Author's Note: Hey everyone! Sorry for the delay in getting the new chapter up. Suffered a little writers' block on how I wanted part of this chapter to go! I changed the formatting in response to comment on solid text blocks on screen, hehe. Hope it's a little easier to read! I got a few comments on the last chapter, and was sort of waiting to see if I'd get more, but a new story is a new story I suppose! Let me know what you all think! Your reviews help a lot! Chapter 3 will be along soon, too!

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She awoke to the crisp feel of the early morning sunlight spilling through the window and across her face. For a few moments, she just lay there. The feel of an unfamiliar bed beneath her, different blankets against her skin. It was always strange waking in an unfamiliar setting, regardless of the circumstances in which you find yourself there. Still though, she always enjoyed the first few moments of waking up. The warmth of her bed had always been a comfort to her, ever since she was a little girl. The gentle sound of a songbird outside the window floated in gently, just barely reaching her ears. A very pretty, relaxing sound. She let herself listen and enjoy it as she stretched her limbs gently to work the night's kinks from her muscles, then after several minutes of gentle turning, she rolled over.

The man laying next to her was... unwelcome, to say the least. She hated arranged marriages, and she hated having to conform to them. She ran her eyes over his face, gazing upwards in his slumber as he lay on his back. She listened at the window; the battle would be picking back up outside the castle soon, and he had yet to even arise, let alone don his armor and get ready. Men could be so lazy. But then, she always woke before he did. He always commented on it, as if she did it just to please him, waking and getting their wash basins and clothing for the day ready. In truth, it was just natural for her.

Pulling back the covers, Zhen Ji placed her feet down gently on the floor, and shivered. The castle being the fortress that it was, everything was stone, and very little carpeting was to be found anywhere. She pulled her nightgown off over her head, then walked across to the room's wash basin. She filled it with clear water from a jug on the floor, then scrubbed the sleep from her face, and cleaned her teeth and washed her hands. She'd see about getting a proper bath tonight in the castle washrooms. She then crossed to the wardrobe. She lingered there for a few moments, deciding what to wear, eventually settling on a purple sequined dress that was casual enough to be comfortable in, yet practical enough to be socially appropriate. She pulled the matching stockings and slippers on, thankful for the reprieve from the stone floors, and then began running a brush through her hair. She took all the time she needed to fully don her favorite pieces of jewelry and string her customary purple and silver ribbons through her hair. Then she laid out his battle garb he wore beneath his armor, and once everything was in order, she went ahead and woke Yuan Xi.

He grunted from her gentle nudge on his arm, and it took a second slightly more firm nudge before he opened his eyes. Internally, she giggled; an entire regimen could have snuck up to their rooms and he would have been none the wiser. Such a deep sleeper he was, and took forever to wake on his own. His eyes went up to her face, and once sleep lifted enough for him to register it was her waking him, he smiled up at her.

"Good morning, my love!" his voice held an energy not matched by his body. He immediately attempted to move, his unstretched muscles knotting and his limbs jerking a little bit as he lurched up from the bed. She had to suppress another giggle as she watched the spectacle. He wouldn't enjoy knowing she was laughing at him. She covered her amusement by turning to the was basin and refilling it with water from the jug on the floor for him.

"Good morning, my husband." she replied calmly. "I have readied your garb for the day."

"Ah, such a dutiful wife you are!" It was at that point he would normally have grabbed at her. His nature was very grabby, his hands were all too fond of wandering about her body. However, this morning he seemed to have rolled out of bed the opposite direction, placing the bed between them, and she moved from the wash basin to the far corner where his armor was, and began piling it on the bed. Seeing her far to absorbed in the morning preparations for the day, he sighed a little disappointed and began pulling on his garb.

A knock came at the door just as he was getting himself covered. Zhen Ji opened it to find a servant standing there in the castle livery, head bowed. "Good morning, my lady. Lord Lu Bu requests the Yuan party's attendance at breakfast."

Zhen Ji opened her mouth to respond, but Yuan Xi's voice boomed out from the room behind her before she could say anything. "All right! Let him know we'll be right there!"

The servant bowed and hurried off. She allowed herself a moment for an annoyed look cast out into the hallway before she blanked her face and turned around. He let her deal with very little. It annoyed her to no end; she wasn't an infant! But she never let the annoyance show on her face, lest he take it as a slight. She went to his side as he was finishing up dressing, prepared to head down to breakfast, and found herself grabbed and pulled to him. She suppressed a sigh and let him amuse himself giving her kisses and running a hand over her. He hadn't used the wash basin, and she tried to keep her nose away from his face. What was it with men and believing marriage forgave all? Arranged marriages were worse; they seemed to all think as soon as the vows were over there was instant love and instant devotion.

When he finally let her go, she straightened her dress and hair as he pulled on the last of his armor, then she followed him out of the room and down to the grand hall. Unlike the night before, breakfast consisted mostly of dried rations. She was glad to see, however, that there was a little bit of cheese, as well as some local seasonal fruit to go around with it, however. She was not a fan of rations. Everyone seemed to just be helping themselves and sitting wherever, as most of the servants were engaged in the day's combat preparations, so she did the same, taking a few pieces of fruit and cheese. She turned from the serving table to find Yuan Xi not there. A quick glance about the room found him seated with a plate full of rations with his brothers clustered around Lu Bu. She sighed aloud, rather vexed. He was not a very attentive husband. There were times she could easily have ceased to exist and he'd have been none the wiser. She contemplated sitting with them briefly, but dismissed the notion. Better to take the reprieve when it presented itself. The rest of the room held no familiar faces to her, however, so she sat apart from them, but at a near by table, and began delicately eating her fruit.

Some time passed, her left to her own thoughts as she savored her meal, when she suddenly realized some one was approaching her. She looked up to find a very tall dashing man in full plate armor. He held a long glaive in one hand, and a plate of food in the other hand, but it seemed perfectly portioned of rations, cheese, and fruit, with no one favored extra or less than the others. She was unsure as to why this detail struck her, and she turned her gaze up to his face. He even wore his helm at a time like this, it's tall azure plume arching back behind him as a mane of hair might. He stood at the edge of the table and, with perfect balance, gave a full bow without so much as disturbing a single grape on his plate.

"Good morning, Lady Zhen Ji." he said formally, his voice deep and powerful. "I am Zhang Liao. Might I join you for the morning meal?"

Such manners. She wasn't used to someone as polite and confident yet not arrogant as he. Among the Yuan Court, everyone was arrogant and boastful, and most lacked a reason to be. This man was the exact opposite. It was... extremely refreshing. After several moments of contemplation, she realized she had been doing nothing but eyeing him critically, not even responding. He continued to stand there, however, unperturbed. She got the distinct impression that not much could ruffle this man's feathers.

"You may do as you wish." She gestured in acceptance, and she watched as he propped his glaive against an empty chair within easy reach and pulled one out for himself, sitting down and placing his plate before him. All of his movements were so... deliberate. She doubted he ever wasted a motion. She caught herself watching him again. He was very fascinating to her. It was almost a form of dance, she decided, which is why she enjoyed watching so much, as any other man might enjoy watching her dance. Minus the intense lust, that is.

Zhang Liao sat, eating methodically around his plate, one bite after the next. He broke the silence after a few moments. "Why do you stare at me so?" he asked. There was no offense in his voice, simply inquisitiveness.

She answered his question with one of her own. "Why is your plate so perfectly balanced?"

He looked down at his plate with a slight bit of puzzlement. "To what do you refer?"

"Most people favor certain foods over others." she gestured down at her own plate in example, with extra fruit and no rations. "Your plate contains exactly the same portions of each food offered, with no preference given."

"A warrior must nourish his body in order to adequately perform on the field of battle." he said simply.

"Without allowing himself to enjoy his meal?"

"My enjoyment does not lie in food. Nourishment is simply necessary to maintain one's body."

Zhen Ji couldn't stop her giggle this time. She covered her mouth as it escaped her lips, looking at him amused but hoping she didn't offend. The look on his face again held no offense, however. Simply curious, he cocked his head at her. "I am aware that some of my mannerisms are... unusual."

"Yet refreshing." she smiled at him. "And why is it you choose to sit over here with me, Lord Zhang Liao, rather than at the table with Lord Lu Bu and the Yuan family?"

Zhang Liao cast a distasteful glance behind him as Yuan Shu was gesturing at the air mightily, obviously relating some feat of prowess or another. His brothers were caught up in it, cheering with him; Lu Bu looked unimpressed. Zhang Liao snorted. "I have no use for baseless posturing." he turned his gaze back to her. "And why do you choose to sit apart from your husband's side?"

Zhen Ji met his gaze. She took a moment before responding, "For the same reason, I suppose." She was not referring to Yuan Shu's story or the morning's activities, and she could see in Zhang Liao's eyes and the way he nodded his head that he caught her meaning.

"You look directly into my eyes quite a lot, Lady Zhen Ji. Not demure at all." It was not a slight, simply a statement of fact. He spoke directly, no hidden meanings.

"The face, and especially the eyes, can tell you everything about a person. I have a gift at reading peoples' eyes."

"A very valuable gift." He nodded in approval, and said no more.

The rest of their meal passed in silence, but it was a comfortable silence. Zhang Liao sat mechanically cleaning his plate while she ate her fruit. It wasn't long before Lu Bu stood and declared they should be forming up their lines, and everyone but the servants rose to depart for the field. Zhang Liao rose and gave her a full bow. "By your pardon, my lady."

"I am neither your lady nor your superior. You do not require my pardon."

Zhang Liao held his bow, saying nothing, merely waiting for her pardon. She had a sudden sadistic thought of letting him stay there until he gave up and decided to go. As amusing as that would have been, however, she decided now was not the appropriate time for such antics, besides which she had a feeling he wouldn't give up.

"You may go. And I wish you luck in today's battle."

"I do not believe in luck." Not a boast, simply another statement. And with that, he lifted his glaive and turned to depart. As he left, he delivered another surprise as he took his empty plate with him. Rather than leave it as all the other men had for the servants to clean up after him, he set it down in the dish cart as he passed. She wondered if she ended up around him for any length of time in the future if such surprises would become commonplace with him.

As soon as everyone had filed out of the room, she got up. She deposited her empty plate in the dish cart as well, then hurried up to her room. She always had a separate room apart from Yuan Xi for her own personal things, but what he didn't know was that among those things was a set of light maiden's battle armor, a whip, and an enchanted flute that she used for more than just playing songs. Yuan Xi forbade her to participate in combat, and it was partly that which made her do so without his knowledge. She would never allow any man to forbid her anything just because she was a woman!

As she was rushing up to her room, she rounded a corner that continued one way down a hallway, but opened up the other way into an open sky garden. As she was rushing past she happened to catch a glimpse of a woman sitting alone out in the garden. A lovely tune was echoing through it and into the hallway, and she couldn't help but stop as she was rushing past and take another look. It was Diao Chan, the beautiful woman from last night, sitting on a stone bench facing away from the hallway, with a small harp balanced on her knees. It was then that Zhen Ji realized that Diao Chan had not been at breakfast. She doubtless would have been at Lu Bu's side. Had she been hiding up here? The melody she was tugging out of the harp's strings was enrapturing. It fit Diao Chan's beauty so well that she had no doubt the woman had composed it herself. So beautiful, so entrancing was the scene of Diao Chan in the garden playing on her harp that Zhen Ji completely forgot about joining the battle. There could have been no battle, no castle or armies around her at all, so entranced was she by Diao Chan. She had been similarly captivated last night, but this was different. Now she could take her time to watch. The gentle breeze ruffled the flowers and bushes around Diao Chan, but seemed not to touch her at all as she swayed with her song.

What was this she was feeling? Never had she been as enthralled with anyone before as she was at that moment. She didn't understand, but she had to explore it further. All thoughts of her plan of weapons and armor discarded, she slowly eased her way ever so slowly into the garden and sat gently on a separate bench, careful not to disturb Diao Chan and her song. She wanted to take as long as possible to just listen, to burn the memory of this scene into her mind forever. She sat and simply watched and listened as the beautiful song caressed her ears with it's notes, teased out of the harp by Diao Chan and her exquisite talent.

Being a songstress herself, Zhen Ji was able to pick up the subtle shift in the song as it changed from one to another, a slower, more melancholy tune. It was still beautiful, the notes now being plucked deliberately out of the harp rather than teased out, they weaved a tune that brought tears to her eyes before she realized they were brimming up. She pulled a handkerchief and dabbed them away they as they came, unbidden in silent response to Diao Chan's mesmerizing playing. This tune could be felt deep down, and such was the skill with which Diao Chan played that you could feel every note before the next came, in a seamless weaving of notes into song, making you feel without thinking.

The song seemed to go on forever, time standing still, and so caught up in it was she that she was left with the feeling that one always seems to have when immersed in a song that suddenly ends, a jolting dump back into reality, the air feeling stark and empty without the notes filling it. So abrupt was the ending a soft little moan of protest escaped her lips before she knew it had. She put a hand to her mouth in surprise as Diao Chan's head whipped around, startled by the sudden unexpected sound. They both froze, looking at each other with surprise on their faces.

Diao Chan broke the silence first. "Lady Zhen Ji... I uh... what a surprise." She flushed for some reason, a faint crimson tint painting her cheeks. She couldn't help but think it was cute.

Ji lowered her hand, composing herself. "My apologies, Lady Diao Chan. I should have announced myself, but I was so entranced by your playing. I did not mean to interrupt you."

"No, it's all right. I..." She paused, gave a little sigh. She seemed so vexed. At first, Ji thought it was her, but as she looked in to Diao Chan's eyes, she could tell the source was not her. She was troubled by something else, and was here avoiding it. Without knowing it, Ji had intruded upon her haven, had unintentionally disturbed a rare solitude this woman was not often able to get.

"What's wrong?" Ji narrowed her eyes slightly, wanting instinctively to help, to reach out to this woman and protect her; not a feeling she often had with most, let alone strangers. Diao Chan looked up, puzzlement entering her expression to find that she would so easily delve into her personal life. Diao Chan's eyes held puzzlement, and something more... a desire to open up, but a hesitance with it. She knew nothing of Ji, after all.

Diao Chan sighed and shook her head. "It's... nothing." She turned her head away, gazing out over the garden. She took a deep breath... and then suddenly her face was blank. Ji frowned a little, unsure how it just happened. Diao Chan's face was expressionless, but there was something more than that. She had wrapped herself in a veil which Ji could not read through. She felt suddenly off key, as someone might feel a sudden disorientation upon stumbling just before the actual physical trip happened. She'd never encountered someone she could not read before. However, as flustering as it was, she found herself intrigued. Who was this woman that could so easily mask herself? And what sorts of inner turmoil must she be dealing with to cause her to have to hide behind such a mask?

It was obvious to Ji that Diao Chan did not wish to talk about it, and as much as she wanted to pursue it, she didn't want to pry. She stood up, straightening her dress. "Well, if you feel like talking, Lady Diao Chan, I'll be-" She cut off mid word as she sensed someone walking up behind her. She turned to see another woman coming in to the garden. She was slightly shorter than Ji herself was, dressed in leathers due to the battle going on with her hair pulled back in a tight tail. She bent her knee politely to Ji, then turned to Diao Chan.

"What is it, Wen Cai?" Diao Chan asked.

"Word just came back from the front lines. Cao Cao has received additional reinforcements, and more may be on the way. Our position is not looking good. Even with Lord Yuan Shu's help, we may lose this battle."

Zhen Ji expected Diao Chan to make some sort of exclamation at this, but her composure did not crack in the least. "Everyone will do their best, I'm sure."

"Lord Chen Gong is suggesting several tactics, and also ways to improve troop morale, one of which is to have you perform tonight after evening meal."

Diao Chan clicked her tongue. "Chen Gong..." Her eyes flashed with distaste, the only slip in her composure, but it was gone so quickly it would not have been noticeable to most. To Ji though, it spoke volumes. Her heart ached for this woman. Diao Chan gazed back at Wen Cai. "I do not feel like dancing."

"Will they give you a choice?"

"No. I suppose not..." She paused, thinking.

Ji stepped forward. "If I might interject, Lady Diao Chan. I would offer my help."

Diao Chan's gaze shifted to her. "What sort of help?"

"I play as well. Perhaps I could play for you tonight as you dance, and then afterward we switch and you play for me. I know what it's like, how even though a performer can be on stage with all eyes on them and still feel alone. This way, I'll be with you. You won't be alone."

Their eyes locked, and Ji was slightly surprised to feel her heart flutter, gazing into the bottomless depth of Diao Chan's eyes. It did not show on her face, of course. Diao Chan was not the only one with an iron composure.

"We've never played together before, and we have almost no time to rehearse. It may go badly, or fall flat."

A defiant look came over Ji's face. "It will not be a bad performance. It will go beautifully."

That night, a weary and disheartened army under the combined command of Lu Bu and Yuan Shu returned to the castle of Xia Pi. They had their evening meals, and as they were finishing up, wine was passed around to help everyone relax as a raised stage was positioned and secured at one end of the banquet hall. Half of the lights were put out to dim the hall and set a mood, and Zhen Ji accompanied Diao Chan onto the stage. Zhen Ji sat on a cushion and took up her flute, and began to play a slow yet entrancing melody, which Diao Chan found herself wrapped within. Zhen Ji was so skilled with her flute that her playing pierced the hearts not only of every soldier in the room, but also of Diao Chan herself. Her feet and hips moved almost of their own accord as Diao Chan swayed across the platform, her every movement exquisite and beautiful. The show was utterly entrancing, as time itself even seemed to stop to watch. And when the time came for them to trade places, Zhen Ji found herself in the same state she had been in earlier that day as she had watched Diao Chan play her harp in the gardens, but now it was here. She felt the same way Diao Chan did, and for the next several hours they both lost themselves in the others' music. They put forth their hearts for the other through their playing, as music has a way of baring the soul, and a bond began to form, hidden feelings within themselves surfacing for the other as the emotional undercurrent grew. The entire evening melted away as they fooled every single soldier in the room into believing they were performing for them. And when it was finally all over, and everyone cheered and drank more wine and the two women slipped out of the room and rushed back to Diao Chan's hidden room from last night, their emotions running high and their hearts racing, only the two of them knew the truth; that they had not been performing for the soldiers, they had been playing and dancing only for each other. Neither wanted to return to a bed they shared with a man they did not truly want to be with, and so they hid for the night. They did not speak, for words now would be redundant and could not help to further express themselves. Indeed, words after such an intimate exchange of the music and dance would have taken something away from the experience. And so they simply hid in the private room together, and eventually drifted off to sleep, happy simply for the companionship; happy not to be alone.