The Last War

27. All or Nothing With Your Life

It was in the afternoon, but the sky was dark like at the beginning of the night. Dark clouds covered the sky and announced new snow.
The peahen watched them through the window and wished she could fly away. Footsteps of a bird sounded through the corridor. Firm and slow. She didn't move, didn't turn around. She knew his walking pace.
They stopped. She could feel his glance behind the door in her back. A loud rush of the door let her wince. Then someone slammed it again. He carried out his harsh movements deliberately, just to see her fear.
She still didn't turn around, but her heart stopped a silent moment. His feet started to move again in her direction. Closer and closer. Very slow and relaxed.
She tried to concentrate what happened outside. He approached next to her at the window and stopped. She realized him in the corner of her eyes. He seemed to look out of the window, too. The blue peacock lifted his wings and tapped his finger feathers together.
"Are you watching the snow again?" he asked mockingly. "Of course. Like always, don't you?"
He gave a condescending smirk. "You always had a sense of useless things."
He turned around, but she felt, that he gave her a nasty side-glance. "Is that the reason why the universe brought you to be a nobody?" Carefully, he wiped with his wing over a chair and took a place on it. "Stop staring outside! Come here!"
Immediately, she turned around to him, but she didn't look at his face. With lowered glance, she came closer until she reached him.
He waved with his wing and pointed at the floor. "Sit down."
Without protest, she kneeled down to the ground. She knew his commands. He leaned back in the chair and watched her with suspicion. His wings on the armrests constricted more.
"Look at me!" he ordered.
She lifted her head without hesitation. His blue narrowed eyes met her silver ones. He - full of optimism and anger, and she - sad and afraid.
"You are looking for so many useless things." He put his wings together. "Am I so useless for you?" He reached out his wing and patted her cheek. "You were always good for useless things." Then he smiled. "But useful for my plan."
Xiang gave her a last light slap and released her. Then he put the end of his finger feathers together, leaned back in the chair and smiled mockingly, when he realized her shocked face.
"Did you really think I would let me catch for nothing? How do you want to come into a castle on an easy way?"
Yin-Yu was just staring at her husband.
"I knew, King Wang would never kill me in front of your eyes." The peacock got up and walked a few steps away from her. "Don't be so afraid. Of course. It was my wish that the Hun guys attack our town to arrest us all. My father never managed to take his castle under control. But I would make it. And I made it. I made enough provisions for that. Guo was one of the first ones, who agreed with me." He stroked over some of his finger feathers. "And step by step, he persuaded more and more to follow me, and to get me out of the prison. And to deprive King Wang of his power."
He looked behind. Yin-Yu was still speechless.
Xiang smirked. "Unfortunately, I couldn't win the whole army over. It was a little, little risk for us, that they could hurt us in our home. But it was worth it."
The peahen lifted her wings and covered her beak and couldn't hold back herself. "You risked the life of your family!"
The peacock shrugged the shoulders. "Well, so what."
"We could be dead!"
But she was more shocked about that he didn't rebuke her for her protest. He seemed to enjoy her desperation.
"Who cares? Even if so, there are enough better women, which have a stronger character than you."

Carefully, very carefully, Po peeked around the corner. Two big bulls were standing at the entrance of the prison. He retracted and looked at the others.
"Alright. Discussion of the situation." He pointed at Wang. "As long as we don't know who of your soldiers is loyal to you, everyone could be a potential enemy. Well then. First, we have to come out of the prison. But as inconspicuous as possible. First step, knocking out the guards."
"I will do," Sheng said and ran forward.
King Wang had no chance to say something. In the next second, Sheng was next to the two surprised oxen and kicked them hard. But one of them took the chance to scream a loud "Come over he...!" Then they lay on the floor.
Po put his forefingers together. "Could you have done it a little quieter?"
The following howling and rumbling of heavy feet got an answer to his rueful question. But Sheng showed himself unimpressed. With a loud scream of attack, he jumped at the first running guard and smashed him to the ground.
"Maybe we should help him," Po said and started his kung fu fight.
Wang and Shen came with and a chaos with guards began.
"They don't stop," Po muttered. "So I think, they aren't on your side, are they?"
"It seems to be," Wang said and was forced to strike the next one of his own.
"Alright, guy!" Po cried around. "We have a little minus quotient."
He got angrier when more and more guards appeared.
"What was Xiang thinking?" he muttered. "That's sheer madness!"