A Fairytale
Chapter 8
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As the curtains fell, a figure emerged. Da Qiao took a step back and looked closer at the black figure. It looked some what like Sun Ce, but not as built. The figure pulled out a sword and stepped into her room. She took a step back and cuffed her mouth. Her first instinct was to scream for her fiancé, but when she tried to scream, nothing came out.
The figure then jolted towards Da and tackled her to the floor. She gasped and tried to kick him off. The figure slapped her across her cheek. She couldn't breathe for a couple of seconds and choked. The figure rose up and pulled out a rope. Da Qiao closed her eyes and kicked and connected with the man's groin area.
When she heard him fall, she took off through one of the many doorways of her chambers. There were so many rooms to her chambers that she herself tended to get lost in them.
"I'm screwed!" Da thought in her mind. She would've gotten her fans, but they were getting buffed, one of the many presents from Ce.
She ran till she found a candle stick, through the candle off, and hid behind one of the doors. She thought that her breathing was too loud and tried to steady her breath. She closed her mouth to let the breathing come through her nose quietly. She listened carefully to see if she could hear the Black Figure. She heard the figure coming through the doorway and swung the candle with all her might. She connected with his sword she drew it back, and tried to strike again. The Figure caught her make shift weapon, and hit her back. She hit the wall with a thud, and took off running.
Da ran to the side of one of the many closet doors and tried to slow her breath. She could hear the figure approaching and tried to run, but she felt a hand come up around her waist and pull her back towards the wall. She managed to push the figure back and opened the closet door and slammed it in his face.
She ran through the doorway and about twenty feet in front of her was her door. The Figure tackled her to the hard ground, and Da took notice of all the sounds they made.
"Maybe someone will hear!" Da thought.
She knew she had to hold on longer. The Figure pulled out the rope again, and Da twisted from under him, and took to the door. The door wouldn't open, and Da could heard the Figure approaching. She panicked as she looked for something to throw at him. She then had a bright idea.
"For some reason, I thought you would've gotten me by now!" she taunted.
"You've done it now!" he said before lunging at her. She quickly moved out of the way and he went crashing into the door. To her surprise, he didn't break the door down. He went staggering towards her, and as she tried to get away, he pulled her back and threw her into the wall.
"I may have let my lord enjoy you, but maybe I should get my pleasure first!" he threw her on the bed and tried to hold her down. They were interrupted by voices through the door. Da couldn't tell if they were Ce's or not, but when she tried to scream, the man clamped his hand over her mouth. She bit what she could get from his hand (and thanked the heavens that Xiao Qiao had taught her this!) and yelled at the top of her lungs.
"CE!!! CE!!! HELP!!! C…" the Figure slapped her, picked her up, and then went dashing towards the balcony. Da heard the door crashing down and thanked the gods. She tried to get out of the Figure's grasp, but he was too strong. All of the sudden, while someone pushed the Figure from behind, she went flying over the edge of the balcony. She clung onto the edge.
"The only thing that is missing from this beautiful house is a stepping stool to this balcony! And the gods know that at a time like this, I need something I can't get!" Da said thinking of her dumb luck. She looked down and saw that she was at least five stories high. She panicked as her hands slowly began to slip. She tried to get footing, but without a stepping stool, all she caught was air.
Da screamed as her hands began to slip. Little by little they came and she held her breath. Her hands finally came off completely and she thought her end had come. She was surprised to find that she wasn't falling, and looked up. She looked up into the eyes of her beloved Sun Ce.
"I'm not losing you this early Da!" he said as he pulled her up.
As soon as she got her footing, she fell into his arms and let out one of the biggest signs.
"Are you ok?" he asked as soon as she calmed down. He pulled her face into the moonlight, and when he got one glimpse of her bruises, went to the assassin in detainment. He plucked the man from the guards and held him by his throat. Ce pulled his arm back ready to kill the assassin. He heard Pop, Zhou Yu, and Quan yell 'No Ce!' but that's not what stopped him. He felt a pair of nimble hands cover his fist. He turned around with his deadly gleam and looked straight into the eyes of Da Qiao. Everyone was silent as Da shook her head and pulled Ce's fist down.
Ce dropped the assassin and hugged Da. He wanted to comfort her and let her know that she wasn't alone. Da watched out of the corner of her eye as her attacker was put to death by Zhou Yu's blade.
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After countless questions from people and hugs from Xiao Qiao, Da finally got alone time with Ce. He shut the door that Xiao Qiao and Zhou Yu had just exited out of and sat beside Da on the bed. He put an arm around her and kissed her forehead. They sat in silence for a few minutes before Da finally spoke.
"I'm scared Ce."
"Why?"
"What if someone comes again?"
"Let me tell you, no one is getting one hand on you ever again!" he said looking into her eyes.
She let out a little sign and laid her head on a pillow. Sun Ce bent down and pulled out some ice from a nearby bowl. He then put the ice on the side of Da Qiao's face and she jumped from the coldness. Da knew there was something on Ce's mind and decided to ask.
"What are you thinking about, my lord?" she asked looking up at him.
He didn't answer for a few seconds. He pulled the ice from Da's face, put it in the bowl, and looked at the wall.
"I feel that you getting hurt is my entire fault. If I had just gotten out of bed a few minutes earlier and came in here, maybe I could've stopped him!" Ce said. Da Qiao could tell he was wrestling with his thoughts.
"Ce, you didn't know! I understand completely! I don't want you beating yourself up for something that was out of your control." She said not knowing if it would help or not.
"I just think I could've done something differently." He confessed.
Da was now sitting up, "Ce…love, you did the right thing. No matter what you think, I believe you did the right thing."
"Thanks Da." He pulled her close and held her. He then realized how beautiful she was with her nightgown. It was a simple nightgown, purple with brown trimmings. After a few minutes, he realized that she was asleep.
"Wow. She looks like an angel even when she sleeps!"
He lifted her up, pulled back the covers and laid her down. He was about to blow out the candle when he heard her speak.
"What?" he asked.
"Don't leave." She said.
"You need your sleep." He said taking her hand.
"I need you." she said as she tighten the grip on his hand.
He slipped into the empty space on the bed. She cuddled up to him and closed her eyes.
Ce realized he was enjoying this. Her in his arms away from danger. He realized that their breaths were at the same rhythm and closed his eyes. He inhaled her sent and before he knew it, he too fell asleep.
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Zhou Yu turned on his side and still couldn't sleep. He couldn't get one girl out of his mind no matter how hard he tried.
He went to the balcony to get some fresh air and thought.
"I am just going through a stage. One where I can't sleep." He said trying to make up an excuse for how he was behaving for the last couple of weeks. But there was something he couldn't explain: every time he finally got to sleep, he had dreams of Xiao Qiao. The person who lived right across him and the one person that Zhou Yu couldn't stop thinking about no matter what…
When the reason came to him, he was shocked.
"No way, I can't be." But he was! He was truly, deeply, and madly in love with Xiao Qiao! The bubbly, cute, hyper, beautiful Xiao Qiao! He smiled at the thought of them together. He now realized why he was having these feelings! The not sleeping, love sick puppy feeling! Now all he had to do was tell her and…
Did she feel the same? Did she have the same burning passion for him as he did for her?
He thought of a way to tell her or find a way how, then it hit him…
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Xiao Qiao awoke the next morning and went to the bathing room to put on some daily clothes. She stopped when she realized there was a letter on the floor. She picked it up and turned it over to see who it was from. There was nothing. She opened it up and began to read:
"To the beauty in the manor,
I hope what I say in this note will not offend you, because what I speak in this note, I would give anything to say in person.
I find myself in a place where only you exist. You and I could be in a room where we are at opposite ends and a million people between us, and all I shall see is you. You stand out above all the other women in this world, and I feel as if your heart speaks to me.
To me, you are like the light in pure darkness. The only thing that calls to me in the night. The light that gives me hope for a better day. One where we are both together, in paradise.
You start a flame in me that I cannot control. I have seen countless bloodshed and many bodies dead on the field of battle, but one look from you, and I can fall to my knees! I cannot sleep because you occupy my thoughts. If I do dream, I dream about you and the way you put even your sister's beauty to shame.
I hope one day that I could say these things to you, and not be scared of what you think.
Goodbye Miss Beauty of the Manor
Patiently waiting,
Your Standing Knight"
Xiao couldn't believe what she had just read!
She hurried out the door and down the stairs to find Da Qiao. Someone had a crush on her, but who?
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Sun Ce awoke that morning and saw that Da Qiao wasn't in the bed with him. He watched as her lady's maid came in and went straight to the bathing room.
He got up and walked slowly towards the door. It was slightly open and the aroma of herbs filled the room. He peeked in and only saw two maids, not Da. The women's bathing area was different from the men's. It had one large bathtub and when the women would get up to bathe, maids would throw herbs or bath soak to purify the water. The tub was surrounded by a canopy that was tied up to one of the poles which were at every corner.
He slowly walked in and sat himself down at the side of the tub. The maids bowed and exited the room. Ce still couldn't see Da because she was in the water washing her hair. He waited for a few seconds and she came up, swished her hair back, then gasped at the sight of Ce. He couldn't see anything, but still… she was bathing.
"What are you doing in here, my lord?" she said as she propped her back in one of the corners.
"I awoke to find my Angel gone, and when I came in here, I found her."
Da blushed and looked down. Ce noticed her curves and how beautiful her skin was. He put his index finger to her face and slowly went down her cheek. She closed her eyes and breathed in the herbs. Between Ce and the herbs, she could almost fall asleep.
Ce noticed how much her bruises had healed overnight and was surprised to see that you couldn't even tell they were there.
"Are you hungry, Blossom?" he asked her pulling away.
"I haven't eaten all morning." She confessed.
"I'll go get us some breakfast and be back." He said getting up and walking out of the room. Da listened as she heard the door close behind Ce. She sank down into the warm water and tried to relax.
"This feels SO good." Da said in her mind.
Her thoughts were interrupted by Xiao Qiao barging in and running straight to Da.
"Look what I got Da! A love letter! Read it! Read it!" Xiao said almost ready to jump out of her clothes.
Da began reading the letter and when she was finished, she had a pretty good idea of who it was from.
"Isn't it pretty?" Xiao said with her hands on her heart.
"It's beautiful Xiao! Who do you think it's from?"
"I don't know, but from someone who has a good poetry mind!"
"Go show it to Shang." Da said handing Xiao the note.
"That's a great idea!" Xiao said and in a flash, she was gone.
Da got out and dried herself off. She went into the bedroom and put on her daily clothes. She fixed her hair and walked over to the balcony, that only hours ago, she had her near death experience.
"Hope you like pancakes!" Ce said coming in with a big tray.
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Xiao came running down the hallway towards Shang's room when she ran into someone. She backed up and looked at the person.
"Oh, hi Zhou! Guess what I got! A LOVE LETTER!" She thought something was wrong
when Zhou's eyes were locked on the note.
"That's very good Xiao. If you will excuse me…" Zhou Yu said trying to get away from Xiao.
"Oh, don't you want to read it?" Xiao Qiao said following Zhou. "It's so pretty!" Xiao said dreamily.
"I need to find Xiao, um, Ce." Zhou Yu said correcting himself.
"Oh, ok!" Xiao said turning around to go to Shang's chambers. When she went around the corner, Zhou Yu let out a big sign.
"How am I ever going to tell her my feelings when all I am is a chicken?" he thought. "And where's CE!"
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Sun Shang Xiang was putting weapons on her shelf when Xiao Qiao came running in.
"Look Shang! A love letter for me! Read it!" Xiao said handing it to Shang.
"Really?!" Shang started to read it and was astonished to read what someone thought of Xiao.
"Wow, Xiao! That's really cool!" Shang said handing it back to Xiao.
"I know! Who do you think it's from?" Xiao said. She wanted to know really badly!
"I don't know. It looks like Zhou Yu's writing. Maybe it's from Zhou Yu." Shang suggested. She had noticed some changes in his behavior lately.
"No way! He wouldn't write me something like this, we're just friends!" Xiao said waving her hand.
"Okay Xiao. Think what you want to think." Shang said turning back to the weapons. Xiao looked at Shang confused then silently exited the room.
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Xiao breathed in the fresh air from the garden and looked back at the note for the hundredth time. Who could've written this to her? She tried to rule Zhou Yu out, but she just couldn't. She kept replaying all the time and things they went together and when she remembered one, she knew it had to be Zhou Yu.
FLASHBACK…
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"I LOVE these Zhou Yu! They're so pretty!" Xiao said when she and Yu were at a village shop. She was admiring the scarves on a rack. She put one on.
"How do I look?" she said posing.
"More beautiful than your sister." He said staring at her and the way she moved.
"You really think so?"
"Absolutely." He said. Xiao smiled. She thought that he was joking. She put the scarf back on the rack and went to the next shop.
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Xiao looked at the paper, "'you put even your sister's beauty to shame'" She read aloud.
The paper dropped out of her hands and her eyes got big.
"It's Zhou Yu!" she whispered.
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Yea! I finished it! Now, I need all of you opinions on this one! I worked through the night to finish this and I really want to please you on it. So PLEASE review!!!
