This is my disclaimer for the whole story [so that I don't have to keep on writing it]:

I do not own any of the characters involved in the series of Dynast Warriors. Of course, someone sitting in an office does…

So this is the first chapter of my brand new story, Rate of Attraction.

I basically got the inspiration when I considered the relationship of this couple. When you think about it, Da Qiao and Sun Ce are almost complete opposites! Do you think they would have had an instant liking to each other? Maybe physically, but I think there must have been a few personality clashes… Anyway, this is my version of how the two met & came to be.

Enjoy, and review^^

First Impressions

- "It's the first impression that will either open the door or close it. It's that important, so don't mess it up" [Nicholas Sparks]

"Da Qiao, don't be like that! Please, we haven't been in town for a while… I don't wanna go home just yet…" Xiao Qiao moaned to her sister who she was trying to pull back in the opposite direction.

It however could not be helped. Da Qiao was fuming and did not want to cause a public scene. Not only did she feel embarrassed at this point in time, but she felt like she had just lost in a game. Yes, she felt like a loser. What had happened should have ended in her favour, alas it did not and now she was left empty handed and annoyed.

Now, I'm sure you are wondering what exactly it is that occurred to make the heroine of this story so vexed. Let's go back a few minutes ago shall we…?

"Excuse me, kind sir, this is beautiful. How much are you selling this for?" The young girl had taken a shine to the exquisite tapestry. Although it would have looked beautiful in her room, it was actually intended for a dear friend of hers. She had always had a taste for buying presents for other people; you could, perhaps, call it a talent of hers (she certainly would not have). Her own sister had run off somewhere in pursuit of finding something on her own to get for the soon-to-be birthday celebrant.

"Oho.. This is an excellent choice milady. You have a wonderful eye." The vendor smiled, glad to have a potential customer at his less-than-thriving stall. "However, the price does not come cheap. Did you know this was made by the hands of my blind wife?" The little fact had not been entirely true: Yes his talented wife had made it, although she was not blind. Mentioning this to potential customers seemed to give the products he sold a little bit more of an amazing back-story and, if not that, would perhaps guilt-trip the patron into buying.

Clearly having been fish-hooked into the half-truth the young lady stood, amazed. The beautiful piece of work seemed almost too perfect to have been created at the hands of someone who was blind. "Really? Well, might I enquire how much this is?" she repeated her question confidently with a smile, assuring the stall owner that money would not have been an issue.

"For you my dear, 500." He gave her the smile he had rehearsed so many times to previous customers that seemed to portray a look of 'please help me look after my blind wife' to which, of course, she could not refuse. Gracefully taking out her purse, she started to count the money required while the vendor turned to address another customer.

"This tapestry. I'm offering 700 for it." The young man said confidently as he placed a sack of coins on the counter before the vendor's eyes. They widened, never had someone offered money straight up to him before hearing the price. He however was in a little bit of a predicament. The only problem with this offer was that he had already promised the purchase for the beautiful young lady counting her money out. Still, it was a higher offer.. And in the spirit of his well-kept lie, the man convinced himself that his wife deserved to eat well tonight.

Now this would have been a perfectly executed plan although the petite beauty had placed the money on the counter too. It appeared that this was going to be trickier than anticipated.

At first, the young man did not pay attention to the money placed beside his. After all, there were many tapestries here. Why would he assume that she was going to take his? It was only when she spoke up did he direct his attention towards her.

"Excuse me sir, the 500 for this tapestry?" she asked in her soft, melodic voice. She noted with a raised brow that the salesman had a look of nervousness about him that was not there before.

"500? Excuse me miss, are you talking about this, over here?" the other potential buyer placed a territorial hand over the desired item. "I'm sorry, but I've already paid for it." he said, feeling a little bit bad for her after she pulled a face he assumed to be disappointment.

After the feeling of disappointment had subsided however, she began to think about it. Smiling sweetly at him, "I apologise sir, however I think you'll find that the tapestry, in fact, belongs to me." The dark haired girl knew she had dibs on it. 'First come, first served' Was that not the correct phrase to use at this point in time?

He couldn't understand where she was coming from. "I've already paid for this. Actually, I gave him more money." His tone was calm, the girl clearly just needed the situation explained to her a little.

"I believe I was here first. Am I wrong?" She directed the end of her rebuttal towards the salesman who had hoped he could seep into the background while his two customers sorted out the situation between them. The girl was so beautiful; he could not lie to her face nor let her down. Although his voice escaped him, he nodded.

The charming young man was starting to think he would need to put up a fight for this. "I don't think that's the case anymore. Listen, you can keep your money and find something else to buy. You'll take my money, won't you?" Again, the vendor found himself caught up in the dilemma. Although the pretty young lady was hard to let down, this gentleman was offering him a substantially larger sum of money. Once again, his voice had let him down so he was left to just nod his head dumbly. After all, the look on the face of the man seemed to be challenging him to say no; he was not ready for that kind of challenge.

Pleased with the outcome, the young man was about to pick up the roll of tapestry when he felt the vibration of the lady's hand slapping down on the object. They kept eye contact for a while, silently challenging the other to take another step. Although the girl did not usually act this way in public, when she felt something was right she would stick by it. Something about the person before her did not intimidate her like others had. Maybe it was the way his expression didn't exude a serious, 'I'm-all-business' air the way every other man she met had. On the other side of the tapestry roll, the young man knew he was not going to give up. Yes, he was surprised by the way this girl was treating him; even if he wasn't who he was, no female had ever treated him like this.

The shop keeper watched as they continued their arguments, bickering back and forth. The gentleman seemed to be getting more and more annoyed and so did the lady although, if not for her polite tone and reasonable way of speaking, there would have been a crowd around the dispute. Eventually, the vendor could bare to watch the scene no more. Somewhere, he had found his missing voice.

"No! I can't let my wife's art be mistreated this way. It shall be sold to none of you!" He nearly fell into the earth at the looks he received from the couple before him. He gingerly took the rolled up tapestry away and stepped back. He wanted to cry on the inside however he knew this was the only way to repent for the mistake he had made in trying to be greedy. Then again, there did appear to be a wealthy elder gentleman eyeing up another of his wife's 'miraculous' creations. His guilt quickly dissolved as he trotted off to his new customer, leaving the two lost customers behind him.

Sun Ce was annoyed now. He had really wanted to give the scroll to a close, newly-wed couple as a gift. "Great. None of us have it now."

Also annoyed with the outcome, the young lady looked him in the eye for a second to ponder whether she should even waste her breath. It would have been the perfect gift; she knew her friend would have loved it. Deciding that she didn't need to have the last word to be the better person, she turned on her heel and had just about enough of the town leaving the man to have nothing else to do but burn holes in her back with his eyes.

Wu Palace

The two men were sitting in one of the palace's many lounges. It was nearing the end of the day and the sun was setting on the horizon that they could see perfectly out of the large, open sliding door. The orange sky seemed to make everything in the gardens before them turn some variant of the colour which made everything much warmer. A cool breeze would sweep into the room preventing anyone from feeling too uncomfortable. It was almost close to perfect. Almost. There was just something in the atmosphere.

Sun Ce was sulking. His closest friend and sworn brother knew that if he did not ask him what the matter was, he would probably end up doing something he regretted.

"Now, this is just my opinion dear brother.. But you look a little annoyed about something." he said with an amused tone. It wasn't that he wasn't concerned, but Zhou Yu had an inkling the issue wasn't going to be as serious as sit seemed.

Not even hesitating, Sun Ce let it off his chest, "I lost, I never lose!" Of course, Zhou Yu had thought as much. Clearly this was something that only complaining would sort out.

"And may I ask who won this… competition?"

"No one, 'won'" Sun Ce replied with his arms folded in front of him.

Confusion was something that crossed his mind however when he enquired further he would not speak about it. It seemed that the problem was over for now. The handsome strategist amusedly ran a hand through his long hair as he watched his dear friend get up and leave, saying he had to be somewhere.

The Qiao Residence

"Da Qiao, you are the eldest daughter in my family. A family that is blessed to have two daughters, famous throughout the land for their divine beauty." begun Qiao Xuan, the proud father of the Qiao sisters.

Although their mother was no longer there to help raise these young girls, her father knew that she would be proud of the way they had blossomed into fine young women. Xiao Qiao, the cute, younger sister was so sweet that it was hard to ever be angry at her; even when she did get herself into trouble. But no matter how much trouble she was in, her elder sister, Da Qiao had always been there to lend a helping hand. The graceful and elegant Da Qiao was always so kind to those around her. In fact, there was never a bad word said about his daughters; he would have it no other way. This is what brought him back to continue the discussion they were having when his two daughters had come home from town. Although he had wanted to enquire within about the annoyed expression on her face, he felt he should let her know what had been on his mind recently.

His daughter merely smiled graciously at the compliment, modestly not fully acknowledging this. "You have come to the age where it is time for you to find a husband. Of course, you should not just have anyone. He should be a man who can look after you, kind hearted and loving."

She had been fully aware that her father had been planning to have her married. Of course it was nothing unusual for a young girl of her age. She also knew that he would not wish for her to be betrothed to someone she did not like. However, whatever it was that she felt, Da Qiao would always place her father's wishes before her own. There was nothing she would hate more than to be a burden.

"Of course father." she nodded. "May I ask where this is leading to?"

Smiling, Qiao Xuan had been looking forward to telling this news to his daughter all day. "As you know the Sun family, leaders of Wu, are very close friends of mine. Although you have never met them before, I know you will get along with each and every member. They are all warm and kind-hearted. Sun Jian and I had always wanted his eldest to marry one of my own children and I now have the pleasure of saying that you will meet his son, Sun Ce today."

She did not really know what to think. Yes, she was happy her father seemed pleased so she was not going to go against his wishes and disagree to meet this Sun Ce. It did not seem like it would be too bad. The son had obviously left a good enough impression on her father and the family were apparently good people.

Da Qiao smiled at Qiao Xuan. "When are we expecting them?" before he could answer however, a maid entered the room to say that Lord Sun Jian and his son had arrived. Before she knew it she was ushered into their lounge room, a room which had already been set up for a meeting: refreshments on a table in the middle and two chairs - apparently it would only be the two of them this time. Feeling rather nervous now and admittedly a little excited to meet her potential husband, she chose the seat facing away from the door.

The leader of Wu and his eldest son walked into the Qiao residence. A maid greeted the two.

"Master Qiao Xuan is in his office, Lord Sun Jian. I have been told to lead Lord Sun Ce to this room.." the maid blushed a little when she caught the young man's eyes, she had not realised the heir of Wu was so handsome. "…to meet Lady Da Qiao." Sun Jian had already been aware of the arrangements. It had been a while since he had visited the Qiao residence, although remembered where to go. He held his hand up, indicating that there was no need for any assistance to be lead to Qiao Xuan's office, although told the maid to let Sun Ce into the room. He patted his son on the back, confident that the two would get on well. With a reassuring smile he left the maid and the boy to head off in his own direction.

The maid shyly looked at Sun Ce once again before allowing him to follow her. "She's just in here, my Lord." Closing the door behind him she sighed, almost jealous that her father had not introduced her to such a good looking man.

The door slid closed behind him and he entered the room. At first, he thought the room was empty. The large sliding door which led to the front garden of the house had a lantern hanging from it which illuminated the terrace in the early evening. He had to scan the room for a while before noting the petite form in the chair. She really did seem beautiful, from behind at least. Her hair was tied up with a simple ornament and two braids hung down either side of her neck, a pale neck that seemed to be flawless.

She heard the door close and it took a while for her to stir. Eventually she got up and turned around. Bowing down in front of him with a smile, she greeted the man "Lord Sun Ce, it is a pleasure to meet you." He bowed down back at her and while they both stood there smiling at each other, they took the time to look at each other. She would be lying if she said she felt no physical attraction towards the man. That in itself, was already a massive understatement. Now that he could see her face, he felt it matched perfectly with the first image he had seen.

They looked each other in the eye curiously after a while however, something not seeming quite right. Had they seen each other before? Why did their faces seem so familiar? Their friendly expressions transitioned from confusion and then realisation. There was an awkward silence as they stood in there places, staring at each other.

"Sorry to disappoint you." he said, breaking the silence. This was definitely a surprise, if not also a blow to his mood too. He took a seat in the other chair on the opposite side. Neither of them were really concealing the fact that they didn't like each other at this point in time. He only smirked, "I can't believe I'm sitting in front of the beautiful flower, Da Qiao, known for her grace and kindness."

She smiled with fake sweetness, "Kind words, my Lord. You do not mean them." The girl walked over to the table and poured her guest a drink. Although she did not like the man, it did not mean that she would need to be so obvious about it under her own roof.

He nodded his head in thanks, and the two were yet again drowned out by the awkward silence. The only things they did seem to do was glare at each other occasionally. Yet again, it was Sun Ce who broke the silence; he never did like it when it was too quiet.

"You don't have to apologise for earlier; I'm sure that's what's on your mind right now." He would clearly not let the issue go. For ages it had bugged his conscience that he had not gotten what he wanted from that trip. Occasions like that were rare, if ever having happened.

She knew the topic would be resurfaced - if not by him, she would have said something sooner or later. Again with her smile and a subtle tone of facetiousness, "Thank you, my Lord, for your understanding and kindness. You really are a generous man."

Why did it feel like he was the one who needed to apologise? She seemed to be talking sweetly to him, but it was evident that she meant the opposite. He huffed in his chair, now not even wanting to bother to continue the argument. Having nothing to say to each other, the two were left with only their thoughts to fill the void. "Where does this girl come off? I really don't like the way she talks. She never seems to feel the same way about the things she says." thought Sun Ce. "It's weird." And also a shame, he had continued in his mind; the girl lived up to the rumour of her beauty well.

He continued the rest of his inner comments out loud. "Actually, you know, I'm glad we met earlier." Da Qiao looked at him, wondering what on Earth he could mean. The young man was clearly not enjoying himself. "If I hadn't then you probably would have put on the illusion that you were some sort of sweet and caring person which, from today, we can clearly see isn't the case."

Shocked at his outburst, Da Qiao instantly interjected his statement "My sentiments are the same. Although my father is an extremely intelligent man, you seem to have managed to fool him into thinking you were great. I however will not fall for it."

The two had had just about enough of each other for the day. In fact, probably a little too much. They simultaneously stood up, not wanting to be in the same room as the other person, and headed over to the door. "Where are you going?" Sun Ce demanded, was she going to follow him?

"To my bedroom, my Lord." She had put on that sweet tone of hers which he knew only he could hear the bitter tone in it. "Why are you following me?"

"You wish." he laughed. "Okay, go to your bedroom. I'm leaving." Sun Ce said as he opened the door and let her walk through. She did so with not even doing so much as sparing him another glance.

Sun Jian and Qiao Xuan, the two good friends, were laughing merrily about how their soon-to-be-related status. Well, that was until one of the maids entered the office with a frantic look on her face. "M-my Lord! Master Qiao Xuan! Sun Ce and Da Qiao had an argument and left the room. Sun Ce is waiting in the carriage." She bowed down and left in an equally unrelaxed manner. The two fathers looked at each other with worried expressions. What were they to do? Their match-up seemed to be crumbling at square one..

Ooh.. Sun Ce & Da Qiao hate each other :O

Don't worry though! Fun moments & cute development will ensue in later chapters.

In the mean time, I hope you enjoyed this and will comment. :3

Annie x