Chapter 7
Da Qiao moved over to wipe off a few crumbs from one of the dining tables as she hummed to herself. She had dismissed herself shortly after Ce's comforting words, and seemed slightly happier than she normally was. She was just about finished setting up the table when she noticed Gan Ning's gaze upon her, suspiciously glancing at her through the side of the door. She let out a soft chuckle and skipped over to him, pulling him out of his hiding place much like her little sister would have if she had the chance.
"Woah!" he exclaimed, and she moved aside to avoid him toppling on her.
She greeted him with the same smile she used to greet everyone besides her sister and her lord. "Good morning, Lord Gan Ning," she said, bowing her head slightly, "Breakfast will be ready in just one moment if you would like to stay here and wait." Inwardly she frowned, the scent of some drink was lingering all around the ex-pirate. Ning grinned at the comment.
"Oh, nah, actually I was wondering if you saw Xiao."
One eyebrow raised on the Qiao's face, and Da wondered whatever the man would have to do with her sister. She shook her head. "I think that my little sister should still be asleep," she said slowly, to which Ning shrugged.
"Ah, already checked her room. You think she's getting ready to go to that training thing with Yu?"
Da Qiao didn't catch her own frown as it flitted across her face. "Maybe you are right, Lord Gan Ning," she said quietly.
Gan Ning apparently took this as a sign to leave and he excused himself, allowing her to return to her morning duties. Apparently, Ce's time at the other camp had been shortened to a week away to gather the force's moral. He would return when Zhou Yu and Xiao Qiao went to call for him. Da couldn't hide her worry for her sister. She knew that Xiao was indeed strong, at least stronger than she looked, and that she was perfectly capable of helping herself, but with the distracted looks she had received lately when mentioning the Lord Yu's name, Da couldn't help but wonder. Maybe Sun Ce's best friend really was starting to catch Xiao's interest. The pigtailed young woman giggled to herself softly as she stood to help set up the food. It would be most uncanny, she decided, if when the two returned, they would be friendly with each other.
::Or maybe more than just friendly,:: she added in her mind, a twinkle appearing in her eyes.
--
Xiao Qiao sneezed. Once, then twice. She wasn't sick, that much she knew, and she frowned, deciding that someone was thinking about her. It mustn't be Zhou Yu, though, because if it was every time that he thought about her, she would have already truly caught a cold!
The younger Qiao looked in the mirror as she fixed up her hair, her frown widening when she noticed that her cheeks were rosier than usual. She dismissed it for her makeup, then exited the room she was in, going to try and sneak back into her room for a break. For the last few hours, she, Zhou Yu and Sun Jian had had a "short" gathering to speak about what was to go on in the other camp. She frowned, wishing that it could just be Yu who could get blabbed at; she could just get the details later. But nooooo, things didn't work out that way. With a pout, she continued down the hallway when she heard someone call out her name.
Immediately, she froze, thinking it was someone who had caught her and was about to drag her back to the ruler's room. To her surprise it was Gan Ning, who looked, well, to her, as drunk as usual. She had never really been too fond of the ex-pirate, or really talked to him much. She had seen his eyes toward her big sister though, and almost always managed to glower him down whenever she saw him. He hadn't really ever approached her when her sister wasn't around though, and she didn't know how to react. As he ran over to her, she spoke the first thing on her mind.
"Ewwwww, you smell bad."
Gan Ning blinked a few times before bursting out in laughter. Xiao blinked a few times as well, but didn't join in, instead making a face. She hated the smell of liquor. "If you're looking for my sister, she should be making breakfast right now," she added in.
"Oh, yeah, I saw her earlier," he stated, scratching his head. "I was looking for you."
"Me?"
Xiao blinked a few more times, then shuddered, hoping that he wasn't thinking that he was going to confess to her! The younger Qiao had her share of courting men, and he was the last person she would want to be seen with. Even Zhou Yu would be better off--
And why was he still showing up in her mind? She outwardly pouted. Then she stopped, hoping that the ex-pirate wouldn't find this as cute or something. Egh.
Ning was laughing at her. Again. Xiao wished she had her fan so she could hit him, and instead crossed her arms. "So, why were you looking for me? You're not my type, you know!"
"Naah, it isn't about that." Gan Ning's expression altered to seriousness. "You and Zhou Yu are going off to train the others, the week after Ce, right?"
"Mm-hm." she raised an eyebrow, trying to figure out where this conversation was going.
"Right, okay." To Xiao's dismay, Ning moved over and patted her on the shoulder. "Teach 'em good, alright?"
The younger Qiao tilted her head, surprised. It was known that the female generals of the group were as qualified as the men, but although her sister had gotten compliments, she barely ever got any. Was he showing that he had faith in her?
"And you know, Yu's not so much of a bad guy." Ning added in, giving her a wink.
If he hadn't been walking away at that moment she woulda swung at him with her tiny fist.
--
Zhou Yu on the other hand had taken his break to meet up with the younger Wu strategist, who was at the moment pausing to adjust his hat. He had felt badly somewhat, knowing that Xun would have a lot of paperwork to do in his stead while he was gone, but he had volunteered to train the others--and he needed time to formulate a way to win his Qiao over instead of do so much of the work. Each time that he was finished with a pile, the stack seemed to grow larger. Whenever he wasn't out with the others and seeming to be "relaxing in his room," he was going through each of the statements, marking what would and would not be of use and getting things prepared in case of some sudden attack or necessary battle. Luckily the land hadn't been attacked for some time, but it was a bad sign, for it meant the other forces were growing as well as them. He knew he could trust the young man at the very least, and if all else failed, after his training session he would be returning to a ceiling high stack of paper.
"It won't be more than a month," he stated calmly as he watched his nervous comrade nod his head sheepishly. Zhou Yu attempted a smile. "I trust you can handle things on your own."
"I'll be fine," Xun said, his voice somewhat shaky. Yu hoped that would be the case, but kept his hopes somewhat low just in case.
"At the very least, just don't lose any of the papers."
Zhou Yu excused himself to go back to his room. In two days, Ce would be sent out to serve his involuntary week with the others, and then he would take Xiao Qiao and relieve his best friend from his duties. Yu smiled dryly. Ce better take his chance while the Qiaos were separated, he decided.
At that moment, his best friend exited his own room, seeming to be starting for the throne room, and Yu dropped his smile. ::Speak of the devil.::
"Oh, hey, Yu," Sun Ce called out. Yu turned his head coolly, as if he hadn't noticed Ce had even appeared.
"Good morning to you, Ce," Zhou Yu remarked. "Getting ready to set off to the other campground, are you?"
"Yeah, Pops said that I need to talk to him for a bit though. Dunno why...."
"Probably to brief you on what your duties are, like always," Yu prompted, which made Sun Ce scowl. Zhou Yu knew that the other man was more than impatient when he had to follow a specific order of directions. With a sigh, the two parted to go their own ways.
--
Sun Ce was more than glad when he was dismissed from his father's quarters. He did get along with his "Pops" a lot, as well as with his other relations, but since both were so stubborn he hated to have to argue with him. The briefing was quick, since Ce knew the basics that he would have to do. He still had two days left to go before he had to depart, but he also knew that soon he would have little time to go and visit the elder Qiao before his work would have to take his full attention. He couldn't afford to be distracted in training, and he decided he would refrain from seeing Da until the day that he returned. He exchanged a few words with the young woman during the next days that he saw her, and frowned when he saw her crestfallen expression as she was informed it would be a week or so before she would hear word from him. They parted quickly, and Ce tried his best to take her off of his mind until he was to return.
Sun Jian seemed proud of his son as Ce left, giving the others a grin and a shake of the head as he began to ride away. He was of course accompanied by a group of men who were to help him in his journey and soon enough he was out of site of the others. One of his officers turned toward him, and he shot them a quick grin. "Well, guys," he announced, "Let's get this show on the road!"
The grin stayed on his face as he watched the others' relieved glances. It wouldn't be a day before he reached the other campground, and he was instantly off of his horse and rushing off to the main ground of the camp when he arrived. It was getting late, but all of the generals gathered with a whoop of joy upon seeing their leader's son come to assist them with training.
Sun Ce's grin widened as he took the stage. "Alright men!" he exclaimed as he raised an arm in the air, "I'll be around for the next week or so, so you'll all get a chance to show me your stuff!"
A loud cheer went through the crowd and Ce nodded to himself. He enjoyed the attention and he most definitely knew he belonged in a nice crowd such as this whenever he had the chance to participate in them. Still, he knew that at the moment Da Qiao might be eagerly awaiting his return, and he scratched his head sheepishly. If anyone paid close enough attention, they might have caught him run a quick hand down the red ribbon in his hair.
--
Lu Xun could feel the load on his shoulders when Yu had told him that he would be responsible of all paperwork while Zhou Yu was on duty elsewhere. It wasn't the first time that this had happened, and before, everything had run smoothly, but Xun couldn't keep the nervous chill from his frame. Ce had left a few days before, and even he could notice that Da's smile was slightly smaller and Xiao was worried about her whenever she had time to be. The younger Qiao was taking time to attempt to train herself so she could be more "presentable" to the others in the camp, and thus had no time to come and visit the young strategist either. Lu Xun sighed to himself as he glanced toward the scrolls of paperwork that he was to finish by the end of the night. It seemed so overbearing that he almost felt like he would have been in a better position if he had volunteered to train the men instead. His own skills might be rusting, he thought to himself with a sinking heart. The last time he had had a chance to train was the day that he had seen Ce weild a sword almost as well as any swordsman.
Lu Xun was so absorbed in his thoughts that he barely heard the door open and a shadow fall upon his figure. When it covered his paper, he looked up, immediately sitting up straight and cautiously when he saw the regal form of Sun Jian at the doorway. Jian sent him a small, tight-lipped smile, and Xun bowed his head faintly. "Did you need something, my lord?" he tried, his voice quiet.
"Oh, no no. I was just making sure that you were alright." Sun Jian walked over and began eyeing the stack of papers to each side of the young man, and he felt a nervous blush appear on his cheeks. Again, he should have been more careful and cleaned up a little more. "You're a good fellow." Jian finally ended, and Xun immediately responded with a quick polite comment as the lord exited the room. Worried that someone else might enter, Lu Xun stood up to at least clean up a few piles of paper. When he stood, he felt his vision fail for a few unsteady moments and shook his head twice to clear his mind. Instinctively, he leaned against the wall until he had recovered, then frowned. He didn't feel ill, only slightly tired. With that thought firmly in his head, he went on to finish what he was set to do.
--
The week went by rather smoothly, as Sun Shang Xiang recalled. Already it was two days before Zhou Yu and Xiao Qiao would be sent out to relieve Ce's position. She had to admit it was hectic through the entirety of the week though, and even she had been too busy with doing chores for her father and setting up and getting ready and doing everything else possible that prevented her from seeing any of her friends. She had finally gathered enough time off to spare a moment to check up on the others, but then learned that both Qiaos were busily preparing for Xiao's leave and Zhou Yu and Gan Ning were doing the same for himself. Lu Xun on the other hand still had a stack of paperwork he had been working on for quite some time, so she didn't feel any urge to go and check up on him.
With a slow sigh, she took a seat next to one of the windows in her quarters, looking outdoors toward the few birds which had gathered nearby.
"Shang Xiang," she heard a voice call from behind her, and she sent a quick smile toward her other brother, Sun Quan. She had barely a chance to ever talk to him, for he was always beside Sun Jian. Quan took a seat next to her, and she shrugged.
"Something up?" she moved over to poke his hat. "You're barely away from Dad, you know."
"Ahh, Father's busy," Quan admitted, folding his arms. Sun Shang noticed he looked like a sage when he did so; probably due to his scholarly looking clothing.
"Oh." was her only response.
"Two more days till Ce's back," Sun Quan stated after a pause.
Shang Xiang nodded her head. "And then Zhou Yu and Xiao are going instead." She watched irritably while Quan grinned. "My poor younger sister," he said, "You're going to miss them, aren't you?"
Sun Shang Xiang wasn't stupid enough not to know that both of her brothers had been suspecting something with her and Zhou Yu. Which was, in her mind, completely and utterly absurd. First of all, they weren't even really close friends as is, and second of all, since when did her name become Xiao Qiao? Who was obviously the only one in Yu's mind anyway. Not that Xiang minded. But her brothers always teased her about it. The young woman wasn't really sure if Quan really meant his joking manners but at the very least Ce was definitely believing it.
"Miss them?" she asked, raising an eyebrow. "Maybe." her expression turned to seriousness, and she could tell that Quan noticed, as he leaned forward, his own expression mirroring her own. "Actually..it's more like I feel kind of guilty."
"Guilty? You?"
Shang Xiang made a mental note that her two brothers had somehow spent more time together than she had let on. "Ohhh, nevermind." she said, shooing him away. "Go find someone else to bother, brother."
When he made no move to leave, she tried again, this time flashing him a smile. "I'll tell you when I feel up to it, alright?"
He still didn't seem ready to leave, and instead she stood up, shaking her head in mock annoyance as she started down the hallway to leave. As she walked, she paused when she thought she heard a loud thud coming from the other side of the area. Curious, she began to start toward the noise, when she realized that it had come from Lu Xun's room. "Xun?" she attempted, knocking at the door two times. No response.
"Xun??" a pause. "I'm going to open the door, okay?"
Still no response. She moved her hand to the door and opened it, her eyes immediately widening when she spotted the young man sprawled on the floor next to the ever growing stack of paper and his writing utensils.