Kind of an unexpected thing, life is. I sat down to write my chapter story, Are You Jealous Yet? And I wrote this instead. Kinda an addicting thing. I couldn't stop. I hope everyone out there enjoys this and I hope no one totally kills me because I wrote for this and not the other story! :P
Enjoy!!!
XXX
The night was a still one. The moon shined a white velvet across the castle and draped the night in an embrace that made the night seem peaceful and safe. Of course, she was only protecting her descendent as a mother often would.
Her cloak flew behind her as her feet kept a quiet, steady pace along the castle walls. With the moon as her only light, and no wind to slow her down, the assassin felt uplifted and confident. Her mission was clear and simple, and the request to do it at night made her the perfect one for the job.
Night was her specialty, and the moon always made her feel like part of it. People often called her "Goddess of the Night" for her ability to cloak in with it, and she always smiled when she heard it.
She stopped at the corner of the beautiful castle, and took in her surroundings. There were watchmen up ahead, and some near the gate.
She smiled: easy.
She waited for the patrolling watchmen near the gate to disappear behind the corner before pulling out her bow, one her father had specially made for her and her small frame, and aiming it towards the castle ledge. She took a deep breath and let it sail.
It didn't take long for the arrow to connect with the castle's ledge. She took one look at the moon, made a silent prayer for guidance, and started to climb. The climb wasn't easy, they never were, but she managed to reach the top.
She looked around the walkway before dropping down and hiding in the shadows.
Her instructor told her to avoid conflict, if possible. And she planned to do that, but also she wanted to have fun, and the owners of this castle could manage a guardsman or two, right?
She dashed down the walkway atop the castle's outer wall, and kept to the shadows. Although she wanted to have fun, she didn't want to start trouble out here. The last thing she needed was the inner guards to be on high alert. Her job of finding the Prince was going to be hard enough as is.
She stopped and hid as she saw one of the guard's ladders that led down. Her surveillance didn't last long. As she suspected, a guard was standing post.
No violence, huh?
She looked around to see if anyone else was there with him. There was none.
She pulled out a dagger with a black, slick handle, and threw it at him.
The dagger met it's target of the man's throat, and she ran and caught him and laid his body down gently before running to the ladder, and putting her feet and hands on the sides like she was trained to do, slid down it in a flash before landing on the ground and taking cover behind the shadows of some barrels.
She was now inside the castle gates.
"Phase one complete." She said.
She looked up into the gloriousness of what could only be the Wu castle. It was surrounded by another wall made of stone.
She surveyed the area in search of a watchmen ladder, but found none. She jumped out from behind the barrels and dashed along Phase One's wall.
Her search of the whole perimeter made her realize that she was going to have to get in another way. She couldn't use another arrow. That was against precaution. She couldn't go over the wall, and there was no way under it. And time was against her as is. Her stunt of killing the guardsman gave her a time limit.
She had to go in through the gates, but how?
Just as the thought went through her mind, the gated opened.
"Are these the last of the supplies?" the guardsman of the right gate asked, leaving his post.
"No." said the messenger. "Another one is preparing to leave. It will be here momentarily."
The guard nodded, checked the wagon, and told the man to continue on.
The assassin couldn't believe her luck. She took off to the other castle wall, and came to a halt.
A blazer. A patrolling man. He was walking along the wall.
She had to think of something, and think of something quick. She was standing right in the moonlight, and right in the watchman's sight. She quickly picked up a rock and threw it in the direction opposite of her.
Just as she hoped, the watchman made a sharp turn at the sound of the noise and began to run. She used the opportunity to dash away from him and towards the gate. She flung herself behind some boxes near the gate and tried to steady her breath.
"You know better, Da Qiao! Don't be a fool. You just got lucky! Focus!"
The patrolling man rounded the corner that he had disappeared to and was holding the rock that Da had thrown. He was shaking his head and muttering something to himself before the gates opened back up.
Da darted for the gates and, as the guard went to check the wagon, Da slipped in.
She didn't have long. She saw the door to the kitchen about to close from finishing the supplies, and she took off for it while the cook was rolling it shut. She neatly rolled under it and dashed off to find a shadow before the door closed and the cook, not even paying attention enough to know what happened, picked up her apron and left the room.
As soon as she left, Da let out a breath that she didn't realize she had been holding.
She was now in the castle.
She looked at the doorway that the cook had left out of and knew that it had led to a servant's quarters that for sure would have people in there at this time of night. She surveyed the area, as always was a precaution. Her vision was limited from where she hid.
She took one last look at the doorway lit up by blazers that the cook had vanished from and dashed through the kitchen. She made sure that she was on the other side of the room before diving behind a pile of barrels filled with wheat.
She surveyed this new location and found another hallway lit by blazers. She edged over to get a glimpse of the hallway, and saw only a part of the corridor.
Knowing that this was where the royals came in for midnight snacks, she smiled and ran to the doorway.
Not knowing what was behind walls was one of the things that she hated most. Knowing what to do though, and how to do it was always a comfort to her. She pulled out another dagger, and slowly slid it in the hallway for a better view and used it like a mirror to see down the corridor.
She saw blazers, hallways leading out of the corridor, and a window at the end. She didn't like that there wasn't much shade, but she would make do. She always did.
She stayed put for a few minutes, watching for movement of a guard or a maid. As there was none, she took a deep breath and moved swiftly through the hall. Her main goal was to make it across the hall and to the window for cover, and, while getting over there, she was going to check out the hallways that led out of this corridor. She ran to the window with a good idea of where the prince would be, when voices filled the corridor.
Da jumped fast up the wall, and braced herself on the ceiling.
"Now, seeing as you're new, the maids will report to the headmaster, me, at ten o'clock at night, and then go to bed and wake up at five. Your services will go to Lord Sun Ce, the Lord's oldest son. You make his bed when he wakes, make his bath when he stinks, and make sure that his room is as tidy as his teeth! All of the maids fond over him, but don't stay in there while he's taking a bath. Lady Sun does not approve, and neither does he."
The maids went past Da, not knowing that she was above them.
"He's down that corridor, behind the double doors. You will know it, he's the only one of the royal family that is down this corridor. He eats a lot, so that's why he's close to the kitchen. He likes his bath… and… don't be…h…"
The maids went out of her site and Da smiled at her luck. The moon was certainly blessing her.
She fell without a thud and crept down the hallway that the maid had pointed to earlier. She started to look around before walking more. This hallway was darker than the rest, and the blazers stopped at the entrance. She kept walking till she heard the rustle of armor. She stopped and hugged the wall and looked into the distance. Just as she saw the double doors, she saw the guards as well. She mentally cursed and looked out of the window for the moon. She couldn't see the moon, but its rays fell on something else: a balcony.
She looked at the guards, who looked sleepy other than attentive, and slipped back to the corridor. She went to the window she had hidden at before, took a look for people, then opened the window, pulling it up so it wouldn't make a squeak.
She stepped out and slid the window shut as best as she could and started to scale the building. She stopped every now and again to look for guards below. Seeing none, she kept going.
People from her association usually told her their fears for heights, but she was okay with them. They brought her closer to the moon and therefore closer to herself.
She took one more look below before taking one more step and leaping on the ledge of the Prince's balcony. She dropped down and crouched. She made her way to the door, and put her ear on the crack to listen for movement, but heard nothing.
She then examined the lock and tried the door before realizing the only way she was getting in was picking it. She pulled out her tools and started to pick the lock and smiled when she heard a click.
She stayed where she was for a few moments. It was precaution to stay put for a few minuted after picking a lock.
As soon as she counted a minute, she slowly slid the door open and stepped in, still in a crouch. She stopped and looked at the area and came to a bed.
She gasped.
The man before her was perfect. His body was adorned with scars, but also abbs that were from hard work. His face was captivating and his facial hair, on anyone else it would've looked dumb (and she should know. Lord Cao Cao wore it in a similar way.) but on him, it fit his face perfectly. His face, unworldly perfection, his body, one of a god. Of all the men Da had been after, he topped them all.
Never had she felt such a womanly yearning.
She walked closer to him and pulled her hood off her head to take in his features through unlimited eyes. He was every bit of perfect.
Then again, so was she.
Her hand reached to him to touch his skin, but a gust of wind came through the door that she dumbly left open, and his eyes darted awake and hit her's.
They stayed like this: perfection looking into it's equal. His mouth opened and a breath of surprise and overwhelming came over him.
His eyes looked her down. She was beautiful, there was no doubt, but he was limited in a way she was not: she could see him from the moon's rays, he couldn't see her clearly.
He saw her hand above his abdomen, and raised a questioning eyebrow at her.
But then their eyes met again. He was captivated. Her eyes, though the moon was behind her, glowed in the darkness with a green tent, and also of a wanting.
Without realizing it, his hand reached out toward her, and he was surprised to see her leaning in to it.
There was a bang followed by the doors opening.
"My lord, there's an assasin on the- ASSASIN!!!" The head guard yelled and pointed at Da.
She was off in a dash, heading for the balcony. She heard the rustling of sheets behind her and feet coming towards her, but she couldn't resist, at the ledge of the balcony, to look back.
Sun Ce stopped at the balcony entrance, she was on the ledge. She turned to him, and he gasped.
Half of her features were lit, but he could see that her perfection rivaled his.
She was beyond captivating, and suddenly, he realized he never had the company of a woman, and this made him hunger for her.
Before he knew it, she jumped.
He took off after her, dispite the qualms his guard was making about his decision.
His balcony wasn't high off the ground, so he made it safety. He saw the woman running across the field to the gates.
"Close the gates!" He yelled.
The guards got to work and started to close it. She was quick though, and the gates wouldn't go down that fast.
A guard got in her way, blocking her path. Ce thought that the man would catch her, but she easily danced out of his reach. Before any other guard could bet in front of her, she rolled under the bridge and started on a harded sprint.
Ce rolled under it and took off after her.
"Open the gates! Protect the prince!"
"Lord Sun Ce, plese come back."
The guards said.
He spread out his strides and tried to catch up with her before she reached the other gate.
Instead of running for the gate though, she took a sharp turn and started to run up on a watchman's ladder. She went up at a pace that made him realize that she was used to doing this, and he was going to have to give catching her his all.
He got to the top and saw her running to the right. He started to run.
"The assasin!"
"There he is!"
"Get him!"
Ce smiled. If only they saw her the way he had.
Guards came to stop her, but she jumped and kicked the first one into the others behind him. And dropped from the ledge.
This girl was full of suprises.
He ran to where she dropped down and saw the arrow and rope. He smiled. She was clever, too.
He jumped and slid down the rope.
Da dropped to the ground and looked up when the rope kept moving. She saw the prince coming after her.
Why hadn't this guy quit?
She turned and ran in the direction of the forest, when arrows came down at her.
"Don't shoot! You'll hurt the prince!" Someone from the top of the castle wall said.
She started to hear loud footsteps coming closer to her and she knew that the man was gaining on her.
Ce smiled. It was just her and him now. He didn't have to worry about her hurting anyone else. Just him and her.
He made his strides bigger and steadied out his breath as his muscles sang with the use of them.
She was now a few feet from him and he could tell that she knew it too.
She took a sharp turn and tried to mislead him, but he saw through this, and tackled her to the ground.
They tussled for a minute. He found her hands and locked them in an iron grip and rolled her on her back to see her beautiful face.
"Now look- AHH!!!" Her feet came up and wrapped his neck, pulling him back and to the ground, also making him release her hands. She joilted up and ran deeper into the forest.
She heard his footsteps and he dashed in front of her. He reached out to grab her hand, but Da slapped him away and went to punch his face. He grabbed her hand and went low to knock her off her feet, but she saw what he was going to do and jumped, dodging his blow. She landed and threw her foot up to hit his chest.
She met her target and he fell back. She started to run, but he grapped her feet and she fell, but got up fast. He was already on her, though, and he had her in a lock. He had his arms around her, pinning her arms to her sides.
The moon came out from the clouds and shined on her face. He gasped. She looked beautiful when her face was half lit, but now, while all of it was all lit, she was gorgous. Her hair was down, from their tussle, and her eyes, once shaded, were now full blown. The want and desire he had for her, was matched for him in her eyes. He started to realize he was liking the position of his arms.
Unfortunately, this was all the look he got when she raised her knee and the next thing he knew, he let her go and was going down on his knees, eyes going crossways.
He heard her run into the clearing not far from the castle, and whistle. A black stallion was by her side in a second, and she jumped on and rode off.
She looked back as he leaned against a tree. The thought to go after her ran through his mind, but he took one step and knew that he probably couldn't move fast enough.
He stayed leaning to the tree when he felt a hand on his shoulder.
"Are you hurt, my son?" Sun Jian asked his first born.
"Other than my groin area, I'm fine."
Jian smiled. "So it was a woman?"
"A woman bested you?" Ce turned to see Shang Xiang, his little sister, coming towards him.
"Yep." Ce admited. "But she was a pro." He looked in the direction that the woman left in.
"Ha!" Shang laughed.
"I think that she could've taken you on, Shang, and come out with your ass kicked." Ce told her. "She cheated on me."
"Nonsense. You have nothing there, so there should be no problem." She joked.
"Not now, Shang." Ce said.
"Did you see her?" Jian asked his son.
Ce paused. Should he tell his father and get the woman in trouble? "Nah, I couldn't see her. She was unbelievably quick."
"I heard that she was standing over you and had the chance to kill you right there. She would've escaped too. I wonder what stopped her." Jian muttered.
Ce shrugged, but he knew what it was. They both had a need for each other. A hunger. Something that Ce had never felt for any other woman. Then again, no other woman wanted to kill him.
---
Da truged into the castle that her father owned. He was Cao Cao's duke and also a master of spies and assasins. The one who taught Da everything she knew.
Her mission failed. Her very first mission to ever fail.
"Da," Xiao came out of the shadows. "Papa wants to see you, did you complete it?"
Da thought quickly. If she said no, her father would send another assasin and kill the Prince, but if she said yes, her father would find out differently and punish her.
"He wasn't there." Da said.
"Oh, that's odd. The scouts reported that he was."
"He went out for the night. I don't know where."
Xiao nodded. "Papa wants us though."
The Qiao's walked together to their father's office. Other than missions, the Qiao's were never apart. Da didn night missions while Xiao did day. Day was Xiao's speciality, night was Da's. Together, The Qiao's were unstoppable.
The door opened without a squeak.
"Hello, my dearest daughters." Qiao Xuan turned in his chair. "Still not quiet enough yet."
The sisters smiled at their father.
"Da, did you complete your mission?"
Da's smile faded. "I'm sorry, Papa, but the prince was out for the night."
Xuan signed. "Just what I feared. Okay, here's what we are going to do: I'm sending you two, under fake names, to work in the Sun household. I hear that they are looking for new members anyway, so, Da, you will be under the Prince Sun Ce, and Xiao…" he paused. "I think I will ask for you to be under their stratigest. I hear that they are good friends, and this will give you two chances to meet during the day, and give you two time to plan."
Xiao smiled. "Yay! We're together on a mission again!"
Qiao Xuan smiled. "Oh, Da, take this. It's poison. Use it only if necessary."
He handed Da the bottle. "Don't let me down, my beautiful girls, and keep each other safe." He stood up, rounded the desk and gave them a hug. "Now go and pack."
Da and Xiao left. As Xiao chattered on about the greatness of being on a mission together, Da looked at the bottle.
"I let the man get the best of me! Not this time though! I will do this right!!!"
XXX
What do you guys think? I really didn't plan on another story, but I hope this works out. I will try to update Are you Jealous Yet? Later on. But I wanted to do this. I certainly hope that I can manage two stories at once, plus I have my sister to help me, so I hope things will work out for the best!
Oh, and Happy Holidays!
Please leave a review!!!
ShadowingPassion9532