“The same could be said of you.”
A dark, knowing smile spread Kael’s lips. “Oh, plenty of things faze me,” she purred, seeing if she could get another shy blush from the normally imperturbable woman.
Lao Ma didn’t rise to the bait. Instead, she settled herself comfortably in her own chair, seeming to take in everything and nothing as she glanced around the now silent room. After a long moment, her eyes shifted back to Kael and she smiled slightly. “Would it please you to hear a story?”
Biting back a retort about what would please her more, the American settled for a nod. “Sure. Why not.”
“A long time ago, my ancestor, Lao Ma, attended a fateful meeting in the place of her ailing husband. There, she met an intriguing woman, a warrior from Greece. The woman, who was known as Xena, had become crippled at the hands of someone she thought she loved.”
Kael snorted. “A crippled warrior. Not much call for those.”
“Perhaps, though she learned to fight on horseback and became one of the best warriors, if not the best, of her time. She fled to China after being betrayed by the man and gathered an army there, together with another man she took as her lover.”
“Got around, didn’t she.”
“She was very confused about love,” Lao Ma said softly. “The softer things had no place for her in her heart, or so she told herself. She was consumed by rage and hatred and the need for revenge against anyone who would oppose her.”
“Smart woman,” Kael replied, smirking.
“Was she?”
“Oh yeah.” Kael’s smile grew dark as vivid images of her planned revenge against Geraldo played through her mind. “Very smart.”
Finally noticing the continuing silence, Kael shook herself from her reverie and met Lao Ma’s patient, if saddened, gaze. “Please, continue.”
“Xena was very jealous of her warlord-lover’s attentions to my ancestor and attacked her after dinner that evening. Though crippled to the point of needing to use a cane to walk, Xena was still a formidable foe …as Lao Ma said, she was a dangerous woman.”
“So, Xena beats the crap out of your ancestor and starts a war in China,” Kael deduced.
Lao Ma smiled. “Not exactly.”
“Well don’t leave me hanging, woman! What happened?”
The Asian woman laughed good-naturedly.
Kael scowled. “If you tell me patience is a virtue, I’m gonna scream.”
“I don’t think my windows could survive that,” Lao Ma replied in mock horror.
“Did you just make a joke?”
“I believe I did.”
Grinning, Kael shook her head, suddenly liking the small, quiet and supremely confident woman very much. “Please, will you continue your story?” Dear God, did I just say ‘please’??
“As it pleases you. Lao Ma defended herself much the same way I repelled your attack earlier today. Xena was knocked unconscious and Lao Ma took the opportunity to leave, after speaking with her attacker briefly.”
“What did she say?”
“’Fill yourself with desire and see only illusion. Free yourself of desire and see … .”
“The great mystery of things,” Kael concluded, nodding. “Sounds familiar.”
“It pleases me to know that you heard my words.”
Kael snorted again. “Like I had any choice in the matter? I couldn’t have moved even if I’d wanted to.” She shifted a bit on her chair, pulling the fabric away from her heated skin. “What happened next?” Despite herself, she was becoming quite interested in the story, especially as this Xena person seemed to mirror her life so well. Kael had no doubt that this was Lao Ma’s intent in telling the story.
“Some time passed. And in that time, Lao Ma learned that Xena had made a terrible mistake, causing a powerful head of one of the largest families in China to turn against her. With the help of her warlord-lover, she was captured and handed over to the man, who sent her into the forest and set his hunting dogs after her.”
“Guess she wasn’t so smart after all.”
“No. She was young and full of hate. She thought she could bend the world to her will. She found out just how wrong her philosophy was.”
Kael resisted the urge to shift uncomfortably in her chair, very much aware of the mirror being held up to her eyes. “Did …ah …did the dogs get to her?”
Though she did not say so, Lao Ma could easily detect Kael’s increasing discomfort with the subject matter. Perhaps a breakthrough would come this evening. “Fortunately, they did not. Lao Ma happened to be in the right place at the right time and was able to offer assistance to Xena, who accepted it.”
“Fortunate indeed,” Kael replied. Smiling to herself, the young American steepled her fingers. “It occurs to me that this …tale …is sounding more and more familiar as time goes on.”
Lao Ma nodded sagely. “Left unchecked, history does tend to repeat itself.”
Kael’s eyes narrowed. “Care to explain that?”
“I think the explanation will reveal itself in time.”
Huffing out a frustrated breath, Kael flicked her hand. “Continue then.”
“In time, Xena came to love Lao Ma, becoming my ancestor’s most passionate student. She had an amazing capacity for learning. She soaked up Lao Ma’s teachings as a sponge soaks up seawater. In time, she learned to let go of her hatred and subdue her ravenous will.”
“Did Lao Ma love Xena?”
The Asian woman’s face softened. “Very much so. It is said that Xena was her greatest love. And because of that, some believe, she failed in her mission.”
“What was her mission?”
“To unify all the families in China.”
Kael whistled. “Your ancestor sure didn’t dream small, did she.”
“Indeed not. But while her intentions were pure, her desire for peace throughout the land took her away from her philosophy. And, some believe, it all started with her desire for the Warrior Princess.”
“The ‘Warrior Princess’?”
“Yes. That was the title my ancestor bestowed upon Xena. Through the use of her strong sword arm, coupled with the powers Lao Ma’s teachings had given her, Xena would have been the peace-keeper of a united China.”
“Doesn’t seem like a bad job for a warrior to have. What happened?”
“It became apparent that although Xena sublimated her hatred and need for revenge, she hadn’t cleansed them from her spirit.”
“Ahhh,” Kael said, nodding wisely. “She had fooled Lao Ma.”
“And herself as well. I believe that she really wanted to be what Lao Ma saw in her. The knowledge would not have come to her if she were consciously evading Lao Ma. But when she saw the men who she felt had wronged her, my ancestor’s teachings were buried under a tide of hatred. Lao Ma tried to stop her, but in the end, she failed. Xena left and the houses of China remained separate entities.”
“Damn. That’s tough. What happened to them?”
“Xena went through many more years of revenge and hatred before turning her life around. She never forgot Lao Ma, nor what my ancestor taught her. She spent much of the rest of her life regretting the decisions she had made. But, she eventually became a great force for good and, with the mate to her soul, went on to bring hope back into the world in which she lived.”
“And Lao Ma?”
“She was eventually executed by her son, the emperor of China.”
“Holy shit! Her son?”
“Yes. He was a brutal tyrant. Given her philosophy, and the fact that he was her son, Lao Ma could not divert his course. She sent a message to Xena for help, but it came too late to save her own life.”
“Did Xena get the message?”
“Yes. She returned to China and assassinated the emperor.”
Kael chuckled. “Gotta hand it to her. The woman had balls.”
“Indeed. Though she did feel it was her duty. She helped to create Ming Tien, after all.”
“Wha-at?”
Lao Ma smiled sadly. “That is another story for another day. It is late. Perhaps sleep is in order.”