Gaius Accipiter elevated the ornate china teapot and poured its green tinged content into the small handle-less cups sitting on the ebony table. It's the color of my wings, Accipiter mused in silence. "A little hot green tea will soothe you, Sin Ying," he said to the sobbing girl sitting at the table with him.
"Th... th... thank you, Uncle Gaius" *sob* *sniffle* *sniffle* The Ch'in girl took a careful sip so as not to burn her mouth. The beginnings of a salvaged smile appeared on her face. "It... it is *sniffle* good," she said between the first and second sip.
"My poor young girl. We do have ourselves a dilemna, don't we," said Gaius adding an empathetic tone to his soft, soothing voice. "The boy Emperor on one side and the boy Roman on the other."
"And my Guardian, too," added Sin Ying.
"Oh yes, your Guardian. What do you think of him, your Guardian?"
"Uncle Civis? Why... he was... I mean, he is very good to me. Though sometimes..." Sin Ying's voice trailed off into silence.
"Yes? Sometimes?" persisted Accipiter.
"Well... Sometimes, when he is being a soldier... He frightens me. I want to please him, but I don't know how all of the time, especially when he must be a soldier."
"What do you think he most wants for you?" said Accipiter.
"He tries to make me happy... So... I guess he wants me to be happy."
"Were you ever happy in Roma, Sin Ying?"
The girl tilted her head and looked at Accipiter as she thought back to her days in Roma before and after becoming Civis' ward. Then she sighed. "No, not really. I felt so out of place there. No matter how anyone tried, Civis, Apolita, Civi or his sister, I still felt like a stranger to them. Was I being bad to feel that way?"
"No. On the contrary, you were being perfectly normal. How do you feel being here?"
"Not like a stranger... but more... more like... Please don't laugh at me for saying this." Accipiter indicated he would not. "Uncle Gaius, I feel like Civis and the others... and Civi too... are the strangers here and I am not."
Accipiter nodded. "Again, a quite normal feeling, Sin Ying." Gaius poured a little more tea into her cup. "When I say 'brother' who do you think of right away?"
"Civi."
"Uh huh. And when I say 'father', who do you think of first?"
"You. Oh!" Sin Ying said, bringing her hand to her mouth startled at what she had just said. Accipiter asked one more question.
"And when I say 'friend' who do you think of first."
The young girl's eyes opened wide. "Why, Uncle Gaius, it was Chen Li whose name I thought of first." Her cheeks turned pink with the flush of surprise and a hint of embarrassment. Accipiter said nothing in order to allow the girl some time to collect herself; but his mind continued in motion. Poor Civi, he thought, it will be hardest on him. The spotted cube is indeed cast and the girl's direction is plain to be seen. All that remains now is to find a way for the girl to see clearly the path she has already chosen.
Then an idea occurred to him. Septi is well meaning but perhaps not fully prepared for his role. There is another who might balance the formula properly in the girl's favor. He made a mental note to consult with him that evening. A silent message went forth immediately to be received quickly by the person to whom it was directed. He would be happy to meet with Accipter as requested was the reply. Accipter answered with a silent 'thank you' to Zen.
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ACCIPITER'S CHAMBER LATER THAT DAY"Now Zen, the girl will be here very soon. Are you sure you agree this is the right thing to do?" Gaius waited for the smallish man's answer.
Zen had arrived a short time before in his usual manner: quietly, softly, appearing almost out of thin air. His appearance reminded Accipiter of the old villager who guided them to Warlord Tang's fortress. It should have, because the "old villager" actually was Zen in one of his disguises. For whereas Accipiter was precluded from interfering in the actions of mortals, Zen was under no such decree. He simply chose not to interfere on most occasions, leaving the business of mortals to others like Accipiter.
Zen studied his friend's face very closely. "Ummmm.... Yes, I think so. No... I'm sure it is the right thing to do." As if on cue, Sin Ying's voice was heard outside of Accipiter's chamber."Entrance requested, Uncle Gaius."
"Enter, please, Sin Ying." The girl appeared. Not quite expecting a visitor in Accipiter's chamber, she nonetheless immediately bowed respectfully. Zen bowed in return. Already she is at ease with the customs of her people, he noted.
"Sin Ying, this is a... a... (should not use his real name, Accipiter realized) this is Shao Chi, a friend. He has come at my request to help you." Zen looked at Accipiter. Hmmm... Shao Chi is it. Nice recovery...
"I am most pleased to meet you, Shao Chi," said Sin Ying bowing once. "As am I to meet you," replied Zen. Without another word, Zen waved his hand in the air and a scroll, a pallete of paint and a paintbrush appeared from nowhere. Sin Ying stared at the objects in awe and then she looked at Zen with a tentative, new understanding. "You are a magician, aren't you?""Yes, Sin Ying, I am in a way what you would call a magician. I have learned many of the things you will learn under Septi's teaching; and I have learned other things as well."
"What other things if I am permitted to ask," she said.
"A way to see in one's heart what the mind and other things cloud or mask. It is the great secret possessed by all painters. Today you will use the brush, color palette and scroll to paint what is in your heart."
Sin Ying looked at Accipiter for reassurance. The tall man smiled and his eyes briefly flashed gold. Sin Ying felt confident that this was a good thing to do, and so she followed Zen's instructions to the letter. And after she received her last instruction, Zen guided her to the ebony table, the objects floating behind them in mid air. He waved his hand and the palette and brush glided to the surface of the table and rested there as if waiting. The scroll arrived last and unrolled of its own accord before her.
Sin Ying had listened well. She grasped the brush in the manner described by Zen. She then closed her eyes and kept them closed throughout. She said the words that he told her to say, "May what is good and right show me the way that is true." Then she permitted her hand to travel where it wanted... from paint to scroll, paint to scroll, paint to scroll. Accipiter and Zen maintained their silence so as not to startle or influence the girl.
After some time had passed, she sighed and eyes still closed placed her brush down on the palette. The scroll rolled itself up immediately hiding her work from view. "It isn't working, Uncle Gaius. I cannot paint. You are most kind, Shao Chi, but I am not a good student. It must look terrible."
"Oh? And aren't you just a little curious as to what it looks like," said Zen.
"Ummm, a little I guess. Is it alright to look? Is it as terrible as I think it is?"
Zen smiled. "See for yourself, Sin Ying, what your heart says." Sin Ying unrolled the scroll and there before her was a beatiful painting of a young Ch'in girl. She was dressed in an elegant silk robe, an object on her head, and her two hands outstretched. In her right hand she held a glowing object, a sphere of some kind, rays of a magical quality emanating from its surface. On her head she wore an intricately formed, bejeweled crown. In her left hand was the hand of another person who stood very near to her.
She looked intently at the face of the girl. It was her own face, beaming from within as if she were radiantly happy. And next to her stood a boy. She looked closely at his face. Yes... it was familiar. Who is it? Civi? No... not Civi. A sharp intake of breath signaled full recognition. It was Chen Li, the boy Emperor, who stood next to her.
"A portrait from the heart, Sin Ying. You have your answer," said Zen. Then the paints and the brush disappeared, but the scroll remained. "To remind you, Sin Ying, should you ever lose your way."
Sin Ying turned around to say something to Shao Chi, but he was gone. Only Accipiter was left in the room. He smiled. "Civis would like to talk with you. Will you come with me to see him?"
"Yes, Uncle Gaius. I will. And Uncle Gaius...?"
"Yes, Sin Ying?"
"Thank you."
"You are most welcome. Now come along. We musn't keep Civis waiting."
And so Accipiter led Sin Ying to Civis Romanus' chamber for the meeting he knew was so very necessary. Meanwhile, Accipiter considered what he would say to Septi while Sin Ying talked with her Guardian.
[This message has been edited by Civis Romanus (edited 07-24-2001 @ 10:24 PM).]