Ah, the wonders of one-shots. Written for my closest friend who just so happens to be a Wu lover. Being a Wei fan myself, this is the best I could come up with.
Loyalty
He was running, footsteps resonating hollowly against the wooden floorboards. He would renter the fray – that charred, ever dangerous, acrid fray – as he was meant to do.
I swear that I will protect you with my life, until the day one of us falls.
"My… lord…"
Dawn seemed so heavy all of a sudden, and everything was eerily quiet. It was odd, that the screams of his fellow soldiers being burnt alive and slaughtered were so… but yet, it was all so… peaceful.
And Sima Yi just laughed.
Cao Pi was a shrewd commander. He cared little for unnecessary fighting, rather; the sooner the battle was over, the better. It was because of such a mantra that his officers were marching now, setting the bases on fire now; killing those petty soldiers now. It was for that reason he overstepped the prone form of the enemy commander's most trusted officer, and for that reason alone he didn't give it another thought.
Behind him, several soldiers fought over who would get the fallen warrior's sword, stained with their fellow comrades' blood.
Zhou Yu was the first to find it. A small, torn, bloodied strip of cloth, half-stained a dull, dark crimson; almost mocking the richness of the fabric's original colour; vivid as the setting sun. It spoke of more than words ever would – that they had lost, so much more than just the battle; and, yet again, their loyalty was not enough.
It was not until sunset that the remaining straggle of soldiers found Wu's strategist, staring into the charred remains of the broken building, clutching a piece of bloodied cloth to his chest.
His loyalty had not been enough, but yet; his promise had never been broken.