Glimmering Splinters of Reunion
What is this soft cape that brushes playfully at my hand?
I reach for it tentatively, nervously. But my hand is weak. I can barely move it, because yet another is stroking it, urging me into calmness, urging me to cease my pointless and fruitless struggle to play with the flowing, pearl-white cloth.
Does this hand, pressing down on my knuckles, belong to the same owner as that lovely silk?
My name is Flora.
I am… a warrior that fights against Awakened Beings and for the Chinese people. I witnessed the death of the King of Shu, Liu Bei, at Wu Zhang Plains, slain by the Queen of Wei, Galatea, my comrade turned enemy… turned comrade once again. But… she had no opportunity to exult in her victory, or I in my grief. We were… attacked. They came upon us like wild dogs, hungry for easy prey. I put my hurt and my bereavement behind me to help my comrades topple the sadistic monsters that had brought so much terror and ruin to the Middle Kingdom.
I failed.
I should have died. I should have breathed my last on the plains of Wu Zhang… along with Lord Liu Bei. Along with Lord Zhuge Liang.
I should have died along with my darling Zilong.
Why? Why must he leave me now, while I remain in this hateful world?
But my eyes are already opening. I cannot keep them closed for all eternity, much to my dismay.
There is no rest for a silver-eyed wretch like me… is there?
*
She had awoken from unconsciousness many times in her violent life, but this time was different. The light did not blind, nor did her ears buzz irritatingly. But her head still throbbed with the weight of Durandal itself. She groaned quietly, her body as stiff as a log. Above her were tinkling chimes and gentle, swishing curtains to her peripherals. She raised her hand to rub her eyes– strange. The muscles in her triceps and biceps were not longer seared with agony, and she could flex and stretch with relative ease. What had happened? Why could she move at all? Surely, with her spine snapped in half…
Then, she heard the voice. "You don't need to worry about your broken back, angel."
She rubbed her forehead and squinted up to her right. That garbled voice… was her head still reeling from the events of her last struggle? But the masculine resonance came from that white-caped figure sitting by her bedside, staring down at her. The voice echoed through her head again as she shook away her grogginess. "Our healers have mended your shattered bone and closed up your split flesh. Your Yoma powers were quite impressive in completing your recuperation, too."
She nodded weakly. "I… I thank you, kind stranger. But… where am I?"
"I am no stranger, lady."
Her blood froze as the man spoke again. Suddenly, his arrogant voice was no longer indistinct.
At last, her vision cleared. Her eyes widened in horror at the figure's slick black hair, and his raised royal collar and mantle. His cold eyes, penetrating into her like a shard of frost, or a stalactite of ice. Those sinister eyes had looked upon her with a tortured mixture of sadistic desire and grudging respect at Tianshui.
It cannot be.
"Cao Pi?" she gasped. "Where… where am I? Why are you with me – "
Her nemesis – the rival she had fundamentally, ontologically positioned herself against – smirked. He reached for her with a slim but strong hand, and she pulled away desperately, covering her brassiere and breasts with her slender arm. She cried out in agitated humiliation – save her lingerie, she was completely exposed, completely undressed. But her condition did not warrant jerky, quick movements. He gripped her wrist, pressing against her fragile body. She struggled briefly, staring into his vampiric irises. "Please, release me at once. I… I…" she sputtered, glancing down at her bare body. "Was it you… who took off my clothes? What have you done to me?"
He turned up his nose. "How ungrateful. Did you expect to sleep for four weeks in those torn, bloodstained clothes of yours? Commonsense dictated that my attendants bathe you before anything else. And those wounds of yours…"
"What are you talking about?"
He drew closer, and she involuntarily whimpered. His breath, surprisingly fragrant with the scent of Chinese flowers, tickled her face.
"It was I who saved you from the thick fingers of that beastly centaur."
Isley?!
His revelation came upon her like bolt of lightning in the dark eve. "You… you could not have been at Wu Zhang!" stuttered Flora. She gasped, clutching her chest. She had almost forgotten, and she almost wished she could. "I did not see you anywhere!"
Zilong… "I… I thought I was doomed…"
"A contingent of our forces was sent as reserve reinforcements to Wu Zhang, in the event Galatea – I mean, Stepmother – was defeated. We arrived almost immediately after hearing of the sudden ambush by Isley's minions at Wu Zhang Fort. I had help, of course," said the Prince nonchalantly. "Xu Huang and I led to Wu Zhang a division of our Kingdom's silver-eyed warriors: Rafaela, Alicia, Beth, and Miata. It was they who provided invaluable assistance in holding back Isley's monstrosities whilst my wardens whisked you away from the battlefield. Alicia was most impressive, but still we suffered heavy losses. It seemed the Awakened Beings were determined to triumph against us regardless of our superior numbers. We barely managed to keep our lives…" he grimaced. "Although Rafaela, Xiahou He and Xiahou Hui were not quite so fortunate."
"You… you came to reinforce us?" she whispered.
"We thought we might have been too late."
"You were too late, Crown Prince!" shrieked Flora suddenly. Before she could blink, her open hand had found his right cheek, and her clenched fists were instantly upon his body, beating down on his torso as she wailed her grief and fury. "You came too late! You could not save anyone! You wanted us to suffer… did you not? You came too late and let our comrades perish there… without hope… without even a shred of dignity…"
Despite having suffered a stinging slap, he did not seem surprised in the least at her hysterical outburst, which infuriated her all the more. She continued to attack him, hurling her wild fists against his breast as he caught her trembling body in his arms. Ignoring her screaming, his eyes glinted as his fingers found her soft, pale skin. He barely noticed the weak hammering she meted out on him… no, who would pay attention to her emotional turmoil when one could caress her body like so?
"You hopeless woman. Do not channel your guilt, your self-loathing against me. I did my part. But you did not."
"You – you – "
"If you are so ashamed of your inability to protect your compatriots, then surrender to me. Then, I can comfort you. And I can avenge you."
Flora gasped indignantly at his shamelessly frank overtures. She felt tears pouring from her wide eyes, her grief and confusion completely disregarded, unwanted, tossed aside by his lust. She stared fearfully at him as he clutched her waist and her back. He pulled at her long wavy hair, baring his teeth eagerly like those of a hungry, famished wolf. He smirked at her defenceless countenance as he lowered himself to her exposed neck. "Cao Pi – what do you think you're doing?" she moaned, twisting and flailing weakly. But his lean hands were merciless. His hot breath spread across her ample bosom like a burning cloud.
"Ever since our battle at Tianshui, I've always wondered… how good you taste," he hissed. "I would like to know... just what the heroic Zhao Yun thought of the Continent's flavours."
"You… you… despicable scum," she blurted. Her hands were no longer clenched but focused wholly on resisting him – somewhat unsuccessfully, partly due to her physical condition. In her indignation, she would have hurled him across the room had she enjoyed full strength. He noticed her open arms pressing against his chest and caught himself, looking at her more sombrely. "It is not my error that you and your headstrong dragon suffered from laughably glaring weaknesses."
"Don't you dare speak of Lord Zhao Yun like that."
"I speak the truth. You thought you could challenge us and walk away unscathed? Nevermind the Awakened Beings… Zhao Yun's senseless desire to please you, to protect you, proved to be his undoing. And your inability to look beyond that thrust you into a battle you could not win." He smirked. "Now see where that's landed you."
"Give him… back to me. I demand that you give him back to me." How she burned to hear her lover murmur his devotion against her ear again! But the hero of Shu had fallen, and didn't even leave behind a body to weep over. The agony of the little dragon's absence crushed her fighting spirit once again, and she sobbed wildly into Cao Pi's arms for a second time, unable to dam the outpour of passion and turbulence within her. "Return my baby dragon to me."
His answer was of little comfort. "Accept it, silver-eyed woman. He is gone. Even a dragon is not omnipotent." To her surprise, the Prince began to cradle her tenderly, as she slackened slightly, his eyes softening for just one moment.
Just one.
Then, he spoke again, this time calling out to someone else. "Father. She is awake, but from her raucous squealing, you probably already know."
She breathed sharply, her eyes widening. Father?
Then he can mean no one except…
She followed Cao Pi's gaze to the dark figure that stood beyond her bed, his back turned to her. She stared in dismay and horror as he shifted around, his dark, phoenix-patterned cape swishing behind him.
Her gaze met the shrewd ones eyes of a hard-hearted, erudite demon from the Mahapadma Hell. "Welcome to Luoyang," he sneered, walking over. "I believe we first met at Hanzhong. I trust you've largely recovered?"
Cao Cao.
"What do you want with me, tyrant?" she cried, her hands clutching the bedsheets tighter. "I will defeat both of you here and now, and bring an end to the imperialist Kingdom that has inflicted so much grief upon us." She pushed Cao Pi away and glanced around for any weapon she could swipe up, to ward away the two men. But there were naught, unless one could improvise with several more pillows and a ceramic cup of cooling tea.
Cao Cao smiled. "Don't bother, lass. For now, you are no warrior. You are nothing more than a comatose guest who's been asleep for a month. Tell her, son." His eyes glinted. "Update her on the most recent affairs of note."
"Yes, Father." Cao Pi looked at Flora sharply. "You seem to have lost track of the momentous events occurring in our nation since your coma. Allow me to inform you."
He took a short breath.
"There is no such thing as the Wei Kingdom."
*
"There is no such thing as the Wei Kingdom."
Impossible. Ludicrous. Lunacy. He was insulting her intelligence, surely. But his face… Flora shook her head, staring with disbelief into his eyes. "I beg your pardon?" she blurted, chastising herself inwardly for resorting to such… typical words.
"Nor is there such thing as Shu. Nor Wu. Yes. China is at long last, one again," smiled Cao Pi. "The land, long divided, must unite. And it happened while you were snoring quietly into your pillow," he added, wrinkling his sharp nose disdainfully.
She momentarily forgot her precarious condition. She almost forgot to blink, wide-eyed as she was, staring at nothing whilst she reeled from the revelation. It felt so surreal. What was happening? Was he telling the truth? And if he was, how did it transpire so quickly when the war between the Three Kingdoms had persisted for three years? "Then where… where are the others? Those who survived?" she asked urgently.
"I suppose you mean those who fought alongside you." Cao Cao smiled. "You were not the only one who survived Wu Zhang Plains."
"Then… Master Zhou Tai… Miss Cynthia… and Lady Huang, too? They are all…"
"Indeed. Lady Yue Ying has yet to rise, but I have gained some measure of satisfaction from the fact that Galatea no longer remains in her coma." He paused for a few seconds. "Surely you are curious to hear of why the Three Kingdoms no longer exist? It is, after all, the ultimate reason for why you have remained here for the past month."
"Do not play games with me, Cao Cao."
"I am not," sneered Cao Pi's father. "See for yourself. The Kingdom of Shu is no more, for it has been overrun by Awakened Beings. Their invasion also penetrated into Jianye, slaying Sun Quan and most of Wu's servants. And as for Wei…" He raised his eyes to the ceiling briefly. "With the destruction of Shu and Wu, I intend to keep my promise. I shall dissolve my own empire. With my authority and the Emperor's seal, I intend to subsume Wei into the Chinese nation."
"Impossible," whispered Flora.
"I will no longer serve as the King of Wei. I shall retain only one position, and that is of Imperial Chancellor. And that, in the face of an impotent Emperor Xian, renders me the de facto ruler of China. With Liu Bei dead and Sun Quan's Kingdom in ashes…" He spread out his arm, and Cao Pi smiled. "There can no longer be any conflict between people of the Han."
"You're veritably admitting that you allowed Isley's forces to raze Chengdu and Jianye," spat Flora. "Why else would you not send your troops to help Shu and Wu? Have you no conscience?!"
"As of now, scouts have reported that our forces lost close to twenty-thousand troops in the Jiangdong region while fending off Rigardo's army," snapped Cao Cao. "Xu Huang is struggling in Hanzhong, barely able to push back Priscilla's rampaging hordes whilst we hold the line to protect Xuchang and Luoyang. Do you not see, Flora? I need fighters of talent to combat these Awakened Beings. Now that China is once more united, I need every available hand that can wield a weapon."
He reached out his hand, enclosed in an ebony glove. "More specifically, I need you."
Flora stared at him, staggered and overwhelmed. "Serve… you?"
This is too much! It was evident that she had awoken to an entirely new world, a world that was unrecognizable to the one which she had fallen out of communion with only just a month ago. Her slumber of four weeks – was that all it took for humanity to change like this? To have it united under… a man like… him?
"I will allow you to mull my words over in your head for a time. But I trust that you still possess the sensibility and commonsense to admit, in your heart, that a complete nation requires a united front. And as there is no Shu to serve…" He grinned; turning on his heel, and slowly strode out of the room, brushing aside the jingling drapes. "You now serve me. You have absolutely no alternative, for I am the Imperial Chancellor, custodian of the Emperor. I am China."
"Cao Cao, this is not over yet!" cried Flora.
"Where are you going, Father?" called Cao Pi.
Cao Cao did not look at his son. "To watch over my tigress," was all he said. He retreated from sight, and the Imperial Chancellor's footsteps receded into the distant hallways, leaving Flora alone in her guestroom with her archenemy.
"Tigress?" stammered Flora, her ire dying down slightly. But she remained as confused as ever. "What is he saying?"
Cao Pi smirked. "Ah, yes. Forgive me for neglecting to inform you sooner, but my stepmother Galatea is the Governess – the Imperial Chancellor's counterpart – who shall be holding authority over you, too."
Flora could not find a fitting retort as she stared up at him again, lost for words.
*
The scent of victory was strong.
"They are dying," observed Rigardo quietly, staring at the fallen forms of Galatea, Cynthia, Flora, Zhou Tai and Yue Ying. He had exerted more strength than he thought necessary – but for now, he was content to bask in the glory of revenge. Even the slight rumbling in the distance did not concern him. He would not relent, not even after having died once. His transformation into a silver-eyed warrior so many centuries ago and his subsequent Awakening were far greater milestones than something as trivial as death. "That one – if that man falls here this day, we cannot fail. There will be no Chinese creature that can match our Awakened strength."
Wu Zhang Fortress was no more. The path to the north was open at last.
Isley nodded his agreement as he looked towards the horizon, from which the faint but discernable sun was rising. The morning dew from midnight was exquisitely fragrant.
Dawn was coming.
Rigardo raised his hand and stalked towards the helpless allied warriors. He raised his hand, closing his eyes momentarily in a perverse form of recognition. "Now… this all ends."
The rumbling in the faint distance grew louder and suddenly stopped. "Halt!" shot out a proud, masculine voice. Rigardo glanced up in surprise as his elongating claws were sliced aside by a lightning-quick blade. He whipped around, to where the ruins of the fortress lay. Had one of them recovered? Impossible, their wounds had all been of a lethal nature. They could not have recovered so quickly!
Reinforcements?
"Who dares interrupt?" snapped Rigardo. His claws elongated as he growled in fury. Victory was nigh. He would not allow some desperate last gasp to stifle the euphoria of ultimate conquest. He glanced at Isley, who was smiling. "My Lord. This is hardly amusing – "
Isley pulled Priscilla close and beamed. "And now, the cavalry arrives."
He was not inaccurate in his use of that expression. A small detachment of Imperial Lancers was approaching them, their hooves trampling the scorched grass of the wide hill. Their cold armour shone with the dew of the early morning. Priscilla gasped and hid behind Isley again whilst Rigardo stepped forward, beckoning the Strossi to accompany him as a white cape billowed before the Awakened Beings. The gigantic thralls of Isley growled and salivated, staring at the vampiric man before them. Behind him were two young silver-eyed witches, their uniform of a unique black dye.
Flanking the two blonde women was a tall warrior with a heroic, ponytailed helm, and a Claymore with a scar along her left eye…
"Rafaela… and the Black Ones," recognized Isley, a ghost of a frown flittering over his serene face for the first time.
"And you are Xu Huang," hissed Rigardo, staring angrily at the warrior that had bested him at He Fei Castle. The joints in his fingers tightened as they itched to tear the human intruders apart. "I am surprised that you would dare to show your face again when I almost severed your head from its shoulders."
Xu Huang raised his halberd, glaring at the Awakened Beings with a condemnation that could only be understood by warriors of virtue. There would be no need for formalities. "Alicia. Beth."
"Our Lord," they answered in unison. Beth closed her eyes obediently, and Alicia's carapace burst out from her black armour, enveloping her in an insectoid shell of impenetrable bone. She smoothly stepped beside Xu Huang, who twirled his halberd.
"You now face the challenge of a true soldier," he declared to Rigardo, who fell silent, glaring at the sudden reinforcements. "You will witness a power that even you cannot attain. The power of valour."
Rafaela stepped forward. "We may not survive this, you do realize that, don't you? Cao Pi."
A snort of derision was the only response. "My father's orders are simple: to rescue the warriors defeated by Isley's minions. That is all there is." Cao Pi aimed his longsword at Rigardo. "Now… it is time to punish you, you overgrown grimalkin," he declared coldly.
"Let the Prince of Wei show you just how expensive a Chinese education is."
*
His dark cape swishing just above his heels, Cao Cao made his way to his bedchambers, where Galatea convalesced. He adjusted his raised collar and entered the room, staring down at the beautiful, womanly figure that reclined on his bed, completely naked and covered only by his luxurious, satin blanket. How different she looked when Cao Pi's wardens had brought her to him! Her limp body seemed about to fall apart, broken as it was, and she was bathed in her own blood, sickening the courtiers in her unconscious presence. Needless to say, for the past four weeks he had demanded his finest doctors and healers to attend to her, to work day and night in mending her grievous injuries.
She was strong, no doubt. But as with Flora, even their Claymore flesh required external assistance. Thank Heaven that the sorcerers were able to help.
He pursed his lips, allowing himself a quiet sigh. He approached Galatea's bed and slowly went on his knees, reaching for her hair. He was inches from touching her when she unconsciously sensed his presence and opened her murky eyes, but that did not stop him. His gloved hands stroked away the bangs covering her forehead.
She stirred and sighed, her voice full of sleep.
"I trust the pain has long left you?" he murmured.
"You again," she moaned. "Leave me to my beauty kip already."
"You have been sleeping for three days. Even a silver-eyed woman should have recovered – "
"The more beautiful the woman, the longer the nap she requires," she interrupted, her voice slightly louder than before. She shifted away, burying her face in her cushion and covering the side of her head with it.
He stared at her for several moments before opening his mouth to speak again. "It may have been only a month… but this will be last time you fail me."
Galatea opened her eyes again. She turned back around slowly, meeting his gaze. "Is that a threat?"
"No." He drew close and pressed his lips to her slightly open mouth. She purred, her slender arm emerging entirely from the silk and pressing against his head. "Without you, my plan cannot eventuate. How many times do you defy me? I need you to carry out my ultimate will."
"That's all fair and dandy, but… what do you intend to do now?" she asked, pressing a finger to his lips.
Cao Cao smiled. "To ensure that those that survived Wu Zhang enjoy the best attention and treatment we can offer."
Her eyes momentarily widened. "A surprise," she murmured, after several moments. "You are actually going to care for them until they can walk again?"
"They will serve me, of course. There will be no defiance on their part, I assure you. But you are right. My wardens shall babysit them until they recuperate completely. Given your rather formidable defensive Yoki, your healing has progressed more rapidly than the others. That you are well enough to attack me with your usual jabs and taunts is proof of that."
He lifted himself up from his knees. "I will do as you say, and leave you to your vain dreaming. I will take my leave now, Governess of China."
"You are a busy man, aren't you?"
"Indeed," he smirked. "I must pay a visit to the nation's new Supreme Commander. Or perhaps I should say that she will be our nation's new military head – whether she likes it or not." He kissed Galatea lightly and stroked back her hair. As she sighed, he turned away to depart. "If you are well enough, don your royal attire and rendezvous with me in the Throneroom tonight. I am sure the woman called Yue Ying shall be awake by now." His eyes glinted. "Like Flora, I believe she will be shocked to wake up to a world without Shu. Or without Wu. Or without Wei."
Galatea smirked. "I hate to admit it, you sly devil… but I, too, would like to see the look on her face."
*
While Galatea and Cao Cao engaged in ironic conversation and exchanged sly words of love, several chambers away, the wife of the deceased Sleeping Dragon opened her chestnut eyes. She shook her head slightly, the throbbing refusing to ease away.
She moaned and blinked slowly amidst the blankets that enfolded her healed body. It was all gone… her wounds, her injuries. She blinked in wobbly disbelief.
"Where… where am I?" she groaned.