Summary: One girl finds herself fighting for the right to live freely, but does not expect love to be right under her nose…

Disclaimer: I do not own Dynasty Warriors, as they belong to Koei. Though I wish Jiang Wei was mine… (crys) However, Xiao Xing and any other characters not from the game belong to me.

Chapter One

The sun rose brightly, shining into every available opening and illuminating the land. Xiao Xing yawned as she sat up in her bed, glaring at the sun. Her body was sore, her muscles screaming at her, yet she had to continue. She slowly got out of bed and stretched, careful not to agitate her muscles too much, then quickly bathed in the fresh water brought in by one of the palace servants. As she changed from her night dress to her day clothes, she heard a knock at the door. "Who is it?" She walked to the door, not able to hear the muffled response. Grabbing her weapon, her Crescent Glaive, she yanked the door open and pointed her weapon at the woman before her.

"Damn it, Mei Xing! Don't mutter like that!" Xiao glared at her younger sister before turning and tossing her glaive on her bed. She sat on the edge of her small desk and crossed her arms over her chest, watching the young girl enter the room.

Mei Xing stared at the floor, slightly ashamed of herself for making her elder sister angry. "I am sorry, Xiao… I didn't mean to make you angry…"

Xiao's glare softened. She could never seem to stay angry with her sister for very long. "It's alright, Mei. You just need to remember that we are vulnerable here." She gazed out the window. "You never know what kind of creeps are lurking out there, waiting for a chance to attack two girls who are all alone." She glanced back, then hugged Mei, who had started to cry. "It's okay, Mei. That's why I practice all the time. To protect my baby sister."

Mei looked up, then wiped the tears from her eyes. "What did you have planed for today?"

Xiao closed her eyes for a moment, already regretting what she was about to say. "Did you still want to go to that festival in the city today?"

Mei squealed with delight, then threw her arms around her sister. "Do you really mean we can go?"

Xiao smiled and nodded. "Yes… Now go and get ready" She had barely said the words, and her sister was already racing to her room.

Later...

Xiao stared at all the shops surrounding the city. Well, it is the midwinter festival… She kept a close eye on her sister, not wanting to let the younger girl out of her sight. After about ten minutes, and a lot of negotiating prices with shop keepers, Xiao managed to purchase a few items that would be helpful to them during the rest of the winter.

"Xiao! Look what I bought!" Mei rushed up to her sister, holding onto a shiny hairpin. She seemed quite excited about it.

Xiao looked at the pin and smiled. Ever since she had been born, Mei Xing had always been attracted to pretty things, which was exactly opposite of the elder sister. Xiao preferred simple things. "it is very pretty, Mei. It suits you well." She took the pin from the bouncing 14 year old. "Here, let me put it on for you.." She arranged the girls hair and put the pin in place. "Now you look like a princess…"

"Indeed, she does."

Xiao spun at the sound of a masculine voice, only to come face to face with one of the most important men in the land of Shu. She dropped to her knees and bowed. "Lord Zhuge Liang…"

Authors note: Well, I hope you like it... This is my first attemt at a fanfic, so please give me constructive critisism... But I hope you like it. I'll have the nect chapter up after christmas...

Aithne Spellacy