It was a warm night. The moon was full and the stars were shining brightly.
Yet one woman - really more a lady - was walking quickly across the damp
grass. She was obviously troubled, her dark eyes showing her confusion and
unhappiness. The red rings on the otherwise pale, creamy skin around her
eyes was evidence that she'd been crying.
She started to jog, her expensive shoes digging in to the soil and getting
muddy, soil and getting muddy, her exquisite, figure-hugging dress getting
wet, for it was still lightly raining. She broke into a sprint, running
past dark tents, the inhabitants sleeping, until she reached one brightly-
lit tent. This was the one she was looking for. She burst in and saw two
officers standing awkwardly next to each other.
"Jiang Wei", she said, "I need to talk to you."
"Zhen Ji, are you alright? Here sit down. What is the matter?"
"Its Zhang He. I think he may be dead." Zhen Ji's dark eyes filled with tears. "He may be dead, and I can do nothing without breaking my oath."
Zhao Yun stepped forward and knelt down by Zhen Ji. "What are you talking about? What oath?" He said it softly and Zhen Ji stopped crying and looked into the bright green eyes that belonged to the tiger general. "Why do you care so much? I know he was a close friend, but he is fighting for Wu."
"I can't tell you why I care without breaking my oath."
"If you can't tell us why did you come?" asked the young strategist.
"I thought. I thought. I thought you would help me find Zhang He." Zhen Ji started sobbing.
"I'm sorry, I shouldn't have been so harsh, but what do you expect me to do? I can't help unless I know what the problem is." Jiang Wei pointed out.
"Zhang He pretended to defect to Wu so he could steal Sima Yi's plans for the battle and bring them back here." Said Zhen Ji in between sobs.
"Why?"
"To prove his loyalty. There are many that distrust him. He wanted to prove that he was loyal to Liu Bei. But he has been gone for three weeks. It can't have taken him this long to copy the plans. The gods will punish me for breaking my oath."
"You did the right thing. I will go and devise a plan with Zhuge Liang. Zhen Ji, rest here until I return. Zhao Yun, please stay and watch her." Then Jiang Wei ran out into the night to wake Zhuge Liang.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Zhang He awoke at dawn. The sky was awash with pinks and reds and lilacs.
'Beautiful, like me' he thought. He walked to the nearby stream and washed his face. He then saddled his horse and swiftly mounted it. He didn't know which way was north, he only guessed and prayed he was right. He was hungry. He hadn't eaten in days, but thoughts of three people drove him on. The first person was Sima Yi. Zhang He used to love him, but was now repulsed by him. How could he betray Cao Cao at the drop of a hat? Siding with Wu rather than with Shu. For once Zhang He was glad he ran away from Sima Yi. The second was Jiang Wei. He had only lusted after Zhang He when they were in Wei, and now dismissed him, but Zhang He did not the same way the way most people would, he was not full of hatred, but that was because he had accepted the possibility that Jiang Wei had found someone else. And he was happy for Jiang Wei and Zhao Yun. He wished them many years of happiness together, although whether they were together or not was a different story. But he knew that the young strategist would find a way to capture the heart of the tiger general, sooner or later. The third person, rather unusually, was the ruler of Shu, Liu Bei. He respected this man, and had come to feel strongly for him. His only wish was that once he was back in Shu with the documents, was that Liu Bei would see that he was loyal and would appoint Zhang He as his confidante, the way Cao Pi had done to Sima Yi. Zhang He looked up into the sky and prayed. 'Please let me find my way back to Shu.'
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Jiang Wei, Zhao Yun, Zhen Ji, Liu Bei, Guan Yu and Zhang Fei were out looking for Zhang He. 'Why did Zhang He feel as if he had to do this?' Liu Bei asked himself. Liu Bei had been drawn to the beautiful officer from the moment he had entered with the other officers from Wei who were found in the forest in the expedition to Hei Fei castle. Zhang He had bowed low and gracefully and the first words he had uttered were totally emotionless: "Good evening my lord," he had said, "I am Zhang He, and I am here to serve you." Liu Bei had known then that this was going to be an interesting relationship. Since then they had spoken a lot more, and Zhang He had become friendlier towards Liu Bei. He had often wondered how exactly he felt about Zhang He. Although he felt strongly for him, Liu Bei denied being attracted to him. 'I'm only attracted to women,' he used to say to himself, but now he admitted that he was falling in love with him. 'How could I have been so stupid?' he silently chided himself, 'It is only now I've lost you that I truly know how I feel about you. Zhang He, next time we are alone together I will tell you how I feel.' Liu Bei silently vowed.
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Authors Note: Finally, this chapter is finished!!! This is definitely the hardest chapter I've written. I have only got three reviews, c'mon people, please r&r.
"Jiang Wei", she said, "I need to talk to you."
"Zhen Ji, are you alright? Here sit down. What is the matter?"
"Its Zhang He. I think he may be dead." Zhen Ji's dark eyes filled with tears. "He may be dead, and I can do nothing without breaking my oath."
Zhao Yun stepped forward and knelt down by Zhen Ji. "What are you talking about? What oath?" He said it softly and Zhen Ji stopped crying and looked into the bright green eyes that belonged to the tiger general. "Why do you care so much? I know he was a close friend, but he is fighting for Wu."
"I can't tell you why I care without breaking my oath."
"If you can't tell us why did you come?" asked the young strategist.
"I thought. I thought. I thought you would help me find Zhang He." Zhen Ji started sobbing.
"I'm sorry, I shouldn't have been so harsh, but what do you expect me to do? I can't help unless I know what the problem is." Jiang Wei pointed out.
"Zhang He pretended to defect to Wu so he could steal Sima Yi's plans for the battle and bring them back here." Said Zhen Ji in between sobs.
"Why?"
"To prove his loyalty. There are many that distrust him. He wanted to prove that he was loyal to Liu Bei. But he has been gone for three weeks. It can't have taken him this long to copy the plans. The gods will punish me for breaking my oath."
"You did the right thing. I will go and devise a plan with Zhuge Liang. Zhen Ji, rest here until I return. Zhao Yun, please stay and watch her." Then Jiang Wei ran out into the night to wake Zhuge Liang.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Zhang He awoke at dawn. The sky was awash with pinks and reds and lilacs.
'Beautiful, like me' he thought. He walked to the nearby stream and washed his face. He then saddled his horse and swiftly mounted it. He didn't know which way was north, he only guessed and prayed he was right. He was hungry. He hadn't eaten in days, but thoughts of three people drove him on. The first person was Sima Yi. Zhang He used to love him, but was now repulsed by him. How could he betray Cao Cao at the drop of a hat? Siding with Wu rather than with Shu. For once Zhang He was glad he ran away from Sima Yi. The second was Jiang Wei. He had only lusted after Zhang He when they were in Wei, and now dismissed him, but Zhang He did not the same way the way most people would, he was not full of hatred, but that was because he had accepted the possibility that Jiang Wei had found someone else. And he was happy for Jiang Wei and Zhao Yun. He wished them many years of happiness together, although whether they were together or not was a different story. But he knew that the young strategist would find a way to capture the heart of the tiger general, sooner or later. The third person, rather unusually, was the ruler of Shu, Liu Bei. He respected this man, and had come to feel strongly for him. His only wish was that once he was back in Shu with the documents, was that Liu Bei would see that he was loyal and would appoint Zhang He as his confidante, the way Cao Pi had done to Sima Yi. Zhang He looked up into the sky and prayed. 'Please let me find my way back to Shu.'
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Jiang Wei, Zhao Yun, Zhen Ji, Liu Bei, Guan Yu and Zhang Fei were out looking for Zhang He. 'Why did Zhang He feel as if he had to do this?' Liu Bei asked himself. Liu Bei had been drawn to the beautiful officer from the moment he had entered with the other officers from Wei who were found in the forest in the expedition to Hei Fei castle. Zhang He had bowed low and gracefully and the first words he had uttered were totally emotionless: "Good evening my lord," he had said, "I am Zhang He, and I am here to serve you." Liu Bei had known then that this was going to be an interesting relationship. Since then they had spoken a lot more, and Zhang He had become friendlier towards Liu Bei. He had often wondered how exactly he felt about Zhang He. Although he felt strongly for him, Liu Bei denied being attracted to him. 'I'm only attracted to women,' he used to say to himself, but now he admitted that he was falling in love with him. 'How could I have been so stupid?' he silently chided himself, 'It is only now I've lost you that I truly know how I feel about you. Zhang He, next time we are alone together I will tell you how I feel.' Liu Bei silently vowed.
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Authors Note: Finally, this chapter is finished!!! This is definitely the hardest chapter I've written. I have only got three reviews, c'mon people, please r&r.