Opening her eyes, Cao Xue smiled as she yawned. The feel of the body up against hers, and the way he just held her last night flooded through her. When she finally let all reservations go because of Ma Chao, she was finally comfortable with him. She knew that with little effort he could make her fall madly in love with him. If not already. Rolling in his arms she smiled when he groaned and opened one eye. "I told you before. When the sun rises I can't help it. I have to be up."
Closing his eye and refusing to move, Ma Dai let out a small growl. "Early yes. Soon as the sun comes up is something we will have to get you to stop doing over time. Sleep is amazing."
With a smile as she sighed, Cao Xue just kept looking at him until he finally cracked open an eye and then she arched her eyebrows, she couldn't help but giggle as he rolled his eyes and sat up. Sitting up with him she used her hands to run through her hair. "I will try to sleep past the sun. But that was something I was always used to." Her eyes taking on a look of pain as she dropped her head, she let them half close. "That comes from Cao Cao as well. He would be at my cell door just after dawn a lot of times. Sometimes it was to beat me. Sometimes it was just to yell and wake me up so he could yell at me. So my body trained itself that I had to be up when the sun rose so I could at least be ready for it when it happened."
Moving over behind her, Ma Dai wrapped his arms around her shoulders and pulled her against him. "Which is something you never need to worry about ever again either. I will never do that to you Xue."
"I know. But it is hard to undo years of habit in just a few days as well." Watching as he moved away from her to stand and stretch, she dropped her head as she blushed. She forgot that while she wore her clothes fully, he took his shirt off at night. He hadn't that first night, so their first night here in this castle she didn't know what to think about it at all.
"It's alright Xue you can look up again." Smiling as he tied his shirt together, Ma Dai kept his eyes on her. He thought it was cute how she would blush at him like that. He then leaned down and kissed her forehead. "I am going to go and have someone bring us some food so you can get changed."
"Thank you." Cao Xue just watched him with a soft smile as he left. Once he was gone she stood and moved to relieve herself, then pulled out the outfit that she put together for herself. Once she was dressed she went to a mirror that he brought in for her and was looking at her hair. Her entire life, she had to leave it free and growing like this. She liked it long, her mother loved her long thick hair. But she wanted to do something with it.
Reaching around and pulling it all over her right shoulder, she quickly hand all the tangles from the night gone, and then braided it one long braid and then let it fall back down her back. Standing she turned and smiled to see the shimmery black braid going down her back. 'Mama I can finally actually do something with my hair. I wonder what else I could do?'
"The braid suits you." Laughing when she gasped and blushed as she dropped her head, Ma Dai went to her and smiled as he made her look up at him. He knew that first night there in the castle that he loved her. And that if he had to watch her walk away cause she didn't he would be devastated. But he was hopeful with the way that she looked at him. Cupping her face he dipped his head and covered her mouth with his in a soft and sweet kiss. His hold on her tightening when she went limp in his arms. A moment later he pulled his mouth from hers and winked at her making her face turn even darker red. "I do like the braid."
Her hands resting on his chest, Cao Xue tried to turn her eyes away from his but they went right back as she smiled with a red face. "Thank you. I was never allowed to do anything with it growing up. Cao Cao forbade it. I always wanted to try a braid. I am glad that you like it."
"It's perfect for you." Taking her hand and leading her toward the door he sighed as he shook his head. "Let's go and get some food, then I have an idea that you might like, and I know it will help build up your confidence."
Blinking as she looked up at him Cao Xue walked next to him. "What is that?"
"Self-defense training." Laughing when she gave him a shocked look, Ma Dai nodded as they rounded the corner to go to the dining hall. "That's right. I am not saying you need to learn to fight so you can be on the front lines for anything at all. But I will be out there some, especially against Cao Cao and others that want to rebel against the way things are. That, if we stay together would leave you at home. I want you to be able to defend yourself no matter what happens."
"I see. I can understand that then." Though she hated the idea, Cao Xue wouldn't fight it. She really did need to learn that when she thought about it. She knew the plan was to kill Cao Cao and Cao Pi. But just in case they did escape and decided to come after her, she wanted to be able to protect herself then. But she couldn't help herself. Looking up at him with wide and almost begging eyes, Cao Xue brought his soft brown eyes to her blue. "Who is going to teach it to me?"
Laughing as he kissed her nose, Ma Dai winked at her as he opened the dining hall door. "I had every intention of doing it myself. We are just going to start out with you holding a bunch of different weapons and see what one you can carry with you, and are comfortable with. Then we will start actually using it."
"Okay." Smiling as she nodded, she felt better knowing that he was going to be the one to train her. She felt save with him and she loved it. But when the smell of food hit her nose, Cao Xue flinched and dropped her head as a hand covered her belly. "Oh man."
"Come on let's eat." Ma Dai lead her to the table and sat down with her. As they started to eat, he couldn't help but look at her with a smile. He wasn't going to beat around the bush with her on how he felt and wait and see what she did. If she was feeling the same, she may not say it if he didn't say it, for fear that he wouldn't feel the same way. He saw it with many others, and his father said that was a problem at first in their marriage. He was not going to take that chance.
X
His eyes glaring as he stood at his post looking out over the land from the Eastern gate, Ma Chao was angry. No one would tell him where Ma Dai went! He should have just walked in and took her head and not even tried to tell her what was going to happen. His hand tightened on his spear as he glared harder. "I am sure right now she is deceiving him and trying to get pregnant. Why can no one see that anyone born from Cao Cao is someone who cannot be trusted?!"
"Because she can be Ma Chao." When his hard eyes flicked to him, Jiang Wei didn't budge and kept his even stare as he came to relieve Ma Chao from his shift. "There is such a thing of not taking after one parent and taking after the other. If you have an open mind when you speak with her you would know that. I would say that she takes more after her mother than Cao Cao." Stopping next to the still glaring Ma Chao, he sighed as he closed his eyes. "I don't understand how you can speak of justice and label someone you have not taken the time to get to know. I am here to take the next shift."
"Whatever. I need not talk to that woman. She is the product of Cao Cao's loins and I will associate with anyone of the kind. Ever." Ma Chao then turned and stormed off toward the castle. He hated this whole thing. Giving her a chance was never something that he was ever going to do. Ever.
"Ignore him Jiang Wei." Looking to the side to see Guan Yu walking toward him, Jiang Wei sighed as he looked down with half closed eyes. "I just don't understand why he is like this with her."
"None of us do." Stopping and putting his hand on his shoulder, Guan Yu gave him a nod as his eyes looked up at him. "Give it time. She will do something that will prove to Ma Chao that she is not the person that he thinks she is. But we have to wait for that time. And hope that Ma Dai can get her confidence up enough to withstand him by the time they return."
Nodding Jiang Wei took a deep breath as he watched him head for Ma Chao before turning his attention to his duties. "I hope that it is fast. If Cao Cao moves to force the fight before that I don't know what will happen."
X
"My Lord you wished to see me?"
Giving Sima Yi a glare, Cao Cao nodded. "You have people stationed as spies in different places around Shu do you not?" When he nodded, Cao Cao narrowed his eyes. "What are they reporting back?"
"I have got nothing about what the movements are just yet. We were only there three days ago, and that was when they were stationed My Lord." Looking him in the eye Sima Yi smiled. "I will need at least another week to get any reports on movements or what is going on."
With a sigh as he slumped back in the chair, Cao Cao nodded. "Fine. You have seven more days before I send someone to go and have council with Liu Bei and find out when exactly we are going to attack Sun Quan."
His face turning serious, Sima Yi gave him an odd look. "About that My Lord. How do we know that this is not just a façade on Shu's part? He has Zhuge Liang, and took Jiang Wei from me. The two of them together are nothing to scoff at. Have you considered for a moment that this may just be just a ploy to lure us into a trap with Wu?"
Stepping out from where he stood to the side, Guo Jia shook his head with a smile. "That may be so. But they will stick with it until Liu Bei, Sun Quan, Sun Ce, Sun Jian and all the big generals are in one place. Once that happens, we don't know what is going to happen. But there has been friction between Sun Quan and Liu Bei. This is simply a way to exploit it."
Blinking as he gave the young strategist an odd look, Sima Yi then crossed his arms. "So you have taken into consideration that Liu Bei's wife is Sun Quan's little sister? You have also taken into consideration that while she says that it needs to be done, that the thought of killing her brother would actually bother her the way she was raised?" Shifting his feet as Guo Jia glanced down at the ground. "Or perhaps that the friction is something that they are faking as well to draw us into this situation?"
With a half-smile, Guo Jia looked up at Sima Yi and laughed. "I had not thought about the friction being fake but we did consider the rest of it. And that is one of two reasons why Lord Cao Cao had his daughter wed to someone in Shu. For turning their backs on him and attacking him, he wages war to take them out and come to the rescue her."
Having heard what the two were fighting about, Cao Cao sighed as he smacked his chair. "Enough! This is what we are doing. Sima Yi if you fear all of those things, use some men and plan in advance for it. But the plan goes on as laid out regardless."
