Shego, dressed in a green and black silk cheongsam paced the audience room. Her hair was still wet and Shego had slicked it back into a ponytail. Besides that, she had made herself presentable in record time.
She had a dream last night.
Before coming here to China, Shego would've disregarded any dreams that she might have had as just that: dreams. But not anymore. Here, she was shown dreams were more than dreams, people were more than they appeared to be and magic was real.
She had a dream…
A snake slowly stirred in a dark, dry and warm cavern on top of Er Mei. The sound of dripping water, the smell of moisture in the air making it open its eyes lazily. Shego dreamt, experienced this dream like she was part of the snake. It was both awe-inspiring and frightening. To be stretched out and injected into a powerful sinewy body that was beyond her control, to feel their coils dryly scraping against each other gave her a heady taste of power. She was huge. Massive, even.
“Sheeeego.” Her name sounded like they were being slowly pulled out of the snake's mouth, every syllable reminding Shego of taffy candy being stretched out slowly. There was a tiny opening, not big enough for a serpent of her size, but Shego could sense… eagerness and laughter. The snake moved sluggishly to the small hole and forced its head into the hole. Miraculously, the body seemed to pour out of that small hole, and Shego could feel herself being squeezed and molded into a whole different form. Unable to control it, Shego cried out at the unfamiliar feeling of her body compressing and morphing, mistakening that curious feeling for pain.
“Be not afraid,” The silken voice soothed her fears, and Shego felt ashamed. This had happened once before. She should not have cried out.
“I love you,” The simple statement reverberated with how unconditionally this being gave of herself to Shego. “I love you…”
A woman squeezed out of the cavern entrance, shedding off her true form into one that was familiar to Shego. And in the far distance, Shego, looking out from this woman's eyes, could see the house that she and Kim lived in. It was night-time, but the sky was graying with the first light of dawn.
Shego had bolted awake when Xaio Qing started her first step towards the sprawling estate.
“Get up,” Shego cringed at the sight of Kim, asleep practically on her lap. They had a late night of reading, and Shego had fallen asleep reading on Kim's bed while Kim had been doing her assigned rows of characters. That had happened more and more often. It was like school. Contrary to popular belief, Shego had gone. Whether she was conscious during school was a whole different matter. When subjects bored her and the teacher wasn't interesting, the pale-skinned woman would fall asleep. And the studying sessions with Kim had been like that. At first Shego had no problem staying awake and alert through the whole time Kim studied because Kim constantly needed correcting. But as time went by, Kim needed less and less help, so troubled Shego less. So when she had nothing to do, Shego would fall asleep wherever she was. This tendency to doze off when she was bored, Shego found out recently, still applied. Among other things she found out was that Kim had a tendency to try and curl up next to her whenever Shego inadvertantly slept over.
“If I fall asleep in your room, I want you to wake me up.” Shego had said after the third time she'd fallen asleep in Kim's room. “I'll go back to my own room.”
“I don't mind.” Kim had said sweetly. “We can share the bed.”
Shego had been struck speechless a lot lately by some of the things Kim would say and do. But even more alarming was the fact that Shego was starting to get a bit too comfortable with Kim. Something she realized was entirely bad. Maybe it had to do also with the fact that Kim was fast approaching that level that Shego was at in physical prowess. Being able to keep up with Shego more and more now did wonders for Kim's confidence. And also gave her courage to push the boundaries Shego set up regarding their interaction.
“Sun's not even up,” Kim said grumpily. It was extremely cute… it was also extremely not the time to appreciate that fact.
“Okay, you know what? Get up.” It was time Shego put her foot down. She had to take a quick bath… maybe the minerals in the natural spring that welled up in the baths would cover Kim's scent on her… “Xaio Qing is coming down right now, you have to get dressed. We have to be ready for her or else she'll be pissed.”
That sent Kim scurrying out of bed. Shego appreciated her speed, and left the room in a hurry, sprinting to the baths and practically ripping her clothes off and throwing them to the side. There was only time for a quick dip.
Kim, meanwhile, was brushing her hair quickly, a grim look on her face. She remembered that night when she had tended to a fevered and delirious Shego. After much cajoling, Shego had finally divulged her attacker's identity with a warning: Xaio Qing was not very patient. And Shego had pushed her master's patience to the limit that night. It surprised Kim that Shego admitted she was at fault and Xaio Qing only reacted accordingly, it didn't lessen the outrage Kim felt at Shego's hurts. The fact that maybe Shego might have deserved the hurts she got… just refused to register in Kim's mind.
The both of them had gotten ready in record time and waited in the audience portion of the house that faced the front gates.
“Are you sure she's coming?” Kim asked. Shego nodded, distracted. Xaio Qing was close. She suddenly looked at Kim and frowned.
“Couldn't you have worn something more… formal?” Shego scrunched up her nose in displeasure. Kim felt stung by the criticism. She had thought what she was wearing was semi-formal! It was the best she could do with her limited choices, since all of her clothes were one form or another of exercise-wear. She had thought she had made do quite well.
“Okay, forget about that.” Shego winced as she suddenly realized it was basically her fault that Kim had nothing more than a utilitarian wardrobe. “Okay, I didn't think she'd be coming here this early, so I need you to remember these basic rules: if Xaio Qing tells you to do something, you do it. Don't be mouthy.” Shego held up her hand to stop any protests that Kim was about to make. “You're mouthy. Deal with it. Everyone has their faults.”
“What are your faults, then?”
“My faults are I have none.”
“Cocky.”
“Why thank you.” Shego flashed Kim a grin. “And get along with her, okay?”
The heavy front doors flew open suddenly with a resounding boom. There was no-one there at first. Then, from the side, a figure walked to the middle of the entrance, completely naked. She was maginificent. That was the only word to describe it. Her skin was the colour of snow, and hair as black as ink that, in the light, sometimes seemed like it had a rich undertone of green.
“Master,” Shego looked around and quickly grabbed one of the silken curtains of the audience room and ripped it from its place. Hurrying to the woman, Shego immediately wrapped the cloth around the woman's shoulders to cover her nakedness and envelope her in a welcoming hug. Kim noticed that none of the usual morning birds were singing, the entire area dead quiet, quiet enough for her to hear Shego and Xaio Qing's exchange.
“Welcome back.” Shego's voice had taken on a tone of reverence and respect, which was extremely odd to Kim. She had never heard Shego speak like that. Kim felt a sharp stab of jealousy as Shego enfolded the woman into her arms posessively.
“I'm home.” Xaio Qing's voice had a resonance to it that was oddly relaxing. Kim felt oddly lethargic as those sharp green eyes, a different green from Shego's or her own's, caught her in their gaze. Kim could see those delicate nostrils flare a bit, as if she was taking a deep breath, trying to pick up a scent…
“Kim…” Shego's voice sounded so far away. Kim vaguely noted the panicked tone in her voice as the villainess turned around and seemed to run towards her in slow motion.
‘I'm… falling…’ were Kim's last thoughts as she fainted.
“Wake up.” Kim was vaguely aware of a warm hand stroking her forehead. “Wake up, young one.”
Kim was lying in her room, unconscious. She made a valiant attempt to open her eyes, and managed to make out a blurred figure smiling kindly at her. “You will be alright. You are just not used to my presence yet.”
Kim tried to reply, but trying was so hard, she just wanted to sleep. Kim fell back into unconsciousness.
“Well, at least she is strong.” Xaio Qing looked at the comatose girl in amusement, then looked over her shoulder at Shego. “Though, of course, not as strong as you.”
“Please, master.” Shego replied drolly. “You flatter me.”
Xaio Qing smiled and turned back to Kim, leaning close to smell her. Shego stiffened, fearful anticipation filling her as she watched Xaio Qing turn and clutch a handful of sheets, holding them up to her nose. Xaio Qing might not smell Kim's scent on Shego because she had changed her clothes and washed… but she sure as hell can smell Shego on Kim. The dark-tressed villain cursed her oversight.
“I don't even have to… hold these that close to my nose… to smell you on them.” Xaio Qing's voice was deceptively engaging and light. Shego knew better than that. “This… Kim Possible smells like you. Why is that… Shego?”
“I fell asleep here last night, master. I was teaching her Chinese.” Shego said carefully. “Since I was in her bed, she decided it wasn't fair that she sleep on the floor and slept there with me.”
Xaio Qing raised an eyebrow at Shego's slow, careful explanation. “Well… you're certainly a conscientious teacher. Remind me not to come to you when I want to learn something.” The sheets were tossed aside and forgotten, the explanation accepted… for now. Even in human form, Xaio Qing's excellent sense of smell carried over. That meant that she could distinguish between the smells of two people sleeping together in a bed and two people having sex in a bed. Shego thanked god that the last time Shego and Kim had been together like that, Xaio Qing had already been feeling the beginnings of the lethargy that winter brought on and had ceased visiting Shego.
Shego watched Xaio Qing's inspection of Kim, like a parent supervising a child playing with a small animal: the child in its carelessness, could easily break the animal.
“She is pretty,” Xaio Qing smiled and stroked Kim's face. “And her hair colour is interesting. Is it not, Shego?” Xaio Qing's fingers ran through the young heroine's red hair. They spent several seconds like this, watching the sleeping woman.
“How was your hibernation?” Shego sat down next to Xaio Qing.
“I had good dreams.” Xaio Qing laughed lightly. “But my dreams are just dreams. Let us not waste time.” Xaio Qing gave Shego a watery smile. “The day is long, and she will sleep until night. Come with me and help me finish my tapestry.”
Shego tried to keep her face passive, but she felt the overwhelming desire to flee as a soul-weary depression and horror settled on her shoulders. Shego was proud, though. Proud to the last grain of her being and she did not plead, did not beg, did not grovel though she wanted to scream for mercy.
‘How much would you give up…’
Squaring her shoulders, Shego followed after Xaio Qing, towards the dining room where the unfinished tapestry was kept.
“Come here.” Xaio Qing sat on the raised dias. Shego took off her cheongsam, so now she was only garbed in a simple thin white t-shirt. Walking to the dias, she sat, her back facing Xaio Qing.
Hands slipped from the back of her neck to her front, running along the front of Shego's shirt. Sitting there, her spine ramrod straight, Shego couldn't help trembling as those hands slipped inside her shirt and slowly tore outwards. The cloth ripped easily down the middle, the shirt ruined and discarded to the side. Fingers trailed down her back.
“Are you ready?” the question was growled. Shego knew even if she said she wasn't, it would still happen. Hands probed her back experimentally. Then suddenly, it felt like something dug into her back. Sharp, hot, cold and above all, excrutiatingly painful.
An arm caught her around the waist before Shego could try to squirm away. The grip around her waist was iron and no matter how much she tried, she couldn't escape it. Curled around that arm, she howled out her agony. Her entire body spasmed as the pain dulled. Then, she felt some part of her rip inside and a new pain blossomed. Where her screams had died down to shuddering sobs, her cries renewed again.
“What I gave to you,” Xaio Qing's face, if Shego had been able to see it, had changed and morphed into a terrifying mask that looked nothing like the beautiful woman that had walked through the entrance of the house in the morning. “I take back.”
Shego felt that excrutiating pulling again… opened her mouth as another scream was ripped from her throat.
Kim woke up to the sound of… music. It didn't register at first, that slow lazy sound, that was indescribable. That was what drew her out of her sleep. For the first time ever, Kim awoke to the sight of the setting sun, peeking in through her window, bathing everything in a magnificent orage-red glow. The sounds followed delicately one after the other, each note quivering and fragile.
‘Is that a… string instrument?’ Kim sat up in bed and swung her feet to the ground slowly. It had been so long since she had heard music! Another thing about being cut off from society and having little to no modern technology was the lack of music. And this foreign sound entranced her. She had never heard anything like it, like when she had first heard the strange er-hu at Fong and Cheung's wedding celebration. The tone of this instrument was deep and resonant.
‘Who?’ Was Kim's first thoughts. Of all the time she spent here, she knew that Shego did not play an instrument. But if she did, it coincided with the arrival of-- ‘Xaio Qing.’ It was strange for Kim to even think of someone else being here besides herself and Shego. They had been alone for such a long time. Rising unsteadily, she still felt slightly light-headed. What had happened? All she knew was that she had looked at Xaio Qing and felt overwhelmed. That was the only word to describe it. Overwhelmed. And now as she opened the door, that quiet power hit her again with the force of an invisible wind. Kim was at least prepared for this onslaught of raw energy and had braced herself unconsciously. She walked out, tottering and sweating from the effort, seeking the source of the music she heard. It was coming from a little room/pavilion that was seldom used that looked out onto the garden at the center of the courtyard. Though it was seldom used, Kim always got a sense that it was a space that usually got a lot of attention, just by the way it was placed. It was on a higher level of ground, seemingly overlooking the garden and at a glance, one could tell it was one of many focal points in the design of the house.
There, Kim could see, was Xaio Qing, playing a flat wooden stringed instrument. Those brilliant eyes were watching her, and a tiny smile pulled up one side of Xaio Qing's mouth.
“Good morning,” Xaio Qing greeted cheerfully, her voice soft and clear. Wearing significantly more than what she had been wearing before, she was resplendant in a white gown,
Kim grinned sheepishly, making her way slowly to stand in front of Xaio Qing's window to the garden. “Good evening.” She glanced around the courtyard. “Where's Shego?”
“She is resting,” Xaio Qing said casually, as she continued playing the musical instrument in front of her. Kim watched with interest. Strings were strung across its wooden length, that had been lovingly and intricately crafted. Slim wooden pieces were wedged against board and strings, and Kim watched, transfixed as Xaio Qing seemed to effortlessly coax a delicate, folky music out of her instrument. The music sometimes made the air vibrate in a low bass, then swoop up to a pleasant high-pitched melody.
“That's really good.” Kim tilted her head to one side. “What kind of instrument is that?”
A waterfall of notes made Kim sway a bit to that divine sound as Xaio Qing answered. “This is a guzheng.”
She found it hard to concentrate on anything else besides that light, tripping music--
The sound of a door slamming shook Kim out of her daze, and she looked up to see Shego leaning heavily against her room door, face strained and paler than normal.
“Master.”
“You are awake, Shego?” Xaio Qing's fingers stopped their delicate plucking of the strings. Immediately, the fog that had enshrouded Kim's mind lifted.
“Your music woke me up.” Shego growled and pushed off her resting spot. “Its almost night-time, I should get dinner ready.”
“I have already prepared dinner.” Xaio Qing smiled. “Come. I was waiting for the two of you to wake up.”
Xaio Qing, in the day that she had arrived, managed to put on the airs of a benevolent hostess. She acted as if Kim hadn't been living in the house for almost a year and ordering Shego around. It was even more surprising to see Shego do everything she was told to do with little to no complaint.
“Could you get me some more rice, Shego?” Xaio Qing asked politely. Shego had risen from her spot, unable to hide the wince of pain that the movement brought. When Kim moved to stand and help, Shego shot her a look that obviously warned her against doing anything, and left the room quietly.
“I am sorry I did not come and meet you as soon as you came.” Xaio Qing suddenly said. “Well, I did but not while you were conscious so I do not think you would remember. You were fast asleep that first night…”
Kim nodded politely, not knowing what to say to that, feeling slightly uncomfortable alone with Xaio Qing. The woman sat on top of the raised dias, in front of the screen that still had a discreet white sheet covering it.
“You have enjoyed your stay here?” Xaio Qing continued, seemingly intent on starting a conversation with Kim.
“Yes,” Kim answered honestly. Despite Shego's sometimes distant attitude, after they had straightened out their differences, it was nice.
“Shego is the defining factor, of course.” Xaio Qing laughed then her expression turned thoughtful. “I have been trying to get her to change her attitude, but she thinks that she is perfect the way she is. She is a very astute student.” Now Xaio Qing directed her thoughtful gaze at Kim. “Tell me Kim… do you think you will be able to learn as quickly as my Shego has? She has said that you are skilled.”
“Extremely skilled.” Shego said quietly, entering the room with a small wooden tub of rice. A feast had been laid out for them, and though Kim and Shego hadn't held themselves back, there was still enough left to feed twenty people easily. While Kim and Shego had eaten their fill a long time ago and were now just picking at the dessert, mango pudding and fruits, Xaio Qing was demolishing the leftover food steadily. It was almost frightening. Kim didn't know where all that food went to!
“Kim, you should go to bed now. Tomorrow you will do the exercises I hear Shego has given you.” Xaio Qing waved her hand at Kim dismissively. “I will see you when you are ready.”
“I'll walk her to her room.” Shego got up and followed Kim out the door. As soon as they were outside, Shego took a deep shuddering breath.
“Are you alright?” Kim asked worriedly. Shego smiled at Kim in a silent assurance and they walked the distance to Kim's room without speaking, and Kim sensed this miasma of depression around the villainess. Only when they got to Kim's door did Shego say something.
“I'm fine. Just…” Shego stood there for a few seconds, obviously trying to say something.
“Yes?” Kim encouraged.
Shego's hand shot out to catch Kim's and squeezed it once, before letting go. “Nothing. Good night, Kimmie.”
Kim stood there, a bit shocked at Shego's touch.
‘What's going on?’ Kim watched Shego go back into the dining room and close the door behind her. Kim stood there for a few more seconds before she entered her room. Shego hardly ever voluntarily touched her anymore. Nothing as blatant as this. Shego didn't initiate touching. Was something wrong?
“Maybe…” Kim put one hand on the door, when suddenly she could hear music. The guzheng's melody started suddenly, the notes jumping from one to the next in a crazed song that was both jarring and harmonious all at once.
“Maybe… after tonight…” Kim's mind had suddenly clouded over with sleep. She barely made it to her bed before she fell asleep.
Shego had watched wearily as Xaio Qing consume the remaining food. Her back still throbbed horribly, but she'd be okay by tomorrow. After Xaio Qing had polished off dessert, she had suggested that they stargaze. Stargazing was always something Shego and Xaio Qing both loved to do together. So now they sat on the roof, head tilted back to look at the stars.
“Do you remember that star?” Shego pointed to the north star, smirking a bit.
“The Shego Star?”
“Named after me.”
Xaio Qing laughed lightly. “I've missed you, Shego.”
Shego responded truthfully. “I've missed you, too. Really.”
Their relationship was a strange one. Though Xaio Qing obviously commanded respect from Shego, their relationship was almost that of very close friends. Or older sister and younger sister, where that title would change in different settings. In training, Shego looked up to Xaio Qing for guidance. But for companionship Xaio Qing relied on Shego heavily.
“How is Fong?” Xaio Qing could feel Shego's body bunch up, could feel her agitation. Softly, she asked, “Are you alright?”
“I'm fine. And… Fong is fine.” Shego said carefully. “We… haven't talked very much. And for winter, I stayed here most of the time with Kim.”
“Ah.” Shego didn't miss the pleased tone in Xaio Qing's voice. “Marriage has taken up a lot of her time, hm?”
“Its better for the both of us,” Shego tried to force herself to relax. But it was still a sore point. Especially since Xaio Qing seemed to derive malicious joy from the fact that Shego and Fong were no longer… dealing with each other. “Cheung's a good husband.”
“You should not have wasted your time on her. She doesn't love you.” Xaio Qing said nastily, her sweet voice dripped with venom. Shego unconsciously tightened her grip on Xaio Qing.
“Don't, Xaio Qing…” Shego shuddered as she felt something just underneath Xaio Qing's skin… ripple. As if, something crawled just beneath the surface.
“Shego…” Xaio Qing's voice was strained. But there again was that sweetness Shego was used to. An apologetic note in that sweet voice, a tinge of regret. “Shego. I… I feel tired.”
“You ate a lot.” Shego joked weakly. “Come on. We'll go to sleep.”
Endnote: So, how do you like Xaio Qing? She's sorta still in development…