A/N- I can be really lazy sometimes but I've updated! It hasn't been too long has it? I tried to include some humour in this chapter as the last one was a bit more serious than my usual stuff. I hope this is a good enough chapter! I've been doing a bit at a time over the week as I've been quite busy... la la la work and school work combined makes TotallyNuts become InsanelyNuts:P Phweeeeeeeee...

Chapter 12- Noises in the Night

Using a bladed letter opener the general sliced open the envelope and carefully took out the folded piece of parchment paper that was tucked inside. He placed the opener back onto his desk, unfolded the letter, and began to read the words in the candlelight…

Dear Son,

I hope that you are well upon receiving this letter. I'm not checking up on you like a child- just making sure that my only son is alright. You father sends his wishes too. Recently he has been much busier with the farm as it's been a busy season, and he thanks you greatly for the money that you sent to help repair the barn. The animals seem much happier now that they don't have a cold draft blowing in. I'm sure they'd say thank you too but I'd have quite a job trying to make them say that! On a more serious note, I need to know if you are truly happy right now. You didn't look like your usual self during your last visit and it has been troubling both me and your father. We suspect that it's just all of the work that you do causing you extra stress, but we also think that it may because you feel a bit lonely. Have you not found a partner yet? I know you've always put your work ahead of everything else so you may not have the time to think about such things… I hope you consider your options and think about your future as well as your present. Oh, and send my wishes to your pirate friend!

Lots of love, Mother

Lu Meng sighed as he finished reading the letter. So his parents thought that he was lonely… he knew that they were right though. He hadn't found that special someone in his life yet and didn't have any immediate planes to do so. Meng's focus had always been on doing the best he could for the Wu kingdom- why should he be considering finding a wife? He was perfectly happy with his close group of friends. He enjoyed hanging out with Gan Ning and Lu Xun- he treated them like a family and when he was around them he didn't feel as if he needed a woman. Lu Meng enjoyed the bachelor life, but life on the married side did look quite rewarding from what he'd seen. Sun Ce always told the bachelors how great it was to have someone who you could go to at the end of the day no matter what and loved you for who you were. Plus there was the opportunity of starting a family. It would be nice to have someone who could carry on the Lu family name he pondered as he folded the letter and placed it back in the envelope.

He reached over into a draw of his desk and pulled out a piece of fresh and clean parchment, and placed it flat on the surface in front of him. He dipped a new calligraphy brush into a pot of ink. He lifted the brush above the paper and started to write his first line…

BONG!

Lu Meng jumped as the large castle gong echoed loudly throughout the halls. He could actually feel the sound and the sheer loudness made him drop his brush onto the paper, leaving a funny mark. Then it hit him. The only time that the gong was set off in the middle of the night was if a battle was started at that precise moment in town. There was a procedure in place for times like these, and that was to immediately enter battle with your weapon and to defend the castle. Realising that the safety of the castle was at risk Lu Meng stood up and grabbed his halberd from the wall. He was wearing his robe and some loose fitting trousers ready to get to sleep, so he just put on his boots and headed straight for his bedroom door.

He stepped out into the hallway and as he did he saw several of the other officers stepping out of their rooms, armed with their weapons. They all looked sleepy, all of them still in their nightclothes. Lu Meng followed them as they all ran towards the gong, the designated meeting point for emergencies. There they would be able to find out what had happened, and why their night had been interrupted.

The generals couldn't see a thing as they passed the larger castle windows. Outside all they could see was the darkness of the night and the stars twinkling in the sky. It would've been an otherwise peaceful night if they hadn't been interrupted by the gong. On the way they met the Sun family who had just emerged from their rooms. It was an odd sight to see Sun Jian at this time of night, especially as the old man was in his pyjamas and looked half asleep, different from the energetic leader of Wu they were all used to!

"What's going on my Lord?" Zhou Tai asked, holding his katana firmly in his hands. He took his place next to the sleepy Sun Quan, who looked about ready to fall asleep as he stood next to his sister.

"I honestly don't know," Jian replied. "I couldn't see anything outside, and I've just sent one of the guards to go and investigate the disturbance. Does anyone know who set the gong off?"

They all shrugged their shoulders and looked at each other. The gong was around the corner and down another corridor, so going down there would be the only way to find out. Holding their weapons tightly the Wu generals turned the corner and walked further towards where the gong was. Had someone sneaked into the castle with the intention of waking everyone up? Or was there really an emergency going on that no one could see just yet?

"I can't see anything," said Sun Shang Xiang as she stayed close to her father. "Is this some kind of joke?"

"Whatever it is it's a horrible joke!" Sun Ce growled. "I was trying to get some sleep…"

"Somehow I think everyone was trying to get some sleep," Gan Ning replied as he yawned to himself.

The generals turned the corner they approached and saw, in front of the gong, what looked like a sleeping person lying down. They were in a curled up position and sleeping quietly. How could they have been asleep when the gong had just been hit, unless it was them who had hit it…?

Huang Gai approached the body and looked over to see the face. He looked quite surprised when he saw who it was. He signalled for the other generals to come over, and they too looked at who it was. They all looked at the sleeping Taishi Ci, who still had the gong stick in his hand, and he was sleeping like a baby.

"He hit it? I'm going to kill him!"

"Calm down Sun Ce!" said Sun Jian. "I'm sure there is a logical explanation for this!"

"Like? He was tired and he wanted to wake everyone else up?" Sun Ce looked as if he was going to go mad. "Why don't I just wake him up with my foot?" He imitated a kicking action with his foot, just as Taishi Ci stirred from his slumber. Or that was what it seemed he was doing…

The so-called sleeping Taishi Ci unfurled himself and stood to his feet. His eyes were still closed firmly shut and it seemed that he knew what he was doing. His arms raised and he stretched them out in front of him like a zombie. Then he walked straight ahead and back towards the direction of his room, unaware that all of the generals were standing near him. He just walked, and they had to move out of the way to avoid being hit by him.

"Taishi Ci sleepwalks?" asked Zhou Yu, rather confused. Not once had anyone in the castle slept walk, so it was intriguing to watch.

"I think I'd better go and lead him back to his room before he does anything else!" Lu Xun said as he ran over to Ci, who was now on course to walk straight into a candlestick. The generals sighed as the sleeping general was saved and was now being led by Xun back to his bed.

"Maybe we should lock his door from the outside next time," Meng suggested. "He could do it again, and I think we all need our sleep somehow."

"We'll see how he gets along over the next few days, but maybe this was a one off occasion," said Zhou Yu. "I think we should all go back to our rooms now. I'm sure the Qiaos are eager to know what happened."

Sun Shang Xiang gave a little laugh. "Were they too afraid to come out of their rooms? Lazy women…"

"Not all women are like you Shang Xiang," Yu replied, looking at the Wu princess as she stood there in her robe and nightdress, clutching a chakrams in each hand. "Some of them think more about themselves rather than go out and risk their lives…"

"So you're saying that Xiao only thinks about herself?"

"Not exactly… forget it. I'm tired and I'm sure you are. Goodnight everyone." Zhou Yu bowed to the others and made his way back to his room, with Sun Ce quickly following his sworn brother.

Sun Jian looked at all of the others. "Well, I don't know about everyone else but I'm most certainly going back to sleep. I believe I'll be saying goodnight too." With that Jian headed back to his room, yawning on the way.

After yawning herself, Sun Shang Xiang decided against going back to her room. She found it difficult to go straight back to sleep after being woken up in such a loud way, so she left the generals and walked the long dark path to the kitchens. Hopefully I can get a drink to settle down with she thought as she turned a corner to the dining room. She opened the large double doors and closed them behind her, the faint light from the kitchen guiding her. It smelt as if something was cooking, so she thought that the cook must still be up preparing breakfast. What looked like steam was dispersing from the main door to the kitchen, so she put her hands on the handle and opened it wide.

The heat was immense as she came face to face with the thick black smoke, and through the darkness she could see the flames. The whole kitchen was aflame and Shang Xiang panicked. Had Taishi Ci done this? Maybe that was his warning. Even though he was asleep could he have sensed the danger and tried to warn everyone? Her immediate reaction was to go and tell everybody, but she could hear something. A quiet voice…

"Help… me…"

Shang Xiang covered her mouth and ran into the room, trying to locate the source of the noise. She frantically looked for a place without fire, and to her surprise she saw the cook cowered underneath a table. She ran over to him and tried to help him up. It was apparent that he was hurt, and he moaned when she touched his leg. Shang knew that she couldn't just leave him here to die, so using what strength she had she dragged him from underneath the table and moved slowly towards the door.

The smoke was too overpowering and she could feel herself growing weaker with each breath she took. As she coughed to get the smoke out even more came in- it was a vicious cycle and she thought that neither she nor the cook were going to make it. Tears fell from her stinging eyes as she made it closer and closer to the door. They got closer and closer, but as they neared it Shang felt her legs fall from underneath her and she collapsed to the ground. She looked up at the ceiling, the smoke engulfing her and the cook. Her rescue had failed, and as she drifted into unconsciousness she felt an immense sense of guilt. Her life flashed before her eyes- there was so much she had wanted to do, see and achieve, and now all of these chances were dashed thanks to Taishi Ci. She closed her eyelids slowly, just as she heard the last sound of hope. The bells…