The little boy stared at his reflection in the water below him, marveling at the boy who looked just like him and made all the same motions that he did. He reached out to touch him, but as soon as his finger touched the water the other boy vanished. The little boy became sad until, moments later, the other one returned. Giggling, he tried to touch him again. The other boy disappeared, but he knew that he would return soon. For several minutes he played this game with his reflection, making the other child disappear and reappear.
"Lu Ba, what on earth are you doing?" The boy turned to see his friend, Zhou Xun, running towards him. His long brown hair whipped playfully around him, and Lu Ba laughed as he nearly tripped on his white and red robes.
"I found this neat little trick!" he exclaimed, pointing towards the water. "This boy that looks just like me is on the other side of the water, but when I touch him, he leaves. But he always comes back. It's so much fun!"
Zhou Xun sat down as his friend demonstrated. "That's just your reflection, silly." He squealed as Lu Ba playfully splashed water in his face, and soon both were on their feet chasing each other through the garden. Even at the ages of six and seven, the two had become fast friends. Zhou Xun was always the smart, logical one. Lu Ba was the brave, courageous one. But they were rarely seen apart, and everyone in the kingdom agreed that they would grow up to be lifelong friends. After all, their parents were friends and well known warriors throughout the land. Why shouldn't these two boys be?
After a while, the boys succumbed to exhaustion and collapsed onto the warm grass. "Did you hear about that great battle dad was talking about earlier?" Lu Ba asked, lying on his back with the sun in his face. Zhou Xun nodded as he lay on his stomach.
"Yes. I don't think Wei will try anything stupid like that again for a long time. At least that's what father says."
Lu Ba laughed. "He should know. He's the reason we beat their butts into the ground."
"Lu Ba! Watch your mouth!" The boys shot up as two women approached them. Lu Ba turned a shade of red with embarrassment, but Zhou Xun just grinned. The women stopped a few paces away from them, the taller of the two with her hands crossed and the shorter one trying not to laugh. "We don't say things like that around here," the tall one said.
"Aw, mom, everyone says things like that around here," Lu Ba protested. "Besides, there's no one else around to hear us."
"Because we don't count," the other woman said. Zhou Xun fell onto his back laughing as Lu Ba continued to grow redder. She laughed, and the taller woman succumbed to a grin of her own.
"It's ok, Lu Ba. All is forgiven. I was actually going to tell you that the real way we say it is……"
The other woman roughly nudged her friend in the arm. "Don't even say it. And you call yourself a mother!" At this, everyone began laughing. It continued until the sounds of horns could be heard on the other side of the palace walls. "Ah, my father and brothers are back." The shorter woman turned to the others. "Shall we go and greet them?" The boys cheered, jumped up, and ran off towards the palace. The taller woman shook her head.
"Remind me again, Sun Shang Xiang, why I decided to have children?"
The other woman laughed. "So you could teach him how to swear like his mother and his father. Oh, and because you love children and always wanted one of your own."
"Thanks, Lady Sun." She grinned helplessly. "That boy is going to grow up to be a splitting image of his father, in more than just his looks. It scares me a little."
The princess laughed. "I wouldn't worry about it, Li Tai. If Lu Ba is anything like his father, the kingdom of Wu will never have to worry about anything." She paused a moment. "But I see a lot of his mother in him, too. He will grow up to be a fine combination of two of the best people I know. Yes, the kingdom will be blessed to have such a fine warrior among its ranks." Li Tai smiled at her friend with thanks as they made their way towards the palace to welcome the arrival of Sun Jian and his sons.
Lu Meng knew he was there before he saw him. The tiny pitter patter of feet grew louder until they stopped just behind him. He gave into a grin as he turned to see his son standing there. "I was wondering where you'd run off to. Lord Sun Jian would have been very disappointed if you weren't here to greet him."
Lu Ba gave his father a boyish grin. "I was in the garden with Zhou Xun. I wasn't doing anything wrong, dad. "
"And he would never even dream of missing Lord Sun Jian's return," another voice said from behind them. Li Tai smiled at her boys as she hurried over. Sun Shang Xiang gave Lu Ba a wink before taking her place at the head of the line forming around them. With her father and brothers gone, she was the undisputed head of the household. Others may not have agreed with it, but Lu Ba knew that Lady Sun was a capable leader, despite her somewhat short temper. Rumor had it that she was engaged to be married to the leader of Shu, so she needed practice according to her brother, Sun Quan. The thought of Sun Shang Xiang married made Lu Ba laugh.
Cheers from outside the gate meant that the campaign party was getting closer. Everyone around them scrambled to line up to greet Lords Sun Jian, Sun Ce, and Sun Quan. Lu Ba noticed Zhou Xun standing between his father and mother. Zhou Yu was saying something to Sun Shang Xiang, who was standing next to him, while Xiao Qiao was busy rocking baby Zhou Yin in her arms. The only other kid in line was Sun Yi, who was standing next to her mother, Da Qiao. She was the oldest of the children there, and therefore the bossiest. Lu Ba grinned as he remembered her screaming down the halls earlier that morning, something about Cousin Zhou Xun putting frogs in her bed and Uncle Zhou Yu not doing anything about it. She may be older, but she couldn't boss them around. Plus, he didn't have the heart to tell her that it was he who put them there; Zhou Xun had been content to watch and giggle from the doorway.
The gates ahead of them opened and the crowd roared as the party made their way into the capital. Sun Jian waved to the crowd atop his horse, flanked on either side by his sons. Behind him rode the rest of the soldiers, jumping out of line to greet loved ones then quickly jumping back so as not to get in trouble. It took them no time at all to make it to the stairs of the palace. Sun Jian and his sons dismounted and made their way up to the others. All three of them hugged Lady Sun, who gave them a quick report of their doings in their absence. Then Sun Jian began his way down the line. Lu Ba saw him say something to Zhou Xun, who responded with a smile. Soon, the leader of Wu made it to the Lu family.
"I trust everything has been going well without me, Lu Meng. No problems with the soldiers?" Lu Meng had always been in charge of overseeing the soldiers when Sun Jian was gone. He was well known for being fair to them but always making sure they worked.
"None at all, my Lord. But of course, I have been having help." Sun Jian smiled as he turned to Li Tai.
"I would expect nothing less from the wife of Lu Meng." She grinned and bowed, and Sun Jian turned to Lu Ba. "Or of his son. Are you making sure the soldiers all stay in line?"
Lu Ba puffed out his chest with pride. "Of course, Lord Sun Jian!" He bowed low, causing a laugh to leave the Tiger of Jiang Dong.
"You will be a fine warrior someday, Lu Ba. I can see it already. Again, I would expect nothing less from the son of Lu Meng and Li Tai." He moved on, but Lu Ba continued to watch him as he finished greeting the line. A great warrior like his father and mother. Those words filled the young boy with pride. After all, his parents were famed not only throughout the Kingdom of Wu, but all of China. If Sun Jian said it, then it must be true. Lu Ba was ready to burst with excitement.
The line turned to leave for the feast, but Lu Ba stayed behind. He wanted to be the last to walk in to the feast. Sun Jian's words still lingered in his mind, forcing him to grin broadly. He had been working hard since Sun Jian and his sons had left on campaigns. But he didn't think all his work would show this soon. It felt fantastic.
"I don't know what Lord Sun Jian said to you, but I'm guessing it was good." Lu Ba whipped around to see a tall, armored figure standing behind him. Despite his menacing appearance, however, Lu Ba ran to him and looked up into his deep, dark eyes. They didn't scare him, for he had those same eyes.
"They were good, Uncle. He said I would turn out to be a great warrior like mom and dad. It's what I've always wanted to be. Do you think he knows how hard I've been training?"
Zhou Tai smiled. "Perhaps. Lord Sun Jian always seems to know these things." He looked down the long hallway, which was now almost completely empty. "Shall we go join your parents at the feast? They're probably wondering where you are." Lu Ba nodded and bounded down the hall after them. Zhou Tai shook his head, a helpless grin spreading across his face. He was so much like his parents, it was scary. Slowly, he reached up and ran a finger down the scar that disfigured his face. Was it really not that long ago that he scared everyone who saw his face? Now here he was, watching his nephew run after his parents, none of whom gave his scar a second thought. Everything seemed to have happened so quickly. Yet now, time seemed to stand still.
His grin grew wider as he turned and followed Lu Ba down the hall, his cape billowing out behind him. He kind of liked the calm now. There was time now. Time to enjoy the simple things in life. And Zhou Tai wasn't going to waste another minute.