Chapter 3
**
When I finally awoke my whole body ached. Zhang He's troops had been much tougher than I had imagined. Who would have thought that a man who once wore butterfly wings onto the battlefield, as well as had his troops learn ballet; would have taught his troops to punch so hard?
I started to pick up my head when I heard a voice behind me. "I wouldn't move too fast. Your head was bleeding earlier. Men seem to never know how to treat women. Wouldn't you agree, Lady Sun?"
I froze for a second and considered whom it might be. There was only one woman on Wei's side who would be this close to a battlefield. I pitched my voice so it was closer to Lady Sun's octave. "Lady Zhen Ji, I've discovered in my life that men tend to treat you like you treat them." Apparently my disguise was working.
Pain washed over me. I closed my eyes until it passed; then I turned to her. She reclined on a mat, watching me like a cat watches a fish. I had never seen her up close. She was as beautiful as the poets claimed.
"What an interesting view on life. Then again, I have heard that your family is very . indulgent towards you."
And what exactly was she trying to say about Lady Sun? "Some might say so."
"Well, not all girls are allowed to run wild." She glided to her feet, the very picture of elegance and grace. Her eyes hooded, she walked closer to me. Something about the whole thing gave me the chills.
"I've never 'run wild'." I glared at her. If she was even implying an insult towards Lady Sun..
Zhen Ji's laughter was like twinkling bells. "Come now. Look at how you turned out: men's clothing, short hair, and woman bodyguards who carry weapons." A sneer twisted her pretty face. "Did your father wish you to be a man, or did you dream the idea up yourself?"
My blood boiled not only for my general, but for our whole land as well. "My father taught me to believe in myself and my dreams. He raised me to defend myself, instead of waiting around for some man to kill him so I can marry his conqueror."
She gave a gasp of rage one hand clutched to her chest, then leapt at me. I rolled out of the way, not waiting to be anywhere near that lethal leg of hers. She landed not far from me. I scrambled to my feet.
"You will die." Her voice raised in a screech more painful then a blast from her flute.
She leapt at me again. This time I knew she was too close to dodge. I froze, watching her high-heel shoe come closer and closer to my face. Then the oddest thing happened. I felt arms surround me. "Hang on." Suddenly the world was turning as I was flipped through the air. I landed, shaking all over. I collapsed back against the person who has just saved me, too scared to look at their face.
"Zhen Ji, need I remind you that Lady Sun is our guest." The voice was cultured, elegant, with a hint of a social elite in it.
The arms let go, and I crumpled to the ground. It was Zhang He. My stomach was still doing leaps from when he had done one of his fancy slips with me still in his arms. I never realized until now just how high he was leaping earlier in our fight.
"She insulted me and brought my honor into question." The woman's eyes shot daggers at the man.
"Perhaps, but we need her alive, for now." Zhen Ji looked away then nodded.
He turned now to me. "It's a good thing I came by to check up on you. Behave. Next time the end result might not be so pretty."
I nodded dumbly. "Now if you ladies are done, I have come to show Lady Sun something."
Zhen Ji flashed me a glare. "If you do not mind Lord Zhang He, I believe I will catch up with you later."
"But of course Lady Zhen Ji." The general bowed low to her.
With a sigh I followed behind Zhang He. Hopefully, what he has to show me will be good news.
**
"SUN SHANG XIANG IS WHAT?!"
Sun Jian obviously was a tad bit upset about his daughter's disappearance.
Not that Gan Ning could blame him much. If he had an attractive daughter that had recently married, but not consummated the relationship yet, he would be terrified.
"Sir, she is missing from her chambers. A maid saw her last. She was surrounded by her bodyguards, and they were going out a side door." Lu Xun's face was calm.
"Search the battlefield and send an envoy to Shu. If those bastards have taken her then they will pay dearly!"
**
I walked beside Zhang He. What did these Wei bastards have planned?
"So you are Sun Shang Xiang."
I nodded, but kept quiet. He was the one officer that had met my general one on one and lived.
His brows furrowed. "You are not as beautiful as I remember."
"My thanks general Zhang He." I hope he drowns in my sarcasm. What a jerk.
He frowned at me. "You are not without your beauty, but earlier you glowed. Perhaps battle does that to us all?"
It was an apology of a sort. So I nodded and walked behind him through the bustling palace. All around us were signs of life. How they managed to get us this far with me asleep the whole way was beyond me. Guards patrolled the area, while maids giggled together as they cleaned. People walked by carrying assorted trays of food, books, or weapons. It reminded me achingly of Wu on a normal day.
Zhang He slowly kept on increasing his pace until I was jogging to keep up. Finally he slowed to a leisurely stroll.
"Your wounds were only minor I see. You move as though they were never even inflicted on you." One of his dark eyebrows arched in question.
Damnation. I had forgotten about Lady Sun's injuries. "My bodyguards produced a special healing ointment for me." The lie did not come easily. "It heals wounds within hours." I kept my eyes focused on my feet.
He stopped, and crossed his arms across his chest. "Does it? How odd then that they have not requested equipment to make such an ointment for themselves. That and we found no ointment on them, and they carried a wounded member of their guard, I believe her name was Himiko." He rubbed at his chin. "Do you not find that odd?"
The blood rushed from my face. They had caught the others? Had they discovered the real Sun Shang Xiang?
Zhang He sighed. "Would you like to try telling me the truth again?"
I swallowed and ran one hand nervously through my hair. "I did not lie."
His violet eyes launched a glare at me. "I know you do not believe what you have just told me. Eyes are the mirror to the soul, yours are uncomfortable."
Taking a deep breath I stared back at him. Why couldn't this man leave me alone? "My eyes are not comfortable because I am being held captive by the enemy." I then told the biggest lie of my life. "As for my bodyguards, Zhuge Liang placed a spell on them in case I should receive a major wound. Basically, the spell transfers the wound overnight to one of my bodyguards.
Interest flickered in the clawed general's eyes. "Is that so? And you allowed such a thing to happen?"
I bit back a curse. Lady Sun would never let anyone perform magic on us. She absolutely loathed the stuff. "It was against my wishes. Apparently my husband does not trust my battle skills." Well, that at least was true enough. Lord Liu Bei treated Lady Sun like she was spun glass.
Zhang He continued walking again. "From what I saw your skills are not lacking. I would not have been able to defeat you the first time without my troops."
Just like a general to forget that the bodyguards were the ones who helped him out. His troops had already been down for the count. "My thanks general Zhang He." Conceited bastard. Lady Sun would have won if his bodyguards hadn't gotten into the middle of it.
He stopped in front of a small-unadorned building and pushed the door open. "Come in." The guards to either side of the door neither bowed nor nodded. They sat staring straight ahead as though dead.
I hesitated, not knowing what to expect.
"Come. If we were planning on killing you then it would have been done long before now."
Well that was a comfort. Not. "What's in there?" If was true that my comrades and general had been captured, then my first priority should be to find and rescue them.
"I believe that it is your bodyguard unit."
Hope soared within me. That was easy.
I rushed through the door only to find the window shades drawn. The dim light of the room caused me to squint to make out anything. "What is this? There's no one here." I felt my hand tighten to where my sword usually lay. What I wouldn't give to have it in my hand again.
Zhang He just sighed. "Do you really think we would have them that close to an exit?" He rolled his eyes and took a key out from somewhere on his person. "This Himiko girl, she lays with a high fever and knife wounds." One of his eyebrows arched up.
Does he suspect? "She might. She was chosen as the first bodyguard to develop the magically transferred wounds as we have always been around the same size." I wonder if what I'm sprouting is even possible?
The Wei general nodded sagely. "We should allow her to die. At least then the magic would be gone from her body."
What?! No. I must keep the general alive. I crossed my arms across my chest and attempted the patented Family Sun Death Glare. "If you would like for me to become the world's worst prisoner, trying to escape, putting things in Cao Cao's shoes that would make his bodyguards scream, then by all means go ahead. I was known for making my brothers run to my father after my pranks."
The Death Glare must not have worked as a soft laugh escaped the clawed general. "Odd how you react to people who are just bodyguards in such a way. They are not usually taken as prisoners-"
I gritted my teeth. This man was going to kill the princess without meaning to! "These women have grown up with me. Some have been with me since their births. They will be taken care of."
"So, your husband Liu Bei did not add any guards to watch over you?"
Did he never shut up? Those violet eyes watched my face for a reaction. Damnation! What was the man after? This one was smart. He could tell something wasn't right. Damn him, and his butterfly wings too! I had to look away from him when I told him the partial truth. "There was no time for him to add to my guard before Wei attacked." The truth was Wu's most closely guarded secret. Sun Shang Xiang admired her husband, but she did not love him. So she had returned to Wu.
"Interesting."
He turned the key in the lock and opened the door. I saw the rest of Lady Sun's bodyguards sitting on the floor in chains, looking fairly miserable. They all looked fairly healthy though, which was good. They must not have been tortured. Lady Sun lay on a mat with someone's old blanket thrown over her.
Zhang He walked over to her. "Now this one is beautiful. Even through the fever you can see how graceful she must be when well." Bending over, he scooped her into his arms. "Dear ladies. Stay here and rest. I shall try to get a little help for your comrade."
I felt my heart dive into my stomach. "But where are you taking her?"
"To Lord Sima Yi of course."
With that he walked out of the room.
Answered reviews:
AmaDono: Sorry it took so long to update this and the others. Let's just say things aren't going good in the land of daycare children. Who would have thought a pencil could be a dangerous weapon? As for your writing, I'm seen Superbowl, Dynasty Funhouse, and Femme Fatal, they're god. You need ot have more faith in your abilities! SSX/Zhang He will be cute if I can get SSX to get well. Why did I have her so sick in the first place? *gets a head ache*
SharonToggle: Actually I didn't have Kessen until recently. My co-workers took pity on me and got it! I'll keep on posting. ^_^ As for the Xiao's bodyguard line, it just makes sense that they would have to like something similar to the generals they serve to survive being around them. I just want to know how Xiao got sugar back in ancient China?
Yukira: Cao Cao might not be able to tell them apart, but some people are too smart for their own good. Let's hope something will come up to keep Zhang He occupied. Well that and none of Wu's general's show up to ruin the surprise.
Muse02: Glad you like it. Now if only there was more time in the day to write!
Girl-Who-Sings-The-Blues: I think she is overlooked a lot. No one loves SSX! Seriously most people think of her as the tomboy or *gasp* the manish one?!? Okay, I digress.
**
When I finally awoke my whole body ached. Zhang He's troops had been much tougher than I had imagined. Who would have thought that a man who once wore butterfly wings onto the battlefield, as well as had his troops learn ballet; would have taught his troops to punch so hard?
I started to pick up my head when I heard a voice behind me. "I wouldn't move too fast. Your head was bleeding earlier. Men seem to never know how to treat women. Wouldn't you agree, Lady Sun?"
I froze for a second and considered whom it might be. There was only one woman on Wei's side who would be this close to a battlefield. I pitched my voice so it was closer to Lady Sun's octave. "Lady Zhen Ji, I've discovered in my life that men tend to treat you like you treat them." Apparently my disguise was working.
Pain washed over me. I closed my eyes until it passed; then I turned to her. She reclined on a mat, watching me like a cat watches a fish. I had never seen her up close. She was as beautiful as the poets claimed.
"What an interesting view on life. Then again, I have heard that your family is very . indulgent towards you."
And what exactly was she trying to say about Lady Sun? "Some might say so."
"Well, not all girls are allowed to run wild." She glided to her feet, the very picture of elegance and grace. Her eyes hooded, she walked closer to me. Something about the whole thing gave me the chills.
"I've never 'run wild'." I glared at her. If she was even implying an insult towards Lady Sun..
Zhen Ji's laughter was like twinkling bells. "Come now. Look at how you turned out: men's clothing, short hair, and woman bodyguards who carry weapons." A sneer twisted her pretty face. "Did your father wish you to be a man, or did you dream the idea up yourself?"
My blood boiled not only for my general, but for our whole land as well. "My father taught me to believe in myself and my dreams. He raised me to defend myself, instead of waiting around for some man to kill him so I can marry his conqueror."
She gave a gasp of rage one hand clutched to her chest, then leapt at me. I rolled out of the way, not waiting to be anywhere near that lethal leg of hers. She landed not far from me. I scrambled to my feet.
"You will die." Her voice raised in a screech more painful then a blast from her flute.
She leapt at me again. This time I knew she was too close to dodge. I froze, watching her high-heel shoe come closer and closer to my face. Then the oddest thing happened. I felt arms surround me. "Hang on." Suddenly the world was turning as I was flipped through the air. I landed, shaking all over. I collapsed back against the person who has just saved me, too scared to look at their face.
"Zhen Ji, need I remind you that Lady Sun is our guest." The voice was cultured, elegant, with a hint of a social elite in it.
The arms let go, and I crumpled to the ground. It was Zhang He. My stomach was still doing leaps from when he had done one of his fancy slips with me still in his arms. I never realized until now just how high he was leaping earlier in our fight.
"She insulted me and brought my honor into question." The woman's eyes shot daggers at the man.
"Perhaps, but we need her alive, for now." Zhen Ji looked away then nodded.
He turned now to me. "It's a good thing I came by to check up on you. Behave. Next time the end result might not be so pretty."
I nodded dumbly. "Now if you ladies are done, I have come to show Lady Sun something."
Zhen Ji flashed me a glare. "If you do not mind Lord Zhang He, I believe I will catch up with you later."
"But of course Lady Zhen Ji." The general bowed low to her.
With a sigh I followed behind Zhang He. Hopefully, what he has to show me will be good news.
**
"SUN SHANG XIANG IS WHAT?!"
Sun Jian obviously was a tad bit upset about his daughter's disappearance.
Not that Gan Ning could blame him much. If he had an attractive daughter that had recently married, but not consummated the relationship yet, he would be terrified.
"Sir, she is missing from her chambers. A maid saw her last. She was surrounded by her bodyguards, and they were going out a side door." Lu Xun's face was calm.
"Search the battlefield and send an envoy to Shu. If those bastards have taken her then they will pay dearly!"
**
I walked beside Zhang He. What did these Wei bastards have planned?
"So you are Sun Shang Xiang."
I nodded, but kept quiet. He was the one officer that had met my general one on one and lived.
His brows furrowed. "You are not as beautiful as I remember."
"My thanks general Zhang He." I hope he drowns in my sarcasm. What a jerk.
He frowned at me. "You are not without your beauty, but earlier you glowed. Perhaps battle does that to us all?"
It was an apology of a sort. So I nodded and walked behind him through the bustling palace. All around us were signs of life. How they managed to get us this far with me asleep the whole way was beyond me. Guards patrolled the area, while maids giggled together as they cleaned. People walked by carrying assorted trays of food, books, or weapons. It reminded me achingly of Wu on a normal day.
Zhang He slowly kept on increasing his pace until I was jogging to keep up. Finally he slowed to a leisurely stroll.
"Your wounds were only minor I see. You move as though they were never even inflicted on you." One of his dark eyebrows arched in question.
Damnation. I had forgotten about Lady Sun's injuries. "My bodyguards produced a special healing ointment for me." The lie did not come easily. "It heals wounds within hours." I kept my eyes focused on my feet.
He stopped, and crossed his arms across his chest. "Does it? How odd then that they have not requested equipment to make such an ointment for themselves. That and we found no ointment on them, and they carried a wounded member of their guard, I believe her name was Himiko." He rubbed at his chin. "Do you not find that odd?"
The blood rushed from my face. They had caught the others? Had they discovered the real Sun Shang Xiang?
Zhang He sighed. "Would you like to try telling me the truth again?"
I swallowed and ran one hand nervously through my hair. "I did not lie."
His violet eyes launched a glare at me. "I know you do not believe what you have just told me. Eyes are the mirror to the soul, yours are uncomfortable."
Taking a deep breath I stared back at him. Why couldn't this man leave me alone? "My eyes are not comfortable because I am being held captive by the enemy." I then told the biggest lie of my life. "As for my bodyguards, Zhuge Liang placed a spell on them in case I should receive a major wound. Basically, the spell transfers the wound overnight to one of my bodyguards.
Interest flickered in the clawed general's eyes. "Is that so? And you allowed such a thing to happen?"
I bit back a curse. Lady Sun would never let anyone perform magic on us. She absolutely loathed the stuff. "It was against my wishes. Apparently my husband does not trust my battle skills." Well, that at least was true enough. Lord Liu Bei treated Lady Sun like she was spun glass.
Zhang He continued walking again. "From what I saw your skills are not lacking. I would not have been able to defeat you the first time without my troops."
Just like a general to forget that the bodyguards were the ones who helped him out. His troops had already been down for the count. "My thanks general Zhang He." Conceited bastard. Lady Sun would have won if his bodyguards hadn't gotten into the middle of it.
He stopped in front of a small-unadorned building and pushed the door open. "Come in." The guards to either side of the door neither bowed nor nodded. They sat staring straight ahead as though dead.
I hesitated, not knowing what to expect.
"Come. If we were planning on killing you then it would have been done long before now."
Well that was a comfort. Not. "What's in there?" If was true that my comrades and general had been captured, then my first priority should be to find and rescue them.
"I believe that it is your bodyguard unit."
Hope soared within me. That was easy.
I rushed through the door only to find the window shades drawn. The dim light of the room caused me to squint to make out anything. "What is this? There's no one here." I felt my hand tighten to where my sword usually lay. What I wouldn't give to have it in my hand again.
Zhang He just sighed. "Do you really think we would have them that close to an exit?" He rolled his eyes and took a key out from somewhere on his person. "This Himiko girl, she lays with a high fever and knife wounds." One of his eyebrows arched up.
Does he suspect? "She might. She was chosen as the first bodyguard to develop the magically transferred wounds as we have always been around the same size." I wonder if what I'm sprouting is even possible?
The Wei general nodded sagely. "We should allow her to die. At least then the magic would be gone from her body."
What?! No. I must keep the general alive. I crossed my arms across my chest and attempted the patented Family Sun Death Glare. "If you would like for me to become the world's worst prisoner, trying to escape, putting things in Cao Cao's shoes that would make his bodyguards scream, then by all means go ahead. I was known for making my brothers run to my father after my pranks."
The Death Glare must not have worked as a soft laugh escaped the clawed general. "Odd how you react to people who are just bodyguards in such a way. They are not usually taken as prisoners-"
I gritted my teeth. This man was going to kill the princess without meaning to! "These women have grown up with me. Some have been with me since their births. They will be taken care of."
"So, your husband Liu Bei did not add any guards to watch over you?"
Did he never shut up? Those violet eyes watched my face for a reaction. Damnation! What was the man after? This one was smart. He could tell something wasn't right. Damn him, and his butterfly wings too! I had to look away from him when I told him the partial truth. "There was no time for him to add to my guard before Wei attacked." The truth was Wu's most closely guarded secret. Sun Shang Xiang admired her husband, but she did not love him. So she had returned to Wu.
"Interesting."
He turned the key in the lock and opened the door. I saw the rest of Lady Sun's bodyguards sitting on the floor in chains, looking fairly miserable. They all looked fairly healthy though, which was good. They must not have been tortured. Lady Sun lay on a mat with someone's old blanket thrown over her.
Zhang He walked over to her. "Now this one is beautiful. Even through the fever you can see how graceful she must be when well." Bending over, he scooped her into his arms. "Dear ladies. Stay here and rest. I shall try to get a little help for your comrade."
I felt my heart dive into my stomach. "But where are you taking her?"
"To Lord Sima Yi of course."
With that he walked out of the room.
Answered reviews:
AmaDono: Sorry it took so long to update this and the others. Let's just say things aren't going good in the land of daycare children. Who would have thought a pencil could be a dangerous weapon? As for your writing, I'm seen Superbowl, Dynasty Funhouse, and Femme Fatal, they're god. You need ot have more faith in your abilities! SSX/Zhang He will be cute if I can get SSX to get well. Why did I have her so sick in the first place? *gets a head ache*
SharonToggle: Actually I didn't have Kessen until recently. My co-workers took pity on me and got it! I'll keep on posting. ^_^ As for the Xiao's bodyguard line, it just makes sense that they would have to like something similar to the generals they serve to survive being around them. I just want to know how Xiao got sugar back in ancient China?
Yukira: Cao Cao might not be able to tell them apart, but some people are too smart for their own good. Let's hope something will come up to keep Zhang He occupied. Well that and none of Wu's general's show up to ruin the surprise.
Muse02: Glad you like it. Now if only there was more time in the day to write!
Girl-Who-Sings-The-Blues: I think she is overlooked a lot. No one loves SSX! Seriously most people think of her as the tomboy or *gasp* the manish one?!? Okay, I digress.