Dynasty Warriors: Strength to Change the Land

Chapter 10 of my Dynasty Warriors story, enjoy.

Reviews

AncientHeartlessKai: Thanks, glad you liked it. Yeah; well, that was always his reason for attacking Xu Province; yeah, it's drawing closer :)

Now onto the story.

Disclaimer: Dynasty Warriors belongs to Koei.

Chapter 10: A Desperate Attempt

Cai Wenji suppressed a shudder as she walked down the throne room to the Emperor. The central passage was guarded on both sides by loyal soldiers of Li Jue and Guo Si. They watched her as she walked up to the throne; she knew what was on their minds. They were all picturing what was under the dress she wore. While her movements meant the skirt needed to split at the back and sides; she wore black stockings along with her black shoes, which kept her legs more or less hidden. That did nothing to deter these men however; she had already received rather suggestive propositions from at least three of them already. The Emperor sat on the throne; petrified; standing on either side of him was Li Jue and Guo Si, the real holders of power in the Imperial Capital. They too had made advances towards her and she could feel their eyes on her now. Standing just behind Li Jue however was the one man who hadn't propositioned her; yet still she was afraid of him, perhaps more so than all the others, as his intentions weren't clear, like theirs were; Jia Xu. Once she reached the steps leading up to the throne she bowed and stood up, noting the way Li Jue and Guo Si's eyes slid over her body as she did so. She supressed a shudder and prepared to state her purpose for visiting the throne room.

Finally Li Jue stopped undressing her with his eyes long enough to speak.

"What brings you here woman." He asked; his voice gruff and harsh.

She held out the message as she spoke. "My apologies, my lords; my father sends his deepest regrets that he is too ill to attend court today."

Guo Si snorted as he took the message from her; being careful to brush his hand against hers, she fought hard not to recoil from his touch. "This is becoming a habit." He remarked as he read the message. "He writes surprisingly well for a man so ill."

Cai Wenji shook her head. "I wrote it; my father dictated what to say…It took a while, most of his words were mumbled, incoherent."

Li Jue shook his head.

"Very well; you may leave, thank you."

With that she bowed and took her leave, but not before locking eyes with the Emperor, seeing the plea for help in them. She left the throne room, her heart heavy with guilt at not being able to do anything for the Son of Heaven. Her thoughts wandered to her old friend Diaochan; she wondered where she was now.

'She could've handled this better than me.' Cai Wenji thought sadly. 'Apart from that one incident with Dong Zhuo, she could use her body without being touched, twisting men's desires to suit her own ends. But even then, she still felt real love for Lu Bu; maybe that's why she left with him.'

Still lost in thought she returned to her father's dwelling.

When she returned she found her father; who was in fact only feigning illness; in deep discussion with another man; a man she recognized as the Empress's Uncle, Dong Cheng. Cai Yong looked up as she entered.

"Oh, I'm sorry father." She said quickly. "I'll just…"

But her father shook his head. "No it's alright; in fact, I think you might be able to help us."

Confused she took the seat her father indicated. After a brief pause Dong Cheng began to speak again.

"As I was saying; we cannot allow this to continue. Our only option is to take the Emperor and Empress back to Luoyang and send for help; given the power struggles going on, our safest bet would be to ask Cao-Cao for aid." He paused and then continued. "All those loyal to our cause are all ready to act; we just need to get the Emperor away from them; my niece will be easier to help escape. I've already arranged her escape."

Cai Yong nodded and turned to Cai Wenji. "This is where you come in; if I am not wrong; you have been invited to attend a feast with the Emperor and Guo Si."

"Yes father." She confirmed. "So, you want me to smuggle the Emperor out of this feast and meet up with you?"

"That's correct." Confirmed Dong Cheng. "Meet us at the east gate; that is our exit."

Realizing this would be the change she was hoping for she readily agreed to the plan and along with the other conspirators, prepared for tomorrow.

So it was, the following day, Cai Wenji headed to the Palace. Along the way she stopped by Guo Si's residence and spoke with his wife briefly about her husband. She soon reached the palace and took her seat next to the Emperor. Guo Si was already in his seat and the feast began. Guo Si did most of the talking; the Emperor nodded and listened, while Cai Wenji waited for her chance. Sure enough Lady Guo arrived, angry, and Guo Si went to calm her down; Cai Wenji had let slip a concern that he was seeing other women and Lady Guo had been very angry about the revelation. Not that it was completely true but it served her purpose well. She turned to the Emperor.

"This way your highness; we must escape, now. You have friends waiting to take you to safety." She said quickly as she stood up.

The Emperor also stood up. "My lady, thank you, I am most grateful."

They began to flee; however they were too slow and Guo Si saw them making their escape.

"Foolish woman." He yelled at his wife. "Look what you've done. Sound the alarm, get my sword!"

With that the chase was on.

Cai Wenji realized early on that they were in trouble; she could hear the guards and several of those loyal to Guo Si and Li Jue closing in. She wished she had her harp with her; its sound waves were deadly when used in combat. As it was however she was unarmed; therefore she was unable to defend herself when the spearman leapt out and injured her thigh. She fell to the ground; in a panic the Emperor ended up killing the spearman with his blade.

"My Lady!?"

She shook her head. She knew it was hopeless. "Your Highness, you must flee; go to the east gate; your friends are waiting there…Go, don't worry about me."

The Emperor looked for a moment as if he might refuse; but the conviction in her gaze made him consent and he fled, making it to safety while Cai Wenji was caught and bound. She was taken to the dungeons to await Li Jue and Guo Si's decision on her fate.

End of chapter, hope you enjoyed it, read and review please.