Sibling Rivalry
Chapter 15 REWRITE
Over the past several nights, Po had been learning how to harness his qi from "Jiānhùrén." Lily had led him through meditations, locating his qi and slowly through forms to harness it and manipulate it to a point. He was surprised by it all. It was one thing to feel the qi within one's self. It was a completely different feeling and manipulating the qi in the environment around one's self. He had finally learned how to manipulate his qi, being able to lift a large boulder off the ground and forcing it a good distance away.
"Well done. Āmà would've been proud." As they continued to work through their forms and working harder and faster with different parts of the earth, he started to ask her the questions that plagued his mind.
"What is Āmà like?" Lily smiled at this.
"She's resolute, hilarious, and brutally honest."
"At least we inherited her humor."
"I don't know about that. I'm definitely funnier than you," the young sow asserted with a smile. "I think you're ready for a little sparring." The boar went to stand a good distance away from the sow, both taking on a ready stance.
Po was the first to strike, sending a chunk of earth toward her. She caught it with her fist, before breaking it up into a hundred hard pelts of rocks and sending them flying back. He tried to dodge as best as he could but unfortunately, there was no way to dodge a hundred fast flying rocks hurtling toward him. They pelted his fur quickly, irritating the boar.
"Ow!" he complained. He ran forward, making a large rounded stone towards his sister. She quickly made a wall of stone rise up, blocking the attack, before kicking it back at him. He rolled, dodging it. Throw, block, throw, dodge - the two sparred swiftly, smoothly, and focused before ending the sparring match with a bow.
"Not too bad!" She grinned. "You've made a lot of progress in such a short amount of time.. Āmà would be proud of you."
"She would be proud of you too." She grinned before shrugging off his compliment.
"Don't get sappy on me Poli." She looked out at the horizon. Po could see she was about to suggest they had back so they could still get some rest, however, he wasn't quite ready.
"Can you show me how you met Āmà?" She turned to look at him, giving a soft smile.
"Of course." She sat down, settling into a meditation position, motioning for her brother to sit across from her, both of them closing their eyes. Po felt the sensations of his body fade away as he fell deeper into the meditation. He felt a bright light warm over him and a vision of a mountain garden came into view, lush green grass and trees, life flowing from everywhere. He looked up to see an elderly sow, beaming at him, with the same jade green eyes he had.
"Āmà? Is that you?"
"Li, I've waited so long to meet you. Though, I guess I could call you Po or by your official title: Dragon Warrior," she said.
"You can call me whatever you're comfortable with Āmà." He was both shocked and excited to see his grandmother. "Where are we?"
"The Spirit Realm," Āmà answered. "It is a beautiful melding place of those who passed on and where the spirits reside, it is another plane of existence lateral to the Mortal Realm."
"I have so many questions. How did you become a kung fu master?"
"Oh, I never was a kung fu master."
"What? But I was told-"
"When I was a woman, Master Wolf had been traveling through the mountains when he came across our village. He stayed for a short time and I learned some kung fu under him. Even though he trained me, I never attained the title of master. Though, I can see after my passing, some may have told you about me and given me an honorary title, I never did truly earn it. After Master Wolf left to finish his quest, I saw that we needed more warriors to protect the village. So I became a guardian, a defender of sorts, to protect our ancestral home from harm. Even though we lived in the mountains, those who were determined to cause harm or steal from us, I was determined that I would do more than just stand on the sidelines. I was a warrior just like all the boars in our village."
"That's so cool! Even if you weren't technically a master, it's so inspiring to hear how you came to be!" Po paused. "Did you stop when you had Dad and Uncle Re Lin?"
"I didn't stop but I did take a step back. It was more important for my two sons to have a present mother. Besides, someone had to keep those rambunctious boars in check," she winked. "It's time you head back."
"What? No! I just got here! I just got to know you!" She smiled sweetly at her grandson.
"We will have plenty of time in the future. It's time for you to go. Just promise me one thing?"
"Anything Āmà."
"Look after Lily. She's facing challenges that no one in our family has before. She's coming to a crossroads very soon. Crossroads call for choices. Help her make the right one. Our family is depending on you to guide her."
Before he could question her or ask her to clarify, the vision faded quickly. He opened his eyes and he was back on the large earthen plateau with his sister.
"Sooooo? What do you think of Āmà?" She asked with a beaming smile.
"She's great."
"She's awesome!" He laughed.
"She really is. Thank you for introducing me to her."
"Anything for family."
Lily was awoken by her mother in the mid-morning, instructed to dress up in her light green hanfu, with her fur instructed to be brushed and hanging down, instead of in her usual ponytail. Lily followed her mother's instructions getting ready and met her downstairs when she was ready.
"Mom, are we going to the market today? Is there a council meeting I don't know about?"
"We have an appointment today," Cari replied.
"With who?" Her mother didn't respond, instead leaving out the front door and gesturing for her daughter to follow.
"Come. It's an important day." Onward, they walked and walked, until Lily saw exactly where they were.
"Mom, no, please. I'm not ready-" Lily whispered, almost pleading.
"You are ready to be chief," Cari replied simply.
"I'm not ready to get married," Lily hissed. Before her mother could answer, the matchmaker, an elderly sow, walked outside greeting them.
"Welcome Verdana Cari and Verdana Lily. Come, we have much to discuss."
Lily's chest tightened, her stomach a sea of emotions as they sat at a table together. She began to play with the sleeve of her hanfu, despite her mother chastising her every time she did.
"Verdana Cari, your daughter has several suitors interested in a match of marriage. You are very blessed to have such a beautiful daughter with so many interested suitors."
"I did not show interest in a match though-" Lily started, her mother giving her a look that stopped her mid sentence.
"Many of the boars have come to me in the past two months, expressing their interest to be a part of the matching process with you. I told your parents of the many interested suitors and they said we would move forward with only the best candidates," the matchmaker said.
"We do not need several offers of interest. We only need one, the best of the best, to support our future chief."
"Yes and I made sure to tell the suitors that they would not be chief, only Lily. They are all aware that they are not in line to be chief, the only one who would be next in line would be any future potential heirs between the bridegroom and the bride," the matchmaker went on.
"Wonderful," Cari concurred.
"I have also weeded out the candidates of lesser social standing," the matchmaker showed the ladies the parchment with the names of possible suitors. "Here is the list of the best interested suitors in the village." Lily and her mother looked over the list. Lily recognized the names, having grown up with them. She frowned, her lips growing thin and firm, seeing some names pop up of cocky boars from their shared lessons. Even on a shortlist, she was anxious about the number of names on the parchment. Lily sat there frozen as her mother and matchmaker talked about which candidates to weed out, mainly the cocky men her mother had also noticed. This quelled her anxiety a little, but not enough for her to speak up yet. This was strange for the teenage panda. She was very much used to speaking up and speaking her mind. Lily tried to force herself to find the courage to speak. Matters of marriage weren't exactly matters she was well versed in.
"Don't I get a say?" Lily blurted. Cari gave her a look of irritation, ready to speak, before the matchmaker interrupted her.
"Of course. We are merely narrowing down the list of candidates. From our final shortlist, you will absolutely have a say in your spouse. After all, he will be supporting you as chief of the village and help to provide an heir. You will need help picking a spouse who will be supportive of you in the home and as your role in leading the village," the matchmaker said.
"Yes, because so many boars are willing to play homemaker," Lily sarcastically said.
"That is enough young lady-" Cari started.
"It will not be easy. Even though the boars understand what they are expected of, it is up to all of us to determine who will genuinely be the best match for you and for our village."
"It should be up to me-" Lily said.
"It is up to all of us to discern who will make the best match," the matchmaker asserted. "You are no ordinary bride Lily. You will have no ordinary groom either."
"Ah, yes," Cari said pointing to a name on the parchment. "What about Tung Zulan?"
"Zulan? He's my friend!" Lily argued.
"Friends can make the best spouses," the matchmaker tried to soothe her nerves.
"You will want to stand beside somebody you can trust. I know you and Zulan's history - you both trust each other. He is of good social standing. He is kind, honest, trustworthy, and reliable. He's humble, sincere, and loyal. He should be one of the top candidates," Cari told the matchmaker.
Lily couldn't argue with what her mother said. She had known Zulan for years all throughout their childhood, he was her best friend. She knew all of this: his loyalty, kindness, and reliability made him one of the best friends she had ever had. He was the one she told her secrets to, leaned on for support, and he was the only one to fight back with her on being more honest with her parents. He accepted Lily for who she was and was adamant her parents would too. His hope kept hers alive too, even when her fear got in the way.
That didn't mean she wanted to marry her best friend though - she didn't want to get married at all! Lily knew Zulan would probably be the best choice for her and for the village. She knew he wouldn't ever guilt her into giving up the position of chief, he would be supportive, and reliable. He would make a perfectly great spouse. Lily knew this but her gut kept screaming. She did not want to get married! She wasn't ready!
Lily's thoughts came back to the present all to find out their brief appointment was already over. Just like that, it was decided. Zulan was her family's top choice and they wanted the matchmaker to move forward with talking with his family. They went back to the home and as soon as the front door closed, Lily ran to her room, and threw herself onto her bed, sobbing.
Everything was happening too fast. This was too fast, too soon. Her heart was pounding fast, sobbing, her paws holding tight to the fur on her head. Tears streamed down her fur, gasping for air, she cried.
I'm not ready. I don't want to get married! She thought over and over and over. Then it occurred to her, a panicked thought: the matchmaker said she had received offers from interested suitors. Zulan was an interested suitor. Did his family put him up to this? Worse, did Zulan go to the matchmaker and say he wanted to be considered himself? Was Zulan only her friend all these years to try and get to this very position? What if he wanted to marry her? Was their friendship not enough for him?
No, no, no! Lily's thoughts raced inside her mind, panic rising in her chest and throat. She had to run. She had to get out of here. At least for a little while. She threw off her hanfu, changing into a comfortable pair of pants and a waist-length qipao, before running out of the door towards the south. She had to get out of here. She had to get away. She ran and ran, her breath constricting her chest. Still, she didn't slow down, instead deciding to run faster and faster, her chest burning, her lungs begging for more air.
Before she came to the perimeter, she fell over a small rock and fell to the ground hard. She laid there for several minutes, crying, gasping, her anxiety rising and growing over her. It was too much for her. She put her paw to the ground to help herself up, before letting a pained sob out. Her pain and anxiety instantly subsided a bit..then the ground began to shake. At first it was small, but as the sow's cries continued to make her tremble, so did the earth, its tremors expanding and resonating further away like an ocean wave. She couldn't stop though, because her pain and anxiety would fade away as long as she kept touching the earth. She just wanted this fear, this pain to go away. She would do anything for it to go away. Anything.