The Last War

14. Colorblind

Po watched the scenario. The peahen put the wings together under her dark purple robe. Her plumage was dark brown with silver white stains on her neck. Her posture showed sadness, her face was lowered, but she gave the impression that her pride was still unbroken. One of the ox guards waved his spear in his hoof and pointed along the corridor. The peahen obeyed and followed the first guards who walked ahead.
"Wow! She is really very beautiful," Po breathed.
He looked at Shen. The peacock stood there with an elusive expression. His thoughts seemed to be so far away and yet still his mind was clear like never. He followed her with his eyes, didn't want to miss a part of her movements until she disappeared in the corridor which guided into the main building of the castle. But after that, he still didn't say a word and Po was afraid the peacock had lost his spirit of life.
"Mm... Shen?"
Like a lightning, a movement went through the lord's body. Occurring at the same time he found back the ability of speaking. But his face muscles showed no emotion.
"She is beautiful, for sure," the warlord said icily. "But with one mistake."
Po raised an eyebrow. "What mistake?"
"You don't have to know much, panda."
That's just for me.

17 years ago...

Thoughtfully, she watched the lord who stood in front of a big cupboard and looked for something. It was the second day after they had changed the place from the cave in the new quarter. She rubbed her wings together.
To stay until he had fulfilled his destiny. How long would that be?
She had seen so many peacocks in her life, but never someone like him. Not only because of his exterior. He had something strange and a two scaled personality. He could change his mood in one second so drastically like from day to night. That scared her. She could never foresee what he planned next. But he knew his limits in his environment, but he liked to play with fire at the same time.
"What are you thinking?"
His question shocked her mind.
He turned around. "Something important?"
She shook her head wildly. "No, I just thought, about..."
She waved her wings around. "It's just all so strange."
The lord snorted and turned his back on her.
"I didn't mean it in a negative way!" she added quickly. "You have a vision which has very big dimensions."
"But you think it's impossible, don't you?"
His voice sounded aggrieved and he stroked over a paper roll.
She sighed. "You seem to feel confident. It's so unfamiliar to me."
There was silence between them.
Finally, she opened her beak again. "Where do you come from?"
The white lord gave her a suspicious side-glance.
"From Gongmen City."
Then he shirked from her look again.
"Gongmen City?"
"You know it?"
"I only know, that there lives a peacock family who created the firework."
"They only don't create firework, they invented it."
"Does it mean, you are one of them?"
"Yes," he answered a little annoyed. He took a paper and went with that to a table.
"Can you do firework?" She asked more. "Are you experienced in this art of creation?"
The peacock shrugged his shoulders. "It's the simplest work for me. But I have better things to do than to waste my talent for a firework."
He threw the paper on the table and sat himself on a chair.
"Such a firework, it must be beautiful."
He rolled his eyes. "Just a waste of talent. Just for entertainment. It can more than that. It gives me power. Or did you never see a firework?"
"Seldom. Very seldom."
For a while, nobody said a word anymore. Shen meanwhile tried to concentrate on the paper, but now he couldn't anymore. His mind circled around her words again and again.
"Maybe I have to test my materials," he muttered more to himself. "Could you bring me the glass with the red powder?"
"Red?"
"I know no other color with that name. It's on the shelf."
She kept silent. The lord looked at her. "Mm. A problem?"
"No, no problem."
Feverishly, she looked over the bottles. But there were no name labels on it. Just gun powder or explosive warnings.
"What is it?"
"I... I..." Her wings trembled. "I can't find it."
"Impossible! I've placed it on the shelf yesterday."
He left his sitting place and walked over to her. With one grip, he held the red gun powder bottle in his feathered hand and held it out to her.
"So easy to see," he said mockingly. "Are you blind?"
She lowered her face with shame. But this didn't satisfy him. "Mmpf, if it's so difficult for you, you can compare it with my red feathers." He snorted. "The only simple color what I have."
She wrapped her wings around herself. "At least you can see your color."
In a harsh movement, she turned around, her face still dropped.
"Seeing?" Shen didn't understand her words. "What do you mean with that?"
"Nothing!" she hissed.
She screamed in fear when he grabbed her shoulders, turned her around and pressed her against the wall.
"I don't like it if someone speaks in riddles to me," he threatened. The peacock sharp-eyed her so hard that she got tears in her eyes. Without success, she tried to come free. But her struggling was useless. He was much stronger than her. He grabbed her chin and forced her to see into his eyes.
"What did you mean?"
He could feel her fast heartbeat. Her beak lips trembled. She had troubles to breathe regularly.
He added his pressure. "I'm waiting!"
A sobbing sound escaped her throat. "I – I ... I can't see it."
She closed her eyes. Was she waiting for a reproach?
"I'm... I'm colorblind."
She didn't dare to open her eyes. At least his pressure on her chin became weaker. She listened to her breath. She wished to be somewhere else, but not here.
"So, you can see no color?"
She shook her head. "Nothing. Black, gray, white... Nothing more."
The peahen felt his wings left her.
"I'm nothing."
Without his pressure she sank down. Then she covered her face with her own wings. She heard how his feet went away. She didn't look up. She only sat on the floor against the wall.
The lord had returned to the table, put his wings on the surface and stared at it. Finally, he left her and she stayed alone.

She didn't know how long but somewhen she heard him coming back. Unsurely she looked in his direction. He stood there like always in his proud posture. For a while they watched at each other, until he waved his head. "Come with me."
She didn't dare to hesitate. She left her place and followed him through the corridors.

The meal smelled good, but she didn't feel hunger. And she didn't look at him. She only saw how he took a glass and drank. Then he put it back on the table. She didn't move. All the more she winced when he put a bowl in front of her. First, she wanted to say, she wasn't hungry. But then she struck it as odd when she didn't smell something from the bowl. She eyed the content closer. It was white, but was it really white?
"Touch it," she heard his voice.
Now her eyes wandered to him. He had put his elbows on the table and had folded his wings together.
"Touch it," he repeated.
She hesitated, but then she did. It felt cold. Very cold. She took something from the bowl and held it under her nose. She smelled nothing. Was that...?
"Snow is white."
She winced when the lord's words threw a shiver through her body.
"It's cold and shiny. And without smell."
He pushed the bowl away and placed another bowl to her. The content was a little difficult to define. This time she put her finger feathers inside alone. She felt something hard and long. She took it out. It was blades of grass.
"Green is fresh like grass."
She rubbed it between her finger feathers. She smelled it. She gave him shy look. What was he going to effect with that?
Again he changed the bowls. This time it was something cubical inside. She took a deep breath. It smelled sweet. She knew that fruit.
Peaches.
"They are orange. Orange smells often this way."
She lowered her face. "Why? Why this?"
He kept silent for a moment.
"I don't like questions."
She looked at him. His face was serious. "You would do me a favor if you don't ask me why. Alright?"
She ducked her head. Then she nodded. "Alright."

"Hello? Hello? Earth to Shen! Are you still here?"
The lord jumped up when the panda touched his shoulder. "Are you crazy?!"
The panda ducked his head in an apologizing way. "Sorry, but if we want to hear the conversation, we have to hurry up."
The lord cleaned his throat. "Alright. But never touch me like that again."
Po rubbed his arms. "Okay."