Not So Different

The, as Lillia put it, pain-the-necks, were back. The Master's Council wanted to personally see the progress and safety of Maz. And they were thorough on the safety part. "Is this really necessary?" Maz asked embarrassed. Two lady duck servants were examining a half naked Maz all over. Lillia and Viper stood there giggling at the sight. Maz's face was almost completely red with embarrassment.

"We have to make sure that you haven't acquired any bruises or injuries from anyone...namely the Gong-Go Warrior," said the Croc. Lillia rolled her eyes.

"I haven't touched him. Not that I would want to," Lillia remarked. She couldn't help but notice Maz's physic. Underneath the long robes, he had very defined muscles. Lillia shook her head. "I did not just think that," She said to herself.

"What's that?" Po asked.

"Nothing," Lillia replied. She forgot that Po was there as well. Finally, the servants were done with their inspection. Maz quickly put back on his clothes. He traded the long robes for a lighter plain tan vest with a black outline. His black pants would also help him with the exercise.

"So, everything seems to be in order," Master Ox said. Maz bowed and quickly went to his room. He purposefully didn't want to be there, just in case they wanted to do any other kind of inspection. Just then, Tigress came in.

"What did I miss?" She asked a smiling Lillia.

"Oh, nothing you probably haven't seen with Po," Lillia smirked.

"Lillia!" Po exclaimed. He blushed when Tigress looked at him with a questioning look. "I'll tell you later."

"Well, now that everything is in order, we shall be on our way. We'll be doing these monthly checks from now on," Master Croc explained. "Oh! Also, Maz's brother is coming to the Jade Palace to visit him." Lillia groaned.

"Another lion?" Lillia muttered.

"Don't worry, Gong-Go Warrior. You don't have to protect him. That's not in the budget," Master Shifu mumbled.

"Anyways, it's important that you take care of them both. Zander is the emperor of Bei-Lang, so many people can come after him," Master Croc said.

"Yes, and we don't want anything to happen to ANY of the family. They're all that's left," Master Ox sadly said. Po's eyes widened.

"All that's left? What happened to their mother?" Po asked. The masters were silent for a while.

"She was killed by the tyrant emperor," Master Shifu explained. Po sighed. The others were shocked. Lillia couldn't believe what she had heard.

"She was killed by her own brother?" Po asked in clarification. This made Lillia even more shocked. "Wait, so he killed both of his parents?"

"Yes," Master Shifu sighed. "You probably already know about the father when he was murdered. But his mother and General Gong-Go were killed on the same day. The Emperor wanted to eliminate any possible heirs to the throne that would be a threat to him. Before the day that the Gong Go Warrior overthrew him, he had sent others to kill his sister and her sons. But Gong-Go had already moved them to another place and hid them. But the sister was killed. So both of them became orphans on the same day Gong-Go was killed. They practically had no one."

"That's horrible," Viper said, almost to tears. Lillia just stood there speechless.

"Man, I didn't think he had killed Gala as well," Po grimaced. Master Shifu nodded.

"Anyways, we will be leaving now. Please take good care of Prince Maz," The Master's Council said. They all bowed and left. Tigress saw the lamb's stiff look.

"Are you okay, Lillia?" she asked. Lillia slowly came to her senses.

"Yeah," She said still in a daze. "I'm fine." Then, she left to go see Maz.

"I think she realizes now that lions aren't the same," Po said to Tigress.

"Why do you say that?" Viper asked.

"Because she didn't know that Maz's parents were killed just like hers. I think she's just feeling guilty is all," Po explained. "Should we comfort her?"

"Leave her be," Master Shifu instructed. "I think she just needs some time to think."

"His parents were killed?" Lillia said to herself walking to the barracks. "And here I am accusing him so much he's frustrated about it." Lillia shook her head. "He's still a lion." Then she just stopped. "And I'm a heartless person," She spoke up. "So what if he's a lion? He's suffered just as much as I have. I've been so caught up with my hatred for lions that I don't even let him talk about his life. I've been so arrogant all this time," She sadly said. Then she found herself at Maz's door. Maz was looking at some papers. Lillia knocked. Maz jumped out of his chair and fell on the ground. Lillia softly giggled, but then she grimaced. Here she was terrorizing this lion who didn't even know why she was doing it. For a moment, Lillia didn't see Maz as a lion. Just a helpless little lamb. The positions were switched now. Maz quickly got back up.

"Oh, Lillia. What is it?" He asked, expecting another hail of insults or someone needing him. Lillia struggled to say the words.

"I'm sorry," she whispered. Maz was shocked. He didn't know what she was sorry for, but the mere fact she was saying it to him really blew his mind.

"What?"

"I said I'm sorry," Lillia repeated, understanding his surprise. "I... I just realized that you and I aren't as different as I thought. And that you're not like the other lions." Maz looked skeptical.

"Who told you to apologize to me? Was it Master Ox?" Maz asked.

"What?" Lillia was confused for a moment. "Oh, no one did. I came on my own accord." She paused. "Listen, they... they told me about how your parents died." Maz's face didn't seem to show any kind of regret or shock. "I didn't know that the emperor killed your family. I'm...I'm sorry for being so cruel to you."

"It's alright," Maz replied. Lillia's head snapped up.

"Alright?! I terrorized you, threatened you, scared you so much that you peed your pants-"

"Who told you that," Maz asked embarrassed.

"Never tell the panda anything," Lillia quickly answered. "How can you say that it's alright?"

"You didn't know. Plus, I understand that whatever the lions did to you is more than any of my grief," Maz replied. Maz sighed for a second. "You know what the interesting part is? Everyone knew about it before I did. My father was killed when I was born. They told me he died in an accident. My mother was killed before you defeated the emperor. They were going to tell me that she died in an accident as well if the attack didn't go well. It was only after all of this did they decide to tell me that my uncle killed both of them. Even my brother knew before me." Lillia felt immensely guilty.

"I'm so sorry for adding to the grief," she said. Maz sat on his bed and offered a seat next to him. Lillia smiled a bit and decided to take the seat.

"Like I said before, it's fine. And I understand your reason for it. I... I just didn't want my parents' death to be the main reason for the apology," Maz said, scratching the back of his head.

"Why?"

"Well, I didn't want you to feel guilty. I just wanted to know that we're at the very least acquaintances," Maz explained. Lillia nodded. They were silent for a while. "I... I don't expect you to give me an answer and I understand if you don't want to tell me but-"

"Just say it," Lillia interrupted him. She hated it when people beat around the bush.

"What did the lions do to you?" Maz asked. Lillia's face became emotionless. "Again, you don't have to tell me."

"No, you deserve to know." She answered. Then she told him. Maz held his face in his hands in shame.

"I deserved the harsh treatment," Maz said.

"No, you don't. You weren't there and you probably wouldn't have made a difference if you were," Lillia sighed. "Let's just start over, okay?"

"Okay, I'm Maz," Maz smiled cheerfully. Lillia smirked at him.

"Lillia," she replied. Then Maz started to sniff around. He slowly scooted over to Lillia. "Maz, what are you doing?" she asked backing away only a bit.

"It's... it's something I smell. I... I haven't smelled in a while," Maz said. He sniffed around Lillia. "It's you. You smell like... Gong-Go," Maz said. Lillia seemed a little flustered.

"Well, I... guess that my original scent must have rubbed off on Gong-Go," Lillia replied. "Does it smell bad?"

"The opposite. It smells really good," Maz said, unintentionally saying it in a deep voice. Lillia felt her heart skip a bit. She immediately got off the bed.

"Well, I um... should be getting to bed. Long day, hehe. Everything okay between us?" Maz nodded. "Good, see you." With that, she briskly walked out the door. In the hall, she passed Po.

"Hey Lillia," He greeted with a smile.

"Hey Po," She hurriedly said. Po stared at her as she walked pass. Then he noticed something.

"Lillia, why is your tail wagging back and forth so quickly," Po asked. Lillia's reaction was priceless. Her hands immediately covered her behind, her eyes widened, her ears dropped down a bit, and her face seemed to emit a pinkish hue. Lillia started walking backward to cover her tail.

"I... I don't know. I guess it just has a mind of its own. See you," She said anxiously. A confused panda was just left in the hall, trying to figure out why the lamb ran with her tail tucked in between her legs.

Continued...