Mine

By Seraphil

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Author's Notes: It's been a long while since I tried my hand at writing stories again, and since Dynasty Warriors is a recent interest of mine, I decided to write something about one of my favorite characters, Cao Pi.

Now, I had submitted a previous copy of this fic, but upon reviewing it objectively, I realized that I may have ventured too far from the T rating I was hoping for. Those sections have been altered or removed.

There are some details that should be known to help the readers with this story. Cao Pi, at this time, is thirteen. One thing that should be noted is that in ancient China, people at these ages were already considered adults, and many teens were burdening heavy resposibilities and already fighting in the battles of the time.

With this, I hope the reader can better understand and enjoy the following story.

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It was almost the middle of the night, yet the commotion outside my tent was enough to rattle the bones of a rotted corpse. I pushed aside the sheets that covered my clothed chest as I swung my legs over the side of the cot. I had on only the dark blue shirt and pants I wore to bed; that was sufficient enough. Moving aside the flap of the tent's opening, I grabbed the first man I saw, one of the cavalry captains if my memory serves correct.

"You, what is the meaning of this activity?"

The cavalry captain, at first surprised by being grabbed so suddenly, composed himself quickly once saw me in the torchlight. Good, discipline was still intact, that eased my annoyance somewhat. The captain bowed and told me the issue at hand.

"Young lord! News just in from the main camp at Guan Du is that both of Yuan Shao's lead generals Yan Liang and Wen Chou have been slain. It's said that both were slain by that warrior Guan Yu."

Ah, yes, Guan Yu. That giant of a man Father has been fawning over so much the last few months. A "guest" in our lands, he is the blood brother of Liu Bei, a rogue lord who has given father quite some trouble in the past. Father seems to consider this virtuous man his equal, which I would say is a dangerous comparison. Whatever, it is not my concern.

"Captain, I want you to fix up this rabble. News or none, our army here must be in order for tomorrow's operation. I don't care who else may have rank over you; this is a direct order from me. Show my command seal to any who doesn't immediately comply. I'd have you simply slay any who disobey, but we need our troops at full strength."

I stepped back into the tent briefly to retrieve my seal of command, and gave it to the captain once I came back outside. He bowed and immediately went to carry out my order. Yes, very good. I'll have to remember to ask his name later, I could use another obedient officer under my direct command.

That reminded me… Stepping back towards the tent, I was about to utter her name when a lean shadow separated itself from the large one of the tent upon the ground, cast by the torchlight. She seemed to almost materialize before my eyes, this very useful servant of mine.

"Good, you were one step ahead of me. Have you overheard anything of importance, Mai?"

Perhaps, before I go any further, I should touch on some things about this girl. She was originally a slave I had run into at one of the numerous port towns on the coast bordering the great ocean a few months ago. The man who owned her was quite a con man; he had weaved a fabulous tale of a group of islands to the northeast where foreigners lived, people who understood intricacies of certain aspects of warfare and other matters. What caught my attention was how they had perfected an art where masters of it could move without sound, hear beyond that of even a wolf, or perform acts most would consider magic. "She is quite learned in these arts," he had said. I offered to buy her, seeing as how I could not lose out on having such a useful pawn. The man had refused my generous price, though, and dared to insult me and my "flawed" knowledge of the matter. The nerve of a criminal to insult a prince! So I killed him. Such vermin deserve no better.

It turned out to be for the best, for the waif was quite grateful for my simple act. It seemed she hadn't been treated in the best of conditions during her slavery. Typical. Most vermin didn't know true worth even when they had it on a ball and chain. That was fine anyway; if she were happy with me, then that meant I wouldn't need to break her. She had no name she could tell me in a tongue I could understand, so I didn't bother calling her by name, at first anyway. I took her back to Xu Chang with me, and nobody seemed to notice or care. Considering my father's reputation as a sensualist, people probably thought the little prince was mirroring him. What foolishness.

The girl could speak our language, again a boon, as I wouldn't have to train her to speak. After giving her proper care and food against my better judgment, I gave her my first task, a simple and mundane one to make sure of her obedience: to spy on my father during a little tea party he had the brief time Liu Bei was also in the capital. She accomplished this task efficiently. It was interesting to find out then that Father considered Liu Bei his equal… the more reason to destroy the man.

Over the course of several months, the girl, who I guessed to be perhaps a few years older than myself, performed her tasks with the skill borne of someone raised from birth in this mysterious art. Sometimes I wonder why she hadn't escaped from her former master, she certainly had the skill for it. Perhaps it was the fact she had nowhere else to go. It was around this time when I named her Mai. She was quite a shrewd fox, and she did have quite a bit of wit to go with her skill, so I felt the name suited her.

Yet despite all her deft prowess, she wronged me once. Perhaps it was also partly in fault of mine since earlier I had been in a vicious argument with my cousin, and I had been drinking to forget the stupidity. Perhaps I overreacted, perhaps not. Regardless, that was the first time I took her. She needed to be punished for her fault, and I did that, thoroughly.

For some reason I don't find it to be a good memory. But the result was what I wanted: there were no more mistakes.

All right, I think that's enough of an introduction.

She told me what she had heard, not bothering to touch on Guan Yu and his feats since she would know I had already heard so much. When she finished her report with a dip of her head, I stroked my chin as I digested this information.

Interesting… so not only did Father lose several of his own generals to Yan Liang and Wen Chou, but also Liu Bei had been sighted in the ranks of Yuan Shao's rear guard. Yet, although important, there was no immediate use for this information. There was to be no change of plans, my men would still march on Yuan Shao's northwestern flank tomorrow in tandem with Father's main scheme at Guan Du itself.

As I stood there, my eyes trailed up and down the outline of Mai's body. She was bound in tight-fitting cloths that didn't impair movement, and her toes were exposed in her feet wrappings to allow for precise and deft agility. As she was now fourteen, the signs of puberty were developed and noticeable; she had an ample chest under that mesh of netting and cloth. Feeling a fire kindle within, I stepped forward and brushed my hand through her long black hair, which reflected the torchlight like cut obsidian. When I closed my fist in her hair and applied enough pressure to tug her head but not quite hurt, she looked at me with emerald eyes that told me she understood exactly what I wanted.

As I pulled her along into the tent, I smiled. One day, I, Cao Pi, will make the world just like this girl.

Mine.