Chapter 2: Daddy's Little Girl
Late one night a messenger knocked on Shan Ling's door.
"Lady Sun," she said, "Lord Sun Jian calls for you."
"Tell him I'll be right there," Shan Ling replied.
"Yes my lady," she said and ran off.
A few minutes later Shan Ling walked out of her room and closed the door. Then she headed off to the west wing, where her parents chambers were. When she got there, someone exited his room. She had dark brown hair and was wearing long red boots that went as high as her thighs, a tight red sleeveless shirt, which ended above her waist, a white skirt and matching arm length gloves. Shan Ling never saw her before, but she also didn't really care. She then entered her father's room.
"Sit down Shan Ling," her father said.
"What the heck did I do now," she mumbled to herself as she sat down.
"What have you been doing lately?" Sun Jian asked his daughter.
"Uhh, nothing pretty much ever since Zhou Yu and Sun Ce left," she replied.
"Left?" he asked a bit shocked.
"You know, how Sun Ce can be such pimp right?"
"Yes?"
"I wonder whom he got that from?" she said to herself and giggled.
"What?" he asked puzzled by why she was giggling.
"Nothing. Well, Ce got some news about the two Qiaos being captured by Dong Zhuo in He Fei and dragged Zhou Yu of to rescue them," she said.
"I see. So, have you set your eyes on someone yet?"
"Want do you mean, Father?" she asked getting a bit suspicious.
"Well, after all you are at a proper age to get marry so, I was wondering if you had someone in mind to be your future husband and my son in law."
"Um, isn't this a little early? After all there is still Ce, Quan, and Shang Xiang. Shouldn't they go first?" she asked getting nervous.
"I asked them already and they all said, "What about Shan Ling?" so, I asked you."
"Geez! Um. I don't know," she said swearing under her breath that she was going to torture and kill her siblings later.
"Would you prefer to marry someone in our kingdom or from another?" he questioned.
"Someone in our kingdom, of course," she replied. "After all I wouldn't want to bring an enemy into the family."
"Yes, that's true if you put it that way," he supposed. "So, how about Lu Xun?" he asked.
"Well, he's sweet, but not my type."
"Gan Ning?"
"No, he can be a bit wild, being an ex-pirate after all," she answered wondering who else her father was going to bring up.
"Taishi Ci?"
"I think I'll pass," she said with a weird expression on her face.
"Well, then what about Zhou Yu?" asked Sun Jian somewhat amuse.
"Zhou Yu?" she inquired, a bit puzzled. "What about him?"
"Haven't you ever thought that Yu would be a perfect match for you, after all you two are pretty close, even closer than you are to your own siblings?" he questioned.
"Well..." Shan Ling started to answer, but her father cut her off.
"Also I would mind having Zhou Yu as a son in law since, he is pretty much like a son to me already."
"Then why don't you just adopt him then," she said jokingly.
"Maybe I will, but it might lose you a husband!"
"I never said that I wanted him for my husband," she said blushing, "besides he already has too many girls around him, it's not like he has time for me." She immediately wished that she had just kept her mouth closed as her father smiled at her.
"What?"
"Jealous aren't you?"
"Of what?"
"You know what?"
At this she blushed harder. "Whatever!"
"I'm just saying you better take your chance before it's gone Shan Ling, as I told you many times before..."
"...sometimes in life you don't get a second chance," she finished the sentence for him.
"That's my girl!"
"Well Father, I'll just find a way to deal with it when it comes."
"Okay, but don't come crying to me if you missed your chance."
"Yes, Father. I know, besides I'm not a cry baby."
He chuckled, "You may leave now."
Shan Ling bowed to him and headed toward the door and opened it, but before she left she turned and looked at her father and said "Good night Daddy!"
He turned and replied "Night Princess!" and with that she left.
He looked at the door and smiled 'That's my little girl' he thought, 'No matter how much you grow you will always be my little girl.' 'Daddy's little girl.'