Background:
Sun Ce died in 200 while his wife, Da Qiao, was pregnant with a son and daughter. This story is about what could have been and the mysterious journey that Sun Ce finds himself on after clinging to life for fifteen years after the fact...
A spark that had the potential to become the brightest fire in the land, extinguished before it had even jumped to the brush.
Sun Ce knew he was that spark as he lay on the ground, bleeding profusely. The assassins had struck with arrows - a lot of them. He had fought hard, and in the end, the men that had ambushed him during a routine hunting trip had been slain. But the damage had been done: an arrow was embedded in the left part of Sun Ce's jaw. Deep wounds ran down his body. He could feel himself slipping into the void from which there was no return.
As the darkness began to consume him, the last thing he saw was a silhouette hovering above him, the sun shining through the branches of the trees around him.
And then, he opened his eyes.
Gone was the forest. Gone was the arrow in Sun Ce's cheek. In its place was a dull ache. The forest about him had instantly turned into his own bedroom. The hard ground beneath him turned into his familiar bed, and the howling of the wind turned to the crackling of a small fire. He looked and saw himself dressed in white robes, covered in blankets. He blinked a few times to clear his eyes, the room coming into focus slowly.
The room was dimly lit by a single torch on the wall. At a desk facing the wall, a young woman no older than in her teens was cleaning, probably a maid. Sun Ce tried to speak, but all he managed was a hoarse groan. It was enough - the girl was startled, and she turned around in surprise. Then, she cried out the word that he had never expected her to say.
"DADDY!!!"
The door flew open, and a thin, handsome young man in a red outfit and hat rushed in. He had a youthful face and honest eyes. "Xiangfeng!" he said, his voice thick with concern. "What's--" Then, the young man's gaze came to rest on Sun Ce. Immediately, the young man dropped down to all fours in respect, lowering his head and not lifting his gaze from the floor.
"Daddy!" the girl cried, throwing her arms around Sun Ce's neck and burying her head into his shoulder. "You're awake! You're finally awake!
"Are you certain?"
Sun Quan had been standing on the balcony to his room, watching the night sky when the messenger arrived.
"Yes, my lord."
"After all these years..." Quan whispered to himself, closing his eyes. Tears streamed from his eyes. "Brother... I knew you would awaken one day."
Quan quickly made his way to the door and left the messenger. In the hallway, his sister was already waiting for him, an anxious look in her eyes.
"Is it true?" she asked. Quan kept walking, and she quickly kept pace.
"Yes, Shang Xiang," he said. "He awoke this morning. Xiangfeng and Boyan both saw him with their own eyes."
"After all this time--!" Shang Xiang blurted out. "It's been fifteen years!"
Quan grunted in agreement. His mind was racing. At that moment, Cao Cao and Liu Bei had ceased to exist in his mind. The only thing that was important now was seeing his brother.
Ce watched the young girl - the daughter he never knew - pour tea into the cup on the nightstand by his bed. She brought the cup over to him, holding it in both hands. Looking at her face, he saw the girl's mother's eyes.
"You've missed a lot, Daddy," she said quietly. "Boyan -- Lu Xun -- and I are married. He's such a great man, Daddy. Just... just like you."
Ce took the cup and took a sip. The tea was scalding hot, but at least the liquid was able to soothe his raspy throat.
"D-Da..." he managed to speak.
Xiangfeng looked around, her eyebrows furrowing upward.
"Uncle and Aunt are coming to see you, Daddy. They'll be here any minute now. They have a lot to tell you. And Daddy..."
Ce strained to sit up, putting the tea back on the nightstand. He gave Xiangfeng a meaningful look, letting her know he was ready.
"Brother-- I mean, your son's here to see you, too."
Ce's heart skipped a beat, and in walked a young man, no older than Xiangfeng. He wore a suit of armor that reminded Ce of his own father's, though there were many differences. The boy's eyes looked older than his years, and immediately, Ce knew that, as hard as his own childhood had been, this boy's had been even harder.
"F-Father," the boy stammered before falling to his knees by Ce's side. "It's me, Father. Shao."
"Shao..." Ce managed to gasp, putting his hand on his son's shoulder. "M-my son." He patted Shao on the shoulder weakly, but it was a gesture that the boy took to heart, clasping Ce's hand in his own.
"Here, Daddy," Xiangfeng said, handing the cup back to him. "Drink some more."
Ce slowly took a few more slips of the tea. It had cooled somewhat, and now it did a much better job of soothing his throat.
"Thanks," he said to his daughter, who bowed quickly in acknowledgement.
A maid - a real one, this time - entered the room. "Lord Sun... your brother and sister have arrived."
"Send them in," Ce responded, relieved to finally be speaking coherently. The relief was shared by his two children as well. The maid nodded in acknowledgement and left, and as she did so, Shao and Xiangfeng both moved to stand by the wall. Lu Xun - the young man in the red outfit - ducked his head in, and Xiangfeng nodded to him, at which point he entered the room and took his place next to her.
Then, Quan and Shang Xiang entered, the tears welling in their eyes.
"Fifteen years," Sun Ce said, closing his eyes. "How could I have slept for fifteen years?"
"You were injured really bad," Shang Xiang said, her hand on his shoulder. "We were thankful that you were still alive."
"Xiangfeng has been feeding you for the past five years," Quan responded. "Wu has prospered in the meantime, Brother. We are preparing to do war with Cao Cao once more."
"Five years," Sun Ce said. Instantly, Quan grew tense, and the mood in the room became a lot less celebratory. "What about... before that?"
"Mother cared for you," Shao said quietly.
"I want to see Da," Ce demanded. "I want to see my wife."
"Brother..." Shang Xiang said quietly. Quan put his hand in front of her to stop her, but she pushed it away, shaking her head. "Brother... Da's gone."
"...No..." Ce groaned. He threw his blanket off and got up off the bed, resisting his sister and brother's attempts to keep him down. His voice grew more rageful by the second. "No. That... that's impossible... Where's Gongjin? I want to talk to him, right now!" He looked at Shang Xiang again, and she could only close her eyes and shake her head.
With that, Ce got to his feet. The weakness in his legs overpowered him quickly, and he was only able to limp a few feet from out of his room before falling down to his knees. Tears streamed freely from his eyes and he beat the ground in rage.
"NO!!!"
Ce stood in front of the lonely gravestone, holding a cane. Behind him, his family - Quan, Shangxiang, Xiangfeng, Shao, his sister-in-law Xiao Qiao, and Sun Shao, an adopted relative - stood, watching him. The gravestone read:
"Da Qiao. A loving wife, sister, and mother. Stayed with her husband until illness took her."
A small distance to the left from the gravestone were two more.
"Zhou Gongjin, named Yu. Wu is forever indebted to his bravery"
"Taishi Ziyi, named Ci. Honored General Sun Bofu even to his death."
Even more lined the area. Ce was surrounded by the graves of some of his closest friends and family.
"Cheng Demou, named Pu. Fought for the Sun with his very best"
"Huang Gongfu, named Gai. Would readily have sacrificed all for Wu"
"Sun Shubi, named Yi. Killed before his time."
Tears flew freely down his cheeks. All of them had died honoring his memory, and he hadn't even been awake to say good-bye. And as painful as the absence of Zhou Yu and Taishi Ci were, seeing indesputable proof that he would never see the love of his life again tore his heart to pieces.
"She stayed with you the whole time," Xiao said, now by his side with a soft smile on her face. She was older - still as beautiful as ever, but a bit taller and a lot wiser. Zhou Yu's death had evidently taken its toll on her, but she was a strong woman. As immature as she had been at times, Ce had always known that she had a strong heart. It took one to overcome the death of not only a sister she loved dearly, but also a husband who had meant more than the world itself to her.
"I know," Ce replied as Xiao gently put her arms around him and hugged him. "...I know."
As he returned the embrace, his mind still dwelled on the scrifice these men and women had made on his behalf.
"My lord, you are still weakened!" Lu Meng cried out, following Sun Ce, now dressed in his battle attire, through the hall. Ce was moving quickly - no small task considering how long he had been laying down - but nothing was going to stop him.
"He's right!" Zhang Zhao admonished, his own elderly body doing an even better job of keeping up than Lu Meng. "For fifteen years we guarded your health closely! You can't throw it away on an impulse!"
"No," Ce responded. "I have to do this. I will destroy Cao Cao myself... not for me, but for everybody who died. For my father, for my brothers, for Masters Cheng and Huang, for Ziyi, for Gongjin, for Da..."
Ce pushed open the door leading outside. His troops were assembled, and Lu Xun stood at the side, bowing.
"...And for all of us!" Ce finished loudly, raising his fist into the air. The soldiers rose their weapons and shouted in response.
The soldiers began tapping the ends of their spears on the ground as Ce walked in front of them. His officers fell in behind him - Lu Meng, who had only been a capable but inexperienced major when Sun Ce had last seen him, and had now grown into an experienced, intelligent strategist as well. His son-in-law Lu Xun, who, despite having never even met Sun Ce before recently, had loyally fought in honor of his memory. Zhou Tai, as stalwart and quiet as ever. Ling Tong, who had grown incredibly since Sun Ce had seen him last. Gan Ning, a rough-looking man that Sun Ce had grown to like for his bravery and confidence. Shang Xiang and Quan were there as well, as were Jiang Qin, Han Dang... many old faces that Ce vividly remembered, as well as many new ones.
"I thank you all for the great work you've done," Ce called out, walking among the ranks of his soldiers. "Now, the final push. We will attack Cao Cao at Xuchang, destroy him, and unite this land in the name of Wu!"
"TEN THOUSAND YEARS! TEN THOUSAND YEARS!" the soldiers cried out in unison, raising their weapons. As they chanted, Ce made his way back up to the front of the formation and turned back to his soldiers.
"Our time's now!" Ce shouted, raising his fist once more. "Not for me, but for all of us!"
The cheer came like a mighty roar, and there were none within the city of Jianye who did not hear it. But it would soon be heard across the entire empire.
---TO BE CONTINUED---