This is a little side project I am going to be working on between Land of Might! It is set in the same universe as the main story! It will romantic with a little action, and will focus on two people struggling to find love in a land threatened by war! For now, it will be a oneshot! Please let me know if you enjoy it, because I would be very happy to keep writing it! Let us begin!

Diaochan's Melody

Men fell in battle as a testament to true beauty. In the dead of night swords clashed and warriors exchanged strikes of the blade. A surprise attack had taken the Wu forces by surprise for a second time. However, the person responsible for this deplorable act was not who the castle defenders expected it to be. The first time around the person responsible was none other than Lu Bu. Yet, this time it was somebody very different indeed.

A small scouting party from the nearby castle stood amongst the ruins of a burning village. They found troops in black armour picking amongst the spoils of war, "Is she their leader? A Wu soldier spoke cautiously as he pointed onward.

A beautiful songstress in the garments of a dancer pranced swiftly between the swinging of blade and spear. In simple and precise swings of a powerful whip, she struck her attackers to the ground. Her elegance in battle only matched by her heart melting womanly mystique.

She brought her eyes upward and gave a gentle smile…. "So, you're the foreign warrior in the ranks of Wu?" She began with a delicate and entirely unthreatening smile, "My name is Diaochan…."

Alas, the magnificently gorgeous young woman slapped another of her attackers away and took slow steps toward a man amongst the small band of soldiers. With her hand outstretched, she looked to him with a soft smile of honest intent, "My Lord Lu Bu has sent me to offer you a place amongst our ranks…. He was pleased by your efforts when you fought."

Yunqi cracked his knuckles and took a hesitant step backward. He held his fists up in a defensive stance and slowly gave an uncertain shake of his head, "….You don't understand the situation I find myself in. I am honor bound, and not just by duty, but by destiny as well."

Diaochan gave a kind nod of understanding and brought her whip to bear, "….If you come with me... I am sure you would find an answer to the destiny you seek," her words resonated as smoothly as honey, while an aura of womanly beauty radiated from her truly outstanding form.

She was so gorgeous that even Yunqi found his oath in question amidst the heat of the encounter. His mind remained on his true mission. It was his duty to stand beside the forces of Wu and destroy Lu Bu. If he went against that he would never regain his lost memories.

"I can't do that," he spoke abruptly in response to the wonderfully attractive dancer. He stood in a stance of combat and raised his fists to engage, "I'm not going anywhere with you. Not a chance!"

"Then sadly," Diaochan started as her delicate fingers flexed the whip within her hands, "You leave me with very little choice."

A glowing aura of power started to resonate from the body of the young lady. It swirled around her in the form of glowing flower petals and ensnared the eyes of each common soldier under Yunqi's command. The moon seemed to bask Diaochan in its light, and this only served to make her goddess-like beauty all the more extreme. The delicate songstress spun on her feet and an explosion of beautiful power erupted from her.

"Witness the secrets of my style, warriors of Wu," Diaochan whispered in a low voice before she started to move at a truly incredible speed.

The dancer collided with Yunqi's unit and danced around them with grace and elegance. Each step bore practiced movement of exquisite quality, and slowly but surely she struck all of the soldiers who protected Yunqi to the ground. There was nothing to stop her, and when the captivating light faded from Diaochan's body, every soldier was collapsed upon the ground except one.

"I-Impossible," Yunqi stammered in disbelief as he surveyed the sight around him. His troops all lay scattered and broken, "My men…. All of them…."

"….Please come quietly," the young lady urged the golden haired man with a soft and welcoming voice, "I do not wish to hurt you. It will be much simpler for us both if we go in peace."

"You don't understand," spoke Yunqi in a tone of fear and unease, "….Going with you will seal my fate. The mystic-"

An intense pain shot through Yunqi's body without any soft of warning. His body shuddered in pain as an agony most pure filled every fibre of his being. The magical glyph upon his chest burned with a fire so intense that it felt as though nerves were being torn clean. However, it suddenly stopped mere seconds before the excruciating feeling became too much to bare. Exhausted, the foreign warrior slumped forward in a heap and gasped desperately for air.

"You bastard," he wheezed bitterly in awareness of Zuo Ci's eternal presence, "Am I just some expendable pawn in your game?"

Diaochan rushed to Yunqi's side in alarm and kneeled beside him. She placed an arm softly around his waist and used her strength to pull the green-eyed man to his feet, "Are you alright? I saw the pained expression upon your face… Do you suffer with some kind of painful ailment?"

"You don't know the half of it," Yunqi admitted exhaustedly. He placed a hand upon his chest and traced a finger across the length of the scar-like glyph through the fabric of his chest. It still tingled and was extremely delicate to the touch.

"Come with me now," Diaochan implored the young warrior with a tone of caring to her already delicate voice, "You have clearly suffered enough on this night."

Alas, Yunqi looked back the faint shadow of Heifei castle in the distance. He let out a defeated sigh and nodded his head. He refused to be a pawn to the will of Zuo Ci and his trickery a moment longer.

"Alright, I'll come with you," spoke the foreign warrior with an exhausted sigh. He felt his heart flutter softly as his eyes gazed upon the beautiful woman. She was the very picture of perfection in female form, at least in his own eyes anyway.

"Then let us depart, before anyone arrives to take you back." Diaochan clasped her warm and dainty hands around one of Yunqi's and swiftly pulled him to his feet. "….You can barely walk," she uttered in a fearful voice, "….Don't let go of my hand, okay?"

"A-alright," Yunqi stammered a little nervously as a powerful red blush burned his cheeks, "…I just," the young man started nervously as he painfully walked with the help of Diaochan.

The songstress still kept her hand clasped around Yunqi's as they walked. His hesitant voice was enough to make her turn her head slightly, "What is it?" she inquired in concern, "I hope you are not in any further pain."

Fire burned as Yunqi's cheeks became redder and redder with every passing second. The way the moonlight shone down upon Diaochan and made her look so graceful made his heart race.

"It's not that," whispered Yunqi nervously as he stopped walking and brought a nervous gaze upon Diaochan's beautiful face, "….I suppose I'm just being foolish…. Do you believe that it's possible to fall in love with somebody at a glance?"

"I'm a songstress," the young woman said with a happy giggle as a smile graced her lips, "I believe that love can exist in many forms. Dance and art are forms of love, and…. I do believe you can love somebody from the first moment you see them."

"Then I'm not insane," chuckled Yunqi nervously as he averted his gaze and looked to the ground, "….You're beautiful," the emerald-eyed warrior whispered.

Diaochan felt a slight pink flush overtake her cheeks, "I seldom hear those words from a man with honesty in his heart," she admitted both truthfully and a little sadly, "Usually I am but a tool to entertain, or to be paraded around a court…."

"Don't say that," Yunqi was quick to speak up in his dislike of such words being used. He brought his powerful green eyes upward again and matched his green orbs with the beautiful brown ones of the radiant young woman, "In the land I come from men would worship a woman of such gentle beauty like a goddess."

There was a pause of speechlessness for the longest time. Diaochan simply walked closer to Yunqi and placed a hand upon his cheek. Her lips curved into a smile as she marvelled at the wonderful sight of his bright and radiant green eyes, "You must come from a wonderful place, foreign warrior," she spoke with a gentle laugh.

"My name is Yunqi," the pale young man started before his expression darkened; "…..The place I come from is very far away from here. I doubt I'll ever go home."

"Yunqi," the lady dancer whispered his name softly in response, "Do not despair…. I used to be a lost wanderer just like you, but I found my way in the end…."

Diaochan placed both of her hands upon Yunqi's cheeks and leaned in closely, "Your eyes are a color I have never seen before. They sparkle green…." In truth, this sight of rare beauty was proving enough to make Diao Chan's usually clouded and uncertain heart race….

"A gift from my homeland, to remind me where I'm from," Yunqi smiled warmly and leaned ever closer to the delicate dancer. Now, the pair were mere inches apart….

"….They captivate me, like a beautiful melody," uttered Diaochan softly as her heart passionately thumped within her chest, "….Would to be unfair to say that I want to be selfish, and lose myself within your gaze?"

Yunqi gently shook his head and slowly leaned in. As he placed his hands upon Diaochan's dainty shoulders, he felt her shudder beneath his touch, "I wouldn't say it's selfish," he said with a caring smile, "It's no more selfish than we wanting to love you for your gentle heart... and your gorgeous smile…."

Unable to hold back any longer, Diaochan closed the gap between their faces and uttered an almost silent prayer, "….Please love me for my heart. It is a love I have always wanted, not a love of obligation, or circumstance…."

"I promise," Yunqi said in a short breath. Moments later their lips passionately locked together in a romantic exchange.

Longing whines of affection resonated from Diaochan in the form of soft moans as she lost herself in the intensity of their kiss. An amazing feeling that flooded her heart, it became stronger and stronger with every passing moment until their delicate lips loudly smacked together in a passionate but loving struggle to convey the emotions of such an intense love at first sight. The young lady hungrily took in the taste of Yunqi's lips as their exchange continued.

Once their kiss ended Yunqi found himself softly clinging to Diaochan with laboured little gasps for breath coming free from his mouth, "….I barely know you, but… I don't want you to leave my side…."

"I promise you Yunqi, I won't," said the radiant dancer with a loving smile as she moved her fingers to entwine with those of her newfound love. "I will always be a dancer with no true place to belong, and you... You are a wander, aren't you?"

The young man nodded and flicked his hair back in the cool night air, "….I have no place in this land… unless I can make my place beside you?"

Alas, Diaochan chuckled softly and took off on a slow walk again. She brought Yunqi along in tow, and looked warmly upward to the shining moon in the sky, "….Let us wander this land together, and create a new song for us both to share…"

Such an honest life was something that Yunqi could have only dreamed of since arriving in this vastly different land. However, he could not help but enjoy the idea of life as a simple wanderer, "I would like that," he admitted his words fondly as he walked beside Diaochan with a smile, "Let's find shelter for the evening and rest…. Come the next morning we can face the world hand in hand…."

Both of them smiled happily. Such a simple but heart-warming idea was something they both really liked the sound of very much. Alas, they began their newfound journey together…. Where they would end up from here would be a wonderful mystery.

To be continued?

Thank you for taking the time to read this! My plan was to make something for those people who enjoyed Land of Might, but they perhaps wanted more romance instead.

As always, please leave me some feedback if you would like! If people want me to then I will be more than happy to carry this story on between Land of Might chapters! Thank you for all of your support! I am very grateful to all the people who read my Dynasty Warriors projects!