The next day Zhou Tai and Lu Meng made their way towards the library, near the center of the palace. The room was filled with book, scroll, and parchment scattered all over the place. At times it seemed endless. This was where their scholars and strategists would gather to discuss and write. Zhou Tai had been in here on one other occasion, and it was so long ago that he couldn't remember what it was. He focused this thoughts on the task at hand as Lu Meng pulled him in another direction, towards a long table. Zhou Yu was showing Lu Xun some battle plan that he had used against Cao Cao some time before, teaching him about the strategy involved. Lu Xun was rapt, taking every word. Zhou Tai rolled his eyes under his helmet. He hated all this learning. To him, one should only learn what is needed. The rest was pointless. He would rather train his body than his mind.

Lu Meng slapped his hand against the table top. Lu Xun jumped, but Zhou Yu just shook his head. "Lu Meng, you need to find new ways of getting people's attention. This get very old very quick."

Lu Meng grinned. "Sorry. I'm old fashioned." Lu Xun snickered as Zhou Yu continued to give him an annoyed look.

"Well, what do you want?" he asked impatiently.

"I was hoping you could tell us where the records are of those living in the Jiu Jiang Province. Zhou Tai and I need to clear up a mystery."

Lu Xun clearly wanted to ask more, but Zhou Yun pointed towards a section behind him. "All of the records for that area are back there. I don't know how far back you're looking, but they go back quite a ways." Both nodded and headed towards the back as Zhou Yu and Lu Xun went back to the plans. There were quite a few scrolls and books, with only a few bearing labels. Lu Meng sighed and pulled down a book.

"Well, let's start somewhere," he said as ho opened the book and began to read.

Li Tai smiled as she stuck her hand out of the window, letting rain wash over her fingers. She loved the rain for some reason. Lighting struck not far off, and she pulled her hand back inside. Despite the lighting and thunder, she liked this kind of weather. She liked the cool feel of the rain and the clean feeling she had after walking through it. She rested her head on the window ledge, letting the wind blow in her face.

"Li, you need to go to bed." Li turned around to see a boy sitting opposite her on a matching cot. He had her brownish black hair, her sharp features, and her deep, dark eyes. He rolled his eyes at her as she stared out if the window. "Tomorrow's going to be long again, and you need to rest."

Li made a face at him. He was always acting like this, pretending to be the father figure all of the time. He made a face back, and soon they were giggling at each other like little kids. A clap of thunder made them both jump, and they decided to try and sleep.

Then the figure appeared.

Both of them stared as the man towered in the doorway as people screamed outside. Neither moved, afraid that would come closer. Li looked over at the boy, who just continued to stare at the figure. His eyes were wide in fear. Eyes that had never shown any kind of fear before. Li looked back at the figure, and it took a step inside the room. Then another, and another. Li watched in fear as it came towards her, ignoring the boy and heading straight for her cot...

Li jumped awake. Several of the other women looked at her briefly before turning back to their conversations. They were outside, taking a break from the hustle if work inside. Li had apparently fallen asleep while leaning against a tree. No one else had seemed to notice. She rubbed her temples again, feeling a headache coming on. The bell calling them to get back to work didn't help either. She got up and followed the other women inside, heading towards the kitchen to help wash dishes.

As she submerged her hands in the water, she thought about the dream again. It was the same nightmare she had been having, except now there was another person there. A boy. She thought it was odd that she hadn't seen him in her dream before now. Who was he? she thought. He looked so much like me, right down to the eyes. He had the same eyes as she had. The same eyes that Zhou Tai had. Li stopped. Zhou Tai had the same eyes as her. She hadn't thought about it much until now, except when she had first seen him in the hallway. What was going on? Why was she suddenly feeling like Zhou Tai was everywhere, and that he was somehow connected to her? Her head swelled with question as she scrubbed the plates, and no answers came to her.

"Found it." Zhou Tai leaned over as Lu Meng pointed to a small section in the book he was looking at. "Here's a list of all the people who lived in Xia Cai during that time." Zhou Tai had asked for the time from his birth until he was ten, which is when he left home. He looked over the list, not seeing any familiar names. Near the end, he spotted his own name, along with what he assumed was his father's and mother's names. There was only one other name on the list under his. Zhou Tai stared at it, his eyes going wide with shock.

Li Tai.

"Wasn't that the name of the servant girl?" he asked. Lu Meng thought a moment before nodding. Zhou Tai looked up. "So that would explain some things, like the similar features and such." He frowned. "But it doesn't explain why she became so scared of me in the stables."

Lu Meng leaned back in the chair. "Well, you mentioned that a dark figure came and took your sister away. Do you think she mistook you for that dark figure when she saw you in the stables?"

Zhou Tai shrugged. "I don't know." He turned to Lu Meng. "But we have to find her and tell her about all of this."

"But what if this is wrong and she's not your sister?"

"I'll have to take that risk." Zhou Tai stared at the name. And he had a hunch that that servant girl was indeed his sister. He had to find out.

The sun had nearly set before Li and the other servants were able to leave. As they packed up and began to head out, several soldiers marched into the kitchen. The other women looked on curiously as they stopped in front of the crowd. "We are looking for a woman named Li Tai. If she is here, make yourself known." Li Tai gasped. What did they want with her? She didn't do anything wrong, or at least she didn't remember doing so. She wanted to run and hide, but all of the others were looking at her, so she slowly stepped forward.

"I am Li Tai," she said in a barely audible voice. The soldier who had spoke nodded.

"Come with us. Lords Lu Meng and Zhou Tai must speak with you." Before Li could even comprehend what they had said, the other two soldiers grabbed her arms and marched her away from the puzzled looks and curious tongues that now filled the kitchen.

The men stopped just outside of a large door. Li recognized this as the meeting room door. Only high ranking officers were allowed inside here. The only time she had heard of servants being in here is when they were being charged of treason or some other offense. Li tried to control her breathing as the men opened the door and lead her inside. She couldn't imagine what she had done, but it must have been really awful if they were taking her here.

They seated her at the end of a long table, one that could have easily fit up to thirty officers. Li could make out two other figures at the other end of the room. She watched as the soldiers bowed and left, leaving the three of the alone. As soon as the door was shut, Lu Meng and Zhou Tai approached her, one on either side. Li braced herself for whatever accusations they were about to make, ready to defend herself. Without a word, Lu Meng dropped an open book on the table in front of her.

"Li Tai, where were you born?" he asked. Li took a deep breath.

"I was born in Xia Cai, in the Jiu Jiang Province, my lords."

"Do you recall any other family members that you might have had?"

Li thought for a moment, remembering the boy from her dreams. Could he have been a brother? she thought. "There may have been a brother," she said, "but I can't recall." Lu Meng nodded, and then pointed to a section in the book in front of her.

"This is a record of all of the people living in Xia Cai at the time you were born. The head of each family is in bold print, while the others in his family are listed underneath." He pointed to the last name on the list, which happened to be her own. "We found your name here." He moved his finger to the name above it. "According to these records, you had one other sibling. A brother."

Li stared at the name. This couldn't be right. There had to be some mistake. Yet there it was, as clear as day.

Zhou Tai.

"This means that you and Lord Zhou Tai are brother and sister, separated when you were both seven years of age," Lu Meng said. Li looked up at the figure on her left. Zhou Tai stared back at her, his face unchanged. Yet his eyes held a different emotion. Happiness. Li offered him a smile, and Zhou Tai slowly returned it.

"Congratulations," Lu Meng said, offering a grin of his own. "You have found each other without knowing that you were looking." He put a hand on Li's shoulder. "I believe that you both have some catching up to do, so if you don't mind, I will take my leave." He looked up at Zhou Tai. "I will go and inform Lord Sun Jian of this happy reunion. I will return later." With that, he turned and left, leaving the two siblings behind to rediscover what they had lost.