It was during the Han Dynasty; the Golden age for Eastern Asia. It was the year 166 AD; a year of great trade among many; using connections with the outside world. The land was growing wide and the fruit was as boundless as the Yangtze River could flow. In the capital of Chang'an; a beautiful man sat on a red silken pillow and slowly painted the characters of his history into an old scroll for generations to come. He brushed each dignified stroke; each one calm and smooth as he lightly dipped the tip and continued in one swift motion. His arm movements as graceful as a swaying willow tree. His room held the inhabitants of sweet smelling peony flower incense.
He was, the most exotic of all; long black tresses reached past his slim shoulders and chest. His pale skin was like porcelain; pure and flawless. His age was that of mere sixteen; though his older years hidden in truth. His eyes slanted; they were kind and young but with the wisdom as old as the beginning of time itself. No women nor man could compare to the elegance he held; to the knowledge he kept, to the secret of life he obtained.
He was, Great China.
Times were well, people were happy and had jobs and young women were producing healthy offspring for hopes of strong men to be grown in the future. Yao, as China was known by only by his closest; loved watching his children grow and live happily. It was all he really wanted, for everyone to live in harmony; but that was not the case now.
China listened to the terrible coughing from behind the curtains of his current boss, Emperor Wu; a powerful man who expanded their territory the furthest in the history of China. With his help, they drove out attacks from the Hun's and kept their land safe. He was dying and Yao knew it; he knew that soon, the new Emperor, Zhao would take over and reign for the Han period. The country was use to such change, still so young but he knew what had to be done; had to be done. Wu was a great leader, wiser than the seven sea's and braver then the sands of Egypt. He had only met with Zhao once or twice, and so far; even though he was Wu's most loyal subject, he was no were close to as regal as Wu.
Sighing with melancholy deep within his soul; the cultivated beauty tied his hair back into a bun, sticking needles though it to keep it up and slid his hands past his long silk sleeves so he could move them freely. He reached for his paint set and continued on with his script. He was just about to finish his one thousandth character when someone burst through his bedroom door; panting like mad man.
China's eye twitched in aggravation as his hand jumped upwards and made an extra line that was not needed; ruining his work. He turned over to the man who had barged in and gave him a stern look. It was one of his guards; but that did not change the fact.
"How dare you enter my chambers without my permission; what is the meaning of this?" he yelled, not to loud but strict enough to make the guard who had enter bow immediately at the sight of their great country.
"Forgive me sir; I do not mean this, but," he hesitated for a second before restarting. "Foreigners have reached our land, their boats are at our seas!"
The Asian's eyes grew at the shocking news; "Foreigners?" It was abnormal for foreigners to dock at their land; especially at this hour of the morning. "Leave us, I must consult this with my boss, aru." The short black haired guard bowed one more time and left. China got up and walked over to the curtains, he bowed his head to his leader.
"Great Emperor Wu of Han, what do I do? Should we befriend them aru?"
There was heavy coughing for awhile until it finally seized, and in a low gruff voice; his boss spoke. "My dear Yao, these foreigners are not our enemies, but our friends. We shall treat everyone who steps on our land with kindness and respect as such we should for our people." He coughed again and wheezed heavily. "Yao, open these curtains so I can look at you, I have not seen you in years."
"B-But sir; your illness?" China loved his leader; he did not want to do anything to jeopardize his health anymore than it all ready was. He heard a light chuckle from behind the silk shades.
"My little Yao, still so young, please do as I ask?"
China looked down at his hands and nodded. "Yes sir," he opened the curtains and his golden eyes searched his leaders features. It was true; it had been awhile since they had seen each other since the sickness had struck. Wu's face was slumped and aged beyond time; his body was more skinny then before, though he still held his husky physique. He looked up to the small country and smiled a soft; caring grin.
"My, my, how you have grown. So beautiful and so full of life; though I have been hearing rumors you spend all your time working. You don't need to push yourself so far Yao." he reached out his hand; the fingers and wrist shaking as it headed towards the boy. Yao took it with a smile and held the emperors one hand in his two smaller ones.
"You always tell me not to work so hard; but I can't help it when there is so much to do."
Wu laughed and coughed at the same time. "Yao; you are almost 1,000 years old; you have too much time to waist, go out and have fun, this I ask of you. Go and meet the foreigners; show them around our blessed land and help them along. In the midst of the men; there will be a golden sun amongst the stars. He will be the one to change your life Yao; he will be the one to help you as well as you help him."
"Are you sure, my lord? You know I can not disobey your orders aru."
"Yes, teach him, and he will teach you. But I warn you; this is your own choice, not mine. You must decided what stone is tossed, and which to follow. What the future holds for you and the foreigner, I do not know. Only time will tell; now, I need my rest." the emperor moved his arm, the wrinkled hand falling to his side as he closed his eyes in peace.
Yao closed the curtains and bowed one last time. "Xie Xie, my Emperor."
~-Silk Road-~
"Wow, would you look at these people!" the crew from the ship watched as men and women from all corners of the land walked near them; investigating the strange looking people who invaded their land. There were gasps and glares as the Asian citizens saw the ship-goers weird plated body's and short skirt pants.
But just as amazed as they were with the men, the foreigners were even more astounded by the Chinese citizens beautiful dresses and fancy wear. The smooth silk of their clothing mesmerized the crew. How they loved their clothes, they always craved the outstanding articles of wear. It was all the rage in their homeland, it is also why they traveled to China. All of the sudden, loud drums sounded and immediately the Chinese people got to their knees and bowed. The men looked around in confusament and stared at the top of the mountain where the drums beating loud were coming from. And from the distance a small figure appeared accompanied by two others.
As they got closer it was easy to tell it was of three women; one being China but the foreigners not knowing this whistled at the beauty's coming their way. It was true; China was so beautiful, that he was mistaken for a women half the time he met new people. As China neared with his subordinates, the two dropped to the ground and also bowed.
"Ni hao my fellow friends, foreigners from beyond the land which we have never traveled. Welcome to my humble grounds; the place which we call home. We will gracefully make any accommodation's to your liking." The Asian bowed his head slightly and the men just glared at the sight in front of them. They were not use to such actions, to such ways that these people have accumulated.
One solider was brave enough to stand up and talk to him. "Well, well boys, looks like we hit the jack pot of cutie land!" the whole crew laughed behind him and China only stared in confusion, he did not get why they were laughing. The crew member walked up to the smaller male and every citizen gasped at such an act. China would of noticed too, if he were not distracted by their shining body wear. It looked like that of his army's; but this was of pure silver and gold. Weird, this looked like the gold they traded with on the Silk road. The man grabbed China's arm, snapping the country out of his thought and onto the mans. His people, shocked to see such animals touch their leader like so. "Hey honey, why don't you show me to your room, huh?"
"Aiya! How dare you touch me in such a way, do you know who I am?"
"No, but I guess we can get together and find out, yes?" his comrades again snickered at the humorous action being played out in front for them.
"Why you- barbarians!" China's face grew bright red, they were very rude indeed.
"Hey, that is enough men!" a booming voice shouted from behind the crowd. The crew right away seized what they were doing and stood straight up; backs erect. The brown haired man that held Yao's arm let it go and did the same thing.
The voice soon spoke up again, it getting louder as he worked himself up from the sea of men. "These grateful people offer us their land, and you make yourself look like a bunch of Germanian fools; frankly I am ashamed in you boys." When he reached up; golden eyes met golden eyes. The man who was talking stood tall and proud.
China held his breath in amazement.
The man was rugged looking but muscular. His facial hair was stumble and his armor out shined the rest of the crews by a mile; almost blinding the Asian. His long legs were well toned and his skin color a deep tan. His curly brown locks made his features more handsome and the gold he wore around his wrist and legs were magnificent.
As China examined the man, so did he do the same. To him, China was a sight he had never quite seen before. He wore silk clothes red as blood with yellow ends and black flat shoes. His luscious black locks tied in a golden colored bun and his skin looked soft and smooth to the touch. Of course, the mysterious traveler thought the Chinese male to be a girl.
"Slave, I am sorry about my crew, we have been traveling for months; seeing life other than ourselves is a bit of a shock." he smiled a great wide grin which left the smaller man blushing slightly. "This must be the land of China, yes? We have come here looking for more trade. My boss, Emperor Marcus Aurelius, have sent us to also further our relationship."
"Ah, I have figured you to be from the Da Qin; your wear did look familiar aru." China smiled too; this was a wonderful surprise indeed! Meeting men from the Roman Empire was a vision they never held to be a reality.
"Da Qin?" the man questioned with a weird slip of the tongue.
"Yes, meaning Great Qin, our counterpart as we call you. The Great Roman Empire is from where you hail?"
"Indeed!" he said, laughing full heartily. "I, am the Great Roman Empire, at your service my dear lady!~" he winked and China's blush darkened.
"Escuse me, I am no women; I am a great man!" he retorted angrily; stomping his feet on the ground with a slight pout. "I am China!"
"Wha-Wait, you are China?" Rome asked in surprise. The men in the back who were laughing at him just a little while ago immediately gulped in fear for messing with a country.
"Yes, and I did not expect you to come here to my land. But, I will honor your visit anyway; you are our best trading partners and we have been wanting to meet with you for awhile. Servants," China said with a commanding voice. "Take the foreigners to our guest temples; Rome, if you would come with me aru?"
Rome nodded and than nodded to his men. "Alright crew, get your things together and behave!"
As the members gathered their gear; Rome placed his things on his back and followed the smaller male up to his temple. As they traveled further and further away from people; the awkward silence was too much to bare; the Roman broke the speech barrier first.
He smiled and tried to put on his best face. "So, where are we going?"
China looked to the Roman with a calm and collected stare, a small smile tugging on his reddish tinted lips. "You are staying with me, only the greatest countries deserve the best. And we have been very close now for awhile; trading back and forth. I still have all the letters you wrote me aru." China grinned at this; even though they have not yet met till only now; the two have been sending letters back and forth talking about each other and their land for quite awhile. "I must say, you do not look how I figured you to be," China thought the Roman to be more older and graceful looking; he did look strong, yes, but he did not expect him to be so young.
"What? What do you mean? I'm hansom, brave and strong! You can't tell me you envisioned me any different, can you?" Rome pouted and China laughed awkwardly; a sweat drop dripping from his cheek.
"Apparently you are quite modest too," Rome drooped his shoulders in depression which made the Asian giggle softly. "You are- very funny though, and indeed quite hansom." he blushed at his last words and turned away.
"Really?" Rome piped back up, feeling a bit better. "That's good to hear, you know, you're not how I envisioned you either!" laughing he thought about what he pegged China looked like. A great big old man with a long beard and big belly. "I did not expect you to be so; beautiful." he scratched his nose in embarrassment. His face was really pretty, and his body was so curvaceous. It was hard not to think that the person; the great country in front of him was a man.
"Aiya, you really thought I looked like that? How ridiculous aru,"
"Hey, at least I said you're beautiful, right?"
It got awkward again, very awkward. "Yes, I suppose." China said, his stare a bit distant. Rome looked down to the man once again and really noticed their differences. He was very short, how old could he possibly be? Not older then 21 he presumed. His features were young and smooth, it was obvious he had to be younger.
"You know, this made be rude to ask, but how old are you?"
China looked up to Rome and smiled. "I was just about to ask you the same thing, although my land is almost a 1,000 years old, I am only 16, aru"
"What? 16, you are so young! Hmm, I am 24 years old, though as you said, my land is older than I."
"Well, even though our ages are different, let that not stop our relation's. I hope you still treat me as any other man, though I am younger than you."
"Of course! I show respect to all my comrades, young and old!"
"Ah, we are here. Welcome to my home," China held out his long sleeves and Rome stared in awe at the towering building in front of him. It was huge, breath taking even. He had to admit, his buildings were glorious, but this; this home had a sense of true culture and elegance, just like its leader."
"This is amazing China, your home is incredible!"
"Xie xie, I hope one day to see yours, Rome."
"Xie xie?" Rome repeated in a most, gruesome Chinese accent. The Asian grinned weakly and knitted his brows inward; giggling.
"It means thank you in my language."
"Ah! Of course, I should have known!" he laughed and patted the youngsters back with force he had not expected, making him lose his balance a bit. "Oops, sorry, you know how we say thank you? Grātias multas! Beautiful right? Just slips right off the tongue!"
China tried to repeat it, but was having just as much trouble as the Roman had saying his language. "Hmm, I guess we have a lot more to learn about each other than I assumed."
Rome chuckled softly, both their eyes gazing into each others without either one really realizing that they were staring longer than they should have been.
"I guess so," he said softly.
Hiya! And Welcome to another Rome x China Fanfiction! It is so sad that there is not more, but I hope I can do the pairing justice by writing this story for all you Silk Road pairing lovers out there! A lot of you asked me to make a story about their history, so I decided, why not!
Most of this story will be historically correct. (The only real history reference was probably in only this chapter, I don't know yet) But I am sorry if some of my History is off by a tad. You see, I tried looking up all this stuff, but everyone kept giving me different dates, so I stuck with the most used. It is so hard to write a correct History fic...mehh, especially when you have someone so lazy like me! xDD It's a good thing I love my History man.
So, here are some important historical dates!
166 A.D- The first ship sent by Emperor Marcus Aurelius from Rome landed successfully in China.
Emperor Wu, or Lie chu- was ruler during this period, actually one of the greatest in history. He Changed the religion Taoism into Confucianism, fought off the Hun's from taking over their land and vasted territory as far as man could walk. He appointed his loyal subject Zhao instead of his children because he thought they would take China down with their nonsense.
Roman's craved silk from China. It was their most wanted item's for how beautiful it was. While the Roman's traded their gold and silver to the Chinese people and other things too.
The Silk road opened up in 206 BC
China was not that old during this time, he was at least in human terms, 16 or maybe even younger! And he in country terms would probably be estimated around 900 or 800 years old. Rome is at least 24 maybe a tad older in human terms, and in country terms maybe almost 2,000.
The capital was Chang'an, then named Xiang during the later years of China.
I hope you enjoy my story, I don't know how long it will be until I update again, because I am still working on "My Obsession" But I am looking forward to writing this, and having you guys read it!
So remember, Review, Critique, Comment~ All is good!