The Last War

29. Unveil

The soldiers came closer. Shen peeked around. There were too many of them. Without avoiding the gleeful eyes of his rival, he lowered the spear in his wings slowly. Finally, he threw it away. Xiang stood up, still his nasty smile on his beak.
Suddenly, Shen made a quick movement. In a split of a mini second, Xiang managed to jump aside, but the cutting pain of the feather knife let him cry.
In the next second, the soldiers jumped at the white peacock and pressed him to the ground. Meanwhile, Xiang held his left wing with his right feathered hand.
Guo ran at him. "My king, are you alright?"
Xiang looked under his wing. Blood colored his blue feathers.
Guo touched for his knife. "Should we strike him down?"
The blue peacock panted, but he kept standing.
"No," he replied, while he tore off a part of his robe and stanched it around his injured wing. The cut wound wasn't bad, but that barefaced attack made Xiang madder than the pain. His angry eyes looked down at the white on the floor lying peacock. Xiang rubbed his bleeding lesion.
"But I will give that in the same way." He waved his unharmed wing to a soldier and asked for a spear. "Stretch him!"
In the next second, the ox soldiers tugged the white lord up, two grabbed his wings and spread them apart. Xiang rubbed his blood on the spear which still glued on his feathers from holding the wound. Impatiently, he watched how the lord stood in front of him.

Yin-Yu put her wings over her beak when she was seeing that picture from the distance. "He will hurt him badly!"
The peahen ran forward, but Po managed to grab her wing. "No! Wait! Wang will be here soon."
She pulled wildly. "That's too late. Let me go!"

Shen didn't struggle, but his body language showed a big resistance. With tensed muscles, he looked at the blue lord, who responded his anger with nastiness.
"You made a mistake," Lord Xiang said darkly.
The white peacock narrowed his eyes in a dangerous way. "It was my pleasure."
Xiang lifted the spear.
"No, Xiang! Stop that!"
Both peacocks stared in disbelief how the peahen placed herself between him and her husband. But that couldn't impress the blue lord long.
"Out of my way, damn woman!" He pushed her away. She fell to the ground. "How many times should I order you to shut your mouth?!"
He was going to throw the spear at her.
"No! Leave my mother alone!"
With big eyes, Po watched how the two children ran to them.
"Am I talking to a wall?" With a deep sigh, the Dragon Warrior followed them.
Xia and Sheng shielded and stood right beside their mother.
When Xiang saw Sheng, he became cautious. "How did you come here?"
"That wasn't part of your plan, was it?" Sheng retorted back.
With an apprehensive look, Po looked at Yin-Yu. "Are you okay?"
"You again?" Xiang wasn't amused to see the black-white Dragon Warrior.
Po rubbed his head with a nervous smile. "I'm tourist only."
"Don't dare to harm mother again!" Xia ordered at him.
The blue peacock growled. "You've got a big mouth, cheeky girl. I will knock the nonsense out of you."
The blue lord waved his wing. "Get rid of them!"
The soldiers grabbed the two young birds and tugged them away from their mother. But Sheng managed to come free and jumped at Xiang. But he had expected everything and threw the young peacock away with a hard kick from his feet. One claw scuffed his throat and Sheng fell to the ground with panting. In the next second, he was picked up by a soldier roughly.
With sneering Xiang looked at him. "No wonder that you are so weak."
Xia couldn't hold back her frustration. "I hate you!"
Lord Xiang showed no interest. "Your words are worthless. I have other things to do."
He paid his attention back to the white peacock, who was still captured in the soldier's grabs.
When he walked closer, Yin-Yu managed to come back on her feet. "No, please! Don't hurt him!"
All what she reaped was a malicious look.
"Tell me one reason, why I shouldn't torture him?" With that, Xiang held the tip of the sharp weapon very dangerously over the lord's neck artery. Carefully, she pushed the spear away. She caught his provoking look with her silver eyes.
"Just please, let him go." She put her wings on his. Her voice sounded pleadingly. "Let's go home. After that you will feel better."
She tried a smile. Xiang narrowed his eyes.
Xia cried when her mother's face turned to the right side and showed the blue peacock her burning cheek of his slap. Blood of Xiang's wound stuck on it. Po gasped for air in disgust and tensed his muscles. Shen didn't feel different, but there was no chance for him to make a stand directly. He started to scream an insult, but a solider closed his beak with his hoof.
For a few seconds, there was silence, until the lady lifted her wing slowly and rubbed over her hurting face. Her eyes became wet, but there were no tears.
Her glance wandered back at the blue lord. "That's enough! I leave you!"
Xiang started a chuckle. "Where do you want to be without me?" Yin-Yu cried in pain when he grabbed her wing brutally and held her tight. "I will not let you go." He smiled evilly. "Until death do us apart."
Maybe he expected she would drop her gaze, but instead she pushed him away. "We were never a couple! The whole time not!"
For a little moment, Xiang seemed to be confused, but Yin-Yu didn't give him the time to retort something back.
"I had given up everything for you!" she cried. "My hometown, my past, everything! I wanted to give you a family, despite the marriage, which you have forced to me. But you threw it in the mud! I told you, you should never marry me. And I had one reason." She looked at her children. "I was too afraid."
The peahen turned around and lay her wings over Shen's shoulders. "I never wanted to say that, but -" She hesitated for a moment. Her glance glued at their children, but there was no way back for her. The white peacock could feel her fear so intensely, but she found the courage to look at Xiang with a firm look.
"He is the father. I was pregnant before we married."
Po wished he could become invisible now. Nobody could say what was running through Xiang's mind. But everybody could guess, it was no good. The panda ducked his head when he saw how Xiang's finger feathers tensed around the spear hilt.
Suddenly, he squalled and rushed upon her. The peahen dodged his onslaught and the spear drilled into the stone floor. Yin-Yu stopped, but Xiang pulled the spear out again and made a new attack on her.
"YOU SCUM OF A DAMN...!"
"I – I wanted to tell you!" she interrupted him with lifted wings. "But I was afraid you could hurt them!"
Xiang bristled with rage and hit with the spear at her. Yin-Yu did her best to avoid it.
"Drop it!" Shen cried and tried to free himself.
Including Po wanted to give her some help, but the soldiers didn't let him a chance to make a stand. "Hey, I'm a warrior of peace, too, guys!"
The blue bird hunted the woman over the whole yard.
"Stop that!" Yin-Yu cried. "I'm warning you!"
"I will hang your dead body over my house door!" he yelled at her.
There was no doubt for the woman that there was no way to disabuse him of his intention. She took a run-up and dashed against the wall, but she only pushed herself away from it, turned around and speeded at him with a loud yell.
Xiang didn't stop and lunged out to hit her with the sharp weapon. But the foot of her met him at full tilt. Xiang was flung away. He crashed against Guo, and both crashed against the next wall. Moaning the two antagonists leaned against it.
Po stood there with wide open month. "Wow, the Shèjī-Kick."
In deep admiration his glance rested on the woman who had sunk to the ground with exhaustion.
Everyone was speechless.
Suddenly, Shen took the chance and kicked both soldiers away. That animated the rest of the soldiers, but Po was tired to play the role of the victim and took a fight position.
"Stay away, or we will kick you into the sky!"
To his surprise, the soldiers froze and backed away.
After a little confusion phase, Po lifted his nose. "Yeah, you know when it's time to surrender, don't you?"
"Um," Sheng interrupted him and pointed behind the panda. "I think, they went back because of them."
Po turned around. Not far away stood more other soldiers, guided by King Wang.
"Oh, that explains everything."
"Sorry for the delay," Wang apologized.
Po smiled. "That's okay. We are almost ready."
Wang nodded and waved at his own soldiers. "Arrest everyone here!"
They obeyed and split up.
"Anybody hurt?"
Po smiled. "More or less. The victims camp over there."
With big eyes, the Hun king looked at the still dazed peacock and ox.
"Who was that?"
The panda pointed at Yin-Yu. "She."
Wang looked at the peahen in disbelief. "She?"
"Indeed."
"How did she do that?"
"Yes, wherefrom do you know this kick?"
Meanwhile, Xia and Sheng sat next to their mother, who was rubbing her hurting leg.
"I trained it covertly," she explained. "But I never trusted to use it." She looked at her children. "Because of you." But then she dropped her gaze again. "And of someone other."
A sigh met her ears. Shen stood one meter away, looking down at her. But then he walked forward. Xia and Sheng made way for him. The peahen didn't dare to look at him.
Only after Shen kneeled down to her, and started to take her wings in his, she lifted her face.
After so long time, his red-black eyes scrutinized every facet of her silver ones. After a while, her tension left her. Carefully, he helped her up, holding her in his wings.
His gaze became serious. He touched her face. "Tell me, did you kill your mother?"
She closed her eyes slowly and he knew the answer. She leaned her head against his chest.
"She left me with no option."
Her trembling body pressed against his. But there was no reproach in his reaction.
Po watched them, but his attention drifted away to Xiang, when soldiers started to pick him up. The collision had been too much for him. With a mocking grin, Po came closer and looked down at the moaning peacock. "Oh, so weak? Well then, get well soon."
With that, he waved with his fingers over his forehead.