Prompt 346- What it means to be human: "Playground Priorities"
Title: Playground Priorities
Author: Sonja Jade
Series: Brotherhood
Word Count: 900
Rating: G
Characters: Ling/Lan Fan, Mei/Al, their children
Summary: Ling teaches his son and nieces a lesson about humanity, one he learned from Greed.
Warnings: no beta, no time!
Author’s Notes: Part of my Celestial Ciphers universe but you don'pt need to read that to understand this.
Prompt: What it means to be human
The spring sunshine was warm and welcomed after the cold grayness of a long winter. Xing was alive with color, especially in the Imperial garden. Pinks, purples, reds and blues dotted the trees and shrubbery behind the Peony Palace, and in that budding space, a small boy ran chased two little girls with a wooden practice sword.
Ling watched discreetly from just behind a sheer curtain, smiling as his son and nieces played together while the Empress nursed the princess. He watched as Mei and Al's twin daughters Su and Li worked together to confound the prince, and he knew that when his own daughter was big enough to join them, poor Zixin would be outnumbered and outwitted for sure.
But then something happened that made Ling frown. He watched Zixin stop running after the girls to catch his breath, and then the prince shouted across the garden at them.
“As the prince and heir to the throne, I command you to stop!”
Li and Su stopped running and looked back at their cousin, each panting. “What are you talking about, ge-ge?” Li asked. “You have to catch us-”
“I'll get the guards!” Zixin cried, his hands clenched as he pointed the bokken threateningly at them.
Ling stepped out from behind the curtain and called down to his son. “Ah-Xin! Apologize to your cousins this instant!”
The boy looked terrified. “What did I do?” he asked, his fingers relaxing.
“Apologize!” Ling leaped up onto the balcony railing and somersaulted to the ground. Zixin asked again what he was supposed to be apologizing for.
“Your title doesn't give you the right to treat others unfairly. Yes, you are a prince of Xing- but take that away and what are you?”
Zixin thought about it and Su and Li wandered closer to listen to their uncle's lesson. Finally the prince answered.
“If I wasn't a prince, I would just be a little boy.”
Ling nodded. “Yes. And any other little boy would be expected to play games fairly and not invoke his age, clan status, or power of any kind against his playmates.”
“But I thought being a prince was important,” he said, scratching his head. “My tutors all tell me that second to being Emperor, it's the most important thing about me.”
Ling huffed. “Then you need new tutors. The most important thing you will ever be is human. And to be human is to treat your fellow humans kindly and with all the love you would show your family.” He reached out to pat Su and Li on their heads. “And these two little mischief makers are family, even if they are faster and more cunning than either of us give them credit for. But even if they were children in the Shang-Po villages in the city, you should treat them fairly and kindly.”
“Yes, Ba-ba,” Zixin replied. He made his apology and the girls assured him everything was okay and they were scampering through the sunshine once more.
Mei approached him from the back entrance of the palace, carrying Rei on her shoulder. She shielded her eyes from the sun and joined her brother. “Everything alright?” she asked.
“My son needed his priorities straightened out a little, nothing I couldn't handle.” He reached for his nephew. “Need some new tutors for him, though. They're inflating his ego already at five years old. Somehow they made him think being a prince is like being a god, so I came down here to nip it in the bud.”
Mei nodded. “They can't help it, that was the old Xing and how they taught us to be.”
Ling cooed to the baby in his arms, making faces as Mei spoke. Then he turned toward her, grinning. “Remember, I know more than most about the difference between being human and being a monster. It's my duty to pass that knowledge on to as many as I can.” He reflected on the time that he spent cohabiting within his own body with Greed, as well as the older brother that nearly became Emperor instead. It was too late for both creatures when they learned the lesson of love, but he was going to be sure his children (and his sister's children) knew that wisdom from the beginning.
“When people forget how to love, that's when they forget how to be human.” He kissed his nephew's forehead. “When we forget to love, we become monsters, and as long as I live, I will never let anyone around me forget that, my royal children included.”
“Ma-ma!” the twins cried as they raced toward Mei. Zixin hurried over to tickle Rei's tiny toes.
“Ba-ba? Is it time for lunch yet?”
Mei grinned as she patted his shoulder and took her son back from him. “There's a sure sign of his humanity, My Lord! And I'm hungry too, let's see if we can get settled before Lady Fan comes to the dining hall!”
The children ran ahead of her and Ling smiled to himself. They were just children, still learning. But if they could master the virtue of love before arithmetic or reading, they'd be all the better for it. He began to jog to catch up to his family, spying Alphonse from an open window above them waving down. He waved back and said a prayer of thanks to the God of Gods for his wonderful family.
Author: Sonja Jade
Series: Brotherhood
Word Count: 900
Rating: G
Characters: Ling/Lan Fan, Mei/Al, their children
Summary: Ling teaches his son and nieces a lesson about humanity, one he learned from Greed.
Warnings: no beta, no time!
Author’s Notes: Part of my Celestial Ciphers universe but you don'pt need to read that to understand this.
Prompt: What it means to be human
The spring sunshine was warm and welcomed after the cold grayness of a long winter. Xing was alive with color, especially in the Imperial garden. Pinks, purples, reds and blues dotted the trees and shrubbery behind the Peony Palace, and in that budding space, a small boy ran chased two little girls with a wooden practice sword.
Ling watched discreetly from just behind a sheer curtain, smiling as his son and nieces played together while the Empress nursed the princess. He watched as Mei and Al's twin daughters Su and Li worked together to confound the prince, and he knew that when his own daughter was big enough to join them, poor Zixin would be outnumbered and outwitted for sure.
But then something happened that made Ling frown. He watched Zixin stop running after the girls to catch his breath, and then the prince shouted across the garden at them.
“As the prince and heir to the throne, I command you to stop!”
Li and Su stopped running and looked back at their cousin, each panting. “What are you talking about, ge-ge?” Li asked. “You have to catch us-”
“I'll get the guards!” Zixin cried, his hands clenched as he pointed the bokken threateningly at them.
Ling stepped out from behind the curtain and called down to his son. “Ah-Xin! Apologize to your cousins this instant!”
The boy looked terrified. “What did I do?” he asked, his fingers relaxing.
“Apologize!” Ling leaped up onto the balcony railing and somersaulted to the ground. Zixin asked again what he was supposed to be apologizing for.
“Your title doesn't give you the right to treat others unfairly. Yes, you are a prince of Xing- but take that away and what are you?”
Zixin thought about it and Su and Li wandered closer to listen to their uncle's lesson. Finally the prince answered.
“If I wasn't a prince, I would just be a little boy.”
Ling nodded. “Yes. And any other little boy would be expected to play games fairly and not invoke his age, clan status, or power of any kind against his playmates.”
“But I thought being a prince was important,” he said, scratching his head. “My tutors all tell me that second to being Emperor, it's the most important thing about me.”
Ling huffed. “Then you need new tutors. The most important thing you will ever be is human. And to be human is to treat your fellow humans kindly and with all the love you would show your family.” He reached out to pat Su and Li on their heads. “And these two little mischief makers are family, even if they are faster and more cunning than either of us give them credit for. But even if they were children in the Shang-Po villages in the city, you should treat them fairly and kindly.”
“Yes, Ba-ba,” Zixin replied. He made his apology and the girls assured him everything was okay and they were scampering through the sunshine once more.
Mei approached him from the back entrance of the palace, carrying Rei on her shoulder. She shielded her eyes from the sun and joined her brother. “Everything alright?” she asked.
“My son needed his priorities straightened out a little, nothing I couldn't handle.” He reached for his nephew. “Need some new tutors for him, though. They're inflating his ego already at five years old. Somehow they made him think being a prince is like being a god, so I came down here to nip it in the bud.”
Mei nodded. “They can't help it, that was the old Xing and how they taught us to be.”
Ling cooed to the baby in his arms, making faces as Mei spoke. Then he turned toward her, grinning. “Remember, I know more than most about the difference between being human and being a monster. It's my duty to pass that knowledge on to as many as I can.” He reflected on the time that he spent cohabiting within his own body with Greed, as well as the older brother that nearly became Emperor instead. It was too late for both creatures when they learned the lesson of love, but he was going to be sure his children (and his sister's children) knew that wisdom from the beginning.
“When people forget how to love, that's when they forget how to be human.” He kissed his nephew's forehead. “When we forget to love, we become monsters, and as long as I live, I will never let anyone around me forget that, my royal children included.”
“Ma-ma!” the twins cried as they raced toward Mei. Zixin hurried over to tickle Rei's tiny toes.
“Ba-ba? Is it time for lunch yet?”
Mei grinned as she patted his shoulder and took her son back from him. “There's a sure sign of his humanity, My Lord! And I'm hungry too, let's see if we can get settled before Lady Fan comes to the dining hall!”
The children ran ahead of her and Ling smiled to himself. They were just children, still learning. But if they could master the virtue of love before arithmetic or reading, they'd be all the better for it. He began to jog to catch up to his family, spying Alphonse from an open window above them waving down. He waved back and said a prayer of thanks to the God of Gods for his wonderful family.