My life was flashing right before my eyes; I remember how all of this started. It was that night in the room, no, the day I had the idea, no, the day on the battle field, no… it started way before all of that. It started the day I laid my eyes on her the first time in my life. Who would have thought…? I'd come this far?
I was going to die, people always said that your life flashed right before you died, and that was exactly what was happening right then.
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People would have called me a fool. My friends would have ridiculed me for my stupidity; first I would need friends to call me a fool. Yes, I have men next to me all the time, watching my back, but we are soldiers, trying to live and stay that way. That's right. I'm a Private. My name is Private Chen. I have served for the Wei Dynasty as long as I could remember. Since a child, I have always been impressed by the power of the Wei Dynasty, and by the time I reached the age of thirteen I signed up for the army. I was naive back then, believing that I'd be able to ride one of the great stallions; the ones that marched the city with the men behind them, walking in uniform, those men weren't impressive at all. They only added to the glory of the men and occasionally women on the horses.
I didn't care about those men in uniform; I cared about the lieutenants and generals, mostly the generals. Who would have thought that I would have ended up being one of the men in uniform instead, I hated irony.
I can even remember a time when I still believed that I had a chance in becoming a General. When I signed up for the army, they put me through vigorous training, day in and day out; working on strength, agility, keenness, and reflex, anything to make a perfect soldier. I always trained hard to become one of the best, and I was. I thought that I would be put into a higher rank than those that weren't as good as I, and I was; they ended up kicking out the bottom half from the army, they weren't cut out to be soldiers, now they didn't even have a rank. Technically, I was higher than them now since I actually had a title to my name.
I always thought that I could go above and beyond, but people would have called me a fool. My friends would have made fun of my dreams. These men weren't my friends though, now they were my companions in battle. After that day, I gave up my dream of becoming a General, now there was no way of leaving the army, I pledged my life to my Dynasty, I would never be anything higher than I was, because I am a private, and that was all that I would be.
But my dream of going beyond a Private didn't just end there. It came back many years later, after I have seen countless battles and corpses. Who would have thought, that a young woman, no my lady, no my commander, would have made me start dreaming the impossible again.
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Her name was Diao Chan, and she was my everything. Diao Chan wasn't originally from the Wei Dynasty but she was still one of the top Generals to rule. The country did not trust her at first, but after they saw her on the battle field and the loyalty she had, she instantly made her way to the top. I'll admit it, at first I was also surprised by Diao Chan. She was only a child! She was younger than me, and at that time I was around the age of 25. She must have been in her late teens or her late 20's, at most. It also angered me to know that they'd let such a petite girl be in charge of me and a thousand of my other companions. She looked so innocent, I was sure this was a joke, why would a woman, who was fit to be a concubine, be put in charge of more than a tenth of the army?
What sickened me further was her outfit. The rest of us were required to wear the same outfit as one another, same color to show what Dynasty we were, the Wei was lavender. Diao Chan wore a pink and skimpy kimono. Soldiers were required to have armor, she had hair pieces. We had spears, she had… instruments?
Her weapons interested me, I was not sure what they were but either way, they still intrigued me. They were almost larger than half her body, and reminded me of instruments when shaken make interesting sounds. That's exactly how the King felt when he saw Diao Chan's choice of weapon. He laughed asking how anyone could harm or kill anyone with such childish toys. She proved him wrong the next battle by bringing the head of the Lieutenant General; she was able to cut off his head with her weapons.
I was there that time when I watched her, and I consider it an honor, they were face to face, both of them seemed tired, but then Diao Chan leapt into the air and with her right arm, swung fully into his head, detaching it from his body. The head was no more than 3 feet away from where I stood. I stood amazed, watching my leader. What happened to the concubine I saw the first day? This… child just beheaded a man with instruments…it was inhumane. It was no wonder I couldn't become one of the lieutenants; Lieutenant's weren't human, they were Gods on the battlefield.
That day did nothing but belittle what little dreams I had nothing left of becoming a God. But time went on, battles were won, soldiers were lost, even some Gods were killed, and my dream came back to life.
The Wei Dynasty was always at war, encountering battles everyday from all sides of China, the fools believed that they could win against us if they all attacked at the same time. Most of the time my lady, as I have started to call her, would go ahead of the troops, weakening the soldiers so she can both gain some experience before releasing her signature move and help us by weakening them; my lady was very thoughtful and everyone in our troop valued her for it.
No matter how far she tried to go though, I always tried to stay as close as I could to her, sometimes when I felt brave enough, I'd even go a little bit in front of her to let her know if there was any danger ahead. But she never called me by my name, she just said her thanks and continued to run or ride. She never saw me eye to eye because I was a private. She might have acknowledged me more if HE wasn't there. He was always there next to her, or close by her.
Cao Pi was originally from the Wei Dynasty, but he was only a Lieutenant and not a General. He was also one of the youngest lieutenants that the Wei Dynasty had, but nonetheless one of the best. He had one of the greatest numbers of men, sometimes even greater than the generals. Diao Chan always made fun of Cao Pi, stated that in America that kind of name would sound like the urine of a cow. It made me laugh, and it especially made her laugh.
The two of them slaughtered soldiers like me, as if we were made of paper. They sometimes took count of how many they killed before the battle was over. They would both reach over 500 a day, it scared me to know they could slaughter so many. I sometimes tried to count how many I could do. The most I have ever done was 50 in a day, and those include the ones that Diao Chan has weakened for me.
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For myself, I felt as if I had made an opponent on the same dynasty as mine. I have never been in a bad situation with any of the other soldiers, not that we had time to. I silently made a vow that I would win Diao Chan's heart before Cao Pi would be able to. I trained even harder after that trying to be the best of the best soldiers. Learning to use my spear as if it were part of my body and using natural resources around me as my weapons.
On the day of the battle, I'd be able to show off my new moves to her, I was very excited. Everything was going along fine and Diao Chan was doing exceptional. On a certain battle with Sun Xiao, Diao Chan was able to knock off Sun Xiao from her horse, without even touching a hair on the horse, which meant that we would be able to use it for our advantage.
Diao Chan already had her horse and so did Cao Pi. All of the other commanders were too far away. I reached this far, why not ride a horse? But a soldier riding a horse never happened, no one dared to know what would happen to a soldier if he decided to ride the God's Beast… I dared.
I didn't even get to hoist myself up when I felt a hard pang on the back of my head. I went down on the floor like a pile of stones. When I gained my composure I looked up to see Cao Pi standing over me with the blunt side of his weapon out.
"How dare you try and ride the horse Private."
"I…I… no one was around so…"
"These horse were made to ride only for the commanders, tell me, Private what are you?"
"I'm… a private…"
"And tell me why you can not ride a horse," he was mocking me… I hated him even more now.
"Because…I'm a private, sir." I said the last part in an almost mocking tone. He was ready to speak back to me when Diao Chan stopped him. "That's enough Cao Pi, we have more important issues to take care of: the main base is being ambushed." I was so ashamed, here was my enemy and me fighting and all of a sudden my lady comes in, I was so humiliated.
"Private," I looked up; my lady was calling for me. "Please do not try and ride again, the second you ride you will instantly be the enemies target, I refuse to let my best Private be taken away from me." So sincere, so sweet, that was my lady alright. She smiled at me pretty and rode off with Cao Pi in her dust. My lady knew who I was… she knew who I was! Happiness surrounded me, I think I might have even skipped back to the main base, where I happily slaughtered my opponents.
That night the soldiers had a special treat. The priestesses would be used the next day for battle, which meant that the soldiers would get to live up for one night with a woman of their choice. Ironic how priestesses are normally stereotyped to be pure and serene; these priestess weren't, not in bed at least and even their outfits were the most revealing outfits anyone could wear. Even that night, I just kept replaying her smile and what she said to me. I couldn't get enough of her. I was head to toe in love with her. I couldn't stop myself. I needed more of Diao Chan.
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I decided to spy on her; don't get me wrong, I didn't want to spy on her for that kind of reason. I just wanted to see her outside of the battle field which was the only time that I have been able to see her. I sneaked around the grand castle in search of my lady. Everyday this castle has become well guarded with all the battles that we have won… she has won. I am in luck because I am in the color of lavender, the color of our great leader and his generals. The guards didn't mind me walking around the great palace, they saw my color.
Every room I went to I listened carefully, I was hoping to hear a voice that sounded like my lady's. The door's material was so thin; I could see the outline of our generals inside. I looked for the one that looked like my lady's. Alas I had found it all the way towards the back. I watched her from the outside, watching her move this way and that, and her perfect body's silhouette along the cow-skin door. I needed to see more of her, I had to, I thought I would go mad if I didn't. I poked a hole through the think skin and took a peek inside.
I know I should have turned back, but I couldn't, my lady was undressing, right in front of me! This was a once in a life time chance, though if I was caught I'd surely be killed on the spot. I couldn't move, I couldn't think, all I wanted her to do was lower that silk garment further down. As if she was reading my thoughts, she kept bringing down her outfit. I didn't care if the god's struck thunder upon my heart, I had to keep watching, watch until I was punished.
I felt punished right then when I saw my lady's back. I thought her body was perfect, left unharmed… I was wrong. Her back had many wounds; some slashes, some holes, mostly from the arrows that she has been hit with… it was no wonder she had a grudge against archers. Just looking at my lady's back was enough to make me want to hate them.
She turned her body to look into the mirror, and she frowned at her reflection, I myself frowned at it. To my displeasure, she held her garments right above her chest, as if knowing that someone would be watching her if she undressed. She tried bandaging up the wounds on her back as best as she could, many of them were out of her reach. She cursed lightly under her breathe in frustration. How dearly I wanted to go up to her and help her with her wounds. I could almost imagine my hands going up to her back and tenderly caressing her there. My hands upon her they just seemed so real…
I was awoken from my trance when someone came into the room. We both looked up who the intruder was, and there he was, Cao Pi. How dare he walk in on my lady who was getting undressed, does he have no dignity as to just barge in on her? She should have killed him, she would kill him.
She didn't kill him. She smiled at him, a genuine smile. I myself couldn't see my own face but if I were to look in a mirror at that moment, my face would have been shocked; that was the LAST thing I expected my lady to do. She watched him walk over to her, and I watched her watch him walk over to her. He bent down in front of her
They stared at one another for a long time with bright smiles upon their faces and then they started talking. I tried to strain to hear what they were walking about but no luck, their whispers were so low. I continued to watch them though, like the spy I was. She turned her back on him to show him her back.
Anger started rising inside of me. My lady was right in front of me and I could do nothing to her, but here was Cao Pi; touching her. His hands skimmed across her figure lightly, looking at every wound he could see. She never winced once, she trusted him to never hurt her, and that hurt me. They murmured some words to one another, with him still examining her back.
He started to take off his sash. My eyes must have widened by 5 folds. They weren't planning to… they wouldn't just… would they just have a relation right here would they? My mind began to race as I thought of the two of them together on the floor in front of me.
Using his sash, he started to lightly dab it on her back, wiping away some of the blood that was still flowing out. She didn't even wince, move or speak; she stood perfectly still like a statue. Dipping the blooded sash into a bowl of water next to him, he wringed it out and then started to wipe away her back again, this time wiping away the blood that caked to her back. So much anger was inside of me. I cared for my lady more than Cao Pi did; it should have been me in there helping my lady, not this mongrel. I had the intention of going in there to hurt this man, using the knife in my back pocket. I didn't do it, but I was close, so god damn close.
I continued to watch the two of them. For the past several minutes Cao Pi continued to clean up Diao Chan until there was no blood left on her back to clean. The second he dropped his blooded sash into the now red bowl of water, or blood, Diao Chan seized his lips with her own; she acted as if she was deprived from something she shouldn't have been deprived of. It was almost sickening to watch my lady grovel for this man, but I continued to watch the two of them.
She wanted to continue, I could tell, she wanted more to happen that night… but Cao Pi wouldn't let her. The desperate look in her eyes, the way her body pleaded for his, was this really the woman that I fell in love with? The woman that was so strong and courageous? She looked like a spoiled child, pouting for what she wanted. It was horrible. Images of my lady yelling orders to her men, slaughtering the enemy, riding her stallion with such great pride, her graceful moves... all vanished when I saw this woman instead in front of me.
I couldn't take it; I had enough for that night, and returned back to my quarters. We would be having a big day the next day; I should rest up instead of watching a woman have a relationship with a cow.
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The next morning, we were on the move and we were being stationed to our bases. I noticed some of the new soldiers looked scared, they were shivering with anticipation. To me, this was a daily routine. I was a damn lucky fool to have been able to live this long. I took hold of my spear and searched the ground for a sharp rock. Finding one, I used it to sharpen my spear.
I felt dull and rotten that morning. Everyday I looked forward to impressing my lady… it was different today; I had nothing to fight for this time. This time my lady was asked to guard the rear flank, that meant that we could just sit around and wait until the opposing force would attack us. This was going to be easy, the only way they could get in was if they crossed the bridge, and from there the archer could easily kill the soldiers. Those who were able to pass, would be slaughtered by the soldiers.
"Diao Chan" That retched voice I hated so much…
"What is it Cao Pi?" She acted so different from last night… she didn't have that loving voice in her anymore. What a great act that the two of them were putting on. I have to give them credit on that part.
"My Bodyguard has fallen, I require a new man. Might I ask you for yours today?"
"Of course, he is one of the best." My lady had a bodyguard? I never knew of such a thing. I looked around to see who her bodyguard could be. I was both saddened and curious. Saddened to know that there was someone else that was closer to her than me and curious because I never seen a bodyguard near my lady, or at least not as close as I've been with her. Whoever this bodyguard of hers was, was doing a horrible job guarding her.
Strangely, my lady came to me…me! She looked down at me and smiled a genuine smile. "Soldier, would you please do the honor of being Cao Pi's bodyguard for the day? You have guarded me well from the past battles, I wish for you to do the same with Cao Pi if you may."
I was her bodyguard! No one has informed me of this. Since when have I been her bodyguard? I never knew that my lady considered me to be her bodyguard. She considered me to be one of the best? There was no way that she was talking to me, I needed proof, I needed proof that she didn't get me confused with some other soldier around here. I must have looked very shocked to her because she just smiled at me. "I never told you because I thought it'd be too much of a hassle if you knew. But yes, you are my bodyguard soldier." That was enough for me, I was her bodyguard… but nonetheless… I was still considered a private.
"…O-o-of course my lady…" I didn't even say anything more than that before I left with Cao Pi. I dared not look back. I wanted to show my lady that I would be the perfect bodyguard for him. Every time we ran into a soldier from the Wu Dynasty, I immediately killed him. I had to impress Cao Pi, no matter how much I hated him, if I wanted him to tell my lady how impressive of a soldier I really was.
That's when it happened…. Da Quiao arrived. She reminded me a little bit of my lady. Why were all of these Gods so well dressed? They dressed as if they were going to a dinner party…I would never understand these Gods… She did nothing but stand there and watched Cao Pi. Her weapon choice was just as bizarre as my lady's. Two fans…enormous fans… but that was it. They were made of wood, she expected to be able to fight with those?
She just rocked her body back and forth smiling at Cao Pi. That smile scared me. Cao Pi did nothing in return also. I was getting tired of the tension and I decided to make the first move. I tried striking her but she kept standing. I struck again and again and it was the same effect. I stood back for a little while… where was Cao Pi in all of this? I had my spear up ready for if she would attack me. She took one look at me and opened up her fan. I don't even remember what happened after that. All I remember was that I had a big opened wound on my chest, I was lucky that I wasn't dead!
That was when Cao Pi decided to strike, how cheap of him to strike her when she was off guard. I hated him even more now. Yes I knew she is the enemy, but shouldn't a real warrior fight with honor? Where was the honor in him? I watched the two of them. Cao Pi barely had any chance against Da Quiao who was moving like silk, twisting this way and that, using her fan as one with her body. Cao Pi was doing nothing but poking and slashing at her, he looked horrible compared to her!
One strike, that's all it took Da Quiao to knock down Cao Pi.
"Cao Pi!" I staggered to help him. This was bad, he was going to lose to her if something didn't happen. I didn't care if I was nothing compared to these Gods, I needed to do something.
"Stand back!" His words were so firm and commanding. I stopped right in my tracks. He didn't want me to help him? I guess that there was SOME kind of honor there, but not a lot. "This is my fight, do not interfere, even if I may fall, don't you dare touch me. Is that understood?" Da Quiao had honor. She didn't strike him when he was talking to me.
They resumed their fight. We all knew what the outcome would be; it was only a matter of time. It finally happened, Da Quiao found Cao Pi's weak point and took him out with just two strikes of her fan. She didn't even need to use one of her special attacks. How embarrassing for him to go down so fast. But that wasn't the top priority right now. Right now, I had a problem on my hand Cao Pi was down and he was going to be captured by Da Quiao.
Her horse wasn't far away as she started to carry him off like an ant with a leaf. She put him on the horse first and then herself. She wasn't even going to bother with me. I continued to hold my wound. I could imagine just how sad my lady would look if I came back to the main camp by myself and not the man I was supposed to bodyguard.
I scanned the area quickly and I saw what I was looking for. I dragged my body over to the bow and picked it up. Mother fu… there were no arrows around us! What was I supposed to do with just a bow? Bow her to death. I needed something, anything! There had to be a twig or a branch nearby, nothing. The horse started to go into a gallop, I really needed something to shoot with.
I wish I had a dagger right then, so I could shove it through my skull. But unfortunately the skull would have been too thick. I still had my spear in the corner. I would never forgive myself that day for my stupidity. I completely ignored my wound and used all the strength I had to break my spear into the size of a regular arrow. It felt strange having the tip heavier than the rest of the arrow and I started to angle the bow differently. 'This one is for you my lady' was the only thought going through my head, and I let the arrow soar…
I missed.
I barely skimmed her left knee. She didn't even wince in pain, that's how far off I was. She continued to ride off with Cao Pi dangling on the horse with every move it made. I wasn't going to give up there though, I'd chase her down even if it took all the strength I had. I didn't even take one step when I collapsed onto the floor. I didn't understand what was going on. I didn't trip, I didn't falter.
It felt so wet around me, like a warm pool of… that's when I knew why I collapsed on the floor.
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That day, the entire troop mourned for Cao Pi's capture. Most of them stared at me as if it was my fault, what choice did I have? He told me to stay back, he said that he wanted to do the battle alone, and I tried to attack Da Qiao myself… I was lucky to have lived. But I almost wish I haven't lived, the look on Lady Diao Chan's face was pain staking.
She wouldn't show it to her troops, her speech was blunt and meaningless to all. 'Let this be a lesson to us all, we shall not make the same mistake twice.'
That entire day I haven't seen her, Cao Pi's troops were going to be put under Diao Chan's care now. My chance of being with her flew out the window. She would never want to be with me. I grew worried the entire day, normally I would hear her laughter amongst the great Dynasty, I heard nothing, I decided to stay and look at her that night. Inside her room, I heard her weeping. She was crying so quietly, she couldn't let her troops or fellow generals know that she was showing weakness; it wasn't acceptable. I looked back into the hole I made nights before to look at her.
Never in my life have I seen her in such a position. Her face was buried in her hands and she was in the middle of the floor weeping. What killed me the most was what she was crying into. It was the sash that Cao Pi has given her nights before to help heal her wound. It was bloodied at that time, but now it was clean. She must have washed it over the period of time. It pained me to see her so weak, and in a feeble position. She held onto the sash as if it were her lifeline. My heart was breaking in two.
She'll never see me eye to eye though, because I am a Private.
I went back into my bunk that night; I couldn't even close my eyes. The image of
Diao Chan on the floor, with the candle light flickering to meet her every curve… the image was embedded into me hard. I never thought I could see my strong leader in that kind of position. I rolled over, I couldn't sleep, I needed to do something.
That's when a crazy idea hit me; I would go into the enemy territory and free Cao Pi. The more I thought about it the more I became excited. It became so exciting and wonderful, I didn't even think of the downside to it. I got up immediately, the trip would be long, I had to get there as fast as I could. No way, I could go by foot. I needed to take a horse. This was a great offense that I was committing. But I was foolish at that time, the only motive I had was to see Diao Chan smile again. That was enough to make me want to go on this suicide mission. The Wei Dynasty was grand, and its palace was at the center. I was safe for those couple of hundred miles, once I reached the Wu Dynasty… I would be on my own.
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My trip was long and tiring. I slept through the morning and traveled through the night. I kept the horse hidden from eye's view when I slept. When I traveled, I did not worry, the darkness was my friend and it shielded my identity. I finally noticed the Wu Dynasty many nights later. It was not as impressive as the Wei Dynasty, but they still had their good points. I left my horse… his majesty's horse in a cave I found miles from here. I watched the palace carefully for many nights. Watching their troops, watching their soldiers, I needed to know when I would be able to strike. Their security was much greater than the Wei Dynasty. I suspected it was because they wanted to protect what little land they had left.
I smirked at that thought; my Dynasty, MY Dynasty was the reason this Dynasty was doing so horribly. It was no wonder, here I was a private looking out to their Dynasty and no one had suspected me. With such weak security, it was only destiny that the Wei Dynasty would one day rule all of China. During the nights I have noticed a pattern in the security, they would switched once when the moon hid behind the mountain, they then switched again when the mood was in between the two mountain tops and finally, they would switch again. Foolish though, they only switched to swap sleeping floors. Even they knew that they were only there to switch sleeping floors. They kick one another to wake the other up, and the process continued until morning.
I once saw Da Qiao walking around the Dynasty. She looked so innocent and carefree; like a child. In fact, it's possible that mongrel could still be a child. She was running around with Sun Shang Xiang. They both looked to be at peace. These women… so beautiful and enticing, yet on the fields… monsters, all of them. They both wore a light kimono, and their hair were let down; I was almost not able to recognize them.
I decided that I would strike that night. I knew how their body guards worked, I knew where all the rooms were, all that was required now was luck and for time to be on my side. The night was a full moon; it could be used to my advantage and my disadvantage. With the moon I'd be able to see, but at the same time with the moon, my enemies could see me. I didn't know which one was better.
I moved like the cheetah, sly and deadly. I knew all the blind spots around the Dynasty and I used every single one of them. I was patient and didn't want to take a risk being caught. I had the entire night to do this; there was no rush, only pressure. I finally made it to where I was certain that they'd keep Cao Pi. Like I did with Diao Chan's room, I poked a hole and took a look around, the room was empty. How could it be? My hypothesis should have been correct! He should have been in here! He should have-
"Looking for someone?" came a sweet yet deadly voice behind me. Da Qiao was right behind me, her fans in hand, I was a dead man. I stuttered, I didn't know what to do, I fell on my knees. She kept smiling at me, mocking me on the inside, trying to greet me on the outside; it was always the silent smile that killed.
"A lavender robe? You're from the Wei Dynasty aren't you?" She asked me in a mocking tone. I starred at her two fans, those mighty fans that killed 20 of my companions, and able to capture Cao Pi. Even at night you could tell that the fans were made of the color pink. Was it originally pink? Or did it turn out that way slowly after all the battles it went through. They looked like regular fans, made from the barks of a bamboo tree. But… how could it have shattered Cao Pi's mighty blade? It made no sense at all.
"Why are you out here? Are you all alone?" I could feel the blood flowing through me, my heart beating against my chest so hard. My ears were throbbing every time my heart pounded. Her words were almost a blur, inaudible; my heart pounding was even louder than that.
She smiled a big grin at me adding teeth this time, smiling like a child. She closed her fans; it was a small relief to me. Go tell your commander that the Wu Dynasty is ready for any attack, we'll take them down, just because they defeated us today, doesn't mean that we will lose tomorrow. Tomorrow? There was no date for a battle against the Wu Dynasty… it was to be against Shu Dynasty… could it have been a surprise attack? What more was that it seemed like she was going to let me go free. I felt free as a bird, I could go back, tell the Wei Dynasty that there was going to be a surprise attack by the Wu Dynasty tomorrow, who cared about Cao Pi now? The only reason I wanted to save Cao Pi was to look like a hero to my lady's eye, and this was more than enough.
"Wait a second… weren't you Cao Pi's guard a couple of days ago?" My heart turned to stone and dropped, she noticed who I was. I didn't say anything back to her. Should I answer truthfully? Should I lie to her? What was the point? She already knew who I was. "It is you isn't it? Then you're the one that did this to me. She lifted up her kimono to show me her calf, I could see a small scratch but that was it. Wait a second… a scratch? She remembered me for making a scratch on her leg? …Did every commander remember every wound that they received?
I don't know how it happened after that. I felt a pain on my neck, and when I looked down, it was the floor. I looked up frantic, Da Qiao looked much taller, and there it was, right where I was before, my body. It was only after I saw my body I started to feel the real pain. I coughed once and spat up blood, some of it accidentally getting on Da Qiao's white silk socks.
"You're always in the way! How dare you ruin my socks!" She kicked my face, and that's when all my memories started to flood through me; my childhood dreams, the training, my first encounter with my lady, watching her and the cow, the battle between Cao Pi and Da Qiao, and watching my lady cry. Every once in a while I saw faces of my lady; my lady sad, my lady happy, my lady laughing. Either way, she was beautiful. I couldn't get over her.
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People would have called me a fool. My friends would have ridiculed me for my stupidity; first I would need friends to call me a fool. Yes, I had men next to me all the time, watching my back, but were are soldiers, trying to live and stay that way. That's right. I'm a Private, and nothing but a private.
A pitifully in love Private…
End
