The moment he stepped into the inn, pain seared through his head. He faltered in his step and stumbled backward.

Not now.

He turned back and run, trying to avoid making eye contact with the curious innkeeper. He could not afford to make himself conspicuous among the town folks. He clutched his head as a wave of nausea washed over him. Biting his tongue to keep the impending scream from escaping his mouth, Ranma made a quick exit through the alleyways and entered his room through the window.

Who are you? Why do you keep appearing in my dreams?

He fell headlong onto his bed, trembling in pain. He had not experienced these sensations ever since his hands were stained with blood of his first victim. Groping blindly for a glass of water on the table, Ranma could not help but noticed that both his hands were shaking very badly. He had not been consulting any physician regarding his unique condition because he knew the pain would eventually go away after some rest.

The unshed tears rolled down his cheeks as the ache getting worse with each passing second. The sensations are getting stronger and more intense. He bit his tongue down hard and tasted the blood in his mouth. Images began to swirl in his head. He could hear the housekeeper right outside his room yelling at the helpers and prayed hard that he would not barge in to clean up his room.

He waited in tortured silence until he heard the receding footsteps of the housekeeper. Heaving a sigh of relief, Ranma shut his eyes and concentrate in easing the pain.

Think of something to wash away the pain. ANYTHING

Akane

A harsh whisper broke into his mental concentration

Kanna

A rose in the desert

You are my first

My last

My everything

Though we could not be together in this lifetime

I will find you in my next lifetime

I promise

Farewell my beloved

He curled up like a shriveled kitten and covered his ears, trying to shut out the phantom sounds that were taunting his sanity. In the end, his mental concentration could not keep his sanity. Ranma let out a bloodcurdling scream before the darkness consumed him

The memories have awakened once more.

'Love begins with a smile, grows with a kiss, and ends with a teardrop.'

The harsh dry wind swept over the desert, bringing little comfort to the trudging soldiers. The sun mercilessly burned their feet with burning sand and heat up their body metal amour. Despite the ruthless weather they encountered, the army still marched forward to receive their mission, determined to follow the leader. The general looked sympathetically at his men, especially his footmen, but they could not stop.

Before long, the sound of a horse galloping was heard and the watcher appeared before the general. He bowed respectfully before the general.

"The princess's convey has arrived into our realm, my lord"

Hearing that, the general signaled his troop to quicken their pace.

"Prepare to welcome the princess"

The soldier echoed the general's words with renewed energy. They made their way to the cliff in anticipation and the general looked down at the entourage which was slowly making their way across the plain. The entourage was led by General Zhi, the leader of the North troop. Upon seeing the general and his army, he raised his hand to halt the process.

The watcher announced.

"General Luan Ma of Kun welcome the Princess into our country"

General Zhi Liang nodded in return. His mission, to escort the carriage to the Desert Valley, was complete. General Luan Ma would take charge and proceed to escort the carriage through its remaining journey to the capital. In an equally loud voice full of authority, he summoned.

"Bring forth the carriage"

The wooden carriage, elaborately decorated with silk cloth as a door and thin paper windows and drawn by four horses, moved slowly to the front where the royal messenger was waiting with his guards. The servants at the side of the carriage slowly parted the silk cloth, revealing a beautiful woman dressed elaborately with in a traditional pearl white dress.

General Luan Ma was mesmerized. Surely this rare flower before him could not be given to his lord. Granted that her country had sent her to Kun as a gift of goodwill but any father would rather killed his lord than to send his daughter to serve as a concubine.

Even though the princess knew what was in store for her, her face still remained expressionless and her posture composed. Only the her head servants beside her stared at the sandy path with helplessness and pain.

His lord was known for his womanizing and degrading habits of treating the concubines in the palace. Court officials in his favor would be rewarded with a woman of his choice as a slave. Secretly, his lord dubbed this method as 'Discarding the Old to Make Way for the New'. Some were thrilled with the idea of sleeping with one of the emperor's wives but many were disgusted. Some paid the price dearly when their daughters were to be presented as gifts to the Emperor and their sons to serve the army in exchange for a rise in their ranks and status. Several times his lord had ordered the army to terrorize the villages in search for young and beautiful virgins to be added to his harem and his appetite.

His lord, Emperor Shi Long, was also a shrewd man and a cunning strategist. He would reserve the best unit for special missions such as war and invasion and would conduct secret investigation to weed out the weak and the disillusioned officials. Court examinations were held annually to select the talents who share the same ideals to serve the court and punish those whose ideals contradict his. Only those who truly shared the same thoughts and ideals of the Emperor would become his confidants and obtained special favors and high posts.

To escape the 'mission' of gathering young concubines, General Luan Ma trained his men exceptionally hard to become the best unit in the army. His troops consist of men who condemned the act of forcing women to serve the emperor and had no wish to participate in the selection of women. They were loyal to their leader and support his decision to stay away from the court politics. In fact, all of them would rather die in a battlefield than capturing young women on the streets.

The messenger, a scrawny old man dressed in finely woven robes, step forward and held out the royal edict. In a clear voice, he began to read.

"The Emperor had accepted the gift sent by the Royal Family of Obe. To show his acceptance, the army situated at the Northern Valley of Obe and had Obe would be left at peace under the orders of the Emperor.

The Emperor had bestowed the title "Lady Rose of the Desert" to Princess Kanna and welcomes her to the royal family. May Princess Kanna please come forward to receive the edict."

As she stepped forward and accepted the yellow scroll, the soldiers went down on their knees and kowtow.

"Long live Princess Kanna, Lady Rose of the Desert"

Author's note:

Originally, I had no idea where this story will lead to but after watching a Chinese movie (I leave it to the readers to guess the name of it) I decided to include this new development into the story. Thanks to all my readers out there for your kind reviews. In fact, it is your reviews that prompted me to start a new chapter for both Pride and FH. I can assure you that I will continue the stories and I have no intention of giving up right now. Just give me some time because university life is pretty tough right now.

I hope you readers would enjoy this new development which I am experimenting. Please send me your reviews regarding this twist so that I can decide whether to abandon this idea or continue with it. Happy New Year and Cheers