The Last Hope

7. The Lost Brother

For a moment, there was silence in the clearing. Even the children couldn't utter a word. Only Jian stayed calm and stroked a string of his musical instrument. "I didn't know that you have a brother, dad."
Quickly, Xia covered his beak. Shen didn't seem to have known it, too... or did he? The white peacock stood there thunderstruck, but he still managed to stay on his feet. But since Jian had already expressed his thoughts, Xia wanted to hear an answer immediately, too, just to know how to behave.
"Father, did you know that?"
At last, the white peacock broke out of his numbness. The old goat's testimony had thrown him off the track mentally. Usually, he was used to hear strange quotes from her, but nothing like that. And instead of answering his older daughter's question, his behavior turned into aggressiveness. "What do you mean with "it could be"?" he hissed. "Do I or I don't?!" His voice was loud. The goat looked down in deep sorrow, but that made Shen just angrier. "What is it?! Haven't you got a tongue in your head, or what?!"
Suddenly, to everyone's surprise, the goat stood up on her walking stick. "Your parents didn't want you to know it," she replied in a firm voice. "They thought it was the best, and everyone else, that he should be forgotten."
Po, who was also still a bit dazed by this new knowledge, understood nothing at all. "Uh, why so?" He looked around, but he only found confused faces.
Only Master Ox and Master Croc were the exception to this surprise, with the only difference that Master Croc looked deeply dismayed, while Master Ox only let out a snort of disdain. "The one who you mean has long been dead."
Shen jerked around and looked at the two masters in disbelief. "You knew about it?"
The ox raised his nose. "I didn't see a reason why I should have said it to you. You have already failed to appreciate the family heritage and trampled it under your feet. You even tore down your own house..."
Shen jumped up. "Will this be held against me until the end of my life?!"
Ox and peacock stared at each other. "If I enjoy it, then yes," the ox countered.
"Please, stop it!" Yin-Yu intervened and pulled Shen away from Master Ox. "Don't argue again."
At least that drew Shen's attention back to the goat, who still owed him an explanation.
"Why don't I know anything about it?" he snapped at her. "Or was he born before me?! How old is he?!"
The goat swallowed hard, having difficulty answering because of Shen's torrent of words. "He's younger..."
"You told me that my parents didn't want any more children after me?!" he yelled at her. "What's that supposed to mean?!"
The goat raised her hoof calmly. "Shen, yes, yes, it's true, they really couldn't bring themselves to have new children. It would never have occurred to them to replace you. You were theirs all in all..."
"HOW CAN I HAVE A BROTHER THEN?!"
"Maybe you could let her get a word first," Master Ox said with his nasty grin. Somehow, he enjoyed seeing the white peacock so confused.
"Shen, if you calm down, I'll tell you," the old lady said.
Shen's eyes narrowed viciously. "Don't you dare hide something from me again!"
"I'll tell you everything," she assured. "Just please do me the favor and don't get into a rage."
Shen was about to start another tough argument when Yin-Yu took him reassuringly but firmly by the shoulders and looked at him pleadingly.
"Your mother was pregnant while you were banished," the goat explained. "So she could never tell you. She didn't even know at the time that she was pregnant. And he was born a month later after you left the city." She covered her eyes and shook her head sadly. "It broke your mother's heart when he was born. He looked like you. His feathers were white as snow... even the eyes were the same..." She sighed heavily. "After he hatched, she collapsed crying. He had reminded her of you so much that it was a shock to her."
Shen's eyes narrowed. "How so? She could be happy to have something that looked like me."
"She didn't want anyone else," she assured him. "She only wanted you. Even though he looked like you... He was born like you... But your mother could never love him. She couldn't... since day one..."

Gongmen City, 28 years ago

The doctor, an old lizard, closed the bag and cast another worried glance at the white chick in the bed, which was wrapped in blankets. The small chest rose and fell slightly. It was still breathing a little hard through its beak, but it wasn't as bad as in the evenings after it had hatched. His father stood by the bed and watched it with concern.
The lizard flickered his forked tongue. He was a mixture of monitor lizard and basilisk. He wasn't that big. His tongue was that of a monitor lizard, but the stature of a basilisk lizard and even the oddly shaped feet and scaly shields on his back, if not so pronounced, which is why some people called him a species of bastard. But he didn't mind that much. He was used to defamation. Nevertheless, his services were always welcome at the court of the royal palace in Gongmen City. Especially since he was the only doctor who had invented a medicine that had always saved the survival of the royal children. The lizard picked up a small bottle and he thoughtfully stroked a self-written label. Then he joined the lord. In terms of stature, the lizard reached the ruler just near the shoulder height.
"He's like him," he mumbled softly, handing the lord the bottle. "One dose in the morning, at noon and in the evening. That will revitalize his life force."
Lord Liang, a blue peacock, gratefully accepted the brew. "You were a great help to my first son. We are very grateful to you for this."
The mixed breed lizard waved it off. "That's my job. The health of your children is something special." He tried to formulate his sentence in such a way that it didn't sound derogatory. "Perhaps it could even help other children if the symptoms are recognized in time."
Lord Liang looked down. "It's strange," he said softly. "No matter whether with Shen or with him," his eyes wandered back to his little son. "Each of them has to deal with shortness of breath and circulatory problems shortly after birth. It seems to run in the family somehow. The last similar case was two generations ago."
The doctor nodded slowly. "As far as I know, any help came too late for this child. My sympathies."
The lord nodded gratefully. "The main thing is he's fine."
His gaze wandered to the window. The sun rose slowly and shrouded Gongmen City in a red morning light. The mother, Lady Ai, stood on the balcony and had been staring outside for hours. On the spur of the moment, Lord Liang went to the purple-pink peahen. "Ai, he's feeling better." But there was no answer from his wife. She stared motionless out the window. "Don't you want to look at your son?"
"My son?" Slowly, her gaze wandered to her husband, then she immediately turned her face away from him again. "I already have a son and he's out there somewhere."
Lord Liang sighed heavily. "I know, Ai. He looks like him, but he also needs us."
"His survival is ensured for the time being, my lady," the lizard doctor said. "The remedy worked well on your first son. It looks like it will help him in this case, too." With that, he took a paper block out of his pocket. "I would then have to write my doctor's report. What is the boy's name supposed to be?"
His eyes wandered between the lord and the lady, but Lady Ai didn't seem to have heard his question, which is why Liang asked again. "Ai, we have to give it a name. Maybe Sheng... or Zheng..."
"No!" she suddenly interrupted him and turned away from the window. "No, he will never replace him!"
The doctor looked after her in surprise. "And how should he be called then?"
"I do not care! Just not his name, or from the family, not even a name that sounds similar!"
"But Ai," her husband cut in again. "We have to give him a name. Can't you think of any?"
"Take any name!" Lady Ai said. "Take... take his!"
She pointed to the antelope guard who was standing by the door. Then she ran out of the room.
The lizard and the peacock watched her in silence.
"It's too early for her," the lord apologized to the doctor. "She hasn't gotten over Shen's conviction yet."
The lizard's eyes examined the lord. "But it seems, that it has not failed to leave its mark on you, too. Am I right, my lord?"
For a moment, it looked like Lord Liang would also break into despair, but then the peacock controlled himself again and lifted his head higher. "He killed many innocent people," he said with bitterness in his voice. "It was only justified that he should be punished for what he did."
The lizard frowned. As much as he himself was shocked when he heard about the massacre in the panda village, he would not have resented the lord of Gongmen City for feeling a deep regret. After all, he had been present when Shen was born, too, and the doctor still kept the picture of a helpless little white baby in his mind that he was able to keep alive with his experimental medicine.
They stood in the room in silence for a while, until they heard a quiet squeak from the bed. They turned around. The white chick had woken up and was stretching in the blankets. Immediately, the lord hurried to his bedside. The baby's eyes were open, which caused the lord's deepest sadness to rise again. They were really exactly the same as his brother's. Lord Liang imagined how pleased Shen would have been to have a brother who looked the same. Otherwise, there was never anyone who had the color of his feathers, which is why he was not very popular. Regardless of whether he was a child or a teenager. He had so missed having someone with whom he could share his looks and being different. And now it was there - but he was gone.
Sighing, the lord stroked the little body. The chick looked at the blue peacock with large red-black eyes. Then it kicked its little feet and stretched its wings towards its father.
Again, the lord was very sad. With Shen, he had held back with affection. At first, his chances of survival were very poor. The lord had been afraid to collapse from the grief of the loss, and from then on, he decided not to let Shen get close to him emotionally. He had thought that then he would be able to cope better with his death. It had been a miracle that Shen survived, and later, thanks to good medical treatment. But it had been a mistake that the lord hadn't immediately taken him to his heart out of fear.
He reached out his wings toward his son and lifted the kicking baby out of the blankets.
"Wait a little longer to fill out the forms," he finally turned to the doctor. "We'll come to an agreement on a name. Your wages will be sent to you."
The lizard shrugged. "As you wish, my lord," and put the notepad away again. Then he said goodbye, leaving Lord Liang with his son. The chick lolled again and looked up at his father, babbling. The lord sighed deeply. He looked at his newborn son, then at the guardian. Finally, he made an effort and walked over to the antelope. Ai wanted him to take his name. He examined the guardian. Maybe he would like the name after all.
"Well, what's your name?" he asked.
"Long-Long, my lord," the antelope answered.
"Long-Long?" Liang sounded a little disappointed. It wasn't exactly the name he'd imagined. "Well, thank you."
With these words, the lord stepped out of the room.