The Petal of the Rose

by LJ Maas

  "I have no secrets, Conqueror."

  "I doubt that."

  "It is the truth?" Yu Pan reiterated. "Is a man considered secretive, merely because he does not proclaim his lineage from the mountaintop? Should he be looked upon as mysterious because he does not offer up easy answers? Perhaps it is the inquisitor who should ask himself, am I asking the correct questions?"

  The old man smiled and hopped down from the wall. He landed on his feet so lightly that I suspected my opinions of him were completely correct. I took heart that his previous words had been thrown down as a sort of hint, if not challenge, for me.

  I rose to stand alongside the much smaller man. "Would you do me the honor of practicing on the sparring field with me, Master Yu Pan?" I asked.

  "Perhaps I am not the one you seek," he answered. "Will you be disappointed in the outcome?"

  "I think not," I responded

  "Then shall we put our physical selves to the test?" Yu Pan questioned me.

  As always he walked ahead of me, never turning to see if I'd decided to join him. By this time, there were a number of trainees on the field, and I met up halfway there with Atrius.

  "Conqueror." Atrius greeted me with the familiar nod of his head.

  "Atrius. How goes the day thus far?"

  "Quite well, Conqueror. Uhm, may I ask . . .?" he stammered.

  "Master Yu Pan and I are going to stretch our muscles a bit." I grinned.

  "You . . . and him?" he asked in bewilderment. "That doesn't seem like much of a stretch, Conqueror." Atrius chuckled.

  Never let your eyes belie the truth that you see in here." I answered the Captain by pointing to my heart.

  I heard Gabrielle's voice as I stretched, and threw a couple of roundhouse kicks in the air. I winced, realizing Gabrielle would understand none of this. Actually, I would consider myself lucky if she didn't think me completely insane. I put a pleasant smile on my face and walked over to where she stood.

  "It's a beautiful morning, isn't it?" I asked after I'd kissed her cheek.

  "Xena, what manner of foolishness has gotten into all of you this morning? I just asked Atrius, and he said you and Yu Pan were going to fight one another." Gabrielle questioned.

  I raised a perturbed eyebrow at my Captain. "Gabrielle, it's not like that at all. Your friend knows how to take care of himself, and it is just friendly."

  "I'm not altogether sure I see the friendliness in it. You do realize you weigh almost twice as much as he, don't you?"

  "Little one," I silenced her with my words. "No harm will come. Trust in me, eh?"

  "You make that hard some times, Xena." She stood there shaking her head, but with a small smile firmly fixed on her face. "All right, go play your games, but no one gets hurt," She admonished.

  "I promise." I kissed her again for reassurance. I walked back into the fighting circle, and realized that I felt suspiciously like a schoolboy who'd been allowed to play outside for a time longer.

  The healer and I each moved into the large combat area. The octagonal area was roped off, and we bowed first to one another, then to the rising sun in the eastern sky. If I had any lingering doubts in my mind as to Yu Pan's true identity, they were erased in the first twenty heartbeats of our mock battle.

  No longer was he Yu Pan, elderly healer, but suddenly his years melted away. He moved about, parrying, dodging, ducking, twisting every blow I came at him with. My years seemed to catch up to me much more quickly. I was breathing harder and eventually found myself on the defensive. I flipped to avoid a leg sweep, but after some time of our sparring back and forth like this, my legs had lost a bit of their spring. I saw an opportunity, a hole as big as Tartarus appeared in his defenses.

  I seized the opportunity immediately, and reached in with one leg to trip him up. I was good, quite good. Very few warriors live to be my age, but I saw the error in my judgment just a hair too late. Gods, what a fool! I was led to the slaughter like some virgin cadet, and not the seasoned fighter I was. With one leg committed to kicking out at Yu Pan's leg, a limb that seemed to disappear before my eyes, I watched as he tucked, rolled, and popped himself upright, nearly behind me, and kicked my own legs out from under me.

  My back hit the ground with an appropriate thud, and a burst of applause ran through the crowd for the healer's victory. I leaned up on one elbow, glared at the trainees, and was rewarded with instant silence. Some of the soldiers suddenly remembered pressing engagements elsewhere within the palace. I couldn't keep the straight face plastered on and grinned mightily at Yu Pan, as he and Atrius assisted me to my feet. The healer had gone back to being the frail, elderly man he appeared to be, and I was amazed at the disguise, the way he could literally convince those around him that a stiff breeze might knock him from his feet.

  I bowed low to Yu Pan, who returned the respect and I grasped his hand once more in admiration.

  "Do you feel all right, Conqueror?" Atrius asked, stepping forward once more.

  "Tell me, Atrius, what is the only animal in the jungle that has no fear of the Lion? That beats him at his own game, as a matter of fact."

  "The tiger, of course." The Captain answered.

  "I don't understand, Xena." Gabrielle commented. She'd had the oddest look on her face as she watched Yu Pan after our little match. "You are supposed to be the Lion in this scenario?"

  "Indeed, my love. But I would like to introduce you to the Tiger, a man whose skill far exceeds mine on the battlefield, however."

  Yu Pan smiled with his eyes at me then. I think he was almost happy that I'd figured it out.

  "Gabrielle, Atrius . . . allow me to introduce the Tiger of Shao-Lin."

  I knew Gabrielle and Atrius alike would know of the infamous warrior monk of Chin. Gabrielle would surely have studied the man's teachings during her time being schooled, even by the Order of the Rose. Atrius, well, let's just say warriors always have a habit of knowing other great warriors.

  "The Tiger of Shao-Lin?" Atrius muttered in amazement. "It is truly an honor," he said quietly, while Gabrielle merely stared.

  I wore a smug smile at realizing that the healer's alternate personality was that of one of the greatest men to walk through Chin, or any other land for that matter. He was not only a warrior, but also a man of exceeding wisdom and learning. I knew in my heart that a man who holds himself so, had to be trained as a warrior. What I didn't know was that this man all but prepared the training manual for great warriors, those who mastered mind as well as body. Even now, in Chin, Shao-Lin Temples trained young boys to be warrior monks, all with the ideologies and concepts that Yu Pan provided them.

  "I don't understand, you're not a healer?" Gabrielle looked confused.

  "No, love, he is most definitely a healer, one of the greatest we shall ever know, but he is so much more." I answered.

  Yu Pan stepped forward and reached out to hold Gabrielle's hand in his own. "My, nuer, I am still the same man whom you befriended those many seasons past. I was many things in my past, but now I am, and always will be, the healer Yu Pan."

  Gabrielle smiled finally, and I knew that it would be all right, simply from seeing that smile. I hadn't even realized that I was holding my breath, waiting for Gabrielle to accept or deny this newly discovered aspect to her friend's life.

  Nearly a candlemark later, Yu Pan held center stage at our breakfast table. Myself, Gabrielle, Atrius and his betrothed, Anya, and finally Delia were all invited to hear Yu Pan's story.

  "It is a very short tale," the healer began. "At the age of six my father brought me to a temple, many days journey from our village. The temple was one of prestige to uneducated men such as my father. He understood that without something special, I would be destined to lead the same sort of life as my father. He was a poor farmer, yet he knew that a better life indeed existed, and he wanted this for me. He told me it would only be through hardship and hard work, but that if I persevered, my life would be better than his, and his father's before him.

  "My fathe
r left me in the Temple of the Shao-Lin priests, high in the mountains. There were many, many other boys there, some my age, some who were much older. Our days were filled with teaching and work. There was time for little else. We were taught many concepts, but chief among these was the philosophy that we could attain peace within the disciplines of war. I seemed to have a natural ability for theSanshou that was taught us. It was the art of the Shao-Lin movement, kicking, punching, and throwing punches. They incorporated something called Kung fu, boxing, and wrestling type movements, but always with the idea of self-defense in mind. I came to love the Temple, my work, and the life I led. For some reason the Heavens smiled on me, and blessed me as a son. I found it easy to practice the many Shao-Lin principles, they came easily, I flourished above and beyond anything the Priests had ever known. There came a time when they told me that they could no longer teach me, that I had grown far beyond their abilities.

  "Young men were only allowed to study at the Shao-Lin Temple until they reached the age of eighteen. At that time they had to choose the life they would lead. They could take their final vows, and live their lives out within the walls of the Temple, or they left the Temple, to spread the ideas of peace among men.

  "Because I found the life within the Temple to be to my liking, I took my vows and became a Warrior Monk. Soon, teaching students became secondary. I was blessed with an ability, there was no man alive who could best me in Sanshou. Therefore, when I turned twenty-four I was given permission to open my own school, dedicated only to Sanshou, in the shadow of the Shao Lin temple.

  "I have lived my life since, teaching others the principal I have come to love, and which I have learned to use in fighting as well as healing. Use your mind to control your body."

  I looked around the table and every face there was completely mesmerized by Yu Pan's short, but eloquent tale. The old man simply solidified one fact in my mind. Few people on this earth were ever what they appeared to be.

  CHAPTER 14

  HE HAD SUBDUED THE AMAZONS BY FORCE

  "IT ITCHES," I COMPLAINED.

  "Oh, it can't possibly be that bad, stand still." Delia commented on my remark.

  "It itches I tell you, and it's too tight!"

  I tugged on the collar until a silver button popped off. One of the maids scrambled for the loose object, and I began to pace the room. Two young maids were assisting my seamstress, Anya. And Delia, well, Athena only knows why she was there, but as the situation now called for her brand of diplomacy, I saw the wisdom in it.

  "I'm sorry, Lord Conqueror." Anya apologized, to which I felt about half a head tall. "Perhaps I didn't take into account the fact that your neck . . . uhm . . .is . . ."

  "Yes?" I arched an eyebrow in the young woman's direction. It's funny how one of those looks can make a soldier in my army cower in fear, but does seemingly little for the women in my employ.

  "Well, rather the neck of a proud warrior." Anya finished nervously.

  "What she really means is it's stiff and stubborn." Delia huffed.

  "Hades! When will this be over with?" I whined. Yes, it came as much of a surprise to me as it did to those around me. I truly did whine.

  "Xena, we need to talk." Delia stated in a commanding tone.

  I looked around the room at the young women with their heads bowed to the floor, afraid to meet my eyes. Delia walked into the other room without even checking to see if I was following. Gods! When did I lose such control over my own household? A woman giving me orders . . . me!

  They asked me to come in for a fitting for my wedding uniform. It was a stunning outfit of silk and leather. Anya really did a wonderful job, and the short jacket was perfect. I don't know what had come over me the last few days. Everything was going very well. Solan and Gabrielle were talking a little easier, my son was beginning to exercise on the practice field, and my wedding was scant days away.

  Right now, I was watching as my friend retreated into the next room, leaving me feeling like a scolded child, as opposed to the Ruler of the Greek Empire. There was nothing to be done, but to take my medicine, and follow Delia.

  "Xena, sit down." She ordered the moment she closed the door behind me.

  "I prefer to stand, thanks."

  "Sit!" she barked.

  I immediately felt myself bend at the knees. It's amazing really how one woman can sound so much like a mother. I flopped down on a stool and scowled.

  "Xena, what's wrong?" Delia asked gently as she sat down before me. "And," she raised her hand, "if you tell me nothing I'm walking right out that door."

  I took her admonition seriously, but couldn't keep from grinning a tiny bit at her motherly ways. "I don't know," I said honestly. "I know I'm being a jackass, but I can't seem to stop myself."

  "Have you and Gabrielle had a row?" she asked.

  "No," I responded quickly. "Things couldn't be better between us. The Empire is thriving. Personally, things couldn't be more wonderful. I mean in a few days I'm about to marry a wonderful girl, life should be great, right?" I asked the rather rhetorical question.

  "And you're not worried about that at all?"

  "About the Empire? No, we seem--"

  "Xena, I mean about your impending nuptials." Delia smiled.

  "Ohhh!" I could be so thick sometimes. "Worried . . . me? No, of course not."

  Delia's smile grew and it was clear she'd caught me. "Xena," she drawled.

  "Not worried. Terrified is more the word for it." Suddenly my shoulders slumped and I rested my head in my hands. "She's such a tiny thing. How does she possess the ability to scare me so much?"

  "Xena," Delia chuckled. "It's perfectly normal, a marriage union is a daunting thing if you let yourself think about it too long. The significance of it is frightening, but you need to look at the benefits as opposed to the fears. You've been alone too long, my friend."

  "I'm becoming painfully aware of that. I love Gabrielle, truly I do. I can't understand why I suddenly feel like bolting from this whole thing." I confessed.

  "I wish Galien were here. I think he might know exactly what to say to you." Delia said of her long departed husband.

  "I miss him. He would have loved Gabrielle," I said.

  "I miss him too, everyday. You're right; he would have loved your Gabrielle. He would be very proud of you, Xena. He loved you as a daughter."

  "I know it pained him some days, to see what I'd become," I answered. I truly did miss that man. He was the closest thing I'd ever had to a father. I hoped he could hear our thoughts, and know how changed a woman I was now.

  "So, what would Galien tell me about my fears?" I asked with an amusing smile.

  "Hmmm, let's see. Well, with the exception of the vulgarities you warriors seem fond of," she gave me a wink and I chuckled. "I think he would tell you to remember your first battle. Not Amphipolis, but the first fray you entered once you had your own army. Do you remember?"

  I smiled. I'd forgotten the faces and names of a great many people and places over the seasons, but I can recite every battle in which I'd ever engaged. I remember where, with who, and all the particulars in between.

  "I had an army of fifty, big for those parts. I was seventeen." If I closed my eyes, I could smell the jasmine from the mainland, and the salt blowing in from the ocean. I could almost remember the way the sun felt on my back and the ocean breeze against my face, as we charged down the hill on that garrison of Roman soldiers.

  "And how did you feel?" Delia asked knowingly.

  "You mean before or after the fighting started," I asked. Suddenly I knew where she was headed.

  "Before." She chuckled at my attempts to stall.

  "Like I was going to toss my breakfast up. I was nervous and edgy, barking at everyone."

  "And what would Galien have said to you about that?"

  I smirked at her, remembering her husband's no-nonsense attitude about everything in life. "He would have said to suck it up and relax. You always feel afraid like that. It's a fear of the unknown,
and it's natural. You put one foot in front of the other, and pretty soon you're in the thick of it. By then, you forget all about your nerves."

  When I looked up again, Delia had tears in her eyes, and I know she was thinking those words sounded very much, like what Galien would say.

  "Sorry," I muttered in embarrassment.

  Delia took one of my hands and gave it a quick squeeze. "I think you owe the same words to the women in the other room."

  I nodded, at the same time filled with dread at that prospect. I rose and Delia followed me into the next room where all the women quickly jumped to their feet.

  "I . . . uhm . . . think my temper got the best of me, you know, earlier. I--I apologize." It wasn't much as apologies go, but I was slowly getting the knack of saying I was sorry. It was a slow process, but it was coming along.

  "I have an idea, Lord Conqueror," Anya said. "Perhaps if I were to line the collar with silk, then it wouldn't fret you as much."

  One couldn't help but smile at the women in this palace. They tended to be a good-hearted, agreeable bunch. I wondered briefly if Gabrielle was rubbing off on them, or if they had always been here, right before my unseeing eyes.

  "Yes, Anya, I think that will do nicely. Thank you."

  "Message for the Conqueror, message for the Conqueror!"

  I recognized the voice before the youngster burst into the room. Petra worked as a palace messenger, and his cry of 'message for the Conqueror' always caused people to scramble out of the way of the speedy boy. He skidded to a stop before me and held out a rolled piece of parchment.

  "Take a deep breath, boy." I grinned at the out of breath youngster.

  "It's the Amazons, Lord Conqueror," he said breathlessly.

  I scanned the note from Atrius, who had already sent word to Gabrielle. Indeed, it was a delegation of Amazons. All the neighboring nations were sent invitations to the royal wedding, but few could send more than token emissaries because of the great distances involved. According to Atrius, the Amazon's were at least a hundred strong, and led by their Queen.

  "Real Amazons." Petra whistled through his teeth.