Loving a Prison

Chapter 9: High Priestess of War

"Did I really do the right thing?" The fan monkey stressed, wringing his hands over and over as he paced Macaque's office.

The dark-furred monkey nodded, softly humming. He found that Wukong wasn't in the mood for listening. Not for a single second. No, he just needed a moment to ramble and come to his own conclusion.

"No... It was right, he insulted you. Called you a coward! A coward!" Anger shook on his face. "What's with those morons and calling you a coward? They're the real cowards." He growled, nodding.

Macaque smiled a little at how passionate Wukong seems to be getting for him. He loved it, it warmed his very being, but he needed his lovely Sunstone to focus.

"Sun Wukong." He called, his tone now sharp.

He flinched a little, a hand moving toward his head where the crown used to rest.

"Yes?"

"I have an idea of what could help with the situation."

The Great Sun Sage furrowed his brows. His lips were set thin and worry-filled. The only that he could think of that would be for him to...

"It's not that." Macaque cupped his opposite's face. "I know you wouldn't accept it. I'll tell the others and do try to keep a smile." He seemed amused, which made Wukong more nervous.

"Okay..." He whispered, just accepting whatever Macaque had planned. After all, his Shadow was much smarter than him when it came to diplomatic things.

As days passed by, the people were once again getting ready for a celebration, though everyone was more hushed about why. Wukong envied their knowledge, however he just smiled like always.

One day, he became bored, so he went to the training grounds where Shan Li Na and Liǔ Aang were running drills. The soldiers, a mixture of demon monkeys and not-quite-human humans, were moving with practiced ease. Their skills weren't anything to scoff at, but Wukong couldn't help but see the flaws in their movements.

"They look powerful." He said to the two High Generals.

Shan gave a soft nod, not breaking her gaze from her soldiers. Liǔ gave a smile, looking very happy at the compliment.

"Thank you. We train them as we have been trained and have learned."

"Learned?" The First King looked to the training army, his brows furrowed.

The way they were training and fighting wasn't the way that he and Macaque had originally fought or trained. Now that he was looking more intently, it was as if they were combining different styles of fighting, but it wasn't perfect. Some moves were choppy and actively seemed to go against what other moves were building up to. Sure, it was flashy, but that was all it had going for them.

"Where?"

"From the Journals." Shan finally looked to him, her brow quirked. "You seemed disturbed and unimpressed with their training. Why?"

The tan monkey gave her a soft smile, looking between her and her soldiers. Finally, he sighed, rubbing the back of his neck.

"I know those moves... They're not being performed right."

She narrowed her eyes, her nose wrinkling in a way that suggested anger.

"Alright. Then show me." Her words were growled as she bared her teeth in a smile. A monkey smile.

A smirk formed on the Great Sage, feeling a bit challenged. He would hold back, she was mortal.

"Attention!" Liǔ's voice rang loud over the training field, gathering everyone's attention. "High General Shan Li Na and First King Sun Wukong are going to train!"