The Last War

31. Family Matters

Po ran back into the castle when he saw that Shen and Yin-Yu were coming back. After they had entered the entrance hall of the castle, they were excepted from the others, but Wang who wasn't present at the moment. With question filled eyes, Po, Xia and Sheng, including the cicada Tu, looked at the new-found couple.
Xia was the first one, who made a few steps in the direction of her parents.
"What is it?" she asked.
"What is what?" Yin-Yu asked back.
Xia rubbed her wings nervously. "Will we go back home?"
"Which home?" her mother asked again.
"I mean...," Xia looked a little confused. "I don't understand."
Yin-Yu placed her wings on her shoulders comfortingly.
"We had talked about it, and I think..."
"We are agreed," Shen finished her sentence and laid his wings around the older peahen.
Now Sheng came closer and looked between them. "And what does it mean?"
Yin-Yu forced a smile. "I think, we should talk about that in a family round."
Her children were very surprised about that.
Xia cut right to the chase of the matter. "Xiang never did that."
Now Yin-Yu lifted her head. "How is he? What will happen to him?"
"Uh, uh," Po raised his paw. "While you were talking outside, Wang talked about something, that he will get a punishment for his doings, but he said..."
"You have the right to decide about his destiny," Wang said, who was walking in at that moment. With firm steps, he came over to the bird family and looked at them with serious face.
"Unless you have an objection against my verdict," the big king admitted in his speech. "Anyway, he is still your husband."
He made a little break. "Or should he get the worst verdict?"
Yin-Yu knew what he meant. Unsurely, she exchanged glances with Shen. But he didn't want to interfere in her matters. Like Wang said, it was her husband and had the next powerful disposition about him.
Wang pulled his eyebrows together. "If you have a verdict, we should carry out it today here and now."
"Yes," Po agreed. "Just to make sure, that he doesn't escape again. Maybe - by mistake - just to be sure."
The panda didn't want to have a fight with him once again.
The peahen dropped her face. It was a painful silence.
Finally, she lifted her head and looked at Wang. "He is in your hands," she said. "Do what you want as you think best. But don't kill him." Her eyes wandered back to Shen. She saw it in his face, he wasn't in one opinion with her, but she shook her head. "I can't."
The peacock snorted, but he didn't want to force her. But he felt a burning, destroying fire in his chest, that only wanted to delete that heinous creature.
"In this case it's a done deal for you?" Wang pressed her on.
She nodded, although with hesitation. Her hate was still very high, but otherwise, he had taken care of her through all the years. She couldn't bring herself to give him the maximum punishment that could take his life away.
"Do you want to see him for the last time?" Wang continued asking.
A trace of horror crossed her face.
"He is unable to fight," Wang calmed her down. "He can't hurt you."
She hesitated, but then she nodded. Wang gave a few soldiers a sign and they disappeared. And it didn't take a long time until some soldiers came back. Maybe they hadn't locked up the rebellious peacock, but rather safe kept in a lonely corner.
The blue peacock didn't fight, when they led him into the building. There were iron shackles around his neck, wings and feet and were all connected with one chain. From time to time, he struggled a little, as if he could think to break the chains with one move. The slash wound by Shen had stopped bleeding, but a big blood spot adorned his left wing.
The soldiers placed themselves in the hall but with a lot of distance to the peahen.
"Alright," Wang started with crossed arms. "Your behavior was more than ruthless. But because that I want to respect the will of your wife, I refrain from giving you the maximum verdict. You will work in the stone mines. There you will have enough employment."
Xiang looked up at him with obstinate mien, as if he was going to jump in the king's face to cut it into pieces. His hate filled eyes landed on his previous owned family.
Suddenly, he rushed forward, but the chains avoided reaching them. Angrily, he tugged at the chains.
"You cursed witch!" he screamed. "If you ever come under my eyes again...!"
Suddenly, Shen threw many feather knives on the floor very close in front of his rival's feet. The blue peacock kept silent, but his anger wasn't gone.
"Don't dare coming to her near again!" Shen hissed threateningly. "Or you will be the one who dies!"
They stared at each other.
"I don't think so," Xiang spat.
Yin-Yu realized how Shen was close to throw his feather knife at him, but she restrained him from stabbing to death the blue peacock. Instead, she pushed down his wings and gave him a pleading look. Not this way.
A little calmer, Shen took Yin-Yu when he felt how the fear monopolized her again.
The blue peacock's eyes narrowed in hatefulness.
"Don't think that I will ever acquiesce in that!" he screamed at them and tugged again on his chains with all his force. "YOU ARE ALL DEAD!"
King Wang grabbed his neck chain. "Be glad that your wife keeps you alive."
He pushed him away.
"Take him away!" he ordered. "I can't see him anymore."
The soldiers obeyed, but Xiang didn't think about surrendering and continued his cursing while they tugged him away. And before he was taken away completely, he turned around. "I will come back! I swear that with my death!"
Po rubbed his head. "Uh, you mean with your "life", don't you?"
The cutting glance of Xiang gave Po a scare.
"You will all pay!" was the last clear sentence, what they could hear from him. His screams became quieter until they disappeared.
Po looked at Wang. "He didn't mean it seriously, did he?"
But Wang made a gesture of refusal. "Don't worry. He will never come back."
Po looked in the direction where Xiang was taken away. "I hope so."
Anxiously, he looked back at the others. Shen had taken her in his wings again.
Meanwhile, Wang had drawn closer to them and his eyes were on Yin-Yu. "Well, I guess, you don't want to stay here, want you?"
"I don't think so," Po whispered at him. "They had waited 17 years for this moment. I can't imagine that they..."
"Panda!" Shen cut his word.
"I already keep quiet. Sorry. I just thought..."
"Listen, King Wang," Yin-Yu started. "Your suggestion let me feel honored, but I already have a family."
She took Shen's wing in hers and King Wang had to accept her decision.
"But what about your home city?" the ox asked.
She exchanged glances with the lord. But it was a clear thing that she never wanted to set foot in Xiang's city again.
"I dedicate it to your care," she said. "I can't stay there."
King Wang rubbed his head. "Alright, but..."
"Po?! Are you here?!"
Like electrified Po turned around and saw Mr. Ping in the entrance.
"Dad?"
Behind the gander followed Soothsayer and Xinxin.
"How did you come here?"
"Through the tunnel," Mr. Ping explained. "Knowing you, you made it and I just thought you were hungry and... Oh, dear! I just wanted to see that everything is all right with you."
Po ran at him and hugged him. Snow raised down on the floor.
"It wasn't my credit," Po said and released the gander. "Someone other did the main work."
He looked at the two birds and Mr. Ping understood. Po led him to them, but Shen and Yin-Yu didn't seem to realize they really. Even not the soothsayer who watched them with a warm smile. Meanwhile, Po looked from one to another.
"Am I just imagining that or is there something waiting?"