The Five [COMPLETED]

Part Eleven

As we go to the bottom of the steps, cheers erupted from the crowd below. I stopped and gazed around in wonder. Aromas crowed in on each other and filled my nostrils, lights illuminated every corner of the Valley; colourful stalls showed off their many items to sell, musicians played fast, happy festival music. 

"We should go look around," Lawrence said.  "Find somewhere to eat."

"How about that noodle shop over there?" Violet suggested, indicating the shop to our left. "The food there should be good." On unspoken agreement, we headed to the noodle shop, which, like all the other shops, was decorated with lanterns. Inside, people sat at wooden tables, enjoying bowls of noodle soup and other traditional delicacies. We headed to the front of the shop, waiting for the owner. He appeared to be rather excited at our arrival. "Hello, hello!" He cried, bowing to us many times. "You five can have whatever you want at no additional cost." 

"Do you guys want noodle soup?" Lawrence asked us quietly.

"Yeah, that sounds fine," Mark answered. The others murmured agreement. Lawrence turned to the owner and said politely, "May we have five bowls of noodle soup?"

"Of course, of course you can!" The owner replied. "Just take a seat at any of the tables and it shouldn't be too long!" 

"Thank you," we chorused as we went to find a table. One near the door emptied, so we went there and sat down.

Violet took in a deep breath through her nose. "I love all the smells," she sighed. "And the lights." She looked to the entrance of the small shop. "I've heard there's going to be dancing tonight."

"That would make sense," Matthew commented. 

Violet gave a squeak of excitement. "We should so dance!" Violet exclaimed.

"Us? Dance? No way," Mark objected. Violet laughed. "You're not scared, are you?" she teased.

Mark seemed to fumble over his words as he went red. "Now  who's blushing!?" Matthew said triumphantly. We snickered as Mark regained his composure and replied, "Never! It's just . . . we don't know how to dance." 

"It's easy," Violet replied. "You just move your body to the beat of the music."

"So it's like Tai Chi, then?" Mark asked.

Violet frowned. "No, not really . . ." she trailed off and sighed. "I'll show you guys when we get out there." 

We sat in silence for a few moments before the owner appeared with five bowls, placing them carefully down in front of us. "I hope you enjoy your meal," he said, looking slightly nervous. 

"Trust me, we will," Violet said. Gesturing to the boys, she added, "Knowing these three, they'll probably ask for seconds."

"Maybe even thirds," I added, and meeting each other's eyes, we chuckled.

The guys protested almost immediately, drawing laughter out of us. "Sure sure," Violet said in between giggles. The owner smiled warmly and left us. Once the laughter died down, we began to eat quietly. When we finished, we all agreed that it was one of the best meals we'd ever had in a long time, and told the owner so. He looked extremely flattered and surprised, which made us laugh. We paid, and then we left.

As we came back into the open, we saw dancers gathering in the middle of the path, beginning to arrange themselves into circle shapes around each other. When they saw us, they gestured for us to come into the very middle. "Dance with us!" they cried.

Violet giggled and dragged us into the middle. "What are you doing?" I hissed to her. 

"Making you dance with me," Violet said sweetly. The circle closed up after us, and then the tune began to play. All of a sudden, the dancers started moving around us, leaping and twirling. Violet began to join in, which forced us to try and copy her movements. We were failing horribly, which was making Violet laugh so hard she was in hysterics. After a few leaps and twirls, I started to understand their dancing pattern, and began moving more fluidly and less jerkily. In the end, we started making up our own little circle dance; one where we held hands and spun around and around while trying to leap like the dancers beside us at the same time. It wasn't going too well, but we were laughing too much to care. As the festival whirled in front of my eyes and my comrade's laughter echoed in my ears, I nearly forgot that we had a long journey to take. A battle to fight.

We stayed at the festival until late, eating food and talking to the villagers. When we arrived back at the barracks, Sifu met us in the kitchen. "So, did you enjoy the festivities?" he asked.

We nodded vigourously.

"That's good," Sifu said. "Now, I hope, among the celebrations, that you have not forgotten the true meaning of what this festival is about. It is a celebration of that fact that you will defeat Dragon Eye." He hesitated. "You will leave not tomorrow, but the day after that, around five o'clock in the morning. The cart will have all your belongings and food supplies, along with maps to help guide you to Osaka Castle, which is where he currently lies." He stared at us. "I suggest you rest up. You will need all of your strength for the journey ahead." He left, and we were once again left standing there, our happiness replaced by determination and anxiety.

"We should do what he says," I told the others, leaving to my dorm. I took my festival clothing off and got into my normal clothes, lying on my bed and waiting for sleep to come.

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The next day, we did sparring and weaponry from dawn till' dusk; but nothing too extreme, so as to not do any damage or make us too fatigued. That day went quickly, for the next came before I could blink. At exactly five o'clock, we were down at the bottom of the Thousand Steps, next to our cart. Oogoway, Jowmo and Sifu stood on the first step, watching us. For a few moments, that was all we did. Watch each other. Then came the goodbyes and final instructions. We bowed to them, and they bowed to us. And then, we turned around, and began to make our way out of the Jade Valley. None of us looked back. It would be too painful.

Our journey had begun.