A/N: Ya, I know it's weird so far. I am doing my best, though! Thank you to all the people who reviewed, this time, I'll try to get everything right. And Na's hair is kinda shoulder length, so it can be long OR short. Also, this chapter hasn't changed too much, I just corrected the spelling and grammar, and generally made it less crappy.
Disclaimer: see chapter 1
Sun Shang Xiang was still deep in thought when she noticed an old shortcut of hers. Grinning, she checked no one was around before walking over to the old beech tree and clambering up the branches. After using the shortcut so many times, it was second nature. She found all the right handholds, and was soon walking along the thick branch that reached towards a window on the second floor of the palace.
The window was open, as usual, so all Shang Xiang had to do was double-check that no one was watching before taking a short run up, and leaping through the window. She landed cat-like, and quickly scrambled up - to see Quan watching her with a look of disdain.
"How many times have I told you -"
"- To stay the hell away from the tree? I reckon about, oooh, one thousand, five hundred and sixty four. But never mind that, I need to see Ce." and with that, she walked briskly away from her 'beloved' brother.
As soon as she was out of hearing of Quan, Shang Xiang doubled over and laughed until she was red in the face. She loved her younger older brother, really, but when he was telling her off, he really did look like he had a stick stuck up his bottom. It was all she could do not to laugh in his face. And as if that wasn't all, he hadn't spotted the easiest solution to the "problem". If he just closed the window, then she wouldn't be able to get through - but she wasn't going to tell him that!
Finally, she straightened up, and regained her composure. Ignoring the strange looks she was getting from the other people around her, she went to find Sun Ce.
She found him in the strategy room, earnestly discussing something with Zhou Yu and a couple of other people. They all looked up as she entered, and Ce excused himself and came over.
"What is it?"
"I just saw that girl, Na Mei, over by the weapons practice dummies. When she chose her weapons, she chose the Twin Wonders."
"That's strange... Where have I heard of those weapons before...?"
Shang Xiang took a deep breath, and when she next spoke, it all came out in a rush.
"Remember when we were little, and Mother used to tell us that story about the twins that turned up out of nowhere? The girl wielded the Twin Wonders. She had shoulder length, black hair, and one brown, one blue. Ring any bells?"
Ce gasped as realisation dawned.
"You think -"
"- That the story was a legend, or a prophecy. And I think it's just been set in motion."
Ce shook his head in disbelief as Yu came over to join them.
"What's up, Shang Xiang?"
Ce turned to his sworn brother.
"I think -," Ce glanced at the offended expression on Shang Xiang's face before rephrasing, "We think - that a story Lady Wu used to tell us is a legend. And it's begun to unravel on us."
"In the story, there were two twins that turned up out of nowhere. They both possessed extraordinary power - the girl, with strength, the boy, with sorcery. The girl wielded a weapon called Twin Wonder. They both had shoulder length, black hair, with one eye blue, the other brown." Shang Xiang cut in with.
"Shang Xiang saw Na Mei at the weapons training dummies. She chose the Twin Wonders as her weapons. She has -" Ce continued.
"- shoulder length, black hair, with one eye brown, the other blue?" Yu finished. "I can see where this is going. What else do you remember about the story?"
Ce placed his hand on the back of his neck, and rubbed it slightly.
"I can't really remember it that well, it was over 15 years ago..."
Yu rolled his eyes at Ce, before turning to Shang Xiang.
"I can't really remember that much either... but I remember the message at the end..." She paused, looking up at Yu, who encouraged her to carry on. She took another deep breath, before saying it.
"The message went something like, 'The pure of heart may succeed where even the mightiest and cleverest fail.' I don't really understand it that much."
Yu placed one hand to his chin in deep thought. Ce and Shang Xiang, sensing the strategist's need for peace for 5 minutes, stayed silent.
Well, then, what fine mess do we have here? Yu quietly mused. We have identical twins that mysteriously appear from nowhere, kill a tiger, and are picked up by Lu Xun...They have shoulder length black hair, with one eye brown, the other, blue. The girl picks the Twin Wonders as weapons. Now, we have an old story that could be a legend, with events that match what is happening here. And, it seems, we have the twins from the story currently residing with us. Hmm... I think I need to know more about this story first...
Yu looked up to see Ce and Shang Xiang watching him quietly.
"We definitely need to find out what happens in the story, before it becomes reality. Whether it is good or bad, we must know what it is that will happen. I will find Sun Quan and see what he knows about the story." Shang Xiang's shoulders sank with relief at not having the task herself. "Shang Xiang, could you check the library for anything that seems relevant?" Shang Xiang pulled a face, but traipsed off in the direction of the library. "And you, Ce... " Yu trailed off, not being able to think of anything suitable for the lively young sovereign.
"Stay here and see if anyone else has something to say?" Ce supplied. Yu mentally sighed with relief.
"Yes, Ce. You do that."
Na quietly entered the room she and her brother slept in, walked over to her bed, and flung herself, face down, on it. Sying looked over at his sister, wondering what had happened.
"Um... Na?" he ventured.
"What?" came the slightly damp, muffled reply.
"...What's up?" Sying asked, before bracing himself for the reply. He knew better than anyone the temper she had - he still had the scars to prove it.
"Nothing." Na answered through her pillow.
"Don't give me that. You're crying, I can tell. What happened?"
Na finally appeared from being buried in her pillow. She was a sight - her hair was messy, her eyes were red, and puffing up from crying, her nose was running, and her whole face was tearstained. Sying felt like he had been punched in the gut. He really hated seeing Na like this.
"Come over here, tell me what happened." Sying said gently, now he knew he wasn't going to be the one at the receiving end of Na's wrath.
Na reluctantly got up, and walked over to sit on the edge of her twin's bed. She wiped her eyes and nose on her sleeve, sniffing and blinking to stem the flow of tears. Sying said nothing, prompting Na to start talking.
"At weapons practice, I showed Xun my moves, but he just stared at me... Everyone did... It was like they thought I was a - a - a monster!" Na said in a shaky voice, before bursting into fresh tears, and hiding her face. Sying wrapped his arms around her, as best as he could while lying down and trying to avoid aggravating his injured arms.
They sat like that for several minutes, until Na had finally calmed down again. Sying took hold of her chin, and turned her head so she was facing him.
"Na, you aren't a monster. You are my sweet twin sister who sometimes goes psycho mad, but that does NOT make you a monster." Na smiled at Sying's description of her. "You know as well as I do you were the strongest in the village apart from Father. It's only natural for people to assume you're weak - it's the curse of women the world over - so when you show them how wrong they are, of course they'll be shocked." Na looked slightly reassured, but still worried.
"It's not just that - when I chose my weapon, everyone looked really shocked. Like I wasn't supposed to take them. But I saw myself in a dream with them. I think it's a sign."
Sying blinked. He hadn't expected that.
"Alright. First, what do you mean by 'shocked'? And, what dream?"
"Well, the man in charge of the weapons rack, I think he was called Lu Meng or something, he kind of hesitated, like he was trying to work something out, before he gave them to me. And then, Lu Xun asked me why I had chosen them. And he wouldn't explain why he was so curious even when I told him about my dream."
"This is all getting very strange..."
"And my dream - it wasn't much, it was almost like a vision or something - but I was in a long, dark corridor with a door at one end. There was a light or something on the other side of the door, so I moved towards it. All the time, it felt like I was being watched. I was just about to open the door when you woke me up. Xun told me to not open the door, but I don't really see how... It's not like I can control my dreams..."
"I think we are in this way over our heads on this. I mean, think about it - one event is sparking off this whole mess. It feels like - I dunno - we're in a legend or something. This isn't what we're supposed to be doing - we're supposed to be worrying about stuff like what we're having for dinner -" Sying started hyperventilating slightly, as he panicked.
"Sying! Calm down - we can handle this. I mean, we don't really have any choice. But, you want to know how I know we'll get through whatever fate throws at us?"
Sying took another minute to calm down, before replying.
"Why?"
"We were thrown in this together. As long as we stay together, we can get though anything."
"Which means I need to get better as soon as possible."
Na grinned at her brother, who grinned back.
There was a knock at the door. Zhou Yu, after finding out nothing he didn't already know from Quan, had returned to his room with a promising manuscript. He looked up from the faded text, to see Lu Xun poke his head around the door.
"Yes?" Yu didn't want to sound offensive, but he was tired already.
"Um... You know Na Mei?" Yu nodded. "Well, she told me about a dream she had the other day. Apparently, she was in a long, dark corridor. She said, it felt like someone else was there with her. There was a door at one end of the corridor. She went towards it, but she woke up before she could open it. And she was wielding these weapons -"
"The Twin Wonders?"
Xun gasped.
"How did you know that?"
Yu shrugged.
"Sun Shang Xiang, but that's not important. A long corridor with a door at one end? Let me think..." Yu trailed off as he tried to remember what it meant. Xun quietly slipped around the door, and quietly closed it behind him. Finally, Yu looked up again.
"I think I know what its significance is, but it is very confusing when we add it to the situation already."
"Situation?"
"We aren't sure at the minute, but from what I've gathered so far, we could be in for something. Lady Wu used to tell the Sun family children - that is, Sun Ce, Sun Quan, and Sun Shang Xiang - a story. It went something along the lines of a mysterious pair of twins coming from nowhere in strange circumstances. They possessed extraordinary talent - the girl in strength, the boy in sorcery. But the interesting bit is their appearance. They had shoulder length, black hair, and one blue, one brown eye." Yu stood, and began pacing back and forth, with Xun watching him.
"What? Na Mei and Sying Long?"
"Yes, that's the first strange occurrence. Out of the blue, we have twins that appear in strange circumstances, who look exactly like the ones on the story, and so far we know the girl has extraordinary strength. In the story, the girl wields the Twin Wonders - the same in real life."
"So the story is a legend?"
"We believe it to be, so we need to know how the story goes. However, none of the Suns could remember how it went. The only thing we have to go on is the message, which, luckily, Sun Shang Xiang still remembers. She believes it goes along the lines of 'The pure of heart may succeed where even the strongest and cleverest fail.'"
"How does that connect with the twins?"
"I am not sure, but now we have this dream on top of everything. The corridor means a change in the direction of life, due to circumstances. The dark is lack of understanding. The door is a barrier between the light and dark - she can't understand what is happening. But the length is confusing. It could mean duration, boredom, or importance. I think we need to find out how long the corridor is."
Yu looked up from his pacing to see Xun still struggling with the meaning of the dream.
"Na sees herself in a long, dark corridor - she has been set on a different course of life, but doesn't understand it. She sees a door with light on the other side - the barrier to understanding. She walks towards it and tries to open it, but wakes before she can. She is striving to understand what is happening, but just falling short of the mark."
"Should I tell her what her dream signifies?"
"...Leave it for now. Don't tell Na or Sying anything that I have just told you now, until we know more. In the mean time, stay close to them. I want to know what is happening from their point of view. And now," Yu stated as he sat down at his desk again, "I believe you have work to be getting on with?"
"What? Oh, yes. Thank you, Master Yu." Xun bowed before quietly exiting, and making his way back to his room, deep in thought.
A/N: The chapters are all over 2000 words so far, have you noticed? That's quite long for me. Anyway, hope you enjoyed this chapter, any comments, opinions, requests, or ideas for the legend (I still haven't figured it out yet) are welcomed. With your help, we can save this story!
