Pet of the Peacock Prince

By Princess Thil Galel

I DO NOT OWN

Thank you

R&R

Please enjoy!

Eclipse Phoenix Rising

Shen felt the air rush out of his lungs, as if he had taken a punch to the gut. She was….a what?! It couldn't be-it was impossible! Not Amalthea.

And yet there she was. An avian of stunning beauty, sitting before him.

He shook his head, clearing it of its thoughts. "I think, perhaps you should tell me everything, from the beginning." he said, easing himself down on the edge of the bed.

"Don't!" she snapped, flinching away from him. "Stay your distance-for your sake as well as mine!"

Shen jumped up, stumbling slightly, startled by the outburst. It was rare for her to raise her voice, and he had yet to hear it in such a tone. It didn't seem like something Amalthea would do. But then again, what did he really know about her?

Amalthea sighed, bringing the blanket even closer as she stared down at the sheets. "I'm sorry….I just don't want to hurt you." she murmured, looking at one of her wings. "This form….its alien to me. If I'm not careful, who knows what I could do."

"I'm not as simple as I led you to believe-far from it, actually. Few people know the truth; my adoptive family, but Oogway knows the whole truth." Amalthea sighed, closing her primary feathers together. "I'm not from Japan, but rather from a country far to the West of here, called Greece. I was born on the cliffs of the highest mountain, in a nest under the open sky, as is tradition to my kind. But I'm a bit different from the others of my species-I'm called an Eclipse Phoenix, a phoenix hatched during the height of a solar eclipse. It is why I have a strong connection with the moon, as it blocked out the sun when I drew my first breath."

Shen listened intently, completely drawn in by her words. It was like hearing a fairytale read straight out of a book. Phoenixes, the moon covering the sun, a hatching ritual, a distant land. "That's….incredible." he breathed, "But, if you were born in this….'Greece' place, why were you living in Japan?"

"I'll explain that as well. You see, as great as phoenixes are, we aren't invincible." Amalthea shuddered, a memory replaying itself in her head. "My family was attacked….by a monster. It killed my father, and wounded my mother. She managed to get me away from it, but not before it saw me. We went pretty far, as we can fly for quite some distance without rest, but she was hurt pretty badly, and we crashed."

She exhaled, as if having difficulty letting everything out. "Oogway loved to travel in his younger days, and he was just about to stop travelling when he met us-he was heading back into China at the time. He tried to save my mother, but she knew it was too late for her…" The red avian covered her beak, holding back a sob. Shen wanted to reach out, to comfort her, but he held himself back, not wanting to upset her further by coming closer again.

Amalthea took a shuddered breath, and continued. "She knew the thing wouldn't stop hunting for us, as there are so few of my kind, and it will travel great distances to get one of us. My mother told Oogway what had happened, and begged him to help me escape. When he agreed, she told him of a place where I'd be safe-the valley hidden in the mountains of Japan. She knew that even if it would manage to get there, I would only be safe if I no longer looked like one of my people. She put a spell on me that turned me into a human, the one thing the monster apparently hated more than anything else."

"Oogway snuck me across China after she passed in her sleep, and took me to the valley, following my mother's instructions. But as we were arriving, a rockslide buried several of the homes. Oogway told me to hide in a tree, while he helped the villagers out. They were grateful-so much so that one of the families agreed to take me in.

"Your adoptive family." Shen guessed, "That's why you looked human? Hiding from some monster? Why didn't you at least tell me that much?"

The red bird shook her head. "Because, even in the valley, everyone uses me-they pluck my feathers to heal the sick and wounded, always assuming its perfectly okay with me. Well it wasn't! Never so much as a please or thank you, and none of them wanted anything else to do with me if they didn't need something from me." she said, "My only friend growing up was my brother….until I came here, and met you and Lang. I was afraid-for many reasons. Some believe the blood or the heart of a phoenix will give them everlasting life, or give them our powers of fire. It doesn't, before you even ask. All we can give to others that have any power is our feathers, and those are only good if they're burned into ash."

"I….I was scared, Shen, that the first friends I ever had…..would turn on me, if they knew the truth." Amalthea pressed a fist to her head, squeezing her eyes shut. "Now I don't know what to do. I've never been in this form since I was less than a year old, and I can't recreate my mother's spell!"

Ignoring her previous warning, Shen placed a wing on her shoulder. "Hey, it'll be fine." he assured her, "Amalthea, you just saved my life yesterday, and while I'm not particularly happy with the fact that you lied to me, I…..I guess I can understand why. If I could change a few things about myself by magic, I'd sure never tell anyone otherwise." She looked up at him, tears hanging from her lashes, her eyes full of fear and sadness, yet there was a glimmer of hope as well. "I'm still your friend, Amalthea, but one thing is going to change. You'll never be called a pet again, that I can assure you."

She blinked up at him in surprise. "What?" she gasped, "But Shen-if you set me free, your father will never let me stay!"

The peacock shook his head. "I know my father can be….difficult at best, but after he gets one look at you like this….." Shen gestured to her, then had to blink hard to tear his eyes offer her alluring figure, hidden only by a thin sheet. He had to get his mind out of that gutter. "He won't be able to turn you out."

The phoenix glanced at herself, then at the white avian. Would her appearance change how Azure felt about her?

O.O.O.O.O.O.O.O.O.O.O

"Wait-wait-wait," said Lang, shaking his head. "Why are you giving Thea your clothes? Why can't she borrow some of your mother's?" Shen had told the wolf about Amalthea, as well as his parents. It was safe to say that it was hard to swallow, but after what they had witnessed the day before, no one could argue that the idea of seeing a phoenix was insane.

"Because, Lang, she's not a peahen-her tail feathers are too long for one of my mother's dresses. But my clothes are cut for a train." he replied, grabbing the smallest robe he had brought out of one of his trunks. It would still be big on her slender frame, but it was the best he could do. "This brass color should look nice-even if she's not one for higher taste in fashion."

"Like you are?" the wolf teased, shaking his head as he chuckled. Then he paused. "Wait-"

"Would you stop saying 'wait'?" the peacock asked in slight irritation.

"-if Thea has no clothes, then how did you see her?" The wolf's ears suddenly went flat as he realized the answer. "Oh, Shen. Do you know what's gonna happen if word of that gets out?" If someone were to let it slip that the prince had been with a naked female alone in a room, everyone would speculate the worst of the situation. Amalthea would be ruined, and Shen would be labeled a womanizer and a rake.

Shen sighed. "I know, Lang, which is why you're not going to say anything and Nanna is going to bring her these clothes." He knew very well what could happen, and that was why he was trying to be careful. But he was having a hard time thinking straight. Not only did the bump on his head throb with every heartbeat, but his thoughts continued to drift back to Amalthea. Her eyes, her voice, the truth she had confessed to him.

It was just so much to deal with.

However, he couldn't let that stop him from acting. Lord Gao had been terribly injured during the attack, his nose broken by the attackers. The palace guards were still hunting them, but were having little luck. As it turned out, the snowy owl who had thrown the smoke bomb onto the table had been Xin Jing's personal servant for many years. The ligress had no idea why the owl would turn on her and her family.

Shen shook his head again, folding the robe as he did so. For a moment he was lost in thought, but the wolf's voice brought him out of his musing. "So what is she going to do now?" he asked, "Did she say anything?"

"She didn't say-more like I didn't ask." the prince replied, "After all, I don't think that right now is the time to talk about it. She's scared. I can't even imagine what she's going through. I mean, she hasn't been a…..phoenix, since she was a child. How could someone live like that, day after day? It would be like living in a costume."

Lang nodded, folding his arms. He felt ashamed for not realizing that Amalthea was not what she appeared. A knock at the door drew their attention, and Lang quickly answered it. Ah-Mah smiled up at the wolf. "Good afternoon boys," she greeted, stepping into the room, and turned to Shen. "You have something for me, dear?"

The prince nodded, holding out the folded robe. "Can you give this to Amalthea? None of her clothes will fit her….erm, new figure." The goat took the robe, giving him a knowing smile. He raised a brow. "What's that look for?"

"Oh, nothing much." she said innocently, "Just smiling~"

She shook his head. "Nanna, you can be utterly baffling at times."

"Its how I keep you on your toes, dear." she teased, and headed out of the room.

O.O.O.O.O.O.O.O.O.O.O

Amalthea sighed softly, tucking the folds of the robe tightly. Shen wasn't the largest of peacocks, but his clothes were still big on her slender frame. She adjusted the collar once again, more out of habit rather than need. But who could blame her? Nervous would be putting her feelings mildly. Her wings and knees were trembling she was so frightened.

She knew what Shen had said, but her whole life contradicted his words. Amalthea wanted to believe him, more than anything, it was just so hard to put her faith in others. But Shen hadn't ever steered her wrong. She groaned, pressing her wings to her head. "Why is this so complicated?" she whispered.

A knock at the door drew her out of her thoughts. "Amalthea, dear are you alright in there?" came the Soothsayer's voice. "You've been in there for twenty minutes. You know you have to come out sometime, dear, and it might as well be sooner than later."

"Coming….I guess." she called back, and hesitantly opened the door. The old nanny goat smiled softly at her, even though the red bird was cast in the shadow of the dim room. She swallowed hard, slightly hiding behind the door. "Could you stand back, Nanna? I could burn you."

"Now how would you manage that?" the Soothsayer asked with a knowing look. "Your clothes aren't burning, are they?" Amalthea looked down, glancing at her attire. "If that's not burning, I doubt you're hot enough to burn me. After all I'm not as delicate as silk."

I suppose that's true…. she thought, and cautiously stepped outside. The Soothsayer smiled, looking over Amalthea's form. She looked even more stunning than she had thought. "Lord Gao and Lady Sya are in the throne room with Shen's parents. They want to speak with you."

"S-speak with me?" she stammered, "Oh dear…..'

"None of that now," said Ah-Mah, "This is not the time to panic. Just relax, you've done nothing wrong."

"You mean aside from blowing a hole in the palace wall." she murmured, following the goat.

Amalthea swallowed hard as she entered the throne room. Tall columns of wood created a path up to the thrones, the surfaces of them polished so well that she could see her reflection. The two kings and queens stood by the thrones, their eyes finding her, causing her to suddenly freeze in place. Lord Gao's nose was heavily bandaged, his nose swollen and bruised. Her wing went to her beak as she gasped softly. "Oh….Lord Gao…..I'm so sorry."

The lion shook his head, smiling slightly. "Don't blame yourself," he said, his voice distorted by his injured nose. "Besides, its not the first time I've been hit in the face, and it won't be the last. But that's not why we asked you here."

The phoenix nodded, her gaze going to the floor. "I know…..I've deceived you all, and destroyed part of your home." she replied, "But I cannot apologize enough for it! I didn't mean to do it-I couldn't hold it back. I hadn't realize the explosion would-"

"Sweetie, relax." Hera soothed, "Lord Gao and Lady Sya aren't angry with you. They're grateful to you for saving us from the assassins."

Amalthea blinked, looking at them. "Grateful?"

"Yes," Sya added, placing a hand on her husband's arm. "If you hadn't driven them off, Gao would have choked on his own blood after they broke his nose."

Azure stepped around his wife, moving closer to the phoenix. "You did what was right." He said, looking directly at her for the first time. "A wall can be rebuilt, but lives can't be replaced." He placed a wing on her shoulder, but she was too stunned to warn him against touching her. "And I apologize for my behavior towards you up until this point."

Hera rolled her eyes, and drew her husband back. "Azure, you're overwhelming her." she warned, "Give her a bit of space."

Amalthea swallowed hard, placing a wing to her chest. "I….I don't know what to say." she murmured, "I wasn't…..expecting this."

"You shouldn't have thought the worst, Sweetie." Hera assured her, "But we would like to get any other surprises out in the open, if you have any."

The phoenix, glanced at the lion. "Well…." She gestured to him, asking him to stoop down to her level as she plucked a feather from her shoulder. Placing it on his nose, she lightly covered it with her wing, a glow appearing between her feathers. Gao frowned as a strange sensation swept through his skull. Slowly, she pulled away, stepping back.

Lord Gao stood up, peeling the bandages off, and wiggled his nose, his eyes going wide as he felt no pain. "I'm healed!" he exclaimed. The two felines and Hera rejoiced, but while Amalthea's attention was on them, Azure's gaze was fixed on the phoenix, the gears turning in his head.