Disclaimer: No.own..
*** Author's Note: I blame this bit of romantic mush on something I ate. Fudge brownie sundae's are evil to one's writing abilities. Ma Chao's poem is blamed completely on my ability to write poems most horribly.
***
Sunlight streamed in through the tent's opening, splashing over Yue Ying's face and flowing under her eyelids. With a groan, she threw her arms over her face, shielding her eyes. The sun was persistent though, and the voice that accompanied it was familiar.
"Yue Ying. It's time to wake up."
She stared up into the face of Zhuge Liang. The corners of his lips were drawn down into a frown. What could have possibly have upset him?
She tried to get to her feet, but the world swayed. Her stomach twisted itself into an assortment of patterns until it erupted, the contents of last night's supper spilling over Zhuge Liang's green shoes. The blood rushed out of her face.
"I'm sorry." She looked up at him. The sun's rays surrounded him as though he had a golden halo.
He sniffed at the mess on his shoes, then rolled his eyes heavenward. Finally, his eyes came back to her and he gave a sigh that should have been heard through out the three kingdoms. "Yue Ying, we need to talk."
The world swum as the light surrounding her husband seemed to stab at her eyes. "Talk?"
"I am concerned about you. Last night you spent some time with that new general."
"I did?" Funny, she never knew there were two Zhuge Liangs. Did he have a brother she knew nothing about? The two figures danced in front of her eyes before they became one somewhat solid looking Zhuge Liang.
"Yes you did." He paused, waving his fan. "On top of that you came home drunk last night."
Well, that would certainly explain the headache. She winced at the way his words seemed to choke the inside of her ears.
"Do you remember what happened?" The man was tapping his foot now.
"Not all of it. It's a blur." She placed one hand to her tender head. A memory of strong warm arms and the scent of almonds slammed into her. There was a vagueness of a painted bone mask being attached to it. "I do remember that Wei Yan was helping me back here."
Her husband sighed. "You were being carried like a wanton woman of the night. It was an obvious ploy to see my strategy book among other things that belong to me."
She tilted her head. What did her husband mean by that?
Zhuge Liang rubbed his chin. "Perhaps I should keep the strategy book with Jiang Wei from now on? He will be sure to guard it well." He focused his attention back to her. "I have a special job for you, though. I need you to stay close to Wei Yan all day today. Make him believe that you are his friend. I want to know where he is and what he's up to at all times. As soon as you discover what plot he will use to overthrow our lord, then we will attack!"
Her husband looked quite pleased with himself. Yue Ying rolled her eyes. Wei Yan acted as though the very act of being among other humans was difficult enough without adding in a plot to attack the whole Shu army by himself. But if her beloved wanted to think so, then let him believe so. Nodding at her husband she picked up her clothes and went behind a screen to get dressed. The last words she heard from her husband that day were, "Please don't let him get you drunk again."
It wasn't difficult to find Wei Yan. His tent stood off from the rest; its rear protected by the rocky base of a hill. Unbidden a smile curved her lips. Zhao Yun would approve of such an easily defended position.
"Hello?" Her voice stung her head, making her wish she could go back to bed.
A grunt sounded from within the tent. Was that supposed to be a response? Really, she could get more out of Ma Chao, and considering how tight lipped the young warrior could be, that wasn't saying much.
"Wei Yan? Are you in there?"
There was a rustle, a thump, and then the man emerged in full battle armor. He rubbed at bloodshot eyes before taking a step forward.
"What?"
Did the man always sleep ready to do battle? "I'm supposed to walk you through your first day here. We've been assigned to the stables."
He blinked several times.
Was it possible he didn't understand? Earlier he seemed intelligent enough. "I'm here to help you with the task. You might wish to take off your armor. The job tends to get very smelly and sweaty in a short amount of time."
He shrugged, then disappeared back into the tent. Soon enough he reappeared. Everything he wore was gone except the garment wrapped around his waist. Her eyes couldn't help but drift over his body. Hadn't the man heard of clothes before? Sure, the view was nice, but really! She would have to remember to see him proper outfitted later.
"We go." With a nod she took off in the direction of the stables.
Being assigned the stables was equivalent to getting stuck with latrine duty, at least as far as Yue Ying was concerned. The main difference was there horses were heavier and smellier then men, but easier to boss around. One thing she hated was that the horses, Red Hare in particular, apparently believed that she was a plant, because they continuously tried to nip at her hair.
Putting her hair back in a ponytail she awaited the inevitable. Sure enough, they weren't there five minutes when Red Hare grabbed the ponytail and pulled back with his teeth. Her hands flew back to the base of her neck, trying to alleviate some of the pain. Red Hare just pulled back until she was on her backside glaring up at the horse with a mouthful of her golden brown hair.
Wei Yan glared at the horse, then gave it one swift punch to its stomach. Red Hare snorted, and reared up, trying to slash at the man. The masked warrior just continued glaring at him, now growling at the horse. Red Hare stopped fighting and snorted, turned around, then quite contently gave them his opinion by leaving them a nice steaming hot pile of manure just for them.
"Evil horse. Stay close."
She got up to her feet and nodded. For the rest of the morning she stayed close to the general, even though he had yet to speak more than the four words to her.
The rest of the day looked as though it would drag on forever when Ma Chao came thundering into the stables. "Yue Ying, I must speak with you!"
She arched an eyebrow. Ma Chao had an evident hand print on his face. Judging from its size the person who delivered it was small, and more than likely female. "Ma Chao? What happened?"
His glare would have made the whole Wei army turn over Cao Cao for torture and execution. "Wrong with me? It's more like what's wrong with you?" He jabbed one finger in her direction. His handsome face marred by a frown the size of a ship.
The memory of what Zhuge Liang had said earlier came back to her in a rush. Sweat broke out on her forehead. What if she had slapped him last night unknowingly? "What did I do?" Her voice cracked near the end.
"You told me to follow my heart." Ma Chao's face turned red as he swatted at one of the flies that tried to land on him.
"I did?" Yue Ying nibbled on her index fingernail. What was so wrong with following one's heart?
"Yes." Ma Chao took a deep breath, his whole body radiating ruffled male pride. "And I took your second piece of advice-"
"Which was?"
The young general rolled his eyes. "You said to write her a poem describing my feelings for her." He stressed the last word and rolled his eyes.
Oh, that was right. He was known for pursing Lady Yang. Well, the advice to write her a poem was sound. "And did you?"
"Yes, and this is what I got for all my efforts." He gingerly touched the red mark on his face.
Yue Ying went back to an in-depth nibbling of the offending nail. Her advice was sound even if she had been drunk. What could have gone wrong?
"Say poem," Wei Yan's husky voice demanded from behind her.
Ma Chao shook his fist at Shu's newest general. "That poem is a private matter between me and the lady in question.
A smirk broke out on Wei Yan's face. "He scared." The masked warrior returned to shoveling manure.
"Ma Chao is frightened of nothing!"
Yue Ying smiled. "Then may we hear the poem?"
"Of course." The horseman cleared his throat several times, stomping his feet before reciting:
Blood is red, Gore is green, Won't you please Be my queen?
Yue Ying blinked several times. She recited the poem silently. No, the poem was still one of the worst pieces of drivel she had ever read. In all honestly, she could not blame Ma Chao's lady for the slap. She would have sliced Zhuge Liang to bits if he ever dared use such a horrible poem on her.
The silence was broken by the oddest laugh she had ever heard. Turning, she saw Wei Yan not trying to hide his mirth from the younger man.
"What are you laughing about?" Ma Chao's eyes held more flames than any of Lu Xun's fire attacks could possibly hope to match.
"You give woman poem like that deserve kick to head, not slap."
"What would a man like you know about a woman?"
Yue Ying gasped. She wasn't sure if the feral general would allow such an insult to stand.
Instead the man shrugged. "No know much. Even me know bad poem when hear."
Yue Ying managed to stifle a giggle. Ma Chao's scowl deepened. "Fine, then you can show me how to 'properly' romance a woman."
The older general shrugged then turned to Yue Ying with a twinkle in her eye. "Let me show?"
"I-I don't see the harm."
His smile transformed his face. His eyes seemed to dance and he looked far younger than he had earlier. Taking one of her hands he planted a kiss on the inside of her wrist. A shiver twisted its way through her body. "Moon hides in shame tonight. Your beauty far outshines its lowly rays. Yu-"
"You know Zhuge Liang's temper when it comes to his wife." The voice carried to them, warm, strong, yet harmonious.
"Lord Liu Bei," Ma Chao bowed. "I know. He was just" Ma Chao's trailed off.
"Wei Yan was going to show Ma Chao the magnificent how to win a woman since all his attempts have fallen short."
The horseman blushed furiously.
Their lord just laughed. "Yes, I had heard that Lady Yang was leading you a fine merry chase." His smile lit up his face. "May I hear the poem that I heard you assaulted her with?"
Ma Chao bowed his head. In a whisper he repeated the poem.
The color drained out of Lui Bei's face. "Perhaps we can change it a bit to make it more.reasonable.
"You believe that it's savable?" Ma Chao brightened up considerably.
"Why don't we at least try? Besides, I believe that Lady Yang showed you her favor by not asking her father to disembowel you." The two left, Ma Chao muttering a rhythm for guts under his breath.
The second the two were out of sight Yue Ying turned to her companion. "Ma Chao's been chasing Lady Yang for two years now, can you believe it?"
The warrior got to his feet. "Chase that long?" His brow furrowed.
"Oh yes, he claims that she's worth waiting a million years if necessary. Liu Bei's been trying to help him out, but he usually Ma Chao just follows her around like a lost moon-cow."
"And they say I dumb."
At that they both broke out in laughter, the afternoon flying by on wings of falcons.
***
Chapter 11: Sun Shang Xiang go quietly to her wedding? Ha! Wait till you see what she has planned. Will her father kill her? Someone get a cold shower ready. The Wu generals are going to need it after Sun Shang Xiang gets through with them.
***
Answers to reviews:
Ramza Lionheart: Actually you're trying to skip ahead to Chapter 13! Bad bad boy! You will be spanked later. :op
Yukira: Yep, Zhang He has a plan to kill Wei Yan as well. I hear it will take a long time for one of them to finally find rest in death. Zhang He is a very creative torturer.
Lady Qiao: Very glad you're back. I'm considering it. *sniffles* I just don't know what to do about Da. She seems to have taken a disliking to Sun Ce. Maybe she'll like him later on?
Chunsa: If you need to e-mail me privately and I'll explain how to get it. It isn't much of a dance. Matter of fact...their dancing is HORRID! Also, you have to do a certain number of levels. First time I tried I was trying to rush through it and didn't get the third ending because I skipped too many levels. Jiang Wei is coming up sooner or later. More than likely the next time Shu comes around. Ain't he just too adorable? Besides, what's a story with Zhuge Liang in it without Jiang Wei?
Verok: I can't help it! I mean Xiao Qiao calls him "master" all the time. If that isn't evidence of an S&M relationship then nothing is! *whistles innocently* I'm hoping no one will kill me for making them siblings. I mean look at them. They share a ponytail! Hopefully they don't share a wardrobe. Though that would explain the butterfly wings. I must admit Zhen Ji and Cao Cao isn't a bad idea either. It was him, Dun, or Xu. Xu won out because I used him recently at the time. In two other story lines she doesn't end up with him though. BWHAHAHA! I know about the names, I think it's personal preference. See, I'm a tomboy. My neighborhood consisted of 12 boys (all older) and 1 girl (ME!). They tried to forget I was female. They called me Martinez instead of Natalie. And they shortened Martinez to Martini, shaken, not stirred. Basically imagine Sun Shang Xiang if she was alone in Wu and was a tomboy and boy crazy and vindictive. Saw your story. Thought I responded earlier. Oh well wrote a review. It's going wonderful do continue!
Kurt1k: YEA! You can be the other Wei Yan fan. That'll make a grand total of three! ^_^ Glad you like it. I think I'll shock people with who his old companion used to be. It came to me in a dream. A very weird dream. I blame that night of staying up watching that TV show about cavemen about it. Sigh. Clan of the Cave bear indeed.
*** Author's Note: I blame this bit of romantic mush on something I ate. Fudge brownie sundae's are evil to one's writing abilities. Ma Chao's poem is blamed completely on my ability to write poems most horribly.
***
Sunlight streamed in through the tent's opening, splashing over Yue Ying's face and flowing under her eyelids. With a groan, she threw her arms over her face, shielding her eyes. The sun was persistent though, and the voice that accompanied it was familiar.
"Yue Ying. It's time to wake up."
She stared up into the face of Zhuge Liang. The corners of his lips were drawn down into a frown. What could have possibly have upset him?
She tried to get to her feet, but the world swayed. Her stomach twisted itself into an assortment of patterns until it erupted, the contents of last night's supper spilling over Zhuge Liang's green shoes. The blood rushed out of her face.
"I'm sorry." She looked up at him. The sun's rays surrounded him as though he had a golden halo.
He sniffed at the mess on his shoes, then rolled his eyes heavenward. Finally, his eyes came back to her and he gave a sigh that should have been heard through out the three kingdoms. "Yue Ying, we need to talk."
The world swum as the light surrounding her husband seemed to stab at her eyes. "Talk?"
"I am concerned about you. Last night you spent some time with that new general."
"I did?" Funny, she never knew there were two Zhuge Liangs. Did he have a brother she knew nothing about? The two figures danced in front of her eyes before they became one somewhat solid looking Zhuge Liang.
"Yes you did." He paused, waving his fan. "On top of that you came home drunk last night."
Well, that would certainly explain the headache. She winced at the way his words seemed to choke the inside of her ears.
"Do you remember what happened?" The man was tapping his foot now.
"Not all of it. It's a blur." She placed one hand to her tender head. A memory of strong warm arms and the scent of almonds slammed into her. There was a vagueness of a painted bone mask being attached to it. "I do remember that Wei Yan was helping me back here."
Her husband sighed. "You were being carried like a wanton woman of the night. It was an obvious ploy to see my strategy book among other things that belong to me."
She tilted her head. What did her husband mean by that?
Zhuge Liang rubbed his chin. "Perhaps I should keep the strategy book with Jiang Wei from now on? He will be sure to guard it well." He focused his attention back to her. "I have a special job for you, though. I need you to stay close to Wei Yan all day today. Make him believe that you are his friend. I want to know where he is and what he's up to at all times. As soon as you discover what plot he will use to overthrow our lord, then we will attack!"
Her husband looked quite pleased with himself. Yue Ying rolled her eyes. Wei Yan acted as though the very act of being among other humans was difficult enough without adding in a plot to attack the whole Shu army by himself. But if her beloved wanted to think so, then let him believe so. Nodding at her husband she picked up her clothes and went behind a screen to get dressed. The last words she heard from her husband that day were, "Please don't let him get you drunk again."
It wasn't difficult to find Wei Yan. His tent stood off from the rest; its rear protected by the rocky base of a hill. Unbidden a smile curved her lips. Zhao Yun would approve of such an easily defended position.
"Hello?" Her voice stung her head, making her wish she could go back to bed.
A grunt sounded from within the tent. Was that supposed to be a response? Really, she could get more out of Ma Chao, and considering how tight lipped the young warrior could be, that wasn't saying much.
"Wei Yan? Are you in there?"
There was a rustle, a thump, and then the man emerged in full battle armor. He rubbed at bloodshot eyes before taking a step forward.
"What?"
Did the man always sleep ready to do battle? "I'm supposed to walk you through your first day here. We've been assigned to the stables."
He blinked several times.
Was it possible he didn't understand? Earlier he seemed intelligent enough. "I'm here to help you with the task. You might wish to take off your armor. The job tends to get very smelly and sweaty in a short amount of time."
He shrugged, then disappeared back into the tent. Soon enough he reappeared. Everything he wore was gone except the garment wrapped around his waist. Her eyes couldn't help but drift over his body. Hadn't the man heard of clothes before? Sure, the view was nice, but really! She would have to remember to see him proper outfitted later.
"We go." With a nod she took off in the direction of the stables.
Being assigned the stables was equivalent to getting stuck with latrine duty, at least as far as Yue Ying was concerned. The main difference was there horses were heavier and smellier then men, but easier to boss around. One thing she hated was that the horses, Red Hare in particular, apparently believed that she was a plant, because they continuously tried to nip at her hair.
Putting her hair back in a ponytail she awaited the inevitable. Sure enough, they weren't there five minutes when Red Hare grabbed the ponytail and pulled back with his teeth. Her hands flew back to the base of her neck, trying to alleviate some of the pain. Red Hare just pulled back until she was on her backside glaring up at the horse with a mouthful of her golden brown hair.
Wei Yan glared at the horse, then gave it one swift punch to its stomach. Red Hare snorted, and reared up, trying to slash at the man. The masked warrior just continued glaring at him, now growling at the horse. Red Hare stopped fighting and snorted, turned around, then quite contently gave them his opinion by leaving them a nice steaming hot pile of manure just for them.
"Evil horse. Stay close."
She got up to her feet and nodded. For the rest of the morning she stayed close to the general, even though he had yet to speak more than the four words to her.
The rest of the day looked as though it would drag on forever when Ma Chao came thundering into the stables. "Yue Ying, I must speak with you!"
She arched an eyebrow. Ma Chao had an evident hand print on his face. Judging from its size the person who delivered it was small, and more than likely female. "Ma Chao? What happened?"
His glare would have made the whole Wei army turn over Cao Cao for torture and execution. "Wrong with me? It's more like what's wrong with you?" He jabbed one finger in her direction. His handsome face marred by a frown the size of a ship.
The memory of what Zhuge Liang had said earlier came back to her in a rush. Sweat broke out on her forehead. What if she had slapped him last night unknowingly? "What did I do?" Her voice cracked near the end.
"You told me to follow my heart." Ma Chao's face turned red as he swatted at one of the flies that tried to land on him.
"I did?" Yue Ying nibbled on her index fingernail. What was so wrong with following one's heart?
"Yes." Ma Chao took a deep breath, his whole body radiating ruffled male pride. "And I took your second piece of advice-"
"Which was?"
The young general rolled his eyes. "You said to write her a poem describing my feelings for her." He stressed the last word and rolled his eyes.
Oh, that was right. He was known for pursing Lady Yang. Well, the advice to write her a poem was sound. "And did you?"
"Yes, and this is what I got for all my efforts." He gingerly touched the red mark on his face.
Yue Ying went back to an in-depth nibbling of the offending nail. Her advice was sound even if she had been drunk. What could have gone wrong?
"Say poem," Wei Yan's husky voice demanded from behind her.
Ma Chao shook his fist at Shu's newest general. "That poem is a private matter between me and the lady in question.
A smirk broke out on Wei Yan's face. "He scared." The masked warrior returned to shoveling manure.
"Ma Chao is frightened of nothing!"
Yue Ying smiled. "Then may we hear the poem?"
"Of course." The horseman cleared his throat several times, stomping his feet before reciting:
Blood is red, Gore is green, Won't you please Be my queen?
Yue Ying blinked several times. She recited the poem silently. No, the poem was still one of the worst pieces of drivel she had ever read. In all honestly, she could not blame Ma Chao's lady for the slap. She would have sliced Zhuge Liang to bits if he ever dared use such a horrible poem on her.
The silence was broken by the oddest laugh she had ever heard. Turning, she saw Wei Yan not trying to hide his mirth from the younger man.
"What are you laughing about?" Ma Chao's eyes held more flames than any of Lu Xun's fire attacks could possibly hope to match.
"You give woman poem like that deserve kick to head, not slap."
"What would a man like you know about a woman?"
Yue Ying gasped. She wasn't sure if the feral general would allow such an insult to stand.
Instead the man shrugged. "No know much. Even me know bad poem when hear."
Yue Ying managed to stifle a giggle. Ma Chao's scowl deepened. "Fine, then you can show me how to 'properly' romance a woman."
The older general shrugged then turned to Yue Ying with a twinkle in her eye. "Let me show?"
"I-I don't see the harm."
His smile transformed his face. His eyes seemed to dance and he looked far younger than he had earlier. Taking one of her hands he planted a kiss on the inside of her wrist. A shiver twisted its way through her body. "Moon hides in shame tonight. Your beauty far outshines its lowly rays. Yu-"
"You know Zhuge Liang's temper when it comes to his wife." The voice carried to them, warm, strong, yet harmonious.
"Lord Liu Bei," Ma Chao bowed. "I know. He was just" Ma Chao's trailed off.
"Wei Yan was going to show Ma Chao the magnificent how to win a woman since all his attempts have fallen short."
The horseman blushed furiously.
Their lord just laughed. "Yes, I had heard that Lady Yang was leading you a fine merry chase." His smile lit up his face. "May I hear the poem that I heard you assaulted her with?"
Ma Chao bowed his head. In a whisper he repeated the poem.
The color drained out of Lui Bei's face. "Perhaps we can change it a bit to make it more.reasonable.
"You believe that it's savable?" Ma Chao brightened up considerably.
"Why don't we at least try? Besides, I believe that Lady Yang showed you her favor by not asking her father to disembowel you." The two left, Ma Chao muttering a rhythm for guts under his breath.
The second the two were out of sight Yue Ying turned to her companion. "Ma Chao's been chasing Lady Yang for two years now, can you believe it?"
The warrior got to his feet. "Chase that long?" His brow furrowed.
"Oh yes, he claims that she's worth waiting a million years if necessary. Liu Bei's been trying to help him out, but he usually Ma Chao just follows her around like a lost moon-cow."
"And they say I dumb."
At that they both broke out in laughter, the afternoon flying by on wings of falcons.
***
Chapter 11: Sun Shang Xiang go quietly to her wedding? Ha! Wait till you see what she has planned. Will her father kill her? Someone get a cold shower ready. The Wu generals are going to need it after Sun Shang Xiang gets through with them.
***
Answers to reviews:
Ramza Lionheart: Actually you're trying to skip ahead to Chapter 13! Bad bad boy! You will be spanked later. :op
Yukira: Yep, Zhang He has a plan to kill Wei Yan as well. I hear it will take a long time for one of them to finally find rest in death. Zhang He is a very creative torturer.
Lady Qiao: Very glad you're back. I'm considering it. *sniffles* I just don't know what to do about Da. She seems to have taken a disliking to Sun Ce. Maybe she'll like him later on?
Chunsa: If you need to e-mail me privately and I'll explain how to get it. It isn't much of a dance. Matter of fact...their dancing is HORRID! Also, you have to do a certain number of levels. First time I tried I was trying to rush through it and didn't get the third ending because I skipped too many levels. Jiang Wei is coming up sooner or later. More than likely the next time Shu comes around. Ain't he just too adorable? Besides, what's a story with Zhuge Liang in it without Jiang Wei?
Verok: I can't help it! I mean Xiao Qiao calls him "master" all the time. If that isn't evidence of an S&M relationship then nothing is! *whistles innocently* I'm hoping no one will kill me for making them siblings. I mean look at them. They share a ponytail! Hopefully they don't share a wardrobe. Though that would explain the butterfly wings. I must admit Zhen Ji and Cao Cao isn't a bad idea either. It was him, Dun, or Xu. Xu won out because I used him recently at the time. In two other story lines she doesn't end up with him though. BWHAHAHA! I know about the names, I think it's personal preference. See, I'm a tomboy. My neighborhood consisted of 12 boys (all older) and 1 girl (ME!). They tried to forget I was female. They called me Martinez instead of Natalie. And they shortened Martinez to Martini, shaken, not stirred. Basically imagine Sun Shang Xiang if she was alone in Wu and was a tomboy and boy crazy and vindictive. Saw your story. Thought I responded earlier. Oh well wrote a review. It's going wonderful do continue!
Kurt1k: YEA! You can be the other Wei Yan fan. That'll make a grand total of three! ^_^ Glad you like it. I think I'll shock people with who his old companion used to be. It came to me in a dream. A very weird dream. I blame that night of staying up watching that TV show about cavemen about it. Sigh. Clan of the Cave bear indeed.