A Greater Reckoning- Part 1

"Why a duke?"

"Because he'll be close to Luoyang, easy to keep an eye on and he won't be able to give away any of my treasury without me knowing about it."

"So you'll appoint a treasurer?"

"Yes. They'll maintain the budget. Liu Shan will be a way to keep these people from rebelling more than anything else."

Cao Pi was starting quite a collection of trophies, her, Zhang He, the Liu sisters and now Liu Shan.

Zhen knocked another arrow.

"It's all almost over." She whispered as she released the arrow, hitting a perfect bulls-eye.

"Not until he's dead," Cao Pi corrected from where he sat on the nearby bench with his treasurer's report. "but it shouldn't be long now."

For being such a modest castle, it had quite the magnificent gardens, but nothing near the size as theirs in Luoyang. There was enough room for her to set up a target and get in a few last shots. She wouldn't need her bow anymore after today.

Sima Yi had taken ill last night at the feast. So they took the opportunity to poison him. Cao Pi had one of his servants poison his food with a type of foreign poison that she had never heard of before. All she knew about it was that Cao Pi had gotten it after they retook Luoyang and had waited for the perfect time to use it sense then. Well… the time was now. They could blame Sima Yi's death on his illness from last night.

Just then, a wave of Shu soldiers came flooding into the courtyard, fully armed. Zhen quickly drew another arrow as they were surrounded, but she didn't know which soldier to hit. Cao Pi leapt to his feet and held his sword at the ready.

"Liu Shan." Cao Pi spat.

"You can't think that that fool would dare try his hand at assassination?"

They both turned. She had expected to see Jiang Wei, but it was Sima Shi.

Sima Shi laughed, it sounded similar to his father's.

"You see what happened is that Liu Shan's generals couldn't tolerate being subjugated. So they rebelled and in the confusion of the attack, the Emperor and Empress were killed."

"As conniving as your father, but his plans didn't work and neither will yours. You can't possibly think that my men will believe this."

"And you can't believe that my allies will believe that my father's death was natural."

Something caught her eye, an oil drum set on top of the railing on the top level, right above a torch. It was probably left there by some lazy servant who had been told to bring it to refill everyone's oil lamps.

"So your father has finally passed." She assumed.

"No, he's still alive, but you won't be, not for long."

She pointed her arrow up at the oil drum and released it. The oil pot toppled over. It crashed on the rail of the level above the torch. So the oil cascaded over the torch and erupted into fame. When the oil landed on the ground, it splashed everywhere, landing on the dry grass like kindling and even on the faces of some of the Shu soldiers. The effect was blinding and stench was nauseating.

She felt Cao Pi grab her arm. He pulled her out of the courtyard, hacking their way through the 'Shu' soldiers. They took off down the hallway and ran towards the general's wing, but Wang Yuanji came running around the corner. She knew a knife. Cao Pi pushed Zhen to the side as hard as he could, sending them both falling out of the pathway of the knife. She landed on her shoulder and her bow fell out of reach, but neither of them had been hit. Yuanji threw another knife. Cao Pi was able roll to the side to dodge it before leaping to his feet. Wang Yuanji threw a third knife. This time, Cao Pi was able to hit it to the side with his sword. It stabbed into the wall next to him.

Zhen grabbed her bow and pulled out another arrow. Yuanji saw her and pulled out another knife. She was able to throw it quicker than Zhen was able to release her arrow, but she didn't care. She released the arrow as the knife came hurling at her.

"NO!"

She screamed as the knife hit her just below the base of her right rib and lit her entire middle on fire.

"NO!"

Cao Pi dropped to his knees beside her. She looked past him at Yuanji. She had been hit through the middle of the chest. Blood dripped out of the side of her mouth. She scowled at Zhen before falling backwards and hitting the ground with a thud.

Zhen sighed in relief and clung to the fold of Cao Pi's tunic. Her other hand still clung to her bow. She leaned her forehead on Cao Pi's chest and let go of his tunic.

"It's nothing." She told Cao Pi as she pulled the little knife out.

She had bit down on her lips to keep from making any sounds of pain. She tucked the knife into her belt.

Then there was a roar behind them. They both turned to see the 'Shu' soldiers. Cao Pi pulled her to her feet. They ran as fast as they could. The 'Shu' soldiers followed closely in their wake. Arrows shot past their heads, but they were poorly aimed. Zhen would have turned to shot while she ran, but that would have slowed her down too much. So they just continued to run and hope that the soldiers would continue to miss.

Suddenly, a group of Wei soldiers turned a corner, led by Zhang Liao.

"Get out of here!" Was all he said to them.

Cao Pi led her through the Wei soldiers. When they were safely behind friendly ranks, they stopped.

"Keep going. Barricade yourself in our chambers! I have to finish this!"

"I won't leave you!"

"Zhen, you're injured, go!"

He turned back toward the enemy and ran, sword first.

He was right, she was injured, she would just get in the way, but she wasn't useless. There was still something she could do. Sima Yi was still alive.

Zhen slipped through one of the side halls and silently made her way toward Sima Yi's chambers, holding her side with her hand that wasn't holding her bow. It wasn't bleeding too bad. It burned more than anything else, like having an amber thrown at her, but she was able to ignore it enough to make her way to Sima Yi's chambers. She didn't go inside, not right away. She knocked another arrow with her had that was slippery with blood. Then she turned and kicked the door open.

No one was inside.

She lowered her bow and held her side again.

Where could that snake of a man be?

She leaned against the wall behind her and leaned the back of her head against it. She closed her eyes to think, but she heard voices. She immediately recognized one of them as Sima Yi's. She slowly leaned over and peeked out the doorway. She saw Sima Yi, Sima Zhao and Jiang Wei walking down the hall, towards the throne room.

"Are you sure this is going to work?" Jiang Wei asked.

"I never devise plans that fail."

"Yet you failed in taking Xuchang all those years ago."

"There were variables I hadn't taken into account back then."

Zhen couldn't hear them anymore. So she slowly moved back into the hall and followed after them, making sure to keep her distance so that she wouldn't be heard.

She caught up with them at the throne room. All three of them were inside. Zhen moved next to the archway and listened, silently.

"I have no intention of letting Liu Shan resume his role of Emperor of Shu Han." Sima Yi told Jiang Wei.

"What? But we agreed that Liu Shan…"

"I lied." Sima Yi replied simply. "I can't stand watching the incompetent rule. Cao Cao lost at Chibi, had he won he would have won the war. Cao Pi was taken hostage by you. Sun Quan hasn't accomplished anything sense he stopped your father's vengeance campaign. Liu Shan hasn't accomplished anything at all. This land deserves better. Cao Cao may have been a fool, but he was right about one thing, only the talented should rule. The three kingdoms will fall and they will be replaced with my empire, Jin."

"Maybe, but you will never live see that day!" Zhen shouted as she moved in front of the doorway and released another arrow.

But her fingers slipped because of the blood on her hands. Instead of hitting Sima Yi in the chest, she hit Sima Zhao in the shoulder. Zhao let out a painful cry.

"Zhao!"

How could she miss!?

Sima Zhao charged at her. She drew another arrow and tried to knock it, but she didn't have time. Sima Zhao swung his sword at her. She raised her bow as if to block Zhao's sword, but he shattered it into a thousand pieces. He swung his sword at her again. She leaped backward and out of his reach, but he was able to close the distance between them with one step and a lunge of his sword. Zhen jumped to the side and slammed into the wall. She braced against the pain of her side hitting the wall. When she opened her eyes again, it was to the sight of Sima Zhao's sword point right in front of her face.

"It's going to take more than you to stop me this time." Sima Yi told her as he approached.

Sima Yi put his finger to her cheek. She turned her head away and closed her eyes at his touch. It had been nearly four years sense he had touched her last and his touch was just as bad as she remembered it, if not worse.

His hand moved down her neck, the side of her breast and down her side. His hand finally came to rest at her hip, where he pulled the knife from her belt.

She opened her eyes to look at him again.

"You see, Zhen, after you murdered Jiang Wei," Sima Yi thrust the knife into the base of Jiang Wei's neck. "the Shu army rebelled and both you, Cao Pi and all your followers were killed."

Jiang Wei collapsed.

She stared at Sima Yi. There was no sign of illness in him at all. Had the poison failed?

Sima Zhao pulled the arrow out of his arm.

"Now, to rid myself of one pesky variable…"

"Jiang Wei!"

They all turned. It was Liu Shan with Lady Zhang and two dozen of his soldiers behind them. All stood in the middle of the hall. Liu Shan ran over to Jiang Wei's side and dropped to his knees.

"What happened?" He demanded.

Zhen Ji looked up at Sima Yi and grinned. Sima Yi was trapped. His men were too far away to help him now.

"I found him dead and the empress here, still bloody from the struggle." Sima Yi replied.

Liu Shan looked over at her. She met his gaze for a short second before he looked back down at Jiang Wei.

Sima Yi smirked at her. If she could murder him with a glare, then he would be dead right now.

"But, if that's true, then why does this knife have your seal on it."

She and Sima Yi both snapped their gaze back to Liu Shan. He was holding the knife that Sima Yi used to kill Jiang Wei, the same knife that Wang Yuanji had thrown at her.

Liu Shan's men moved closer to them, led by Lady Zhang.

She smiled at Sima Yi.

"Lies unfolded."

There was a moment were no one moved. No one breathed. Time itself stood still for them to figure out what to do.

Zhen looked over at Lady Zhang. She was watching Sima Yi and Sima Zhao, waiting for a sign that they would move on Liu Shan. Then Zhen looked over that Sima Yi, who's eyes were darting between the faces of the soldiers and their weapons. Next, she looked over at Liu Shan, who looked from Zhang to Sima Yi. Lastly, she looked at Sima Zhao, who had also seen Liu Shan's silent que to Zhang to attack. He met her gaze for only a short moment. Just long enough for him to realize that she knew too.

Then, time continued and everyone sprang into action at once.

Liu Shan shouted for his men to seize Sima Yi. Sima Zhao lunged at Liu Shan. Zhen lunged for Sima Zhao. Lady Zhang and the soldiers charged. Sima Yi turned and ran.

Zhen slammed up against Zhao's back and hooked her arm around his elbow to stop his sword hand right before he could lunge his sword through Liu Shan's head. Liu Shan fell sideways and out of the way. Zhao landed on his chest on the ground. Zhen locked her arm into place to keep his sword hand from moving, but he was able to flip them around so that Zhen was on her back and he was on top.

Liu Shan sprang up and grabbed Zhao's sword hand. He slammed it into the ground until Zhao dropped the sword.

Zhen took the opportunity. With her spare hand, she drew an arrow from her quiver and thrust it into the base of his neck, but Zhao's spare hand caught hers in midair. She wasn't strong enough. Zhao turned her hand to that the arrow was now pointing at her neck and began pushing down on it. Zhen pushed against his hand holding hers with as much strength as she had, but it wasn't near enough. Zhao was quickly closing the distance between the arrow head and her neck.

Suddenly, Liu Shan plunged a dagger into Zhao's chest. Zhao screamed.

While he was still distracted, she redirect the arrow at his neck and let his strength plunge it into his own flesh. His blood poured everywhere. She could feel it spreading over her front. It didn't take but a moment for Sima Zhao to grow limp.

Zhen pushed him off and rose to the sitting position. A burning pain came from her side as her blood high wore off. She fell forward a little, but she caught herself. She held her side with her other hand.

When the pain became duller, she looked up at Sima Zhao. It was Wang Yuanji's dagger in his chest.

Liu Shan was sitting on the other side of Sima Zhao, just staring at her.

Lady Zhang and her men approached Zhen from behind, but stopped a few paces short.

"Why would you help me?" Liu Shan asked.

"The emperor and I have no ill intentions for you."

"Then why did Sima Yi kill Jiang Wei?"

"He was going to frame me for it to turn you against us."

"But who are those men Cao Pi is fighting? They're in my uniforms."

"Sima Yi's men. He was going to frame you for killing Cao Pi after I had killed Jiang Wei. Then I assume that he would attack with his men and conquer the whole of the empire, not just Wei."

"He still might," Lady Zhang cut in. "unless we kill him now."

Lady Zhang helped her up.

"How good are you with that sword?"

"I took lessons from all five tiger generals of Shu. I'm quite good."

"Good, because I need for someone to cut our way to Sima Yi."

Zhang grinned.

"With pleasure."

Zhang gestured for men to follow. Half of them ran after her.

"Liu Shan, get to safety."

"I can help."

"Yeah, that's what I said…"

Zhen still held her side.

"but if you die now," She continued. "then your people and your generals will turn against us and Sima Yi's plan will still succeed, to an extent."

Liu Shan nodded and left, his men followed on his heels.

"Kill the traitors!"

Zhen looked out the window. The flames still burning from the oil drum blocked most of her view of the courtyard, but she was able to see Lady Zhang charging into the fray between Cao Pi and the Shu impersonators. Seeing her fight, Zhen was glad that she never had to face Zhang on the battlefield. Zhang may not be strong, but she was fast. She just went from one victim to the next, using speed and agility to make up for her lack of strength.

Zhang cut down a soldier that Cao Pi was fighting with. After he nodded at Zhang in gratitude, something caught his gaze. Zhen followed in the direction he was looking and saw Sima Yi running with a handful of men following him.

"SIMA YI!" Cao Pi's voice roared.

Sima Yi stopped and turned, when he saw Cao Pi, Zhen could swear that there was fear on Sima Yi's face. For the second time, Sima Yi turned and ran. Cao Pi starting running after him.

"Cao, don't!"

Sima Yi's men had stayed and started charging at Cao Pi, but the flames from the oil drum still burned, so she couldn't see him, or the fight, anymore. Then she spotted Sima Shi running toward the fray.

Cao Pi couldn't take them all, not by himself.

Zhen climbed through the window and ran around the flames.

Cao Pi was fighting Sima Shi. Sima Shi was stronger in his youth and had more time to train than Cao Pi did, but Cao Pi had more experience. He stayed on the defensive, letting Sima Shi exhaust himself and it worked! Sima Shi swung and lunged himself into exhaustion, but he didn't give up. Sima Shi lunged his sword at Cao Pi's middle again. So Cao Pi swiftly moved just to the side of the blade. Then he grabbed the back of the sword's handle to keep it still just long enough for him to send his own sword through Sima Shi's gut.

Just then, out of the corner of her eye, she saw Sima Yi was running for the door that lead to the stables. If he got a horse, he would flee and disappear forever, but Zhen was closer to the stable than he. She could cut him off and if she could just stall him for a few moments…

She looked back over at Cao Pi who was now fighting of Sima Shi's men. He seemed to be doing fine on his own.

So she ran toward the stables, straight through the courtyard and the battle. No one seemed to notice her. Sima Yi reached the stable doors just before she did. He began pulling the doors open, but Zhen came up behind him. She grabbed the collar of his robes and flung him back towards the courtyard. She hadn't been strong enough to even get him off his feet, but she did get herself between him and the stable doors, not a very smart move, but it was all she had left.

"Don't you ever quit?"

All she had to do was buy time, enough time for Cao Pi to finish Sima Yi's men and come to help her. So if talking the time away would work, then fine.

"Never. I never quit. I never run away."

She had been hoping to bait Sima Yi into a battle of words, but it hadn't worked, Sima Yi lunged at her. She couldn't jump to the side this time there was no room in the stable doorway.

Sima Yi slammed her up against the stable doors, which gave way under their weight. Zhen landed on her back. Sima Yi landed beside her. He scrambled to his feet, but Zhen rolled over on her stomach and grabbed his ankle, tripping him. He landed on his chest.

Sima Yi used his other foot to kick her in the face. Her grip on his ankle loosened. So he shot up to his feet. She clung to her face as if it could stop the pain.

Sima Yi grabbed the back of her collar and pulled her up to her feet. Then he grabbed her quiver strap, wrapped it around her neck and pulled.

"Sorry, Zhen Ji, I have no time for love." He whispered into her ear.

Zhen's hand was pinned between her neck and the quiver strap. So she used the other to draw her last arrow. She used it to cut the strap. She fell forward onto her knees as the blood rushed to her head, but she was able to spin around and plunge the arrowhead into Sima Yi's foot.

Sima Yi's scream sounded throughout the castle. Had it been anyone else's, she wouldn't have smiled.

Sima Yi wound his shoulder and backhanded her. She was flung backwards and after twisting in midair, landed on her stomach. Sima Yi stumbled back a few steps. Then he leaned over and ripped the arrow out of his foot. He was able to muffle his scream this time.

She looked up at Sima Yi with pure, unrestrained hated.

Sima Yi limped over to one of the stalls and let himself in. Zhen lifted herself up onto her hands and knees just as Sima Yi climbed up into the saddle. Sima Yi kicked the horse's side with his good heel. The horse surged forward. Zhen rolled to the side, out of the horse's path, remembering what happened to Guo, but the horse also jumped so that it wouldn't step on her. This horse was clearly no warhorse. War horses, like Storm, were trained to put their heads up and just charge, no matter who was in the way. So this must be one of the messenger horses.

When the horse landed, Sima Yi nearly fell off, but he was able to pull himself back into the center of the saddle before the horse even made it through the doorway. He was as good as gone.