Love of the Dragon Warrior

Trust Fall

The Emperor and his finally finally arrived the following day, which relieved Po since it meant that soon Ming would be leaving the area and they would just have to worry about Ella. Since he no longer trained at the Jade Palace, he wasn't required to participate in the elaborate training presentation Shifu had, nor escort the emperor and his family around the grounds. He and his dating group were required to greet the imperial family on their arrival since it would be considered rude to ignore or avoid an imperial guest. Shifu did make sure to put everyone in the correct order of rank, with himself in the front and Superintendent Woo and Ming just behind him, the Five just behind Shifu but also slightly behind Woo, Ella and her guard right besides them which she found infuriating since she wanted to be in the front, and Po and his group at the back where they could be seen but not feel obligated to speak.

"Your majesty," Shifu greeted.

The Emperor, who was a very tall gazelle and was dressed in a very nice shade of gold and red, thanked everyone for their hospitality and said how much he looked forward to the event. He then presented the Empress, who was even taller, and their four children: a young lady just as tall as her parents, a boy with a clear birthmark of a moon on his neck, a tiny prince who everyone was surprised to learn was actually sixteen, and the youngest of the bunch who was ten and clearly feeling much better since he wouldn't stop trying to climb onto his father's back.

"This is one thing about parenthood they don't tell you," the Emperor laughed. "You need to learn to become a sturdy playground."

Po laughed but quickly covered his mouth to avoid drawing too much attention to himself.

"It's nice to see you as well, Master Po," the Empress greeted with a smile and a chuckle at Po's expense. "We were surprised when we were informed you were no longer in the position of Dragon Warrior, but I'm glad you're enjoying your new assignment."

She then turned to Tigress and added, "He made a fine choice in selecting you as the new Dragon Warrior," she complimented. "Though I must say when Grandmaster Shifu wrote to us about it I wasn't much surprised. Your display of leadership and skill is very well-known throughout the southern province and it's a pleasure to know China's future is well-secure here in the valley of peace."

Tigress blushed at the compliment and bowed in an attempt to hide it.

"Your excellencies are most welcome to the Jade Palace," Shifu told them with another bow. "I know we do have a schedule to keep though and I'd hate to delay..."

"Naturally of course," the emperor agreed.

Since the imperial family was quite hungry, Shifu escorted them to the sacred hall of warriors where an elaborate meal was set up for them, Superintendent Woo and Ming, and the masters to enjoy. Ella also came up, though this was only because Shifu had explained her situation to the emperor and the emperor decided to treat her as a special guest. When they had left, Po let out a sigh of relief for some peace and quiet and he and his group made their way to the kitchen for their own lunch, which was much simpler than the elaborate one set up by Shifu. After lunch, they headed over to the barracks to play a few rounds of checkers and chat, and some of the group decided to bring out some personal items they had brought from home. Most of the girls had pictures of their loved ones, so Po got to finally get a good look at some faces he had only heard of during their conversations. Tai Lin's family portrait was in her locket as was expected, but it was considerably outdated since Tai Lin looked about four in the picture. Destiny, who had been secretly hoping that her "Tai Lung is a relative" theory was correct was disappointed to see nothing but unfamiliar and friendly faces, but her disappointment soon melted away as she started commenting on how gorgeous and nice Tai Lin's parents looked.