((A/N: I don't own DW, etc etc.

Now I know chess is not Chinese, but I couldn't think of another tactical game… silly me. Any way- as an explanation, in this chapter and all of the chapters to come, the POVs both take place around the same time.))

Chapter 1 : When It All Began

-Zhuge Liang's POV-

"That boy is no good behind the plow," My uncle was pacing back and forth, his frowning expression spoke only of frustration and disappointment.

I myself was cowering in the next room, peering through the doorway where my aunt and uncle were conversing. I knew they spoke of me, but being only 15, I was filled with spite and outrage at the action. The nerve! How dare they evaluate my worth! I bit down on my bottom lip and huddled close to the wall. My siblings were sleeping in the other room, tucked away and warm beneath the silk blankets.

My aunt shifted her position, she was seated on a cushion by the mahjong table with a look of concern on her thin face. "Liang? Well, he's not interested, that is all. You've seen how he locks himself in the library. He's scrawny like his mother- not built for the plow."

"Yes… the boy does show promise…"

This was more to my liking. Daring to peek, I noted my uncle rubbing his beard thoughtfully. My aunt had risen and had her hands on his shoulders- I always hated such signs of affection- and the two were sharing a bit of silence now. I recoiled and waited.

My uncle grunted suddenly, and I heard his footsteps break away from my aunt. "Then the boy must learn," he said. I tensed a bit, and my uncle continued, "We come from a well off family, and this Liang boy… he will become something."

That was all I cared to hear. Worried and scared- for I was a boy of only 15- I returned to my bed. Slipping down beneath the sheets, I looked at my siblings where they lay nestled in the bedding- little Zhuge Jun was purring, (I remember that now!) Jun always sounded like he was purring when he snored.

I sniffled a bit, I think, and closed my eyes. Gods, do not abuse me. Let me be happy. Please. Since my parent's death I had not been pleased. My uncle had been kind enough to take myself and my siblings in. He had raised us for 3 years now, but I- I was not like the others. I was agile-tongued and quick to argue. My conversational and debating skill were often viewed as disrespectful. Confucianism was being violated every time I put my learned speech to work. For my young age, I knew very much- and unlike my brothers (for they too were educated) I put my knowledge to work frequently. Recalling an immensely displeased friend of my uncles, who I had beaten at chess, I couldn't help but snicker. Zhuge Jun opened one eye and looked at me.

"You were out of bed," he stated simply. "I stayed awake and waited."

My last remaining sister (I say last for at the time she had not been married off) grumbled and turned over in her sleep. I placed a finger to my lips.

"Don't tell, Jun-ie," I whispered quietly, and he motioned towards his ear, unable to hear me. "I said: don't tell." This time I was louder.

Zhuge Jin rolled over apparently I'd woken him up. "Shut up, Liang…" his mature voice was slurred with fatigue. "Do you ever stop talking."

"Good night," I whispered, and glowered at Zhuge Jun who shot me a mischievous look. Don't! I mouthed. He smiled and nodded, then closed his eyes. I was happy that night, and snuggling deep down into the folds of my blankets fell quickly asleep. That night I dreamed I was taller, older. I was standing before the gates of heaven, my arms outstretched. "Let me in," I was saying. There was ink on my skin. It burned, and I was sobbing with the pain. The gates parted. There was no pain anymore.

-Yue Ying's POV-

"Yue Ying, go to sleep please." My father's voice.

"One moment, I'm just going to…"

"No, Yue Ying," he rubbed his temples. "Sleep. Now." His large hands took the book I was reading and placed it on a shelf on the other side of the room. Smiling haggardly at me, he spoke again. "I'm very tired, Yue Ying, and you know what is going on tomorrow, don't you?"

"Yes, father…" My face dropped, and I gaze sorrowfully at the wooden floor. Father didn't understand this. I wouldn't be happy- I couldn't be happy- with a man like Shi Hu- along with the fact that he was about four times my age (my age at that time being about 15 ½), he was a lumbering moron. I bit my lip hard and folded my arms. Getting married was something every girl was expected to do, but I wanted so much more than that!

"It's just a meeting, Yue Ying," my father must have noticed my misery, for it was hard to hide, "nothing is official yet."

"Father, please…" I shook my head, frowning back the overwhelming anxiety which threatened to bring tears to my eyes.

"Lord Shi is a very important man. That is- he is very noble." My father nodded knowingly, and for a moment rage leaped up inside my bosom. But I kept calm. Becoming worked up in the presence of my father was something I had learned to keep away from. Besides, my sinewy father always had good intentions.

"Just- just…" I was fuming. I couldn't help it. "Good night." I said crossly, and turned away, pacing to the other side of my room and flinging myself onto my bed.

There was an uncomfortable pause, and then my father approached me, laying his big, gentle hands on my shoulders. "Now Ying, don't despair. Lord Shi wishes only to meet you… don't cry, my dearest. If it upsets you that much, there's always…"

"Always what!" I cut him off, bit off the end of his sentence. "Always the chance he won't like me? Father, I don't understand why you even try anymore. I'm not beautiful and though you have wealth, you have no real rank or prominence!"

He looked rather offended at my last remark and rolled his eyes, "Now Ying."

"No. Just let me sleep. Good night. I'm sure this Lord Sho is a wonderful idiot." I whipped my head round to stare at the wall, making it as clear as humanly possible that the conversation was over.

"Lord Shi," corrected my father after an uneasy lapse into silence. He went about extinguishing the lanterns and candles in my room. "I… I hope you aren't angry with me, Ying… you know how much I love you."

I made no reply as I heard him backing out of the room. I did know he loved me, I knew it very well. The meeting was to try and arrange a marriage for my own good- so that I could become an honored member of the great Shi family. But I cared not for rank. Perhaps I read to much (surely it had been said by others) but I remembered a story I had once indulged in. It was only a half-decent story, I thought, but it was unbelievably entertaining. That is to say I remembered how lovely it had been- A Tale of Two Dreamers, I believe that was the name.

It was a romance. From the second I finished the book I thought somehow that marriage was supposed to have to do with more than just rank and marrying into wealthy families. Silently, I lit a single candle on my desk and crept to my bookshelf. Finding the romance, I sat down and by the light of the single flame, read until I could barely keep my eyes open. It was then that I slipped down beneath the covers and submitted to fatigue.