I don't own Dynasty Warriors...there...I said it. Next up, Chapter 12!
Destined
Chapter 12
Gan Ning and Ling Tong sat at one of the many tables in the dining hall staring blankly at Sun Ce and Zhou Yu as they went on about their lives as married men.
"Yeah, at first I thought that the whole marriage thing sucked, you know." Sun Ce said. "I mean, I thought it would cramp my style and keep me from fighting, but it hasn't."
"Of course it hasn't." Zhou Yu said. "Being married constitutes a lasting joy of having found a soul mate to spend the rest of this overactive, war-ridden life with."
"Yeah, I know. Now I can be fruitful and multiply, then grow old and decrepit without worrying about who's gonna take care of things when I'm about to kick the can." Sun Ce said. "And that, my friend, is awesome."
Gan Ning shook his head at the Wu generals before picking his cup up and began quickly gulping its contents.
"So Gan Ning, Ling Tong, you two got a woman yet?" Sun Ce suddenly asked.
Ling Tong's jaw dropped; Gan Ning, unprepared for the surprise question, choked on his drink and struggled to regain his composure.
"What did you say?" he managed to ask between his coughing and gagging.
"Well, if you hadn't noticed it yet, the four of us are pretty popular with the ladies around here." Sun Ce replied. "I was just wondering if you snagged one yet."
"Well, um, no, I haven't." Ling Tong said. "Gan Ning here, though, now that's a diff…OUCH!!" A boot planted itself in the back of his right leg.
"No, I can't say that I've been fortunate enough to snag one yet." Gan Ning said.
"Oh, well it'll come one day, I'm sure of it." Sun Ce said.
Zhou Yu nodded in agreement.
"Yeah, I'm sure it will." Gan Ning said. "Hey, could you excuse us for a moment?"
"Sure." Sun Ce said, turning to say something else to Zhou Yu.
Gan Ning nodded in thanks, getting up from his seat. He grabbed Ling Tong, who was still rubbing his aching calf, by the collar of his shirt and yanked him out of his seat, dragging him all the way out of the dining hall.
"Hey, hey, what is the deal, man?" Ling Tong asked when he was finally let go. "Ease up, will ya."
He then bent down to check his pained leg only to be grabbed again and forced against the wall near the dining hall doors.
"Gan Ning what is your problem?" Ling Tong asked, completely confused.
"What the hell was that in there?" Gan Ning asked. "Are you trying to blow my cover? Huh?"
"What are you talking about?" Ling Tong asked. "What the heck did I do?"
"You almost let it slip that I was seeing Ice, that's what!" Gan Ning said angrily, though keeping his voice down as not to draw attention.
"What?! No I didn't!" Ling Tong retorted.
"Yes you did!" Gan Ning snapped. "Revealing that I'm seeing someone at all is too much information, and you almost did that!"
"Well jeez, I'm sorry. It's no need to beat the crap out of me." Ling Tong said.
Gan Ning shook his head, letting go of Ling Tong. "Look, I can't have people knowing the deal between me and Ice." he said. "It's not safe right now, even with the fact that people knowing her here is in our favor. Sun Jian may like her, but that doesn't mean he'll approve of this "relationship." For now, Ice will only be known to anyone else as a friend from another kingdom and nothing more, and you will be the only one who knows anything beyond that. Understand?"
"Understood." Ling Tong said.
"Good." Gan Ning said and turned to walk away.
"Just let me ask you this." Ling Tong said suddenly.
Gan Ning turned back towards Ling Tong. "What is it?" he asked.
Ling Tong opened his mouth to speak but stopped when he heard Shang Xiang coming out of the dining hall.
"I-I'll talk to you about it later." he said.
"Uh, alright." Gan Ning said, shrugging.
He then turned and left. Ling Tong shook his head and turned to walk back into the dining hall; all this love talk had made him hungry. Instead his heart skipped a beat when he found himself staring into the face of Shang Xiang.
"Can you not just appear like that?" Ling Tong said, annoyed.
"You and me have got to talk - right now." Shang Xiang said in a semi-whispering tone of voice.
At that, she grabbed Ling Tong by his arm and dragged him back into the dining hall, pulling him to the most isolated table she could get to.
"Why the heck is everyone dragging me around today?" Ling Tong fumed as he was finally released from Shang Xiang's grip.
"What did he say?" Shang Xiang asked.
"What did who say?" Ling Tong asked.
"Gan Ning! What did he say? I know you told him." Shang Xiang responded, agitated.
"Oh, that…well how the heck are you just gonna assume I said something?" Ling Tong asked. "Da and Xiao made me promise not to."
"That may be true, but I know you, Ling Tong." Shang Xiang said. "I'm your friend, too, remember? Maybe not your best friend, but your friend just the same, and I know you can't keep something like that to yourself. So, what did he say?"
Ling Tong sighed heavily and ran a hand over his face. "Okay, okay. He said pretty much the same thing you've been saying, that he doesn't believe that you feel anything for him, that you merely tolerate him, and that overall, you can't stand him." he said. "So I guess those feelings are mutual between the two of you."
"Good, that's very good." Shang Xiang said, nodding in approval. "The air is finally clear."
"Whatever you say." Ling Tong said as he stood up to leave.
"What's that supposed to mean?" Shang Xiang snapped.
"You know just as well as I do that you like him, so I wish you would just drop this act of yours." Ling Tong said walking away.
Shang Xiang growled at his retreating form, then looked down at her hands with a long sigh. She did not respond to his last statement. She couldn't…at least, not when she knew that what he said was actually the truth.
"Are you kidding me, a war?" Ice asked, her heart racing a mile a minute. She couldn't believe what her ears were hearing.
"It's possible." Pyra said.
"But, why?" Ice asked. "Why would we go to war with someone with which we've had no quarrels?"
"Liu Bei is now falling under the belief that Wei and Wu are allied." Flame replied.
"Allied?" Ice asked.
"Yes." Flame said. "The generals you attacked are claiming to have seen blue before they were knocked out. And now, he's supposedly contemplating the decision of attack."
Ice gasped in shock. She slowly sat down on her bed, running both hands through her hair. "And if we're attacked, it will be all my fault." she said weakly.
"Actually the blame would fall on you and Gan Ning." Pyra said. "Remember Gan Ning also escaped from captivity, not forgetting of course that it was with your help that he did so. He was their prisoner of war, which makes him a fugitive in a matter of speaking."
"A fugitive? What for? It's not like he's a member of the Shu kingdom." Ice asked confused.
"He escaped any punishment war criminals are issued in Shu." Flame said.
"He did not. They damn near killed him when they were trying to beat information out of him." Ice retorted.
"We understand that, Ice, but right now, that's not the point." Pyra said. "We need to focus on how to halt this conflict before it can take root here or in Wu. Do you intend to go see Gan Ning tonight?"
"I was, but with all this…" Ice said.
"Go and see him." Flame said. "Tell him everything we've told you and to make sure that Sun Jian does not find out about any of this."
"Okay…wait…what about Cao Cao?" Ice asked.
"We haven't forgotten him." Flame said. "We've decided to go ahead and tell him."
"How?" Ice asked.
"Leave that to us." Pyra said. "All you have to worry about is getting this information to Gan Ning."
"Right, I will." Ice said.
Pyra and Flame smiled, gave a short nod and left the room. Ice flopped back on her bed.
"This can't be happening…"
Gan Ning let out a bored sigh into the night air as he sat against the wall just outside his room door. He and Ling Tong had found themselves outside on the breezeway for the second night in a row; it was quickly becoming a routine thing. There was a chill on the air that night, and though it was slight, Gan Ning was still able to visibly see his breath as it left him in steady puffs of steam, catching the light of the moon that shone directly onto the breezeway.
"So, what is it that you needed to ask me earlier?" he asked as he stared down into the cup of wine in his hand. From his place at the balcony, Ling Tong turned to Gan Ning.
"What?" he asked.
"You said you needed to ask me something earlier, but for some odd reason you decided to wait." Gan Ning replied. "So what is it that you need to ask?"
Ling Tong thought for a minute. "Oh, yeah I remember now." he finally said, turning so that he could completely face the ex-pirate. "I just wanted to know…how do I word this…what you plan of action is."
Gan Ning stared blankly at Ling Tong. "What my…plan of action is? What are you talking about?" he asked.
"Okay, listen, man, remember what you said earlier today, about what's going on between you and Ice?" Ling Tong started. "You said that it isn't safe to have people knowing about that despite the fact that people here know who Ice is, and that Sun Jian would more than likely disapprove of it if he ever found out. What I'm asking you is what are you going to do if someone does find out? What's your plan of action?"
Gan Ning's head shot up. "What do you mean 'if someone finds out'? You didn't tell anyone else about this, did you?" he asked, his tone hinting oncoming anger.
"No, no, it's nothing like that. I didn't tell anyone." Ling Tong said. "I asking what are you going to do if this gets out into the open, if someone actually finds out about you and Ice. I mean, come on, this can't stay a secret forever. Something's bound to happen that could cause all of this to be revealed. What then, man, what are you going to do then?"
Gan Ning looked back down at the cup in his hand, a confused expression settling on his features. "I don't know." he said slowly. "I can't really say that I've thought about that. Perhaps I should put it into consideration."
He then turned up the cup and gulped down the remainder of the wine. The shuffling of feet at the closed end of the breezeway drew the two's attention. Gan Ning squinted his eyes in order to make out the figure walking towards them.
"Ice?" he called out on sheer whim.
"Yes, it's me." Ice said as she finally reached the ex-pirate.
A warm smile tugged at the corners of his mouth as she sat down next to him. It slowly faded, however, when he saw the expression on her face.
"Ice, what's wrong?" he asked, his deep rasped voice softening as much as possible. "You seem to be…disturbed about something."
Ice pulled her knees up to her chest and wrapped her arms around them. She sat her head on her knees, her chocolate brown locks falling around her face. "Something's happening…something bad." she answered.
Gan Ning looked at her, a frown beginning to furrow his eyebrows. Ling Tong made his way to the two upon hearing this and sat at her other side.
"What's happening?" Gan Ning asked.
Ice looked and Gan Ning. "You have to swear not to tell anyone else what I'm about to tell you now." she spoke in a half-whisper, catching his eyes in her own.
Gan Ning nodded slightly, his serious expression unfaltering. "I won't tell anyone." he said.
Ice then looked at Ling Tong. "You as well, you have to swear not to tell anyone what you are about to hear." she said.
Ling Tong put his hand over his heart. "I swear." he said.
Ice sighed and redirected her gaze to the starry night sky.
"The possibility of war is looming even as we speak now…a war that neither the people of Wei nor the people of Wu know about…one that could affect all three kingdoms." Ice stated quietly.
How was that? I'm not dragging this out, am I? Let me know. All opinions welcome.
xLonely Soldierx