by crystal tiara
Disclaimer: I don't own Dynasty Warriors; Koei does.
When you were young, Mother said that you had a beautiful face and that you'd marry a wealthy and handsome man. You were much too young to be thinking of marriage at that time, but you hoped Mother's words were true. After all, it was every girl's fantasy to marry a man with money and power and strikingly good looks, and although you never told anyone, you were one of those girls. You decided that you wanted that fantasy, too.
So just as Mother said, you married Yuan Xi. He was rich and powerful, that was for sure. Perhaps he fell short in the looks department, but that could be excused. He treated you well and respected you and lavished you with anything you wanted, and yet you weren't satisfied. You felt something was lacking, but you didn't know what. All you knew was that you couldn't feel any connection to him. Like he didn't really mean that much to you. And whatever it was that he couldn't provide you with, you wished you could find it someday. You wanted to feel a special connection, to be understood and possibly even...loved. You wanted someone you could relate to.
One day, you happened to find that someone.
His name was Cao Pi. Your first meeting was on the battlefield, and it didn't turn out so well. You thought he was a cocky bastard with a lot of nerve. You thought he was so full of himself that his ego was certainly larger than life. You thought that you wouldn't be attracted to him.
But you were wrong.
You two married shortly after, and even now you still don't know what attracted you to him in the first place. He had money, looks, power---everything you wanted, and possibly even more. And from the time you two got together, you were living out your fantasy. You were doing what you wanted with your life. And you found someone with whom you could have a mutual understanding.
He was just that kind of man whom you could respect and understand and connect to. He was gallant but just a bit crude. But you liked him that way; you said so yourself. And he was just the kind of man who indulged you and treated you as his equal. He was the man who made love to you at night and left you gasping and wanting for more. But love was out of the question. At least for the time being.
Everyone said that rich people married for appearances and not for love. That was what you thought, too, so you didn't quite care about love. You didn't think you'd fall in love with him. You cared for him, and you got worried when he was out in battle all alone, and yet you laughed when your maids asked you if you loved him.
And then you woke up one morning to find that things had changed.
You wondered how it would be like if he'd embrace you and stay like that for a long time. And you thought about his kisses---were they kisses of passion or did he truly mean something deeper, something like love? When he'd go away, you'd miss him and think about him often. You actually liked it when he teased you, or flirted with you.
You might have fallen in love with him. Or you could've been in love with him for so long and only realized it recently. You could've been in self-denial.
You decided that you loved him; you really did. But you never told him, because you thought he'd laugh and call you a silly and foolish girl. But you shook your head and said to yourself that he couldn't be that bad. Still, you couldn't say it. For all you knew he might have loved you as well, but was waiting for you to say it first. So two could play at that time. You weren't going to tell him until you'd found the right time. You were waiting for him to make the first move.
But time passed and he never said it, though he did always seem to care about you. He'd kiss you, and praise you and sometimes he'd still tease you in that calm, composed manner of his. And he'd look out for you on the battlefield, just as you looked out for him. Still, you couldn't tell if he loved you, or just had some sort of understanding and respect for you. After all, just as you'd heard people say, the rich folks didn't fall in love. Or maybe they did, but it didn't happen often. And you had an almost desperate desire to hear him say that he loved you, no matter how silly or foolish it sounded.
He always kept you waiting. You two weren't getting any younger, but still you never heard him say those words. So you decided that you'd be willing to wait, because you couldn't rush love like that. After all, you were always a strong woman, on the inside and the outside. Waiting for love wasn't going to hurt you or kill you inside the way it did with some other women. In the meantime, you assessed your feelings for him, and you realized that love was the missing piece. You already had your superficial desires, but you realized that you wanted to be loved as well. Love was what you wanted from Yuan Xi, but what you never got from him. And you found love in the most unlikely of people. You loved him, even though he still was the same cocky person (no longer a bastard, at least) you knew from before. Even though it seemed that he'd rather make love to you than love you. Even though he probably didn't believe in love.
And you thought that you were going insane for falling in love for someone who wasn't exactly the most perfect person in the world. And maybe it was funny. Perhaps it was unlikely. But it was even funnier that you weren't always as strong as everyone thought you were. Deep inside, you could be the little girl who wanted to be loved just as much as she loved that person.
Before you even knew it, time drifted away so quickly that Wei was close to conquering the entire land. And you two were thrust into a battle---and it wasn't just any ordinary one. It was the final battle, and was the deciding factor in Wei's fate. And all of a sudden you were nervous and rushed because of all the pressure. Whether or not you two would make it alive crossed your mind, although you tried to dismiss the thought. Still, the feeling of dread filled you. For all you knew, you could've been died the next day. And you wanted to tell him... just in case.
Just in case we may be dead tomorrow...
But he made you feel at ease, even though he was probably quite tense himself. He'd never shown his vulnerable side to anyone, so she couldn't tell how he was feeling at the moment. "You're nervous," he pointed out.
And you nodded. "Yes." But you promised him that you wouldn't let your emotions get the better of you, that you'd win this for him and for her country, and you made a promise to yourself that you'd temporarily put aside your feelings of love.
"I'm Zhen Ji. I don't give up so easily," you assured him, and he smirked. He wasn't being condescending at all; it wasn't unusual for him to be smirking like that.
"I know," he said, and then he gave you a kiss. "For good luck"---that was what he said. You never really believed in luck that much, because you relied more on yourself than on divine intervention, if there really was such a thing. But one thing was for sure---you did appreciate the kiss.
"We can do it together, Zhen. Victory is near." There was a passionate gleam in his eyes, like he was confident that he'd already won the battle beforehand. Such passion, such zeal.
That was what you admired in him, right?
Everyone fought with ferocity and strength, and in the end, everything was worth it. The battle was won, and the land was at peace. It's a major achievement, and it's something you and your husband were proud of. And you could enjoy life with him without having to go out to war for as long as the land was united.
And yet, in spite of everything, you weren't completely happy. You were supposed to be happy, but...
...there was something else.
And just as the people were happy that the land was no longer in chaos, you felt that you deserved to be happy too.
So you two watched the town from your balcony, and he began talking about how he did everything---pacifying the land and unifying it---for you. Then he began saying such romantic words that you couldn't believe that those words actually came from his mouth.
You laughed, because you'd never heard him sound so serious and poetic and perhaps even...hopelessly romantic...like that.
You wished he'd say things like that more often.
And he said that he'd like to speak out about his feelings, since it was something that he rarely did.
Then he moved closer to you and said, "You're the most beautiful woman in the world." He said it a bit teasingly, and you wondered if you two were too old to be teasing with each other and flirting like that, but you liked it.
So you teased him back. "And you're quite a gentleman yourself."
He moved closer to you, as if to embrace you from behind, and you felt his warm breath on your shoulder. "You know, every time I hear the sound of a flute, I think of you, Zhen. And I think of you and me quite often...and how long we've been together. And I think... that I'd never want to leave you. You're worth protecting, and certainly worth fighting for." He was always such a tease.
He paused, but went on soon after, this time in a deeper and more serious tone. "I think I love you, Zhen."
You were taken aback. How ironic it was that you had been prepared to face the moment of truth, and now that he was telling you those words you had always wanted to hear, you were completely at a loss for words. You certainly couldn't believe what you were hearing, although you were half-expecting him to say those words.
Both of you were silent. He appeared to be deep in thought, and you...you wouldn't admit it, but you were glad. You were giddy. After all those years of waiting...your desire had come true.
And it was far from over.
He went on, "No...I don't think I love you. I truly love you."
You took his hand and, rather than making a fool of yourself, simply said, "The feeling's mutual... love."
That day you believed that even rich people fell in love. That you two were perfect for each other.
And that day... a girl who thought she had everything finally found what was missing in her life.
Author's Notes: I decided to try a new writing style. Here, as you can see, it's written in the second person narrative. It's a bit challenging, but nevertheless, I think I pulled it off. And I think it is quite fun to write in the second person, so I might write my next fic (again, a romance fic... I've been inspired lately) again using the second person. It's my first time writing a Cao Pi x Zhen Ji fic. Before DW5 came out, I liked the Zhang He x Zhen Ji pairing, but now I've grown to love this pairing more, despite the fact that historically, Cao Pi was quite a bastard. In DW5, he may be a bastard, alright, but I like him. His snarkiness reminds me of Draco Malfoy. Or Lucius Malfoy, even. He and Zhen Ji make quite the cute couple, what with him practically hitting on her in nearly every battle. Plus... there's that "naughty" XD pick-up line he used on her... Anyway, enough talk about that. I do hope that I did a good job of handling Cao Pi and Zhen Ji's personalities here, and that they aren't out of character. Don't forget to review and tell me what you think!