Liu Shan turned when he heard the clip clop of hooves. The sounds of battle had died off, and Liu Shan eagerly hoped Shu had turned out victorious. He was sitting under some shelter, where Ma Chao had left him. He said they would keep Wu from him, but if they could not manage, Ma Chao had told Liu Shan to run like mad. He probably would not be able to escape anyway, since he was a little bit obese.
"Liu Shan! It's me!" came a voice, and Liu Shan recognised it to be Ma Chao. For once, a smile appeared in the presence of the name 'Ma Chao'. He stood up and beamed as Ma Chao and Xing Cai halted their horses outside the open shelter and walked inside to meet up with Liu Shan.
"My lord, has any harm come your way?" asked Xing Cai.
"No, no one came by…" Liu Shan said. He trailed off, thinking of what to say to Ma Chao. "I am extremely thankful you saved me from those soldiers. I thought I was dead for sure, because no one had come to my aid for a long while after the enemy had got into the castle. I…didn't think you'd be the one to save me, Ma Chao. Consider me in your debt."
Ma Chao shook his head. "No, there is no debt. Do you not remember, Liu Shan, that I promised you I would serve you loyally? I keep my promises. I never go back on my word."
"Yes…and thank you again," answered Liu Shan. "I'm sorry for causing this whole battle. I've realised what I've done, when I was faced with death inside that castle. I have disappointed everybody, and I am sorry."
"There's only us two here, my lord. If you want to apologise, perhaps you would like to say it to the whole army?" asked Ma Chao.
"I don't think I can face them," said Liu Shan miserably. "I have failed my people, and my late father. I am unworthy to lead any of you."
"You can, my lord. If you truly want to change, then you must talk with your armies, learn the ways of war, and lead Shu, a place your father created to a peaceful world," said Xing Cai.
"I repent for what I have done…" Liu Shan looked into the distance before focussing back on the two in front of him. "And I'm sorry for what I have done to you two. They say you two were together before I asked to marry you, Xing Cai. Considering who I was then, I don't think I would have cared anyway."
Both Ma Chao and Xing Cai just stared at the man in front of them silently.
"I was thinking…just then in this shelter," said Liu Shan and he turned and started pacing the place slowly. "That I'll divorce you, Xing Cai and allow you two to be together," Liu Shan looked back at Xing Cai. "So that you can be with him."
"My lord, I…" Xing Cai looked at Liu Shan, then to Ma Chao and back again.
"Ma Chao, you and your unending attempts to persuade Xing Cai to be with you…I know you truly love her, and that you truly love him. I'm just a bastard who gets in everyone's way, in both war and love."
Liu Shan took hold of Xing Cai and Ma Chao's hands and placed them in each other. "I wish you the best wishes for your marriage and you life together." He gave them a both a soft smile, his good will, genuine.
A few seconds past as all three said nothing.
"Thank you," answered Ma Chao with a grin. He looked at Xing Cai, and figured the joy on her face was probably a mirror of his own.
"Yes…thank you, Liu Shan," said Xing Cai.
Liu Shan nodded. "Are we friends?"
"Absolutely," said Ma Chao.
"Good." Liu Shan took his hands off Ma Chao's and Xing Cai's and looked up to the clear blue sky. "Father, I may have disappointed you in my disability to lead a kingdom, but I assure you I will change. I will not make stupid decisions simply because of persuasion. I will listen to Lord Zhuge Liang, he is a good man, and I have wronged him."
Turning back to earth, he fixed his gaze back on his new friends. "I'll learn to use a sword, learn to strategise, learn to lead. And if I don't change and do all those things…" He pointed at Ma Chao and Xing Cai. "You two have permission to bash me up. Understood?"
Ma Chao saluted. "Yes my lord, understood very clearly my lord." Xing Cai just laughed.
"Well then, let's return home," said Liu Shan calmly.
Xing Cai stopped laughing when she remembered something very important and looked up at Liu Shan. "Liu Shan…"
"Yes?" he asked, and Xing Cai could see some of Liu Bei's features clearly in the man's face.
She did not know how to start off, and then decided to get straight to the point. "Liu…Liu Cheng is—"
"Not my son and actually Ma Chao's?" finished off Liu Shan.
Ma Chao stared and gaped. "What…what!?"
Xing Cai gasped. "You…know."
"I always had my suspicions…and when you said Cheng's name like that just then…I figured out the truth," answered Liu Shan.
"You are not angry?" asked Xing Cai. She knew Liu Shan was actually smart. Perhaps he could finally put his intelligence to use now.
"I would have been. But as I said, I wish you two to be together. So I'm not really now…besides, we're divorced, Xing Cai. You…" he said to Xing Cai. "Will be Ma Chao's wife."
"I'm glad. I'm sorry for lying to you."
"What has happened, has happened. It's time I start afresh to atone for the mistakes I've made," said Liu Shan determinedly, clenching his hand into a fist.
All of a sudden, they could hear voices in the distance, voices of an army.
"I didn't bring my weapon!" said Ma Chao, worried for the mysterious army. He felt Xing Cai's hand on his arm and looked at her.
"Wait, Ma Chao. I think it's Jiang Wei," said Xing Cai. She stepped forward to get a better view and started waving. "Jiang Wei!!"
Ma Chao immediately relaxed for the army was an ally. Jiang Wei was leading a part of his unit. They looked worn out and they panted for breath as they walked slowly towards them.
"Hello Xing Cai," he took another breath. "And Ma Chao." Jiang Wei saw that Liu Shan was there and went to him. He collapsed before him and kowtowed.
"I am sorry my lord, for failing to protect the entrance to the castle, resulting in your need to seek another refuge. I am very sorry, my lord…and I have no excuses but that I am incompetent," said Jiang Wei.
Liu Shan hastily went down on his knees too so that he was level with Jiang Wei. "No, you have done well, Jiang Wei. Far from incompetent, for you had to take up the Prime Minister's role as well. You are an intelligent man, what happened to make you lose your defence for the gate?"
"Lu Xun…we were fighting against his troops in the area at the start of the Stone Sentinel Maze. He ordered for flaming arrows to be fired…and our troops were enclosed in the caves of the maze as the Wu troops retreated out. We had no choice but to retreat, and that gave Lu Xun the chance. He was the one who got through the maze last time in the battle of Yi Ling…" answered Jiang Wei.
"Your defeat has in a way helped me…" thought Liu Shan. "It gave death a chance to taunt me, and that helped me look through, and realise what I have been doing has been wrong all along."
He stood up, helping Jiang Wei up as well. "You have all done well," he declared with a smile. "Let us return home." He nodded at Ma Chao and Xing Cai before turning to walk Jiang Wei and his troops back to camp. He had decided that he would heed Xing Cai's advice and talk to the generals under his command. A talk which would be full of apologies. But he knew, if he was truly to redeem himself, he would have to put words into actions, and that was precisely what Liu Shan planned to do.
"Just watch me, father."
Meanwhile, Ma Chao and Xing Cai watched Liu Shan and Jiang Wei make a head start back to camp. They turned and gazed at each other.
Ma Chao lips curled into a smile and he moved forward to embrace Xing Cai.
"How long has it been?" whispered Ma Chao, feeling Xing Cai's smooth hair against his cheek.
"Too long," was Xing Cai's reply, and she closed her eyes as she wrapped her arms around his waist.
They were free to love once more, and happier than ever, for Liu Shan had given them his best wishes. Everything was perfect now. Liu Shan had decided to change for the better, and Ma Chao and Xing Cai could be together again. Ma Chao pulled his head back and felt free as he looked into Xing Cai's dark orbs without having to restrain his own emotions. Ma Chao leaned in and kissed her. Feeling her soft lips against his own brought back memories two years ago to Ma Chao. Xing Cai too, relished the feeling. Despite how she had been telling herself to forget about Ma Chao for the time she was Liu Shan's wife, she could not. She realised love was like a drug, with it, you're in bliss, and without it, everything seemed grayscale.
Some of the soldiers pointed and commented on the two, but Ma Chao and Xing Cai did not care. They were in a world of their own. When at last they pulled away from each other's arms, Ma Chao took hold of Xing Cai's hand in his.
"It took death to pull Liu Shan into reality and to make him change, didn't it?" asked Ma Chao as he watched the man dwindle in the distance.
"Yeah, and I'm glad he's going to change. If he doesn't…"
"We beat him up," said Ma Chao and Xing Cai in unison. Swinging their hands between them, the sauntered over to the horses. "So…Cai…we have a child?"
"I knew he was yours from the start…so I named him Ma Cheng…I thought it sounded nice. Then, because of Liu Shan, I said Liu Cheng," answered Xing Cai. "I was afraid he would never be able to know his real father. But hey, things turned out for the better!"
The thought of children reminded Ma Chao of the ones he had left behind for a battle, the ones who perished alongside his late wife Lady Yang. He shook himself of the sombre thought. He should be bright and cheerful that he had a child with Xing Cai, the woman he knew he would love for eternity. "At least the child is only two, it wouldn't be too hard getting used to me, would it?"
"Of course not. Cheng would probably love you far more than Liu Shan," Xing Cai replied. Ma Chao nodded and could not keep a jovial grin off his face. Once he and Xing Cai got married, they would be an official family. He could feel himself brimming with joy at that thought.
Unwillingly, Ma Chao pulled himself out of his happy thoughts and back into the present. "We'd better go, or else they'll leave us behind," said Ma Chao. They both got onto their horses and set off at a comfortable pace, quickly catching up with the rest of the troops.
XXXXXXX
As the army set off on a march back to Cheng Du, Ma Chao caught up with Zhao Yun.
"Hey Zhao Yun!" he shouted, catching his friend's attention.
Zhao Yun turned and greeted Ma Chao with a wide smile. "Hey Chao! Oh, I've heard so many rumours. Clarify them for me will you?"
"Which ones?" asked Ma Chao, his head bobbing to the movement of his horse. He was in high spirits, and had been since Liu Shan had said he would divorce Xing Cai so they could be together.
"Liu Shan's going to change?"
"I should think so."
"Okay then, now this one I've been itching to ask," said Zhao Yun. "Liu Shan allowed you and Xing Cai get back together?"
"Sure did."
Zhao Yun felt his happiness level soar, even though it was Ma Chao who Xing Cai would be with. But he was happy, Xing Cai loved Ma Chao, and she only wanted to be with him. As a friend, mentor, and someone who cared for her, this was what he wanted. "That's great! So you two will be getting married?"
Ma Chao nodded, feeling great that his friend, whom he knew loved Xing Cai too, was happy for him. "Hey…there's something which hasn't been converted into a rumour yet."
Zhao Yun's eyebrows shot up and he blinked at Ma Chao. "What is it?"
"Liu Cheng's actually mine," said Ma Chao. "I mean Ma Cheng." He let out a laugh which he had been holding onto for some time. "Thing is, Liu Shan seemed absolutely unfazed. He said he guessed as much. I'm glad he's promised to change."
Zhao Yun stared at the man before laughing with him. "That is just great! Damn, you are lucky. You are fortunate to be with Xing Cai. You better take good care of her. And the child."
"So, do you want to be the godfather of Cheng?" asked Ma Chao.
"Had you asked anyone else, I would have beaten you up so badly," said Zhao Yun, but his expression was content, and this betrayed the words he said.
Ma Chao nodded with a smirk. "Oh, that is so nice of you Zilong. That's what I say a true best friend should be like. Definitely."
XXXXXXX
The day after their marriage, Ma Chao and Xing Cai knew exactly where to go. They felt nostalgia as they walked up the path they had so often walked when they were friends, and when they had become lovers. Now back again on the path lined with different bushes, shrubs and trees, they were a married couple, and Ma Chao had deemed the area theirs.
It was the start of winter, and the light snow drifted down from the heavens and onto the land. It was in the afternoon as Ma Chao and Xing Cai walked into the clearing and looked in awe at the beautiful peach blossoms which had bloomed around them.
Peach Blossom Cliff. The place marked the start of their friendship, the start of their love, the parting of ways, and finally when everything was back in place. With the first glimpse of the place, memories flooded him. It was as if the place spelled out their story, and Ma Chao felt deeply connected with the area. He walked towards the edge and looked out. The scenery had been changed, but not too much. The valley was still there, the trees covered with a light dusting of snow. The river though, once flowing swift and sure, was now frozen by the cold.
To Xing Cai, the place was beautiful any day. She looked up at the peach blossoms and smiled. The small pink flowers were such a stark difference to its white environment. Looking away from the environment, she noticed that the furniture she and Ma Chao had brought here were no longer existent, save for a few chunks of wood decaying at the bottom of a tree.
"Ma Chao, what happened?" she asked him. The last time she had been here, the furniture was still okay.
Ma Chao looked around. "What…oh that…" he said, following Xing Cai's line of sight. "I was angry, no, make it sad, that you decided to leave me."
Xing Cai tilted her head at him. Was he still hurt from that? "I…I'm sorry."
Ma Chao waved his hand dismissively and chuckled. "No, don't say that, I was just trying to…ah…the words jumped out on their own accord. I'm not holding anything against you, Xing Cai." Silently, he stepped towards her, creating foot prints in the shallow snow. "I would never hold anything against you, because I love you."
Xing Cai smiled and let herself be held in Ma Chao's arms. "I thought you would still feel hurt that I thought duty was more important than you."
"Do you still feel that way?" asked Ma Chao.
"No, I don't think I can."
Ma Chao pulled away from Xing Cai and picked up a fallen branch. "This place, is ours." He wrote 'Property of Ma Chao and Xing Cai' in the snow with the stick.
Xing Cai scoffed. "That's going to get ruined when we cross this place to leave!"
"Well then, let's not leave," answered Ma Chao.
He looked up at the largest Peach Blossom tree and his lips curled into a smirk. With a leap, he launched himself onto the tree and climbed it, before seating himself on a sturdy bough of the tree. Ma Chao held his hand down to her. "Come up here, Cai."
Xing Cai gazed at the man above her in awe. He, with his golden hair, was surrounded by many pastel pink petals. If only she could capture a picture of it. She walked up to the tree and grabbed a low branch before pulling herself up with her feet as support.
"I don't need your help to climb a tree." She quickly covered the height and claimed her place on Ma Chao's lap. Xing Cai held her hand up to one of the many petals around her. "It's as if…they bloomed for us, Ma Chao."
Ma Chao leaned back against the tree's trunk, his legs hanging to the side of the bough he was sitting on. He had his arms around Xing Cai's waist as she sat on his lap, her legs stretched out along the tree branch. "Maybe they did."
Xing Cai smiled and closed her eyes for a moment. "Ma Chao, do you feel cold?"
"Not really," he answered.
"Oh yes, I forgot. You're from Xiliang, you must be used to temperatures even lower than these up north."
Ma Chao sighed. "Perhaps. But with you beside me, my world will never grow cold."
A light laugh escaped Xing Cai's lips as she gazed at the cliff she had not visited for so long.
Ma Chao rested his head against the trunk and looked out past the pink petals and down below into the valley. He was finally feeling true peace after a long time. He would savour and treasure the feeling. People did not always get a chance to feel bliss.
We first met in Spring, where the Peach Blossoms had not blossomed yet. In Summer, we finally confessed our feelings for each other… Fate, or rather, Liu Shan, tore us apart in Autumn. But I would not give in, and I continued to seek out Xing Cai. Time had passed, but now in Winter, Xing Cai and I are reunited, and the Peach Blossoms have finally flourished, just for us.
Xing Cai noticed Ma Chao was in deep thought through his eyes. "Chao, what are you thinking about?"
Ma Chao blinked and gazed into Xing Cai's eyes. "I was thinking…how this place and the four seasons seem spell out our story…if you get me."
With a nod, Xing Cai placed her hands on Ma Chao's and looked off into the distance. "I get you," she answered simply.
A short silence settled on the serene quiet of the two lovers, until Ma Chao decided to say something.
"Fate has its way of making us prove how much we mean to each other, doesn't it?" wondered Ma Chao in a soft whisper.
"And that how much, is everything," answered Xing Cai.
The two lovers gazed down at the scenery made from the beautiful valley and its river from the Peach Blossom tree, its petals decorating the view.
"Agreed."
They watched as the distant sun started its journey below the horizon, shining its last few rays before the night sky and its stars would claim dominance.
-The End-
Final final ending: Liu Shan truly becomes a great leader and leads Shu into victory and unites the land. I WISH. Thought I'd make him a good man in the end :P I still hate the bastard though. Shu-ists always hate him. I probably won't be writing another story with romance as its main genre in another 85089213785 years. Yep, and you all know why.
So, how was it? I'd love some reviews with some final comments from you guys!
Inspiration: My Heart is Yours by dragooncanon (my story's really similar to that fic, but I hope giving it the 'twist' helped to make it somewhat original)
Special Mentions!
Many thanks to Kurai-Shuwazi, Jenizaki, Chriss, gracie, freedomcall803, vampiregirl2009 and The Three Spearmen for your support! And heaps of thanks to Melodicxstar and Mals, for your ongoing support for this fic. And last but not least, AnnieS824, who's supported me through this fic and gave the story its first review which made me a VERY happy person.
vampiregirl2009 – lol, I don't know why you like Xing Cai pregnant, but okay! ^^ And with the fic, as I said, won't be writing one anytime soon, so I'm sorry. I could think about it…but I'm not much of a Sun Quan fan so yeah…sorry about that. Don't expect it. But thanks for your reviews! Glad you like my story enough to want me to write a fic for you though! LOL, you gave me three reviews for the 9th chapter. *gives you a hug*
Melodicxstar – was that last bit corny? You know, I actually had an even cornier ending in mind…but I didn't want to get shot a million times for that. So yeah. Thanks for pointing out that my fic is ultra corny in every review xD. No sarcasm there, it's all true. Because this fic is corny, and I reread chapter 3…oh god, can't believe I wrote it!
And so, everyone, that is the end. I'll go back to my other story, 'The Fury of the Mare' now, since I got this fic completed. I also figured out that I probably got the corny stuff from hong kong dramas lol. I watch them everyday…it influences me greatly.
Please review this story, Four Seasons, brought to you by this author, who is a great fan of Ma Chao. Wow, I took more than half a page with this author's note.
Reviews make me happy, so please review! =D
And the rest, is silence. *bows* - Dante DMC4