Whew! Chapter thirteen, all typed up and ready to go.
Chapter Thirteen
Deciding to cast away whatever anger or bitterness she might still have against Zhuge Liang and Yue Ying, Mei Li clutched the sketch in her hands and stood up, saying, "Where's the Prime Minister, Jiang Wei? I need to see him now."
"I'm not sure," Jiang Wei said, standing up as well. "When he gave me orders to talk to you, he was in the peach garden. He might be there, or perhaps he went to the library to –"
"Alright, we'll check the library!" Mei Li said, grabbing the shocked young man's wrist and dragging him out the door with her. She pulled Jiang Wei behind her the entire time, letting go of him only when they reached the sanctuary of the library, where sure enough, sat Zhuge Liang, reading a book as usual. He heard the two thundering down the halls before he even saw them. Without looking up from the text he was reading, he said, "Hello Mei Li, Jiang Wei. Have you come to talk things over, Li?"
"No time for fancy talk, Zhuge Liang!" Mei Li said, shoving the sketch in the strategist's face. "I drew this of Guan Ping and Guan Yu the first day I got here. And look, they're defending a castle!"
"Yes," Zhuge Liang said. "It's a very nice picture. Looks a lot like Fan Castle, where the two are now. You have some skill. Tell me, why does this bother you?"
"I thought you wanted to know what it meant?" Mei Li said.
"I do, that's why I asked."
Mei Li sighed in exasperation. "But I thought you – never mind. Okay, well, I drew it the same day that I drew the way Pang Tong would die; riding Liu Bei's horse. Doesn't that seem a little suspicious? We already know I have dreams that tell the future, then when I sketch does that come to pass, too?"
"I'm not sure," Zhuge Liang said, taking the sketch from her and examining it more closely now that he understood the message she was trying to convey. "Perhaps you did dream this, but forgot when you woke up, and your unconscious mind was portraying it in the form of a picture."
"So, you mean, I subconsciously knew how they were going to die?"
"Perhaps," Zhuge Liang answered, still observing the picture. "It's only a theory, we can't be sure. But your dreams have always come to pass up to this point, so we must take precaution in the future."
"In the future?" Mei Li said. "What about right now? Guan Ping and Guan Yu are going to die out there at Fan Castle. We can't just … we have to do something, don't we?" Mei Li was starting to lose hope. She realized the two were already out there, and remembering what Zhuge Liang had said regarding Pang Tong's death, she knew his answer would probably imply that there was nothing they could do.
"We could send out some more reinforcements." Jiang Wei suggested, trying to be helpful.
"That's a good idea," Mei Li said, turning to the Prime Minister. "You could rally some troops and send them out right away to help."
"It's the least we can do," Zhuge Liang agreed with his two apprentices. "Jiang Wei, go assemble some troops right away. Give them the order and send them on their way."
"Yes, sir." Jiang Wei said doing a slight bow and then leaving the library.
Mei Li sat down next to Zhuge, knowing that even if the two warriors died in this battle, at least they tried. She turned to the strategist and said, "Sorry I've been so selfish lately. Looks like it's going to cost Shu two good generals, huh?"
"Not necessarily," Zhuge Liang said. "We haven't tried preventing the future before, but it might work this time."
"But if it doesn't," Mei Li said, beginning to believe there was no way to stop fate from happening. "it'll be all my fault."
"There you go again, Mei Li, blaming yourself." Zhuge Liang said. "How many times do I have to tell you that the future is not your fault?"
"But this time it's different," Li said. "Before I was just feeling sorry for myself and the loss of my loved ones. But this time I had the opportunity to tell you about the sketch when I first figured out. But instead I kept myself locked up in my room for two days, besides coming out for meals. And even at the table I didn't talk to anyone." She sighed. "The first time I spoke to someone in two days was when you finally sent Jiang Wei to talk some sense into me."
"You needed some time to think things over," the strategist replied. "Besides, maybe this whole thing happening just goes to show that you really don't have any control over what's going to happen, Mei Li."
"Then am I just supposed to sit back and watch my friends die?"
"I can't answer that for you, Mei Li." Zhuge Liang said. Mei Li scoffed. Typical Zhuge Liang answer when he didn't want to admit he was wrong or didn't know the answer.
"But you had to go and tell Jiang Wei my life story," Mei Li said. "Why does he have to be let in on everything?"
"He's a very understanding and sensitive young man," Zhuge Liang replied. "Not to mention he's very intelligent. You're not the only apprentice I have."
Mei Li was kind of surprised that Zhuge Liang had taken up a new apprentice. Or maybe he was already apprenticed to the Prime Minister before she got here. Either way, Mei Li didn't say anything.
"I was hoping if we told him all the details, he might be able to help and crack the case of the treasure, which we still haven't found yet."
"But we think the answer is in this locket," she said, removing the necklace and handing it to Zhuge Liang. He nodded in agreement. "Maybe we should try to crack it open now, while we're waiting for news of Fan Castle to come." Mei Li suggested.
"Are you sure you want to crack it open?" Zhuge Liang said, knowing the importance of the locket to Mei Li.
"Well, if it helps us find the treasure and thus lure this man into a trap …"
Zhuge Liang frowned, examining the locket. "Cracking it actually may not be such a good idea. You see, if we damage the locket, we may damage the inscription on the inside. Then we'll never know what it says, and it will all have been a waste."
"Good point," Mei Li said, reaching for the locket. Zhuge Liang handed it back to her and watched as she fastened it back around her neck. "But then again, the locket could be nothing in the hunt for the treasure. Maybe it doesn't hold a clue after all."
"That is also a good point," Zhuge Liang agreed with Mei Li. "But we'll never know until we try."
Mei Li stood up and left the library, still gripping the picture she had drawn of Guan Ping and Guan Yu. On her way back to her room, she stared at it with dry eyes. For some reason, no emotion came to her even though she was almost certain they would die. She paused as she came upon Xing Cai's room, staring at the door, wondering if she should knock on it and have a chat with the girl. She finally sucked in her breath and timidly knocked.
"Come in," Xing Cai yelled from within. Mei Li cautiously opened the door and went to sit on Xing Cai's bed next to her.
"Oh, hi Mei Li," Xing Cai said, wondering what this girl was doing in her room. "Why are you here?"
"We need to talk," Mei Li said. She handed Xing Cai the sketch of Guan Ping and his father. The girl took it in her own hands and stared at it for a second. Looking back at Mei Li, she gave her a quizzical look that read, "Why are you showing me this?"
Mei Li answered her question even though Xing Cai hadn't voiced it. "I drew that picture the day I came to Shu. The same day that I drew a picture of Pang Tong riding Liu Bei's horse, because I knew he would die that way."
Xing Cai looked confused and shocked all at the same time. "You mean to tell me you knew that Pang Tong would die that way?"
"Yes," Mei Li answered. "It's not like I wanted it to happen, it's just that I knew how it was to come about. I would explain it to you, but it's a long story." She paused for breath. "And I realized that that is how Guan Ping and Guan Yu are going to die … defending Fan Castle."
Xing Cai shook her head, "No…"
"But you have to believe me!" Mei Li said, getting anxious. "I know the future! Sometimes I don't always want to, but it comes to me in dreams. I didn't necessarily dream this one, but I drew it the same day I drew how Pang Tong was going to die. Don't you see? My subconscious mind knows thing that I don't. It's like it warns me or something." Li took on a softer tone as she continued. "And since I'm afraid that he's going to die soon, I just thought you would want to know, since Guan Ping is your best friend, after all."
Xing Cai was quiet for a long time. When she finally spoke, her voice cracked like she was about to cry. "I'm sorry, this is just a lot for me to take in all at once. I mean, not only Guan Ping and his father dying, but that you knew how Pang Tong would die, and that you have those dreams."
"I know," Mei Li said. "I know it's a lot. But … you know, why don't I just leave? I think it was a mistake for me to come in here and tell you this." Li stood up, leaving the picture with Xing Cai. "You can have that, if you want," she said, referring to the sketch. It was all bent up and crinkled from being folded and handled so many times. Xing Cai stared at it for a second, and before Li left the room, she said, "Thanks. Thanks for telling me. I don't think it was a mistake."
Mei Li walked down the hall the couple steps that it took her to get into her own room. When she got there, she was surprised to see Jiang Wei waiting. He was sitting with his head in his hands; Mei Li knew this couldn't be good.
"What's the matter?" she asked.
Upon hearing her voice, the young man looked up with tired eyes. He told her she might want to sit down for a bit. Mei Li swallowed hard, knowing this would not be good. After sitting down on the bed, Jiang Wei held down her wrists and stared straight into her eyes. After what seemed like forever, he finally said two words:
"They're dead."
Mei Li blinked. "What?"
"Guan Ping and Guan Yu are dead. They were executed at Fan Castle."
"But we sent the reinforcements not an hour ago. How can they – "
"They're dead, Li. Before we even had time to rally the troops a messenger came. They've been dead since early this morning."
Mei Li breathed in heavily and blinked back tears. She felt she had prepared herself for this and yet nothing could have prepared her for such a cold, hard slap of reality. Her face crumpled up and she looked like she was about to cry. But instead of water flowing forth from her eyes, she looked right back at Jiang Wei and said, "Why?"
He looked confused, about to ask what she meant, when she freed herself from his grip and stood up.
"Why does this happen to me?" she said. "Why does everyone I love have to die?" She stomped past Jiang Wei and stood at the doorway to the hall, not quite going out yet. "What did I ever do to you?" she said, shouting to no one, her head tilted back toward the ceiling. "Everyone that I was ever close to at all has to leave me here, all alone!"
"You're not alone, Li," Jiang Wei said, trying to calm her down as he ran toward her, seeing that she was going to make a move. "You've got me and Zhuge Liang. There's Xing Cai and Yue –"
Mei Li started running down the halls, her eyes half blinded by the tears she was crying. Hearing all the commotion, Xing Cai came out with a questioning look in her eyes. Jiang Wei turned to look at her, and that was all it took. Xing Cai saw the look in his eyes. He nodded at her, and she started sobbing, running back into her room, leaving poor Jiang Wei to decide who needed comfort most: Xing Cai or Mei Li.
Meanwhile, Mei Li had run out to the stables. She hid herself in one of the stalls with the horses and sat there to cry out her grief and anger. No one found her. She was out there for at least half an hour before a plan formulated in her mind, and she knew what she had to do.
Aw poor Mei Li (not to mention Guan Ping, Guan Yu, Xing Cai...)! But what is this plan she has thought of? Find out in chapter 14! Just to give you a heads up, I'm aiming for say ... two or three more chapters before the story will be over. MAYBE four; we'll have to see how things go. Ah, you ask, but how can you wrap everything up in only four chapters? Well ... you'll have to read (and review!) to find out!