Disclaimer: None of the characters, as of yet, belong to me. Likewise,
there is some shounen-ai here.
The night was serene and calm, its gentle silence coaxing all but the most stubborn to sleep. The lights that broke the darkness were few, one of which belonged to the current home of remaining heirs of the Sun family. It was a pity that such a peaceful night - for that residence, at least - was about to end.
"Iiiiie!"
The relatives, guests and servants that currently slept in the premises found themselves rudely awakened, by the unmistakable sounds of two young, high-pitched boys scrambling and stumbling in the dark, fumbling about in vain as they hurriedly made their way to the rooms of their older guardians.
"Elder brother!" one of them squealed as he rushed into the currently occupied area. He was aware he might be scolded for this rudeness, since his older brother was tired from the recent battling he had been conducting and was probably asleep. "Elder bro-"
"-told you thousands of times before! I refuse to be the b-" the deep voice was interrupted by the sight of two wide-eyed young boys bursting into the room, as were his efforts to reverse his current situation. His companion, however, was oblivious to the intrusion and seized the initiative, pinning him down harder on their rumpled bed and proceeding to tie one of his arms to the post.
"Now, Zhou Yu, behave. You should know better than-" Irritated at his paramour's downright idiocy and his smug attitude, he hissed, "Sun Ce! Behind us!"
Sun Ce turned his head to the direction indicated and was severely surprised at what he saw. A pair of boys, one younger than the other, staring at them with extreme discomfort and surprise.
"Zhongmou!" he exclaimed when he saw his younger brother's presence, then cried out once again when he saw his brother was not alone; his equally young friend accompanied him. "Boyan! What are you doing here?"
The two boys, still wide-eyed at the display before them, found themselves stammering answers, talking over each other in confusion.
"W-we were just-"
"I was sc-"
"There were these-"
"-so dark!"
"What happened? Why do you have Zhou Yu-"
The aforementioned younger brother - Sun Quan - said the last, unable to continue his attempt in answering his elder brother's question or in finishing the question because of his bewilderment and impending tactlessness.
"What are you talking about, Zhongmou?" Sun Ce asked, his voice sharp as surprise gave way to irritation, staring at his little brother with more intensity in his eyes than he intended.
A slight cough from the man he had pinned underneath him told him all he needed to know. With a flushing face, a mortified "Oh" and a muttered apology to no one in particular, he, with some embarrassment, dismounted Zhou Yu, whose own sleeping robes were in severe disarray.
Sun Ce turned his attention back to the other occupants of the room, knowing he had yet to answer Sun Quan's inquiry.
"Well, Zhongmou, Boyan." he began hesitantly, glancing at Zhou Yu out of the corner of his eye in a plea for help. Zhou Yu, who was doing his best to hide his blushing cheeks and busy trying to untie the knotted rope that still bound one of his arms to the bed, paid him no heed. He continued his explanation, running a hand through his short, disheveled hair, ".I was only trying to show Zhou Yu how to properly restrain an enemy."
Zhou Yu, having finished releasing himself fully from the rope - and having stopped the reddening of his cheeks - did not disagree with the statement, but settled himself in an upright, sitting position. There was an uncomfortable silence as the pair of children digested this information.
"Oh." Lu Xun murmured, breaking the stillness, doubt still in his mind. He shook it off as Zhou Yu asked, "What brought you two here? Is something the matter?" The man's gentle, soothing tone calmed his doubts but brought his previous fears to the fore of his mind. Wailing in terror, he threw himself at the lightly-clad, long-haired man.
Astonishment registered itself on Zhou Gongjin's lovely face, but he quickly shot his sworn brother a glance and hinted, with a small movement of his head and a message in his amber eyes, that Sun Ce should go and comfort the now sniffling Sun Quan. As Bofu moved towards his own charge, Zhou Yu tenderly embraced Lu Boyan, murmuring reassuring - but incomprehensible - things.
When the young boy had calmed enough, he glanced at his sworn brother to check on his situation before asking again for the source of the boys' panic.
Sun Ce tentatively kneeled down next to his crying brother and began to pat him gently at his back. One could see that Sun Zhongmou wanted to throw his arms around his older brother's neck, but was afraid to do so lest his brother recoil away, taking it as an offense to his manliness and as proof that Sun Quan lacked masculinity. He forced himself to calm down, the sobs turning into little choking noises, then to soft sniffles, until finally they were gone.
It shocked Sun Quan to feel his brother's muscled arms around him. Suddenly, it felt as if all his problems were nothing. He felt safe.
"In any case, what brought you both here?" Zhou Yu's voice easily broke through the relaxed atmosphere of the room. With both boys no longer panicked, he had deemed it safe to ask again.
"Well." Sun Quan began, worried at the subject of their terror. It wasn't the subject itself that worried him, but rather the type of subject it was. His brother simply wouldn't approve, and he'd pushed down his pride if only to make his little brother feel better.
"We had a premonition," Lu Xun piped up from the circle of Zhou Yu's arms.
"Really?" Zhou Yu, though he did his best to cover his interest, was paying very close attention. Sun Ce, however, was not so pleased with this particular theme.
"Now now, Boyan, Zhongmou, you both know what I think of these things." Zhou Yu, for a second time that night, found himself irritated at Sun Ce - only this time it was at his tactless behavior.
"Bofu! For once, can't you put your biases aside and listen to the boys?" Lu Xun and Sun Quan were both surprised at Gongjin's sudden temper surge - though they knew it existed, - and even more so at the fact that it was aimed at his sworn brother. Sun Ce opened his mouth to retort, but decided it was best to keep silent, glaring at his secret lover instead. Zhou Yu shifted his attention from the silently fuming man to the child in his arms, coaxing him to go on with his explanation.
"We saw-" Sun Quan began, pausing in thought and allowing Lu Xun to add in, "It was really dark.but there were some stars in the sky" before he continued. "Yes, but suddenly these lights appeared all around us and it was really noisy."
"I was so scared." Lu Xun murmured, feeling better as he cuddled further in Zhou Gongjin's warm hold. "We saw these dragons with glowing eyes! Only they were moving really fast on the ground and roaring really loudly."
"There was one that stopped for a while before this glowing red light, and behind it were a bunch of other dragons," Sun Quan added, wrinkling his nose as he tried to remember more of their shared dream. "They weren't roaring, but there were these loud squealing noises coming from them, and angry shouts like people trying to get out of their belly or something."
"And then the light turned green, and the dragons started roaring again. I think the color green makes them mad, and the red one happy. Maybe that's why red is a lucky color, because the dragons favor it." Lu Xun added in, allowing his musing to drift him off into contemplation. Zhou Yu caught his 'brother' rolling his eyes and shot him a look of irritation. Sun Quan, however, continued, though he saw his brother's look of derision.
"And then we saw people on the other side of the dragons and we tried to get across but when we started walking one of the dragons changed its direction, an arm stuck itself out at us. I think it was asking for help. Finally the dragons stopped again and we managed to get to the part with people, but when we got closer this big monster was sitting in front of us." Shuddering at the memory, Zhongmou stopped his tale and Boyan took over for a while.
"The monster had a lot of eyes that glowed like the dragons' did. He would close them every now and then, but most of them stayed open. And he had these claws too! When the monster opened its mouth and light was coming from it. Then people started coming out too. They were hurrying, trying to get away from them and they kept looking at their wrists and mumbling something. I think they had magic-" Zhou Yu noted Sun Ce's cringe at the word, but said nothing, nor did he give any sign of having noticed the reaction, "and were saying some spells that made the monster open its mouth so they could get away."
"We tried to go to one of the people, to ask them for help, but this man we went to pushed just looked at us funny. When we tried to tell him who we were, he just pushed us away and hurried off. Lu Xun fell because the man pushed him harder."
"He was mean!" the younger boy's lower lip began to tremble in his recollection and Zhou Gongjin immediately stroked hair to calm him down. Sun Quan nodded in affirmation of Lu Boyan's comment. "I couldn't get up because there was this strange creature coming towards us. It looked like a dog, but I don't think that's what it was because it had all these fluffy balls on it."
"It was being led by this other being with a pointy head and was covered in fur!" Sun Quan exclaimed.
"Then it started attacking us!"
"That's when we woke up."
"And after you took the time to wake up the rest of the household, you came here." Sun Ce finished for them. "Little brother, Boyan, those were only bad dreams.
".I'm not certain this should be so easily dismissed, Bofu," Zhou Yu said, his tawny eyes looked thoughtful. "This sounds almost prophetic."
"Surely you must be joking, Gongjin. If my brother can see the future, then surely I possess some mystical powers too!" Sun Ce smirked, his disbelief and distaste of the subject very evident in his tone. He added, with a smirk, " In fact, I prophesize that Lord Cao Cao - at this very moment and in a garden - is discussing the lack of ability of various famous leaders with Xiahou Dun while playing weiqi!"
Zhou Yu sighed. There was simply no way of convincing his sworn brother that some things in this world were inexplicable.
**
Little do either of them know, however, that the same Lord Cao Cao the ever- skeptical Sun Ce spoke of in his 'prophecy' was indeed sitting in his garden surrounded by sturdy trees and burning torches, playing that very same game, weiqi, with his brother Xiahou Dun.1
They had been playing for a considerable amount of time, with no audience but themselves, their guards dismissed, allowing them privacy that was hard to find for men of their rank and reputation. Of course, with a man like Xiahou Dun guarding his person - should the occasion rise that he needed, Xiahou Yuanrang would provide the necessary protection - Lord Cao Cao had no cause to worry.
Of course, Cao Mengde wanted this opportunity to allow his companion and brother to exercise his mind, and though Xiahou Dun had agreed, this long hesitation on Cao Cao's part was sorely trying his patience.
This game of theirs would end, if only Cao Cao would make the decisive maneuver to close it. It was his turn, yet he simply sat there. Several times, he moved as though preparing to put down the piece, but drew back, shaking his head in doubt and dissatisfaction.
Two choices were open to him and he was torn with severe indecision, fingering the piece in his hand while he contemplated various things - most of which was vastly irrelevant to the game.
Finally, having had enough of the silence and his lord's uncertainty, Xiahou Dun looked up, his one visible eye blinking - the other hidden by the purple cloth he had taken to wearing (inquiries met with attempts on the inquirer's life) - and said one word. "Sire."
"I know. I have not moved." Cao Cao muttered, still holding the piece in his now-clenched fist. He brought his other hand to rub his eyes, which were dry from having stayed open for so long.
"Then why not strike the fatal blow?" Xiahou Dun inquired, a touch of knowing smugness playing on his lips, as much as he tried to hide it. He knew what kept his brother from putting the piece down in either choice.
"For the reason you would not say - how can I know I will not simply choose wrongly and provide you the opportunity of victory?" Cao Cao smiled grimly, his hand no longer gripping the piece as tightly, as he decided in his mind what he would do next.
At that statement, Xiahou Dun sat back, his curiosity satisfied, no longer trying to hide his knowing grin. "Because your mind is not on this little garden in Xuchang ."
Cao Cao smirked in return, impulsively tossing the piece up into the air, then catching it as it fell. "Indeed. Enough of this plaything, you would say?" Xiahou Dun nodded in agreement, and Cao Cao reached for a cup of wine, signaling to both the game's end, in a draw.
As Xiahou Dun sipped from his own, he mused, "I do wonder."
"Ah?" The sudden words he heard faintly from his brother caught his ear and he was immediately interested.
"What is a cup of wine, a mere distraction, to the field of bloodless war?" The poetic question arrested Cao Cao, as did its many possible meanings.
Cao Mengde sent his brother an irritated look, answering, "A bitter wine in bloodless war, a venomous poison in the chaos of bloody war." Having admonished Yuanrang, who only met his look, the elder went on, allowing himself to make a small concession. "Nonetheless, you have insight, you saw through to my intentions, or at the least the most innocuous of my thoughts."
Inquisitiveness was an addiction, it seemed - more so than wine or swordplay. Xiahou Dun found himself moving one arm up, resting his elbow upon the table, head in hand before expressing his interest. "And may I know more?"
His liege before him, Imperial Guardian to the Emperor, sighed once and nodded. For now and to alleviate what could result in confusion, he worded his next statement simply. He would be open. "You may. I was thinking of the various 'heroes' of the land and if they truly deserved the title." On a whim, he hid his smile behind the cup as he brought the wine to his lips. "Who do you think was at the fore of my mind?"
"Yuan Shao. He is not a considerably tough opponent in himself, but has an abundance of armies under keen-minded counsels and true leaders. Even with Yang Yi at my side, I would not face Yan Liang or Wen Chou with dashing." Xiahou Dun lifted his head from his hand, using it to massage his dry eye. He had been focusing on his lord and had not taken the time to re-wet his eyes by blinking, so he took the time to do just that.
"A weakling in truth, for all his vaunted numbers. Now if only his 'vaunted numbers' would actually hurt anyone." Cao Cao laughed sarcastically, aware of Yuanrang's scrutiny, adding when he recovered his composure, "but Yuan Shao's nothing but a name, no man behind it. There is only his cadre of advisors, Tian Feng, Ju Shou and the like, warriors like Zhang He, Yan Liang . names, again, no more. They shall be gone in mere years."
Xiahou Dun ceased to ignore his cup of wine, picking it up and sipping from it thoughtfully. "And others?"
"Yuan Shu, filth of the River Huai, and Lu Bu, but the dirty dog of Xiapi." Cao Cao made a disdainful noise after his statement, expressing his distaste and displeasure at those two characters. Mengde continued his tirade, stopping only to drink some wine and to catch his breath, the passion and intensity of his speech steadily increasing.
"And as for Liu Zhang-"
Annoyed by the disruption, Cao Cao took a moment to glare at his one-eyed brother before answering with his rhetorical question, "Who knew a watchdog could be a family's scion?"
Staring at his cup - though he was not truly looking at it - Xiahou Yuanrang pressed his lips in reflection, contemplating this response, as Cao Cao continued.
"Like Zhang Xiu, my vassal of a mere week, and Zhang Lu, of his so-called Five Pecks of Rice, they are-"
"You realize that if you keep calling heroes of the land mere skeletons or worthless things, we will be left with none but crickets and a corpse in the ground named Dong Zhuo."
Sighing in resignation, Cao Cao paused his rant, allowing himself to calm down. Still, after a brief pause, he added with sarcasm, "And is the pretender to the imperial line, Liu Xuande of Xiaopei, driven out of Xuzhou for the drunkenness of his Third Brother, a hero?" Unable to help himself, Cao Cao waved his hand dismissively, as though rejecting some worthless piece of work.
Xiahou Dun rolled his eyes and snapped, "And as for that new hero of the Southland, the Little Prince Sun Ce?"
"Sun Ce ." Cao Cao inhaled, pausing to gather his thoughts a bit more. Xiahou Dun considered saying something to his brother, but fought the urge down in favor of listening to the rest of Cao Cao's words.
"Son of Sun Jian of Changsha, vassal to Yuan Shu of Shouchun . then he found his calling, gave up the Seal his father found but would not admit to . and with three thousand and five hundred horse, has come to wreck havoc around the Southland ." After a pause, he stated simply, "He is an interesting sort of fellow and will merit further study."
"Now that's a change," Xiahou Dun chuckled, taking a sip of his wine again. Cao Cao considered Xiahou Dun's response. So hard did he reflect on the reply that he became lost in his thoughts, now pondering the mysterious workings of life and its various-
"Though it seems otherwise, the land is really in turmoil." Mengde's mind refocused on Yuanrang, this sentiment penetrating his wandering feelings.
"True. This land is really quite unpleasant. Disharmony exists, and so do dozens of other worldly tragedies. How can one truly call it beautiful, the ever-changing, the unending, the chaotic world?" Cao Mengde's sculpted chest heaved a weighty sigh as he considered his words, the torchlights dancing along his features.
"One only needs to look at the fields of jade-green grass and at the colorful array of flowers adorning the vast expanse of the meadows ."
"That is not to which I was referring." Cao Cao sent his brother a scolding look, to which Xiahou Dun found himself replying to with a viciously smug twist of his lips. "In any case, nature may be beautiful, but you will never find that exquisite quality in a man."
Yuanrang raised an eyebrow and smirked. "I wouldn't say that ."
Cao Cao snorted in disbelief. "I am not-"
"I wasn't referring to you."
Little did either of them know that lying among the ocean of vibrant green grass and beautiful flowers was a man whose entire appearance rivaled the magnificence of nature .
**
The mane of waist-long, sleek, unbound hair framed the uncovered, lean torso of this man in a sea, an aura, of benign darkness. His angular face possessed deep brown eyes currently half-opened, edged by a dark eyelashes, a slender, petite nose, delicately high cheekbones and full, luscious lips.
A single, sectioned plate of armor flared out along his shoulder and tapered off at his neck, while a tattoo of sorts adorned the opposite shoulder. Slim, long arms supported his head. Lavish purple pants embroidered in gold fitted his conditioned legs closely, and a cloth of azure silk was tied around his waist, the end fluttering with every movement of the wind.
One of such elegance, and obvious grace, should have been perfectly content with his lot in life, yet Zhang He knew he was far from satisfied. Beauty only got one so far in this world, and usually such a trait elicited more admiration when exuded by a woman, not a man, as how the legendary Diao Chan had entrapped by plot both the Northern Wolf, Dong Zhuo, and Lu Bu, the rogue tiger . Zhang He sighed softly, closing his eyes and putting himself in a state of deep thought.
The soldiers refuse to listen to my orders most of the time, and the few times they do the results are far from what could possibly be the best. I suppose I cannot blame them for their lack of enthusiasm, or rather their great dislike of me. The fault is mostly mine, I suppose, although what I have done to deserve such treatment - aside from being myself - simply escapes me. He sighed softly, moving one arm from under his head and setting it across his face.
But he knew it wasn't just the troops. He received, if not the same treatment, then the similar cold, silent hostility from his Lord Yuan Shao and his advisors. Why do they treat me this way? Just because I do not act the way they do. Just because I do not share their uncouth, disgusting manners. Just because I do not see the point in fighting whenever one gets the chance to do so, to join in such uncivilized, barbaric brawls I am alienated from the rest of them, dismissed as a womanish pansy!
Yet I know that some part of me wishes to be accepted. How do I know this? On occasion, I find myself toying with thoughts of acting like them, pretending to be one of them. Such a charade, however, is something I cannot stomach. The thoughts of doing such beastly things like the rest of them make me sick.
And those advisors of his! They dare to criticize me when they think I am not nearby, as though I would never hear of their cruel words, as court life is hardly a private one. Even in my presence, they hurl multitudes of well-hidden barbs in their words, wounding me as much as I try to shield myself from them. They are wolves in sheep's clothing, some more blatant about their deceit than others are. Sycophants down to the very core of their being! They are worse than all the rest because of the power they possess, their ambitions and their practicality.
Unable to continue, Zhang He pushed himself upright to sit, leaning back by the support of his arms. Moving his eyes towards the serene blue of the cloudless sky, he found himself wishing, If only there was someone who understood me. I am somewhat certain there must be a soul out there who empathizes with my beautiful qualities. If I could only find . Zhang Junyi straightened suddenly, shocked by his own thoughts. Still, on some level of his mind, it failed to surprise him.
"Zhang He! Zhang He!" A voice called to him, breaking him out of his angst as he turned to see who called. The speaker was Gao Lan, the only one whom he could truly call a friend, out of breath and panting out his message with surprising fluidity. "We are being assigned orders, Junyi."
"Oh? Then we'd best head back." With that, Zhang He stood from his throne of crushed flowers and grass, brushing away the pieces that kept on clinging to his clothes and hair, and followed his comrade out of this corner of beautiful bliss and back to his world of ugly misery .
**
The next night, those of the Sun household found themselves disturbed once again. This time, however, as the call of "Eldest Brother! Look what we found!" rang out, the targets were not tired from the actions of the day before, having been able for once to settle down.
A very excited Sun Quan hurtled through the halls, with an equally fast Lu Xun following. They ran into Sun Ce's room, not surprised to find his brother's sworn sibling sitting at the edge of the bed. The two men had retreated to Sun Ce's sleeping area to discuss personal matters.
"Really Sun Ce, if we a-" Zhou Yu stopped as the two boys took the time to knock at the door, waiting for permission to come in.
Sun Bofu moved his eyes away from Zhou Gongjin, resting them on the door, glaring at it. After a while, the two boys knocked again and he was compelled to answer. "Come in."
Lu Boyan and Sun Zhongmou opened the door quietly, sliding up onto the cushioned mattress and holding out a scroll. "Zhou Yu, could you read this to us?" Boyan asked.
"Well." Zhou Yu led them on, feigning indifference or impending refusal.
"Please? You have such a nice voice!" The two boys stared at him, their eyes pleading intently and he found himself obligated to give in.
"Very well." Zhou Gongjin took the proffered scroll and unrolled it in an almost reverent manner.
Sun Ce, however, was rather unhappy about this turn of events. He had been ignored in favor of his sworn brother. Still, he could not deny that Gongjin did indeed have a pleasant voice. Especially when he's screaming . He smirked, with a hint of playful malice, at that thought.
"O so vast, O-"
"Perhaps you should sing it instead .?" Zhou Yu turned to his leader, stepbrother and sometimes-lover, as he considered this suggestion.
"Oh yes! I would love to hear it so, please?" Sun Quan beseech, his eyes staring at Zhou Yu's imploringly. He sighed, then with a soft smile, nodded his assent. And he began to sing.
"O so vast, O so mighty, / The Great River rolls to sea, / Flowers do waves thrash."
How could he know that elsewhere, the same poem had been noticed and was being read by a voice coarser than his own .
**
".Heroes do sands smash, / When all the dreams drain, / Same are lose and gain. Gre-"
"Yuanrang, can you not read it with more ceremony?" Cao Cao murmured, his voice holding the tones of irritation and exasperation. Xiahou Dun scowled blackly at the complaint.
"You are lucky that I agreed to read this at all! You called me out of my sleep to read this to you. Why must you criticize my delivery?" he asked, his voice more vehement than he intended.
"How can you not expect my criticism? The poem, is a well-written work of my son, Zhi, and shall win the admiration of future generations," Cao Cao replied, reining his annoyance and settling his mind into a calmer state. Xiahou Dun sighed in defeat. He recognized Cao Cao's sudden change in demeanor and knew that nothing he could do or say would stand against it.
"Fine. I'll read it with more respect," he muttered, before gathering himself and continuing where he had been disrupted.
"Green mountains remain, / As sunsets ingrain."
**
".Hoary fishers and woodcutters-" Zhang He wrinkled his slim nose at the mental image of fishermen and woodcutters. The picture of their meaty bodies covered by little cloth and filmy sweat, skin browned like the earth, burned by the sun and their hands and feet coarse and calloused formed itself in his mind and he found himself pondering possibilities - however unpleasant they were.
Junyi pictured himself amongst the sweating, grunting throng of fishers, casting his own net and grimaced. It was not something he could ever live with. Though the thought of sweating wasn't what he found so revolting. It was the idea of spending one's life doing nothing but menial tasks, spending everyday acting so boorish. That life had no elegance, no beauty, to be lived in mere obscurity, then forgotten. It was not for him.
Junyi shook his head, clearing it of his thoughts. And continued his reading.
"And some small rafts and calm waters, / In autumn moon, in spring winds."
His sweet voice recited the poem clearly, almost musically. Strangely though, while he merely recited the words, it was as if a voice in his mind sang it back to him.
**
".By the wine jars, by porcelains, / Discuss talk and tale, / Only laugh and gale."
When Zhou Yu finished, he found the two boys to be asleep, their eyes closed. Smiling affectionately, he pulled a blanket over their side, remembering how they had looked on, with fascination and awe. While Zhou Yu preened under that fact, Sun Ce stayed silent, saying nothing to disturb the beautiful picture his lover made.
Zhou Yu's long hair rested softly along his shoulders, slender for a man, with amber-golden eyes that could express everything yet reveal nothing, the straight nose, the full, dramatic lips, his high cheekbones and strong chin - but his loveliness didn't end there. Though one could not see it from the loose modesty of his sleeping robes, Sun Ce knew Zhou Yu's body was slender and muscled, young, agile and smooth. He also knew the skin of the man next to him, a delicately light peach, supple and evenly toned. To him, Zhou Yu was an epitome of male beauty, rivaling the splendor of both their wives.
"You aren't listening, Bofu!" Sun Ce's attention snapped back to the present. Zhou Yu sat alongside him, asking something quietly in his pleasant voice though his lips formed into a rather cute pout.
"What?" Zhou Gongjin scowled at his reply, proof of his distraction. But he was secretly smirking at the idea that he, Zhou Yu, was able to focus Sun Ce's attention to himself. He stored away that bit of knowledge in his mind. That scrap of information, he knew, would be as a sword with two edges. It would prove either quite useful - or quite dangerous - in the future.
"I was saying it would be pointless to move the two children now. They may as well sleep here, with us, you may inform the guards so." Zhou Yu said again, his eyes losing some of their previous intensity as he looked at his sworn brother with a careful eye.
His face, though not has beautiful as his own, had its own masculine charm. A heavy pair of brows topped Sun Bofu's dark eyes, while his nose was as slim and slender as Zhou Yu's own. A squarer jaw than his own, with the average cheekbones - one could almost say that Sun Ce had a peasant's appearance. There was nothing incredibly spectacular about his facial structure. However, he had an abundance of hair at the sides of his face that failed to connect to the strange growth on the man's strong chin. Still, in one of his better moods, Zhou Yu could even admit that Sun Bofu's entire demeanor was manly to the point of being intimidating.
"Zhou Yu, why are you staring at me?" Zhou Gongjin, startled out of his thoughts, found himself blushing - a sure indicator of what his mind had been on. Likewise, Sun Ce was not ignorant enough to miss the reaction.
Stifling a smirk, he said, "Let's get some sleep." Sun Ce reached over and pulled the still flushed Zhou Yu into a swift kiss before moving to arrange the two boys so they could be more comfortable.
With that done, Bofu settled himself in the mattress on one side of the sleeping pair and Gongjin lay down on the other. Hugging his sleeping younger stepbrother2 to his muscular form, Bofu let himself drift off into the arms of comforting sleep.
**
Whoosh!
The sound of an arrow's flight was drowned out by the sound of hooved feet fleeing at the sound, then rustling noises of a deer falling on the vegetation that ended with a dead thump, its antlers entangling themselves in the brush.
Sun Ce lowered his bow, smiling at his success amid the somewhat horrified gasps of his younger brother and his friend. Zhou Yu rode up beside him in a beautiful white steed, a slight frown on his beautiful face.
Turning to his lover, Sun Bofu was silent a moment, running his eyes up and down Zhou Yu's heat-clad form, discreetly disguising the look as one of concerned observation. Zhou Gongjin was wearing his standard costume, an intricate breastplate upon a refined silk jacket, and similarly woven pants with brown boots..
"It seems cruel, really, to deprive the fawn of its father ." Zhou Yu's disapproving tone was not lost to Sun Ce, neither was the other meaning to the words - his own father, Sun Jian (Wentai), had fallen in his own ambitious war but five years before. Sun Ce feigned ignorance, hiding away the slight twinge of pain at the implications, although he somehow knew that Zhou Yu could detect his sudden misery.
"Such a fine day for hunting, is it not? It would be a crime to waste it." Bofu said, avoiding Zhou Yu's eyes for an instance by averting his own. Zhou Yu pressed his lips together in a tight line and bowed his head, regret at his barbed words filling his mind completely, unable to say anything to rectify his statement.
Oblivious to this, Sun Quan murmured, "Elder Brother, I'm tired," one hand going up to rub his eye.
"Me too ." This little whine came from Lu Xun, also massaging his eyes. Zhou Yu turned in his seat to look at the two boys trailing behind their elders, wearing red shirts with simple stitching at the neck and sleeves. As they got off their ponies, their pants hung down to their ankles, the strip of yellow-gold at the bottom brushing against their slippered feet with every breeze.
Zhou Yu found himself growing strangely sleepy as well, as though the morning of hunting, despite he having not fired once, had been an exhausting exercise. He turned to look at his sworn brother, noticing that Bofu was desperately stifling a yawn and failing miserably.
"Perhaps we should rest then." Zhou Yu decided, dismounting as well. Sun Ce followed his example. Boyan and Zhongmou went after Gongjin as he took the horses by their reins, then after securing them to a nearby, sturdy branch, settled under the shade of a tree, leaning his seemingly weary form against its trunk.
They sat down next to him, resting their heads on his lap and instantly fell asleep. Sun Ce, on the other hand, did not join the trio. Rather, he stayed only an arm's length away from Zhou Yu's position and lay down on the grass, folding his arms underneath his head before he dozed off.
Zhou Yu was the last to give in. Before he allowed the darkness to take him, however, his mind wandered back to the lovely poem he had read the previous night. Finally, his eyes were too heavy and he too, went willingly into sleep.
**
The deer lay where it fell, its glassy eyes accusing .
'.almost alive' were two words in Zhang He's mind as he looked at the dead fawn lying in the green grass. His comrade, Gao Lan, was surrounded by cheering nobles, all praising him for his marksmanship, all except Junyi.
He did not want to be here, among this circle that celebrated the death of a beautiful creature. Knowing he would not be missed - since he refused to participate in the killing - he turned his steed away and rode silently to a place where he could rest. His departure went unnoticed.
'Why am I suddenly so weary?' he thought to himself, getting off his brown horse almost clumsily. Sagging against a large boulder, he rested his form against it and found blackness filling his vision as his conscious mind slipped away.
The horse, not tied but freed, took this chance to wander away from its slumbering rider. Its hoof beats pounded mercilessly against the ground, the rhythm almost relaxing in their pattern.
**
CLIP CLOP CLIP CLOP!
Then silence as the horse's owner, Cao Cao, pulled sharply on the reins, halting its progress. Xiahou Dun came up shortly behind him, dressed in his full battle garb with his Kirin Fang strapped securely in its normal place.
"This should be a-" Mengde began, turning his head to look at Yuanrang, only to find him yawning, a hand over his open mouth. He smirked, changing his tone to a teasing one. "Tired? Really, Yuanrang, how do you expect to protect me from the ever-present dangers outside the palace walls?"
One dark eye glared at him, its owner replying gruffly. "Well if only you weren't one to dismiss your own bodyguards and mine, this wouldn't be a problem."
Laughing, Cao Cao turned back to the heavy growth he had stopped in front of, eyeing it for wildlife, while asking, "Seriously, Yuanrang, why are you tired?"
"I don't know." Looking back at the one-eyed (in a sense) man, Cao Cao tilted his head in curiosity. "Oh?"
"I just.feel a little worn out, though I cannot explain why..." Cao Cao dismounted his steed and moved towards his brother, concerned for the man now rubbing the back of his hand against his visible eye in hopes of rubbing away all his . his .
"Perhaps we should-" He did not expect the man to suddenly pitch forward and off his horse. Was it fate that had Mengde abandon his own mount, thereby allowing him to dart forward immediately and catch the man before he hit the ground? "Yuanrang?"
He received no answer. The man was asleep, deeply it seemed. Unfortunately, Cao Cao was unable to worry any longer, as he himself was snatched from the realm of reality and drawn into the world of dreams.
Their horses too, were forgotten, but simply stood where they stopped and whinnied. Their eyes widened in fright and scampered off, as though seeing something terrible. The sound of them hurtling through the trees permeated the air. One of their hooves stepped on a twig with an audible-
SNAP!
**
Lu Boyan jolted awake.
He sat up, trying to clear the sleep from his vision with his fingers as he surveyed his surroundings. Around him were Sun Quan, Zhou Yu and Sun Ce, all sleeping. He heard a groan emanate from his left and when he turned his head, he glimpsed its source. It was a man clad in brown armor with a wickedly large sword strapped to his side that greeted his eyes. The man was face down, beginning to wake or so it seemed.
Smothering a wail of terror, he began to try, and wake up his companions, Zhou Yu first and then Sun Ce. The two men would know what to do.
Xiahou Dun, on the other hand, woke up slowly. Sleep still ruled his body as he tried to force it out by attempting to get up. He heard voices - low unfamiliar ones, but he knew from their depth that they were those of men - somewhere off to his side and he turned to their point of origination. His eyes narrowed when he saw two men also armed, rise from where they lay.
As he immediately reached for his Kirin Fang, he let his body fall naturally into a fighting stance
A hand stopped him. He turned his gaze from the potential threats to look at his brother, who gave him a look to be patient and to allow him the control of a situation.
Sun Ce, now roused from his slumber, saw the one-eyed man in an aggressive posture, did not merely reach for his own weapon. He quickly drew the Ancestral blade from its sheath and Zhou Yu rested his hand upon his own sword.
Then Cao Mengde began to speak. All pairs of eyes focused on him, his authority clear and regal. ""Ah, Sun Ce. You are able-bodied and quick to the draw, I see."
Sensing nothing but placating calm radiating from the man, Sun Ce relaxed his stance, lowering his sword.
"And you would be the Imperial Guardian, Lord Cao Cao. This is an unexpected pleasure," Zhou Yu said, his voice aloof yet respectful at the same time. He set a pacifying hand on Sun Ce's tense arm and the other pushing the cowering boys - still terrified at the sight of the one-eyed Xiahou Dun - behind him.
Cao Cao smiled politely, pleased to see he would be dealing with a more eloquent speaker. "Zhou Yu, the warlord who is also an excellent advisor." He shifted his gaze to the two children, meekly peeking around Zhou Yu's back. "And they would be.?"
The two squeaked at the attention and succeeded in defusing the rather tense situation, albeit by the chuckles aimed at their reaction.
Zhou Yu recovered first, and to cover for this, he moved aside to reveal the two boys, who tried to match his movements to stay behind him. "Allow me to present Sun Quan, brother to my lord Sun Ce, and his friend, Lu Xun, whose parents were lost to the fighting in his home village, therefore we have taken him in as one of us."
Just then, as Zhou Yu spoke with all the eloquence he could muster, he saw - by squinting, another man behind Cao Cao and his man - the two aforementioned must have noticed, for they too turned, and Sun Ce reacted in kind. "Halt, man!"
He turned abruptly - adorned in purple, skin-tight cloth, embroidered pants with white boots, and golden gauntlets with long claws upon his hands. A double-phoenix headdress cinched the hair he wore in a double-ponytail (though only Zhou Yu noticed the bowties on their ends) and an identical pattern was imprinted upon his back, a vest and jacket of nearly identical shades of purple. He radiated both perfection in posture and bearing, yet also surprise - and perhaps worry?
"I-I ." the man stuttered, before answering, "I am Zhang He, of , under the service of Yuan Shao, a-and I ."
"Enough, then!" Cao Cao interrupted with a wave of the hand, "I am Cao Cao, the Prime Minister, then, and my comrade-in-arms is Xiahou Dun of Qiao."
Zhou Yu then spoke, stepping forward as he did, "Likewise, my lord here is Sun Ce of Jiangdong, and I am Zhou Yu of Shucheng. Pray tell, since you are simply passing through, perhaps you know of this place? Could you tell us where we are-"
"And I was about to ask that very question!"
The group tensed at the disruption and Xiahou Dun's growl of intense shock broke the silence that followed. "YOU!" They all turned to the direction Xiahou Dun was glaring. It was .
**
1 It's kinda hard to explain, but Cao Cao's father, Cao Song, was actually adopted from the Xiahou family by one of the Ten Attendants, Cao Jie, while Xiahou Dun kept his surname. Otherwise, Cao Cao would've been Xiahou Cao.
2 I use stepbrother and sworn brother both, because stepbrother is the closest, modern equivalent (except that their parents aren't married) ^_^
Please R/R? E-mail: edwardyu81@hotmail.com or lu_baihu@yahoo.com if the Hotmail one is full.
Chapter 2 will be up before too long, don't worry!
The night was serene and calm, its gentle silence coaxing all but the most stubborn to sleep. The lights that broke the darkness were few, one of which belonged to the current home of remaining heirs of the Sun family. It was a pity that such a peaceful night - for that residence, at least - was about to end.
"Iiiiie!"
The relatives, guests and servants that currently slept in the premises found themselves rudely awakened, by the unmistakable sounds of two young, high-pitched boys scrambling and stumbling in the dark, fumbling about in vain as they hurriedly made their way to the rooms of their older guardians.
"Elder brother!" one of them squealed as he rushed into the currently occupied area. He was aware he might be scolded for this rudeness, since his older brother was tired from the recent battling he had been conducting and was probably asleep. "Elder bro-"
"-told you thousands of times before! I refuse to be the b-" the deep voice was interrupted by the sight of two wide-eyed young boys bursting into the room, as were his efforts to reverse his current situation. His companion, however, was oblivious to the intrusion and seized the initiative, pinning him down harder on their rumpled bed and proceeding to tie one of his arms to the post.
"Now, Zhou Yu, behave. You should know better than-" Irritated at his paramour's downright idiocy and his smug attitude, he hissed, "Sun Ce! Behind us!"
Sun Ce turned his head to the direction indicated and was severely surprised at what he saw. A pair of boys, one younger than the other, staring at them with extreme discomfort and surprise.
"Zhongmou!" he exclaimed when he saw his younger brother's presence, then cried out once again when he saw his brother was not alone; his equally young friend accompanied him. "Boyan! What are you doing here?"
The two boys, still wide-eyed at the display before them, found themselves stammering answers, talking over each other in confusion.
"W-we were just-"
"I was sc-"
"There were these-"
"-so dark!"
"What happened? Why do you have Zhou Yu-"
The aforementioned younger brother - Sun Quan - said the last, unable to continue his attempt in answering his elder brother's question or in finishing the question because of his bewilderment and impending tactlessness.
"What are you talking about, Zhongmou?" Sun Ce asked, his voice sharp as surprise gave way to irritation, staring at his little brother with more intensity in his eyes than he intended.
A slight cough from the man he had pinned underneath him told him all he needed to know. With a flushing face, a mortified "Oh" and a muttered apology to no one in particular, he, with some embarrassment, dismounted Zhou Yu, whose own sleeping robes were in severe disarray.
Sun Ce turned his attention back to the other occupants of the room, knowing he had yet to answer Sun Quan's inquiry.
"Well, Zhongmou, Boyan." he began hesitantly, glancing at Zhou Yu out of the corner of his eye in a plea for help. Zhou Yu, who was doing his best to hide his blushing cheeks and busy trying to untie the knotted rope that still bound one of his arms to the bed, paid him no heed. He continued his explanation, running a hand through his short, disheveled hair, ".I was only trying to show Zhou Yu how to properly restrain an enemy."
Zhou Yu, having finished releasing himself fully from the rope - and having stopped the reddening of his cheeks - did not disagree with the statement, but settled himself in an upright, sitting position. There was an uncomfortable silence as the pair of children digested this information.
"Oh." Lu Xun murmured, breaking the stillness, doubt still in his mind. He shook it off as Zhou Yu asked, "What brought you two here? Is something the matter?" The man's gentle, soothing tone calmed his doubts but brought his previous fears to the fore of his mind. Wailing in terror, he threw himself at the lightly-clad, long-haired man.
Astonishment registered itself on Zhou Gongjin's lovely face, but he quickly shot his sworn brother a glance and hinted, with a small movement of his head and a message in his amber eyes, that Sun Ce should go and comfort the now sniffling Sun Quan. As Bofu moved towards his own charge, Zhou Yu tenderly embraced Lu Boyan, murmuring reassuring - but incomprehensible - things.
When the young boy had calmed enough, he glanced at his sworn brother to check on his situation before asking again for the source of the boys' panic.
Sun Ce tentatively kneeled down next to his crying brother and began to pat him gently at his back. One could see that Sun Zhongmou wanted to throw his arms around his older brother's neck, but was afraid to do so lest his brother recoil away, taking it as an offense to his manliness and as proof that Sun Quan lacked masculinity. He forced himself to calm down, the sobs turning into little choking noises, then to soft sniffles, until finally they were gone.
It shocked Sun Quan to feel his brother's muscled arms around him. Suddenly, it felt as if all his problems were nothing. He felt safe.
"In any case, what brought you both here?" Zhou Yu's voice easily broke through the relaxed atmosphere of the room. With both boys no longer panicked, he had deemed it safe to ask again.
"Well." Sun Quan began, worried at the subject of their terror. It wasn't the subject itself that worried him, but rather the type of subject it was. His brother simply wouldn't approve, and he'd pushed down his pride if only to make his little brother feel better.
"We had a premonition," Lu Xun piped up from the circle of Zhou Yu's arms.
"Really?" Zhou Yu, though he did his best to cover his interest, was paying very close attention. Sun Ce, however, was not so pleased with this particular theme.
"Now now, Boyan, Zhongmou, you both know what I think of these things." Zhou Yu, for a second time that night, found himself irritated at Sun Ce - only this time it was at his tactless behavior.
"Bofu! For once, can't you put your biases aside and listen to the boys?" Lu Xun and Sun Quan were both surprised at Gongjin's sudden temper surge - though they knew it existed, - and even more so at the fact that it was aimed at his sworn brother. Sun Ce opened his mouth to retort, but decided it was best to keep silent, glaring at his secret lover instead. Zhou Yu shifted his attention from the silently fuming man to the child in his arms, coaxing him to go on with his explanation.
"We saw-" Sun Quan began, pausing in thought and allowing Lu Xun to add in, "It was really dark.but there were some stars in the sky" before he continued. "Yes, but suddenly these lights appeared all around us and it was really noisy."
"I was so scared." Lu Xun murmured, feeling better as he cuddled further in Zhou Gongjin's warm hold. "We saw these dragons with glowing eyes! Only they were moving really fast on the ground and roaring really loudly."
"There was one that stopped for a while before this glowing red light, and behind it were a bunch of other dragons," Sun Quan added, wrinkling his nose as he tried to remember more of their shared dream. "They weren't roaring, but there were these loud squealing noises coming from them, and angry shouts like people trying to get out of their belly or something."
"And then the light turned green, and the dragons started roaring again. I think the color green makes them mad, and the red one happy. Maybe that's why red is a lucky color, because the dragons favor it." Lu Xun added in, allowing his musing to drift him off into contemplation. Zhou Yu caught his 'brother' rolling his eyes and shot him a look of irritation. Sun Quan, however, continued, though he saw his brother's look of derision.
"And then we saw people on the other side of the dragons and we tried to get across but when we started walking one of the dragons changed its direction, an arm stuck itself out at us. I think it was asking for help. Finally the dragons stopped again and we managed to get to the part with people, but when we got closer this big monster was sitting in front of us." Shuddering at the memory, Zhongmou stopped his tale and Boyan took over for a while.
"The monster had a lot of eyes that glowed like the dragons' did. He would close them every now and then, but most of them stayed open. And he had these claws too! When the monster opened its mouth and light was coming from it. Then people started coming out too. They were hurrying, trying to get away from them and they kept looking at their wrists and mumbling something. I think they had magic-" Zhou Yu noted Sun Ce's cringe at the word, but said nothing, nor did he give any sign of having noticed the reaction, "and were saying some spells that made the monster open its mouth so they could get away."
"We tried to go to one of the people, to ask them for help, but this man we went to pushed just looked at us funny. When we tried to tell him who we were, he just pushed us away and hurried off. Lu Xun fell because the man pushed him harder."
"He was mean!" the younger boy's lower lip began to tremble in his recollection and Zhou Gongjin immediately stroked hair to calm him down. Sun Quan nodded in affirmation of Lu Boyan's comment. "I couldn't get up because there was this strange creature coming towards us. It looked like a dog, but I don't think that's what it was because it had all these fluffy balls on it."
"It was being led by this other being with a pointy head and was covered in fur!" Sun Quan exclaimed.
"Then it started attacking us!"
"That's when we woke up."
"And after you took the time to wake up the rest of the household, you came here." Sun Ce finished for them. "Little brother, Boyan, those were only bad dreams.
".I'm not certain this should be so easily dismissed, Bofu," Zhou Yu said, his tawny eyes looked thoughtful. "This sounds almost prophetic."
"Surely you must be joking, Gongjin. If my brother can see the future, then surely I possess some mystical powers too!" Sun Ce smirked, his disbelief and distaste of the subject very evident in his tone. He added, with a smirk, " In fact, I prophesize that Lord Cao Cao - at this very moment and in a garden - is discussing the lack of ability of various famous leaders with Xiahou Dun while playing weiqi!"
Zhou Yu sighed. There was simply no way of convincing his sworn brother that some things in this world were inexplicable.
**
Little do either of them know, however, that the same Lord Cao Cao the ever- skeptical Sun Ce spoke of in his 'prophecy' was indeed sitting in his garden surrounded by sturdy trees and burning torches, playing that very same game, weiqi, with his brother Xiahou Dun.1
They had been playing for a considerable amount of time, with no audience but themselves, their guards dismissed, allowing them privacy that was hard to find for men of their rank and reputation. Of course, with a man like Xiahou Dun guarding his person - should the occasion rise that he needed, Xiahou Yuanrang would provide the necessary protection - Lord Cao Cao had no cause to worry.
Of course, Cao Mengde wanted this opportunity to allow his companion and brother to exercise his mind, and though Xiahou Dun had agreed, this long hesitation on Cao Cao's part was sorely trying his patience.
This game of theirs would end, if only Cao Cao would make the decisive maneuver to close it. It was his turn, yet he simply sat there. Several times, he moved as though preparing to put down the piece, but drew back, shaking his head in doubt and dissatisfaction.
Two choices were open to him and he was torn with severe indecision, fingering the piece in his hand while he contemplated various things - most of which was vastly irrelevant to the game.
Finally, having had enough of the silence and his lord's uncertainty, Xiahou Dun looked up, his one visible eye blinking - the other hidden by the purple cloth he had taken to wearing (inquiries met with attempts on the inquirer's life) - and said one word. "Sire."
"I know. I have not moved." Cao Cao muttered, still holding the piece in his now-clenched fist. He brought his other hand to rub his eyes, which were dry from having stayed open for so long.
"Then why not strike the fatal blow?" Xiahou Dun inquired, a touch of knowing smugness playing on his lips, as much as he tried to hide it. He knew what kept his brother from putting the piece down in either choice.
"For the reason you would not say - how can I know I will not simply choose wrongly and provide you the opportunity of victory?" Cao Cao smiled grimly, his hand no longer gripping the piece as tightly, as he decided in his mind what he would do next.
At that statement, Xiahou Dun sat back, his curiosity satisfied, no longer trying to hide his knowing grin. "Because your mind is not on this little garden in Xuchang ."
Cao Cao smirked in return, impulsively tossing the piece up into the air, then catching it as it fell. "Indeed. Enough of this plaything, you would say?" Xiahou Dun nodded in agreement, and Cao Cao reached for a cup of wine, signaling to both the game's end, in a draw.
As Xiahou Dun sipped from his own, he mused, "I do wonder."
"Ah?" The sudden words he heard faintly from his brother caught his ear and he was immediately interested.
"What is a cup of wine, a mere distraction, to the field of bloodless war?" The poetic question arrested Cao Cao, as did its many possible meanings.
Cao Mengde sent his brother an irritated look, answering, "A bitter wine in bloodless war, a venomous poison in the chaos of bloody war." Having admonished Yuanrang, who only met his look, the elder went on, allowing himself to make a small concession. "Nonetheless, you have insight, you saw through to my intentions, or at the least the most innocuous of my thoughts."
Inquisitiveness was an addiction, it seemed - more so than wine or swordplay. Xiahou Dun found himself moving one arm up, resting his elbow upon the table, head in hand before expressing his interest. "And may I know more?"
His liege before him, Imperial Guardian to the Emperor, sighed once and nodded. For now and to alleviate what could result in confusion, he worded his next statement simply. He would be open. "You may. I was thinking of the various 'heroes' of the land and if they truly deserved the title." On a whim, he hid his smile behind the cup as he brought the wine to his lips. "Who do you think was at the fore of my mind?"
"Yuan Shao. He is not a considerably tough opponent in himself, but has an abundance of armies under keen-minded counsels and true leaders. Even with Yang Yi at my side, I would not face Yan Liang or Wen Chou with dashing." Xiahou Dun lifted his head from his hand, using it to massage his dry eye. He had been focusing on his lord and had not taken the time to re-wet his eyes by blinking, so he took the time to do just that.
"A weakling in truth, for all his vaunted numbers. Now if only his 'vaunted numbers' would actually hurt anyone." Cao Cao laughed sarcastically, aware of Yuanrang's scrutiny, adding when he recovered his composure, "but Yuan Shao's nothing but a name, no man behind it. There is only his cadre of advisors, Tian Feng, Ju Shou and the like, warriors like Zhang He, Yan Liang . names, again, no more. They shall be gone in mere years."
Xiahou Dun ceased to ignore his cup of wine, picking it up and sipping from it thoughtfully. "And others?"
"Yuan Shu, filth of the River Huai, and Lu Bu, but the dirty dog of Xiapi." Cao Cao made a disdainful noise after his statement, expressing his distaste and displeasure at those two characters. Mengde continued his tirade, stopping only to drink some wine and to catch his breath, the passion and intensity of his speech steadily increasing.
"And as for Liu Zhang-"
Annoyed by the disruption, Cao Cao took a moment to glare at his one-eyed brother before answering with his rhetorical question, "Who knew a watchdog could be a family's scion?"
Staring at his cup - though he was not truly looking at it - Xiahou Yuanrang pressed his lips in reflection, contemplating this response, as Cao Cao continued.
"Like Zhang Xiu, my vassal of a mere week, and Zhang Lu, of his so-called Five Pecks of Rice, they are-"
"You realize that if you keep calling heroes of the land mere skeletons or worthless things, we will be left with none but crickets and a corpse in the ground named Dong Zhuo."
Sighing in resignation, Cao Cao paused his rant, allowing himself to calm down. Still, after a brief pause, he added with sarcasm, "And is the pretender to the imperial line, Liu Xuande of Xiaopei, driven out of Xuzhou for the drunkenness of his Third Brother, a hero?" Unable to help himself, Cao Cao waved his hand dismissively, as though rejecting some worthless piece of work.
Xiahou Dun rolled his eyes and snapped, "And as for that new hero of the Southland, the Little Prince Sun Ce?"
"Sun Ce ." Cao Cao inhaled, pausing to gather his thoughts a bit more. Xiahou Dun considered saying something to his brother, but fought the urge down in favor of listening to the rest of Cao Cao's words.
"Son of Sun Jian of Changsha, vassal to Yuan Shu of Shouchun . then he found his calling, gave up the Seal his father found but would not admit to . and with three thousand and five hundred horse, has come to wreck havoc around the Southland ." After a pause, he stated simply, "He is an interesting sort of fellow and will merit further study."
"Now that's a change," Xiahou Dun chuckled, taking a sip of his wine again. Cao Cao considered Xiahou Dun's response. So hard did he reflect on the reply that he became lost in his thoughts, now pondering the mysterious workings of life and its various-
"Though it seems otherwise, the land is really in turmoil." Mengde's mind refocused on Yuanrang, this sentiment penetrating his wandering feelings.
"True. This land is really quite unpleasant. Disharmony exists, and so do dozens of other worldly tragedies. How can one truly call it beautiful, the ever-changing, the unending, the chaotic world?" Cao Mengde's sculpted chest heaved a weighty sigh as he considered his words, the torchlights dancing along his features.
"One only needs to look at the fields of jade-green grass and at the colorful array of flowers adorning the vast expanse of the meadows ."
"That is not to which I was referring." Cao Cao sent his brother a scolding look, to which Xiahou Dun found himself replying to with a viciously smug twist of his lips. "In any case, nature may be beautiful, but you will never find that exquisite quality in a man."
Yuanrang raised an eyebrow and smirked. "I wouldn't say that ."
Cao Cao snorted in disbelief. "I am not-"
"I wasn't referring to you."
Little did either of them know that lying among the ocean of vibrant green grass and beautiful flowers was a man whose entire appearance rivaled the magnificence of nature .
**
The mane of waist-long, sleek, unbound hair framed the uncovered, lean torso of this man in a sea, an aura, of benign darkness. His angular face possessed deep brown eyes currently half-opened, edged by a dark eyelashes, a slender, petite nose, delicately high cheekbones and full, luscious lips.
A single, sectioned plate of armor flared out along his shoulder and tapered off at his neck, while a tattoo of sorts adorned the opposite shoulder. Slim, long arms supported his head. Lavish purple pants embroidered in gold fitted his conditioned legs closely, and a cloth of azure silk was tied around his waist, the end fluttering with every movement of the wind.
One of such elegance, and obvious grace, should have been perfectly content with his lot in life, yet Zhang He knew he was far from satisfied. Beauty only got one so far in this world, and usually such a trait elicited more admiration when exuded by a woman, not a man, as how the legendary Diao Chan had entrapped by plot both the Northern Wolf, Dong Zhuo, and Lu Bu, the rogue tiger . Zhang He sighed softly, closing his eyes and putting himself in a state of deep thought.
The soldiers refuse to listen to my orders most of the time, and the few times they do the results are far from what could possibly be the best. I suppose I cannot blame them for their lack of enthusiasm, or rather their great dislike of me. The fault is mostly mine, I suppose, although what I have done to deserve such treatment - aside from being myself - simply escapes me. He sighed softly, moving one arm from under his head and setting it across his face.
But he knew it wasn't just the troops. He received, if not the same treatment, then the similar cold, silent hostility from his Lord Yuan Shao and his advisors. Why do they treat me this way? Just because I do not act the way they do. Just because I do not share their uncouth, disgusting manners. Just because I do not see the point in fighting whenever one gets the chance to do so, to join in such uncivilized, barbaric brawls I am alienated from the rest of them, dismissed as a womanish pansy!
Yet I know that some part of me wishes to be accepted. How do I know this? On occasion, I find myself toying with thoughts of acting like them, pretending to be one of them. Such a charade, however, is something I cannot stomach. The thoughts of doing such beastly things like the rest of them make me sick.
And those advisors of his! They dare to criticize me when they think I am not nearby, as though I would never hear of their cruel words, as court life is hardly a private one. Even in my presence, they hurl multitudes of well-hidden barbs in their words, wounding me as much as I try to shield myself from them. They are wolves in sheep's clothing, some more blatant about their deceit than others are. Sycophants down to the very core of their being! They are worse than all the rest because of the power they possess, their ambitions and their practicality.
Unable to continue, Zhang He pushed himself upright to sit, leaning back by the support of his arms. Moving his eyes towards the serene blue of the cloudless sky, he found himself wishing, If only there was someone who understood me. I am somewhat certain there must be a soul out there who empathizes with my beautiful qualities. If I could only find . Zhang Junyi straightened suddenly, shocked by his own thoughts. Still, on some level of his mind, it failed to surprise him.
"Zhang He! Zhang He!" A voice called to him, breaking him out of his angst as he turned to see who called. The speaker was Gao Lan, the only one whom he could truly call a friend, out of breath and panting out his message with surprising fluidity. "We are being assigned orders, Junyi."
"Oh? Then we'd best head back." With that, Zhang He stood from his throne of crushed flowers and grass, brushing away the pieces that kept on clinging to his clothes and hair, and followed his comrade out of this corner of beautiful bliss and back to his world of ugly misery .
**
The next night, those of the Sun household found themselves disturbed once again. This time, however, as the call of "Eldest Brother! Look what we found!" rang out, the targets were not tired from the actions of the day before, having been able for once to settle down.
A very excited Sun Quan hurtled through the halls, with an equally fast Lu Xun following. They ran into Sun Ce's room, not surprised to find his brother's sworn sibling sitting at the edge of the bed. The two men had retreated to Sun Ce's sleeping area to discuss personal matters.
"Really Sun Ce, if we a-" Zhou Yu stopped as the two boys took the time to knock at the door, waiting for permission to come in.
Sun Bofu moved his eyes away from Zhou Gongjin, resting them on the door, glaring at it. After a while, the two boys knocked again and he was compelled to answer. "Come in."
Lu Boyan and Sun Zhongmou opened the door quietly, sliding up onto the cushioned mattress and holding out a scroll. "Zhou Yu, could you read this to us?" Boyan asked.
"Well." Zhou Yu led them on, feigning indifference or impending refusal.
"Please? You have such a nice voice!" The two boys stared at him, their eyes pleading intently and he found himself obligated to give in.
"Very well." Zhou Gongjin took the proffered scroll and unrolled it in an almost reverent manner.
Sun Ce, however, was rather unhappy about this turn of events. He had been ignored in favor of his sworn brother. Still, he could not deny that Gongjin did indeed have a pleasant voice. Especially when he's screaming . He smirked, with a hint of playful malice, at that thought.
"O so vast, O-"
"Perhaps you should sing it instead .?" Zhou Yu turned to his leader, stepbrother and sometimes-lover, as he considered this suggestion.
"Oh yes! I would love to hear it so, please?" Sun Quan beseech, his eyes staring at Zhou Yu's imploringly. He sighed, then with a soft smile, nodded his assent. And he began to sing.
"O so vast, O so mighty, / The Great River rolls to sea, / Flowers do waves thrash."
How could he know that elsewhere, the same poem had been noticed and was being read by a voice coarser than his own .
**
".Heroes do sands smash, / When all the dreams drain, / Same are lose and gain. Gre-"
"Yuanrang, can you not read it with more ceremony?" Cao Cao murmured, his voice holding the tones of irritation and exasperation. Xiahou Dun scowled blackly at the complaint.
"You are lucky that I agreed to read this at all! You called me out of my sleep to read this to you. Why must you criticize my delivery?" he asked, his voice more vehement than he intended.
"How can you not expect my criticism? The poem, is a well-written work of my son, Zhi, and shall win the admiration of future generations," Cao Cao replied, reining his annoyance and settling his mind into a calmer state. Xiahou Dun sighed in defeat. He recognized Cao Cao's sudden change in demeanor and knew that nothing he could do or say would stand against it.
"Fine. I'll read it with more respect," he muttered, before gathering himself and continuing where he had been disrupted.
"Green mountains remain, / As sunsets ingrain."
**
".Hoary fishers and woodcutters-" Zhang He wrinkled his slim nose at the mental image of fishermen and woodcutters. The picture of their meaty bodies covered by little cloth and filmy sweat, skin browned like the earth, burned by the sun and their hands and feet coarse and calloused formed itself in his mind and he found himself pondering possibilities - however unpleasant they were.
Junyi pictured himself amongst the sweating, grunting throng of fishers, casting his own net and grimaced. It was not something he could ever live with. Though the thought of sweating wasn't what he found so revolting. It was the idea of spending one's life doing nothing but menial tasks, spending everyday acting so boorish. That life had no elegance, no beauty, to be lived in mere obscurity, then forgotten. It was not for him.
Junyi shook his head, clearing it of his thoughts. And continued his reading.
"And some small rafts and calm waters, / In autumn moon, in spring winds."
His sweet voice recited the poem clearly, almost musically. Strangely though, while he merely recited the words, it was as if a voice in his mind sang it back to him.
**
".By the wine jars, by porcelains, / Discuss talk and tale, / Only laugh and gale."
When Zhou Yu finished, he found the two boys to be asleep, their eyes closed. Smiling affectionately, he pulled a blanket over their side, remembering how they had looked on, with fascination and awe. While Zhou Yu preened under that fact, Sun Ce stayed silent, saying nothing to disturb the beautiful picture his lover made.
Zhou Yu's long hair rested softly along his shoulders, slender for a man, with amber-golden eyes that could express everything yet reveal nothing, the straight nose, the full, dramatic lips, his high cheekbones and strong chin - but his loveliness didn't end there. Though one could not see it from the loose modesty of his sleeping robes, Sun Ce knew Zhou Yu's body was slender and muscled, young, agile and smooth. He also knew the skin of the man next to him, a delicately light peach, supple and evenly toned. To him, Zhou Yu was an epitome of male beauty, rivaling the splendor of both their wives.
"You aren't listening, Bofu!" Sun Ce's attention snapped back to the present. Zhou Yu sat alongside him, asking something quietly in his pleasant voice though his lips formed into a rather cute pout.
"What?" Zhou Gongjin scowled at his reply, proof of his distraction. But he was secretly smirking at the idea that he, Zhou Yu, was able to focus Sun Ce's attention to himself. He stored away that bit of knowledge in his mind. That scrap of information, he knew, would be as a sword with two edges. It would prove either quite useful - or quite dangerous - in the future.
"I was saying it would be pointless to move the two children now. They may as well sleep here, with us, you may inform the guards so." Zhou Yu said again, his eyes losing some of their previous intensity as he looked at his sworn brother with a careful eye.
His face, though not has beautiful as his own, had its own masculine charm. A heavy pair of brows topped Sun Bofu's dark eyes, while his nose was as slim and slender as Zhou Yu's own. A squarer jaw than his own, with the average cheekbones - one could almost say that Sun Ce had a peasant's appearance. There was nothing incredibly spectacular about his facial structure. However, he had an abundance of hair at the sides of his face that failed to connect to the strange growth on the man's strong chin. Still, in one of his better moods, Zhou Yu could even admit that Sun Bofu's entire demeanor was manly to the point of being intimidating.
"Zhou Yu, why are you staring at me?" Zhou Gongjin, startled out of his thoughts, found himself blushing - a sure indicator of what his mind had been on. Likewise, Sun Ce was not ignorant enough to miss the reaction.
Stifling a smirk, he said, "Let's get some sleep." Sun Ce reached over and pulled the still flushed Zhou Yu into a swift kiss before moving to arrange the two boys so they could be more comfortable.
With that done, Bofu settled himself in the mattress on one side of the sleeping pair and Gongjin lay down on the other. Hugging his sleeping younger stepbrother2 to his muscular form, Bofu let himself drift off into the arms of comforting sleep.
**
Whoosh!
The sound of an arrow's flight was drowned out by the sound of hooved feet fleeing at the sound, then rustling noises of a deer falling on the vegetation that ended with a dead thump, its antlers entangling themselves in the brush.
Sun Ce lowered his bow, smiling at his success amid the somewhat horrified gasps of his younger brother and his friend. Zhou Yu rode up beside him in a beautiful white steed, a slight frown on his beautiful face.
Turning to his lover, Sun Bofu was silent a moment, running his eyes up and down Zhou Yu's heat-clad form, discreetly disguising the look as one of concerned observation. Zhou Gongjin was wearing his standard costume, an intricate breastplate upon a refined silk jacket, and similarly woven pants with brown boots..
"It seems cruel, really, to deprive the fawn of its father ." Zhou Yu's disapproving tone was not lost to Sun Ce, neither was the other meaning to the words - his own father, Sun Jian (Wentai), had fallen in his own ambitious war but five years before. Sun Ce feigned ignorance, hiding away the slight twinge of pain at the implications, although he somehow knew that Zhou Yu could detect his sudden misery.
"Such a fine day for hunting, is it not? It would be a crime to waste it." Bofu said, avoiding Zhou Yu's eyes for an instance by averting his own. Zhou Yu pressed his lips together in a tight line and bowed his head, regret at his barbed words filling his mind completely, unable to say anything to rectify his statement.
Oblivious to this, Sun Quan murmured, "Elder Brother, I'm tired," one hand going up to rub his eye.
"Me too ." This little whine came from Lu Xun, also massaging his eyes. Zhou Yu turned in his seat to look at the two boys trailing behind their elders, wearing red shirts with simple stitching at the neck and sleeves. As they got off their ponies, their pants hung down to their ankles, the strip of yellow-gold at the bottom brushing against their slippered feet with every breeze.
Zhou Yu found himself growing strangely sleepy as well, as though the morning of hunting, despite he having not fired once, had been an exhausting exercise. He turned to look at his sworn brother, noticing that Bofu was desperately stifling a yawn and failing miserably.
"Perhaps we should rest then." Zhou Yu decided, dismounting as well. Sun Ce followed his example. Boyan and Zhongmou went after Gongjin as he took the horses by their reins, then after securing them to a nearby, sturdy branch, settled under the shade of a tree, leaning his seemingly weary form against its trunk.
They sat down next to him, resting their heads on his lap and instantly fell asleep. Sun Ce, on the other hand, did not join the trio. Rather, he stayed only an arm's length away from Zhou Yu's position and lay down on the grass, folding his arms underneath his head before he dozed off.
Zhou Yu was the last to give in. Before he allowed the darkness to take him, however, his mind wandered back to the lovely poem he had read the previous night. Finally, his eyes were too heavy and he too, went willingly into sleep.
**
The deer lay where it fell, its glassy eyes accusing .
'.almost alive' were two words in Zhang He's mind as he looked at the dead fawn lying in the green grass. His comrade, Gao Lan, was surrounded by cheering nobles, all praising him for his marksmanship, all except Junyi.
He did not want to be here, among this circle that celebrated the death of a beautiful creature. Knowing he would not be missed - since he refused to participate in the killing - he turned his steed away and rode silently to a place where he could rest. His departure went unnoticed.
'Why am I suddenly so weary?' he thought to himself, getting off his brown horse almost clumsily. Sagging against a large boulder, he rested his form against it and found blackness filling his vision as his conscious mind slipped away.
The horse, not tied but freed, took this chance to wander away from its slumbering rider. Its hoof beats pounded mercilessly against the ground, the rhythm almost relaxing in their pattern.
**
CLIP CLOP CLIP CLOP!
Then silence as the horse's owner, Cao Cao, pulled sharply on the reins, halting its progress. Xiahou Dun came up shortly behind him, dressed in his full battle garb with his Kirin Fang strapped securely in its normal place.
"This should be a-" Mengde began, turning his head to look at Yuanrang, only to find him yawning, a hand over his open mouth. He smirked, changing his tone to a teasing one. "Tired? Really, Yuanrang, how do you expect to protect me from the ever-present dangers outside the palace walls?"
One dark eye glared at him, its owner replying gruffly. "Well if only you weren't one to dismiss your own bodyguards and mine, this wouldn't be a problem."
Laughing, Cao Cao turned back to the heavy growth he had stopped in front of, eyeing it for wildlife, while asking, "Seriously, Yuanrang, why are you tired?"
"I don't know." Looking back at the one-eyed (in a sense) man, Cao Cao tilted his head in curiosity. "Oh?"
"I just.feel a little worn out, though I cannot explain why..." Cao Cao dismounted his steed and moved towards his brother, concerned for the man now rubbing the back of his hand against his visible eye in hopes of rubbing away all his . his .
"Perhaps we should-" He did not expect the man to suddenly pitch forward and off his horse. Was it fate that had Mengde abandon his own mount, thereby allowing him to dart forward immediately and catch the man before he hit the ground? "Yuanrang?"
He received no answer. The man was asleep, deeply it seemed. Unfortunately, Cao Cao was unable to worry any longer, as he himself was snatched from the realm of reality and drawn into the world of dreams.
Their horses too, were forgotten, but simply stood where they stopped and whinnied. Their eyes widened in fright and scampered off, as though seeing something terrible. The sound of them hurtling through the trees permeated the air. One of their hooves stepped on a twig with an audible-
SNAP!
**
Lu Boyan jolted awake.
He sat up, trying to clear the sleep from his vision with his fingers as he surveyed his surroundings. Around him were Sun Quan, Zhou Yu and Sun Ce, all sleeping. He heard a groan emanate from his left and when he turned his head, he glimpsed its source. It was a man clad in brown armor with a wickedly large sword strapped to his side that greeted his eyes. The man was face down, beginning to wake or so it seemed.
Smothering a wail of terror, he began to try, and wake up his companions, Zhou Yu first and then Sun Ce. The two men would know what to do.
Xiahou Dun, on the other hand, woke up slowly. Sleep still ruled his body as he tried to force it out by attempting to get up. He heard voices - low unfamiliar ones, but he knew from their depth that they were those of men - somewhere off to his side and he turned to their point of origination. His eyes narrowed when he saw two men also armed, rise from where they lay.
As he immediately reached for his Kirin Fang, he let his body fall naturally into a fighting stance
A hand stopped him. He turned his gaze from the potential threats to look at his brother, who gave him a look to be patient and to allow him the control of a situation.
Sun Ce, now roused from his slumber, saw the one-eyed man in an aggressive posture, did not merely reach for his own weapon. He quickly drew the Ancestral blade from its sheath and Zhou Yu rested his hand upon his own sword.
Then Cao Mengde began to speak. All pairs of eyes focused on him, his authority clear and regal. ""Ah, Sun Ce. You are able-bodied and quick to the draw, I see."
Sensing nothing but placating calm radiating from the man, Sun Ce relaxed his stance, lowering his sword.
"And you would be the Imperial Guardian, Lord Cao Cao. This is an unexpected pleasure," Zhou Yu said, his voice aloof yet respectful at the same time. He set a pacifying hand on Sun Ce's tense arm and the other pushing the cowering boys - still terrified at the sight of the one-eyed Xiahou Dun - behind him.
Cao Cao smiled politely, pleased to see he would be dealing with a more eloquent speaker. "Zhou Yu, the warlord who is also an excellent advisor." He shifted his gaze to the two children, meekly peeking around Zhou Yu's back. "And they would be.?"
The two squeaked at the attention and succeeded in defusing the rather tense situation, albeit by the chuckles aimed at their reaction.
Zhou Yu recovered first, and to cover for this, he moved aside to reveal the two boys, who tried to match his movements to stay behind him. "Allow me to present Sun Quan, brother to my lord Sun Ce, and his friend, Lu Xun, whose parents were lost to the fighting in his home village, therefore we have taken him in as one of us."
Just then, as Zhou Yu spoke with all the eloquence he could muster, he saw - by squinting, another man behind Cao Cao and his man - the two aforementioned must have noticed, for they too turned, and Sun Ce reacted in kind. "Halt, man!"
He turned abruptly - adorned in purple, skin-tight cloth, embroidered pants with white boots, and golden gauntlets with long claws upon his hands. A double-phoenix headdress cinched the hair he wore in a double-ponytail (though only Zhou Yu noticed the bowties on their ends) and an identical pattern was imprinted upon his back, a vest and jacket of nearly identical shades of purple. He radiated both perfection in posture and bearing, yet also surprise - and perhaps worry?
"I-I ." the man stuttered, before answering, "I am Zhang He, of , under the service of Yuan Shao, a-and I ."
"Enough, then!" Cao Cao interrupted with a wave of the hand, "I am Cao Cao, the Prime Minister, then, and my comrade-in-arms is Xiahou Dun of Qiao."
Zhou Yu then spoke, stepping forward as he did, "Likewise, my lord here is Sun Ce of Jiangdong, and I am Zhou Yu of Shucheng. Pray tell, since you are simply passing through, perhaps you know of this place? Could you tell us where we are-"
"And I was about to ask that very question!"
The group tensed at the disruption and Xiahou Dun's growl of intense shock broke the silence that followed. "YOU!" They all turned to the direction Xiahou Dun was glaring. It was .
**
1 It's kinda hard to explain, but Cao Cao's father, Cao Song, was actually adopted from the Xiahou family by one of the Ten Attendants, Cao Jie, while Xiahou Dun kept his surname. Otherwise, Cao Cao would've been Xiahou Cao.
2 I use stepbrother and sworn brother both, because stepbrother is the closest, modern equivalent (except that their parents aren't married) ^_^
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Chapter 2 will be up before too long, don't worry!