Chapter Twenty-Five:

It was the battlefield again. Bodies littered the ground, arrows and spears piercing the flesh of some, while others had gaping sword wounds from which their blood spilled crimson. Some few that still lived weakly cried for help and tried to struggle to their feet while others lay glassy-eyed with shock as life dimmed in their bodies; others yet cried out to their ancestors to receive them, or to their families that would never see them again. In death their uniforms no longer mattered, be they red or blue. She had killed her share of those in the blue uniforms that day, and she was weary of it—so very weary—though the battle was not yet ended. Here and there she picked up a dagger lying on the ground and replaced it in one of the many sheaths she wore on her body, occasionally pulling one from a blue-clad body and wiping it on her already bloodstained leggings before placing it in an empty sheath.

The sound of steel clashing against steel raged around her, but it seemed distant somehow, as though she was not really a part of the fighting despite her occasional quick thrusts and skirmishes with the occasional unoccupied Wei soldier as she moved through the battlefield, searching for something—someone. She had lost her horse long ago to a pikeman, as had a majority of the noble cavalry that had ridden forth that day. A part of her longed to mourn the loss of her father's warhorse, but there was no time—not yet, and if she didn't find him, there would be an even greater loss to mourn, for her heart would be torn asunder in the loss of her love.

Her movements became more and more hindered by Wei soldiers attacking her as she struggled through the endless battle, but at last she saw him—for a time they had fought side by side, but had lost each other in the fighting. He had lost his horse somewhere in the melee as well, and at the moment he was fighting atop a small knoll, his movements fluid and graceful as he flowed through the deadly dance of the blade. All at once her spirit was lightened again at seeing his magnificence, despite the absolute loss of all emotion in the midst of so much bloodshed. She fought more viciously against her attackers, her only aim to reach his side where she and he might dance together once more and finish this senseless battle to once again reside in the peace within the circle of each other's arms.

Her voice welled behind her lips as she killed the last soldier standing in the way of her rush to his side, and she called his name in a curious mixture of battle cry and proclamation of love and victory. He seemed to hear her and, momentarily unencumbered by enemies, his eyes sought her out. Finding her, relief washed visibly over his face as she ran to him, sword still naked in her hand and running with the blood of their enemy. Exultation of a sort rose unbidden within her and despite the weariness that pulled at her limbs, she ran faster towards him. Exultation, however, was quickly displaced by horror as she saw the cavalryman riding up behind him. He didn't see it, too absorbed in the sight of her hale and whole, and she cursed herself roundly, trying to shout to him as she searched blindly with her free hand for a dagger to throw.

Finding none and quickly running out of time she continued running toward the man she would give her life for, and, shifting her grip on her sword, threw it—powered by her already gathered momentum and a strength she hadn't until this moment discovered she possessed—and cried out again for him to turn around. He never did turn to face his enemy, holding the vision of her steadily in his gaze as he began to move for her, he never would have seen the blow that would have taken his life had her sword not flown true and struck its mark directly through the neck of the officer on the horse, the force of the throw such that it carried the man off of his animal to lie gurgling for breath past the steel in his throat.

She would have continued running for him had it not been for the sheer factor of the relief that coursed through her of a sudden at procuring his safety. As it was, the relief felled what remained of her strength and she fell to her knees as he continued to rush for her. He became a blur as her clarity of vision became clouded by a mixture of sweat, dirt and blood running into her eyes, and she never saw his expression change, only the sudden surprise of a stinging pain entering through her back…

Zhou had entered Li's room at a run and was quite surprised to see her sitting bolt-upright in her bed, loudly and rather incoherently babbling and making slashing and thrusting gestures at the air with an invisible sword. The only words he could readily understand were something about Wei, got to find him, he can't die, and the rest was lost in garbled obscurity. Her face was a mask of horror and rage, though her eyes held none of that heat, unfocused and sightless as she thrashed at what appeared to be invisible enemies. Reaching her side, Zhou grabbed both of her hands and rather frantically shook Mai Li, not knowing what else to do. When the others entered the room it was to the sight of his last relatively violent shake as he yelled at Li to wake up, that it was a dream. She collapsed at this point back onto her bed, her wrists sliding from his surprised grasp at the sudden ceasing of movement. Zhou turned and looked at them, his eyes slightly dazed and worried.

Da stood huddled in Ce's embrace, concerned tears falling from her eyes while the rest of the men looked on in abject shock.

Sun Jian was the first to break the heavily weighted silence. "What in the name of all the gods was that all about?" he asked.

Zhou, shaking off the cloak of dread that had settled around his body, responded with, "It must be the shock of the things she's endured over the past few days. She's had strong dreams before, but I don't think they've ever been this…vivid. Whatever she saw, it must have been terrible, and I don't think her mentioning Wei several times was any coincidence." With a sigh, he added, "This instance may be a true dreaming, Sun Jian. A battle with Wei may be in the near future."

"I'll have to hope otherwise, then, Zhou Yu," Sun Jian replied, his voice weighted with exhaustion. "We don't have time to squabble with Wei right now—not when there exists Dong Zhuo on the horizon. Perhaps after the threat of Dong Zhuo has been eliminated will I be able to spare thought and preparation for visions."

Zhou nodded mutely and, still sitting on the edge of Li's bed, absentmindedly reached out and stroked her hair. Still sleeping, Li sighed deeply and rolled onto her side, closer to his warmth, making him look down at her, smiling tenderly.

"We'll not disturb you further this night, Zhou," Sun Jian said softly. "You may keep your watch over Li. When the missive arrives, someone will come to find you. Good night."

Zhou didn't even look up as Sun Jian and the others left Li's bedroom and then dispersed from the common area Da and Li shared to their own pursuits—Da and Ce for a calming walk in the gardens, Gan Ning for a tavern, and Lu Xun for his bed, leaving Sun Jian to wander the halls of his palace alone, lost in the memory of his beloved peasant wife who had died so long ago. They had been much as Zhou and Li were together, unconsciously responsive to each other, very much in love. For a moment he allowed the pain that still resided within him at her death consume him, and spoke to the empty air or her spirit that undoubtedly resided in the halls of heaven: "I still miss you and mourn the loss of our daughter to this day. I pray you to beseech the gods with whom you reside not to tear these two apart the way you and I were."

With that, he gently put his grief away again and proceeded to his bedchamber.

Good lord, and another long pause. Thank you all for your lovely reviews, and I swear if things would just quit coming up to prevent me from writing, it'd be fantastic. Just moved. For the 5th time in a year, the 9th time in three years. Hopefully I'll be a little stationary now. Also am out of work and trying to find a new job at the moment--wish me luck with that one.

Hope you enjoy the chapter, everyone, promise I'll try to write more frequently!