Nergui smiled as she tried on another dress. The Huns had just evacuated another village and was waiting for Shan Yu to give the order to burn the place to the ground. The men rolled their eyes, waiting for Nergui. Shan Yu crossed his arms, walking into the house.
"What are you doing?" he asked.
"It's not a bad thing to want to look nice, you know", she said turning to face her husband. "What do you think?"
Nergui stood in a light green dress, hugging every curve of her body. The dress had no sleeves, leaving her arms bare. It was also incredibly short, ending just above her knees, leaving her legs bare.
"I can say this", Nergui smiled. "These people have interesting taste."
"You're not going out there wearing that", Shan Yu said looking at her.
"Come on, Shan Yu", she said. "I'm doing this for you."
"I told you already", he said. "You don't need to. Dresses do not make the women look any better than they already are."
"Can I at least take one of the dresses for myself then?" she asked. "I've been wearing the same clothes for days now."
"Nergui, you knew what you were getting yourself into when you joined us. We don't pack extra clothes. We have no need for that kind of thing."
Shan Yu watched Negui look at him in disgust. She gave a sigh and started to undress in front of him.
"You don't understand how I feel about this. It's not just the clothes that upsets me. I have no clean clothes. I can't bathe in privacy. I can't even be intimate with my own husband. I just want all of this to be over and done with. I just want things to be back to the way they were."
"It would go faster if you didn't keep doing this", Shan Yu said.
Nergui frowned as she pulled on her Hun clothes, tossing the dress aside as she rolled her eyes.
"Men…"
He crossed his arms, watching her leave the house. He walked outside, seeing all the men sitting around as they waited for him to give the order.
"Burn it."
The Huns picked up the rocks that laid about the village and set fire to the empty wooden houses. Shan Yu followed Nergui who was gathering all the food they could take with them from the village.
"I know you must be tired of all of this", he said as he watched her. "We're tired too. But just think of our reward for all of this. Not only will we have a home in our country, but all this…all of China will be ours too. No longer will we have to hunt and plant our own food. We will have people to do that for us."
"I suppose that sounds nice", she looked down with a sigh. "But none of this will ever make up for Ho'elun. What are we supposed to do, Shan Yu? You told me we would never have any more children after what we went through with our son."
Shan Yu sighed as he put the food on the saddle. That was true. He didn't want to risk losing her again. He knew another child would never replace Ho'elun.
"I know I said never again", he said.
Nergui looked up at him as Shan Yu gently put his hand on her cheek.
"Once all of this is done, we will be living in the emperor's palace. I will give you the satisfaction of killing him yourself. Once we've settled into our new home, maybe we can try again for a child."
"Are you doing all of this to make me feel better?" she asked raising her eyebrow.
"Is it working?" he asked.
Nergui smiled and gave a chuckle.
"A bit. We'll leave the child negotiations till later."
She wrapped her arms around Shan Yu in a hug, snuggling into his chest. She knew he was trying to do his best as a conqueror and a husband. So far, he was doing an okay job. The couple looked back to see the village burning to the ground as the army mounted their horses. Shan Yu lifted Nergui on their horse and climbed on, continuing the ride through the forest.
