startle you?" he teased. The snow leopard continued to balance himself on the railing as effortlessly as he were walking over solid ground. Slowly, and almost carelessly, he put one foot in front of the other. "I apologize," he said, his voice held a slight purr, like he was trying to be charming "I only wanted to see you again."
Amalthea couldn't help the mild glare that formed in her eyes "See me, or gawk?" she asked "If all you've come to do is stare at me, then I suggest you leave."
The snow leopard held up his hands in surrender "Calm down, miss." he said "I meant what I said-I wanted to see you, not make you feel like a painting on display." He carelessly hopped off the railing, his feet made no sound on the wood of the balcony. His head cocked to one side, his eyes trailing briefly over her figure before returned to her face. He casually folded his arms over his broad chest and rested a hip against the railing. "So, tell me, what is your name ma'am?"
She relaxed a little at his nearly lazy demeaner, but remained wary. The human copied his pose, arms folded, hip on the railing, eyes giving him a once-over glance. "You first." she replied.
He chuckled again, the underlying purr clearer than before. "A cautious one, huh?" he remarked in good humor "Very well. My name is Tai Lung." He gestured to her, signaling it was her turn to speak.
"Amalthea." she said simply.
Tai Lung grinned, revealing his white fangs "No need to bite me," he teased, then his tone turned serious "I thought that Master Oogway called you 'Yue Liang'."
"Its his nickname for me, both it and my real name mean 'moon'." she replied "Yue Liang is my name in chinese."
"Interesting." he murmured "And how exactly are you related to the old turtle?"
"I'm his adopted granddaughter."
His black ears folded back "You sure seem to love short answers." he commented.
Without warning, the cat suddenly jumped back onto the railing. Amalthea gasped and lunged forward, she tangled her fingers in the leg of his kus and held on tightly. "What on earth are you doing?" she snapped "Get down now-before you fall!" Tai Lung smirked unabashedly down at her, his tail snaked around her wrist and detached her grip. He took a few running steps along the railing before flipping head over heels to the opposite end of the balcony, and landed on a singal hand. Amalthea's mouth dropped open in horror, one wrong move and the feline would fall to his death.
Flipping back onto his feet, Tai Lung flashed her a toothy grin "Ma'am, how do you think I got up here?" he asked casually.
The realization suddenly dawned on her. Slowly, she leaned over the railing to look down at the court yard below. Her face paled slightly as she turned to him "You mean to tell me...that you climbed all the way up here?" she asked incredulously, her legs began trembling undernear her "Are you insane? Why would you do that? Don't you realize you could have fallen and died?"
He simply shrugged his massive shoulders "I wanted to see you, and climbing up the side of this bloody tower was a heck of a lot faster and easier than knocking on your front door." he said "At least this way I didn't have to deal with that mountain of anrgy gorilla standing outside." The feline's ears suddenly twitched, he turned and stared intently into the room, his eyes locked on the door. He swung a leg over the railing, then the other and turned to face her as he rested his chin on a hand. "When can I see you again, Amalthea?" he asked "I'd like to get to know you better-you know, when I'm not teetering over empty space and scaring you half to death." He added the last statement with another lopsided grin.
The human slowly stepped in front of the snow leopard, she almost reached his eye level with him hanging onto the railing instead of only coming up to his chest. "I wouldn't know if thats possible." she said "I normally spend most of my time around Shen, so it would be difficult to-"
"Amalthea?"
She whipped around to find the white prince standing in the doorway. He raised an eyebrow and glanced behind her "Who are you talking to?" he asked.
Amalthea turned back to Tai Lung...only to find him gone. She looked down towards the court yard, and watched a dark figure sprinting away into the night. She watched as the cat turned around one last time, his gold eyes gazing up at her before he leaped effortlessly over the wall surrounding the palace and disappeared. With a half smile she simply replied "A shadow, just a shadow."
O.O.O.O.O.O.O.O.O.O.O.O
Breakfast was a little stiff the following morning. Shen felt guilty about his father's actions, he'd repeatively asked the human if she was truly alright. Not only had the king thrown her to the unforgiving floor and embarrassed her by claiming she needed to be leashed in front of everyone, but then he'd had her taken from the room like a misbehaved child.
Afterwards, Shen had held his temper back for as long as possible. The moment the others had left father and son alone, all hell broke loose. Shen's rage blinded him as he bore down on his own father, the older peacock shouting just as loudly, but the prince never backed down. The only thing that had eventually ending the screaming match was a rather frazzled and frantic Hera, who'd dragged Ah-Mah along with her in hopes that the goat could help calm her son's wrath.
However, the conflict had gone on long enough for things to become physical. Shen now sported a bruised cheek and a cut above his eye. His feathers covered most of the evidence, but a discolored spot and the slight flinch when he opened his mouth was all the signs anyone needed to know the prince had been hit again. The cut was a bit more noticeable, the blood had stained his feathers a bright shade of pink and he kept his eyes half-lidded as to not aggravate it.
Amalthea assured the prince over and over that she was perfectly fine. But he still cast her funny looks ever since he'd caught her talking to 'shadows'. She didn't know why, but for some reason she felt like she shouldn't tell Shen that Tai Lung had scaled the tower just to speak to her. After all, the cat had made a point to leave before the peacock entered the room.
To lighten the mood, the Soothsayer had handmade rice balls with pickled plums at the center-Shen's favorite childhood treat. And the peacock certainly wasn't afraid to show it, his rice balls disappeared one after the other despite his hurt jaw. "Mmm, Nanna, these are amazing!" he mumbled through his full mouth "You never fail to make something absolutely delicious."
The goat chuckled as she wiped sticky rice from his beak "Don't talk with your mouth full, Darling." she said.
The prince allowed her to clean his face, but waved off her order. Although, he did swallow before speaking. "Nanna, having breakfast in my room is the only time I can eat whatever and however I want." he replied "If it pleases me to eat with my mouth open, I shall."
Ah-Mah raised an eyebrow and sent him a stern look "Not when it involves bad manners you won't." she said firmly, and gestured to Amalthea sitting beside her "Especially not when you have a guest at the table." The white peacock chuckled nervously as his crest lowered slightly. The goat gave him a broad smile over the lip of her cup, and, making sure Amalthea wasn't looking, Shen stuck out his tongue before smirking with good humor.
But, of course, Amalthea saw the whole exchange, and tried-unsuccessfully-to hide her laughter. After a moment, though, she couldn't hold it back any longer, and openly laughed. The goat and the peacock looked at her in surprise as she clutched her sides, they exchanged glances before smiling and joining in on the merriment.
Shen was especially joyful, he'd never heard Amalthea laugh before, and what a wonderful sound it was. Not too squeaky, nor too deep either. It made him think of the musical sounds of his mother's silver bells that she played in the evenings. Her smile was one of the brightest, earnest smiles he'd ever seen, and if playing around with his Nanna was all it took for it to come out, Shen had a feeling he'd be seeing a lot more of it.
A knock came at the door, at Shen's call a guard poked his inside. "Pardon me, Prince Shen, but a message just arrived for you."
The peacock frowned in confusion as he gestured for the wolf to bring him the scroll. Taking it from the guard, the prince waved him away as he crossed to the window. He stood in a shaft of light, his scarlet eyes trailing over the elegant handwriting. A wide grin suddenly split across his face as he reached the signature scrawled at the bottom. "By the king!" he exclaimed "It's from Xin Jing!"
Ah-Mah looked up from her plate "Really?" she asked "Where is she at now? Last message she sent said she was near the Indian boarder helping those tradesmen cross a river while they were being attacked by bandits."
The prince sat back down at the table as he continued to read the scroll. "She's coming home in a few weeks to visit her parents," he said with excitement building "And she wants us to come over for a dip in the hot springs."
Xin Jing was the princess of Xiangyang City, daughter of Lady Sya, queen of Xiangyang, and Lord Gao, a great Kung Fu Master. She was also Shen's childhood friend. They had only met once face to face at a festival in Gongmen, but they had spent that one day together as if tomorrow would never come. Even after the two had gone their separate ways, they continued to write to each other often. Xin had left home some years ago on a pilgrimage to 'fulfill her life's purpose', the messages had become very few and far between ever since. But now, after so long, the two could finally see each other again.
The Soothsayer eagerly clapped her hooves "Oh, how wonderful Shen!" she exclaimed "You're going to get to see Xin again, oh Darling I'm so happy for you! You must tell your parents right away-the sooner they know, the sooner we can leave." Shen immediately stiffened at the mention of his parents, his primary feathers reflexively touched his bruised cheek and brushed the cut on his brow. Ah-mah covered her mouth "Oh dear, Shen I-"
"Its alright, Nanna, I know what you meant." he cut in as he stood "I'll go talk with them now, if you wouldn't mind accompanying me that is. I refuse to be alone with him again."
She smiled sympathetically "Of course, dear."
The peacock wiped his mouth clean as he stood, and the goat finished the last of her tea before heading for the door. Amalthea remained where she was, she had no desire to end up on the king's talons a second time. But she smiled at the prince's retreating form "I hope you have a good time on your trip." she said.
Shen stopped abruptly. His brows knitted together as he turned to her "You hope I have a good time?" he asked "Don't you mean you hope we have a good time?" She gave him a puzzling look, and the white peacock chuckled "Did you believe I would leave you here?"
"Well, yes I-"
"Of course not, you're coming with us," he said "Its not everyday you get the chance to soak in a hot spring-I wouldn't let you miss this for anything." With a smirk, he turned to leave.
"Shen..."
He paused again, turning he gave her an inquiring look. She almost choked back her question under the gaze of his regal ruby eyes, but she forced down the lump in her throat. "Would it be alright if I went to visit Lang?" she asked shyly. As strange at it seemed, Amalthea couldn't help but feel concerned for the wolf. Even though they'd only recently met, she had come to care for Lang.
The peacock smiled softly, almost sweetly, at her "Of course, feel free to visit him whenever you wish-as long as you tell me first, so I know where you are." he said "For now though, go stay with him in the barracks until I come get you. I've been planning on checking up on him again."
Amalthea smiled "Thank you, Shen."
He chuckled as he headed out the door "Think nothing of it." he called back.
The human glanced over the table. The platter in the middle was still piled high with the Soothsayer's handmade rice balls. With a lopsided smirk, Amalthea grabbed the napkins.
O.O.O.O.O.O.O.O.O.O.O.O
A bone-chilling wind blew through the palace grounds, causing Amalthea to shiver in it's wake. As much as she thought Shen was spending far too on her new wardrobe, she'd be overjoyed when she finally got her hands on warm clothing and shoes. But at least she had something to block the wind this time...or rather, someone.
Shen had once again showed his unpredictability by asking Qiang to escourt her wherever she wanted to go. Amalthea had tried insisting that he didn't need to trouble himself on her behalf, but the gorilla just shook his head with a chuckle and said he was more than happy to accompany her. The selfless gesture was rather touching, but that didn't change the fact that she didn't want to be constantly followed around. That left her only one option: ditch the big guy.
Even though Amalthea and Teshin were rather tight for siblings, there were times when she just needed to be alone for a little while. And the only way to get rid of a big brother was to be clever. A gorilla guard was no different. She'd just have to be quick and stealthy. A task that wouldn't be very difficult.
Amalthea shivered visably, making it as noticeable as possible. "Brr!" she said as she rubbed her bare forearms "It's so cold out today, isn't it?"
"Yes Ma'am," he replied "Very cold, indeed."
"I bet you've seen far colder winters." she stated. The gorilla never once saw the sly smile curling her lips.
He gave a hearty, barking laugh "Oh yeah, a lot colder." he said, not stopping to notice Amalthea slowly walking backwards as he continued on ahead. "See, there was this one blizzard several years ago, and it..."
Amalthea giggled quietly as she hid behind the corner of a wall. "I wonder how long it'll take him figure out that stopped following him." she wondered aloud.
"I don't know."
She jumped at the voice directly behind her. Turning, she found herself face to face with Oogway. "Grandpa!" she exclaimed as she wrapped the old tortoise in a fierce hug "It's so good to see you again."
He chuckled softly as he returned her embrace. "Ditching again, are we?" he inquired, and held her at arm's length "You haven't changed in the least, Yue Liang. Tell me, how have things been?"
"Oh they were wonderful, Grandpa-I wish you could have seen everything this past spring!" said Amalthea "Teshin goes fishing with Father all the time now and they always have such a good time. Mother's finally gotten over that fall she took last year, and-"
The old tortoise held up a hand, silencing the human. "Thats not what I meant, but its good to know anyway." he said gently "What I meant was how have things been here?"
Immediately, Amalthea bit her lip and stared at the snowy ground. The look in his eyes told her everything. He knew. When she refused to answer, Oogway spoke instead. "You have not been fully honest with them, have you?" he asked, already knowing the answer. "Yue Liang, you cannot hide who you are no more than you could stop breathing the air. To do so is to deny life."
She looked at him with terror shining in her eyes. "But I can't tell them!" she exclaimed fearfully "If anyone knew...!" She couldn't force herself to finish. They both knew what she had meant to say.
But Oogway just slowly shook his head with a look of sympathy. "You should not jump to conclusions, you never know how someone will react." he said "But even if you are afraid, you cannot hide behind a guise for the rest of your life-and imagine the results if they discovered it on their own rather than from you. Trust is a fragile thing-hard to obtain, and easy to lose."
Amalthea fought back the tears gathering on her lashes "I know Grandpa, but it doesn't make telling them-or anyone else-any easier." she said. The tortoise smiled softly as he took his grandchild into his arms. She returned the embrace, greatful to have an anchor of strength. "I just want to go home, Grandpa, I miss my family."
Oogway nodded "I know you do, as do I. But we'll see them again, and I know you'll see them long before I will." he said. He pulled back to meet her gaze "I have seen you with them again, but much must come to pass before then. Things will be difficult, and you shall want to give in, but you must remain strong-and not just for yourself or your family, but for someone you have not even met."
She fronwed up at the tortoise in confusion "I don't understand." she said "If I don't even know them, why would I fight for them?"
He gave her one of his 'I know something you don't and I'm not telling' smiles. "You shall see, one day." he smirked as he ruffled her hair gently "But for the present, enjoy that which is right before your very eyes."
O.O.O.O.O.O.O.O.O.O.O.O
Shen eyed his father warily. The older peacock acted as if nothing had happened the night before-like there wasn't a large discolored spot on his son's face or a cut over his eye. That lofty disposition alone made the prince lock his jaw shut to keep from screaming his lungs bloody. But when the king tried to give his son a hug, Shen quickly stepped back with an open glare.
Azure returned it in kind "Do not get an attitude with me, young man." he growled threateningly.
"Is that a threat, or a promise?" asked Shen in a low, confident tone "Because neither one from you scares me."
Ah-Mah gently elbowed the prince with a scolding look and frowned. Shen rubbed his offended side and turned to his mother. "I have good news." he said "Xin Jing is heading home and she's invited us over for a visit."
The peahen set her sewing aside "Really? Oh how wonderful! We haven't spoken face to face with Lord Gao and Lady Sya in so long." she said. Hera stood to hug her son, she gently cupped his bruised cheek with sad, doe-brown eyes and murmured "My poor baby." She kissed his forehead and nuzzled his uninjured cheek. Shen greatfully returned her embrace, even as Azure continued to glare disapprovingly at him.
The white prince said a farewell to his mother before quickly taking his leave, the Soothsayer trailing behind him. The king cast his wife a hard look as she waved good-bye to their son. "You shouldn't coddle him like that, especially not after I discipline him." he said sternly "You only undermine me and spoil him-make him weak."
She turned on him with a fierce glow in her eyes. "You call that dicipline? Azure, you hit our child so hard his cheek is bruised through his feathers! He has a cut on his brow from your talon!" she accused, then her face became sorrowful as she took his wing in her's "My Sweet, you can't treat Shen like this, it doesn't make him learn whatever lesson you're trying to teach him-it only makes him anrgy and bitter. All you're doing is hurting him, in his mind, body, and heart, and you're pushing him away. You are too hard on him, he's only a young man, with many years left to learn to rule in our stead."
He continued to frown angrily "If I am 'hard' on him, it's because I care enough about him to not allow him to get away with everything." he said "The Grand Master could clear as day see that Shen was holding back that infamous temper of his-who knows if he said anything to the others! They're probably all laughing at us behind our backs because my son still throws tantrums like a five-year-old!"
Hera suddenly back-slapped the peacock with her foot. Hard. He reeled back in surprise as he clutched his throbbing cheek, and stared at her in shock. She got within an inch of his face "Did you ever stop and think about where Shen got like that?" she said in a low voice "Perhaps if you had simply stopped and listened to your son-your own flesh and blood!-you might actually know something about him. I may be just as busy as you, Azure, but I made time for him. Even something as trivial as playing a game of dominoes made him happy enough to smile, he would even sit with me while I painted and just talk to me-it doesn't take much, but for the gods' sakes do something!"
The peahen couldn't remain in his presence a moment longer, she was already on the verge of tears. Without another word, she fled the room. Azure could only stare after her as his wife ran from their chambers trying not to cry, he cradled his cheek-which only stung slightly, and thought about Hera's little speech. Could the way he treated his son really effect him?
Azure shook his head "Ridiculous," he murmured "She's just being emotional-what with all this ruckus Shen's caused of late."
O.O.O.O.O.O.O.O.O.O.O.O
Shen knocked on the door to Lang's room in the guards barracks, the wolf bid him to enter. Balancing his cargo against his shoulder, the peacock pushed open the door. Inside he paused at what he saw. Amalthea and Lang were sitting on the floor, with a game of mahjong between them and what he could only suspect to be the leftover rice balls from their breakfast. The prince chuckled at the human "Decide to share Nanna's rice balls, Amalthea?" he asked "A shame really, it seems I've brought these here for nothing, then."
He revealed the contents of the bowl he'd been carrying. Cherries. Lang licked his chops hungrily and rubbed his hands together. The peacock handed the bowl over to the wolf, who greatfully took it. "You know me too well, Shen." said Lang as he popped a cherry into his mouth "Thanks."
"It's the least I could do." replied the prince. He sat down beside the two on the floor and glanced over the remaining tiles. Amalthea was clearly winning. "I thought you didn't know how to play mahjong?" he asked.
She smiled "I don't," she replied "Lang's teaching me, and I just happen to be kicking his tail at it."
Shen chuckled "Of course Lang would train his own worst enemy." he said. He frowned suddenly "Speaking of training, where's your escourt?"
Amalthea smirked behind her rice ball. "I tried to tell you I don't like being followed around." she said "So, I left him."
"In other words...you ditched him."
"Yep."
He shook his head with a grin "What am I going to do with you?"
"Oh, I'm sure you'll think of something." she joked.
The white peacock couldn't help but smirk. Amalthea was opening up, one little bit at a time. He turned to the Boss Wolf "How have you been feeling, any better?" he asked.
Lang swallowed another mouthful of cherries. "A lot better." he said "My side's healing up really well. Should be back on my feet anytime now." The wolf's brows knitted together in puzzlement when he noticed the prince's cheek. "What did I miss?"
Shen gingerly touched the bruise "A little disagreement got out of hand," he said "Nothing that hasn't happened before, and nothing I can't handle." Lang placed a hand on the peacock's shoulder and offered him a comforting smile. The prince returned the gesture. "That happens to bring me to the reason I'm here-other than to check on you. Xin Jing's coming home and has invited us over."
The wolf's ears flattened at the sound of the princess's name. Lang and Xin hadn't parted on good terms-terms on which the wolf still begrudged her. Shen rolled his eyes "You won't be so upset after a trip to the hot springs, now will you?" he said, and when the wolf's ears perked, the peacock chuckled "I thought as much. Do you think you'll be well enough to travel?"
Lang smirked and finished off the last cherry. "When do we leave?"
The three spent the remainder of the day playing games and laughing together. Amalthea ended up losing her first game of mahjong, and every one afterwards. But she ended up showing them one of the most intricate domino patterns they had ever seen. For Shen, it was a balm for the wound in his heart. Here, he had his best friend falling over himself laughing, and Amalthea smiling brightly. For once, he could forget about his father-about being a prince, and just be himself.