Authors Notes: A romance between Zhen Ji and Diao Chan. This is a niche I personally think has been extremely under visited, so I decided to fill it out. This first chapter is sort of short I feel, but it's more of an initial introduction to get the characters together. I try to keep at least loose historical accuracy, however I may deviate from times in the interest of the story. Comments are ofcourse welcome. Enjoy!
It was late in the evening time as the fighting between the armies of Lu Bu and Cao Cao began to die down for the night. The siege of Xia Pi castle was dragging on and becoming taxing to both forces, especially that of Lu Bu. Cao Cao at least had Liu Bei and his forces to back him up, and though small, it was something. Lu Bu had only his small army to work with. However all hope was not lost. Lu Bu had been expecting reinforcements from Yuan Shu, who had promised aid to him in this battle, and was eagerly awaited. And as it turned out, that night was tonight.
Diao Chan entered the castle gates, followed closely by her guard detail. She had not seen much of the fighting, which irritated her to no end. Lu Bu had been so overly protective of her it was wearing on her nerves. She understood he didn't want harm to come to her, but after she had fought so hard with him to depose Dong Zhuo, she would have thought he'd have more faith in her capabilities to handle herself in battle. Instead, however, she was assigned a heavy guard unit and stationed just outside the castle entrance on defensive duty, told to hold her position, while Lu Bu went off to the front lines.
Sighing, she waved her guard detail off. The soldiers were tired and more than happy to be dismissed. She had to admit, she was tired as well, and was looking forward to a hot meal and a warm bath. The meals were mostly heated rations however, as their supply lines had been mostly cut by Cao Cao, but food was food at this point. Sieges were always taxing on everyone.
The meal would have to wait, however, as a sudden commotion arose just behind her at the castle gates she had moments ago passed through. At first she thought a night time strike had pushed it's way through from Cao Cao's forces, and all of her senses went on alert as she tightened her grip on her maces. To her surprise though, the soldiers were cheering. Had Lu Bu returned with the head of one of Cao Cao's generals or something? Pushing her way forward through the crowd, she broke into the circle at the edge of the gates to find Lu Bu there, however not with any Cao Cao forces, but instead standing facing several generals and officers dressed in yellow.
Yuan Shu was just dismounting with his best officers and their details. So, their backup had arrived at last. A wave of relief swept over Diao Chan as she allowed her body to untense from the wave of adrenaline. She handed her maces over to a servant, who bowed and whisked them off to her rooms, and she moved forward to Lu Bu's side, who was addressing Yuan Shu and his men.
"It's about time you arrived, Yuan Shu! I was beginning to think you were going to leave me here to defeat Cao Cao's entire army myself!" Lu Bu waved his arm grandly, and Diao Chan had to duck quickly to avoid catching his armored elbow with her forehead as she approached him from the side and slightly behind. As tall as he was, she was used to that, however. The mighty Lu Bu was not exactly a careful man with his grand posturing.
"You're lucky I was able to arrive at all, Lu Bu." Yuan Shu replied as he threw his travel pack over his horse's saddle and handed the reigns off to one of the many stable hands that were circling about his forces, relieving them of their mounts and preparing to get their accommodations set up within the castle. "Cao Cao has much of the lands around Xia Pi completely barricaded off with his siege units. We had to fight through a few to even get here."
"Hmph," Lu Bu grunted, "Explains why you're so late to show up. But at least you did manage to arrive. I see you've brought a few of your brothers with you to aid in the battle."
"Yes, they volunteered." Several Yuans moved forward as introductions began, Yuan Shu introducing his brothers as he removed his riding gloves. "Yuan Tan, Yuan Rang, Yuan Dang, and Yuan Xi have come with me to aid. They have brought the most elite of their units. With our men added to yours, the numbers should be roughly even with Cao Cao and Liu Bei's forces."
"Excellent!" Lu Bu clapped Yuan Shu forcefully on the shoulder. "We shall have a grand dinner this evening to celebrate, and to relieve you and your men of their travel exhaustion!"
Wonderful, Diao Chan thought, more than pleased to hear of a meal of more than the combat rations she had been expecting. It was right then that Lu Bu finally noticed her arrival. He could be so dense sometimes for such a great man.
"Diao Chan! I'm glad to see you unharmed!" he exclaimed as he pulled her to his side, much more roughly than she liked, causing her to gasp and her side to protest under the pressure of his grasp. He was always so brash. She pushed vainly on his arm to get him to loosen his grip a little, but as usual he didn't notice. "Yuan Shu, you've met Diao Chan, when last we talked."
"Ah yes, the beautiful Diao Chan. Lovely to see you again!" Yuan Shu tucked his riding gloves behind his belt and flourished his cape in a bow much more grand and impressive than his stature really fit.
"It is good to see you well, Lord Yuan Shu." she replied daintily, careful not to give any hint to her actual thoughts, lest she over step herself. Being Lu Bu's woman allowed her some modicum of leeway with expressing herself openly, however she prefered to maintain as regal a presence as possible to reserve that leeway for when she needed it.
"I was sad to miss the opportunity to see you dance the last time you and Lu Bu visited, Diao Chan. The beauty and grace of your song and dance are known far and wide." Yuan Shu said, running an eye up and down her form, far more shamelessly than she liked. Luckily for him though, Lu Bu missed it.
"Perhaps, circumstances allowing, I may be able to make up for that this time after the battle is over, my lord." she bowed her head, more to avoid having to look him in the eye than as a gesture of respect, but he didn't know that.
"Ah, that would be wonderful!" Yuan Shu exclaimed. "We have quite the songstress along with us this time as well, my brother's wife! Perhaps the two of you could perform together! Zhen Ji!" Yuan Shu gestured behind his brother, and Diao Chan's head came up in time to watch Zhen Ji glide forward from behind Yuan Xi.
Diao Chan could do nothing but stare as Yuan Shu began loudly proclaiming the exquisite beauty that was the young Zhen Ji's talented dance. She was... beautiful. Diao Chan had spent so much of her time in the company of masculine figures such as Lu Bu and Dong Zhuo, and brutes of generals and officers, that she had completely missed the captivating beauty that someone such as herself could radiate. Zhen Ji was in such stark contrast to Lu Bu it was astounding for her to witness. This must be how others see her, she thought. So delicate, so soft... she was utterly and completely lost in the moment. Time stood completely still for her as she watched Zhen Ji make a little curtsy to Lu Bu, her dress and hair fluttering gently as she bent her knee. A windless breeze rustled the ribbons strung through her hair and the tassels on her dress about her elegant form, and Diao Chan took in every detail.
She was rudely yanked out of her reverie of Zhen Ji as Lu Bu announced banquet time and pulled her away towards the grand hall. Yuan Shu kept up with Lu Bu as they were joined by their top general, Zhang Liao, and their strategist, Chen Gong, and everyone else fell behind, and she lost sight of Zhen Ji. Lords, she had completely lost herself for a moment there. She shook her head as she walked, as if trying to clear it of a daze. The grand hall was just a turn down a corridor away from the castle gates, so they didn't have far to go. Xia Pi castle was not as large as some, but it was serviceable. Diao Chan suspected it used to be a fortress or a garrison of some sort before being renovated into a castle, but that was pure speculation on her part.
They walked up to the grand table and everyone took their seats according to status. She sat to one side of Lu Bu, Chen Gong and Zhang Liao across from them, while Yuan Shu sat to the other side, and Yuan Shu's officers sat down the row from him, so she unfortunately had no further view of Zhen Ji beyond a glimpse of her as she crossed her field of vision on the way to her seat. Diao Chan sighed as Lu Bu pulled her chair out for her, happy at least to have his overbearing grip around her released so she could sit herself.
Dinner conversation was very much for the men. Discussions of strategies to counter Cao Cao's army, ways to deploy their forces around the castle and surrounding area, and other military related business. She would have participated in the conversation, but Lu Bu never gave her opinion much heed when it came to the specifics of battle. Mostly he only found her advice useful in matters of court and politics. So she drifted off into her own mind, thinking mostly of Zhen Ji. She would have liked to have been sitting with her; much more opportunity for conversation, that was for sure. So she sat listlessly picking at the hot meal she had been so looking forward to not an hour before as she contemplated the woman, replaying in her mind the moments of her introduction, imagining her in every detail...
With jolt she was broken out of her reverie by Lu Bu's heavy fist impacting table next to her. It wasn't until right then that she realized she had been staring off into space without seeing what she was looking at, and that her gaze had been leveled at Zhang Liao, across the table from them. As far as her memory of the past moments went, she may as well have had her eyes closed as she wasn't actually looking at nor seeing anything, but it was made very plain to her by the look in Lu Bu's eyes that she must have had a somewhat dreamy look on her face. It took a few moments to sink in as to the gravity of the situation, and as she slowly came to the realization that Lu Bu believed she had been gazing longingly at the hansome Zhang Liao.
Panic lit through her as she tried vainly to think of something to say, her mouth opening and closing soundlessly several times with the effort of attempting to come up with any sort of explanation that might abate Lu Bu's anger. His rage was well known to all, and being on the receiving end of it was an extremely unpleasant thought, to say the least. She shied slightly away from him, flinching at the thought of what he might do. He had never actuallly struck her before, but he was known to hurl things into walls in his anger, and that always frightened her.
She was spared any wrath right that moment, however. To her great relief, he turned away from her, looking back towards Yuan Shu as he was outlining the finer points of some sort of defensive strategy. She knew it wasn't over, though. More than likely she'd hear about it later when he came calling on her in her room. She gazed down at her barely touched plate, all apetite for her warm meal now gone as the pleasant images of Zhen Ji in her mind were now replaced by worried thoughts of Lu Bu yelling at her later. She believed he cared for her, she really did, but his anger always got the best of him. She could defend herself if necissary, but she'd definately be at a disadvantage in close quarters with his much bigger stature, trapped within her room. Unless... she didn't go back to her room tonight. Give him the night too calm down, hopefully by morning with the battle picking back up, he'd vent his jealous anger in combat. She didn't know where she would go, though. Possibly hide within one of the empty guest bedrooms...
The conversation around her finally began tapering off, turning from battle towards more idle subjects such as the seasons and horse breeding and other such talk. It was then that it struck her that if she were to keep away from Lu Bu for the night, she'd need a head start on him. If she waited out the dinner to it's conclusion and left with everyone, Lu Bu would follow her and doubtlessly lead right to her room. She needed to excuse herself now.
The act of standing up drew the eyes of most of the table. She bowed her head in an attempt to look meek. "I apologize everyone, but the ongoing battle every day is leaving me more and more fatigued each evening. I must excuse myself and get some rest."
Lu Bu's eyes narrowed as he opened his mouth to say somemthing, but Yuan Shu beat him too it, standing as he offered another one of his overly grandiose bows, and Diao Chan had to actually suppress a giggle as the flourshing of his cloak sent the tails of it right into Lu Bu's face, who batted at them angrily.
"Yes, you should rest well, Diao Chan! Do not over tax yourself, you are far too beautiful to develop worry lines! Sleep well, and rest assured that we shall break this siege for you!"
Diao Chan bent knee in a curtsey back. "Thank you, my lord."
She tried to keep her retreat down the hall from looking like the fleeing it actually was as she hurried down the corridors filled with soldiers going about their evening's business. Most of them were preparing their weapons, armor, and other equipment for the next day before heading off to find their beds. She walked quickly up to her room, intending to stop in to retreive her maces and a few personal affects before turning her back on her bed. She thought briefly about rustling her covers or setting out a few clothes or something to make it look like she was around and just happened to be absent from her room when Lu Bu came barging in later, but she rejected the thought. In all likely hood he would miss those signs completely; Lu Bu was not a subtle man.
As she rushed into her room, she was surprised to find Wen Cai there, the head of her handmaidens. She jumped as Diao Chan all but burst into her room. Whatever matter she'd been there about was put asside as she cast a concerned look at Diao Chan.
"My lady, I've rarely ever seen you so harried."
Diao Chan blinked, not wanting to stay too long in her room. "Oh, Wen Cai! What... what are you doing here?"
"I was here with concerns about the battle tomorrow, but what's wrong?"
She began moving around her room, gathering up a few things as she went. "I uh... I'm going to use a different room tonight. Lu Bu is rather upset with me at the moment, and I don't want to be here when he comes."
Cai scoffed, putting her hand on her hip. "It's not hard to upset Lu Bu."
"Yes, but his rages have been getting worse as of late." She rumaged around in the bottom of her wardrobe and came out with a little bag.
"Hm. Well, is there anything I can do to help?"
"If you can just circle about the maids that no one knows where I went. I'm just going to move rooms for the night." She wasn't worried about Wen Cai saying anything to Lu Bu. Her loyalties were to Diao Chan and no one else. She looked up at her, "You might not want to be here when he gets here, either."
"I'm not afraid of Lu Bu." Cai was always full of posturing, but she could tell by the look in Cai's eyes that she didn't like the idea of running into a raging Lu Bu any more than she did.
"Be that as it may, please for me make sure to keep clear."
"If you say so, Lady Diao Chan." She narrowed her eyes a bit. "Where will I find you in the morning?"
"I'll come to your room in the morning before the battle starts."
"Allright. I'll make sure to have breakfast for you at least."
"Thank you Wen Cai." She gave her maiden a hug and turned back to her bag.
She tossed her hairbrush and a hand mirror, a few hair clips, some hygiene items, and a couple changes of clothes in, grabbed her maces, and pulled the door closed to her room as she headed back out into the hall. The West Wing was where guests were usually housed, and she toyed with a brief notion of going and finding Zhen Ji's room. It sounded appealing to have someone to talk to, but she didn't actually know the next thing about the woman yet, and didn't want to impose. With a sigh, she headed off to the East Wing, where the rooms would be largely unoccupied. Should she stop at the quartermaster's post and see which rooms were open? No, she dismissed that thought as well. She didn't want to leave a trail for Lu Bu to find her. It wasn't a big chance, but she would have to risk walking in on someone.
Turning down the appropriate corridors she found herself quickly in the East Wing. Almost no one was about in this end of the castle, and she went all the way to the end of the wing and chose one of the end rooms at random. Turning the handle, she eased the door open as quietly as she could incase someone was inside and stuck her head in. The room was dark, lit only by the moonlight spilling in through the window. She set her feet down as softly as she could as she glided silently inside and up to the bed. No one was in it. A few more moments of inspection yielded the room's candle stand and she lit a few. No personal affects were anywhere in the room. Sighing in relief, she set her things down on the wash stand, propping her maces up against the side of it, and closed the door, locking it with a sharp click. The room was smaller than hers, but she didn't mind. She took out one of her night gowns and laid on the bed, then began stripping off her outfit from the day. She didn't think Lu Bu would find her in here tonight, and the thought was relaxing enough that after she slipped into her night gown and laid down, she found herself quickly falling to sleep. Apparently she really was much more fatigued than she had thought. The last thoughts to pass through her mind before she drifted off were of the beautiful Zhen Ji.
