((A/N: Thanks to those who reviewed!
Fei Yi- Yes! I know this story will be rather historically incorrect, but I tried to do my best with relations, etc.
Shadow Wolf- It's nice to know I have someone hooked. Heh heh heh…
Da HecKlaR- My first review came from you… I could cry with happiness! Thanks for the compliment.
Here the second chapter. Oh, and before I get sued- I don't own Dynasty Warriors, Koei does- so stop calling me! Something that will need to be known is Zhuge Liang Kongming, and Yue Ying Lady Huang.))
Chapter 2 : Two Paths are Woven
-Zhuge Liang's POV-
Poor little Zhuge Jun. He bawled when he heard the news, and all the time I was attempting to pack, he clung to my legs and pleaded tearfully for me to stay- he even tried concealing himself in one of my bags once.
"Now, Jun," I said, putting on my mature face and taking him by the shoulders. He was still 11 or 12, so I had to go down on both knees to put myself just a bit below his eye-level. "Listen, I'll come back- don't worry. And I'll write. I'll write every weak, and you'll hardly know I'm gone."
There was a pause, and then he dropped his head and sniffled. "I'll know…" His hands flew up to cover his face, and his shoulders heaved beneath my hands. Crying again.
I sighed, and embraced my dear little brother, allowing him to bury his head into my clean, student's robes. My uncle would perhaps not be pleased, but I hardly cared about that. I must say that of the many people I loved at that time, Zhuge Jun was my most tenderly beloved of them all. He was, after all, the only one who had ever looked up to me. Zhuge Jin, being older and- according to his own unspoken code- worthier (though for what I could hardly imagine) and my sisters having for the most part little interaction with me. Little Jun-ie, however, was the sweetest little lamb I'd ever set eyes on- which was a great compliment, coming from me at that time. I was head-strong and confident at that time in my life, as many mid-teens are.
"Don't do that- come on, Jun… Jun-ie…" I patted his head and told him to look at me. His face was red from sobbing, and his cheeks were damp. I ran the back of my hand across his face, wiping away a few of the tears. "It's not that bad, I promise. Aren't you happy for me, Jun? I'm going…" I paused. I hadn't really taken it serious until then. I was going. Swallowing hard, I looked at him and repeated myself. "Aren't you happy for me."
Jun took a moment to consider this. I feel badly about the way I shamed him into holding back his tears, but I had to find a way to quiet him. "Y-yes…" he said at last, staring at the ground, "yes, I'm happy for you…"
"All ready, Liang?" It was my uncle, he stood staring down at me with that pinched, thin kind of face he had. He was eying the wetness on the shoulder of my otherwise pristine robe.
Scrambling up, I hurried to force my hair into a small top-knot and wrapped it round with a strip of white cloth. "Oh yes, I'm almost ready." But I wasn't sure if I was ready- of course I had been smart-alecky and full of my self in days of the recent past, but now I felt a new sense of dread impose itself upon me. How naïve I have been! The idea sprang on me now. There is a whole world out there! My brother, Zhuge Jin, and my uncle had said that to me many times- but only now did I realize!
My uncle had told me this morning- "You must learn, Liang. It is your passion, isn't it? You wish to learn?" He didn't even give me time to reply. "Well, you're going to a fine school. Liang, I want you to learn." And that was that.
"Come on, brother," Zhuge Jin entered at that moment, looking at me with an odd kind of pitying expression. He was already almost 18, I believe, and had been tutored while still under the care of my actual parents. In Jin's opinion, the reason that I was being sent away was not because of any real talent, but because I needed extra help- and the son (even if the adopted son) of a governor must not be ignorant.
He and my uncle each took a bag- one was full of clothing, the other full of writing tools and such necessities. I myself followed mutely along behind them as they lead me out through the doors. I crossed by the fields and looked them over, saw the big old elm where I had once been caught neglecting my chores to sit down with a good book, watched my aunt's freshly dyed cloth dying in the cool breeze… I sighed.
Jun was tagging along behind, and as soon as I reached the front gates there was a great commotion from behind me. Turning, I saw my aunt hurrying towards me. Her hair was bouncing, and she was followed by my sister who was holding a small sack.
"Wait! Wait!" My aunt was shouting. We waited. She and my sister drew near and then paused, panting. "Take this, it's for the way. You have money, don't you?" She snatched the sack from my sister and handed it to me. The warm smell of dim-sum greeted me, and all at once I felt oddly choked up.
"I made them," said my sister quietly, and I bowed my head in gratitude.
The carriage was waiting. I was to be transported directly to my school and begin studies immediately. I embraced each person in my presence, and kissed my aunt and sister. Once my belongings were loaded securely, I climbed laboriously into my seat. Jun was on the verge of more tears, and I smiled knowingly at him. He hid his face.
"Good luck, boy," said my uncle. "Now you'd better be on your way."
The carriage began to move, and I peered out behind me until the familiar farm-house faded, and I could no longer see the past.
-Yue Ying's POV-
I found myself staring intently at the lips of Lord Shi Hu as they flapped on. What flexibility! What boorish, course, and tactless communication! It bewildered me that such complete idiocy could find stable ground in the mind of a Lord. In my conceptions, I thought the phrase 'Lord' to have some sort of implication, an implication perhaps of- oh, I don't know- sophistication or education? Well, perhaps Lord Shu was educated but he certainly seemed unsophisticated. A buffoon. I did not enjoy the company of buffoons.
The meeting had not been going very well. Lord Shi had attempted quite a few conversations, but I had gone into a kind of bored trance. No- bored is an understatement. I was miserable. Truly, excruciatingly miserable. Apperantly Lord Shi had noticed. As any man would when at a loss of interest on the part of the female they are attempting to court, he decided to try ambling down a different road.
He told me stories.
Monotonous toned, long winded, dry stories. Stories of his failing youth and of what the seamstress had said to him the other day, and of a quarrel between a young couple he had heard and why he then thought that having two young people marry was a disastrous idea, and… and… and…
"… Women should marry men who are old and more experienced. Don't you think so? Don't you think women should marry older men?"
I suddenly realized he was staring questioningly at me, as though he were expecting my input. Oh no! He must have asked me something! I strained to remember the rough sounds of his last words. "Uh- uh- yes- what? Fairy older men? Excuse me, I must have… er… drifted off for a moment." I had no idea what he was saying.
"No. You didn't go anywhere." He looked at me, and then I realized he had taken my expression literally. A lumbering moron, just as I had expected. "Are you feeling alright, Lady Huang?"
"In fact," I said, gathering my annoyingly frilly skirts up and rising from the stone bench on which we had been seated. "I believe I do feel a bit woozy." An idea stuck me, then. A horribly unkind and sneaky idea. But I was rather desperate. "I think I'm pregnant." I said. Alright, Yue Ying, lie like you've never lied before!
"Excuse me?" Lord Shi leapt up.
"Oh- oh yes," I forged ahead, hacking recklessly away at what might have turned out half-alright. "I've been quite busy around town, you know." It was a lie unlike any I had ever told- to think of such indecency nearly made me become actually woozy.
But Lord Shi on the other hand, being the type of blundering man he was, became outraged. "Busy!" He shrieked, waving a finger and then backing up as though I bore some kind of infectious and deadly disease. "BUSY?"
"Father didn't tell you?" I asked as innocently as possible. "You act as though it is an unspeakable crime."
I don't believe Lord Shi's brain could handle all the conflicting ideas, and I half feared that is would stop functioning all together and that he'd keel over dead right there before me. His face was more vivid with its bloody color than a radish- than a tomato- than anything I'd ever seen before. Every line on his face was etched with fury and confusion. He gaped, then worked his jaw like a coy- but no words could weasel their ways out, this time.
"I- I…" he choked, and then- all at once, he whirled on his heel and stormed from the inner garden.
I took the opportunity to flee, and made a swift escape to my bed room. Closing the door and shoving the latch across it, I waited for a moment- and then gave the door a little tug to make sure it was locked. After I had assured myself that it was quite secure, I went and sat on my bed. There was a handmaid outside, she tapped.
"Lady Huang? My Lady?"
"Go away please."
I heard her hesitant steps leaving after a while, and a great fuss coming from down the hall. Angry shouts and curses. I knew that Lord Shi had sought out my father and was berating him. I stayed still, breathless, until the shouting had faded. There were brisk steps and then a knock on my bed-room door. I heard my father attempt to open it, and then knock again.
"Ying," he said. He sounded worn and irritated.
"I wasn't going to put up with him, father!" I screamed immediately, determined to resist the urge to open the door and kick him in the shins. I was a rather spoiled child at that time, being an only child and the treasure of my father's fancies. "I don't know why you try! I just don't know!"
"Yue Ying," he cut me off. Father always had a kindly voice. It was hard to stay angry with him for more than one minute. "Yue Ying, I'm not upset with you. Let me in please?"
I did as I was told, and he sat down on my bed with me. "I couldn't be mad at you for refusing a man like that…" he began. "But you must be careful as to what you do or say. That excuse there could have cost us very much- we might have lost honor, respect- I- I can't list everything." He had a more serious tone now- this was a serious matter, after all. "I was able to convince Lord Shi that spreading this fable would endanger his own position, for you were right- he is a man of weak mind, but please- control yourself!"
I folded my hands in my lap and looked down at them. "Yes, father…"
"Good. Yue Ying… are you upset?"
"I'll never marry." It was a plain statement. "I'm not pretty, and I'm spoiled. Is that the reason, father? Maybe I'm being too picky."
"Now now…" He put an arm around my shoulders. "You are beautiful- stunning. Look at me." He took my chin in his hands and smiled with approval. "Gorgeous. And think of how talented you are- you are smart, you are tutored by the best every day! It's just that… well, the men you've met so far are sight-impaired. They see only the most brilliant and superficial trifles. Look a man in the eye and you will see them, you will see whether they are blind or not. Look once in a while, Ying…"
I nodded, and he kissed me on the head. After a moment, he rose and began to make his way to the door. As his bulky figure reached it, I spoke again and he turned. "Father?"
"Yes, Ying?"
"Would you… well, maybe- maybe I could chose for myself? You know… out of these suitors. Would you let me decide whether they are, um, blind." I asked hopefully.
"Well, you cannot decide that a healthy man is crippled, and so you cannot decide that a man is blind. But you can guess." I gave him a look and he continued, smiling warmly. "But I suppose you are old enough to make your own decisions now, aren't you? Very well then. Yue Ying, I apologize for today. Good night."
