I hope everyone had a nice Easter holiday! And if you don't celebrate it I hope you enjoyed the break! I'm on a two week holiday so I'm having fun... if working counts as fun. But I have done the next chapter of this fic! It's a long chapter... I won't give anything away to you guys... you'll have to read first:) Thank you againguysfor all of the positive feedback! I'm actually really happy with the way this is turning out although I am finding it hard to resist the temptation of putting my usual jokes in. Hehe... anyway enjoy this chapter!

Chapter Three: Confessions of the Heart

(Sun Shang Xiang PoV)

I hope they're all happy now! Did they really want me gone that badly? Well, I'm going. I don't exactly want to… I just want them to suffer. I don't even know if they'll miss me or not. Xiao was hysterical before I left- she was practically clinging onto my dress begging me not to go. Yes, I'm wearing a dress… Dad wanted me to do one thing for him before I went. As he said his final goodbye to me I thought I saw tears form in his eyes. I knew he'd be upset- he'd always been overprotective of me and now he wouldn't have anyone to protect. He could always protect the next Sun but that was Quan, and I'm sure Quan can take care of himself. He's a tough guy, although I think he was about to cry too. When I hugged him goodbye he didn't want to let go. He held onto me and said "Look after yourself little sister" before Ce had to come and separate him. I'd been close to both of my brothers and didn't want to leave them. Sure they could be annoying at times but they were my family- they were part of me. They helped raise me and they were probably the main reason I was such a tomboy.

The lack of a female role model in my life was another reason (I don't consider the Qiao sisters as any type of role model) but that didn't bother much. Weaponry and martial arts just came naturally to me and Dad didn't seem to mind a bit. At least I wasn't too much of a girly girl… that thought is just sickening to me! Everyone seems to like the tomboy me. I know Liu Bei won't so that's another reason I'm wearing this dress. Don't want to ruin Zhou Yu's plans now do we? I suppose I was lucky enough to sneak my chakrams on board with the help of Gan Ning. I know he wants me to be safe and I rarely go anywhere without them. At least I'll have something to remind me of the good times.

I still can't believe this is happening. It's all gone so fast! One minute I'm in the courtyard sparring with Gan Ning and Sun Quan and the next I'm being carted off to Shu for marriage. I don't even want to get married. Well, not to Liu Bei anyway. Yeah, I like someone else… I didn't tell anyone of course for fear of upsetting Zhou Yu and making him angry. I've seen him angry before and it isn't that nice. He'd just go quiet and moody for days, and I've seen the scared looks on his bodyguards' faces. But still I'm going to regret not telling Gan Ning how I feel. He's the best friend I've ever had, even better than Xiao. I know Xiao is good for a girly giggle and for those rare occasions that I'm in a gossip mood, but I can go to Gan Ning for more than that. Well, I could to him for more than that.

We used to talk about so much- our past lives, our problems, our futures… he's just such a fascinating guy. I know everyone was wary of having an ex-pirate join Wu but I didn't see him for that. I saw deep down into his personality and saw him for who he truly is. I must have a gift for those type of things. I trusted him that day four years ago when I was just 16, and I still trust him to this day. I always will…part of me is saying that I love him, but how does he feel? I'm guessing he still sees me as a little girl- Xiao is older than me and he still calls her 'Little Qiao'. Am I still 'Little Sun'? I guess I'll never know now… ouch! What was that?

(Out of PoV)

The carriage stopped to an abrupt halt and Sun Shang Xiang was sent flying onto the floor of the carriage. As she lay in a heap on the floor she heard more than one horse neighing and whinnying outside. That's strange she thought as she regained her composure, there's only one horse on the carriage… She flattened out the new creases in her red dress and tried to open the carriage door. It was locked, and as she tried to force it open she could hair people talking outside. At least she thought it was talking- it sounded like a man arguing with the carriage driver. It wasn't just any man either…

"Ning!" she gasped as she gave the door another tug. "Let me out of here!" she cried out, hoping someone would hear her and open the door. "LET ME OUT!"

From where she stood she heard someone run to the door and frantically rip off the locks. They then forced open the door with all of their strength and stood before the surprised Wu princess. Tears filled Sun Shang Xiang's eyes as she came into view with the man who stopped the carriage.

"It's you!" she cried as she threw herself into Gan Ning's tattooed muscular arms. He held onto to her tightly as she started to sob into his chest.

"Of course it's me," he replied quietly. He then looked down at her tears. "Hey, don't cry!"

"But I'm so happy to see you!" she said looking up into his eyes. "I thought I'd never see you again…"

"Same here. I didn't want you to leave." Gan Ning then turned his attention towards the guards who were watching him with some confusion. They were stumped as to why he had raced his horse in front of the carriage forcing it to stop. They had seen the determined look on his face and were scared about what he'd do if they didn't… Ning glanced at them and they quickly turned around. It was clear he wanted some privacy.

"Is that why you stopped the carriage Ning?" Shang Xiang asked as she held onto him. He nodded and she smiled weakly. The tears were still falling down her cheeks. "I'm glad you did, but they're still going to send me to Liu Bei."

Gan Ning blinked at her. Where was her tomboy defiance? Where was the girl he knew to be fiery and independent? Where was Shang Xiang? "Shang, do you honestly think that I'm going to let your father send you away like that?"

"You wouldn't go against him!"

"Oh really?" He smiled and whispered something to her. "We need to sort those guys out first."

"My guards?" she whispered back. "Why?"

He sighed. "I need to tell you something. Something I've needed to tell you for a while now." Ning lowered his head and racked his brains trying to think of a way to tell her. It was hard- he'd never felt like this about anyone before and even if he had he'd still find it hard. Shang Xiang wasn't exactly known for being a romantic person- everyone thought that she was oblivious to it all. Ning had no idea how she'd react.

"You can tell me anything Ning," she said. "You're my best friend and you always will be. Just go ahead and tell me."

"I don't know how to tell you…"

She took a breath and smiled at him. "If it helps, I have something to tell you too. I'm a little nervous about telling you but I'll do it anyway…"

The pair then stood there staring at each other, each one as scared as the other to reveal their own feelings. Shang put one of her hands on his and gazed into his eyes. She wanted to know if he felt the same way about her as she did about him. To her great relief he smiled at her and his grip on her hand tightened. Did that mean…?

"Shang, I-"

Gan Ning was cut off by Shang Xiang's index finger which she had placed on his lips. After a second she removed it, for she knew exactly what he was going to say. She partly knew from the way he protected her on the battlefield and constantly kept her company. Her handmaids had kept giggling at her whenever she hung out with him- she kept checking herself in case there was something stuck on her back or anything like that making her look out of place. It was only later that she realised that they were giggling about how perfect her and the ex-pirate were together.

The Wu princess blushed in front of her friend. She rarely blushed and was feeling a bit embarrassed. She was feeling all kinds of different emotions now. Anxiety, confusion, love- the whole mixture was making her feel strange. She tried to clear her mind as she moved slowly towards his face, and then softly kissed his warm lips. She blushed a bright shade of red and buried her head into his chest leaving Gan Ning looking into the distance quite surprised. He had absolutely no idea she felt that way about him. If he knew her well (and he did), he knew she had never even kissed a guy before and he admired her courage for kissing him.

He brushed some of her hair from her chin and gently raised it up so she was looking at him. Before she could say anything back he was kissing her with all of the love he felt for her. He wrapped his arms around her waist as she raised her arms and wrapped them around his neck. He noticed that she was kissing him back as they embraced and neither wanted the moment to end. Hidden feelings were revealed as the pair showed their love for each other.

"Ning," Shang said after their moment, "I can't leave you now! I don't want to let you go… you're the only person I've ever loved. I can't let this feeling go…"

Ning pulled her into a hug. "It's alright Shang Xiang, because I have a plan…"

"What do you mean?"

"Do you want to go to Shu?"

"No! Of course not!"

"Okay, do you want to go back to Wu?"

Shang shook her head. "No… because they'll send me to Shu again…"

Ning nodded. "Well, I have an idea, but it's risky. I need to know if you'll go ahead with it. I love you and I don't want to let you go." He sighed, and then looked into her eyes. "Run away with me."

"Ning, what are you saying?"

"Run away with me, so far away that you'll never have to worry about being sent to that Shu pig as part of a ruse. It will just be us, just like the good old times, and I promise with all my heart that I'll always love you and never let you down. I want to be there for you… I want to be with you…"

Shang Xiang let a tear out and wrapped her arms around him tighter. It was hard choice she had to make. Marriage, home, or Gan Ning? She didn't want to marry Liu Bei or be sent back home. But Gan Ning? She knew that if she went with him she'd be happy just as she'd always done. Her heart was telling her to go with the pirate as was her head.

"I just need to think about it," she said quietly. She let go of him and disappeared into the carriage, closing the door behind her. Gan Ning stood alone- he was hoping that she'd say yes. He knew that he'd probably be in trouble for 'stealing' the princess away and ruining the plans but he couldn't just let go of love. Especially not now.

The guards turned around from where they stood and looked at Gan Ning again. He glared at them again and they obediently turned around again. If Ning was going to take Shang Xiang how would he get rid of them? He didn't know, but it all depended on Shang's response…

A few minutes passed before Sun Shang Xiang re-emerged from the carriage, and Ning had to blink twice just to see if his eyes weren't deceiving him. Shang had changed out of her dress and into her sparring gear. She had in one hand a bag containing her valuables and some other clothes and in her other hand her chakrams. She had a huge smile on her face.

"Of course I want to go with you Gan Ning!" she said cheerily. She dropped her things and hugged him. "You're the only thing I need from now on and I trust you with my life." She then kissed his cheek. "I'll run away with you to wherever you want to go."

Ning smiled at her. "I'm glad." He gave her a quick kiss on the lips before picking up her things. "But we have to go really soon before anyone suspects anything." He pointed his gaze towards the guards. "Now let's go…"

Quickly he and Shang Xiang headed towards his horse which was parked behind the carriage. Ning tied Shang's bundle onto the saddle and lifted her on. He climbed on in front and he felt her two hands from behind hold on tight.

"You ready?" he whispered.

"Yes," she replied quietly into his ear. "Let's go!"

Ning grinned to himself and then kicked the side of his horse hard. It whinnied loudly causing the guards to quickly pull out their swords and turn around. The horse sped past them with the princess and the ex-pirate holding on tightly.

"GET THEM!" the head guard called out. Some of the guards quickly ran to the carriage in an attempt to untie the horse from the carriage but it was too late. Ning's horse was too fast and it had already sped into the distance completely out of sight. They had failed their mission to protect Sun Shang Xiang- that role had now been passed on to someone else…

A/N- Et voila! End of Chapter 3! I'll start the next chapter soon. And if anyone is interested in beta-reading this storyfor me that would be great. Just e-mail me if you want as I've noticed that some of you guys have noticed spelling errors but I can't see any! I use a spell checker and it doesn't pick any up.If you see 's' where you think a 'z' should be that is because I'm British so I won't do American spellings. Maybe that's why... I didn't say anything about that like I did in my other story. Oh well... laters everyone:)